YOUR LETTERS
STAR LETTER All Mapped Out was a most enjoyable feature in last month’s magazine and an excellent way to celebrate the London Map Fair. As a dedicated cartomaniac living in Nice I can’t always attend these events so any information is always welcomed. While I am heartened to see a certain resurgence in interest in collecting maps, I can’t help but wonder if, in a hundred years time, there will be a ‘London Sat Nav Fair’ and the art of cartography will only be seen in museums. Ahmed Chour, Nice, by email.
Apropos your Market Report (June issue) regarding the state of the Chinese art market, a recent auction in Sweden saw a piece of blue and white Chinese porcelein sell for over £75,000 (with commission) as against an estimate of £2,500. Not a plate. Not a bowl. Not a vase. Not a figurine. Rather a 92cm high, eight-piece hexagonal pagoda complete with playful koi carp.
A case of an unusual form triumphing against all expectations? Or was it the carp what did it?! Margaret Munday, Sweden.
EXPERTS HAVE THEIR SAY We asked some of the UK’s leading collectors to nominate their favourite foreign holiday destination for a spot of antique hunting
@apauctioneers said: ‘I don’t really go antiques hunting on holiday as it doesn’t go down well with my family and it’s nice to have a break sometimes! But if I could choose then it would be searching for colonial relics in the Caribbean or the flea markets of France.’ Adam Partridge.
@ ElizabethFell1 said: “London in June, when all the best antiques come to the UK for a holiday! It’s a veritable antiques staycation!’ @Marc_Allum said: ‘Actually, that’s an easy one. I love the giant Emmaus depot outside Pau in SW France. Fab eclectic buys over the years in the SW.’
As a recent subscriber to Antique Collecting, I wanted to get in touch to congratulate you on the June issue of the magazine which, once again, contained a wide range of fascinating and in-depth articles; each serving to fully justify my decision to subscribe.
A bracelet containing a lock of Wellington’s hair
As we mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo it was particularly fascinating to read Paul Fraser’s piece exploring which of the two protagonists are the most collectable. It appears that the Little Emperor may finally have a belated victory of some kind over Wellington. Carrie Higg, by email.
I was quite astonished to receive the prize for the June issue star letter. In 28 years in the gambling Mecca of the western world, I’ve only had one big jackpot of $772. I consider the prize book an equally gratifying prize.
It was good to see David Battie’s article in the June issue. He has me checking my Netsuke collection. I really enjoyed the Heath Robinson piece, and the guidance on collecting maps—so far I only have eight framed in my hallway. Seven are English maps, the eighth a map of America ‘with latest discoveries’ dated 1797. I was intrigued by the Kibble collection of Thomas Churchyard paintings. The article doesn’t mention where he was buried, but I suspect it may be in Eyke churchyard, near Woodbridge. My parents were married there in 1945, and in September 2013, my daughter was photographing in the churchyard and thinks she may have seen Thomas Churchyard’s gravestone on the left hand side, as you approach the church entrance.
Was the artist Thomas Churchyard buried in Eyke churchyard?
As always, your magazine is a wonderful connection for me to the British antique market, and read cover to cover. Barry Anderson, Las Vegas, by email.
Did Mucha’s work inspire this visiting card box from 1904?
I enjoyed your article on the artist Alfonse Mucha back in the April issue. In my collection of visiting card cases I have one purporting to show a bust of the actress Sarah Bernhardt. It was made in Birmingham in 1904. Looking at the Mucha’s lithograph Zodiac , i t appears it must have been made from one of his designs. I enclose a photograph. Ian McFeeters, Lincoln.
Our star letter will receive a copy of Antique Boxes Inside and Out by Genevieve Cummins (worth £45). Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@antique-acc.com.
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