McTear's

A reminder of football’s early days, when huge crowds watched teams from the Scottish league playing counterparts from England, this 15ct gold medal with enamelled Scottish lion rampant was a hit when offered in its spiritual home of Glasgow by McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Celtic legend Tommy Gemmell’s boots from the 1967 European Cup final went under the hammer at Glasgow auction house McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) on July 19. They doubled the lower estimate, selling at £14,000.

The success of timed online auctions for London’s big auction houses is putting the format on the map for other salerooms too.

In the wake of record auction prices – the first £1m bottle of whisky and a $500,000 bottle of wine – four auction specialists discuss the lively market for fine and rare wines and whisky. Here, two whisky specialists outline the market trends: Graeme Maxwell of McTear's and Mark Littler, independent antiques and whisky broker.

Given a surprising £200-300 estimate, a George IV brass and glass carriage clock was one of the stars of McTear’s (23% buyer’s premium) Glasgow sale on February 1.

A Glasgow bidder in the room secured a Scottish Cup medal won in 1923 by a player from the green and white half of the Old Firm.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales, including a watercolour by Punch illustrator Arthur George Watts (1883-1935).

Three modestly valued works at regional sales.

Glasgow saleroom McTear’s holds a dedicated military watch auction on September 19. Most entries are from a private collection and include watches from the so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ – the 12 Swiss manufacturers commissioned to supply the British Ministry of Defence during the Second World War.

It is well-known that the market for Royal Doulton HN series figures is at something of a low ebb. However, the exception to the general rule of bargain-basement prices comes for the small number of very rare figures that appeal to a core collecting base. Many end up in North America.

A raft of contemporary and post-war art featured in the busy August schedule in Scotland. Such art remains a picky and tempestuous market north of the border. The latest results were scattered with a mix of bullish and more subdued results.