UK

AFTER 19 years, The London Original Print Fair is still the only event of its kind in Europe and it goes from strength to strength, as you will see when it runs this week from April 22 to 25 at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.

IT is no surprise that arguably our top provincial quality fair should be at Harrogate, which, with justification, many consider the provincial antiques capital. And we know that the spring antiques season is seriously under way when The Harrogate Antique and Fine Art Fair opens its doors at the Harrogate International Centre in the heart of the picturesque North Yorkshire town.

MAKING it even more of an antiquesfest than usual in Harrogate, running at the same time as Louise Walker’s fair (but closing one day earlier on May 2) is local organiser Galloway Antiques Fairs’ The Old Swan Hotel Antiques Fair in Swan Road. The hotel is just a short stroll from The International Centre.

ONCE the rustic Cinderella of the antiques trade, but proving to have more solid staying power than some other fashions, the strength of the oak furniture market was evident at Brightwells' (15% buyer's premium) 139-lot single-owner Herefordshire outing on March 18.

THE importance of colour to collectors of saltglaze ceramics was emphasised at BBR's (10% buyer's premium) March 7 500-lot specialist sale near Barnsley when the orangey-brown hue and unusual subject matter made an Ugly Woman saltglazed inkwell one of the most desirable entries.

DEALERS are advised to check their vehicles before leaving showground fairs following a sophisticated robbery attempt at Sunbury Antiques Market.

THE chances of finding good-quality tribal material in the remoter parts of Cumbria may be slim but a local vendor furnished Mitchells' (15% buyer's premium) 1294-lot March 4-5 outing with a 19th century African carved wooden headrest.

WHEN valuing a piece of furniture in the clutter of a client’s poorly lit home, quality can be difficult to gauge. Like most auction house specialists, James Lees, at Banbury-based Holloways (15% buyer’s premium) admits there have been times he has subsequently doubted his initial appraisals.

WHILE print devotees will be flocking to The London Original Print Fair (April 22-25) this week at the Royal Academy’s new space in Burlington Gardens, off Old Bond Street, it should not be forgotten that there are currently a number of other events celebrating the printmaker’s craft.

THE organisers of the Newark International Antiques and Collectors’ Fair are to give a 50 per cent price break to dealers who do not currently stand at the giant fair.

A CLUTCH of strong horological results for rare pieces by good makers or with technical innovations were seen in late March at Sotheby’s Bond Street (20/12% buyer’s premium).

THERE was an encouraging take-up for Victorian and Georgian furniture in Byrne's (15% buyer's premium) 623-lot March 10 outing, with buyers found for the more standard fare as well as for the better lots. “We had more than our fair share of Victorian mahogany triple wardrobes but most sold to a mixture of private buyers and the trade,” said Byrne’s specialist Adrian Byrne.

OSCAR Pierre Erard is one of the many shadowy figures who occupy the record books of the 19th century glass industry in Stourbridge.

It is not unusual for an auctioneer to receive enquiries from members of the public who have seen items ‘identical’ to theirs in a newspaper, a magazine or on television. In reality the Queen Anne walnut chest turns out to be a 1920s reproduction worth £100 – but, yes, they do look almost identical.

DEMAND for good-quality, period stools continues unabated and one led Mervyn Carey's (10% buyer's premium) February 25 506-lot Kent outing. A Queen Anne walnut example, with drop-in, upholstered seat and scrolled cabriole legs, it sold at £3200, while a slightly lesser quality George I walnut stool, also with cabriole legs, managed a winning £950.

LONDON’S art world leaders have come up with an initiative for extending the peak selling period that is London in June.

ON Friday April 2, this distinctive silver and 18 carat rose gold Boucheron lady’s minaudière, pictured right, 5 1/4in (13.5cm) across, was stolen from the Pullman Gallery at 14 King Street in St James’s.

ON Thursday March 18 thieves broke into the Oxfordshire home of ex-jockey and racehorse trainer Stan Mellor and stole silver and works of art.

ON Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs of April 28 the castaway was painter Jack Vettriano (b. 1954). When asked by presenter Sue Lawley how much he thought his celebrated oil, The Singing Butler, would sell for at Sotheby’s on April 19, Vettriano’s response was that it would exceed the top estimate of £200,000.

With the Chinese economy expanding at an unprecedented rate, and Chinese tourists becoming increasingly numerous in Europe, China Trade paintings are an area of the art market that might prove a cannier investment than most.