Virus delays Hong Kong Coin Show
Hong Kong Coin Show, scheduled for March 27-29, has been postponed – the latest Asian art and antiques event to be affected by the coronavirus alert. It has been rescheduled for May 9-10.
Auction houses Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio and Spink have also agreed to postpone their sales in line with the new show dates. SBP’s auction will be held on May 4-6 and Spink’s on May 7-8.
See last week’s ATG (No 2430) for changes to dates of New York Asian art auctions.
US firm invests in ATG owner
Auction Technology Group, owner of Antiques Trade Gazette, has taken on new investment from TA Associates, a major US private equity firm.
On the same date – February 13 – TA also acquired Proxibid, a US provider of online services to auction houses that sell industrial assets.
Both businesses will operate under the ATG brand with headquarters in London while retaining substantial operations in Omaha, Nebraska, where Proxibid is based.
John-Paul Savant, CEO of ATG, said: “ATG has served the auction industry with energy and commitment for almost 50 years, combining a global online bidder base with a robust and flexible online marketplace platform that has delivered outstanding online results for auctioneers for over a decade now.
“We are excited to continue to serve the auction industry as its online partner in the future with even more resources to deploy to improve the technology, the user experience, and to grow the bidder base.”
Ryan Downs, CEO of Proxibid, stated: “The combined resources of ATG and Proxibid will give us greater scale in a highly competitive market. We will accelerate investment in the technology that gives auctioneers the online tools that make auctions the preferred route for the disposal of many industrial assets.”
Latest saleroom appointments
Aihua Tung has joined Phillips in Hong Kong as senior specialist and senior director in its 20th century and Contemporary art team.
Tung was previously at Christie’s, initially joining in Taipei in 2007.
Bouvet back in Paris
Christian Bouvet of Sotheby’s France.
Christian Bouvet has been appointed director of the Asian arts department for Sotheby’s France, heading a Paris team.
For Bouvet this will be a return to the French capital. Having started his career at Sotheby’s in London, he then moved to Paris to lead its Asian auctions from 2008-11 before going to Hong Kong to run the firm’s mid-season Asian sales.
Halliday at Hansons
Dr Richard Halliday has joined Hansons.
Dr Richard Halliday has joined Hansons as a consultant curator of ceramics and glass at the firm’s saleroom at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire. The ceramics researcher and valuer will lead Hansons’ curated ceramics and glass department.
L&T announcements
Charlotte Peel joins L&T London’s jewellery and watches department after a decade of experience in London salerooms including Christie’s South Kensington and Chiswick Auctions. She will head L&T’s London auctions of Select Jewellery & Watches for 2020, with the first in July.
Dr Tsai Yiing Ing joined Lyon & Turnbull in December 2019 as junior specialist in its Asian art department. Tsai developed his interest in Chinese works of art during his time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he ran and co-owned a Chinese, Tibetan, and Peranakan art gallery.
Morphy militaria man
Morphy Auctions has appointed James L Kochan as specialist in Americana, early arms and militaria.
He will also be involved in the curation and cataloguing of American manuscripts and fine art. Prior to founding James L Kochan Fine Art & Antiques in 1998, he was head of collections at Mount Vernon, the US museum in the former home of George Washington.
Hopkins on the move
Prudence Hopkins has joined Catherine Southon.
Prudence Hopkins, formerly of Fellows and Sworders, has joined Catherine Southon in Bromley, Kent, as a jewellery specialist. The firm holds auctions in Selsdon, Surrey.
Greenwich auction house shuts down
Greenwich Auctions in London has closed after 20 years of trading.
A note on its website states: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce that after months of negotiations with my landlord it has been made impossible for me to proceed with a new lease.”
Most read
The most viewed stories for week February 13-19 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Record-breaking Martin Brothers grinning crab saved for nation
2 Elizabethan beer jug, Irish chess set, Iron ‘witch’s bridle’ – six auction highlights
3 Terence Cuneo ‘end of an era’ painting of British Rail’s last steam engine emerges at Sworders’ auction
4 Pick of the week: Institutions flock to Cheltenham sale for Maria Edgeworth archive
5 From a Mission Impossible-style jewellery break-in to a missing silver sculpture – thefts across the art and antiques sector
In Numbers
25
The number of new exhibitors at TEFAF Maastricht this year. Our preview of the event appears in this issue.
