Print Edition

“I would say in the short term it hasn’t put buyers off but I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know what the future will hold.” Auctioneer Henry Meadows’ take on the forthcoming ivory ban will be shared by many a regional auctioneer in the wake of summer sales.

A trio of works in regional auctions which sold under £300, including a watercolour of the River Dart in Devon by Thomas Bush Hardy.

Edged weapons from the East dominated the summer sale at Thomas Del Mar (24% buyer’s premium) in London on June 27 and it was an old collection of Indian dress daggers that produced the highest prices.

Ivory frames to this 18th century wooden box, below, with tortoiseshell panels, did nothing to hold back bidding on currently hugely popular Indo-Portuguese material.

Two albums of 19th century watercolours and drawings produced unexpected results in summer sales.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Imperial souvenirs, Expressionist portraits and metalware from Augsburg and Iran were among the recent highlights at sales in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

MADAM – Have ATG readers got a Grayson Perry pot or plate from the 1980s lurking in their living rooms? If they have, then the Holburne Museum in Bath wants to hear from them.

A rare and early combination of a war hammer and pistol was a highlight of the Bonhams (25/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale in Knightsbridge on May 23, selling for £24,000.

August can be a quiet time for exhibition-goers as dealers head off home or on holiday following the busier days of June and July. But some galleries take the summer as an opportunity to display an assortment of stock.

Every year in the seaside town of Bangor, south of Belfast, a small, local and dedicated team puts on an ambitious month-long programme of concerts, dance, arts and literary events, plus food and wine evenings.

The top lot at Bonhams (25/12.5% buyer’s premium) in San Francisco on June 19 was an exceptional cased example of a specially engraved Colt 1851 percussion revolver with shoulder stock.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

France remains one of the most popular holiday destinations for UK residents. If you want to combine an antiques/vintage buying trip with a holiday in either Provence or the Haute-Savoie this month, then a visit to two of the regions’ most attractive towns might feature high on the itinerary.

Firle Place near Lewes in East Sussex is the seat of Nicholas Gage, the 8th Viscount Gage, whose family has owned the estate since the 15th century.

The owner of a rediscovered painting attributed to Giotto has lost a High Court battle over its export from the EU.

This small 7 x 91/2in (18 x 24cm) oil on panel Biblical scene by the Victorian artist William Edward Frost (1810-77), below, doubled its top guide at Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) of Carmarthen on July 11.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from August 7-18, 2018.

MADAM – I was interested to see the picture of ‘outsize tongs’ considered to vegetable tongs or salad servers from a recent Adam’s sale in Dublin (ATG No 2352, page 21).