Treasure Trove Valued at £3.3 million

A panel of experts have decided the value of the unprecedented Anglo-Saxon hoard hidden for 1,300 years is £3.3million. It will be sold to a museum (most probably in Staffordshire once they raise the funds) and split between the farmer and the finder.

Guardian article here.

Do the interactive tour of the hoard here.

Last Antique Auctions of The Year

The big auction houses are having their last antique auctions of the year over the next few weeks. Make sure you get in for those unique christmas gifts. All the catalogues are available online now.

(Image: Cordy's Sale lot number 572A. 19thC painted portrait miniature of a gentleman in formal dress, signed and dated, in old brass mount with suspension ring. H:80mm Estimate: $250 )

Nov 30th - Watson's, Christchurch 'Antiques, Decorative Arts & Fine Jewellery'

Dec 3rd - Webb's, Auckland 'Modern & Traditional Design'

Dec 8th - Cordy's, Auckland 'Christmas Antique Auction'

Dec 9th - Art & Object, Auckland 'Objects of Desire' (catalogue out later today)

First Edition Darwin Sells For £100,000

One of the 1250 first editions of "On the Origin of the Species" sold at Christie's for above the £60,000 estimate. The last first edition sold in April for £35,000. BBC article here. It's been a pretty good Darwin year.

Georgian London

This week's My Space in the Observer is the dining room of Dan Cruickshank the historian. He owns a Georgian house in Spitalfields.

Santa's Make Over Revealed

The Farmer's Santa has been made over, gone is his winky eye and beckoning finger. He looks happier and is now accompanied by some new reindeer, as he used to have. NZ Herald article here.

Yves Saint Laurent Sale Achieves 8 million Euro

The second part of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge Sale held last week did better than expected. Achieving twice the 4 million Euro estimated and with a 98% clearance rate. Read report from ArtDaily.org here.

(Image: by Marianne Haas. A guest room at Chateau Gabriel, once the home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.)

Lincoln Letter For Sale at $60,000

A letter written in 1861 to prove a child's meeting with Abraham Lincoln is thought to fetch US$60,000 by Philadelphia's Raab Collection. Guardian article here.

Important Couture Dresses Purchased By Three Museums

In a move that proves fashion is becoming as important as art in the collections of museums, The V&A, The Bowes Museum, and the Fashion Museum, Bath have jointly acquired gowns designed by French couturier, Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975; active 1912-1939) after an export stop was placed on them. This is the first time an export stop has been placed on examples of 20th-century couture and the first time three British museums have worked together to acquire a collection of dresses. They will split the collection between them. Read ArtDaily.org article here.

(Image: Blue and red floral printed silk afternoon dress, 1931. Madeleine Vionnet, 1931. Purchased with the support of the Friends of the V&A © V&A Images.)

Vintage Horror Film Poster Sells For US $334,600

The only known film poster of the Poe adapatation of 'The Black Cat' sold for a record price at Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas. The 1934 film starred Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in what is thought to be their best film together. It was estimated at US$75,000. Read liveauctioneers.com article here.

Julia's Kitchen

Did you know that Julia Child's kitchen ninth kitchen (from 1961) was 'gifted to' and reconstructed in the Smithsonian in Washington? Access this online and have a nosy around the exhibit. If you are interested in how to create the look - here is an article from Country Living about how the set decorators put the kitchen together for the movie Julie & Julia. Bon Appetit!

Alternative Investments

Toby Walne at the Guardian has some ideas on alternative collectable investments. As with any investment you would need to sit on these for a while - or rather should have bought them 20 years ago to realise any profit now, but an interesting story anyway. It may be a good time to sell that G.I. Joe or shrunken head you have been sitting on.

Napoleon Mourning Ring Comes Home to Soane Museum

This gold mourning ring containing a lock of Napoleon's hair has been added to the collection of the Sir John Soane Museum in Holborn after 172 years.

It was one of his Sir John Soane’s most treasured private possessions, but was not left to the Museum, instead it was willed to the family after his death in 1837 where it passed out of the family’s ownership and was deemed ‘lost’.

The lost ring came up for auction at Christie's in June this year, the first time the Museum had had news of its whereabouts since Soane’s death. They were not successful in buying the ring at the auction, but when the buyer found out the Museum was bidding they decided to give them the option to buy it. Read full ArtDaily.org article here.

Yves Saint Laurent Et Pierre Berge Sale Part II

The second sale of Yves Saint Laurent’s Estate is set for next week in Paris at Christie's. It contains 1,185 lots of “everyday items” from their country retreat, the three-storey Chateau Gabriel on the Normandy coast, described as "a rambling place with sea views and vast grounds that was built in 1874". The four-day auction of is expected to raise up to €4 million (£3.5 million). Part One which contained the art collection took place in February and raised a record €342.5 million. See the catalogue here.

Qianlong Pheasants Sell for £170,000

A pair of Qianlong Golden Pheasants sold for £170,000 against an estimate of £800-1000 in Plymouth. Read Antiques Trade Gazette article here.

Take a Tour of The Revamped Ashmolean in Oxford

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology - University of Oxford has had a recent £61 million revamp. The museum has been open since 1683 and includes the lamp Guy Fawkes took to burn parliament. BBC article here.

Money Hidden In Lamp Up For Auction

Lot 72 in Cordy's antique sale held a $22,200 stash found by a man viewing the sale. Read NZ Herald article here.

Auckland War Memorial Museum Is 80

Click through to the Museum's website to see how they are celebrating.

Royal Collection Up For Auction at Christie's London

"The Duke of Kent and his siblings are to sell family heirlooms at an auction that is expected to raise £1m. The auction of 200 lots at Christie's salerooms in London includes jewellery, paintings and furniture with estimates ranging from £250 to £100,000." Read the rest of BBC article here. Peruse catalogue online here.

Peter The Great Miniature Sells For 1.3 million

This diamond studded miniature of the 18th Century Tsar sold at Sotheby's New York for 1.3 million US dollars against an estimate of $80,000 - $120,000.

Auction Central News article here.

Rare Victorian Silver Kangaroo Ewer Sells For £24,000

This silver ewer modelled as a kangaroo sold for £24,000 at Chorley's of Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire to a London dealer beating out competition from Australia. Dating from 1882 the 21cm high jug once belonged to the Governor of New South Wales between 1885-1890...

Antiques Trade Gazette article here.