Art and antiques news from 2015

A 21in (53cm) pair of late 19th century Meissen figures emblematic of Day and Night after the models by Heinrich Schwabe were sold by Bonhams in support of West Dean College’s full-time ceramics conservation programme.

Dr John C Taylor, the horologist, inventor and clockmaker, has been given the Harrison Medal by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers for his services to horology.

Sotheby’s will rekindle their connections with former director John Winter this month thanks to a 186-lot single-owner sale in New Bond Street.

This 11 x 7in (29 x 20cm) Tête de Femme by Alexej Von Jawlensky is one of over 170 works by a roster of some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art that will feature in a two-part single-owner sale to be held by Tajan in Paris next week.

A growing market for silver from the sub-continent culminated in a bid of £11,500 for this 9in (23cm) early 20th century Burmese bowl by Maung Yin Maung of Rangoon.

Senior figures from both UK dealing associations gave an impassioned defence of the antiques trade as a project seeking to gauge the impact of a ban on the sale of ivory works of art was launched in Westminster last week.

In response to the new Consumer Rights Act, the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers have produced two different versions of their model terms and conditions – one for bricks and mortar ‘onsite’ auctions and another for online-only sales.

A pair of royal portraits by the Spanish artist Miguel Jacinto Meléndez (1679-1734) go on sale at auction in Madrid this month.

A major fire has caused significant damage to Bourne Mill Antiques Centre, home to about 70 dealers in Farnham, Surrey.

Two versions of a celebrated German majolica tureen appeared for sale in a matter of weeks – both bringing sterling prices in an otherwise soft market for 19th century ceramics.

An archive comprising Lucian Freud’s sketchbooks, drawings and letters has been acquired by the nation from the estate of the artist through the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme.

A simple pencil message on a wooden sextant case sold at a London auction tells a story of desperate shipwrecked sailors adrift in a dinghy and running out of food and water.

Penman Fairs will launch a new London event for 2016 called ‘Art, Antiques & Design’.

The German Cultural Property and Heritage Protection Law (Kulturschutzgesetz) is due to be debated in the German Bundestag next spring after a “defused” draft of the law received cabinet approval on November 4.

International Antiques & Collectors Fairs (IACF) have added the monthly antiques and vintage fairs held at Sandown Park Racecourse to their roster of events.

Paris Tableau, the specialist Old Masters fair, announced midway through its run this month that from next year it would become part of the new annual Biennale des Antiquaires.

Sotheby’s have begun a voluntary redundancy scheme as they look to cut costs as part of their restructuring plan.

A late 18th century bust of the Goddess Diana which was looted from the Royal Lazienki Palace in Warsaw by the Nazis has been returned to Poland after emerging at auction in Vienna.

Stakeholders in the art market are being asked to participate in a project seeking to gauge the effect of a total ban on the sale of ivory works of art in the UK.

The primary draw to the regions – rather than London – during last week’s glut of Asian works of art sales was the auction titled ‘In Pursuit of the Scholar’s Spirit’ conducted by Duke’s of Dorchester.