Auctions

News and previews of art and antiques sold at auctions throughout the UK and overseas, from multi-million-pound blockbusters to affordable collectables.


Record for Nobel Prize medal at $4.1m

08 December 2014

James Watson’s 1962 award for his work on DNA set a world record price for a Nobel Prize Medal at Christie’s in New York when it sold for $4.1m (£2.6m) hammer.

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Symbols of good fortune at £350,000

04 December 2014

Nantwich auctioneers Peter Wilson set a new house record at their latest sale with this large Qianlong (1736-95) mark-and-period doucai ‘lotus and bats’ jar and cover.

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Cromwell’s coffin plate on the auction block

03 December 2014

This copper-gilt coffin plate, bearing an inscription in Latin with the dates of Oliver Cromwell’s birth, death and inauguration as Lord Protector and the arms of the Protectorate to the reverse, was found when his body was exhumed from the Henry VII chapel at Westminster Abbey on January 26, 1661.

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Thangka brings new £27m Asian art high

02 December 2014

Among the most important Asian works of art to come to market in the modern collecting era, an Imperial Ming dynasty embroidered silk thangka sold for HK$310m (£27m) at a Christie’s latest Chinese art series in Hong Kong.

DNA pioneer’s medal for sale

01 December 2014

Christie’s New York are offering the 1962 Nobel Prize gold medal awarded to Dr James D. Watson, one of the world’s greatest living scientists.

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The £40,000 London Bridge corkscrew

28 November 2014

The £40,000 corkscrew with an old London Bridge connection sold by auctioneers Reeman Dansie on November 26 is an extremely rare Victorian patent.

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Fine feathers for faithful Lady Franklin

27 November 2014

Lady Jane Franklin (1791-1875) gained worldwide admiration for her efforts to trace her husband’s disappearance on his fatal 1845 voyage seeking the North West Passage.

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Where did you get that €1.5m hat?

26 November 2014

Arguably the most famous historic figure in French history and a princely provenance proved an irresistible combination earlier this month in France when a collection of Napoleonic memorabilia formed by the Grimaldi dynasty of Monaco went under the hammer.

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O’Keeffe sets $39.5m female artist record

24 November 2014

New York has witnessed some spectacular auction prices of late and another came last week as ‘Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1’ by Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was knocked down at $39.5m (£26.3m) at Sotheby’s American art sale.

Bonhams set date for Contemporary HK sale

24 November 2014

Bonhams will their launch their sales of Modern and Contemporary Art from Asia in Hong Kong on March 15 during the ‘Art Basel Hong Kong’ week.

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Fangs very much – an unexpected £88,000

19 November 2014

This 17in (43cm) Fang bieri guardian palmwood figure from Gabon in West Africa set a house record at Netherhampton Salerooms in Salisbury when it sold for £88,000.

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New high for timepiece at auction

18 November 2014

Sotheby’s Geneva managed to grab the headlines when the Henry Graves Supercomplication set a record for a timepiece at auction.

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Warhol’s Elvis helps Contemporary art frenzy reach record levels

17 November 2014

Christie’s latest evening sale of Contemporary art in New York posted a premium-inclusive total of $852.9m (£557.4m), a new record for any auction.

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Stanley Matthews’ FA Cup medal scores new record at £220,000

14 November 2014

Setting a record for a football medal at £220,000, Stanley Matthews's 1953 F.A. Cup Final winner's medal drew dramatic competition at Graham Budd’s sale of sporting memorabilia earlier this week.

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Claudel launches new home for Paris étude

12 November 2014

Piasa are not the only Paris étude to have moved to new premises this autumn. Cornette de Saint Cyr have now opened their new saleroom in a 19th century hôtel particulier on the avenue Hoche near the Parc Monceau.

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Remembrance of a child from the battlefield

11 November 2014

This rare battlefield First World War rose goes under the hammer at Hansons in Etwall, Derbyshire, on November 24.

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Twelve bidders compete for Peter Waals secretaire in Exeter

11 November 2014

A walnut secretaire cabinet by Peter Waals (1870-1937) has sold for £34,000 at Bearne Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter.

Art Workers’ Guild auction in London

10 November 2014

Guy Schwinge of Dukes will be on the rostrum in London on November 17 for The Hall Centenary Appeal Auction, raising money to modernise and remodel The Art Workers’ Guild Meeting Hall at 6 Queen Square.

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Giacometti’s Chariot leads the charge at Sotheby’s $370m record sale

10 November 2014

Works by Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Alberto Giacometti and Amedeo Modigliani were the highlights of the latest series of Impressionist & Modern art series in New York.

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Christopher Dresser coffee pot makes £80,000 in Edinburgh

05 November 2014

A possibly unique electroplated coffee pot, designed by Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) and made by James Dixon & Sons in Sheffield, proved the highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s sale auction ‘Decorative Arts: Design from 1860’ when it was knocked down for £80,000.

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