WriteAntiques

by Christopher Proudlove©Español | Deutsche | Français | Italiano | Português Collectors of ancient Chinese artefacts owe everything to the death rituals of society during the period. Like the Egyptians, the Chinese held strong beliefs about the afterlife. The wealthy and privileged members of Tang society, a Golden Age which lasted from 618-907 AD, took [...]

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by Christopher Proudlove©Español | Deutsche | Français | Italiano | Português Our house move to the North Wales coast has introduced us to a whole new hunting ground for weekend antiquing excursions and we braved the recent blizzards to visit a new fair at the Llandudno Junction leisure centre. Sadly, the weather had beaten a [...]

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Know your subject. If you don’t, research it well and get to know values. Know about fakes. Branded jewellery, clothes and fashion accessories that sell cheaply are usually too good to be true. Know your seller. All eBay vendors build up feedback from their buyers, which is your way of checking out their reliability. Know [...]

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Always start your sales during the week, so that they finish at the weekend, when most potential buyers are at their computers Most sales happen in the closing minutes of the sale, so don’t waste buyers’ time with long listings. Research has proved against the argument that long auctions raise awareness and therefore prices. They [...]

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by Christopher Proudlove©Español | Deutsche | Français | Italiano | Português Standing on his little circular plinth, his inscrutable smile belying the fact that time has caused him to stoop under the weight of his burden, this little Japanese figure of a basket seller is so lifelike, you almost expect him to give you a [...]

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Español | Deutsche | Français | Italiano | Português The Salvation Army will benefit from the auction of thousands of forgotten comic books after a chance discovery by workmen called in to clear a warehouse in the North West of England. The sale is set to produce a substantial cash windfall for the charity. To [...]

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A cruise around eBay’s community forums throws up a raft of problem posts from sellers who claim they are victims of PayPal’s unaccountability and apparent intransigence when it comes to settling disputes. A typical case involves an individual who sells an object on eBay, receives payment via PayPal, posts it to the winner of the [...]

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A new name on the scene — to me a least — is Tino Sehgal who by his own admission — actually a press release from the Institute of Contemporary Arts — “fulfils the conventions of a visual artwork without physically producing anything”. Sehgal’s latest gimmick, sorry exhibition, relies on an individual paying £25 at [...]

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by Christopher Proudlove©Español | Deutsche | Français | Italiano | Português Lantern clock: Simple brass clock introduced circa 1600 and the most common type of domestic clock throughout the 17th century. So called because its posted-frame case housing the movement, has opening side panels similar to those in early candle-powered lamps. Also called Cromwellian clocks, [...]

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