Berkshire

‘Dream’ Martinware cache from family of factory patron surfaces for sale in Berkshire

Classic summer scene by artist known for neighbourhood views makes rare appearance

Latest sales give a snapshot of what collectors are looking for amid different styles and eras

Maidenhead auction house Dawson’s is to sell a collection of Martinware on behalf of descendants of an important patron of the Southall pottery.

Bowl and chicken cup impress in Suffolk and Berkshire salerooms.

Not always predicted but overwhelming when it comes, big-money Russian interest sent a bronze equine group soaring at Dawson’s (23% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead.

In a relatively short period from 1959-64, the Spanish-Italian Realist Xavier Bueno (1915-79) created his most recognisable works: a series of melancholic and haunting portraits of children. For Bueno these ‘Bambini’ portraits symbolised a “humiliated and oppressed humanity”.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

As a reminder of the days when a piece of quality furniture could be expected to top a wide-ranging provincial sale, a George II giltwood and gesso occasional table led the way at Dawson’s (20% buyer’s premium) 550-lot event in Maidenhead.

Britain still has many ‘antiques’ towns and streets – those picturesque corners of the island populated by shops, galleries and centres that together act as a magnet for antiques tourists. Two of the largest communities of dealers close to London are Petworth and Hungerford, while a busy schedule of regular fairs and markets takes place to the south-west of London.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

While British studio potters were battling to break through in the 1930s, established factories, even Moorcroft, were struggling to survive the Great Depression.

The May 22 sale at Dreweatts of Donnington Priory titled Japanese, Islamic and Indian Works of Art included a collection of Iznik and Damascus tiles from the estate of the artist Sir Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017).

Two collections assembled since the late 1960s enthuse a fresh generation of buyers.

Inherited Dutch Old Masters offered alongside recently acquired modern works by artists such as Walter Sickert, Edward Seago and Gerald Kelly proved a winning formula at Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) country house dispersal held on May 1 at Donnington Priory.

A sale of photographica and scientific instruments held at Reading’s Madejski Stadium included a rare work in the history of the microscope.

With ‘on the premises’ country house contents sales now so rare, the more usual practice is for the better pieces to be removed to saleroom bases.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

An impressive Edwardian aquamarine and diamond brooch with a provenance to the first lady to take her seat as an MP in the UK sold for £54,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at auction this month.