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

The Red House Antiques Centre

Police appeal following jewellery theft at antiques centre in York

26 May 2026

North Yorkshire Police has issued a plea for information following the theft of antique and vintage jewellery from an antiques centre in York.

HMS Victory model

HMS Victory model given to Margaret Thatcher sails away at auction

26 May 2026

A model of Nelson’s flagship Victory made by French prisoners-of-war a few years before the Battle of Trafalgar which was later given to Margaret Thatcher has sold for a £92,000 hammer price.

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Edwardian novelty inkwell is among five lots to watch

25 May 2026

With estimates from £400, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

Portrait of the Duke of Wellington

Thomas Lawrence portrait of Duke of Wellington heads back to auction

23 May 2026

A portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) will be offered at Christie’s this summer.

Stone sculptures

Sculpture fraudster sentenced after Metropolitan Police investigation

22 May 2026

A fraudster who tried to sell stone sculptures with false provenance through Sotheby’s has been sentenced after a three-and-a-half year investigation by the Met Police’s Art and Antiques Unit.

Liberty Oriental Carpets

Liberty’s antique rugs, carpets and textiles offering comes to an end

22 May 2026

The last antique rugs, carpets and textiles concession in a London department store closes this month.

Side table

Side table takes centre stage with a £26,000 bid

22 May 2026

This Indo-Portuguese ivory inlaid rosewood side table had last been sold in 1950 when it was bought by the ceramicist Eric James Mellon (1925-2014) while an art student in London.

Oscar Wilde college photo

As one Oscar Wilde Oxford college photo sells in the UK, another is found in US library

22 May 2026

A rare photograph of the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde taken during his time at Magdalen College, Oxford sold for £4200 (plus 22% buyer’s premium) at a Dominic Winter auction.

‘Dandy Horse’ bicycle

19th century ‘Dandy Horse’ bicycle takes three times estimate at Sussex auction

22 May 2026

A British ‘Dandy Horse’ bicycle made c.1819 was the earliest among a group of four rare 19th century examples on offer at Lewes saleroom Gorringe’s.

Wrest Park

Appeal for information on lost Frederic Leighton portraits from stately home

22 May 2026

English Heritage has launched an appeal to help find three portraits by artist Frederic Leighton (1839-96) once on display at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.

Marble relief of the emperor Marcus Aurelius

Ex-Christie’s specialist Patrick Lindsay to sell contents of London home

22 May 2026

On June 2, Dreweatts is selling the contents of the London home furnished by a renowned Christie’s auctioneer and a distinguished interior decorator.

Inchiquin Emerald

Hancocks offers emerald from historic family

22 May 2026

A jewel associated with an ancient Irish family has come on the market in London.

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A master of martial arts and expert in Japanese martial arms and culture

22 May 2026

Focus on a dedicated auction in Sussex that dispersed the single-owner collection of an Anglo-Norwegian who became fascinated by combat in the Far East

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The first book devoted exclusively to Oman by Shaik Mansur aka Signor Maurizi

22 May 2026

Pioneering book covering daily life in Oman and life of the sultan was actually written by an Italian doctor

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The interior design loophole: a regulatory wake-up call

22 May 2026

Summary of a panel discussion on the opening day of The Decorative Fair that was moderated by Freya Simms. Compliance expert Rakhi Talwar was in conversation with Toby Lorford, founder of Lorfords Antiques, and Lucy Sear Barlow of interior design firm Barlow & Barlow

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Lieutenant’s revolver finds new owner

22 May 2026

A cased Powell and Son/ Tranter 4th model 54 bore percussion revolver was offered in a 14½ x 8in (37 x 20cm) oak case with the name plaque to the lid engraved Alfred Hancocks Lieutenant, 1st Worcestershire Volunteers Rifle Corps.

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Swedish lots shine in latest Brooker collection batch as bidders take to the timed sale format

22 May 2026

As a market probably regarded as more ‘traditional’ than many others, you might expect arms and armour collectors to be wary of online-only auctions. However, the latest timed online sales at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) of west London show that bidders have embraced the concept.

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Duncan Grant goes for a canine subject

22 May 2026

Although figurative studies, still-lifes and landscapes are most common in the oeuvre of Duncan Grant (1885-1978), it was a work with a somewhat different subject that turned heads at a recent auction in Carmarthen.

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Flintlock fuels a price way beyond estimate

22 May 2026

Estimated at £500-1000, a “scarce” 10 bore military flintlock musket instead hammered at £9200 in the February 25 auction at Kent saleroom C&T (22% buyer’s premium).

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Faces that appear from different eras of history

22 May 2026

Art and antiques dealers have shared their latest finds with Antiques Trade Gazette including a 19th century copy of a Renaissance Madonna, a pair of portraits relating to a Scottish slave owner and a collection from a Second World War RAF bigwig.

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