UK

The United Kingdom accounts for more than one fifth of the global art market sales and is the second biggest art market after the US.

Through auctioneers, dealers, fairs and markets - and a burgeoning online sector - buyers, collectors and sellers of art and antiques can easily access a vibrant network of intermediaries and events around the country. The UK's museums also house a wealth of impressive collections

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The story of a real ‘fairy tale’

15 October 2018

It may seem hard to credit nowadays, but photographs of fairies at the bottom of the Cottingley (Yorkshire) garden of two young girls, produced in 1917 as a practical joke, were taken to be genuine by many people – most famously, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Buyers sniff out perfume bottles

15 October 2018

Vivienne Knight and Vanessa Turner are two specialist dealers in perfume bottles who will be setting out their vibrant stalls at the two-day International Perfume Bottle Association’s UK convention.

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Manuscript’s sale magic

15 October 2018

Brought into a West Sussex saleroom some months ago, a manuscript grimoire, or collection of magic spells, invocations and more practical advice on ailments and aspirations, offered quite a challenge to the cataloguer.

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Pick of the week: Pilkington’s pride of place

15 October 2018

A private collection of more than 30 pieces of Pilkington’s Lancastrian lustre excelled when offered at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on October 10.

Buxton fair having a ball once again

15 October 2018

The long-awaited relaunch of Halcyon Fairs’ antiques fair at the restored Victorian Octagon ballroom in Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens has finally arrived.

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Medal celebrates that sinking feeling

15 October 2018

This medal documents a little-known moment in the history of the English Civil War. In 1648, following a revolt in the Parliamentary fleet, a number of ships went to Helvoetsluys in the western Netherlands and were organised as a Royalist squadron by Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619-82).

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Antique arms fairs combine at Olympia

15 October 2018

The next Antique Arms Fair at Olympia in west London will incorporate another key London collecting event, the long-running Park Lane Arms Fair.

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Sotheby’s rolls out the barrel

15 October 2018

Investigation into wine storage is unusual success in computing library auction.

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Beautiful piscatorial plates go swimmingly in German sale

15 October 2018

Catching the eye in a German auction was a fine example of the most beautiful of all piscatorial plate books.

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Japan shines in grainy focus

15 October 2018

The exhibition Shashin: are-bure-boke at Michael Hoppen Gallery in Chelsea celebrates the work and legacy of Japan’s post-war photographers who rejected glossy, commercial and documentary images during the country’s turbulent period of reconstruction.

Foujita

Foujita record brings many happy returns for Bonhams

13 October 2018

'La fête d’anniversaire' by the Japanese-French artist Léonard Foujita (1886-1968) sold for a hammer price of £6.1m (plus buyer's premium) to one of eight phone bidders at Bonhams’ Impressionist and Modern Art sale on October 11.

Pen and ink silhouettes Mendip auction rooms

Five lots that caught bidders’ eyes including pen and ink silhouettes, a Qing model of a tree and an 18th century casket

12 October 2018

ATG’s selection of highlights sold at auctions this week, including a model tree taken from the Chinese emperor's Summer Palace.

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Kensington Antiques Fair cancelled days before opening

11 October 2018

The Kensington Antiques Fair has been cancelled just days before it was due to open at Kensington Town Hall.

Carlton Ware

Five Carlton Ware Art Deco designs to dazzle at auction

11 October 2018

More than 50 lots of colourful Carlton Ware Art Deco pottery are up for sale in Salisbury next week.

Mouseman dresser Horlicks collection

Mighty mouse: Horlicks’ Mouseman commission stirs up Essex auction room

10 October 2018

The Horlicks collection of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson furniture was sold at Sworders auction yesterday for £236,000.

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Affordable art: Six works sold or offered for under £900 including an 18th century print of a Joseph Wright of Derby masterwork

10 October 2018

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales below £900 and three upcoming lots offered over the next fortnight, including a c.1768 engraving by William Pether after a masterwork by the great Joseph Wright of Derby.

Cottingley Fairies

Hammer highlights: five lots that caught bidders’ eyes including photographs of a fairy hoax that famously duped Arthur Conan Doyle.

09 October 2018

ATG’s selection of highlights sold at auctions last week, including a rare 18th century left-handed cricket bat and photographs of a fairy hoax that famously duped Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Appeal for information following ‘Mission Impossible’ style theft at York antiques centre

09 October 2018

Red House Antiques Centre in York was the victim of an audacious ‘Mission Impossible’ style burglary.

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Buyers dig deep for classical ‘Roman’ bust at Sheffield auction

08 October 2018

A classical marble bust took an unexpected £129,000 at Sheffield Auction Gallery on September 21.

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‘Chinese Mona Lisa’ comes to auction from Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick

08 October 2018

Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury will sell an important oil by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fei Yun (b.1954) next month. It comes for sale from the charity established by Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick (1942-2007).

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