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

Mickey Mouse money box banks £15,000

29 August 1999

UK: CONSIGNED to the Taunton rooms of Lawrence’s from a local source was this German tinplate money bank depicting Mickey Mouse with a concertina.

DMG buy two fairs in London

29 August 1999

UK: DMG Antiques Fairs has moved into the London market with the acquisition of two well-known North London events, the Wembley and Lee Valley fairs.

Ark to be coveted

23 August 1999

UK: TOP price of Christie’s South Kensington (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) sale of toys and dolls on July 29, 1999 was the £1200 which secured this painted wood Noah’s Ark, complete with numerous carved and painted wood animals, which had been estimated at £600-800.

Edinburgh boss and four experts quit Phillips

22 August 1999

UK: Rival venture rumoured Five senior staff at Phillips Edinburgh, including the manager Nick Curnow, have resigned and left the company to pursue new interests.

Imagine – only £3600 for this!

16 August 1999

UK: POP star John Lennon adopted a number of different guises throughout his career in the public eye – likely lad, mystic, cartoonist, photographer, songwriter – and likewise it now appears as though he was just as much of a chameleon in his sartorial life.

Pair of English 17th century brass candlesticks

16 August 1999

UK: PHILLIPS Cardiff are among the three rooms which will soon close, but they held a good sale on August 4 where this pair of English 17th century brass candlesticks, 61/2in (17cm) high were consigned to the rooms from a private source.

£50,000 for a graphic display of the art of lacquer

09 August 1999

UK: JAPANESE lacquer is a complex form of decoration requiring the painstaking application of layer upon layer and incorporating different materials to build up the finished pictorial surface.

Eclipse casts a shadow on the Cornish trade

09 August 1999

UK: AUGUST may be the quietest time of the year for the majority of the UK trade, but any business this week for the auctioneers and shopkeepers of Cornwall is likely to be overshadowed by a cosmic obligation on Wednesday morning.

Stretton's Left in Charge nets £30,000

02 August 1999

UK: A commercially appealing example of Edwardian sporting art at the Leyburn salerooms of Tennants on July 16, this 2ft 61/2in by 231/2in (77.5 x 60cm) oil on canvas Left in Charge by Phillip Eustace Stretton, signed and dated 1904, had been consigned in untouched and original condition from a Harrogate deceased estate.

Kent agree to discuss problems

19 July 1999

UK: FOLLOWING a meeting with LAPADA last week, Kent trading standards officers have agreed to arrange further discussions in early August between trade representatives and those who actually drafted the Kent Bill.

Distinctive early 18th century armchair

19 July 1999

UK: AT THE first sale in their new Norcote saleroom near Cirencester on July 9, Moore Allen & Innocent sold this distinctive walnut leather-seated early 18th century armchair for £21,000 (plus 10 per cent buyer’s premium).

The perfect Worcester palette

19 July 1999

UK: PERFECT for amateur painters of ceramics or the more dedicated collector of Worcester porcelain, is this mahogany cased set of ceramic colours, left, produced by Reeves and Son for Hancock and Son, the Victorian owners of the Royal Worcester factory.

The Rothschild millions

12 July 1999

UK: LIVING up to its billing as one of the sales of the century The Rothschild Collection netted a hammer total of £52 million at Christie’s in London last week, the highest ever realised for a single-owner collection in Europe.

Kent dealers plan to block registration bill

12 July 1999

UK: GROWING concern has led to calls for action among dealers in Kent faced with a new law which would make it a criminal offence not to register and keep detailed records when buying and selling secondhand goods in the county.

Pressing the flesh

12 July 1999

UK: THE ENORMOUS wheel screw on this simulated oven gives some clue as to the gruesome purpose of the plated contraption which turned up at the Salisbury salerooms of Woolley and Wallis on June 23.

Extra sparkle for London in June

05 July 1999

UK: June saw London re-affirm its position as one of the world’s two premier venues for selling top quality Impressionist and Modern art with record-breaking sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

A gilt and carved fauteuil by Georges Jacob

28 June 1999

UK: DISCOVERED in an English collection, this French, gilt and carved fauteuil sold to a private buyer at Christie’s in London on June 23 for £350,000 (plus premium).

Scapin and Columbine sell for £30,000

14 June 1999

UK: THE SECOND half of last week saw a selection of top quality antiques fairs in London that is not matched anywhere.

Dresser table sells for £16,000

07 June 1999

UK: THE WEEK before Harry Lyons of New Century opened his exhibition of Dresser at Kensington Church Street, the Leicester rooms of Warner Auctions sold this gilt-lined ebonised side table attributed to Christopher Dresser.

Noseley Hall art recalled

07 June 1999

UK: AN appeal is likely this week against a council’s decision to enforce the return of nine paintings sold in the major dispersal at Noseley Hall in Leicestershire at the end of last September.

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