Mallams

If the work of the best modern and contemporary artists is typically confined to a small coterie of London auctioneers, then the same cannot be said of the best modern and contemporary ceramics.

The profile of Scottish potter Jennifer Lee (b. 1956) received a £50,000 boost at the Royal Centre for Design in Kensington this summer when she won the Loewe Craft Prize 2018 with her abstract stoneware vessel illustrated here.

UK dealers buying foreign silver, overseas bidders taking British work and generally solid interest for traditional pieces of mid-ranking silver brightened up the normally quieter late summer sales across the country.

This agate, enamel and gemset cameo brooch carved with the profile of a classical maiden is signed verso for Georges Bissinger.

Entered from the same consignor, two c.1810 mahogany cellarettes were offered singly, rather than as a near pair by Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) at Abingdon. However, after two centuries, they will remain together after selling to the same private buyer on the phone.

Mod Brit and contemporary selection showing a swirl of influences ‘creates a buzz’.

Three more modestly valued works drawing attention at recent regional sales below £1500 included a Venetian view by English painter Peter Kuhfeld.

An old photo of a former owner and a memorial inscription will seldom add commercial value to a Victorian locket. However, the example by the Phillips Brothers of Cockspur Street offered by Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) in Oxford on March 21 carried the inscription 'Julia Hay Norman, Died 3rd October 1873'.

Military issue watches, particular those from the Second World War, are bringing ever stronger prices.

Two views on the big questions facing the trade… This week we ask whether promoting the foundation date of an auction house benefits the business' branding.

Lyon & Turnbull has appointed Philip Smith, former head of modern & post-war art and design at Mallams, to the newly created role of associate director for modern art and design.

Two stand-out collections containing Old Master and traditional British works on paper were offered within 24 hours of each other in Oxfordshire.

Pretty, petite and French – a seductive combination which won admirers of this kingwood and floral marquetry escritoire at Mallams’ (20% buyer’s premium) Oxford rooms.

Contemporary jewellery designer Wendy Ramshaw’s earlier work, including her signature ring stacks first made in 1967, is coming back onto the market.

The studio ceramics offered at the Mallams Oxford (20% buyer’s premium) Design, Modern British and Post-War Art sale were the major talking point (see ATG No 2324), but furniture by major late 19th century and early 20th century makers also made an impact.

Two pre-Christmas sales, one at Woolley & Wallis (22% buyer’s premium) in Salisbury and one at Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) in Oxford, highlighted the move of studio pottery from esoteric niche into the mainstream market.

“Modern British sculpture is making extremely good money at the moment – it is a market moving as quickly, if not slightly quicker, than paintings.” So said Philip Smith, department head of Mallams (20% buyer’s premium).

An extraordinary example of British avant-garde clothing made on the eve of the First World War sold for £29,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Mallams Oxford on December 8.