Antiques Collectables Expert, Author Publisher
One thing I have learned in this business is to never ignore even the most junky of junk shops. It’s always worth a look around even for two minutes. You need to keep your ‘quality control’ eyes wide open however, as it’s easy to fall into the trap of buying what is effectively ‘the [ ] The post Come Up And See My Etchings II Edmond van Dooren appeared first on Mark Hill | Antiques & Collectables…
“I said Charles Horner style”, he reiterated to me after I picked up what seemed like a complete bargain at a local antiques fair. A silver Art Nouveau necklace pendant with flowing lines, a cell-like organic form, and coloured enamel panels. I had picked it up as I had immediately recognised the design as by [ ] The post Is This Art Nouveau Silver Pendant A Fake? appeared first on Mark Hill |…
I’m not the only one who’s a fan of studio pottery the market has mushroomed over the past decade, and values with it. With infinitely creative names such as Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Bernard Leach, Michael Cardew and, more recently, John Maltby to our credit, I really do believe that our islands have contributed [ ] The post A Studio Pottery Underdog Tremaen Pottery appeared first on Mark Hill |…
Every good, middle or upper class Victorian gentleman worth his salt would have owned one. A small silver propelling pencil, perhaps attached to an Albert chain with a fob watch on the other end and stored in a waistcoat pocket, or kept with a notebook for a day’s important jottings. These retractable, sliding pencils were [ ] The post The Fascinating Tale of Sampson Mordan Pencils appeared first…
I’m very fond of antique and vintage fountain pens. In fact, they were one of the first things I began to collect seriously. They were also the main part of my first job in the antiques business when I worked in the Collectors Department in Bonhams in London during the late 1990s, which was then [ ] The post Flushing toilets, unpickable locks, snakes & a dip pen appeared first on Mark Hill |…
In many ways, Barry Cullen was an archetypal ‘true’ studio glassmaker, particularly if you compare him to a studio potter. He fulfilled the roles of both the designer and the maker, perhaps with assistance from time to time. But Cullen did more than that as he also marketed, exhibited, sold, and fulfilled sales of his [ ] The post Lost Studio Glass Artists II Barry Cullen appeared first on Mark…
By the time you get some experience out there in the wild under your belt, if you see something that you haven’t seen it before, it’s worth considering. The longer and broader that experience becomes, the more it’s worth buying something that you haven’t seen before if you like it and can afford it. [ ] The post Is It Worth Buying A Damaged Glass Vase? appeared first on Mark Hill | Antiques &…
There are some things in my collection that I don’t really know about. In fact, it’s these things I’m drawn to and buy the most. The world has enough experts and dealers in Royal Worcester, Meissen, and such things that have been heavily researched for decades, even centuries. If it’s highly unusual and [ ] The post A Mysterious American Tower, A Wine Glass & A Lampworker appeared first on Mark…
The world hasn’t really been very kind to paperweights lately. We’ve used heavy objects to hold down papers on our desks since the dawn of paper in China in around 105AD. All manner of stone, wood and other weighty materials were used, but it wasn’t until the 1840s that the decorative glass paperweight as we [ ] The post The Death Of Paperweights, Plastics & Ancient Egypt appeared first on Mark…
What goes on in my head when deciding to buy or not to buy… There’s so much scope with small sculptures. In my experience, unless a sculpture looks something like a Henry Moore, is clearly Art Deco, or looks like some fine 18thC Classical marble, it’s often ignored. Most people focus on ‘flat art’ for [ ] The post Is This Carved Wooden Sculpture Worth £50? Or More? appeared first on Mark Hill |…