DAVID HARVEY
Explore the stories of notable Sovereigns struck throughout history with The Sovereign of the Month. From branch mints to changing monarchs, uncover history captured in coinage from The Royal Mint. Find out more at royalmint.com/sovereign-of-the-month
When I, and perhaps you, were young, American teen culture shone as brightly as DonnieOsmond’s teeth. How enchanted we were by Grease, how blown away by The Fonz. Now, if you ask a youngsterabout their international in uences t he answer is likely to be South Korea. Squid Game was famously one of Netflix’s most-watched series of the last decade and K-pop groups continu to dominate the music scene around the globe. They may even have had kimchiforlunch. Butwhat does all this mean for collectors?
Well, while us baby boomers are still harking back to the games of our youth (if you need convincing, have a look at the feature on page 36 where games from the ‘60s and ‘70s are set to sell forhundreds), elsewhere other generations are looking eastwardsfor inspiration
When Jules Speelman started dealing in Asian art 60 years his clientele was largely western. Today, it is90 per cent Asian, with the age ranging between 20 and 40. Not for them a boxed Man from U.N.C.L.E. secret lighter gun, these smart young people are after the treasures from their own past. Which is why, of course, the Asian art market is booming and is likely to remain so if young westerners also continue to turn their collective gaze to the East.
Of course, for the would-be collector of Asian art, there are no short cuts to connoisseurship The discipline spans many countries, spanning millennia. Whether it’s the quietelegance of a Song dynasty celadon bowl, the intricate storytelling woven into a Japanese ukiyo-e print,or the spiritual gravitas of a Tibetan thangka, each piece carries with it the echo of a time, place and purpose.
DEE BARNES
Behind the scenes with the ceramicist Dee Barnes, page 8
ALICE BAILEY
Presents a guide to Indian art, from devotional to modern, page 22
Georgina Wroe, Editor
In this issue, we try to unravel some of it. On page 22, to coincide with the upcoming exhibition at the British Museum, Alice Bailey presents her guide to collectable Asian devotional art, exploring theorigins of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sacred art. Her fascinating insights take us beyond the ancient and into the post-colonial movements of 20th-century India and works by the country’s modern artists, many of which are now commanding huge prices at auction. Closer to home, on page 16, David Harvey reveals why Wigan was home to a wonderful coterie of 18th-century clockmakers and we take a deep dive into the fascinating world of tea caddies on page 28. Enjoy the issue.
Write to us at Antique Collecting, Riverside House, Dock Lane, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1PE, or email magazine@accartbooks.com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting. co.uk and follow us on X and Instagram @AntiqueMag
GILES PEPPIATT
Gives his view on the collection of Sir Basil Gould, page 42
PS Because the next magazine is a double issue it will be with you slightly later than usual. Expect delivery by the second week in June.
ese art deco emerald and diamond earrings which have an estimate of £1,200-£1,800 at Catherine Southon sale on May 7 We love! of ’s a wonderful coterie of
AARON KASMIN
Lifts the lid on his amazing collection of matchbooks, page 44
Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina. wroe@accartbooks.com
Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com
Design: Philp Design, philpdesign.co.uk
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3 Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces the May issue with an Asian art focus
6 Antiques News: Stuck for an idea for an outing? Gain inspiration from our dip into the latest events from the world of antiques and ne art
10 Your Letters: One subscriber shares his memories of metal detecting in the 1970s while another is taken back in time after last month’s article on Cartier
A gilt copper alloy figure of Padmapani Lokeshvara and Hayagriva, c. 1267, see page 47 for details, image courtesy of Bonhams
Around the Houses: Highlights from the UK’s nest auction houses this month include a rare Lord Nelson commemorative goblet and two medieval rings found by metal detectorists
Waxing Lyrical: Fine English furniture specialist David Harvey reveals how economic expansion in Wigan in the 18th century sparked a ne clockmaking tradition in the northern town
Lots to Talk About: Columnist, TV expert and auctioneer Catherine Southon has her head turned when a collection of fashion by Dior and Yves Saint Laurent appears in her saleroom
Puzzle Pages: Put your antiques knowledge to the test by pitting your wits against Peter Wade-Wright, the nest puzzle master in the land
59 Fairs Calendar: Never miss another event either locally or nationally by consulting our up-to-date guide to all the UK’s fairs
60 Fair News: Details of four events taking place in May including the popular Decorative Arts Fair housed in a pavilion in London’s Battersea Park
61 Auction Calendar: Stay ahead of the game by planning which sales to take part in using our fully comprehensive guide to the best UK auction houses
66 e Last Word: Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum is grati ed to nd some like minds and friendly faces on a recent trip Down Under
22 Enlightened inking: is month’s landmark exhibition on Indian art at the British Museum is sure to shine a light on a fascinating and rewarding collecting eld, Alice Bailey shares her insights
28 Steeped in History: With their myriad styles and materials, tea caddies make a wonderful basis for a collection. Antique Collecting reveals everything you need to know about the much-loved ware
41 In the Knowles: Antiques expert Eric Knowles is blown away by a beautifully decorated enamel cigarette case by Fabergé which recently wowed bidders in the saleroom
36 Money to Play With: Games inspired by TV programmes from the ‘60s and ‘70s are the basis for Doug Blair’s iconic collection. Irresistible to the Baby Boomers, how will they perform at auction this month? Ivan Macquisten reports
42 Saleroom Spotlight: e remarkable collection of Sir Basil Gould – one of the few westerners to witness the 1940 enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama –goes under the hammer in London
44 Striking Performance: Contemporary artist Aaron Kasmin uses his 500-strong collection of mid 20th-century feature matchbooks for inspiration. He shares his love of the miniature artworks
Book O ers: Need to bone up on your tiques and knowledge? Choose any of six titles from our sister publisher ACC t Books and save a third on the RRP
50 antiques and ne knowledge? Choose any of six titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books and save a third on the RRP
47 Jules’ Jewels Legendary dealer Jules Speelman is behind two Asian art sales this month. Antique Collecting takes a tour of his extraordinary collection amassed over a lifetime
Top of the Lots: A £10m coin collection comes to market for the rst time in half a century, while a painting by the late Scottish artist Jack Vettriano appears on the rostrum in Edinburgh
52 Top of the Lots: comes to market for the rst time in half a century, while a painting by the late in
54 Evans Above With comparisons to LS Lowry and Hieronymus Bosch, the monumental watercolours of David Evans deserve to be better known. Will a new exhibition put one of the unsung heroes of post-war art on the map?
As the season hots up, antiques and ne art a cionados are out in force, with a host of things set to entertain in May
More than 14,000 Roman artefacts have been donated to the London Museum – due to open in Smithfield next year – the single largest archive of archaeological material ever received by an institution.
They were uncovered by Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) archaeologists during the construction of Bloomberg’s European headquarters in the City of London between 2012 and 2014.
The site was home to a 3rd-century temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras, with discoveries including Britain’s largest, earliest and most significant collection of Roman writing tablets, as well as sandals, amulets and jewellery.
Above Julian Calder, Queen Elizabeth II, 2010. Credit Julian Calder/ Camera Press
Top right Paul Whybrew, Queen Elizabeth II during her sitting with Calder, 2010. Credit © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 /Royal Collection Trust
Above right Dancer Yos Clark opened the evening, image credit @ George On A Boat
Right Jane Austen’s pelisse coat goes on show this month, image Hampshire Cultural
Roman carved bone amulets worn by the military for protection © London Museum
A lunchtime talk in Edinburgh this month is part of a summer-long exhibition celebrating a century of royal photographs and their use.
e King’s Gallery, in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, is the location for the May 2 lecture in which assistant curator Dr Helen Lewandowski will explore how royal photographic portraits have been used by the printed press over the last 100 years. e talk is part of the ongoing exhibition Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography spanning portraits of Queen Victoria to King Charles III on at the Edinburgh gallery until September 7.
Broadway met London bookshop recently with a glitzy evening celebrating the launch of its inaugural performing arts catalogue.
Petter Harrington in Mayfair hosted the event which welcomed cabaret singers and old-style piano music to mark the release of its new theatrical catalogue including original West End scripts.
A silk coat owned and worn by the author Jane Austen has gone on show this month in Hampshire as part of the yearlong celebrations devoted to the 250th anniversary of her birth.
Donated by a descendant of the writer, the pelisse coat is one of a handful of items that survive today that belonged to Jane and can be traced directly back to her. It will be on display at Winchester’s City Museum from May 22 to June 16.
A Chichester gallery is exploring how artists have portrayed each other in the 20th and 21st centuries. Pallant House Gallery’s new exhibition, Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists (from May 17 to November 2) includes more than 150 works, each portraying an artist’s insight into a fellow painter.
Spanning 125 years of British portraiture, the exhibition will pivot on speci c relationships, friendships and circles, looking in particular at how romantic and platonic love have been equal catalysts for creativity.
Relationships explored include that between Roger Fry (1866–1934) and Nina Hamnett (1890-1956) who had a brief a air, and more recently the friendship between Sarah Lucas and Maggi Hambling who met in 2005 and discovered they shared the same birthday, solidifying their friendship.
e careers of two pioneering Irish modernists – and friends – Evie Hone (1894-1955) and Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) take centre stage in a new exhibition taking place in Dublin this month.
While the duo’s work is becoming more recognised in Ireland, it remains largely unfamiliar to art lovers beyond the island. Both Dublin born, the pair met while working and studying under Walter Sickert (1860-1942) at the Westminster Technical Institute in London. But it was their shared experience in Paris in the early 1920s as students of André Lhote (1885-1962) and Albert Gleizes (1881-1953) that cemented their friendship. Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett: e Art of Friendship runs until August 10.
Far left Dod Procter (1892-1972) Eileen Mayo (1906–1994) oil on canvas, private Collection © e Estate of Dod Procter. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images
Left Roger Fry (1866–1934) Nina Hamnett (1890-1956), 1917, oil on canvas, University of Leeds Art Collection
Right Emile Auguste Margaret Greville (18631942) © National Trust Images, Colin White
Far right Johann Zo any (1733-1810) Eva Maria Veigel (1724-1822) © National Trust Images, Matthew Hollow
Left Seóirse MacAntisionnaigh (1902-1997) e Slade Tea Party, 1924, UCL Art Museum
Above right Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823) e Paterson Children © National Trust Images, Laurence Pordes
Right Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) e Virgin of Éire, 1940s photo National Gallery of Ireland
Below right Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) A Poster for Winsor and Newton Ltd, photo National Gallery of Ireland
Bottom right Evie Hone (1894-1955)
Heads of Two Apostles, stained glass, c.1952 © Geraldine Hone, Kate Hone and the FNCI © National Gallery of Ireland
e coded messages of Georgian dress are explored in a new exhibition at an Edwardian house and estate near Dorking in Surrey.
Polesden Lacey, the former home of Edwardian society hostess, Margaret Greville (1863-1942) is hosting the new presentation Dress to Impress from May 2 to November 2. In Georgian Britain (1714–1830), clothing was a powerful form of nonverbal communication, conveying messages about social status, wealth, political a liation, morality, and even personal relationships. Women’s dress signalled virtue and modesty with high necklines and long sleeves, while lower cuts and extravagant hairstyles were suggestive of irtation or even sexual availability.
The 70-page script for Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film classic À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) goes under the hammer next month in Paris. The film follows the doomed affair between American student (Jean Seberg) and her no-good boyfriend (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Godard scripts are rare, he preferred to write the dialogue just before the actors began filming.
The script has an an estimate of €400,000 –€600,000 at Sotheby’s Paris online auction of books and manuscripts from June 4-18.
One of the country’s nest examples of gothic revival architecture has revealed dates for its annual ower fair later this year.
Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, the former London home of Horace Walpole (17171797), will host its seventh botanic show from September 12-14 with the theme ‘fairies’.
Walpole was a pivotal gure in 18th-century society, literature, art and architecture. e third son of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s rst Prime Minister, from 1739-1741, he embarked on a Grand Tour and European in uences can be seen in the design of Strawberry Hill House and the works that formed its vast collection of treasures. He was author of the world’s rst Gothic novel, e Castle of Otranto.
Lincolnshire ceramicist Dee Barnes, one of the exhibitors at this month’s Ceramic Art London
What are the themes and inspiration behind your work?
I like to take a contemporary slant on antique ceramics, such as a piece of 18th-century French Porcelain or Staffordshire ware, and transform them into my own ceramics.
Do you have a favourite manufactory, potter or specific designer?
I am obsessed with Sèvres French porcelain and Staffordshire flat backs and spill vases. Ceramics from both manufacturers have a slightly over-the-top element which I love. I adore the opulent colours and shapes of
the Sèvres porcelain and the whimsical figures in the Staffordshire ware.
What are your favourite museums to visit (either for pleasure or inspiration)?
One of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, Rachel Whiteread, this month headlines the first Goodwood Art Foundation’s exhibition in a new pavilion on the famous Sussex estate known for hosting horse racing, motor racing, flying and cricket.
Whiteread, (b.1963) was the first woman to win the Turner Prize in 1993 and is one of the most highly respected sculptors of her generation.
Opening on May 31 (until November 2), the exhibition will bring together a selection of Whiteread’s sculptures and photographs across the foundation’s 70-acre landscape and in the pavilion gallery.
and anything else that takes my fancy. I buy a lot from auctions and antique shops which are plentiful in Lincolnshire.
am like a sponge, I soak up what I see,
Well, there are so many places I have visited over the years that the list would be very long, but my recent visits were to the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, the Wallace Collection, and the V&A in London, all of which have fine collections including the styles mentioned above. I am like a sponge, I soak up what I see, take it back to my studio and let my imagination go wild.
Do you collect? If so, what?
Ceramic Art London takes place at Olympia West from May 9-11, for more details turn to page 60.
details turn to page 60.
As well as the pieces mentioned I collect contemporary ceramics, period furniture
How Arabic astronomers laid the foundation of modern astronomy is explored at a talk this month at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
e show, on May 25, explores how traditional Arab navigators used the stars to help them nd their way at sea, as well as how to spot a crescent moon.
During the Islamic Golden Age (8th–14th century), Muslim scholars built upon Greek, Persian, Indian, and Babylonian traditions, re ning astronomical techniques and in uencing later European developments. e presentation will also include a short presentation from the New Crescent Society, a Muslim community-led astronomy organisation.
Lovers of country homes are in for a treat this month with the release of the third series of the BBC’s successful series Hidden Treasures of the National Trust. And for those who prefer their information in written form, the series is accompanied by a new book celebrating the trust’s fascinating stories.
With a foreword by Mary Beard, the book goes behind the scenes at some of the trust’s 500 historic properties, including castles, houses and gardens. e hardback book is published by Harper Collins priced £25.
ere was a duel to the (almost) death in Dorset recently when two professional gladiators took to the ancient Roman arena of Maumbury Rings, near Dorchester.
One of only 17 known amphitheatres in the UK, it was the location for the faux battle – part of the town’s Roman Festival.
e contest, which included fake blood, was inspired by the exhibition Gladiators of Britain on at the Dorset Museum and Art Gallery until May 11.
The British Museum has retained its title as the UK’s busiest visitor attraction, although numbers to attractions across the country are still down on pre-pandemic levels.
Figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) saw 5,820,860 visits to the central London museum in 2023, a 42 per cent increase on 2022.
A gallery covered from floor to ceiling in more than 400 finely carved heraldic panels, and described as the most decorative in Europe, is back on show after six months of conservation.
The 82ft (25m) long Oak Gallery at The Vyne in Hampshire is now displayed free of furniture and paintings for the first time in centuries. The house was owned by William Sandys, who became Henry VIII’s lord chamberlain in 1526, and created the gallery to show his powerful connections. Henry visited The Vyne three times accompanied by Catherine of Aragon and later Anne Boleyn.
e hour-long show was the work of the Britannia Reenactment Society whose work has been seen in a number of TV shows and major Hollywood movies, including BBC’s Horrible Histories series, Blackadder: Back and Forth and Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Gladiator (2000).
The second most-visited attraction was London’s Natural History Museum. Figures showed the South Kensington attraction had its best-ever year, with a 22 per cent increase in visitors to 5,688,786.
The most-visited outdoor attraction was Windsor Great Park, with 5,487,856 visitors, a 3 per cent decline on 2022.
ALVA director, Bernard Donoghue, said: “The recovery of visitor attractions and the broader cultural and heritage economies remains fragile, but visitors have shown that in their leisure spending they still prioritise day trips to loved attractions in special places.”
The Barbican ousted St Paul’s Cathedral as the City of London’s busiest tourist venue.
is month’s postbag reveals memories of metal detecting in the ‘70s and a very special Cartier watch
Our star letter receives a copy of British Designer Silver by John Andrew and Derek Styles worth £75. Write to us at Antique Collecting magazine, Riverside House, Dock Lane, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1PE or email magazine@ accartbooks.com
Last month’s article on Cartier (King of Jewellers, April issue) brought back some very happy memories for me. When I was a girl my very glamorous auntie, who was known to inhabit the demimonde of 1960s London, wore a Cartier Tank with a black lizard strap. I can picture it today with its gold edges gleaming beneath the sleeve of her wellcut blouse. For me, the watch summed up the epitome of elegance. When the timepiece was inherited by my cousin I immediately started to save up to buy one myself. Many years later I am the owner of a Cartier Tank Française, with a 20mm case in decadent 18ct gold. I will never be as chic as Auntie Joan but I do feel a million bucks every time I see it on my wrist.
Top right Metal detecting has provided pleasure over the decades, image BBC Images
Left e Cartier Tank is one of the brand’s most iconic designs
Below left e boot was on the wrong foot
Eric Knowles’ article on metal detecting last month (In the Knowles, April issue) brought me quite literally down to earth with a bump. How well I remember those muddy elds of the 1970s that promised so much.
I also recall a magazine aptly called Bleep and going metal detecting (my rst machine was a BFO Magpie which cost £20) with my dad and nding a full bag of predecimal coins and four half crowns.
Detecting was di erent in the ’70s – the sheer quantity of nds from some places was unbelievable. Very simple, enjoyable days.
Bob Majors, Sta ordshire, by email
The answers to the quiz on page 34.
Trisha Jones (Mrs) by email
I’m not one to quibble but on page 13 of the March issue (Around the Houses, March issue) there is a picture of what purports to be a Roman legionary’s left foot dated 150-200AD, (it sold at Apollo Auctions for £30,000). As all military men know, all marching begins with “left, right, left, right” and this certainly looks a lot like a right foot to me. But I think you may have solved the mystery of why the Roman Empire fell. When the general shouted “march” they all started o on the wrong foot. So Boudica won. (Feet aside, I loved the March issue.)
Barry Anderson, Las Vegas, by email
Q1 (b). Standard-sized printed tickets for travellers, dogs and belongings of all kinds, even destinations could be written in by hand. They also considerably eased bureaucratic accounting between railway companies. Q2 (c). For bees…not hairstyles. Q3 (a) Working from about 1904-1950 he is, for many, ‘seaside comedy’ itself. Q4 Fu-hsing is the god of (c) happiness; Lu-hsing is the god of (a) salaries and Shou-hsing is the god of (d) long life. Q5 (d). They were both types of Gypsy wagon but the Burton had the wheels set under the carriage. The Reading’s wheels projected beyond the carriage body. Q6 (c). He was the father of phrenology (now considered a pseudoscience) by the ‘reading’ of personality etc. using the bumps on the skull. Q7 (b). They cut out the Spanish king’s face before turning them into fiveshilling pieces. Q8 (d). It was a beauty culture recipe to be applied three times a day. Q9 (a) A crossbow. The ‘prod’ was the bow-shaped part. The ‘stock’ was the part one would associate with a rifle. The ‘pitchfork’ was a type of rear-sight. The mainframe was called the ‘tiller’. Q10 (b). They all come from Ringling’s billboard posters. Miss Antoinette was a trapeze artist, May Wirth performed bare-back horse stunts and Lou Jacob was a highly successful circus clown.
Finally near crypt is an anagram of the word ‘carpentry’; goading birch can be reformed into the activity ‘chair-bodging’; relight whew! is an anagram of ‘wheelwright’ and ignore cop can be rearranged to make the word ‘coopering’.
Highlights from the UK’s nest auction houses this month include a rare Lord Nelson commemorative goblet and two medieval rings
The 16th-century watch’s movement still functions today
A complete and original 16th-century pocket watch sold for £28,000, 14 times its estimate, at the Cheshire auction house’s recent sale.
Dated 1580, the German watch, which appeared on the cover of the magazine’s March issue, would have been a luxury piece and worn suspended from a cord or a chain around the neck as a symbol of wealth and social standing. is example has a sought-after ‘bird and urn’ dial in blue, green and yellow enamels – an early example of enamel work on a watch.
e still functioning movement has the maker’s mark MS, an unidenti ed craftsman operating in the late 1500s.
A previously unknown still life by the German Expressionist Emil Nolde (18671956) sold for £29,000 at the Shropshire auction house, just shy of its top estimate of £30,000.
Two medieval rings discovered by metal detecting pals in Norfolk fetched a combined hammer price of £30,000 at the London auction house, exceeding their low estimate of £21,000. e rst (above), which sold for £19,000 was a rare gem-set medieval bishop’s ring dating from the late 12th to early 13th century, while a later, gold posy ring (below) dating from the 13th to 14th century, sold for £11,000.
Noonans jewellery specialist, Laura Smith, said: “ e bishop’s ring, with a principal cabochon stone, usually a sapphire, is surrounded by smaller collet set satellite stones (garnets or rubies, and emeralds). It can be securely dated to the late 12th or early 13th century, and is associated with the bishopric.” e posy ring was inscribed in a mix of Roman and Lombardic script reading +IO.VVS.AIM.PAR.FEI which translates from medieval French as I love you faithfully.
Titled Red-Blooming Cacti, the work was sent to the Nolde Foundation in Seebull, Germany, whose experts examined the picture and con rmed the attribution.
Nolde was a German-Danish painter and printmaker, known for being one of the rst Expressionists and whose work was condemned by the Nazis as ‘degenerate’ and removed from museums. Nolde forbade strict orders not to paint, even in private, and created hundreds of watercolours which he called the Unpainted Pictures’
The work was authenticated in Germany as that of Emil Nolde (1867-1956)
A prison prayer book belonging to the murderer Dr Crippen (1862-1910) and used prior to his execution sold for £240 at the Sta ordshire auction house’s recent sale.
Crippen was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife Cora, a music hall singer who he poisoned to marry his secretary. e lovers ed to Canada on an ocean liner after police discovered a boneless human torso buried under the cellar of the doctor’s London home.
The notorious murderer Dr Crippen had the prayer book with him before his execution
But the couple was caught after the captain of the SS Montrose alerted the police using the ship’s brand-new Marconi wireless. e leather-bound book has been in the possession of a UK collector who bought it at auction in 2007.
A diary belonging to acclaimed Bloomsbury artist Duncan Grant (18851978) sold for 17 times its auction estimate at the East Sussex auctioneers. e diary, which was recently discovered years after his death in 1978, was started on January 21, 1911 when Grant was aged 26. It sold for £13,750 against an estimate of £500-£800. e diary includes references to all the best-known Bloomsbury set including Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) and Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).
The diary, which sold for 17 times its estimate, was a gift to Duncan Grant from his mother
Roman coins from the first century are extremely rare
A Roman coin believed to be the rst gold aureus of Vitellius found in the British Isles hammered at a mid-estimate £4,700 at the West Midlands auction house. Aulus Vitellius was a Roman emperor who ruled for a brief eight-month turbulent period in 69 AD. e coin celebrates his membership of a group of 15 men, fellow Romans who were overseers of the Secular Games. Fieldings coin specialist, Mark Hannam, said: “To find a coin from AD69 is incrediblyrare, most coins we find in the UK are from the third and fourth centuries.”
The gold coin was the first gold aureus of Vitellius found in the UK
Consigned from a local family collection, a landscape by John Constable more than doubled its low pre-sale estimate of £150,000 when it sold for £320,000 at the North Yorkshire auctioneers.
e 31 x 39cm (12 x 15½in) picture depicting Dedham Vale looking towards Langham, was dated to c.1809-1814 and was described by the auction house as “an impressive and vigorous early plein-air sketch of the countryside surrounding Constable’s childhood home of East Bergholt on the Su olk-Essex border”.
It had previously belonged to Ann Durning Holt (1899-1980), a member of the vendor’s family whose great uncle was the distinguished Liverpudlian collector George Holt (1825-1896).
A pair of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Little Tramp’ boots from e Great Dictator sold for $157,500 (£125,000) in Hertfordshire
Chaplin said of the much-loved role: ““I wanted to create a satire on man. e cane stood for man’s attempt at dignity, the moustache for his vanity, and the boots for the cares that hamper him.”
e boots were originally preserved by Alfred Reeves, the general manager of the Chaplin Film Corporation, between 1918 and 1946. Eventually, they found their way into the collection of Ted Tetrick and his wife, Betty Tetrick, who sold them in 1987.
The Constable landscape sold for an estimatebusting £320,000 were worn
fi The Great Dictator
Cooper started wearing his trademark fez while entertaining WWII troops in Cairo
Tommy Cooper’s (1921-1984) ‘last fez’ doubled its guide price of £2,000-£3,000 recently to sell for £7,000 at the auction house’s Bedfordshire saleroom.
Cooper is believed to have rst worn a fez after mislaying his army-issue helmet while performing in Cairo during WWII. He is said to have taken a fez from a waiter to wear for the show and, as the hat looked comically small on Cooper’s gangling 6ft 3in frame, it became his trademark.
Cooper served in the British Army for seven years before developing his conjuring skills and becoming a member of e Magic Circle. e Fez was believed to be linked to his last moments on stage and came with a letter of authenticity from Cooper’s wife, Gwen Cooper.
e auction also included a set of Martini bottles from his ‘glass, bottle’ trick which sold for £1,400.
A panorama of Mandalay Bay in Burma (Myanmar) by Felice Beato (1832-1909) ew past its £150-£250 estimate to sell for £3,000 at the London auctioneer’s recent sale.
Venetian-born Beato, considered to be the most signi cant war photographer of the 19th century, was also one of the rst photographers to document Asia, capturing Yokohama (where he ran a studio between 1863 and 1877), India, Palestine, Turkey and Crimea.
His later work included the Opium War in 1860, the Sudanese colonial wars in 1885 and the last battles of the Crimean War after the departure of
A rare Nelson commemorative glass goblet, c.1805, expected to make £300-£400 sold for £4,550 at the Newcastle auctioneer’s recent sale.
e piece featured an engraved portrait of Admiral Lord Nelson surrounded by oral swags, with a depiction of Nelson’s Tower on the reverse.
After his death at Trafalgar, a surge of patriotic memorabilia was produced to honour Nelson including ceramics, prints, medals and glassware.
A portrait of an Elizabethan gentleman, Sir omas Fane, dated 1576, doubled its estimate to sell for £40,000 at the London auction house’s recent sale.
The photograph sailed past its pre-sale estimate of £150 to sell for £3,000
e Fane family rst came to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I, although an antecedent, Ivon Vane, had served the Black Prince and was one of three captains who captured King John II of France at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
From the Circle of the Antwerp artist
John De Critz (1555-1641), the 21 x 16½in oil on panel depicts Sir omas three years after he was knighted for services to the crown. He had survived a death sentence for treason following his involvement in Wyatt’s Rebellion against the Catholic monarch Mary I in 1554, after the Queen pardoned him in return for an Oath of Loyalty. He was later High Sheri of Kent.
Over the years we stayed in touch and when he moved south to be nearer his daughter and grandchildren I acquired this Fearnley of Wigan ‘masterpiece’ longcase clock from his collection. It is, in itself, a part of the UK’s rich horological history (above). e story behind these Wigan clocks is fascinating – the result of intense rivalry between competing clockmakers at a time of huge economic expansion.
e northern town of Wigan was home to some of the best clockmakers of the 18th century, the antique furniture expert David Harvey celebrates their work
Some 40 years ago I had the good fortune to meet a very knowledgeable collector of ne English antique furniture and clocks. He often visited my London showroom, when were based in Old Bond Street, and invited me to his home outside Manchester, which is where I acquired a superb Queen Anne period burr walnut card table. After carefully placing it on the back seat of my Jaguar I remember him disappearing only to return with two pairs of old army socks to cover the table’s four upturned ball and claw feet. e transaction paid for his daughter’s wedding.
Wigan, like many other northern towns, was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. From the end of the 18th century onwards the population swelled from 6,000 in 1700 to 32,000 by 1850. Trade was facilitated by the expansion of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the town in 1799 and, the growth of coal mining at the end of the 18th century saw more than a thousand pits within ve miles of the town centre.
e expansion also gave rise to a new generation of entrepreneurs who established engineering factories, ironworks, mines and textile mills. Keen to show o their newfound wealth they spent a proportion of their ‘new money’ on longcase clocks emulating the rural aristocracy and its ‘old money’.
e demand sparked a new industry producing several renowned clockmakers whose intricate timepieces are celebrated as masterpieces.
Above Robert Bolton’s ‘masterpiece’ longcase clock after conservation
Above right e hood, face and dial of the Fearnley ‘masterpiece’ longcase clock
ere were three outstanding clockmakers in Wigan during the second half of the 18th century: Peter Fearnley (1749-1826), Robert Bolton (1761-1821) and William Barker (1714-1787).
Such was Barker’s skills, his name has even ranked alongside those of omas Tompion and George Graham. His specialty was astronomical clocks and some of his
clocks appear in several museums including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and the National Museum in Liverpool. He was also a gunsmith and well known for his steel crossbows and fowling pieces.
Bolton was also already wealthy from making ne guns and, as he also owned the main brass foundry in Wigan, made the brass dials for most of the clockmakers in the region. Bolton’s legacy also extended beyond horology; as well as becoming mayor of the town, he was also involved in Wigan’s Masonic movement.
Not unexpectedly there was erce competition between the trio with each maker determined to showcase his skills to produce the best timepieces in the land. Soon production started on ‘masterpiece’ longcases designed to prove which maker was top dog. e results were exceptional timepieces.
When my friend passed away three years ago his family o ered me the remaining items from his collection including other clocks by these well-known Wigan makers. I had known the Robert Bolton longcase clock (left) for all this time and nally acquired it.
David Harvey is the owner of Witney-based WR Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd. For more details go to the website
Right e Bolton clock base showing inlays and bandings
Below right Details of the Bolton longcase’s hood showing moulded door frame and uted columns with gilded capitols
Below left e Bolton clock showing door and anking columns
These Lancashire longcase clocks show the fashion for a mixture of competing styles from the Chippendale rococo to the Gothic, often including Hepplewhite and Sheraton Inlays and bandings. The result, in the case of the Bolton clock, was an extraordinarily complex movement paired with a similarly complex case. The clustered columns flanking the trunk door are often referred to as Chippendale ‘sticks’ and the triple Gothic arched door is surmounted with a pretty carved acorn – how very British. It had been well cared for, but by the time I acquired it needed a thorough service, clean and wax. Luckily the finials were all in a cardboard box inside the case. These matters should never be hurried as they deserve care and time to produce results. I was patient and am delighted to now have this excellent example striking the hours here in Witney.
‘By the middle of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution had given rise to a new generation of entrepreneurs who established engineering factories, ironworks, mines and textile mills. They spent their ‘new money’ on longcase clocks, eager to impress their guests with their newfound wealth and emulate the rural aristocracy with its ‘old money’’
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has her head turned by a model’s collection of vintage fashion from the glory days of Dior and Yves Saint Laurent
Us auctioneers love to talk about the glamour of the saleroom, but there is nothing quite like some old-fashioned glitz to give it a real buzz. Such was the case when 97-year-old former model Carole (she doesn’t want us to use her full name) stopped by o ering us pieces from her remarkable wardrobe. What made it so incredible is that in the 1940s and ‘50s, Carole was a model for the renowned French fashion houses of Yves Saint Laurent and Dior.
Her remarkable journey began when, at the age of 30, she arrived in London, already on a path less ordinary. As a young chemistry student, her mother had taken her to a Christian Dior fashion show, where she was spotted by a member of the Dior team. Intrigued, they invited her to try on one of the iconic Dior dresses, setting her on an entirely unexpected career trajectory.
For the next ve years, Carole graced runways across the globe, showcasing collections and immersing herself in the world of high fashion. Her travels included six months at Hardy Amies in London, where she honed her English language skills.
When Christian Dior passed away in 1958, 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent assumed the role of artistic director, and Carole’s connection to the brand deepened. In 1961, Yves St Laurent opened his own fashion house.
His trademark look included sharp tailoring, androgyny and bold colours, and he is famous for saying: “Chanel freed women, and I empowered them”.
But while his clothing range was, in his words, “fairly sober”, his accessories – made using unusual materials such as wood, glass, enamel and leather– were innovative, wild and exciting.
Yves St Laurent was in uenced by modern art, especially Picasso, Mondrian and Matisse and their in uence translated into bold, geometric or abstract jewellery. Today, his costume jewellery, especially in glass, plastic and lucite, is highly sought after. His pieces weren’t just accessories—they were wearable art, often oversized, decadent and theatrical.
Carole’s collection is plentiful in hats and silk scarves and also includes accessories from the YSL Rive Gauche readyto-wear line launched in 1966.
e bold print scarves in particular are set to attract
Above right Jewellery and accessories by YSL are set to delight fashion collectors this month
Right Carole on the catwalk modelling for the nest French fashion houses in the 1950s
Below Part of Carole’s collection of YSL belts which go under the hammer in Kent
Below right A varied collection of Yves St Laurent scarves part of Carole’s collection on sale on May 7
attention from fashionistas. Most notable are examples of the animal print designs for which Yves Saint Laurent was known.
For him, the used of zebra, and panther-inspired patterns wasn’t just about glamour—it was also rich in cultural meaning and sensual symbolism. He was particularly attracted to leopard print, which he considered bold, glamorous, and just a little bit dangerous.
He once said: “For a woman, leopard print is a way to express power without losing elegance.”
Carole’s collection includes three identical leopard and zebra print silk scarves, as well as examples of gira e and cheetah designs. Belts also take centre stage with a number of designs including snakeskin, shell, rope or cord belts with tassels or gold tips. All in all for anyone who loves fashion, or just remembers one of the golden eras of French fashion, this is a treasure trove just waiting to be discovered.
e YSL collection goes under the hammer at Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers, Chislehurst, Kent saleroom on May 7. For more details go to www.catherinesouthon.co.uk
‘Today YSL’s costume jewellery, especially in glass, plastic and lucite, is highly sought after. His pieces weren’t just accessories—they were wearable art, often oversized, decadent and theatrical’
is month’s landmark exhibition at the British Museum on Indian art will shine a light on a fascinating and rewarding collecting eld, Specialist Alice Bailey shares her insights
While the Buddha may have warned “ e root of su ering is attachment” it is unlikely to prevent this month’s exhibition in London from kick-starting a new generation of collectors, most rmly attached to their acquisitions. e show aims to highlight the devotional art of ancient India, exploring the origins of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sacred art. But for the uninitiated the breadth of learning required can be o -putting. Where does one begin collecting art that spans millennia, landmasses and enormously diverse media?
When referring to Indian art in the context of an auction, we are looking at objects produced in the Indian subcontinent, spanning India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ese works of art can take a variety of forms, including metalwork, textiles, painting, manuscripts and sculpture.
Almost all Indian art prior to the 20th century is devotional, and the syncretic nature of religious development in the region meant a craftsman might readily carve an image of Shiva as they would a Jain saint.
e earliest known cohesive Indic culture is the Harappa civilisation, c. 2300-1750BC, taking its name from the city of Harappa in Punjab. It spanned northern Afghanistan to the Himalayan foothills and India’s west coast.
Most of what we know about ancient Indic art stems from archaeological discoveries from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley, itself one of the world’s rst large civilisations. e material culture of the area was largely constituted of ephemeral materials, such as wood, and extant objects from the period rarely appear at auction.
Numerous terracotta female fertility gures have been discovered on Harappa sites, usually small and schematically rendered. ey often feature jewellery, including earrings and elaborate headdresses. It has been suggested that the ancient focus on mother goddesses pre gures a later focus on women in major Indic religions, and their consequent prominence in visual cultures.
Opposite page Naga, 17th century © e Trustees of the British Museum. Stone plaque with the gure of a veheaded cobra nagakal, on show at this month’s exhibition at the British Museum
Right A 19th-century copper alloy Shive lingam cover depicting the head of Lord Shiva. It sold at Roseberys for £1,181 in 2024
Below e goddess Devi defeating demons, one of a group of six illustrations from the second episode of the Devi Mahatmyade, Guler, Pahari school, North India. It sold at Roseberys in 2022 for £5,460
Below right Seated Jain tirthankara (enlightened teacher), marble, c. 1150-1200 © e Trustees of the British Museum, on show at this month’s exhibition at the British Museum
Artefacts found during this period arguably form the basis of later Indian art archetypes, and include carvings thought to be linga (the male phallus and a symbol of Shiva, a god linked to fertility and procreation), and ring stones thought to represent the yoni (female reproductive organ).
e synthesis of male and female principles is a cornerstone of later Buddhist and Hindu thought. Later linga, representations of Shiva, are typically short, vertical columns, rounded at the top, usually made of stone. ey are commonly set on pitha ( at pedestals) that represent the yoni. e cover (above) is a protective or decorative covering placed over the Shiva Lingam to protect it from wear and tear during worship and rituals. Some were intricately designed with carvings of sacred symbols with some like a coiled serpent (Naga) with a hood, placed over the Lingam to symbolise divine protection.
e period that followed the Harappa civilisation was the Vedic or Indo-Aryan Age, from 1500-500BC, when Aryan peoples from the Eurasian steppes began to migrate to the area. Important early Hindu texts called the Vedas, poetic hymns written in Sanskrit, were produced during this time. ey provide a foundation for many of the devotional concepts of South Asian art and are polytheistic in nature, detailing the existence of 33 gods represented as personi cations of natural forces.
e Trimurti
of the Hindu faith) are made up of Brahma, the creator; Shiva, the destroyer and Vishnu, the preserver. ey are each given expression in the Vedas and later developed in the Puranas. e Vedic texts laid out the foundations of Hinduism, including the caste system, which has an enduring in uence on Indian society today. At the decline of the Vedic period, during the 6th century BC, two sects developed: Buddhism and Jainism. All three dharmic religions believe in the concept of Karma (that a person’s actions in one life will a ect the next) but vary fundamentally in their approach.
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, born in Nepal in about 567BC, and later known as the Buddha. It is a religion focused on achieving enlightenment, or a state of being completely at peace through meditation and learning. Jainism, founded by Vardhamana Mahavira (born in 599BC) focuses on non-violence and ascetic practices, working towards a state called moksha through causing as little harm to the world as possible. e development of both these religions represented a radical break with Vedic Brahmanism and ushered in the development of new artistic expression in India.
Stone sculpture became prevalent in India around the 1st century BC. Initially, the Buddha was not represented in human form, but rather alluded to by aniconic symbols such as footprints. During the 1st century AD, a human image of Buddha was realised.
In the Gandhara region (northern Pakistan today), elements of the Hellenistic world formed the basis of a new sculptural language, ushered in by the invasion of Alexander the Great. Buddhas began to be depicted with classical features, including Roman drapery and Appoline waved curls. It was also during this period that mudras (ritual hand gestures), began to develop.
Sometimes depicted as Maitreya, Buddha of the Future, and sometimes as a prince prior to enlightenment (Bodhisattva), Gandharan sculpture was often used to adorn Buddhist shrines. e gures are lifelike, sensuous and expressive.
Contemporaneously, a separate sculptural tradition developed during the Kushan period in Mathura. e Buddha’s body was expanded by sacred breath and his monastic robe was draped to leave the right shoulder bare.
Left A grey schist head of a Bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century in Roseberys’ Arts of India Auction on June 10, 2025, has an estimate of £1,500£2,000
Right A 15th-century Tibetan gilt bronze depicting Buddha Vairochana. It sold at Roseberys in 2024 for £65,240
It was during the 6th century AD, the Gupta period, that the most re ned sculptural expressions of the Buddha were created, synthesising attributes of earlier Gandharan and Mathuran sculpture. Gupta period Buddhas are characterised by covered shoulders, ornate halos and a head of tight curls.
Buddhism waned in India in the 12th century, with the advent of Muslim rule in the north and central territories. A robust Buddhist artistic tradition ourished elsewhere, particularly in Sri Lanka and Tibet.
Jain worship is based on the 24 tirthankaras, souls (jina) that have journeyed from the material world (samsara to reach moksha, nally free of the cycle of reincarnation. Its devotional art depicts the jinas naked, free of material adornments, and often feature the symbol of the shrivatsa on the chest. Jain works of art often feature the jinas in immobile positions, alluding to the asceticism required to reach enlightenment.
Hindu art is primarily devotional and divinity is often represented through anthropomorphised gods and goddesses. Hindu deities can be identi ed by the objects that they carry, as well as by their animal counterpart (vahana). ey are often depicted with many arms, demonstrating otherworldly power.
Vishnu is commonly shown holding a conch shell and a sacred discus (chakra) with his mount Garuda, a halfman, half-eagle being. Shiva is typically portrayed carrying a trident and is associated with Nandi, a sacred bull.
Among other widely worshipped gods are Krishna and Rama, both considered incarnations of Vishnu, as well as Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity. Goddesses in Hinduism can be revered as independent forces or as consorts of male gods. Notable goddesses include Kali, Durga, and Parvati, who are often depicted alongside a lion, while Lakshmi is frequently shown being anointed by elephants.
pilgrimage to many Jain shrines. It sold at Roseberys in 2024 for £6,560
Above right Sayed Haider Raza (19222016) Bindu. It sold at Roseberys in 2023 for £312,000
Below left Lakshmi anointed by elephants (Gajalakshmi), Bikaner or Udaipur, Rajasthan, second half 19th century. It sold at Roseberys in 2024 for £2,624
Starting a collection of Indian art can be both exciting and challenging. Above all budding collectors should hone in on art that resonates aesthetically before exploring different periods of Indian history and media of interest.
For example, most urban centres from the 16th to the early 20th century fostered schools of painting, including Rajput, Pahari, Deccani and Mughal, with distinct visual traditions.
If abstraction appeals, you might consider 17th-century Tantric painting, or contemporary expressions by artists such as Sayed Raza (19222016) the renowned Indian painter celebrated for his abstract works that blended Indian spiritual concepts with modernist styles
Modern and contemporary Indian art is in the best place it has ever been. Christie’s recently sold a painting by MF Husain for $13.8m, shattering the record for modern Indian art. This result places Indian modern and contemporary painting in the same leagues as western artists, such as Francis Bacon, in terms of desirability at auction.
The Indian art market has been primed to take off for a while and we’re finally seeing it happen, with younger buyers gravitating towards modern and contemporary works. Beyond the titans of Indian modernism, collectors will begin to find a wider variety of named artists represented at auction, an exciting proposition for buyers on the middle market. Institutions and galleries are beginning to acquire these works apace, and an acquisition of an emerging contemporary artist could be a valuable investment.
Antique Indian textiles are also increasing in value, with recent publications on Karun Thakar’s collection bolstering the emerging market.
Provenance will be of increasing importance on the Indian art market for highly valued works such as Mughal paintings, jewellery and archaeological goods. When starting any collection you should always speak to a specialist about how to acquire works with provenance.
e most exquisite art of the Mughal court was produced from between 1580 to 1650, spanning the reigns of the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
Hindu and Muslim artists and craftsmen laboured in the royal workshops, with artistic outputs that spanned metalwork, manuscript production and painting, among others. Mughal miniature paintings often depict scenes of courtly life and important historical gures, rendered with impeccable precision in vivid colour and delicate lines. ey are small (usually a few square inches) and were mostly used to illustrate manuscripts and art books.
Post-colonial movements in India in the 20th century found artistic expression in painting that combined Indian spirituality with European modernist concerns. Artists set out to develop a new visual language for an independent India, often veering towards formal experimentation and abstraction. Works by Bombay Progressive Artists Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002), MF Husain (1915-20211) and Akbar Padamsee (19282020) command high prices at auction.
Lesser-known artists, such as KCS Paniker (19111977) are gaining momentum on the market and a work sold at Roseberys in 2024 for £78,000.
Alice Bailey, is the Director and Head of Antiquities, Islamic and Indian Art at the London auction house Roseberys. Its Arts of India auction takes place on June 10. For more details go to www.roseberys.co.uk
Left A Mughal portrait of the Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) sold at Roseberys in 2022 for £22,100
Right Ardhanarishvara, Shiva and Parvati combined in one deity, about 1790- 1810 © e Trustees of the British Museum, on show at this month’s exhibition at the British Museum
Below KCS Paniker (Indian, 1911-1977), Untitled, oil on board, sold at Roseberys for £78,240.
The British Museum’s new exhibition on Indian art considers how some of the world’s greatest religions and their devotional art spread across the Indian Ocean to southeast Asia and along the Silk Roads to East Asia.
It includes a wide range of sacred images from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions and reveals how they transformed from symbolic representations to the human forms we recognise today.
It features more than 180 objects, including sculptures, paintings, drawings, and manuscripts, from the British Museum’s South Asian collection and international loans.
Some treasures on show were unearthed from Cave 17, also known as the ‘Library Cave’, near Dunhuang in China which was sealed off in the 11th century.
Wang Yuanlu
When it was rediscovered in 1900, by a Daoist monk named Wang Yuanlu, the cave was seen to contain an extraordinary collection of up to 50,000 manuscripts in various languages, including Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Khotanese, Sogdian and Uighur.
The texts covered a range of subjects, from Buddhist scriptures to administrative records, medical texts, and folk literature providing crucial insights into the religious, cultural, economic, and political life along the Silk Road during medieval times.
Many of the manuscripts and artworks were removed by foreign explorers, including the BritishHungarian archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943), the French orientalist Paul Pelliot (1878-1945) and the Russian Sergey Oldenburg (1863-1934)). They are now housed in collections around the world, including the British Library and the National Library of France.
British Museum director, Nicholas Cullinan, said: “India’s sacred art has had a profound impact on
Right Silk watercolour painting of Buddha seated between bodhisattvas, with his hands in the gesture of preaching, China, c. 701–750AD © e Trustees of the British Museum, one of the oldest and bestpreserved paintings from Cave 17
Below left Bimaran casket, about 1st century AD © e Trustees of the British Museum possibly the earliest dateable image of the Buddha shown as a man. e Buddha stands with his right hand raised in the gesture of reassurance and is anked by the gods Indra (right) and Brahma (left)
Below right GajaLakshmi (Elephant Lakshmi) goddess of good fortune, c. 1780 © e Trustees of the British Museum
context. By bringing together centuries of devotional imagery, we not only celebrate the legacy of these faiths, but also recognise the ongoing influence of South Asian traditions here in the UK and worldwide.”
Ancient India: Living Traditions is on at the Sainsbury Exhibition Gallery of the British Museum
‘Modern and contemporary Indian art is in the best place it has ever been. Christie’s recently sold a painting by MF Husain for $13.8m, shattering the record for modern Indian art. This result places Indian modern and contemporary painting in the same leagues as Western artists, such as Francis Bacon, in terms of desirability at auction’
‘By the 1770s enamelled caddies, intended to imitate the lustrous quality of porcelain, were among the more affordable goods sold at toyshops across London and in fashionable English resort towns’
e decorative appeal of tea caddies is vast and, with a large number of survivors, they exist in su cient quantities to form an interesting collection on a budget
There are few items from the 18th and 19th centuries that ful l a collector’s tick box quite as much as a tea caddy. Wooden examples are almost in nite in their variety of shapes and styles, with still further numbers being made in silver, Old She eld plate and pewter.
Napoleonic prisoners-of-war carved them in bone, or covered them with straw work, while ladies decorated them with feathers or shells. Some were constructed of wood from Shakespeare’s mulberry tree, or even Nelson’s agship, and numerous pieces were made in the forms of fruits, houses, books or coal scuttles.
In addition to which, many of the wooden pieces were nished with japanned decoration, others with penwork or rolled paper, or turned into distinctive souvenir caddies. ey also echo the British obsession with its national drink, with styles and materials re ecting the social changes, and technological advances of the day. All in all, a collector’s dream.
It isoften said that Catherine of Braganza was responsible for introducing tea to Britain when she married Charles II in 1662, but this is not so Leaves were rst advertised for sale – as amedicinal drink – in a London co ee house in 1658. In 1660, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary: ‘I did send for a Cupp of Tee (a China drink) of which I had never drunk befor.’
But by drinking tea at court, the queen undoubtedly encouraged the habit, and tea-drinking very quickly became a social phenomenon. e brewing of tea soon evolved into a ritual, for which various accessories –most importantly Chinese porcelain teawares – were considered essential.
For the man in the street, tea made its way from the masculine enclaves of the co ee houses of the 17th century, where it was only available ready brewed and not in leaf form, to wider popularity when punitive taxes were nally lifted at the end of the 18th century.
omas Twining, the famous English tea maker, who learnt his trade in theEast India Company, opened his first shop in 1717, it is still located at 216 Strand.
At the time tea was an expensive commodity. To keep it safe, people would store it ina tea chest or tea box, which eventually became known as a tea caddy (derived from the Malay word ‘kati’ a measure roughly equivalent to 1⅔ lbs (about 600g).
Teadrinking became such a mark of gracious living that families chose to be shown taking tea together in portraits. A fact born out by the numbers. In 1700, 20,000lbs weight of tea was imported into the UK, a figure that had swelled to a million pounds by thefollowing year.
Tea cost 16 to 50 shillings a pound and there were two types: black, from the fermented leaf, and green from the unfermented. e most popular black tea – bohea – cost 16 to 24 shillings a lb, with dust costing 14 to 20 shillings. Hyson, the most popular green tea cost 36 shillings a pound at a time when 12 shillings was the average weekly wage for amaster craftsman. So it paid to be careful with it. Tea caddies were generally kept in the drawing room, which made leaving themin the presence of servants a risky proposition.
Opposite page with tea caddies, c. 1790, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right Treen tea caddy in the shape of an apple, c. 1800, with a button stalk, shaped body and shaped cut steel escutcheon, with traces of the original tin foil lining, image Mark Goodger
Above right Melon fruit tea caddy, c. 1800, sycamore in four large segments nished with a steel cut escutcheon and carved stalk, with original silver foil lining and steel cut hinge, image Mark Goodger
Below left Johan Zo any (1733-1819) John, 14th Lord Willoughby de Broke, and His Family in the breakfast room at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, c. 1766. Image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
Below right Tea chest, c. 1760, late rococo style displaying some similarities to designs in the rst and third editions of omas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinetmaker’s Director, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bottom right Preparatory drawing for a tea chest from omas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director published in reverse as plate CXXIX in the 1754 and 1755 editions, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Until the late 17th century, the majority of household items such as boxes and tableware were carved from wood. It wasn’t until the end of the Renaissance that silver, pewter, and ceramic objects started to become introduced into society. ‘Fruit’ caddies were usually made of fruitwood, or, more likely sycamore, and could be lightly stained to approximate to the colour of the fruit. There is some debate about their origins, with some attributing them to the UK but the presence of base metal, ratherthan a brass, escutcheon and lock suggest a European origin. Authentic versions (there are many imitations) should show the presence of the original foil lining. Edward H. Pinto in Treen and other Wooden Bygones writes: “European fruit caddies are hinged on a horizontal line about five-eighths ofthewayup, are fittedwith a lock, have,orhavehad,foillinings and an inner lid; the stem is inserted as a separate component.”
Dean Swift in his 1745 satire Directions to Servants wrote: “ e invention of small chests and trunks with lock and key, wherein they keep the tea and sugar without which it is impossible for a waiting maid to live.”
e rst tea chests were mostly made by English cabinetmakers and date from about the second quarter of the 18th century. Made in mahogany, or sometimes walnut they are often rectangular and shaped like small trunks containing metal or wooden canisters.
Tortoiseshell, or shagreencovered examples housed silver
Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751) was one of the most renowned silversmiths of the 18th century, known for his exceptional craftsmanship and elaborate rococo designs. Owning a Lamerie tea caddy was a mark of wealth and refined taste, as his pieces were among the most expensive and exclusive of the period.
Wealthy clients often commissioned matched sets, sometimes including a sugar box alongside the tea caddy. In the set below two tea caddies and a sugar box, each oblong, has a bombé top featuring oval cartouches with chased and engraved land- city- and seascapes.
With a velvet-lined rosewood case it is an example of Lamerie’s finest work. The set bears the arms of the English Tory politician Sir James Dashwood (1715–1779) and his wife Elizabeth Spencer, and was likely commissioned to mark their nuptials in 1738.
Above left Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751) a pair of tea caddies and a sugar box in a case, 1738-1739, silver, oak, rosewood with boxwood and ebony inlay and silver mounts
Above right A tea caddy decorated with a picture of a young girl and lamb painted on silk. During the late 18th century it became a favourite pastime for young ladies to decorate similar objects, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Right e tea caddy (one of a pair) opens onto an inlaid compartment, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
tea chests and caddies were considered important pieces of furniture, with both omas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite including designs for them in their celebrated pattern books.
As tea became increasingly popular in Britain, caddies evolved from simple storage containers into decorative objects showcasing luxury and craftsmanship.
Left e caddies and sugar box are partly raised and cast, and nely chased with tea leaves and owers
By the later part of the century neoclassical elegance was the order of the day. Tea chests were made in straight lines with very discreet decoration, with central at handles, ne stringing and cross-banding. e choice of woods, used as veneers, was extended to include yew, satinwood and tulipwood which was used in ne inlay work and painted, or marquetry designs which were sometimes decorated with classical motifs like urns and garlands.
e shape also became more re ned with canted edges or serpentine fronts. Some tea caddies even took on architectural forms, mimicking miniature temples or pavilions.
By then, many tea caddies had divided compartments for di erent types of tea (green and black), and some included mixing bowls to achieve the required blend, also used for sugar.
e Cabinet-Maker’s London Book of Prices in 1793 gives the estimates for the internal ttings of tea chests including a ‘hole to receive the sugar bason’.
e late 18th century also saw the advent of the rolled paper, or “ ligree” tea caddy. ese delightful objects were decorated mostly by ladies at home or school, although some were made by professionals and by Napoleonic prisoners of war.
e prisoners also made caddies decorated with straw work, a ne craft popularised during the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries.
By the 1770s enamelled caddies, intended to imitate the lustrous quality of porcelain, were among the more a ordable goods sold at ‘toy shops’ across London and in fashionable English resort towns. ough often called “Battersea enamels” in common parlance (referring to the manufactory at York House, Battersea) they were only made for a very short time – between 17501756 – before the factory closed down. While many enamels are classi ed as Battersea, most were South Sta ordshire (particularly in Bilston and Wednesbury), and Birmingham.
e basic technique of enamelling involves fusing a coloured glass to a metal base through ring, and then painting the resulting plain surface with nely powdered glass, coloured by the addition of metal oxides; each colour requires a separate ring, during which the colour is liable to change, thereby requiring a high level of skill.
A design—whether a famous portrait, generic pastoral scene, or oral motif— could be painted on by hand or copied from an engraving through the newly invented process of transfer printing. Many enamelled objects combined both methods of decoration and would be re red after the application of each new layer or colour.
Transfer-printing is more often seen on tea canisters produced at the Sta ordshire potteries. Ceramic canisters are something of an anomaly, as they seem to have been designed to be free-standing and have no lock.
However, earthenware and stoneware canisters, with various glazes and forms of decoration, were made in great quantities. Many were press- or relief-moulded, while others were painted with coloured enamels, or decorated with prints. Some had additional gilding. e majority were of basic ask shape, but squarebased, cylindrical and vase-shaped examples were also made.
e most successful Sta ordshire potter was undoubtedly Josiah Wedgwood, whose experiments with new bodies and glazes lead to the production of ne and sophisticated pottery capable of rivalling the new British porcelain wares being made elsewhere. Most successful,
Right e design was intended for taking tea in fashionable drawing rooms, image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Below right Teapoy with four oval tea caddies, one of which is lockable, c. 1790, image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Below Tea caddy, c.1765–1770, South Sta ordshire, enamel on copper, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Below left Tea caddy, c. 1765–70, South Sta ordshire, enamel on copper, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
to hold tea caddies but from about 1810 on, it
The word teapoy derives from the Hindu tipai, meaning “threelegged” or “threefooted” and refers to a small table or stand on a tripod support. Early teapoys were simple stands used to hold tea caddies but from about 1810 on, it came to signify a chest on a stand fitted with various compartments holding removable caddies for storing tea, often featuring a lockable compartment to store more expensive blends. They were used “in drawing rooms to prevent the company rising from their seats whilst taking refreshment,” according to the Regency furniture designer George Smith (act. 1804–28) in A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1808).
and widely imitated by others, were his cream-coloured ‘Queen’s Ware’ (creamware), perfected in 1763, and his ‘Pearl White’ (pearlware), launched in 1779. e latter had a smooth white nish very similar to that of Chinese porcelain, and pearlware tea canisters often have blueand-white Chinese-style decoration.
Later Regency caddies and tea chests were made magni cently and explored new shapes. Tapering, concave, bombé boxes with pediments and pedestals. Decoration was again inspired by antiquity, but it did not copy painting or inlay.
It took ancient motifs such as palmettes and anthemions and turned them into brass inlays that contrasted well with the newly fashionable dark timbers. French polish was now preferred to the earlier nishes, giving way to glossy, smooth-look surfaces.
The outstanding 18th-century exponent of ‘japanned’ papier mâché in Birmingham was Henry Clay (1772-1812) who patented an improved way of making ‘paperware’ in 1772.
Clay was an assistant to one of the pioneers in papier-mâché, John Baskerville, who started to imitate the highly polished items being imported from Japan, using lacquered papier-mâché, which would become known as japanning.
By 1772 Clay had learned enough to start his own business and in the same year patented a new process for making ‘paperware’ which involved sheets of paper being soaked in paste and pressed together on a plate.
Once separated from the plate they were baked in a hot stove to remove any flexibility, while at the same time being coated in varnish or oil.
The final product was used like wood, and once coated with colour and oils could be polished to a high shine. The process was adapted to make the oval caddies that were especially popular in the 1780s and 1790s.
Around 1785 Clay acquired a retail premise in London’s Covent Garden, with George III as one of his patrons. By 1792 Clay adopted the title ‘Japanner to His Majesty’.
Above Henry Clay (1772-1812) tea caddy with silver handle and escutcheon decorated with rural scenes, image Mark Goodger
Below Two tea caddies, 1760–1770, opaque glass with enamel decoration, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
We asked antique box specialist Mark Goodger why he is passionate about antique tea caddies caddies
Caddies were mounted on turned wooden or gilded brass feet and often had side carrying handles. ese, too, drew their inspiration from ancient forms. ere were either clusters of fruit and owers symmetrically arranged, or for the more austere pieces, lion or eagle handles and paw or talon feet were used.
were used.
What do you love about antique tea caddies and what they offer collectors? My passion came while doing an apprenticeship for a restoration company. As part of the training I attended High Wycombe Furniture College to obtain my certificates for cabinetmaking. One lesson, on French polishing, used a tea caddy for demonstration. After it, I asked if I could purchase the caddy and I’m pleased to say it went home with me that day for the grand sum of £5. Now I’ve got the bug and many decades later that bug is stronger than ever.
Our fascination with them is due to their
sheer complexity and their links with history and fashion. We can’t help but want to peek inside when we see an antique box. When opening it, we want to see what stories could it tell.
Collectors can focus on specific eras, materials, or regional styles, making it an engaging and diverse hobby. Caddies and tea chests serve as beautiful decorative pieces that add charm and elegance to interiors, whether in a classic or modern setting. There is also some investment potential. Highquality and rare tea caddies can appreciate over time with unique or well-preserved pieces, especially those from famous makers, fetching high prices.
Which makers should we look out for?
Tea caddies with makers’ labels are very rare, so if you see one, snap it up. Thomas Chippendale, Henry Clay, George Seddon, Gillows, Edward Holmes Baldock, H. Spencer, and Robert Wright are some of the leading Georgian makers.
Victorians were much better at leaving cabinetmakers and retailers’ marks on their items. Makers and retailers to look out for include Betjemann, Lund, Asprey, Thornhill, Mappin & Webb, William Comyns, Jennens & Bettridge and Spier & Son.
What makes an ideal caddy?
Colour, patination and original untouched condition. Georgian pieces in particular are highly collected. When it comes to tortoiseshell tea caddies, the complex shapes are more expensive, if they are pressed or inlaid with silver they are highly collectable.
Red and green stained tortoiseshell caddies are rare and sought after. Their shapes are mostly simple, but their colour makes them in demand as they stand out in a collection.
What about tea caddies in fruit form?
Fruit tea caddies are and have always been very sought after. All are continental in origin and made out of turned out sycamore. All have cut steel hinges, locks and escutcheon with a simple lock and key.
Apples and pears are the most common, with melons and then pumpkins being rarer. In most cases the latter two are more than double the price of an apple and pear. Any damage or repairs to these seriously affect their value – pay particular attention to the front and the back of the hinge. Colour and
Above (l-r) An oval tea caddy, sycamore, decorated with a rare simulated pine e ect, with painted wood grain with the spa towns of Le Tonnelet, La Sauveniere Presde Spa and Le Bricolet, c 1770; a papier-mâché tea caddy by Henry Clay, c. 1800; one of pair of George III papier-mâché oval tea caddies, attributed to Henry Clay, image courtesy of Mark Goodger
Above far left A George III tortoiseshell tea caddy, with a double serpentine front and pagodashape, image courtesy of Mark Goodger
Far left Tea caddies make a decorative and practical display, image courtesy of Mark Goodger
‘Tea
What else should collectors be aware of?
Although their owners held them in high esteem, during their lifetime caddies were well-used, and many are no longer in prime condition. Make sure you understand how the conventions for handles, hinges, feet, escutcheons and interior linings etc., changed over the years, so you know what to expect. Look out for replacement hinges and locks and for repairs to veneers or other surface decoration. Restoration, even when done well, will affect value. Be aware also of very convincing fakes, especially in ivory, tortoiseshell and enamel caddies. If buying on the internet, check all the details and, if spending a large sum, consult an expert in the field before making your purchase.
Mark Goodger (www.markgoodger.co.uk) will be offering a number of tea caddies at this month’s Decorative Fair in Battersea along with fellow dealers Neil Shepperson from Mary Cooke Antiques and Oliver Newton. The fair runs from May 6-11. For more details turn to page 60.
caddies with makers' labels are ver y rare, so if you see one, snap it up. Thomas Chippendale, Henr y Clay, George Seddon, Gillows, Edward Holmes Baldock, H. Spencer, and Robert Wright are some of the leading Georgian makers’ ’ patination is key. As they are so popular, the market is flooded with fakes, so beware.
Put your antiques knowledge to the test with this fun quiz and crossword both from the devilish mind of the magazine’s quiz editor Peter Wade-Wright
Q1 A Cumbrian railway employee called omas Edmondson developed something in the 18301840s that considerably eased rail travel for the increasing numbers of train travellers. What was it? (a) the prepared sandwich, (b) the printed ticket, (c) ‘double’-cushions for 3rd class travellers, (d) the ‘easy-read’ timetable.
Q2 From the 1880s, the Abbott, the Cheshire and the Cowan are what? (a) wheelbarrows, (b) a limited edition (later banned) salacious novelette title, (c) beehives, (d) lustrous shawls?
Q3 For what is Donald McGill mostly remembered? (a) saucy postcards, (b) his dashing silent- lm characterisations, (c) elaborate desk-top ‘furniture’, (d) stamp designs.
Q4 Chinese mythology speaks of a triad of gods (a) Fu-hsing, (b) Lu-hsing and (c) Shou-hsing. What do they represent? (a) salaries, (b) freedom from pain, (c) happiness (d) long-life, (e) many children, (f) good digestion, (g) a happy garden and home comfort.
Q5 Two old, but very similar, types of horse-drawn wagons were the Burton and the Reading. What was di erent about them? (a) where the driver sat, (b) the arrangement of seats i.e. parallel to the front/ back v. lengthways, parallel to the sides, (c) size and position of the hay-box for slow cooking, (d) position of the wheels.
Q6 e German Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) developed medical ideas in the late 18th century that led to some interesting ceramic models. Where they of (a) the digestive system i.e. ‘gut’ reactions, (b) hands, (c) heads, (d) feet?
Q7 In the 19th century the British Authorities in Australia ran out of coins. What did they convert to currency? (a) washers, (b) Spanish pieces of eight, (c) bottle tops, (d) chain links.
Send your answers to Crossword, Antique Collecting magazine, Riverside House, Dock Lane, Melton Woodbridge, Su olk, IP12 1PE. Photocopies are also acceptable, or email your answers to magazine@ accartbooks.com. he first three opened by May 20 will win a copy of Jackson’s Hallmarks, Pocket Edition: English, Scottish, Irish Silver & Gold Marks From 1300 to the Present Day, worth £6.95.
The letters in the highlighted yellow squares could be rearranged to make the word ‘trapdoor’, while the letters in the blue squares are an anagram of the word ‘counters’. The winners, who will each receive a copy of the book are, Phillipa Greyson, by email; HF Ferguson, Glasgow and Mrs Betty Fisher, by email and Chris Jones, Norfolk, by email.
Q8 In the 19th century an advertisement for a recipe appeared that claimed a concoction of tannin, rosewater, glycerine and eau-de-cologne could do what? (a) sweeten the breath, (b) remove and purify underarm stains, (c) cure constipation, (d) remove facial wrinkles.
Q9 W. Adkin of Woodbridge, Su olk, produced something in the early 19th century with words associated with it including ‘prod’, ‘stock’ and ‘pitchfork’. What was it? (a) weapon, (b) agricultural tool, (c) gentleman-farmers’ attire, (d) horse harness.
Q10 A collection of posters carry, separately, the names Miss Antoinette and May Wirth, and the face, but not the name, of Lou Jacob. What were they advertising? (a) Silent lms, (b) circus acts, (c) operas, (d) Shakespearian plays.
Finally, here are four anagrams near crypt, goading birch, relight whew! and ignore cop. Rearrange them to form in order the following traditional country crafts. (a) woodworking, (b) seat producing (5-7), (c) worker involved with the answer to Q5, (d) cask production.
For the answers turn to page 10
1 Old firearm in which gunpowder was ignited with a smouldering cord. (9)
7 Hardwood with wide, jagged and open grain, favoured by cabinet makers. (3)
8 Tudor palace in Surrey (demolished 1682-1683). Its name has been given to certain furniture styles e.g. ________ chest with architectural perspective inlays. (7)
9 Prominent UK and US family in business and politics. Viscountess ______ was the first woman to sit as an MP. (5)
12 Things (pl.) e.g. artwork, that arouse energy or excitement. (7)
14 Metal spike used for fastening wood. 18th-century chair upholstery was often decorated with brass-headed ones. (4)
17 Turn to liquid by heating. (4)
19 Marine mollusc-shape often used in design. (7)
22 Foot hardware (and action) for moving on ice. (5)
24 Face hardware essential for early aviators, drivers etc. (pl.) (7)
25 Large African antelope a.k.a. wildebeest. (3)
26 Reduction in size/shape due to drying. (9)
1 Iconic English ceramics. Thomas ____ founded the manufactory in 1793. (6)
2 Chinese dynasty that succeeded the Sui…and the drink used in NASA missions. (4)
3 Place of ghostly events…or an (understandably) obsessive collector’s frequented shop, auction house etc. (5)
4 Early-Medieval alphabet used primarily for the Irish language. (5)
5 Water-boiling device, and as _____ Front, an alternative furniture term for ‘bombé’. (6)
6 Arabic masculine name meaning ‘flourishing’/’long-lived’ and in the 11th/12th century Persian work The Rubáiyát of _____ Khayyám (4)
10 Pit or hollow in which liquids collect. (4)
11 Viscous water-insoluble liquid found in paints and a car’s 10-Down. (3)
12 Usually thin and narrow piece of material that fits over/under others in a fence, window blind etc. (4)
13 Not at all well. (3)
15 Enquire. (3)
16 Son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun. (6)
18 Insubstantial or disposable paper…or fine, delicate material. (6)
20 Remaining in place e.g. residents…or, St. _____, one of the classic UK horse races named after its instigator. (5)
21 Keyboard instrument. The festival in St. Albans is the world’s leading competition. (5)
22 Aromatic plant…wisely used in cooking. (4)
23 Type of street market selling second-hand goods. (4)
Finally, rearrange the letters in the highlighted squares to form the name of the process of fashioning objects using a lathe.
Left A boxed 1966 U.N.C.L.E. Shooting Arcade with mechanical rotating targets, Marx toys, No G-256, by MGM, should make £400-£600
A rich vein of collectable toys can be found among memorabilia marketed on the back of popular TV shows and lms of the 1960s and ’70s
The 1970s was a golden era for British toys, a time when imagination thrived, and play was free from screens and digital distractions, when Saturday morning heroes leapt from the screen into our living rooms, ready for action in the hands of eager children. ese toys weren’t just playthings— they were extensions of the thrilling adventures we watched with wide-eyed wonder.
e Six Million Dollar Man action gure, with its bionic eye and karate-chop action, let kids relive Steve Austin’s daring feats, while no toy collection was complete without the whirring wonder of the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, as it launched across homemade ramps in daring de ance of gravity. So it is little surprise that those one-time youngsters, now Babyboomers with money to spend, are happy to splash out on reliving their youth.
One such collector, Doug Blair, built up an impressive collection over 40 years which is set to go under the hammer in a dedicated sale at the Surrey auction house Ewbank’s on May 16.
Doug rst got the bug during a 1970s childhood love of TV shows like Starsky & Hutch and e Professionals.
He said: “As a kid I would get some of the toys and my friend and I would be out on our Chopper bikes pretending to be Jon and Poncherello (from CHiPs) or Bodie and Doyle (from e Professionals).
“I kept some of the die-cast toys and a few other pieces but didn’t think much of it until the internet started around 1995-1997. en I had a scout around to see what toys were there and I began collecting them.
“ at was at the time when you could still nd rare, boxed items online. You won’t nd it there now, though –specialist auctions like this one are the way ahead.”
Highlights focus on e Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, Starsky & Hutch, e Six Million Dollar Man and James Bond. Of these, the 007 and U.N.C.L.E. lots, with their origins in the 1960s, hold the widest appeal, with individual pieces expected to fetch up to £1,500, including one of the rarer toys, a boxed harpoon gun dating to 1965 and inspired by underball, which res a dart.
Above e collector
Doug Blair pictured right with one of his heroes, Erik Estrada, who played Poncherello from CHiPs
Above right A boxed Man from U.N.C.L.E. ‘Illya K. Special’ Secret Lighter Gun, Ideal toys No 4043-6, c.1966. It carries hopes of £400-£600
e TV show Man from U.N.C.L.E. never reached the heights of 007 popularity, but with the chic and stylish performances by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, and the strong 1960s retro appeal of the costumes and sets, it was as close as the United States ever came to the British Bond.
Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, and the strong 1960s the United States ever came to the British Bond.
Doug believes he may own one of the UK’s most comprehensive Man From U.N.C.L.E. collections.
He said: “ is stu is just so hard to nd because the TV series was an American import – the toys were not so readily available over here.
“ e gun sets are probably my favourite things in the collection because they were so well put together. I also love the Counterfeit Spy Out t sets and the Ilya Kuryakin lighter gun. e designs are amazing. You can’t compare
‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E. never reached the heights of 007 popularity, but with the chic and stylish performances by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, and the strong 1960s retro appeal of the costumes and sets, it was as close as the United States ever came to the pre-eminent
British Bond’
them to the toys today and trying to nd them in the UK now is all but impossible.”
e piece Doug has always coveted but never been able to get his hands on is another U.N.C.L.E. collectable: e rush gun. “It was only after I decided to sell the collection that one came up. I nearly bought it but there didn’t seem much point if I was selling up anyway.”
roughout the years Doug made a point of collecting toy rearms linked to the Bond franchise, and some form highlights here. ey include several items by Japanese manufacturer Tada, distributed by Lone Star: a c.1965 boxed underball, Special Agent Ricochet gun (expected to make £800-£1,000); a c.1965 boxed Tommy Buster friction-powered cap shooter (with a guide price of £800£1,000); and a boxed Multi-Buster, Tada Atom toys, lacking its scope (which has expectations of £800-£1,000).
A 1960s boxed Secret 007 Cosmic Gun is slightly less valuable because it was an unlicensed issue made in Taiwan, but nonetheless should make £500-600 due to its rarity, while a Book Gun, from Japan, comprising plastic gun, target and pellets, tting into outer book cover sleeve, is expected to command £150-£200, partially because it less obviously resembles a rearm.
Workable weapons and action gures also stand out for collectors, as they do with 007. Here a c.1970 boxed cap- ring automatic Napoleon Solo Gun, which converts into a ri e with a detachable stock and silencer, carries hopes of £800-£1,000.
Right A boxed Dr Who Dodge the Daleks board game, dating to 1965 and in good condition, should command £200-£300
Below left A c.1970 boxed cap- ring automatic Napoleon Solo Gun which converts into a ri e with a detachable stock and silencer: £800-£1,000
Bottom left A boxed harpoon ring gun dating to 1965 and inspired by the lm underball. e estimate is £1,000-£1,500
Below right A boxed 007 Multi-Buster Tada Atom toys, lacking its scope comes with a guide of £800-£1,000
Bottom right A c.1965 boxed Secret Weapon Set, by Ideal toys, No 4080-8: £300-£500
Dr Who is another TV brand that tends to do well. In this month’s sale a boxed board game of Doctor Who: Dodge the Daleks looks set to attract attention.
It was released in the 1960s at the height of the time travelling doctor’s appeal, and one of several games inspired by the long-running BBC sci-fi series, tapping into children’s fascination with the Doctor’s greatest enemies — the Daleks.
Players had to navigate a grid-based board, avoiding Daleks while making their way to safety — a sure-fire hit with youngsters.
Over the years, toys made from cardboard, or with loose parts that are easily discarded or lost, have become all the rarer and more coveted if in a complete and undamaged state.
No surprise, then, that the boxed Dr Who Dodge the Daleks board game, dating to 1965 and in good condition, commands a pre-sale guide price of £200-£300.
Such is the importance of original boxes in fine condition that a few years ago one auctioneer removed Dinky and Supertoy models from their boxes because they had been overpainted, reducing their value. He then sold the boxes – all in good condition – separately, making rather more for them than if he had kept the toys within.
Several other factors that help determine value in other more mainstream collecting disciplines also apply here, especially rarity and condition. And, within certain categories, the words ‘mint’ and ‘as new’ can add hugely to values. Both mint and boxed (and in its original packaging) will set serious collectors bidding against each other like nothing else at auction.
People will also be guided by factory or brand names, period, type and category. And when it comes to die-cast toys, the devil is in the detail, with rare colour schemes and slight casting differences adding to their allure in the same way as printing errors can make all the difference to stamp collectors.
parts, such as detachable components, are commonly missing are understandably more desirable the more complete they are.
Ewbank’s toy
Left Games in their original boxes will maximise value on the secondary markey, image Shuttertock (games not in sale)
Right A 1965 boxed Finger Print Kit and Secret Agent Kit, by MGM: £300-£500
Below left A boxed pair of Batman and Robin string action puppets dating to 1966 should make £500-£700
Toy spy kits were a major hit in the 1960s, fuelled by the explosion of spy culture in movies and television. e era of James Bond, e Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mission: Impossible created a generation of kids who wanted to be secret agents, and toy manufacturers eagerly capitalised on this fascination.
Kits typically included miniature versions of classic spy gadgets: invisible ink pens, code wheels, periscopes, ngerprint kits, and toy walkie-talkies. Some even had novelty items like spring-loaded hidden weapons, fake IDs, and disguise glasses. One of the most popular was the James Bond 007 Secret Agent Attaché Case, released by Gilbert in 1965. It included a toy gun that could be disguised as a camera, a secret decoder, and other espionage essentials. ere are two stand outs in the sale: a 1965 boxed Finger Print Kit and Secret Agent Kit, by MGM, and a c.1965 boxed Secret Weapon Set, by Ideal toys, No 4080-8. Each is expected to fetch £500-£700.
‘Over the years, toys made from cardboard, or with loose parts that are easily discarded or lost, have become all the rarer and more coveted if in a complete and undamaged state’
Occasionally, lone characters emerge who capture the public’s imagination. In the 1970s they included the American daredevil stunt motorcyclist Evel Knievel. Born Robert Craig Knievel (1938–2007) he became a global icon in the 1960s and 70s, famous for his spectacular (and often disastrous) attempts to jump over cars, buses, and even canyons.
Dressed in his signature red, white, and blue jumpsuit, Knievel embodied fearless showmanship. In 1974, his failed attempt to cross the Snake River Canyon in Idaho using a rocket-powered Skycycle helped take his lifetime total of broken bones to over 400.
But his fearless derring-do inspired a number of toys, including the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, which allowed kids to wind up a miniature Knievel on a motorcycle and launch him into action.
ese toys became some of the most beloved of the 1970s (the Ideal Toy Company sold $125m worth of them between 1972 and 1977) keeping his legacy alive long after he hung up his helmet. e collection includes a boxed Knievel gure with Super Jet Cycle and blazing twin pods, as well as the gyro-powered energizer that revved it up. It has hopes of £150-£250.
e Doug Blair collection is part of Ewbank’s toys and models sale on May 16. For more details go to www.ewbanksauctions.com
Right Take time to learn about your collection, image Shutterstock, gures not in sale
Below left A boxed Knievel gure with Super Jet Cycle and blazing twin pods, as well as the gyropowered energizer that revved it up. It has a guide price of £150-£250
1. Start by focusing on a narrow field and learn as much as you can about it. That way you will discover more about information sources, what you need to look for specifically in assessing each item and where to find them. It is also the safest way to avoid costly mistakes.
2. Take an honest look at your budget. Are you in the market for the serious vintage and antique end of the market that can run into thousands of pounds for single rare items, or do you want to start small and work your way up?
3. Get to grips with condition grading, from Mint to Poor. Learn what is what to help you gauge the state of what you are considering bidding for.
4. If you are collecting action figures, learn about descriptive terms that will help you assess value. For instance, MIB means ‘mint in box’ (great for value), while ‘loose’ means the figure has been removed from its packaging (not so great). HTF means ‘hard to find’ or rare.
5. Find the right books and price guides, which can prove invaluable in accurate identification and important comparisons. There are many specialist books available, many of them very good, which will help you on your way. Check them out on Amazon and see which ones are recommended by collectors’ clubs online.
6. When conducting an internet search, avoid the words ‘toy’ or ‘toys’. Use specific terms, such as brand names, like Märklin for tin-plate vehicles, trains and railway stations, or ‘diecast’ rather than ‘model cars’. The quality of your response will be far superior. Best of all, set up auction alerts online.
7. Much of the toy market operates online, with items being posted to buyers. Find out as much as you can about packing, shipping, insurance and their costs before bidding online or buying from a dealer, as this could have a significant impact on your eventual profit margins.
Words
by Ivan Macquisten.
Eric Knowles is blown away by a silver-gilt enamel cigarette case by one of Fabergé’s lesser-known work masters
TAbove e cigarette case, dated 1915, is stamped for Karl (Carl) Fabergé
itself as an international hub and home to a growing merchant class who, with their palatial homes and neclothes, were keen to showcase theirwealth at any opportunity. And while Fabergé’s wealthy St Petersburg clients looked to the west for inspiration, in Moscow the newly rich preferredthe more patriotic designs depicting Russian history, folk tales and Orthodox iconography.
It was in these themes that Rückert excelled, producing exceptional qualityenamel on ligree artworks in the traditional Russianstyle, often reproducing art works of famous Russian painters, such as Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926) known for favouring themes of folklore and Russian history. Henever worked exclusively for Fabergé, continuing to producesilver for other important Russian retailers such as Ovchinnikov, Kurlyukov and Bolin.
After 1908, Rückert’s work started to combine elements of the art nouveau, including abstracted oralformsand geometric motifs, with Russian themes. iswas arguably his best period. His pieces are usually marked with his initials “Ф Р ” (in Cyrillic), alongside Fabergé’s mark when they collaborated.
he word Fabergé is synonymous to most people with one of the Russian jeweller’s famous and most opulent Imperial Easter Eggs, commissioned by the Russian tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II for their wives and mothers. But the company was also responsible for a host of other highquality jewellery and objets d’art, and we were delighted when a silver-gilt enamel cigarette case crafted in the early 20th century, appeared in the Etwall saleroom.
Such cases were primarily made by Fabergé between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, under the direction of Peter Carl Fabergé, son of the rm’s founder. Designed by skilled work masters, each case was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, often made of gold, silver, or platinum, and richly decorated with enamel, gemstones, and intricate engraving. ese cases were not merely functional but served as status symbols and cherished gifts among the Russian aristocracy.
is case was the work of Feodor Rückert (1840-1917), famed for his exceptional enamel work and long-standing collaboration with Fabergé. Until recently little was known about Rückert, who was born in Germany in 1840 and emigrated to Russia aged 14 to work for the Yusupov family, later famous for its role in the assassination of the ‘Mad Monk’, Grigori Rasputin.
Records show by 1886 Rückert had opened a successful painting and silver studio in Moscow, then the centre of Russian silver production, at 29 Vorontsovskaya Street.
But his longstanding relationship with Fabergé is thought to have started around 1887, when the jeweller opened the doors of a Moscow branch.
e move south was a canny one by the rm. Moscow, not then the capital, was none the less fast establishing
Left e cigarette case, which sold for £36,000, is decorated with intricate polychrome cloisonné enamel
Below right e case includes an en plein enamel image inspired by Mikhail Ivanovich Avilov (18841954) Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich on a Walk, 1913, image public domain
ecigarette case, whichsoldfor£36,000, is decorated with intricate polychrome cloisonné enamel, featuring a stylised oral pattern in vibrant colours,and a beautiful en plein enamel image inspired by Mikhail Ivanovich Avilov’s 1913 painting Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich ona Walk
It is dated 1915 and engravedwith a presentation inscription in Cyrillic, marking it asa commemorativegift from the Russian StateGeneral Electricity Company.With its sapphire cabochon thumb-piece and hallmark in Cyrillic, it is a stunning example of the Imperial Russian craftsmanship that made Fabergé famous.
As well as being a well-known face on a number of TV programmes on antiques and collectables, Eric Knowles is a consultant at HansonsAuctioneers. For more information, go to www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
‘Rückert’s relationship with Fabergé is thought to have started around 1887 when the jeweller opened the doors of a Moscow branch. The move south was a canny one by the firm. Moscow,
not then the capital, was none the less fast establishing itself as an international hub and home to a growing merchant class’
Sir Basil Gould was one of the few westerners to witness the 1940 enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama. His remarkable collection goes under the hammer this month
In the rst half of the 20th century, independent Tibet was fast falling prey to the attentions of China, British India and Russia. One man sent to extend the in uence of the British Raj in the region was Basil Gould (1883-1956) who, as the Political O cer in Sikkim (from 1935 to 1945), was responsible for ensuring Tibet remained a bu er state between British India and China. To smooth the way Gould made multiple visits to Lhasa and, in 1940, was one of the attendees at the enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) (b. 1935).
On the 85th anniversary of the occasion, Bonhams is o ering Gould’s collection and archive – the rst time the archive has been available since Gould’s death in 1956. e artworks and artefacts not only document the crowning but also provide insights into the political and cultural landscape of Tibet in the 1930s and 1940s.
Among the highlights of the collection is a series of 40 original watercolours by the distinguished Indian artist Krishna Kanwal. As well as a number of other rural scenes, the works depict the cast of characters at the enthronement on February 22, 1940.
Kanwal is one of the early pioneers of modernism in Indian art. Born in Kamalia, part of pre-partition Punjab, in 1910, Krishna studied at the Government College of Art and Craft in Calcutta from 1933 to 1939. In 1938, he travelled to Lhasa with a monk, becoming one of the rst artists to illustrate life in the remote country. Two years later he was granted permission to depict and lm the enthronement ceremony.
Estimated at £180,000-£250,000 in total, his works give a visual record of a pivotal moment in Tibetan history. Also featured is Kanwal’s portrait of the Dalai Lama before he became spiritual leader, painted in Lhasa in early 1940 (expected to fetch £70,000-£100,000) and his portrait of the Dalai Lama at his enthronement (estimated at £150,000£200,000).
It was at the ceremony he would have met Gould who took part in the occasion as the commander of the British Mission, observing the elaborate ceremony at the Potala Palace. While Kanwal painted the event, Gould recorded the event in words and on lm, recalling the moment the young Dalai Lama, clad in golden robes and a ceremonial yellow hat, was lifted onto the throne amid the sound of long Tibetan horns and the rhythmic chanting of monks. Gould later described the child as possessing an extraordinary presence beyond his years, with an air of wisdom and serenity that left a lasting impression on all who attended.
Above right Krishna Kanwal at work
Above Krishna Kanwal (1910-1993) Portrait of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at his enthronement. It has an estimate of £150,000£200,000
Right Krishna Kanwal (1910-1993) A religious procession in Pagri (Phari), Tibet. It has an estimate of £3,000£5,000
Gould was not only a British political o cer but also an avid collector of Tibetan and Bhutanese artefacts. His time in Tibet and Bhutan allowed him access to rare cultural items, which he documented with great interest. Unlike some collectors of his time who amassed pieces purely for personal or nancial gain, Gould seemed to have a genuine appreciation for the cultures he encountered.
His a ection for the country and its people is evident in his personal archive, including seven extensive photograph albums containing more than 1,500 images from his time in Lhasa (estimated at £20,000-£30,000) each providing a visual insight into Tibet during the rst half of the 20th century. e sale also includes a signi cant quantity of 16mm Kodachrome cine lm shot by Gould, some of which was screened for George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral in 1937.
WHAT: Collection and archive of Sir Basil Gould
Where: Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London, W1S 1SR
When: June 4
Viewing: At a public exhibition at Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London, W1S 1SR from June 1-3 and online at www.bonhams.com
We asked Giles Peppiatt, Bonhams' group head of pictures, for his sale highlights
Why is the collection so important?
Sir Basil Gould was a diplomat who significantly influenced Anglo-Tibetan relations in the early 20th century. He was the first European to witness the enthronement of a Dalai Lama in the Potala Palace and was in Lhasa for three months in 1940 to attend all the preparations, events and celebrations taking place.
Further highlights include Gould’s personal diplomatic uniform by Ranken & Co., Calcutta (with a guide price of £300-£500), his medals and decorations (estimated at £400£600), and a collection of rare Tibetan manuscripts and books, including his 1941 report on the enthronement in both English and Tibetan (expected to fetch £300-£500).
Below Sir Basil Gould, the Political O cer for Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet who was appointed to represent the British government
Top left Sir Basil John Gould (1883-1956) one of six photo albums with numerous unmounted photographs depicting Tibet. e albums have an estimate of £1,500-£2,000
No other collection that includes paintings, photographs and film of this important event has ever come to the market. It represents a rare and profoundly important historical archive, shedding light on the cultural and political landscape of Tibet and the British presence in the Himalayas. Many of these items have never been seen on the open market.
Do you have a personal sale highlight? It has to be the depiction of the current Dalai Lama on the throne at his installation at the age of four. For followers of His Holiness this artwork is more an object of reverence and veneration than a mere oil painting.
Where are you expecting interest in the sale to come from?
For many centuries, foreign visitors to Tibet have been fascinated by the Dalai Lamas and their system of reincarnation. Following the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933, signs and visions guided Tibetan monks to a remote village in Amdo, where a young boy, Lhamo Thondup, exhibited remarkable recognition of personal items belonging to his predecessor. The boy was formally recognised and brought to Lhasa to prepare for his enthronement.
Top right Sir Basil John Gould (1883-1956) one of seven photograph albums dating 1936-1937, and containing approximately 1,515 photographs. e albums have an estimate of £20,000-£30,000
Above left ree 18th to 19th-century parcel-gilt gures of Buddha. e trio has an estimate of £8,000£12,000
Left Krishna Kanwal (1910-1993) Portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama before his enthronement. It has an estimate of £70,000-£100,000
‘Among the highlights of the collection is a series of 40 original watercolours by the distinguished Indian artist Krishna Kanwal, depicting Sir Basil’s mission to Lhasa in 1940 and portraying the cast of characters at the enthronement’
The upcoming auction has attracted interest from collectors, institutions, and historians, underscoring the enduring importance of Gould’s contributions to the preservation and understanding of Tibetan heritage. There are many adherents of Tibetan Buddhism, supporters of the Dalai Lama and museums that will be participating in the auction.
How would you describe Sir Basil Gould as a collector?
He collected many artefacts, objects, paintings and other ephemera. His collection was formed with a view to promote the cause of Tibet and show the western world the complex yet intriguing culture, both secular and religious, that was to be found in this largely undiscovered and fascinating country.
Were there any surprises when you were cataloguing the collection?
The 1948 letter from the Dalai Lama to Sir Basil Gould asking for assistance with a trade mission to the US and England. The correspondence shows the Tibetan government was at that time attempting to establish sovereign links with both countries to further the cause of Tibetan independence.
Aaron Kasmin bases his artworks on his collection of mid-20th century feature matchbooks. On the eve of a new exhibition he shares his obsession
How did the collection start?
My daughter Georgia discovered feature matchbooks (where the matches themselves are printed with artwork or designs, rather than just the cover) when we were at a car boot sale in France. She dragged me over thinking I’d like them, and I did. I had never seen matches with images printed on each matchstick before. We bought all 40 of them. It turned out the man who was selling them worked in a restaurant in Times Square in New York and bought them from local ea markets. Since then my collection has grown to at least 500.
What is it you most like about feature matchbooks?
ey are small, magical, ephemeral, graphic artworks and incredibly inventive. To me, they seem to conjure up the glamour of early to mid 20th-century American life. ey also resonate with the ingenuity of what must be the golden age of graphic design in minute form.
Smoking and drinking were represented as something cool and sophisticated. You see ladies reclining in Martini glasses and suited gents shaking cocktails which harks back to the Prohibition and post-Prohibition era.
ey sum up the golden age of Hollywood and its movie stars and the decadent parties evoked by Scott Fitzgerald, the novels of Raymond Chandler and lms starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and the music of Cole Porter. ey are also so inventive: one uses the match tip as the brushes of paintbrushes, another uses them as a lipstick tip. People wanted to keep them. People took them home.
Below Aaron Kasmin (b. 1963) New York, coloured pencil drawing, 30 x 21cm (11¾ x 8¼in)
Below right In 2018 a collection of matchbooks by Alexander Girard (1907-1993) sold for $1,188, image courtesy of Wright Auction
In the 1920s the matchbook was one of the most effective ways of promoting everything from nightclubs to hotels. The matchbook’s flat surface provided ample space for branding, leading to the explosion of matchbook art and design.
The matchbook was patented in 1892 by American attorney and inventor Joshua Pusey (1842–1906). Various infringement lawsuits continued for several years before Pusey finally sold his patent to the Diamond Match Company in 1896.
Inspired by the Mendelssohn Opera, which first used matchbooks for advertising purposes, Diamond Match salesman Henry Traute began approaching manufacturers to advertise their products on his company’s matches. A number of makers soon followed suit, including the Ohio Match Company and the Lion Match Company, but it wasn’t until 1935 that the feature matchbook first appeared – an innovation which saw advertising on both the covers and matchsticks.
Not much is known about the artwork designers, although several have been the work of notable names of mid 20th-century design. When the American interior specialist Alexander Girard (1907-1993) designed furniture for the La Fonda de Sol restaurant in New York in 1960 he produced everything from matchbooks to tableware.
‘Many matchbooks have ‘got away’. There is one of Planter’s Peanuts with Mr Peanut on each matchstick which is proving elusive. Some of them are very rare’
In 2018, a collection of 27 of them sold for $1,188, well past its pre-sale estimate of $150–$250. Andy Warhol also designed a matchbook for a New York nightclub, as well as Pepsi.
By the 1970s and 1980s, matchbook production was in decline as disposable lighters became more popular. As smoking became less popular, matchbook production also lessened.
However matchbooks remain a highly collectable item today, with vintage examples from famous hotels, casinos, airlines and political campaigns sought after by enthusiasts
The Guinness World Record for a matchbook, was made by the Lion Match Company for a Charles Lindbergh dinner on June 14, 1927 in New York where some 200 were given to guests in the famous aviator’s honour. Today only about a dozen are known to exist. One sold in 2015 for a record price of $6,000.
Are there any styles you prefer?
I especially love matchbooks depicting dining, clubs, food and fashion. Really any that are graphically interesting. Although probably my favourite one is that of an audience in cinema stalls watching a movie. For me it’s really all about the artwork, the image as a whole, especially as I look at them wondering if they will make a good subject for a drawing .
Do you collect European or any non-US matchbooks or match boxes?
Almost all feature matchbooks are American, but I have recently been lucky enough to nd a few British ones. In my upcoming exhibition there is one of the Trocadero in Piccadilly and one Berry Bros made for the US market. I don’t collect matchboxes, of which there must be millions, mine is quite a specialised eld. I do love old matchbox labels and my father gave me two books of someone’s collection of very early ones. e only thing we have in common is that we are all called phillumenists (meaning ‘lovers of light’).
Which matchbook makers are, for you, the most sought after?
Right Aaron Kasmin (b. 1963) e Chef, coloured pencil drawing, 30 x 21cm (11¾ x 8¼in)
All three American manufacturers known for their matchbooks (the Lion, Diamond and Atlas companies) produced equally interesting feature matchbooks. I tried to nd out more about their art departments but got nowhere. I like to imagine that there were small teams of creative artists and designers who were like the art department in the TV series Mad Men, bouncing ideas o each other. e rst known pioneer of the feature matchbook was Henry Traute in 1894, who was a salesman for Diamond Match, but the heyday for them was really the 1920s to the 1940s.
e market for feature matchbooks is exclusively in America but there are matchbook clubs and magazines. My hunting ground is US eBay and, apart from my rst purchases, this has been the only way I can buy them. Most people, including Americans, are unaware of their existence and I nd that my turning them into artworks is a way of bringing these great little ephemeral things to people’s attention. Many matchbooks have got away. ere is one of Planter’s Peanuts with Mr Peanut on each matchstick which is proving elusive. Some of them are very rare.
Above Aaron’s depiction of a rare UK matchbook of the London vintner Berry Bros.
Right Aaron Kasmin (b. 1963) Hopkin’s Horseshoe Bar, coloured pencil drawing, 21 x 30cm (8¼ x 11¾n)
Below Aaron Kasmin (b. 1963) Boone’s, coloured pencil drawing, 30 x 21cm (11¾ x 8¼in)
When it comes to your art,how do you adapt the matchbook design?
I very rarely adapt the designs but I do sometimes change a colour to add vibrancy. I use chalk pencils because I like the unshiny matt-ness of them which is truer to the cardboard the original matchbook images are printed on. Chalk creates a very beautiful texture. e appeal of my work is ageless; older people enjoy the nostalgia aspect but so do younger people. e images are bright and dynamic and appealing which is totally inclusive.
Aaron’s matchbook collection can be seen alongside his artworks at the exhibition Aaron Kasmin: Playing with Fire at Sims Reed Gallery, 43A Duke Street St. James’s, London SW1Y 6DD, from May 30 to June 17.
Two landmark sales of Asian art from the collection of the legendary UK dealer Jules Speelman take place this month.
Antique Collecting lifts the lid
This month Bonhams presents two themed sales – 8 at 80 and Monks and Mahasiddhas: Living the Teachings of Buddha, both taken from the collection of the Asian art expert, Jules Speelman. e rst eight-lot sale celebrates Speelman having reach the age of 80 - an auspicious age in Chinese culture. But both sales o er collectors a rare opportunity to acquire extraordinary works that represent the pinnacle of Chinese and Himalayan art born out of a lifetime of expertise and passion.
e market for Asian art hasundoubtedlyshiftedsince the start of Speelman’s career. When he rst started dealing 60 years ago, hisclientele was largely western.
Today, it is 90 per cent Asian collectors with the age greatly reduced, with many being in their 20s, 30s and 40s made up of a burgeoning market among Chinese collectors for Himalayan objects, and Indian collectors seeking examples of their heritage.
Speelman said: “I know that in various cultures (reaching the age of 80) is an important date, and it’s actually quite an important date for me – the idea of 80 –and the awareness of one’s life mortality. So when I look back at my life, I wouldn’t say there is any area which I think I missed outthere, didn’t I? So, that’s quite a nice point to get to.”
Jules Speelman’s collecting journey started young. He was 13 when he started to collect Matchbox toys. At the same his father, Alfred, himself a dealer, took him onregular trips to the V&A.
He told Bonhams Magazine: “My father would look at the showcases of English porcelain, for example, and put the question, “So how do you recognise if that is BowPorcelain or Chelsea?” Learning to recognise specific detailed styles intrigued me ”
Above A gilt copper alloy gure of Shakyamuni Buddha as an Ascetic, China, Yuan Dynasty 28 cm (11 in) high. It has an estimate: HK$8m$10m (£800,000-£1m) in the 8 at 80 sale
Right A gilt copper alloy gure of Maitreya, central Tibet, 11th-12th century, 49.3 cm (19⅜in) high. It has an estimate: HK$4m-$6m (£400,000£600,000) in the 8 at 80 sale
In 1964, aged 18, rather than going to university, he joined the family antiques business. To make up for his lack of formal training he put himself through rigorous ‘tests’ in museums, examining objects closely— from Saudi Arabian alabaster and Gandharan sculptures to Tompion clocks. It worked, and very soon he developed an eye for the exceptional early on.
e Speelman family antiques trade spans three generations, originating in 19th-century Holland
‘My father would look at the showcases of English porcelain, for example, and put the question, ‘So how do you recognise if that is Bow Porcelain or Chelsea?” Learning to recognise specific detailed styles intrigued me’
European ceramics, silver, tapestries, and furniture to Chinese porcelain and works of art. With his father, Jules gradually shifted the focus towards Asia, and A & J Speelman became one of the foremost dealers in Asian antiques and works of art from the past 2,000 years.
Last June, Jules Speelman celebrated his 60th anniversary as a dealer with a sale of works. Within Chinese culture, the idea of completing a 60-year cycle is an important one. e 28-lot sale included 28 Tibetan, Nepalese and Chinese bronze Buddhist gures and vessels, dating from the 12th to the 18th century, and made a total of €15.2m, against a pre-sale estimate of €4.2m. Four lots achieved more than €1m.
Speaking after the sale, Jules Speelman said: “I was touched by how the objects I have cherished for so many years were admired by worldwide collectors. is was a very special occasion for me, and my family and I was delighted with the results. I am most grateful to all the collectors who have participated in the auction and to Bonhams’ team for all their great e orts.”
‘Portrait bronzes are rather like photography today, they show everything, warts and all, and therefore I’m looking at how that person looked in those days’
sale showcases eight exceptional examples of Himalayan Art, each from a distinct and signi cant
Meanwhile, the second sale, Monks and is made up of 25 pieces re ecting Speelman’s long-held fascination with Tibetan portraits of important teachers. Each showcases the Buddhist tradition of venerating images of masters while celebrating their individuality as authentic
Speelman said: “Portrait bronzes are rather like photography today, they show everything, warts and all, and therefore I’m looking at how that person looked in those days. e most important thing to remember is every one is di erent – just as every single person is di erent, and that is a fascinating area.”
Two large gilt-bronze portraits (below) are among the highlights. Both represent two important Tibetan historical gures: Sakya Pandita (11821251) and Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1456). Each bears an inscription that records it is part of a royal commission by the ruler of the Kingdom of Lo in present-day Mustang. e bronzes were created to honour the passing of the fourth abbot of Ngor, Gyeltsap Kunga Wangcuk (1424–1478). Being among the relatively few portable Tibetan artworks that can be narrowly dated according to an inscription, both have great art historical value to add to their aesthetic appeal.
Speelman’s pursuit of quality can be seen in the way he embraces a range of different materials. The sale includes bronzes, as well as a hardstones, lacquer and ceramics – each reflecting different artistic traditions.
But, above all, Speelman is drawn to sculptural, three-dimensional art, largely figurative, and with cross-cultural influence. He said: “One of the first things that appealed to me was Gandharan art, because that sculpture stemmed from Greece. And then the flow from Gandhara to the whole of Asia; the way the robes were interpreted from Greek and Roman sculpture into Gandharan art; and the way the Chinese or the Sri Lankans interpreted those.”
Both sales Monks and Mahasiddhas: Living the Teachings of Buddha and 8 at 80, take place on May 5 at Bonhams Hong Kong, Six Pacific Place, 50 Queens Road Eastwith, with highlights on view from May 1-5 at the same location. The collection can also be viewed online at www.bonhams.com
‘One of the first things that appealed to me was Gandharan art, because that
sculpture stemmed from Greece. And then the flow from Gandhara to the whole of Asia; the way the robes were interpreted from Greek and Roman sculpture’
It has an estimate of HK$3m- $5m (£300,000-£500,000) in the 8 at 80 sale
BY ELENA LURAGHI
ISBN 9788854421349
RRP £29.99
OFFER PRICE £19.49
1,199 sites of cultural, historical, and scientific significance to humanity have been labelled UNESCO World Heritage Sites with the agreement to maintain
An insight into Danish porcelain and the drawings of Victor Hugo are among this month’s selection of the latest titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books
and honour them. This book compiles stunning photographs, practical information, and travel suggestions for 40 of the most exquisite UNESCO sites on earth. Deep-dive boxes provide practical tips & advice for getting the most out of your adventure. There will be no shortage of information in this comprehensive compendium, which can be a keepsake post-travel and a guide for the adventures yet to be had.
BY GÉRARD AUDINET, THOMAS CAZENTRE, SARAH LEA & ROSE
THOMPSON
ISBN 9781915815118
RRP £35.00
OFFER PRICE £22.75
The novelist, poet and politician, Victor Hugo was a towering figure in French 19th-century public life. This handsome book includes new texts by leading authorities on Hugo and reproductions of many of his finest works on paper, from early caricatures and travel drawings to dramatic landscapes.
BY BILL MILKOWSKI & JOE LOVANO
ISBN 9788854421288
RRP £24.99
OFFER PRICE £16.24
Improvisation, swing, blue notes, glissando, scat… these and other ingredients have made jazz a unique musical genre, unmistakable and loved in every corner of the globe. This book takes readers from the first New Orleans bands to the big bands of Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman and the unsurpassed singing performances of legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.
BY DR. ELLIOT TODD
ISBN 9781788841504
RRP £125.00
OFFER PRICE £81.25
This detailed two-volume set offers an unparalleled scholarly insight into the history of Danish porcelain. Renowned for its ceramic industry, Denmark earned its status as a leading porcelain exporter through intense rivalry with other firms across Europe. With its factories excelling time and time again at the largest international expositions of the 19th and early 20th century, Danish porcelain took its own place on the world stage. Featuring over 2,400 images, these two volumes comprise an important source of information on the history of Danish porcelain.
BY MORITZ ROTT
ISBN 9783961716265
RRP £45.00
OFFER PRICE £29.25
BY PEDRO JARQUE KREBS
ISBN 9783961716203
RRP £29.95
OFFER PRICE £19.47
Pedro Jarque Krebs presents his long-awaited second major photo book. One of the world’s most awarded wildlife photographers captures the animals with his camera in a humorous and almost human way. In doing so, he builds up an intimate relationship with each animal. Pedro Jarque Krebs aims to showcase the beauty and diversity of wildlife while also raising awareness about the issues and fragility of the animal world.
This photo book not only presents the history and basic knowledge of fishing but also showcases the diverse equipment and various techniques, all illustrated with stunning photographs. Embark on a journey following the most popular target fish - such as Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, European Perch, Black Bass, Northern Pike, Carp - while being enchanted by the dream destinations for anglers. Of course, the obligatory fisherman’s tales must not be missing, bringing to life stories of the biggest catches and unforgettable experiences by the water.
Email uksales@accartbooks.com, or call 01394 389950.
Postage to UK addresses is £7, call for overseas rates. Offer subject to change without notice.
An oil on board by the Scottish artist Jack Vettriano, who died this year aged 73, has an estimate of £20,000£30,000 at Bonhams Scottish art sale in Edinburgh on May 21.
A £10m coin collection comes to market for the rst time in half a century, while a painting by the late Scottish artist Jack Vettriano appears in Edinburgh ’
A pastoral oil painting by the 19th-century British artist Richard Ansdell (1815-1885) of sheep grazing on a hillside has an estimate of £5,000 at Halls’ fine art sale in Shrewsbury on May 21.
Born in Liverpool, Ansdell, a rival of Sir Edwin Landseer, painted a wide range of animal subjects, sporting scenes and romantic narrative pictures.
Trained at the Liverpool Academy, where he was elected president in 1845, he moved to West Kensington two years later, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1840-1885 and at the British Institution from 1846-1865.
An 18ct gold, sapphire and diamond ring by John Donald (19282023), one of Britain’s greatest post-war jewellers and goldsmiths, has an estimate of £2,000 at Charterhouse’s two-day sale in Sherborne ending on May 1.
Donald studied at the Royal College of Art in London alongside other well-known names including Robert Welch and Gerald Benney before setting up as a jeweller and opening his first workshop in Bayswater in 1960. His work was strongly identified in London during the 1960s and 1970s with clients including the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
The self-taught artist is known for his distinctive figurative style, often depicting scenes of romance, mystery, and nostalgia. In 2004, Sotheby’s set a record auction price of £744,800 for his work The Singing Butler, a record at the time for any painting by a Scottish artist sold at auction.
A rare 1959 Hermès silk scarf of a hunting scene in its original box has an estimate of £250£260 at Ewbank’s vintage fashion sale in Woking on May 2. The limitededition design titled La Poursuite was designed by Jean-Louis Clerc (1908–1961) and introduced in 1959.
Swiss-born Clerc was renowned for his dynamic, expressive style and lively scenes, with La Poursuite among 10 scarves he designed for Hermès. The design, in an unusual green colourway, also unusually overlaps the border, as seen above.
Above left e scarf depicts a hunting scene in a sought-after green colourway
Above right e design was one of 10 that Jean-Louis Clerc created for Hermès
A set of 12 Japanese plates made by the Kinkozan family –one of the most renowned Satsuma pottery makers of the Meiji period (1868–1912) – has an estimate of £4,000-£7,000 at Mallams’ sale on May 8 in Cheltenham.
The Kinkozan kiln in Kyoto was famed from the 17th century to the early 20th century for its high-quality Satsuma ware mainly for export to western markets, with Kinkozan Sobei VII (1868–1927) among its best-known artists. The plates are handpainted with highly-detailed scenes of nature, people, or mythology using gold (kinrande) embellishments for a luxurious finish.
The first sale of a 15,000-strong coin collection, dubbed “the most expensive to ever come to auction”, goes under the hammer this month with a £10m price tag and a back story just as rich.
It features coins from more than 100 territories around the globe, ranging in age from ancient times to the modern era. But what makes the collection, set to be auctioned over three years, even more extraordinary is the fact that the majority of the coins were buried underground for half a century.
The original collector – who has not been identified –first began buying gold coins after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, soon developing “a taste for coins with great historical interest, beauty and rarity”.
He and his wife spent the 1930s travelling through the Americas and Europe, picking up rare and historically significant coins as they went. The pair eventually settled in Europe, but with the ever-present threat of Hitler’s Nazi party, the coins were packed into cigar boxes and buried.
After the collection’s owner died, his wife was the only person who knew the collection’s whereabouts, which she chose to keep secret until the mid-1990s.
Sale highlights
Now, nearly a century on from the start of the collection, Numismatica Ars Classica is set to sell the coins in a series of 15 auctions spanning three years.
The first sale, on May 20, will focus on 200 of the collection’s British coins and medallions. They span the first machine-struck coins of Charles II’s reign in the 17th-century, to a set created for the coronation of George VI in 1937. One highlight is the Una and the Lion £5 gold coin designed by the master coin-maker William Wyon in 1839. Inspired by a drawing of The Faerie Queene, an epic 1590 poem by Edmund Spenser, the reverse depicts a young Queen Victoria walking alongside a lion. It’s estimated to sell for £110,000.
The sale also features an Athens gold stater struck in 296BC by Lachares to pay his troops as the city was being besieged by Demetrius, the king of Macedonia. It has a guide price of £110,000.
Elsewhere on sale will be a 70 ducat coin from 1621 of the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, who imposed Catholicism across his territory and transferred the capital from Kraków to Warsaw.
Also in the sale is a pattern coin from a series to commemorate the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition and later exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. Minted by the ‘Kangaroo Office’ – one of the earliest mints created to establish an Australian currency – the coin fittingly features a depiction of a kangaroo. It has an estimate of £220,000.
1 A £5 gold coin showing William Wyon’s famous Young Head portrait of Queen Victoria, the reverse is from Spenser’s e Faerie Queene, depicting the queen as Una guiding the British lion. It has an estimate of £110,000 2 A 100 ducat coin minted in 1629 when Ferdinand III of Habsburg was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. At 348.5g of ne gold, it is one of the largest denominations of European gold coins ever minted. Unseen at auction since WWII, it has an estimate of £1m 3 A 70 ducat coin of the Polish king Sigismund III, minted in 1621 and weighing around 243g of gold. It is expected to make £400,000 4 An Athens gold stater, struck in 296 BC by the tyrant Lachares who used gold from the famous chryso-elephantine statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon to pay his troops during the siege of the city by Demetrius, King of Macedonia. It has an estimate of £110,000 5 George III ve guineas. Dated to 1777, no large gold coins were struck for currency during the reign of Britain’s longest ruling king, and this pattern was created for a piece, which never came to fruition. It has an estimate of £263,000 6 A pattern coin from a series minted to commemorate the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition and later exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. It has an estimate of £220,000
With comparisons to LS Lowry and Hieronymus Bosch, the work of David Evans deserves to be better known. Will a new exhibition put one of the unsung heroes of post-war art on the map?
Paul Liss reports
Tthe humour of Edward Lear’s draughtsmanship and the transgressive watercolours of Edward Burra (1905-1976).
place 30 years after his untimely death in a road accident
is month sees David Evans – Twist and Shout at the gallery ree Highgate, the rst exhibition of Evans’ work since a retrospective at Salisbury in 2018, which itself took place 30 years after his untimely death in a road accident aged 58 in 1988.
e new exhibition, which includes a number of Evans’ early photomontages and unseen epic watercolours, may yet shine a light on a remarkable artist whose work is well within the reach of many collectors.
e show also includes previously unseen collage and pen-and-ink compositions of the 1950s and 1960s which were found alongside the more familiar large-scale watercolours of the 1970s and 1980s.
ey are a revelation and complete the previous unchartered account of his artistic journey. Welcome to the lost kingdom of David Evans.
he name may not be familiar to many – either in the art world, or out of it. But David Evans (1929-1988) whose work is on show at a London gallery this month, is a name to be reckoned with. A student of Keith Vaughan (1912–1977) and a contemporary of British post-war luminaries including Peter Blake, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney, his work combines the Romantic landscapes of Samuel Palmer,
Above e artist David Evans (1929-1988) whose work goes on show this month
Evans is perhaps best known for his strikingly large and somewhat subversive watercolours, typically measuring over one metre in width or height, in which he agrantly outed the lingering English prejudice that watercolours are not serious.
His work re ects the deeply felt disquiet of a constantly shifting political landscape and Evans’ own
campaigning and environmentalism, a rare viewpoint for its time. His compositions are characterised by a kaleidoscopic vision of atcher’s Britain: an era of urban redevelopment, the Falklands War, industrial unrest, nuclear power, and the Cold War.
Transition is everywhere: new roads carve their way through the countryside; ghter jets cast their shadows across the landscape; the scars left by industrial plants, pylons and land ll permeate throughout.
Evans studied art at Central School of Arts and Crafts in London under the British painter Keith Vaughan. Early in his career he showed photo montages at Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One, which was a beacon for avant garde artists in London in the ‘50s and ‘60s. is gained him several commissions, including a mural for Sir Terence Conran´s legendary rst restaurant, the Soup Kitchen, opened in 1953 at Chandos Place.
At the time Evans was running a small classical music record shop, Record Roundabout, at 291 Brompton Road. He was friends with many musicians, including Pete Gage, best known in the 1990s as the lead vocalist of the R&B band, Dr Feelgood. Together the young musician and Evans would visit the local Hourglass pub, sharing a gin and dubonnet and talking about music.
Gage said: “David would delight in talking music,
Opposite page David Evans (1929 -1988) At the Opera II, signed watercolour 68 x 104cm (26¾ x 50in). All images unless otherwise stated courtesy of Liss Llewellyn
Above David Evans (1929 -1988) Heavy Tra c, signed watercolour, 66 x 99cm (26 x 39in)
Left David Evans (1929 -1988) Man and Cat Sitting on Chair, c. 1975, watercolour, 76 x 61cm (30 x 24in)
Right David Evans (1929 -1988) e Concert Singer, signed watercolour, 101 x 66cm (39 x 26in)
Haydn, Beecham, Koussevitsky, Stravinsky and everyone you can think of. He was an encyclopaedia of facts and insights about performances on record.
“More to the point, though, he had such passion for the music he was listening to. In between customers, the afternoons on a Saturday were spent absorbing all the great composers and the great performances that were coming out in the ‘60s.”
‘Evans would produce endless scenes of everyday life, often inhabited by young men, cafes, cake shops, flowers and fields. He loved to paint spectators at sports events, football matches, wrestling matches, or audiences in concert halls, or rock bands in violent splashes of colour’
But alongside the music was the art. In his spare time Evans drew portraits of his acquaintances and also created collages which were to became an essential thread throughout.
By then Evans had met his lifelong partner Basil Lawrence the patron chef of a budget restaurant, e Pot in Hogarth Place o the Earl’s Court Road and a devout follower of Krishnamurti philosophy.
By living together the couple was breaking the law. It was only in 1967 that homosexuality was decriminalised. But his work may have been in uenced more by the price of paper than any societal oppression.
Exhibition curator Alistair Hicks said: “Evans’ rst outsize watercolours were made in 1967. It might be little outrageous to claim a direct correlation with sexual liberation, but rather begin with his choice of material and medium. Paper was, and is, cheaper than canvas, stretcher and frame.
Above David Evans (1929-1988) Portrait of a Young Man, pen and ink, white highlights in gouache
pictures!’. He would produce endless scenes of everyday life, often inhabited by young men, cafes, cake shops, owers and elds.
“He loved to paint spectators at sports events, football matches, wrestling matches, or audiences in concert halls, or rock bands in violent splashes of colour.
“Of course it was di cult to get large paper, but he went as big as readily available – up to around 42 inch wide. is was a de nite break with tradition and probably a deliberate one.”
In 1969, the couple moved to a small farm in the Su olk village of Dallinghoo, where they strove for selfsu ciency. It was a tough but idyllic life – freezing homegrown vegetables for the winter and making homemade bread and beer.
Free from the constraints of full-time work and inspired by the countryside around him, Evans put his full attention into his art. Works from this time are often surrealist making the viewer feel as if they are oating over the land. Evans spoke of “ ying” dreams which inspired his aerial landscapes.
Pete Gage was a frequent visitor, increasingly aware of the artist’s frustration that the hard graft of the farm took him away from his true passion – art. Pete said: “I remember David exclaimed, ‘All I want to do is paint my
Above right David Evans (1929-1988) e 457, photomontage on paper, 26 x 33cm (10 x 13in)
Below David Evans (1929-1988) Scrapheap, signed watercolour, 60 x 84 cm (23 x 33in)
“ en he would produce soft colours depicting aerial views of the world as he saw it. ere were so many varieties of subject matter, and the speed with which he produced them was remarkable.”
But life on the farm was not easy. Evans had to work at a local mushroom factory and then as a porter in a local psychiatric hospital to make ends meet.
As such he would have seen the e ects of some of the more brutal cuts of atcher’s Britain. He wrote: “I don’t think anyone produces anything of value until it has actually got into the blood stream.”
Evans was also an ardent campaigner and environmentalist. e more he embraced his rural lifestyle he was aware of the encroaching modern world. Motorways, nuclear power and pylons all drawing his ire.
Evans’ landscapes mirror a countryside in ux, moving from traditional small holdings to the large open elds created by modern farming methods. His compositions are occupied variously by farmers, soldiers, workmen, the occasional rambler, streams of tra c cut sharply through the green elds and looming electricity pylons that threaten and dominate the land and skyscape.
His subjects do not preach but rather warn of what the future may hold if such behaviours continue and intensify. Evan’s pioneering environmentalism places him as an outsider observing, much in the same manner perhaps as being a gay man before it was legalised or even his adoption of the Indian spiritual philosophy Krishnamurti.
Subversion may have been at the heart of Evans’ use of the painterly medium itself (watercolour was considered traditionally for genteel use by amateurs, often women, rather than professional artists) in creating such large urgent works clearly intended for exhibition, showing his disdain for conventional standards.
Alistair Hicks writes: “Evans’ watercolours may not be the most brazen act of rebellion in global 20th-century
art, but there was a light touch of subversion.
“Just as he, the son of an RAF o cer, worked as a porter in a hospital, so he chose to paint in watercolours in ungenteel manner. Evans did not paint anything as rough as Harlem, but his Seated Man is all the more exotic for being plonked into an everyday British interior.”
e many narratives within Evans’ compositions and their heightened colours reveal his love of storytelling with a very British twist. O -kilter humour and a fascination with the banal, alongside commentary on the country’s sexual and day-to-day politics while championing climate change awareness, all place Evans’ work both very much within its time but with one eye towards the future.
Urban subjects, similar to the repertoire of LS Lowry (1887-1976), unfold against a backdrop of factories, concerts halls, sporting arenas, beaches, cafeterias and bars, museum interiors and shopping centres. Billboards, tra c congestion, and fast food are very much in evidence. Night clubs are peopled predominantly by men (and the occasional drag-queen), a celebration of Evans’ homosexuality.
Evans’ compositions belong to the northern tradition of Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516): through heightened colour and narrative details his contemporary subjects resonate an underlying disquiet.
In his love of storytelling, quirky humour and a delight in the ordinary, his pictures are also unequivocally British, especially in his commitment to producing watercolours intended for exhibition, rather than as studies for larger oil
e couple’s rural life continued through the ‘80s and, despite the remoteness, Evans was gaining a growing reputation on the London art scene while making money for his pictures.
He had several solo exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery in Cork Street and sold work in the Flying Colours Gallery in Edinburgh.
But back in Su olk where he continued to work as a hospital porter it was while cycling to his shift he was killed in a car accident, aged just 59.
He was buried in a small church near Ipswich.
With Basil reluctant to continue showing his work, interest in Evans’ art lessened, leaving only friends and a few gallerists to continue to look out for it. When Basil died in 2012, Evans’ work started to appear on the market, gaining a following.
It can only be hoped that the upcoming exhibition will shine a light on his work and encourage more people to appreciate his undeniable talents.
Above David Evans (1929 -1988) Motorway II, signed watercolour, 71x 107cm (28 x 42in)
Right David Evans (1929 -1988) Portrait of a Young Man, Naked from the Waist Up, c. 1970, pen and ink and watercolour, 28 x 22 cm (11 x 8in)
Below right David Evans (1929 -1988) Driving Past the Electricity Pylons, signed watercolour 68 x 104cm (26¾ x 50in)
David Evans - Twist and Shout continues at ree Highgate, 3 Highgate High Street, London, N6 5JR until July 12. e gallery is open on ursday and Saturday 2-6pm and Sunday 12-4pm. All other days by appointment. For more details or to arrange a visit go to www.threehighgate.com
‘In 1969, the couple moved to a small farm in the village of Dallinghoo in Suffolk, where they strove for self-sufficiency, a tough but idyllic life freezing home-grown vegetables for the winter and making homemade bread and beer’
Paul Liss shares his insights into the market for
Each of David Evans six solo exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery between 1979 and 1988 typically included up to 40 of watercolours, with the largest works priced at up to £2,000. In today’s money that would equate to values in excess of £10,000. But how might collectors evaluate the worth of a David Evans today?
Evans worked almost exclusively on paper, a medium that, commercially, has often been considered a poor relation compared to paintings in oil on canvas. But this has not stopped the prices of artists like Eric Ravilious and Edward Burra (who, like Evans, were exclusively paper based) from regularly climbing into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Indeed, for Burra, who is the nearest to Evans in stylistic terms, the record stands at over £2m.
Aside from Burra, Evans is the only 20th-century British artist who worked in watercolour on such a large scale, and he did so with a technical facility that resulted in extraordinary luminous colour – rare for a medium more typically associated with a pale palette. Evans is actually on record as saying that if he could have found a supplier of larger paper, he would have painted even bigger works. Watercolour, unlike oil, is an unforgiving medium - mistakes cannot be corrected. And therein lies the innate value of artists such as Burra and Evans.
Treasure trove
e online marketplace, Artprice lists only 25 works by Evans as having passed through the salerooms in the last 35 years - some of which are not even by David Evans. One consequence of having a common name means Evans is sometimes confused with other artists; with one recently-listed work even purporting to have been painted in 1990 two years after Evans died. Prices achieved at auction for these few somewhat random works were in the mid hundreds, but the real market for a David Evans has never been tested by the appearance of Evans’ meaningful body of work.
is is because, when Evans died, unexpectedly, in his late 50s, the works remaining in his studio all passed to his long-term partner Basil Lawrence. Numbering more than 300 pictures, a third were large watercolours and the rest a variety of drawings, and early work, including collages. is treasure trove was e ectively removed from the market, with Evans’ work not being publicly shown or promoted.
‘Prices for Eric Ravilious and Edward Burra (whose works, like Evans, were exclusively paper based) have climbed into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Indeed, for Burra, who is the nearest to Evans in stylistic terms, the record stands at over £2m’
Hidden away for the best part of four decades, the upcoming exhibition is the rst time a signi cant body of Evans’ oeuvre (nearly 40 important and rare works) will be on sale. Prices range from the low to the mid thousands, with some larger watercolours moving into high thousands. Among the rarest works are the exquisite early collages; something you are unlikely to see being o ered for sale again.
Paul Liss is one of the co-founders of Liss Llewellyn, created in 1991. e gallery sources paintings directly from artists’ estates and private collections. For more details go to www.lissllewellyn.com
Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the fairs listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend a fair especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
LONDON:
Inc. Greater London
Adams Antiques Fairs
020 7254 4054
www.adamsantiquesfairs.com
Adams Antiques Fair, The Royal Horticultural Halls, Elverton Street, SW1P 2QW, May 18, Jun 8
Coin and Medal Fair Ltd 01694 731781
www.coinfairs.co.uk
London Coin Fair, Novotel London West, 1 Shortlands, Hammersmith, London, W6 8DR, Jun 7
Etc Fairs
01707 872 140
www.bloomsburybookfair.com
Bloomsbury Book Fair, Turner Suite at Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London, WC1N 1HT, Bloomsbury Book Fair, May 11, Jun 8
Bloomsbury Summer Book Fair, May 11
Sunbury Antiques
01932 230946
www.sunburyantiques.com
Kempton Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Staines Road East, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ, May 13, 27
Wimbledon Antiques Market, Prince Georges Playing Fields, Bushey Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8TE, May 18
The Decorative Fair 0207 7616 9327
www.decorativefair.com
Evolution London, Battersea Park, London, SW11 4NJ, May 6-11
SOUTH EAST & EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex.
A Black Dog Event
01986 948546
www.ablackdogevent.com
2 Market Place,Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8BA
Dark Horse Brocante, Falkenham Racecourse, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 7NY, May 18
Antique Dealers Fair Limited, 01797 252030 www.adfl.co.uk
The Petworth Park Antiques and Fine Art Fair, The Marquee, Petworth House and Park, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0QY May 16-18
SOUTH WEST
including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire.
Arun Fairs 07563 589725
Emsworth Antiques and Collectors Fair, Emsworth Community Centre., North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire, PO10 7DD, May 11, Jun 8
Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 274493 www.asfairs.com
Decorative Home and Salvage Show, Cirencester Park Event Two Mile Lodge, Stroud Road, Cirencester Park, GL7 6JT, May 23-25
Continiuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk
The International Westpoint Antique Home and Vintage Fair, Westpoint Arena, Clyst St Mary, Exeter EX5 1DJ, May 31 to Jun 1
Exeter Antique and Flea Market at Matford, Matford Centre
Matford Park Rd, Marsh Barton, Exeter EX2 8FD, May 24
Drayton Antique & Collectors Fair, 07488549026
Drayton Village Hall, Lockway, Drayton, Abingdon Oxfordshire, OX14 4LG, May 4, Jun 1
Hidden Treasures 073947 04272
Benson on Thames Antique & Collectors Fair, The Parish Hall Sunnyside, Benson, Wallingford Oxon, OX10 6LZ, May 18
New Forest Fairs Dorset 07904 634858
Shaftesbury Town Hall Antique & Vintage Fair Shaftesbury Town Hall, High Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8LY, May 6, 10, 20, Jun 3
Sga Fairs
07759 380299
Browsers Antique & Collectors Fair, Pangbourne Village Hall Adj. to Central Village Car Park Pangbourne, Berkshire, RG8 7AN, May 24
EAST MIDLANDS
including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.
Arthur Swallow Fairs
01298 274493 asfairs.com
Antiques and Home Show, Vintage Flea Market, EXO Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln, LN2 2NA, Jun 4
IACF
www.iacf.co.uk
01636 702326
Runway Monday at Newark Antiques and Collectors Fair, Newark Showground Newark. Nottinghamshire NG24 2NY, May 19
Newark International Antiques and Collectors Fair, Newark Showground, Newark. Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, Jun 5-6
Cooper Events
www.cooperevents.com
01278 784912
The Annual Buxton Antiques & Fine Art Fair, Buxton Pavilion, St. Johns Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6BE, May 9-11
Stags Head Events
www.stagsheadevents.co.uk
07375 999 288
Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 6NW, May 26
Coin and Medal Fair Ltd 01694 731781
www.coinfairs.co.uk
Midland Coin Fair
National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, Birmingham, B92 0EJ, May 11, Jun 8
including Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Yorkshire.
Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 274493
www.asfairs.com
Decorative Home and Salvage Show, Ripley Castle, Ripley, Harrogate,HG3 3AY, May 9-11
Antiques and Salvage Market Clay House Farm, Flittogate Lane, Tabley, Knutsford ,WA16 0HJ, May 31
V&A Fairs 01244 659887 www.vandafairs.com
Nantwich Civic Hall Antique and Collectors Fair, Civic Hall Nantwich, Beam Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5DG, May 26
Continuity Fairs, 01584 873634
www.continuityfairs.co.uk
International Antiques & Collectors Fair of Wales, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, Powys, LD2 3SY, May 3-4
The Anglesey Fair at the Mona Showground, Gwalchmai, Holyhead, LL65 4RW, Jun 7-8
Bank Holiday Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair, Hood Park Leisure Centre, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 1HU, May 26
WEST MIDLANDS
including Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire
B2B Fairs
01636 676531
www.b2bfairs.co.uk
Malvern Flea and Collectors Fair
Jac Fairs
www.jacfairs.com
07960 198409
Glasgow, Antique, Vintage & Collectors Fair, Bellahouston Leisure Centre, 31 Bellahouston Drive, Glasgow, G52 1HH, May 11
Vintage and Collectors Fair
Riverside Building, Ayrshire College, Dam Park Road, Ayr, South Ayrshire KA8 0EU, May 31
Two photographic fairs are set to shine in the capital, while ceramics and the decorative arts are celebrated in two other events
Ideas for transforming outdoor spaces are on the agenda at this month’s Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, London. The spring edition of the popular event, which is a must-visit for interiors enthusiasts and collectors alike, will offer sculpture and statuary, as well as garden gates, ancient doors, carved screens, decorative columns and plasterwork.
Some 130 dealers take part in the event, from May 6-11. A spokeswoman said: “Pieces often come direct from source to the fair still wearing their accumulations of moss and weathering – highly desired by some!”
Somerset House in London is the location for this month’s 10th edition of Photo London, which also welcomes its first weekend book market from May 15-17.
Garden statuary abounds at the spring fair world including Lindfield-based Robert Hershkowitz Ltd, offering a
With the main event running from May 15-18, it welcomes a number of galleries from around the world including Lindfield-based Robert Hershkowitz Ltd, offering a selection of historic images of London, alongside London’s Purdy Hicks Gallery which will dedicate its booth to women artists. Meanwhile central London’s Amar Gallery will present work by Dora Maar (1907-1997) the pioneering Surrealist photographer and antifascist activist who, as his muse and lover, was immortalised as Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman
You’ve marvelled at his skills on Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, now there’s a chance to see the ceramic work of co-host Rich Miller in the flesh.
The potter is one of 120 makers from across the globe taking part in Ceramic Art London at Olympia West from May 9-11, now in its 21st year.
Miller has worked in ceramics for more than 20 years after studying ceramics at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design. For the last 19 years he’s been running Froyle Tiles, a handmade tile company based in Surrey.
Much of his current work explores themes of British colonialism and how the UK has been enriched by a mixture of cultural styles. Among his pieces is a thrown and hand-built crown (above) with a white zircon glaze. Titled Capitalism is King, it is priced at £2,000 at this month’s fair.
The much-celebrated talks programme is free with entry, and this year will feature themed days, curated by leading ceramic experts.
Capitalism is King by Rich Miller is priced £2,000
Classic camera collectors from around the UK will be heading to London this month to take part in Photographica 2025.
The biggest event in the British camera collector’s diary, Photographica is organised by the Photographic Collectors Club of Great Britain with this year’s event, on May 18, offering up to 100 tables for buying, selling and swapping classic and soughtafter antique cameras.
Items on offer include collectable, workable and retro cameras, from wood and brass to modern classics; as well as early digital versions, plus lenses, accessories, film and paper.
Photographica 2025 takes place at the Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0DG.
Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given
Inc. Greater London
Adam Partridge
The London Saleroom, The Auction Room, Station Parade, Ickenham Road, West Ruislip, HA4 7DL, 01895 621991 www.adampartridge.co.uk
Asian Art and Silver With Antiques and Fine Art, May 20-21
Apollo Art Auctions
63-63 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SW 07424 994167
www.apolloauctions.com
Fine Ancient, Antiquities & Asian Art (Online) May, date tbc
Bonhams 101 New Bond St, London W1S 1SR, 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com
British Surrealism (Online), ends May 1
Instinct and Knowledge: A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, May 15
Fine Chinese Art, May 15 Islamic and Indian Art, May 22 London Jewels, Jun 5
Bonhams
Montpelier St, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HH, 020 7393 3900
www.bonhams.com
Weekly Men’s Fashion (Online), ends May 1
Weekly Watches (Online), ends May 7, May 23- Jun 4
Asian Art, May 12-13
Collector’s Treasures: Asian Art (Online), May 12-19
Knightsbridge Jewels, May 21
London Watches, May 22 Jewels (Online), May 18-28
Weekly: Designer Handbags and Fashion (Online), May 26-Jun 2
Fine and Rare Wines (Online), May 20- Jun 3
The Collection and Archive of Sir Basil Gould CBE, Jun 4
Chiswick Auctions
Barley Mow Centre, Chiswick, London, W4 4PH, 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk
Asian Art, May 14-15
Fine Photographs, May 22
Fine Oriental Rugs and Carpets, Jun 4
Chiswick Auctions
1Roslin Square, Roslin Road, London, W3 8DH 020 8992 4442
www.chiswickauctions.co.uk
Autographs and Memorabilia (Online), May 2-18
Books and Works on Paper, May 29
Affordable Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Coins (Online), May 16-29
Christie’s
8 King St, St. James’s, SW1Y 6QT, 020 7839 9060
www.christies.com
Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets, May 1
Jewels: The London Edit (Online), May 21-Jun 6
Fine and Rare Wines and Spirits: London Edition (Online), Jun 4-Jun 18
Elmwood’s 101 Talbot Road
London, W11 2AT, 0207 096 8933
www.elmwoods.co.uk
Important Jewels, May 1
Fine Jewellery, May 7
Watches and Accessories, May 13
Jewellery, May 14
Fine Jewellery, May 21,28
Forum Auctions
220 Queenstown Road, London, SW8 4LP, 020 7871 2640
www.forumauctions.co.uk
Books and Works on Paper (Online), May 8
Modern and Contemporary Art, May 12
Modern and Contemporary Editions, May 21
Modern Literature (Online), May 22
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper, May 29
Hansons
6 Parkley’s Parade, Upper Ham Road, Richmond, TW10 5LF 0207 018 9300
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
None listed in May
Lyon & Turnbull
22 Connaught Street
W2 2AF, 0207 930 9115
www.lyonandturnbull.com
Lalique Live from the Mall Galleries and online, May 1
Modern Made: Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Design, Craft and Studio Ceramics, live at the Mall Galleries and Online, May 1-2
Fine Asian Works of Art, Live in Connaught Street and Online, May 16
London Watches, Live in Connaught Street and Online, May 22
Noonans
16 Bolton St, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ, 020 7016 1700 www.noonans.co.uk
British Tokens and Art Deco Medals, May 13
Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, May 14
World Banknotes, May 28
Coins and Historic Medals, May 29
Phillips
30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX, 020 7318 4010 www.phillips.com
Damien Hirst, Jun 5
Evening and Day Editions, Jun 5
Olympia Auctions
25 Blythe Road, London W14 0PD, 020 7806 5541 www.olympiaauctions.com
Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art. May 7
Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art (Timed), May 2-11
Chinese and Japanese Works of Art, May 14
European Works of Art, Objects and Silver, May 22
Jewellery and Watches, May 22
Indian, Islamic, South East Asian and Himalayan Works of Art, Jun 4
Roseberys
Knights Hill, Norwood, London, SE27 0JD, 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk
Antiquities, Islamic and Indian Arts, May 2
Chinese, Japanese and South East Asian Art: Part I, May 13
Chinese, Japanese and South East
Asian Art: Part II, May 14
Modern British & 20th Century Art, June 3
Design, June 4
Sloane Street Auctions 158-164 Fulham Road, SW10 9PR, 020 3915 8340 www.sloanestreetauctions.com
Art of the Islamic World and Curated Estate Contents, including, Old Masters, Jewellery, Modern British and Sculpture, May 2
Sotheby’s
New Bond St., London W1A 2AA, 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com
Finest and Rarest Wines (Online) ends May 13, May 16-30
Classic Design: Furniture, Clocks, Silver and Ceramics (Online), May 13-22
Finest Whisky (Online), May 15-29
Concierge Live Auction, May 29
Fine Jewellery, May 20-Jun 3
SOUTH EAST AND EAST
ANGLIA: Inc. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex
Bishop and Miller
Unit 12 Manor Farm, Glandford, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 7JP 01263 687342
bishopandmillerauctions.co.uk
The Summer Oak Interior, Jun 4
Bishop and Miller 19 Charles Industrial Estate, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5AH, 01449 673088
The Wang Shimin Collection, May 16
Militaria and Medals, date tbc
Bellmans Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ, 01403 700858
www.bellmans.co.uk
Antiques and Interiors, May 12-13
Modern and Contemporary Art, May 14
Fine Jewellery and Watches, May 15
Timeless Torque - Cars and Automobilia, May 16
Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
Burstow & Hewett
The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT, 01424 772 374
www.burstowandhewett.co.uk
Homes and Interiors, May 7-8, Jun 4-5
Fine Antiques, Asian Art, Furniture, Objet d’Art, etc May 29
Fine Art and Sculpture, May 29 20th-Century Design, May 29
Luxury Watches, Jewellery and Silver, May 30
Catherine Southon Auctioneers
Kingsley House, 5 High Street, Chislehurst, BR7 5AB Kent, 020 8396 6970 www.catherinesouthon.co.uk
Jewellery, Silver, Watches and Luxury Items, May 7 Interiors, Jun 4
Henry Adams Auctioneers
Baffins Hall, Baffins Lane, Chichester, PO19 1UA 01243 532223
www.henryadamsfineart.co.uk
An Antiques and Collectables Auction, May 22
The Canterbury Auction Galleries 40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN, 01227 763337 canterburyauctiongalleries.com Antiques, Jun 6-7
Cheffins Clifton House, Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA 01223 213343, www.cheffins.co.uk
The Jewellery, SIlver and Watches Sale, May 1
Art and Design Sale, May 22
Ewbank’s London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey, 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk
Interiors and Modern Design, May 1
Contemporary Art, Editions and Modern British Pictures, May 1
Vintage Fashion, May 2
Fine WInes and Spirits, May 15
Toys and Models, May 16
Vintage Posters, May 20
Sporting Memorabilia, May 21
Entertainment and Memorabilia Collectables, May 22
Entertainment and Memorabilia
Premier Live Auction, May 23
Comics Collection Pt I, May 27
Comics Collection Pt II, May 28
James Bond, May 29
Pre-Loved, Vintage and Antique, May 30
Trading Cards and Retro Video Games Collectables, Jun 5
Excalibur Auctions Limited Unit 16 Abbots Business Park
Primrose Hill Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8FR 020 3633 0913
www.excaliburauctions.com
Collectors’ Cavern Auction Including Entertainment Memorabilia and Posters, May 4
Gorringes 15 North Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2PE, 01273 472503
www.gorringes.co.uk
Weekly sale featuring Toys and Transport, May 12
Silver, Watches and Jewellery, May 13
Weekly sale featuring Coins and Commemorative Medals, May 19
Weekly featuring 20th Century Design and Pop Culture, Jun 2
Hansons The Old Post Office Leicester Square Penshurst Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8BJ, 01892 642146, www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Penshurst April Silver, Jewellery, Watches and Fine Art Auction, Jun 11
Hanson Ross Unit 1, The Power House, Lumen Road, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 7AG, 01763 430 042
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Royston May Fine Art Auction, May 2
John Nicholson’s Longfield, Midhurst Road, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 3HA, 01428 653727
www.johnnicholsons.com
Saturday Antique and General, May 3
Lacy Scott & Knight
10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA, 01284 748 623
www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk
Toys and Models, May 2
Homes and Interiors, May 17, Jun 7
Coins, Banknotes and Tokens, May 20
Jewellery and Watches, May 20
Lockdales Auctioneers
52 Barrack Square, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 3RF 01473 627110
www.lockdales.com
The Lockdales PMG Graded Banknote Sale, May 13-14
Coins and Militaria (Coins, Medals, Militaria and Weapons, May 13-14
Toys, Ceramics and Antiques, May 28
Paper Collectables, Jun 3
Parker Fine Art Auctions
Hawthorn House, East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7SX, 01252 203020
www.parkerfineartauctions.com
None listed in May
Reeman Dansie
8 Wyncolls Road, Severalls Business Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9HU, 01206 754754
www.reemandansie.com
Fine Medals and Military Antiques, May 1
Sworders Fine Art
Auctioneers Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE, 01279 817778
www.sworder.co.uk
Paul Atkinson: The Nomadic Collector, May 13-14
Asian Art, May 16
Coins (inc. Historical Medals, Banknotes, Tokens) Tmed Online, May 9-18
Homes and Interiors, May 20, Jun 10
Old Master, British and European Art, May 28
Fine Jewellery and Watches, Jun 3
The Rostrum Auctions, Hansons Norfolk, The Old Bakery, Groveland, Thorpe Market Rd, Roughton, NR11 8TB, 01263 840 021
www.therostrumauctions.co.uk
None listed in May
Timeline Auctions The Court House, 363 Main Rd, Harwich, Essex, CO12 4DN, 01277 815121
www.timelineauctions.co.uk
Ancient Art, Antiquities, Natural History and Coins, Jun 3-8
Toovey’s Antique & Fine Art
Auctioneers Spring Gardens, Washington, West Sussex, RH20 3BS, 01903 891955
www.tooveys.com
British and Continental Ceramics, Glassware, May 1
Prints, Maps and Posters, Decorative Pictures, Silver Plate, Jewellery, May 14
Furniture, Tribal Art, Antiquities, Natural History, Collectors’ Items, Works of Art and Light Fittings, Rugs and Carpets, May 15
Stamps, Cigarette and Trade Cards, Postcards Photographs, Autographs and Ephemera, May 21
Wristwatches and Pocket Watches, Clocks and Barometers, Cameras and Scientific Instruments, May 22
T.W. Gaze Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com
Vintage Fashion and Furnishings, May 1
Antiques and Interiors, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Blyth Barn Furniture Auction, May 6, 13, 20, 27
W&H Peacock Auctioneers
Eastcotts Park, Wallis Way Bedford, Bedfordshire MK42 0PE, 01234 266 366 www.peacockauction.co.uk
Mid-Century Design, May 16
W&H Peacock Auctioneers
24 Newnham Street, Bedford Bedfordshire, MK40 3JR 01234 269082
www.peacockauction.co.uk
The Newnham Street Sale (Online) May 30 - Jun 14
SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire
Adam Partridge
The Antique Village, Station Rd, Hele, Exeter, Devon, EX5 4PW 01392 719826
www.adampartridge.co.uk
Antiques and Collectors’ Items with Wines, Spirits & Toys, May 12
Auctioneum Broadlands Fruit Farm, Box Road, Bathford, Bath BA1 7LR, 01225 251303 www.auctioneum.co.uk
Fine Art and Antiques Pt I, May 22
Fine Art and Antiques Pt II, May 23
Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper (Online), May 14-28 Asian Art, Ceramics and Sculpture (Online), May 30 - Jun 16
Auctioneum Bristol
1 Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham Bristol, BS15 3JE, 0117 967 1000 www.auctioneum.co.uk
‘May the Fourth’ Star Wars, (Timed Online), ends May 5
Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
St. Edmund’s Court, Okehampton Street, Exeter EX4 1DU, O1392 41310
www.bhandl.co.uk
Antiquarian Book Auction, May 13
Silver and Jewellery Auction, Jun 3
British Bespoke Auctions
The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 5EE, 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk
Silver, Jewellery, Antiques and Collectables, May 1
Chilcotts The Dolphin Saleroom, High Street, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1HT, 01404 47783 www.chilcottsauctions.co.uk
Fine Art, including Ceramics, Pictures and Works of Art; Good Antiques and 20th Century Design, May 17
Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Coins, Jun 7
Chorley’s
Prinknash Abbey Park, Near Cranham, Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU, 01452 344499
www.chorleys.com
Modern Art and Design, May 20
Dawsons
Unit 8 Cordwallis Business Park, Clivemont Rd, Maidenhead,
Berkshire, SL6 4BU, 01628 944100
www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk
Entertainment and Memorabilia, including Vintage Posters, May 7
Fine Jewellery, Watches & Silver, May 15
Interiors, Art and Antiques, May 22
Dominic Winter Auctions
Mallard House, Broadway Lane,
South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ, 01285 860006
www.dominicwinter.co.uk
Printed Books, Maps and Documents, May 14
Photography and Cameras, Historical Autographs and Documents, May 21
Military and Aviation History, Medals and Militaria, May 22
Dreweatts Donnington Priory Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2JE 01635 553 553 www.dreweatts.com
Parnham Park: A Modern Grand Tour on the Jurassic Coast, May 13
Jewellery (Online), ends May 15
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Pt I, May 21
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Pt II and Japanese, Indian and Islamic Ceramics and Works of Art, May 22
Fine Wine, Champagne, Vintage Port and Spirits (Live Online), May 28
Duke’s Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA, 0105 265080
www.dukes-auctions.com
Interiors, May 15
Asian Art, May 22
Gardiner Houlgate 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW, 01225 812912
www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk
Watches and Jewellery, May 8
The Watch Auction (Wristwatches), May 20
The Watch Auction (Pocket Watches), May 21
Fine Clocks and Related Items, May 22
Hansons Auctioneers
Trinity House, The Harbour Saleroom, The Quay, Penzance TR18 4BN, 01736 339350
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Cornwall May Silver, Jewellery, Watches and Antiques Auction, May 13
Hansons Auctioneers
49 Parsons Street, Banbury, Oxford, OX16 5NB, 01295 817777
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
None listed in May
Harper Field Auctioneers
The Stroud Auction Saleroom Ebley Road, Stonehouse, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL10 2LN 01453 873800
www.harperfield.co.uk
May Auction, To Include Guns and Weapons, Medals and Militaria, Ceramics and Glass, Taxidermy and Sporting, Asian and Tribal Art, May 14-15
Kinghams
10-12 Cotswold Business Village, London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester, GL56 0JQ, 01608 695695
www.kinghamsauctioneers.com
Jewellery, Watches and Designer Goods, Apr 30 to May 1
Fine and Decorative Arts, May 14-15
Cotswold Interiors and Collectables, May 29
Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd
The Linen Yard, South St, Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041
www.lawrences.co.uk
Militaria and Medals, May 14
Coins and Banknotes, May 15
Lay’s Auctioneers Alverton Road, Penzance, Cornwall. TR18 4RE. 01736 361414
www.davidlay.co.uk
None listed in May
Lay’s Auctions
Lay’s Auctioneers, Church Row, Lanner, Redruth, Cornwall, TR16 6ET, 01736 361414
www.davidlay.co.uk
Fine Jewellery and Watches, Jun 5-6
Mallams Oxford
Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford, OX1 2EB, 01865 241358
www.mallams.co.uk
The Oxford Library Sale, May 14
Mallams Cheltenham
26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham. Gloucestershire, GL52 2SG 01242 235 712
www.mallams.co.uk
Asian, Indian and Islamic Art, May 8
Mallams Abingdon Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH, 01235 462840
www.mallams.co.uk
The House and Garden Sale, Jun 2-3
Moore Allen & Innocent Burford Road Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5RH, 01285 646050
www.mooreallen.co.uk
Timed Vintage and Antique Furniture, May 23-Jun 1
Vintage and Antique Furniture Auction, May 21-22
Philip Serrell Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcestershire. WR14 3LW, 01684 892314 www.serrell.com
An Eclectic Mix of Antique, Vintage, Household Furniture and Effects, May 1
Fine Art and Antiques, May 22
Special Auction Services
Plenty Close, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5RL 01635 580 595 www.specialauctionservices.
Music and Entertainment Auction, May 13
Jewellery, Silver and Antiques Auction, May 15
Photographica and Cameras Auction, May 20
The Collector’s Auction, Jun 3
The Cotswold Auction Company Chapel Walk Saleroom, Cheltenham, Gloucesterhire, GL50 3DS, 01242 256363 www.cotswoldauction.co.uk
Books, Medals, Militaria, Coins, Stamps and Collectables, Jun 3
The Cotswold Auction Company
Bankside Saleroom
Bankside Trading Park Love Lane, Cirencester Gloucestershire, GL7 1YG, 01285 642420 www.cotswoldauction.co.uk
Treasures in Boxes and Household Items, May 18
Pictures, Antiques and Interiors, May 20-21
Wessex Auction Rooms
Westbrook Far, Draycot Cerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 5LH, 01249 720888 www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk
Antiques, Collectables and Furniture, May 10, 31 Coins, May 22
Jewellery, Silver and Watches, May 23
Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
Woolley & Wallis
51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500
www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk
Silver and Objects of Vertu (Day Two), May 1
Fine Asian Art, Asian Art II and Japanese Works of Art, May 20-21
Medals and Coins, Arms and Armour, Jun 3
Modern and Coins, Arms and Armour, Jun 4
EAST MIDLANDS: Inc.
Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sheffield
Bamfords
The Derby Auction House, 46 Nottingham Road, Spondon, Derby DE21 7NL 01332 210 000
www.bamfords-auctions.co.uk
Three Day Fine Art and Antique Auction, May 1-3
Antiques, Interiors, Estates and Collectables, May 14, 28
Bamfords
The Bakewell Auction House, Peak Shopping Village Chatsworth Road, Rowsley, Derbyshire, DE4 2JE, 01629 730 920 www.bamfords-auctions.co.uk
The Bakewell Country Home Interiors & Collectors Auction including Furniture, Ceramics, Textiles, Jewellery, Contemporary Design etc May 7, 21
The Gallery Sale of Paintings, Works on Paper, and Sculpture, Jun 5
Gildings Auctioneers
The Mill, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7DE. 01858 410414
www.gildings.co.uk
None listed in May
Golding Young & Mawer
The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686
www.goldingyoung.com
Bourne Collective Sale, May 14-15
Golding Young & Mawer
The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA, 01476 565118
www.goldingyoung.com
Grantham Collective Sale, May 7-8
Grantham Asian Art, May 28
Golding Young & Mawer
The Lincoln Auction Rooms, Thos Mawer House, Station Road North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 3QY, 01522 524984
www.goldingyoung.com
Lincoln Collective Sale, May 21-22
Hansons
Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Derby May Coins and Banknotes Auction, May 1
Derbyshire May Georgian Auction
May 8
Derby May Medals, Militaria & Firearms Auction, May 14
Derby May Four-Day Antiques and Collectors: Including Silver, Jewellery & Watches, May 15-20
Etwall May Wine, Whisky and Spirits Auction, May 20
Hansons Classics Spring Car Auction, May 31
Hansons
The Auction Rooms, 17 Northgate, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1EX 01636 605905
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Newark Furniture and House Clearance, May 10, 24
Irita Marriott Auctioneers and Valuers Ltd, William’s Yard, Derby Road, Melbourne, Derbyshire, DE73 8JR 01332414848
iritamarriottauctioneers.co.uk
None listed in May
WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire
Cuttlestones Ltd
Pinfold Lane, Penkridge Staffordshire ST19 5AP, 01785 714905
www.cuttlestones.co.uk
Antique and Home, May 8, 22, Jun 5
Fellows
Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA , 0121 212 2131
www.fellows.co.uk
Pawnbrokers Jewellery and Watches, May 7, 21, Jun 4
Fieldings
Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140
www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk
The Collectors Auction Including Militaria, May 15-16
Everyday Antiques (Timed), May 21-28
Toys, Model Railway, Dolls and Teddy Bears, May 29
Halls
Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR, 01743 450700
www.hallsgb.com/fine-art.com
Asian Art, May 7
Fine Art and Antiques, May 21 Silver, Jewellery and Watches Auction, Jun 4
Hansons Auctioneers
Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN, 01889 882397
www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
None listed in May
Potteries Auctions
Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS 01782 638100
www.potteriesauctions.com
Decorative Arts, May 8
20th Century Pottery, Collectables and Jewellery, May 9
Potteries Auctions
The Cobridge Saleroom, 271 Waterloo Road, Cobridge, Stokeon-Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 3HR 01782 212489
www.potteriesauctions.com
20th Century Pottery, Jewellery, Furniture and Household Items, May 9
Rare Book Auctions,
3 Wade Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire,WS13 6HL, 01543 765 230
www.rarebookauctions.co.uk
The Library Auction (Timed) May 7-21
Richard Winterton
Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 8NF, 01543 251081
www.richardwinterton.co.uk
Antique and Home, May 6, 12, 19, 27
Richard Winterton
Tamworth Auction Rooms, 34 -35 Church Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire
B79 7BX, 01827 217746
www.richardwinterton.co.uk
Toys, Trains, Stamps and Militaria, May 28
Trevanion
The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RD, 01948 800 202 www.trevanion.com
None listed in May
NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Adam Partridge Auctioneers
Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2BD 01625 431 788
www.adampartridge.co.uk
Asian Art, Musical Instruments, Wines and Spirits with Antiques and Collectables, May 21-23
Adam Partridge Auctioneers
The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP, 01625 431 788
www.adampartridge.co.uk
Antiques and Interiors with Photographic, Scientific and Stamps, May 1-2
Antiques and Interiors with Maritime and Militaria, Jun 5-6
Anderson and Garland
Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF, 0191 430 3000
www.andersonandgarland.com
The Collectors’ Auction, May 8
The Comics Auction, May 14
Home and Interiors, May 28
The Modern Art and Design Auction, May 29
British Toy Auctions
9 Berkeley Court Manor Park, Runcorn Cheshire, WA7 1TQ 01928 579032
www.britishtoyauctions.co.uk
Vintage Diecast and Tin-plate Toys, Model Railways and more, May 12
Capes Dunn
The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, Cheshire, SK4 3QT. 0161 273 1911
www.capesdunn.com
Interiors, Vintage and Modern, May, 12, 27, Jun 9
Jewellery, Silver, Watches & Gold Coins, May 13
David Duggleby Auctioneers
The Gallery Saleroom, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1XN, 01723 507 111 www.davidduggleby.com
Cameras and Scientific Instruments, May 8
The Silver Sale, May 14
Jewellery and Watches, May 15, Jun 5
Affordable Art, May 15, Jun 5
Antiques and Decorative Objects, May 16, Jun 6
Affordable Antiques and Collectors, May 16, Jun 6
Militaria, Medals, Weapons and Sporting Guns, May 22
Furniture, Rugs and Interiors, Jun 4
Duggleby Stephenson
The Saleroom, York Auction Centre, Murton, York, YO19 5GF,01904 393 300 www.dugglebystephenson.com
Jewellery and Watches, May 1, 29
Antiques and Decorative Objects, May 1, 29
Affordable Antiques and Collectors, May 1, 29
Fine and Affordable Art, May 2, 30
Furniture, Rugs and Interiors, May 2, 14, 30
Coins, Banknotes and Stamps, May 28
Elstob Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ, 01677 333003
www.elstob.co.uk
None listed in May
Ryedale Auctioneers
Cooks Yard, New Rd, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, YO62 6DZ, 01751 431 544
www.ryedaleauctioneers.com
Antiques, Interiors and Collectables, May 1-3, May 29-31
Toys, Models, Comics and Sci-Fi, May 16
Sheffield Auction Gallery
Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB, 0114 281 6161
www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com
Specialist Collectable Toys, May 8, Jun 5
Silver,Jewellery and Watches, May 8, 22
Antiques and Collectables, May 9, 23
Vinyl Records and Music Ephemera, May 22
Collectable Knives and Penknives (Online), May 22
Tennants Auctioneers
The Auction Centre, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 5SG, 01969 623780
Coins and Banknotes, May 7
Antiques and Interiors, to include a Section of Silver, May 9, Jun 6
Scientific and Musical Instruments, Cameras and Tools, May 14
Country House Sale, May 17
Jewellery, Watches and Silver, May 17
Antiques and Interiors, May 23
Fashion, Costume and Textile, May 23
Stamps, Postcards and Postal History, Jun 4
Wilson55
Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5DG 01270 623 878
www.wilson55.com
Firearms, Shotguns, Airguns, Arms and Militaria, May 7
Bonhams 22 Queen St, Edinburgh, EH2 1JX, 0131 225 2266
www.bonhams.com
Finest Whisky and Spirits (Online), ends May 13
Scottish Art, May 21
Lyon & Turnbull
33 Broughton Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3RR, 0131 557 8844
www.lyonandturnbull.com
Five Centuries, May 14-15
Jewellery, Jun 4
Watches, Jun 4
Scottish Paintings and Sculpture, Jun 5
McTears Auctioneers
31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow, G51 4GB, 0141 810 2880
www.mctears.co.uk
Antiques and Interiors, May 1, 15, 29
Militaria, Maps and Ethnographica, May 7
19th and 20th Century Design, May 7
The Scottish Pictures Auction, May 7
Silver and Luxury Accessories, May 8
Asian Art, May 8
Land and Sea, May 8
Coins and Banknotes, May 28
Jewellery, May 28
Watches, May 28
Whisky, Jun 4
The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction, Jun 5
Thomson Roddick Callan
The Auction Centre, Irongray Road Industrial Estate, Dumfries, DG2 0JE, 01387 721 635
www.thompsonroddick.com
Home Furnishings and Interiors, May 6, 20, Jun 3
Thomson Roddick Callan
The Auction Centre, 118 Carnethie Street, Edinburgh, EH24 9AL, 0131 440 2448
www.thompsonroddick.com
None listed in May
Thomson Roddick Callan
The Auction Centre, 22 Smith Street, Ayr, KA7 1TF, 01292 267681
www.thomsonroddick.com
Antique Sale, May 8
Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, CF23 9AB,
029 2047 2444
www.anthemionauction.com
General Sale, Apr 2
Jones & Llewelyn
Unit B, Beechwood Trading Estate, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7HR, www.jonesandllewelyn.com
General Sale, May 7
Rogers Jones & Co
Colwyn Bay Saleroom, 33 Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, North Wales, LL29 7RU, 01492 532176
www.rogersjones.co.uk
None listed in May
Rogers Jones & Co
17 Llandough Trading Estate, Penarth, Cardiff, CF11 8RR, 02920 708125 www.rogersjones.co.uk
Beyond Europe: Asian and Ethnographic Arts, May 16
The Family Collection of Gwilym and Claudia, May 23
Adam’s 26, Stephens Green, Dublin 2, D02 X665, Ireland, 00 353 1 6760261 www.adams.ie
Fine Jewellery and Ladies Watches, May 13
Fine Watches, May 14
Irish Old Masters, May 15 Garden and Architectural, May 20
Important Irish Art, May 28
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
The Old Cinema, Chatsworth Street, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, R95 XV05 00 353 (0)56 4441229 www.fonsiemealy.ie
Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale
May 1
O’Reillys
126 Francis Street
The Liberties Dublin 8, D08 E0C3 00 353 (0)1 453 0311 www.oreillysfineart.com
The Design Sale, May 14
Whyte’s
38 Molesworth St. Dublin D02 KF80 Ireland 00 353- (0)1-676 2888 www.whytes.ie
Important Irish Art, May 25
I’ve just returned from a month-long lecture tour of Australia. It was my rst time Down Under and, to be honest, I was slightly reticent about what my experience was going to be like. Having left it so long to venture to Oz, I had managed to build up a few preconceptions about various aspects of Australian society and history, most of which were totally wrong!
I soon discovered when it came to the series of talks on art and antiques, I was largely preaching to the converted. My words were received by some of the most stalwart and hardcore Antiques Roadshow fans I have ever encountered.
I knew the programme has a very good following in Australia but had no idea that it is incessantly repeated on television, which led to some amusing encounters with my younger self on various hotel televisions. Given that my looks have changed over the years I was still spotted by fans on the streets of Melbourne, Hobart and Brisbane who delighted in stopping me for a quick chat.
It was both touching and fun to encounter such
Marc discovered the historic parts of Australian cities, including Melbourne
interest and devotion to the show, myself and my colleagues. I’d always wondered why, over the years, there have been such a large number of Australians attending the Roadshow’s recording days – now I know why.
On the odd day that I wasn’t working, I was well looked after and chaperoned around, visiting regional galleries and museums but also having the pleasure of deep-diving into the collections of the State Library of Queensland.
My love of classic cars also opened several doors, and I was lucky enough to meet some wonderful private collectors as well as motoring through Tasmania in a 1924 Alvis 12/50 Ducksback. Wonderful.
e wildlife, too, enthralled me although, laughably, I didn’t manage to see a kangaroo in the wild, which resulted in my having to go to Rockhampton Zoo on my last day en route to the airport to actually spot one of the country’s most iconic animals.
Of course, as on every foreign visit, I headed to various charity shops and antique emporiums buying several items, including some 18th-century Chinese export plates, and a 2kg bronze replica of a lantaka cannon, a type of bronze swivel gun, from a southeastern Asian warship, which caused me a few problems when clearing security on a couple of internal ights.
I should have known better than to attempt it but it’s now back in the UK and testament to a collector’s tenacity to overcome every obstacle to own something.
However, I did see sense on some occasions, realising the fragility of a few pieces meant they were unlikely to make it home. In these cases I auctioned them o after a lecture giving the proceeds to art-based charities.
In the end, though, what struck me most about the trip was the people. I met hundreds of kind and humorous individuals all linked by a proud knowledge of their roots. Whether it was English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish they all took great pleasure in the family tree that rooted them to larger families around the world. I can honestly say that Australians are some of the most well-travelled people I have ever met. is was also strongly re ected in the items they brought along to my talks, with a wonderful array of family heirlooms that formed the basis for several spontaneous ‘object lectures’. I’m pleased to say that I’ve already been invited back and looking forward to heading back Down Under soon.
Marc Allum is an author, lecturer and specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. For more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk
‘I knew AntiquesRoadshow has a very good following in Australia, but had no idea that it is incessantly repeated on television, which led to some amusing encounters with my younger self on various hotel televisions. Given that my looks have changed over the years I was still spotted by fans on the streets of Melbourne, Hobart or Brisbane who delighted in stopping me for a quick chat’
Preview of Roseberys’ forthcoming auction calendar
