March 3 marked a little-known but hugely important event: the 160th anniversary of the start of the Second Opium War, when France and the UK declared against China. It arose from British Imperialism, unsatisfied by the 1842 settlement under the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to the British under lease and opened up five treaty ports to ease trade in opium, cheap Chinese labour – ‘coolies’ as they were then known – and improve diplomatic relations.

Chinese acts of aggression against the British in the interim had also not helped, and the French soon joined the British after the Chinese executed a leading French missionary.

The Indian Mutiny in May 1857 meant British troops had to be diverted from China, which delayed any outcome, but the Qing government could not sustain an effective defence as it also had to deal with the long-running Taiping Rebellion.

The cruel torture and murder of the British envoy Harry Parkes, and his entourage, led to the revenge sack and burning of the Summer Palaces in Beijing, from where many valuable works of art made their way abroad. Later legal sales of Chinese treasures have muddied the waters over what was looted and what exported legally, but together explain why so many amazing pieces have emerged at auction in London and Paris over the past few years.

Some evidence has just emerged of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) proving to be the Emperor’s New Clothes (ENC), as I suspected them to be.Apparently Sotheby’s, who expected to take $5.5 million at auction for a collection of CryptoPunks (me neither) sold as a single lot had to withdraw it at the last moment.According to the consignor (named as 0x650d) The Punk It! Sale, as it was christened, had fallen victim to a cyber scam, whereby the developers had made off with the digital assets, leaving the investors high and dry. “Nvm, decided to hodl,” he is reported as tweeting, adding even more cryptic content to this crypto crash.

A further comment suggested that this was an ‘event’ to embarrass the auction house for trying to take ‘punks’ mainstream – i.e. the traditional auction world trying to cash in on this cutting edge digital money spinner. Banksy was the first to do this with his automatic shredding of a work at the moment it sold for an eye-watering sum. However, in Banksy’s case, this just made the picture more desirable and it sold for considerably more in it shredded state some time later.

If, as at least one pundit put it, the ‘hodl’ turns out to be fatal to the CryptoPunks craze, I shall be weeping no tears. Expertise is important at auction for good reason and those who dabble in things they are not sufficiently appraised of are likely to get their fingers burnt.

Time for some paintings and fine antiques, I think!

What looks like one of the most exciting exhibitions in years has now opened at the British Museum: The World of Stonehenge.

The exhibition plays on the mystery surrounding this 5,000-year-old structure and sets it in historical context: “Shrouded in layers of speculation and folklore, this iconic British monument has spurred myths and legends that persist today,” the blurb states. “In this special exhibition, the British Museum will reveal the secrets of Stonehenge, shining a light on its purpose, cultural power and the people that created.”

Along with Jack the Ripper and the disappearance of Lord Lucan, the nature and purpose of Stonehenge as well as the identity of those who built it, remains one of the most enduring myths to capture widespread public attention.

The BM sets out to tell that story in the way it knows best, by through a variety of stunning objects, such as stone axes from the North Italian Alps, stunning gold jewellery and astonishing examples of early metalwork. Best of all is the Nebra Sky Disc, a 12 inch  bronze disc that is the world’s oldest surviving map of the stars.

The exhibition also unveils Seahenge, a remarkably preserved 4,000-year-old timber circle, on loan for the very first time.

“All these objects offer important clues about the beliefs, rituals, and complex worldview of Neolithic people, helping to build a vivid sense of life for Europe’s earliest ancestors.”

My favourite fact about Stonehenge, though, is that in 1915 it was sold at auction for £6,600. That purchase guaranteed its future as a public monument.

A lot of talk in our industry has recently focused on the acceleration of auctions moving online, and there’s no doubt about it, the internet has been the biggest game changer over the past twenty years, never more so since the pandemic started.

The move online has also meant that even fairly modest auction houses in the more remote parts of the UK have gained access to global audiences, to the extent that any half decent sale can now expect to attract bids from upwards of fifty countries.

This has been a boon to our industry and has undoubtedly made selling your belongings at auction a more attractive prospect as demand and prices rise.

As someone who has spent decades on the rostrum, though, I firmly believe that the live selling experience, with bidders in the room, will always play an important part in the process. This is partially because it offers auction houses an unrivalled opportunity to show what they can do in person, while for the visitor, whether they are bidding, bringing something in to be valued, or simply enjoying a browse through what is coming up for sale, a visit to an auction house always provides a memorable and enjoyable outing.

The thrill of coming across something you love at a view is definitely more acute in person than online. The opportunity to talk to a specialist and chat about art and objects when they know so much about them is a rewarding experience that does not come across in the same way via an email exchange. All in all, it can be a grand day out.

So by all means, please keep bidding online, but why not pop along and inspect the goods in person before the next sale or, better still, bring in something you are thinking of selling for a valuation.