Front Page and News

The traditional pre-Christmas Old Masters auctions in London were something of a mixed bag this year.

A sledge and flag from the first expedition to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton have been saved for the nation.

A group of works by the elusive Austrian émigré artist Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (1906-96) made a rare appearance at Chiswick Auctions’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest British & European Fine Art sale.

A spate of thefts from central London shops has put the antiquarian book trade on high alert.

A new auction firm has launched in the market town of Leominster in Herefordshire.

Clothes, letters and photographs of the last queen of Madagascar are to return home after the Madagascan government bought the collection at a south London auction.

This pair of life-size bronze busts depict the tragic young figures Publius Septimus Geta, son of emperor Septimus Severus, and his sister-in-law Plautilla.

The latest Specialist Collectors’ Sale at Cuttlestones in Wolverhampton included a little bit of 20th century ceramics history.

One of the last Georges de la Tour (1593-1652) paintings in private hands was sold by Cologne auction house Lempertz on December 8.

The government plans to change the official definition of treasure to cover all important archaeological finds – not just those that are more than 300 years old and made of a precious metal.

Organisers of indoor art and antiques fairs continue to make alternative plans for the first half of next year.

A celadon vase to a celebrated ‘double-dragon’ form has sold for €1.2m (£1.1m) – a record for Chinese art in Ireland. The 20½in (52cm) vase with a Yongzheng (1722-35) six-character mark was estimated at just €800-1200 at Sheppard’s in Durrow, Co Laois.

A Unesco campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of looted art is threatening to backfire after it emerged the ‘stories’ told in its adverts were fabricated.

Christie’s is moving its Asian art sales from London to Paris and Hong Kong from next year.

Like many grand country estates, the 17th century Grade I-listed Palladian house Aynhoe Park, seat of the Cartwright family until 1959, endured a 20th century decline.

The art and antiques sector breathed a sigh of relief with the news that shops and centres, auction houses, markets and some fairs can reopen in England from December 2.

Estimated at £6000-8000, an Anglo-Saxon bronze gaming piece – a metal-detecting find for the consignor – sold for £95,000 (plus premium) at the latest auction at TimeLine in Harwich, Essex.

London studio pottery specialist Maak achieved a record £200,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) for this vessel by Magdalene Odundo (b.1950).