Art and antiques news from 2002

Stockmarket jitters may not have had any noticeable impact on the upper ranges of the Impressionist and Modern market but further down the scale things were looking less rosy. At Bonhams (19.5/10% buyer’s premium) on June 24 the 95-lot sale took £446,020 with a 52 per cent take-up by lot.

The World Cup may have come to a disappointing close for English fans, but sporting enthusiasts can now look forward to a summer of Wimbledon and cricket Test matches.

It’s the taking part…There were boos and some barracking, there were smiles and pouts, there was undisguised triumphalism and some unmistakable despair – yes, the third staging of the British Antiques and Collectables Awards at London’s Dorchester Hotel on June 26 was definitely the best yet.

SOTHEBY’s lost one of their senior directors and serious innovators at the beginning of this month when Philippe Garner joined Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg with the position of Worldwide Director of Photographs and 20th and 21st Century Design.

Sotheby’s announcement of the discovery of a cache of Nelson memorabilia that has been hidden away for almost 200 years has generated huge media interest.

PIMLICO dealer Alexander von Moltke has formed a partnership with the Manhattan interior designers Robert Marinelli and Michael Reeves who operate as RMMR.

UK: Edinburgh auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull are expanding their business with the creation of three new jobs, two of them in silver and jewellery.“We are bucking the trend by continuing with our expansion plans as other auction rooms in Scotland reduce their workforce and close offices,” said vice-chairman Paul Roberts.

SALES IN PARIS – THE LAFOND COLLECTION: A RAREFIED array of pharmacy jars formed the basis of the former Louis Lafond Collection presented at Briest on June 4. Lafond (1880-1950) was a practising chemist whose unremarkable personal history epitomises that of the dedicated, middle-class, often anonymous buying public that continues to flourish in France and, especially, at the Hôtel Drouot.

Following the last minute cancellation of Bonhams’ July 8-9 sale on the premises at Moynes Park in Essex, the nearest thing to a traditional English house sale this summer is likely to be the contents of Branton Court House in Yorkshire which Bonhams are offering in three parts at their Hepper House saleroom in Leeds on July 16, July 23 and August 6.

UK: The Fine Art Auction Group have added to their network of regional salerooms with the acquisition of Taylor’s of Honiton in Devon.

USA: ONE OF America’s best known antique and collectors’ fairs, the Atlantique City show in New Jersey, will soon be under new ownership following the sale of Krause Publications, specialist collecting and hobby publishers based in Iola, Wisconsin to F &W Publications of Cincinnati.

This vase may have come from relatively humble surroundings but the London trade had no doubt that it was fit for a king. The 18th century blue ground imperial vase, 133/4in (35cm) high, was offered at Bearne’s, Exeter on July 2.

Every picture tells a story, but in the case of Théodore Chassériau’s large portrait of Comtesse de Latour-Maubourg, it was condition as much as content that revealed the artist’s state of mind at the time.

It may not look like a particularly important piece of furniture, but this early 19th century mahogany framed sofa, right, played a crucial role in the dynastic history of Cleveland Lodge, North Yorkshire.

THE success of the Regency mahogany bookcase, right, contributed a large chunk of the £86,000 hammer total taken at Hall’s (15% buyer’s premium) of Chester on May 31.

Frost & Reed, one of London’s oldest art dealerships, is to open a New York branch in mid-October, citing increasing taxes and bureaucracy imposed by the European Union as part of their reason for the move.

Partridge Fine Arts plc have announced further plans to reach out to overseas markets following improved but still difficult trading during the first six months of their financial year.

It is believed that only two copies of Johann Simon Kerner’s Le Raisin, ses espèces et variétées… were completed, but then this German botanist did make it hard work for himself in choosing to illustrate it with original watercolours.

Stones’ Pocket Guide to Tea Caddies, by Noel Riley, published by June and Tony Stone Antique Boxes, PO Box 106, Peacehaven, East Sussex BN10 8AU. £12.50 to include p&p. Tel: 01273 579333 email: rachel@boxes.co.uk www.boxes.co.uk

A HARD act to follow will be Elizabeth Fell who after seven years running the whole show is leaving The Swan at Tetsworth, one of our most successful and innovative antiques centres.