Happy 40th Anniversary
antiques trade gazette User: IVAN
Issue No: 2139
Issue Date: 03/05/14
File Name: NE01-03
PROOFED:
Issue 2000 | 23rd July 2011 UK £2.00 – USA $6.50 – Europe €3.95
Issue 2139 | 3rd May 2014 UK £2.25 – USA $6.50 – Europe €3.95
The man who started it all
see page 34
2 40
THIS week we celebrate our 2000th issue – 40 years of bringing you news, views, comment and analysis on the world of fi ne art and antiques.
Trends have come and gone, as have
some of the biggest names among collectors, auctioneers and dealers; prices have rocketed, fallen back with recession and climbed once more; new technology has replaced many of the old ways of doing things – often for the better, although this week’s news that cheques have won a reprieve (see page 3) will undoubtedly be hailed as a triumph. With all this, some things never change:
the thrill of a great deal; the appreciation of artistry, craftsmanship and beautiful things; the ingenuity of trade professionals, often up against it in terms of time and money, in fi nding innovative ways of doing business. We’re also delighted to say that a
fair number of subscribers who signed up on day one still look forward to the weekly thud on the doormat. And we even have one or two people who were there at the beginning still contributing to our pages. Antiques Trade Gazette – ATG as we
tend to refer to it these days – has long enjoyed an exceptionally loyal following, and it’s a privilege we do not take lightly. As we look forward to the next 40
years, we hope you enjoy the additional content included in this week’s pages, from the timeline of events that starts on page 2 and runs throughout this issue, to the central section with memories of those who have been part of the journey across the years.
375 Live Ltd O F H A T T ON GA R D E N Precious Metals
Our buying prices against a fi x of £979.64 are as follows am Thursday
9ct
14ct 18ct 22ct
per gram £11.45 per gram £17.82 per gram £22.90 per gram £27.98
Platinum per gram £29.80 H/M Silver per ounce £19.75
Phone for up to date prices Voted best prices in the Times
58G HATTON GARDEN, LONDON EC1N 8LX Offi ce: 020 7242 3235
silverpenguin@hotmail.co.uk
IACF acquire Ally Pally fair from Nelson
■ Management changes at current organisers create new opportunity for Keith Harris
Joan Porter reports
INTERNATIONAL Antiques and Collectors’ Fairs (IACF) have taken over the Alexandra Palace antiques and collectors’ fair from Nelson Events. Nelson, who have run the Ally Pally
fixture in north London since 2008, will hold their last outing there on May 11. The move comes after Blair Barrows,
son of Nelson’s founder Peter Barrows, decided to return to full-time university studies. He is based in Edinburgh, while his father is based in Newmarket and director Paul Kelly in London. “The reduction in our management
team means that we are unable to give this fair the focus it requires to maintain its ongoing success,” Peter Barrows told ATG. “This flagship fair for the trade couldn’t have gone to a better company to whom I give every support. I believe that IACF are the only organisers who can realise its potential.” Keith Harris, chairman of IACF,
expressed himself delighted to have “this jewel of London events” added to his company’s portfolio – he had tried to buy the fair in 1994. “We will ensure that the resources
required to develop and grow Alexandra Palace will be put in place,” he said. These resources include the antiques
and collectors’ fairs rental at Ally Pally: “not much cheaper than hiring Olympia”, said Mr Harris. Lindy Berkman and Alan Kipping
ran the antiques and collectors’ fair at Ally Pally under the Pig and Whistle
continued on page 2
Above: the Asian art sale at Sworders on April 29 in Stansted Mountfitchet was led by this massive 9½in (24.5cm) high Chinese calligrapher’s brush pot dating to the late 18th or early 19th century. The pot, being held here by Yexue Li, who works in Sworders’ Asian art department, is made from a single block of zitan – the rare hardwood largely reserved for use in the Qing Imperial household. It is intricately carved with dozens of figures in the popular ‘hundred boys’ subject (detail inset below), a highly auspicious theme in Chinese art intended to inspire the creation of a large and joyous family. The piece, apparently used as a doorstop in a Hertfordshire cottage for over 40 years, was estimated at £20,000-30,000, but auctioneer and managing director Guy Schooling said it soon became clear that interest would see it exceed this sum. The vendor was present at the auction rooms (choosing to watch online from the office, rather than in the saleroom itself) to see it sell to a Chinese buyer in the room at £150,000. Mr Schooling described it as “a life-changing sum for the seller”.
The £150,000 doorstop with an Imperial past
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Chinese show rising taste for Western art
■ Report from Sotheby’s reveals high demand – but TEFAF Beijing is still put on hold
Alex Capon reports
THE importance of China as a source of new clients in the international art market has been highlighted in a business intelligence report made available to ATG by Sotheby’s. The information compiled by the
auctioneers in advance of their first major sales activities in Beijing last month, indicates the level of increasing interest from Chinese buyers in non-Asian art categories.
However, despite this rising trend, it
has been announced that proposals for a possible TEFAF Beijing have been put on hold for now (see story on page 2). Key findings from Sotheby’s show
that in the last three years the number of bidders from mainland China active in sectors other than Chinese art has increased by 54%. Over this period, 660 bidders from mainland China competed for more than 7800 lots in these ‘non- Chinese’ sectors, spending a total of $378m (£241m). Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia Patti Wong
told ATG: “Over the last ten years we have seen a constant growth of Asian buyers buying abroad, but in the last five years, and especially the last three, we’ve seen a real increase coming out of mainland China in particular.”
continued on page 3 House prices are soaring...
WHEN Gloucestershire auctioneers Chorley’s were asked to sell this early Victorian dolls’ house in their November 28-29 sale, the consignment came with a caveat. The client, who had owned it for
more than 40 years, was anxious that the house and its contents should stay together and agreed that ‘sale by informal tender’ was the best way to proceed. This flexible form of sale is more common when dealing with land and property than it is when selling
antiques. In short, the vendor has the right to choose an offer that may not necessarily be the highest but the one they feel happiest with. Potential buyers are informed as to the position of their bid and if they are minded to, they can adjust their offer. Parties from across the country
expressed interest and many submitted tenders. After much consultation, Chorley’s client was pleased to accept
continued on page 3 The next edition, ATG No 2122, will be our double issue dated December 28 and January 4
Gilt-edged Splendour Masterpieces in Silver Gilt
Koopman Rare Art antiques trade gazette User: IVAN/TOM Issue No: 2140 Issue Date: 10/05/14 File Name: NE01-05
Above: the fi rst ever front page, from September 1971. Turn to page 33 for our 32-page central section looking back over the past 40 years.
Gilt-edged Splendour Masterpieces in Silver Gilt
PROOFED:
antiques trade gazette User: INITIALS
Koopman Rare Art Issue 2140 | 10th May 2014 UK £2.25 – USA $6.50 – Europe €3.95 Issue 2121 | 21st December 2013 UK £2.00 – USA $6.50 – Europe €3.95
The Old Swan Hotel Antiques & Fine Art Fair
Issue No: 0000 Issue Date: 00/00/13 File Name: NE01-05 PROOFED:
LAPADA name new chief executive
■ Contemporary art gallery chief with a broad industry background set to take over
Anna Brady reports
LAPADA, The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, have appointed Rebecca Davies as their new chief executive following the resignation of Sarah Percy-Davis in December. Ms Davies, pictured above right, is
currently managing director of the Mayfair contemporary art gallery Blain|Southern, a position she has held since the gallery was founded in 2010, and she will take up the LAPADA role on May 12. She helped to set up Blain|Southern’s London gallery, expanding the business to New York and Berlin. Prior to this she was European
business director for Haunch of Venison and worked in the Impressionist and Modern art department at Christie’s. The appointment may come as a
surprise to some in the trade who expected Mrs Percy-Davis’s replacement to come
continued on page 2 Koopman Rare Art
Harrogate, NorthYorkshire HG1 2SR 10th – 12th January 2014
Fair opens daily 10.30am - 5pm (4.30pm finish Sunday) Admission £5.00
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www.gallowayfairs.co.uk
Left: interior of the Victorian dolls’ house sold at Chorley’s for £42,450 in a ‘sale by informal tender’.
Somerset’s £43,000 cabinet of delights
Above and right: this 21in (54cm) wide ‘Indo-Portuguese’ ivory inlaid hardwood fall front cabinet sold for an extraordinary £43,000 (plus 19.5% buyer’s premium) at Lawrences of Crewkerne on April 11. A particularly sophisticated example of a type now thought to have been made as jewellery caskets in Gujarat or Sind in Mughal India during the 17th and 18th centuries, it was delicately inlaid to the teak or padouk carcase with flowering lilies. Some of these inlays were missing, as was the original lock. Lawrences’ specialist Richard Gold – who described the winning bid (a multiple of the £1500-2000 estimate) as “a fantastic price” – said the purchaser was an English artist.
Congratulations to Lapada We look forward to continuing our successful partnership over the next 40 years
www.antiquestradegazette.com/subscribe
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