Antiques

A 12th century Zangid carved marble basin from Syria, with a fine Kufic inscription sold today (24.4.12) for £193,250 at Bonhams sale of Indian and Islamic art in London. The inscriptions contain references to water and its benefits from the Qur’an, “From it you drink and out of it [grows] the vegetation [Read More]

In an auction that made international news, one of the first coins ever struck at the United States Mint – an experimental 1792-dated copper cent with a small silver plug in its center – realized $1,150,000 as the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions’ Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS) Platinum Night Auction, conducted in [Read More]

A profile portrait of the wife of Charles Dickens, Catherine (1815-1879), by John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1810-1901), is to be sold at Bonhams, Knightsbridge, as part of the Photographs Sale on 17th May. The only daguerreotype portrait of Catherine known to exist, it has been estimated at £8,000 – 12,000. The portrait [Read More]

Sotheby’s London will offer at auction The Collection of Prince and Princess Henry de La Tour d’Auvergne Lauraguais on 3rd May 2012. The auction comprises property from the family’s London homes. A gilt-bronze-mounted amaranth, tulipwood, bois satiné, parquetry and oak, Goût Grec Secrétaire à Abbatant, stamped Joseph Twice, Louis XVI, circa 1770. [Read More]

Bonhams is to sell the selected contents of Stobhall Castle, one of the ancestral seats of the Drummond family and, until recently, the home of Viscount Strathallan, heir to the Earldom of Perth. The sale will take place at Bonhams auction rooms at 22 Queen Street, Edinburgh on 2 May. Among the [Read More]

A rare 15th century gold ring, discovered by a metal detector in Redditch, Worcestershire is estimated to sell for £4,000 ? 6,000 in the Fine Jewellery sale, taking place on the 25th April at Bonhams, London. The gold, marriage ring is engraved on the outside with the inscription ‘iea do re’ (Je [Read More]

Bonhams will sell the Beedham Collection of early oak and works of art on 24th May at Chester, offering the most outstanding oak items to international collectors of this increasingly sought after furniture. The reason for the sale is that oak experts, Herbert and Norma Beedham, are retiring. However, Beedham Antiques will [Read More]

A man of many talents, Geoffrey Randolph Webster – “GR” to his friends – is a retired businessman, author and portrait painter who divides his time between Florida and the idyllic French Riviera. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a master’s degree in business and retired as president [Read More]

The Antique Arms and Armor auction at Bonhams, June 11, will feature such highlights as a sword presented to Civil War Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, as well as a cased pair of the earliest known dueling pistols made by the prestigious English gun-maker, James Purdey. The historic figural hilt presentation sword [Read More]

An intricate cameo brooch gifted by Caroline Bonaparte, the younger sister of Napoleon I that was sourced in Scotland is one of the highlights of the Fine Jewellery sale, taking place at Bonhams on April 25th in London, New Bond Street. Designed by the Roman gem-engraver Nicolo Morelli who was patronised by [Read More]

An extraordinary Brazilian Pedro I gold Coronation 6,400 Reis of 1822R, just one of 64 minted, provides a historic and emotional anchor to the 5,300+-lot Heritage Auctions’ World & Ancient Coins CICF Signature® Auction, April 26-30, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, in Rosemont, IL. It is expected to bring $100,000+. The auction [Read More]

Sotheby’s will present their annual sales of African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art on 11 May 2012 in New York. Luluwa Helmet Mask, Democratic Republic Of The Congo. Height 12 inches. Est $1.5/2.5 million The auctions will be dominated by works from distinguished private collections much of which has not appeared on the [Read More]

One of the most historic coins struck by the early U.S. Mint, a 1792 Judd-1 Silver Center cent pattern, MS61 Brown PCGS, headlines the Heritage Auctions April 2012 Central States Signature® U.S. Coin Auction, April 18-20, with Platinum Night™ offerings on April 19. “Our long-running relationship with the Central States Numismatic Society [Read More]

An early Indian lacquered ivory figural chess set is one of the highlights of the Chess and Games sale taking place on the 1st May at Bonhams, Knightsbridge. Made in Rajasthan circa 1850, the set is estimated to sell for £7,000 – 9,000 and represents the British East India Company versus Indian [Read More]

The first of the farewell letters written in the Antarctic by Captain Robert Scott as he realised that he and his team would not survive was sold at Bonhams Polar Sale in London on 30 March for £163,250. It had been estimated to make £100,000-150,000. The letter, which was found on Scott’s [Read More]

Sotheby’s New York auction of Russian Works of Art, Fabergé & Icons on 17 April 2012 will offer a strong selection of rare and magnificent objects, many of which are emerging from private collections where they have been hidden for decades. Faberge Carved Lapis Lazuli Desk Clock Mounted in Gold, Silver, and [Read More]

A newly discovered 1823 printing of the Declaration of Independence, painstakingly engraved and printed by William Stone to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of The United States, is expected to bring $250,000+ when it comes across the auction block on April 11 as the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions’ Historical Manuscripts [Read More]