Industry data

The UK’s art market reclaimed its second position in the global league table as China’s rapid growth slowed during 2018.

Sotheby’s reported a 16% jump in sales last year to $6.4bn (£4.8bn).

A thousand of the UK’s public sculptures have been digitally catalogued with 150,000 to follow by the end of next year.

Despite economic concerns such as Brexit and the possibility of global trade wars, the UK’s top contemporary art auction houses posted the highest growth for Modern and contemporary art sales in 2018.

Christie’s reported total sales for 2018 at £5.3bn, up 3% on the previous year – led by the Rockefeller collection which set a record for any private collection at auction.

Sotheby’s France was the top performer in the country last year, boosted by the sale of a Qianlong mark and period vase that became the most expensive lot sold in France in 2018.

The decline in independent bookshops in the UK appears to have been halted with growth recorded for the second year in a row.

A sample of vintage bottles of Scotch whisky tested in a Scottish laboratory has been found to be fake.

Auction house Sotheby’s reported its third-quarter results for the three months to September 30 revealing a net loss of $27.8m (£21.43bn) - down 19% on the $23.5m posted a year ago.

Confidence in the contemporary art market has dropped 24% in the first six months of 2018, amid fears of a potential bubble.

Sotheby’s made more sales but at lower margins in the first half of 2018 according to its latest financial results.

Global auction sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips jumped 21.6% in the first half of 2018, according to the latest report by ArtTactic.

Consignors tempted back by salerooms to sell at auction in 2017 has helped put art top of the league of investment assets, according to the latest report.

Only 13 of the top 100 artists at auction last year were women, according to a recent analysis by the art market site MutualArt.

Auction house Sotheby’s has reported a 70% jump in private sales in the first three months of 2018 to $247m (£182m).