Latest News Articles by Laura Chesters
New faces at Roseberys and Heritage Auctions are among the latest Movers & Shakers
03 May 2024The latest jobs news across the world of art and antiques.
Original cover artwork for Harry Potter estimated at record $600,000 comes to auction
02 May 2024The original cover watercolour for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by Thomas Taylor is coming to auction with the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on an item of any Harry Potter-related work, according to Sotheby’s.
Painting by Frank Auerbach recovered from money launderer to be sold
01 May 2024Artwork and gold seized from a “prolific money launderer” as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation are to be sold.
Stolen 18th century bracket clock returned to museum after more than 20 years
30 April 2024An 18th century bracket clock by the English clockmaker Thomas Hunter Jr (c.1760-70) has been recovered after being stolen 23 years ago.
Pocket watch from the richest Titanic passenger boosts saleroom to best ever auction result
29 April 2024A gold pocket watch that was found on the body of American business magnate John Jacob Astor IV (1864-1912) following the Titanic disaster was hammered down at £900,000 in a sale at Henry Aldridge & Son.
Royal Mail now refuses to deliver antique swords
29 April 2024An antique arms and armour dealer is leading a campaign to stop couriers from restricting the delivery of antique examples.
Judith Miller’s final price guide is now available
29 April 2024The latest 'Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide' has been published, the last to have been written by the late Judith Miller.
Second Gonzalès work to go on show in UK
29 April 2024A painting by French Impressionist painter Eva Gonzalès has been acquired by The National Gallery via a private treaty sale from a British collection for a “tax-advantageous price” of £1.49m.
Getty becomes latest museum to return antiquities following provenance research
25 April 2024The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is to return a bronze head from its antiquities collection to Turkey.
Rediscovered ‘Starship Enterprise’ model returned to son of Star Trek creator with help from Heritage Auctions
24 April 2024The original 3ft long model of USS Enterprise, used in the original opening credits, has been presented to the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Long-lost John Lennon guitar recovered from an attic comes to auction
23 April 2024John Lennon’s long-lost Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar has been rediscovered and is coming to auction next month.
New York’s Met Museum returns Sumerian sculpture to Iraq as part of its ‘Cultural Property Initiative’
23 April 2024The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a sculpture to Iraq following provenance research.
Pick of the week: The scoop on an Austral Islands kava ladle found in Derbyshire
22 April 2024A Polynesian ladle surfaced in a Derbyshire saleroom, selling for nearly five-times its £500-700 estimate.
Jewellery taken during ram raid at Hansons auction house
22 April 2024Hansons’ saleroom in Derbyshire has been the victim of a ram-raid break-in.
The Treasure House Fair hopes to ease Brexit red tape
22 April 2024The Treasure House Fair hopes to tempt more overseas exhibitors to future fairs with a new deal designed to make importing and exporting simpler and cheaper.
The National Gallery buys its first work by Impressionist painter Eva Gonzalès
22 April 2024A painting by French Impressionist painter Eva Gonzalès has been acquired by The National Gallery via a private treaty sale from a British collection for a “tax-advantageous price” of £1.49m.
Goldsmiths committee discusses de Lamerie fakes
22 April 2024Delegates attending the latest Goldsmiths’ Company London Assay Office seminar on April 12 were warned to be alert for faked objects purporting to be by the preeminent 18th century Huguenot silversmith Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751).
Heroes and crooks, stolen bronzes… it must be tales of the antiques trade
22 April 2024Specialists now become prolific writers as Michael Baggott and James Braxton bring out their latest books
Plea to raise final £40,000 for Kelmscott Manor’s Samson tapestries
17 April 2024The Society of Antiquaries and the Kelmscott Campaign Group, led by antiques dealer Martin Levy, are hoping to raise the final £40,000 needed to conserve Kelmscott Manor’s Samson tapestries.
How to spot faked or forged antique silver hallmarks
16 April 2024Delegates attending the latest Goldsmiths’ Company London Assay Office seminar on April 12 were warned to be alert for faked objects purporting to be by the preeminent 18th century Huguenot silversmith Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751).