Dealer sounds alert over stolen clock
An early-19th century mahogany bracket clock has been stolen from the shop of dealer Patrick Sandberg. Sometime before 4am on February 3, two burglars broke a glass panel at the front of 150-152 Kensington Church Street.
They were able to reach in through the broken glass and take the c.1825 clock from a cabinet. The shop’s alarm and CCTV system were operating at the time and police attended the scene.
The 16¼in (41cm) high clock has an eight-day striking movement with a painted dial contained in a lancet-shaped brass mounted case with column corners and lion head handles. It stands on brass ball feet and the internal backplate is stamped Handley & Moore.
Anyone with information on this theft and the whereabouts of the clock should call 101 quoting the Metropolitan police crime reference number 5602304/20.
Masters design course launch
The Northern School of Art in Hartlepool County Durham is recruiting students for a new design course.
An MA in Design History will begin in September 2020 aimed at students who want to study material culture and pursue a career in design.
Lloyds collection sells well online
A 377-lot timed online auction of items from the Lloyds Bank corporate collection took a total of £93,000 (including 20% buyer’s premium plus VAT) via thesaleroom.com.
The Halls of Shrewsbury sale which ended on January 31 achieved a 93% selling rate.Among the top lots were pictures by artist James Longueville (b.1942) including an oil on canvas of Conwy Castle which took £2100.
Oil on canvas view of Conwy Castle by James Longueville which made £2100 in a Halls timed sale.
James Forster, Halls’ head of pictures, said: “The key to the timed auction format is to give the sale a defined format, eg a single-owner sale, and market it specifically.
“In this case we had hundreds of very decorative pictures at low entry reserves which were ready to hang. It was a perfect sale for informed private buyers and dealers buying stock. What timed auctions are not is a secondary sale structure for unsolds or lower-value items; if auctioneers use that format they may well be disappointed.”
Money laundering update published
The anti-money laundering guidance for Art Market Participants (AMPs) has finally been published.
The new rules (applying the 5th Money Laundering Directive known as 5MLD) took effect on January 10 but the 111-page guidance was released on February 7.
Price threshold
The new law applies to ‘Art Market Participants’ (AMPs) – auction houses, dealers or anyone trading in or acting as an intermediary in the trade of works of art that sell for above the €10,000 threshold.
The guidance is designed to help AMPs meet their obligations for money laundering supervision, including customer due diligence, record keeping and reporting suspicious activity.
HMRC, the Treasury, The British Art Market Federation (BAMF) and its trade association members worked together to produce the document.
Find the guidance online here: https://atg.news/AMLguide
ATG will produce a summary of the guidance in a future issue.
Pickett to run new street art auctions
Sterling Vault Auctioneers has hired Lawrence Pickett to head its street art auctions, with the first planned for March 6.
Pickett previously worked in the jewellery trade at companies such as Signet Group, Mappin & Webb and Prestige Pawnbrokers.
Saleroom holds bushfire fundraiser
Australian auction house Leonard Joel will be holding a fundraising auction on February 16 with all proceeds being donated to The Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
The auction features works that have been donated by artists, collectors, dealers and jewellers. Leonard Joel has helped create the event and will waive all transaction costs.
Boris backs the ivory trade ban
Two weeks before dealers and collectors take their final challenge to the Ivory Act 2018, at the Court of Appeal on February 24-25, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made an approving public reference to the new law.
In a major speech to the business community on February 3, Johnson told his audience at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich: “In one field after another, Britain is far ahead of the EU… we are protecting elephants with one the strictest of ivory trade bans in the world, while the EU is still at the consultation stage.”
Most read
The most viewed stories for January 30-February 5 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Stunning hoard of sealed bottles dug up on a building site could fetch £20,000
2 Appeal to trade to help find Regency clock stolen from Kensington antiques dealer
3 Ivory Act: court date set ‘earlier than expected’ for final legal challenge by dealers and collectors
4 Art Deco headlamps, rare Pelham puppet, portrait of an artist’s daughter – five auction highlights
5 Items seized after Interpol ‘checks’ at BRAFA
In Numbers
68,000
The number of visitors recorded at the end of BRAFA 2020 (January 26-February 3). It was a record high for the fair, exceeding 66,000 last year, despite being a day shorter than previous stagings.
