Issue 2008 | 24th September 2011 UK £2.00 – USA $6.50 – Europe €3.95


international page 54 | Hong Kong fair


How to do business with the super-rich Chinese buyers


October ruling on Wedgwood Museum’s fate


■ High Court judge to decide if 10,000-piece holding must be sold off


Ivan Macquisten reports


THE Wedgwood Museum must wait until next month to discover whether it will be forced to sell its historic 10,000-piece collection to pay off pension fund debts.


As ATG reported in August last year,


an extraordinary legal loophole meant that although the museum, set up as an independent charitable trust in 1962, has had nothing to do with the Waterford Wedgwood company for nearly 50 years, it is being held liable for a £134m


shortfall in the company’s pension scheme. Waterford Wedgwood went into


administration in January 2009. It was then sold on but, under the terms of the deal, the US buyer did not have to take on the obligations of the pension shortfall, leaving the massive hole in the pension fund. The problem is that fi ve of the


museum’s employees are members of the Waterford Wedgwood company pension scheme and, under a statutory instrument brought in by parliament in April 2008 to prevent companies from hiding assets from creditors, any company with links to a scheme – in this case the museum trust’s trading company – can be held responsible for its shortfall. As the museum trust trading company is the last fi rm linked to the scheme, creditors are chasing it for the entire shortfall. However, in a three-day High Court


Right: George V silver table – £68,000.


£6.4m for Cowdray Sale


BILLED as the largest and most important country house auction of the year, Christie’s three-day sale at Cowdray Park in West Sussex, netted £6.4m hammer against a £5m top estimate. The George V silver table, above, from the Mexican Silver Suite at Cowdray


Park, was one of object actually commissioned by the family to appear in the 1256-lot sale. Based on the celebrated set of Stuart period silver furniture in the King’s Room at Knole in Kent, it was almost certainly ordered by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Pearson (1856-1927), who acquired many pieces included


HPG 74 x 69 mm 14/9/11 15:24 Page 1 continued on page 3


375 Live Ltd O F HA T T O N G AR D E N Precious Metals


Our buying prices against a fi x of £1127.15 are as follows am Thursday


9ct


14ct 18ct 22ct


per gram £13.09 per gram £20.42 per gram £26.18 per gram £31.98


Platinum per gram £31.20 H/M Silver per ounce £21.00


Phone for up to date prices Voted best prices in the Times


58G HATTON GARDEN, LONDON EC1N 8LX Offi ce: 020 7242 3235


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t: 01473 461122 or e: jenny@healeys-printers.co.uk www.healeys-printers.co.uk


Healeys PrintGroup


Specialist printers of beautiful Fine Art Catalogues and Cards for Galleries and Artists


TheHarrogateAntique Fair 30th September - 4th October 2011


Harrogate International Centre Hall M - bottom of Parliament Street Open:


Friday 30th September 2pm-9pm Saturday 1st October & Sunday 2nd October 11am-6pm Monday 3rd October 11am-8pm Tuesday 4th October 11am-5pm


Enquiries to 01823 323363 Admission: £7.50 including catalogue


A n t i q u e s Tr a de Ga z e t t e: 115 Sh a f t e s b u r y Av e n u e , L o n d o n, WC 2H 8A F. P R I N T ED IN THE UN I T ED KI N G D OM in association with ATG 74H X 69W_ATG 74H X 69W 08/09/2011 08:42 Page 1 continued on page 3


Raising money for


Supporting people with dementia and research into Scleroderma


ABSTRACTION–CREA Post-War Geometric Abstract Art from Europe and South America


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