UK

UK: A DOG had bitten one of the legs... and possibly worse, and two parts were knocked off by individuals at the viewing, but neither of these detractions put off Smith the Rink of Harrogate from bidding £13,400 plus 12 per cent buyer’s premium for this George III tea-table at Patrick Cheyne of Altrincham on May 8. Why?

UK: OVERTLY Continental pieces of furniture are not the most commercial proposition in the current trading environment (the strength of sterling have limited the overseas presence for many months now), but Bellman’s West Sussex rooms had no difficulty in selling a fine example of Dutch/Flemish cabinetmaking at their April sale.

ARCHITECTURAL specialists Thomas William Gaze & Son (7.5 per cent buyer’s premium) included these 19th century decorative wallbricks, right, at their sale in Diss, Norfolk April 17.

UK: AUCTIONEER John Goodwin of Ledbury in Herefordshire sold this polychrome tin-glazed earthenware charger, 33/4in (35cm) diameter, decorated with a portrait of King George, to London specialist Jonathan Horne for £13,750 (plus 10 per cent premium) on April 28.

UK: EXPERIENCED organiser Robert Bailey is set to take on one of the biggest challenges of his career with the launch next year of a quality antiques fair in the heart of Manchester.

UK: WEST Country auctioneers Lawrence’s of Crewkerne posted a house record on May 6 when they sold this pair of George III marquetry inlaid rosewood and satinwood card tables to a New York dealer for £150,000 (plus 12.75 per cent premium).

US: EBAY, the giant Internet auctioneer, has announced that it is to acquire San Francisco-based auction house Butterfield & Butterfield in a deal expected to be in the region of $260m.

UK: ATTRACTING the most attention at of the Shrewsbury sale held by Halls (buyer’s premium 10 per cent) on April 14 was this enigmatic parcel gilt box, right.

UK: Illustrated here is The People’s Rights, a copy of Winston Churchill’s 1910 book which has made two appearances at the Aylsham salerooms of G.A. Key in recent months – with very different results.

UK: THE threat of well-meaning but potentially damaging measures to curb crime in Kent has spurred the trade to set up a national association for grass roots dealers.

UK: COLOURFUL and humorous, this late 17th century needlework panel, left, was the top textile at Neale’s (15 per cent buyer’s premium) sale in Nottingham on March 25-26.

UK: THE contents of Higher Farm in the Somerset village of Hornblotton provided the venue and the entries for auctioneer Peter Hobden’s sale.

Decorative Furniture The five annual selected sales at Christie’s South Kensington (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) always offer a broad variety of furnishings and objects that includes a generous supply of more decorative pieces of various ages.

UK: A ROUTINE dispersal at the Ladybank salerooms was led by a Georgian oak lowboy of typical composition which attracted £13504.

UK: ALTHOUGH there were no real star entries at this monthly dispersal, around 727 lots managed to generate a total at £120,00 boosted by a silver section and some pieces of local interest.

UK: IN common with a number of other London auctioneers, Bonhams (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium), were reserving their best quality Old Master consignments for July, but their April 13 sale in Knightsbridge did at least include the decorative charms of this 3ft 21/2in by 2ft 43/4in (98 x 73cm) canvas, illustrated here, of a young woman tending a bouquet of flowers, signed by the Italian-based still life specialist Abraham Brueghel (1631-1697).

UK: CONSIGNED by a Stockport couple who had been keen skiers during the 1950s, this late 19th century Black Forest carved hall seat, left, proved the unexpected highlight of Bonham’s (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) sale of general antiques in Manchester on March 24.

Bearnes, Exeter, March 23 Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent UK: HIGHLIGHTS of this sale included Thomas Short’s Comparative History of the Increase and Decrease of Mankind in England... and also a Meteorological Discourse, 1767, which, in the process of assembling historical and medical information, advocates early marriage and denounces alcohol as ‘a Stygian poison’. It sold at £100.

UK: WITH more than 500 dealers and a vast array of stock there are bound to be varying fortunes, but on the whole the Spring Antiques For Everyone fair at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre from April 8 to 11 again proved itself a fair to be reckoned with.

G.E. Sworder & Sons, Stansted Mountfitchet, March 16 Buyer’s premium: 10 per cent UK: "CERAMICS and collectables are usually well received by the trade, but at this 1000-lot sale they were met with a muted response, silver and jewellery were eagerly sought after while the furniture met with a keen response from trade and private buyers,” said auctioneer Guy Schooling.