News

DEALERS are being warned to look out for a well-dressed man using stolen cheques to pay for antiques at fairs.

DUE diligence will effectively become a legal obligation when the Bill aimed at clamping down on the illicit trade in cultural objects becomes law.

A CHARLES II pattern crown from 1663, the Petition Crown(*), has set a new world record for English silver coins at auction.

A 71-lot sale devoted entirely to rock memorabilia relating to Jimi Hendrix took place on May 15 at Cooper Owen’s (15% buyer’s premium) Auction Gallery in Denmark Street, the bulk of the material coming from the collection of Bob and Kathy Levine who were part of Hendrix’s US management team.

THE London Irish sales are the annual litmus test of the very top end of the Irish picture market. Upcoming at the time of writing, this year’s sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s (May 15 and 16) seem to lack the numbers of big hitting pictures seen over the past ten years, reflecting the reluctance of vendors to come into today’s nervous market in which estimates are based upon realities rather than the wishful thinking that used to be good enough.

OUR flagship fair and one of the world’s most prestigious antiques events, the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair remains as traditional as strawberries and cream at Wimbledon and Pimms at Henley, but no one can say the most venerable of antiques events has failed to move with fashion.

The first, the finest, the rarest – and with an unbeatable provenance. It is not often that an auctioneer can boast this dream recipe for a lot, but Spink offer this heady mix of ingredients when they open their two-part sale of the Slaney collection on Thursday (May 15).