Industry data

THE Antique Collectors’ Club have published the results of their Annual Furniture Index, which shows a seven per cent rise for 2001. The index now stands at 3575, its highest point ever, from a base of 100 in 1968.

THE collapse of Enron seems to have had a belated effect on the price of gold – but for the better. Gold rose by more than $23 (£16) per ounce this week, a positive move that was reflected by a slight rise in both silver and platinum, as buyers seek more tangible assets for investment.

A NEW survey of US auctioneers shows distinct trends developing in online auctions that should help them establish their presence long term as part of the selling process for antiques.

Terrorism, war, Foot and Mouth, recession – 2001 was not an easy year for the antiques market, but with one or two notable exceptions the big firms of provincial auctioneers not only weathered these difficulties but increased their sales turnover last year, according to annual figures released last week.

FRANCE: Paris auction house Drouot reported a slight rise of 0.66 per cent in 2001 turnover to Fr4.11bn (£391m). Art sales rose five per cent to Fr3.47bn (£330m).

ARTS Minister Tessa Blackstone has placed a temporary bar on the export of an important drawing, Study for the Institution of the Eucharist, by Federico Barocci (1528-1612).

Trade gap in art also mushrooms: Fine art exports from the UK to non-EU countries have increased by 50 per cent in the year ending December 2000. Equivalent imports for the same period also rose by a substantial amount – 26 per cent.

UK: ARTS Minister Alan Howarth has become increasingly active in placing temporary bans on the export of works of art

NEW regulations intended to ban the import of looted archaeological items from Italy into the USA are likely to increase the burden of documentation on antiquities dealers.

Sotheby’s have instigated a dramatic ‘restructure’ of their company after announcing net losses of $183m for the first nine months of this year.

FRANCE: Sales rose 19.5 per cent at Drouot in Paris, to Fr1.965 billion (excluding premium), in the first six months of 2000, compared with the same period in 1999.

SALES figures for the first half of 2000 were up by more than a fifth at Christie’s.

SOTHEBY’S profits fell 5.2 per cent for the second quarter of 2000, against the same period last year, despite revenue rising. The company largely blames Internet expenses and the $3.8m costs of the anti-trust investigation for this drop.

UK: LONDON-based auctioneers PHILLIPS’ bid to join Sotheby’s and Christie’s in the premier league of the auction world appears to be making some progress as they reported a 48 per cent increase in hammer sales for their London rooms for January to July this year.

UK: TURNOVER figures posted by provincial auctioneers for the year January to December 1999 revealed a turnaround in the positions of the top two firms.

CHRISTIE'S and Sotheby's announced a substantial increase in turnover for 1999, each registering total sales in the world art market of $2.3 billion (£1.46bn).

UK: THE British Antique Dealers' Association has announced a turnover in excess of £700m ($1.1bn) for their 400 members for 1998/99, a 24 per cent rise on 1997/98's figure of £565m.

CHRISTIE'S had their best ever year in 1999, exceeding the peak of annual turnover achieved at the height of the last art boom.

FRANCE: THANKS in part to the Chateau de Groussay sale staged jointly with Sotheby's, Poulain-Le Fur moved ahead of Piasa in 1999 to rank second in Paris with sales of Fr285m (£27.5m).

FRANCE: FRENCH online auction information company Artprice.com became the first dot.com business to hit the Nouveau Marché Paris on Friday January 21. Its stock was placed at Fr125 (£11.67) per share and the 1.15m shares on offer represent 18.4 per cent of the company capital.