Print Edition

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including news of a UK restorer facing an antiquities charge in the US.

Medals awarded to a recipient who served in three very collectable units sold for £14,000 at British Bespoke Auctions (22/15/12.5% buyer’s premium).

Letters written by Nelson to his wife make obvious his esteem for Captain Sir William Hoste KCB (1780-1828)

Depicting Bacchus and Ariadne riding a golden chariot drawn by leopards, a monumental Mortlake tapestry led a small but significant textiles section at Dreweatts.

An unusual feature of a large fragment of an Ushak carpet which was sold by Rippon Boswell (24% buyer’s premium) in Wiesbaden on May 29 was the alliance coat of arms of two powerful Genovese aristocratic families, the Doria and the Centurione, in the top corner.

Nagel (25% buyer’s premium) in Stuttgart underestimated the international interest for a 16th century painting of Christ Carrying the Cross.

On a single day in 1919 the Imperial German Navy achieved the impressive feat of sinking 52 vessels. Unfortunately, they were its own ships.

After a difficult period because of the pandemic, the latest round of Old Master sales in London returned to some kind of normality.

Two very different timekeepers came up for sale at Kinsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna on July 6-8.

This first-hand document recording one of the most significant naval events of the Second World War was offered at Catherine Southon (20% buyer’s premium) in Surrey this summer.

A Grand Tour portrait that came to auction directly from the family of the sitter was among the most contested lots at Bonhams’ (27.5%/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) Old Master Paintings sale on July 7.

A selection of 14 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK

This large 19th century Meissen plaque with an allegory of summer caught the eye of numerous bidders at Metz (25% buyer’s premium).

In reply to Victor Burness, ex- Portobello dealer (‘…tat is hiding the arcades’, Letters, ATG No 2503).

A small fragment of a significant airship comes up for auction at Spicers in Old Goole, East Yorkshire, to mark a tragic centenary.

While Christie’s had by far the top-selling Old Master drawing of the latest series (the £7.5m Leonardo da Vinci drawing of the head of a bear - see ATG No 2501), a good number of other works on paper generated better competition although sold for understandably lower prices.

'Doppelspindel-Rot', a monumental oil on canvas from 1967 by Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-68), topped the latest evening sale of Modern and Contemporary art at Ketterer Kunst (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich.

Re: ‘Spout and single support - for what?’ Letters, ATG No 2503.

One of the prisoners to survive the horrors of the Changi camp in the Second World War was an art school dropout who later became a renowned illustrator.

Dramatically lit above a Windsor armchair, 'Up and Across' by St Ives artist Trevor Bell (1930-2017) is a dynamic work of abstracted shapes in fiery red, browns and gold.