Antiques Trade Gazette


3


Auctions benefit in both weak and strong economies for 2011


DUBLIN fine art auctioneers James Adam believe uncertainty regarding the euro has helped rather than hindered the Irish art market. Adam’s 2011 sales reached the €10m


mark, a ten per cent increase on 2010. Meanwhile, the average selling rate by lot rose from 70 to 80%. Although well down on the halcyon


days of the Celtic Tiger (Adams posted sales of €17.5m in 2006), this is the second year in a row that the St Stephens Green firm have recorded a ten per cent increase in sales. It is a positive note on which to celebrate the firm’s 125 years in the fine art business. The success of Adam’s quarterly Irish


art auctions contributed significantly to the figures, with two artists in particular – Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry – performing strongly when estimated at sensible levels. Yeats’ Fair Day, Mayo brought a new


Irish record when it sold in September for €1m, making it the highest-priced painting ever sold at auction in Ireland. Yeats’ Jazz Babies sold in December for €480,000 (it had last been sold in Ireland in 1981 for the equivalent of €14,000), while good paintings by Paul Henry averaged €70,000 each. “I believe that many buyers saw, in


good artworks, a safe haven for their savings at a time when the euro has been under considerable pressure,” managing director James O’Halloran told ATG. “Despite difficult economic conditions


in Ireland, good quality items are continuing to achieve strong prices, with the vast majority of purchasers coming from this country. [Sales of €10m] is a great result and one that shows that the company is heading in the right direction after several hard years.” On the other side of the world, where the economy has been notably strong,


Above: Jack Yeats’ A Fair Day, Mayo sold for €1m (£917,430) at Adams on September 28.


Australian auction house Moss Green have also released buoyant figures. A slew of single-owner auctions hs


helped the Melbourne-based firm to a 43% increase in sales totals, from Aus$9.9m to Aus$14.2m. Managing director Paul Sumner, a


former chairman of Sotheby’s Olympia, also said that sales of Chinese art had contributed a quarter of the entire sales total for the year.


Although only a fraction of the prices


seen in London, New York and Hong Kong, Moss Green were able to claim the record in Australia for a Chinese work of art with the Aus$1.22m paid against an estimate of $150,000-250,000 in November for a 15th century Xuande mark and period gilt-bronze figure of Avalokitesvara. It also set a record for a single piece of decorative art sold at auction in Australia, said Mr Sumner.


Auction Atrium ceases trading after backers pull out


AUCTION Atrium, the online auction house based in Kensington Church Street, London, has announced that it has ceased trading. Chief executive Allison Earl Woessner told ATG that the company had


ceased trading due to the withdrawal of its investment support. “We are doing our very best to make sure that our clients will be protected


in these difficult circumstances,” she added. “Despite reports to the contrary the company is not in receivership.” Any enquiries should be directed to info@auctionatrium.com. A fuller report will appear in next week’s issue.


No distinction between precious metal and general scrap in draft Bill


THE draft Metal Theft (Prevention) Bill before Parliament makes no distinction between those dealing in general scrap and the trade in scrap precious metal. Sponsoring MP Graham Jones told ATG back in November


that his priority in putting the Bill forward was to prevent crime and uphold the law, and that a decision on whether dealers buying scrap gold, silver and platinum would be included had yet to be taken but would be discussed. It is not clear whether such discussions have taken place. Although the focus has been very much on thefts of cable


from the railways and bronze plaques from war memorials, the wording in the draft legislation refers only to scrap metal


dealers, making no distinction between breakers’ yards and jewellery shops. The central plank of the legislation, which is due for its


second reading in the House of Commons within the next couple of months, is a ban on cash transactions involving scrap metal in the hope that the resulting paper trail would act as a deterrent to thieves. Dealers would have to keep full records of transactions for four years under the proposals. Those found to have breached the law would forfeit all


their holdings of scrap metal and be disqualified from dealing in it. Punishments, depending on the type of offence, would encompass fines and/or jail terms of up to five years.


London coin sales up by a half in 2011


FIGURES just released show substantial growth in London’s coins market for 2011. ATG columnist Richard Falkiner


has completed his annual analysis of the London auctions market, which shows overall growth of just over 50% to £37.4m for the market in coins, commemorative medals and banknotes. Although London’s auction


market for orders, decorations and campaign medals has fallen by around a third over the same period, the combined market has still registered a 24% rise. Richard Falkiner’s detailed


analysis of the London market in 2011, complete with a breakdown of statistics by auction house, will appear in a future issue.


PEOPLE


LONG-standing dealer and gallery owner Brian Roughton is to join Texas-based Heritage Auctions as director of American and European art. He has spent the last two years working with the auction house on retainer, vetting consignments, and will now take up his new position operating out of the company’s Design District Annex in Dallas. Heritage has also recently


expanded into California and taken on Deborah Solon as West Coast director of American art and Alissa Ford as director of California art.


Precious metals


On Friday, February 3, Michael Bloomstein of Brighton were paying the following for bulk scrap against a gold fix of $1759.50 (€1335.48, £1110.65)


GOLD 22 carat – £952.99 per oz (£30.64 per gram) 18 carat – £779.72 (£25.07) 15 carat – £649.76 (£20.89) 14 carat – £606.45 (£19.50) 9 carat – £389.86 (£12.54)


HALLMARK PLATINUM £28.05 per gram


SILVER £17.72 per oz for 925 standard hallmarked


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