Art and antiques news from 2002

Paris in late March held various attractions for art lovers outside the saleroom. Europ’Art, a new contemporary art salon (March 14-17), attracted 200 artists from 18 countries (40 of them from ‘guest nation’ Israel). The International Paris Print Fair (March 22-25) assembled 30 exhibitors from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK (Elizabeth Harvey-Lee, Flowers Graphics, Garton & Co, Sims Reed, and William Weston).

The Doulton Lambeth Wares by Desmond Eyles, revised by Louise Irvine, published by Richard Dennis Publications, The Old Chapel, Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset, TA19 0LE. ISBN 090368579 £60 hb.

Operating for many years from their warehouse space in Eccleston, Lancashire, Bygone Times International were one of the UK’s largest dealers in memorabilia supplying themed bars and restaurants worldwide.

On May 17-18, Sotheby’s New York rooms are mounting a sale entitled By Design which features furnishings that have either been designed or selected for decorative schemes by leading interior designers.

“HEAVILY used” is not often a description that is likely to add value to a lot at auction. However, Betjemanians would certainly have been far from put off by the condition of a set of 32 Ordnance Survey maps that appeared at Cheffins of Cambridge on March 7.

SEVEN decades of work by Susie Cooper, one of Britain’s keynote ceramics designers, is the subject of ‘Susie Cooper Style’, an exhibition running until the autumn at the Wedgwood Story visitor centre at Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent.

Pop star Dave Stewart has a ‘garage’ sale…: Two Sotheby’s sales, one in London the other in New York, will provide plentiful fodder for design-hungry fanatics on either side of the pond next month.

The British Antique Dealers’ Association’s annual survey of its 388 members shows that, despite economic jitters, their aggregate turnover rose from £727m in 2000 to an estimated £782m last year.

TWO weeks after Sotheby’s raised their buyer’s premium rates for their premier salerooms, Christie’s have matched them. Both companies now charge 19.5% on the first $100,000 and 10 per cent thereafter.

London fair organisers Patricia and Ralph Harvey have sold Heritage Antiques Fairs, the business they founded 25 years ago as the first Sunday fairs circuit.

Phillips have released details of a bumper sale of Contemporary art to be held in New York on May 13. The announcement came as art trade rumours persist about the reasons for the auction house postponing their May 6 sale of Impressionist and Modern art until June at the earliest.

While Pelé’s shirt received nearly all the post-sale plaudits, it wasn’t the only piece of football history to go under the hammer at Christie’s South Kensington (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) last week, and CSK was not the only London room offering a sale of football memorabilia.

THE Prince of Wales feathers to this Victorian gold fringe necklace, right, revealed that it was manufactured by Robert Phillips of Cockspur Street, London, whose signature the royal feathers were, but it may as well have been the work of any number of designers working in the Etruscan Revival style during this period – Carlo Giuliano, John Brogden or Augusta Castellani.

Is there a future for Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg (15/10% buyer’s premium) now that Bernard Arnault and the financial might of the LVMH group have distanced themselves from the company and the enormous guarantees it was paying to secure high-value consignments?

From the time commission bids began to come in, it was plain one item would tower above everything else at the 558-lot Harrogate sale held by Morphets (15/10% buyer’s premium) on March 7 – the Archibald Knox silver wine flagon shown right.

Echoing encouraging sentiments of provincial auctioneers across the UK, Bristol Auction Rooms specialist David Rees felt “the trade were more comfortable buying for stock” at his March sale than in previous months, adding: “It was the best sale we’ve had since November.”

We reported in last week’s Antiques Trade Gazette's Art Market pages on the Ellekilde, Copenhagen sale and reflected on the popularity of Scandinavian interiors. An altogether different Danish artist to enjoy success at that sale was Gerda Wegener (1885-1940), a magazine illustrator, whose work proves especially popular with an American audience.

LONDON: THE trade are being warned about credit card cloning after several incidents in London in the past few months. In mid-January, a King’s Road gallery sold a French 19th Century bronze figure to a customer, and was paid with a credit card which, though authorised at the time, now appears to have been fraudulent.

Other auction houses may soon have to follow suit: Concern over the possibility of conflicts of interest has put Christie’s review of their policy on the use of outside consultants at the top of the company’s agenda.

SOTHEBY’S former chairman, A. Alfred Taubman, convicted in December of conspiring with rival auction house Christie’s to fix fees charged to sellers, must now wait until April 22 for sentencing.