Art and antiques news from 2002

THE Italian painter Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988) is forever associated in English minds with his dramatic 1955 portrait of The Queen, which now hangs in The National Portrait Gallery and which still has plenty of admirers, including HM herself.

Fishermen’s tales are usually too tall to swallow, and the following account of a frenzied struggle on a Dorset riverbank in May 1912 would be scarcely credible were it not for the stuffed and cased evidence, right.

It’s difficult to imagine how many children and would-be children have enjoyed a trip on this very original ride since it was first constructed by Savage Bros Ltd of Kings Lynn in 1901. Known as Harry Lee’s Famous Steam Double Yacht Ride, its two yachts, Columbia and Shamrock, carry an impressive capacity of 30 passengers.

FOR two generations, Wilsons Antiques have been a feature of the West Sussex town of Worthing and annually raise their profile with selling exhibitions, often with a dash of local interest.

The 1440 lots of 20th century decorative arts offered on the first day of the September 3,4 sale at the Bristol Auction Rooms (buyer’s premium 12.77%) included a range of ceramics, plus a dozen items of metalware and furniture, but the lot that really made the decorator trade sit up was this 4ft 1in (1.25m) terracotta creation, right, by Goldscheider.

THE continuing fall in equities and the threat of war in Iraq have supported the gold price, say precious metal dealers Michael Bloomstein of Brighton.

THE RICS have announced details of their 2002 Fine Arts Conference, which will be held in Amsterdam from November 14-17. Highlights of the conference include a day at the Rijksmuseum prior to its renovation next year during which time its displays will be significantly reduced.

LAPADA are to launch an innovative scheme to attract new collectors at their Fine Art and Antiques Fair at the Commonwealth Institute, in London from October 9 to 13.

This impressive equine statuette, right, proved to be the high point of Bonhams’ September 18 sale of British ceramics and glass at Bond Street. The 163/4in (42.5cm) high model decorated in cream and black is set on a rectangular plinth sponged and painted in green, blue and pink.

Only the idealists of the Arts and Crafts movement could transform a humble display of wares into a decorative work of art, and the small manufacturing firm of Jesson Birkett and Co. had done just that with this sample board, right, offered at Bonhams’ Oxford sale on 17 September.

After some research Guy Schwinge of Duke’s in Dorchester discovered this rare English porcelain mug to be an early piece of Worcester and not Bow as originally catalogued.

Benefiting from the long summer gap but seeing the best-and-rest polarisation that affects most categories of the art market these days, there were mixed results for Christie’s South Kensington’s 299-lot sale of Selected Silver on September 10.

THE Coppa Italia is the Italian equivalent of the English FA cup. When the example shown right was won by Torino in 1943 it was the second occasion on which they had taken home the trophy.

FRENCH auction laws may have been reformed, but monopolies still exist, as Christie’s have just found to their cost.

THE merger of Italy’s two leading domestic auction houses, Semenzato and Finarte, has won the support of shareholders, who voted on September 4.

PAYPAL, the leading online payment service, are facing a new challenge that could scupper eBay’s attempt to take them over.

THE sales figures from Duke’s sale August 15 & 16 (buyer's premium: 15 per cent) would look good at any time in the year but coming in the high summer for a sale of silver, jewellery and furniture, they were particularly pleasing for auctioneer Matthew Denney.

THE heroic exploits of the first Duke of Wellington in defeating Napoleon at Waterloo must be among the best recorded events in British military history.

The bane of the shop trade and the boon of auctioneers – the Internet has certainly transformed the marketplace and nowhere is this more true than toy sales.

A NEW auction house promising prompt payment to vendors has been launched in the heart of London by a foreign investment group.