Jan 15, 2018
It is still considered the greatest car chase in film history, but 50 years on, what has happened to the car itself? That has long been the question about the amazing Mustang driven by the legendary Steve McQueen in Bullitt, the 1968 movie that all petrolheads will remember so fondly.
When shooting was over, one of the studio executives bought the car, then sold it to a police officer who later shipped it to New York, where he sold it on for $6000 in 1974 via a small ad in a magazine. From there the trail went cold… until now.
Half a century on, and in time for the 50th anniversary of the film’s release, the Mustang has re-emerged and is now valued at $3 million to $5 million!
The owner, Sean Kiernan, is the son of the man who bought it back in ’74 as a car for his wife to use on a daily basis. After six years, when the clutch went, they put it in the garage, and there it remained. McQueen had been in contact in 1977, hoping to buy it back at a reasonable price, but the family ignored his approach. Now Sean has made it roadworthy once more – while maintaining the bodywork untouched – to celebrate the film’s half century. Odds-on it won’t be long before it turns up at auction.
Jan 8, 2018
I’m very proud to say that our saleroom in Fernhurst has been the scene of several memorable auctions of the works of Helen Allingham in recent years. This remarkable artist, who lived in Sandhills near Brook and died in Haslemere in 1926, was an inspiration for Vincent Van Gogh, no less, who studied her illustrations in The Graphic newspaper, which included those for the serialisation of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd in 1874.
It was while she lived in this area that Allingham conceived her extraordinary and heart-stoppingly beautiful scenes of rural life, perhaps most notably her cottage scenes, with herbaceous borders and country maids.
Such was her talent that in 1886 she became the first woman awarded a solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society in London. Entitled Surrey Cottages, it depicted scenes in Witley, Haslemere and other villages stretching towards Dorking from Guildford. Just four years later, in 1890, she was the first woman admitted to full membership of the Royal Watercolour Society.
Since November, The Watts Gallery in Compton has been championing Allingham in a dedicated exhibition that runs until February 18. It is a must-see, so if you haven’t visited it yet, take some time off this Sunday or next and make the trip. The teas – and especially the home-made cakes – at the gallery add to the pleasure.
Jan 2, 2018
I visited a friend’s new house over the holidays. He’s pretty wealthy and had spent the past two years having it built to a Dynasty meets Dallas spec dreamed up by his wife. A marble palace with every latest technological convenience, including a home cinema with surround sound, it shouted money and luxury. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that, to me, it was rather a depressing sight: not an antique, collectable or decent picture in sight; no atmosphere and all the charm of a mausoleum. Every room was vast, with brand new furniture that cost a bomb yet added nothing. Despite the digitally controlled heating system it was a cold place. I’m not saying that everyone should follow my taste, but as far as I’m concerned a house should, first and foremost, be a home, not a platform for showing off.
When I look at what a decent piece of 18th century, hand-crafted furniture can do to lift the spirits of a 20th century living room, or how a well-framed Modern British print can add focus to a hallway, it tells me that the world of antiques is here to stay in 2018 and beyond. When you consider the money lavished on my friend’s contemporary vision, art and antiques at auction look like a very good bargain indeed. Happy New Year.
Dec 29, 2017
The International Date Line, separating yesterday from today, or today from tomorrow, moved seven years ago. In 2011, Samoa lost December 30, moving straight to New Year’s Eve from December 29, so that instead of being 23 hours behind New Zealand and 21 hours behind Australia, it shifted to one and three hours ahead.
In leaping ahead of the rest of the world, Samoa aligned with its two most important markets. Until then it shared only four working days a week with them, so while everyone was at church on Sunday in Samoa, Monday business was roaring ahead in NZ and Oz.
There was a price to pay, however. Samoa had long attracted tourists who were able to stand on the rocky promontory that is Cape Mulinu’u and gaze across the International Date Line into tomorrow, just 20 miles away. Not any more.
Such is the ethereal nature of time, which evaporates into the ether without man to intervene with the steady hand of a ticking clock. And so it is with antiques at auction. The common definition of antique: something over 100 years old.
For the time being that discounts Art Deco and any number of other collectable genres. Nonetheless, despite the absence of any physical change, there is something magical about the moment the clock ticks past the century marker to transform a wonderful object into a wonderful antique object.
Dec 18, 2017
It’s always nice to get a decent collection consigned for sale, and the latest we have had in really has made my Christmas. Put together over the years by a lady called Joyce Paretti, this stunning range of perfume bottles displays the tremendous levels of artistic talent and craftsmanship dedicated to creating these little jewels from the 17th century onwards.
Mostly just and inch or two long, so as to fit snugly into a pocket, these would have been carried everywhere, both as a means of making the owner smell nice, but also to help them overcome the often noxious odours that would have assaulted their nostrils as they made their way about town.
Made from silver, glass, enamel, porcelain and rock crystal, they are an ideal collectable, because they are so varied and attractive, have strong historic and social links and are small enough to allow a collector to build up a significant holding without the need to build an extension at home.
Each one unlocks a fascinating story as you research who made it and where it came from. My favourite from this selection? Probably the mid 18th century Derby porcelain perfume bottle and stopper fashioned as a tree with a striped cat pursuing two turtle doves up it.
Watch out for more to come form this collection in future sales.
Dec 11, 2017
As we all know, snow can be your friend or foe, depending on whether you are a ten-year-old hoping for an unexpected day off school or the parent desperate to make sure lessons go ahead.
For me though, when I looked out of the window on Monday to see the season’s first fall, despite the difficulties even a few inches of the stuff can cause in getting things and people to and from our Fernhurst saleroom, the beauty of the landscape was enhanced further by the effect this type of weather has had on the collectables and the auction market. From snowshoes and skates to early skiwear, sporting specialists can plough a furrow in this fairly narrow collecting field, but the area that interests me is the one that has a much wider appeal: ski posters.
Christie’s pioneered these sales from 1982 and have built a healthy following of wealthy collectors looking to decorate their ski chalets or homes. Now others have joined the fray, realising that these fabulous pieces of art appeal well beyond the traditional collecting fraternity.
Resorts – Gstaad, Davos, St Moritz – artists, subject matter, condition and age can all have an impact on values. The colour, dynamism and graphic quality of these pieces make them burst with life, and prices for the best now reach well into five figures. Still, compared with other markets, that is pretty affordable.
