Auctions

Printed in 1606 by Valentine Sims of London and in a contemporary limp vellum binding with gilt armorials to the covers, the little 12mo volume shown above combines …the Kings Psalmes with The Queen’s Prayers of Meditations.

A copy of the 1925, Hogarth Press first of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway attracted a great deal of competition in a Cotswold Auction Company (20% buyer’s premium) sale of October 3 and finally sold at £18,000.

A gift from the founder of the Tata global business empire to the architect who designed his Bombay headquarters, this late 19th century Patek Philippe gold hunter pocket watch was an eyecatcher at Andrew Smith (19% buyer’s premium) at Itchen Stoke on September 12.

Sales held on consecutive days in Edinburgh and London produced two lots that ended up selling for far, far higher than expected sums.

Back at No 1, 60 years after driving teenagers wild and their parents to despair, Bill Haley’s Rock Around the Clock was the star of Pop and Rock Memorabilia sale at Ryedale Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, on September 29.

When the vendor consigned a 3ft 2in (97cm) tall carved figure of Nelson into the Rayleigh rooms of Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium), he believed it to be a ship’s figurehead.

A collection of 28 German tinplate clockwork toys all found buyers, generally above estimate, at Bourne End Auctions (15% buyer’s premium) on October 4.

There are 10 auction house participants in AAL this year, the number swollen by an increased international presence. ATG provides a selection of auction preview highlights.

Since the Celtic Tiger’s demise a decade ago and the tailspin that ensued, the Irish art market has evolved into a more cautious and less speculative beast. The latest round of sales held towards the end of September and into October showed steady (if not spectacular) demand, especially for the big, bankable names.

A dozen years since the first designated Asian art sale in the UK regions, the calendar throngs with specialist events.

The Emerald Isle was not the only place selling Irish art recently. In London on September 27, Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) offered a collection of paintings and personal effects belonging to the family of Irish poet WB Yeats and his brother, artist Jack Butler Yeats.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period October 12-18, 2017. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Adam’s mammoth annual Country House Collections auction is designed to cater to those with spacious, preferably period, abodes.