“Antiques. I can’t afford them and I don’t understand them.” Much has been made recently about the difficult state of the antiques market. In an increasingly fast-paced world led by interiors magazines and the pure, hard drive of commerce from high street and retail park retailers, some say antiques have fallen by the wayside. Even […]
Most glass collectors will know the eye-catching iridescent glass in the Art Nouveau style (see left) typified by the production of the great glass companies Lötz (or Loetz) in Austria and Tiffany in the US from the 1890s into the early 20thC. The recent discovery of the Loetz pattern books in 1989 and work undertaken […]
Since writing my book on Mdina Glass & Isle of Wight Studio Glass (which is now out of print), I’ve encountered a number of vases with coloured swirly patterning like this. People have brought them to me at BBC Antiques Roadshows and other events to ask whether they’re Mdina Glass, or which range of Isle […]
Regular readers of my blog will know that, every now and again, something catches my eye and mind and I simply have to have it, regardless of whether I collect it or not. The last one was the intriguing ‘Internet Radio‘ and this time I got snared by a jam pot. But a jam pot […]
In these days of ‘celebrity worship’, it’s always significant when one of them shows their love for antiques. Where they go, a great many follow. When Harry Styles from One Direction (right) was spotted at an antiques fair last year buying “a van load” of antique furniture for his new flat, it caused a new […]
When I started working in the antiques industry, buying at auction was deemed buying at ‘trade’, and buying from a dealer was deemed ‘retail’. And price levels typically matched that. But things were already on the move. An auction was held during the week, you really needed to view the objects before you bought them […]
“I lost my job.” is sadly something I hear with increasing frequency when I visit an antiques fair where anyone can turn up and sell. Of course, as one immediately feels bad about their self-esteem, children, loans, bills and the mortgage. But I also worry a little. I worry that all their newly ‘chosen’ profession […]
One of the great pleasures in life is browsing a secondhand bookshop. That joy of coming across a book that you didn’t even know existed, and that raises a smile or piques an interest can’t be matched. The experience can’t be replicated with eBooks either. One of my favourite places to browse is Judd Books, […]
When an artist or designer dies, or a factory or studio closes, it causes ripples to go through the collecting world and the fairs, shops and auctions of the ‘secondary market’. A form of hysteria often sets in, causing prices to rise rapidly before, as often happens, they crash back down again.It can take some […]
My role as a Patron of the King’s Lynn Arts Centre means that I get to go to visit the town a fair few times each year. Every time I go, I always make time to pop up the road to visit The Old Granary Antiques Centre, on King’s Staithe Lane, as I always seems […]
If I’m out on ‘official’ business, I usually adorn my lapel with the silver pin (left) that shows my membership and support of the City of London Company of Arts Scholars, Dealers & Collectors. It’s in the form of the head of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts. A similar gilt bronze […]
Although it’s not something I specifically collect, I’ve always had a fondness for early technology. It must have developed out of working with scientific and optical instruments when I worked at Bonhams and Sotheby’s. If I see something that tickles my fancy and I can afford it, I’ll add it to one of my many […]