Anglo-Saxon burial site hoard for sale
Derbyshire saleroom Hansons is to offer a remarkable collection excavated from an Anglo-Saxon pagan cemetery. The 250-strong group will be sold as a whole by private treaty, with bids invited by June 1.
The guide price is £50,000-80,000.
The cemetery was discovered when Gordon Taylor, from Cleethorpes, came across a fragment of femur bone in a field in 1962. He went on to lead an excavation of the important burial site at Welbeck Hill, Lincolnshire.
More and more antiquities, dating back to 450-625AD, were gradually unearthed from 72 mainly female graves.
Taylor died two years ago at the age of 88, leaving his collection behind in his home. It was found before treasure trove rules came into being, so he was able to keep it. Now his wife Muriel Taylor, 88, has put the collection up for sale.
Gordon, a history teacher, spent most of his spare time excavating the site. The group for sale is accompanied by records and research.
Ivory Act: plea for bows to be exempt
A London auctioneer of stringed instruments has launched an online petition to exempt bows from the Ivory Act registration requirement.
It argues that traders in antique bows including musicians, music shops and auction houses will be negatively affected by the practicalities and cost involved in registering the high volume of bows that regularly appear on the market.
Sarah Buchanan of auction house Amati said: “We fully support the Ivory Act’s ethics – endangered species must be protected. Our concern regarding the legislation is one of unforeseen consequences given the huge volume of bows that are traded in the UK and the impracticability of having to register every single sold bow in the UK with an ivory tip, the amount of which is equivalent to an adult thumbnail.”
The petition, which had around 1600 signatures at the time of going to press, can be found at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/237247.
US antique ivory ban challenge fails
A US lawsuit challenging a 2014 New York law banning the sale of antique ivory by the Art and Antique Dealers League of America and the National Art and Antique Dealers Association of America has been dismissed by a federal judge in Manhattan.
The dealer associations filed the challenge in spring 2018 arguing the law “criminalises what federal law otherwise permits”. However according to news agency Reuters, US district judge Lorna Schofield said they did not have standing to sue because they did not show how they or their members were injured by the law.
McTear’s teams up to offer loan deals
Scottish auction house McTear’s has teamed up with loan company Edinburgh Asset Finance to offer cash advances to consignors of art and antiques at auction.
The lender will advance up to 60% of a valuation price when an item is consigned ahead of sale. The item pledged provides the whole security. The lender offers clients instant loans from £1000-500,000, secured against a variety of assets.
A number of auction houses have teamed up with finance firms to offer loan options to vendors.
Art lender Unbolted works with firms including Forum Auctions, Holts, Fellows, Lyon & Turnbull, H&H Classic Cars, Barons Classic Cars and IG Wines.
Fresh faces at two auction houses
Fieldings Auctioneers in the West Midlands has made two recent hires: Rachel Houston- Holland joins as head of business development and Asian art specialist. She was previously regional head of fine art at Wright Marshall and before that a ceramics and Asian art specialist at Bonhams.
Kayleigh Davies joins as general valuer and auctioneer, joining the Stourbridge auction house from Aston’s in Dudley where she worked since 2012, responsible for toy and model railway sales.
In the East Midlands, Hansons has hired James Harris as a general valuer to grow its business across the Midlands. Harris has worked as an estate agent for the past 20 years but before that he worked at an auction house.
EBay tweaks postal tracking policy
EBay has announced a change to its postal tracking policy as a caution against buyers who fraudulently claim they never received items that were sent.
The change to eBay’s user agreement in the UK means that, from March 4, sellers are required to upload tracking details before the estimated delivery date has passed.
Sending the tracking number to the buyer via email will not protect sellers from an ‘item not received’ claim, said eBay.
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2 Christie’s raises buyer’s premium to target ‘middle market’ and top-end
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In Numbers
80
The number of new additions that will feature in the V&A’s jewellery gallery which reopens in April. They include the sapphire and diamond coronet designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria which was acquired by the museum in 2017.
A sapphire and diamond coronet designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria which go on view when the V&A’s jewellery gallery which reopens in April. Image: Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
For more jewellery, see the feature in this week's issue.
