bonhams design sale

For those interested there are 23 pieces of Edmund De Waal in this sale  on the 28th April .




https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27400/design/

Seeing that yesterday made me wonder if some one was thinking they would make more money by selling the individual pieces from one of his installations seperately. It will be interesting to see if the sum is greater than the whole!
Interestingly Bonhams are the only one of the 'Big 4' Auction houses to use the Saleroom. One also gets one of those irritating pop-ups telling you you can buy from them at 0 % commission. It all costs THEM money of course. Presumably they find it cost effective to reach more of us here Prols in their marketing!

Thanks, croker

The Bonhams sale now titled as 'The art of craft' is online, this is a timed sale similar to MAAK, there are a fair number of studio ceramics. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29081/the-art-of-craft/

Thanks for the link Croker. Most of the Big London Auction houses are moving on line now for their cheaper sales. Philips, Sothebys...
A fair enough sale. But as has been common lately, few Gosh Wow items. Just a lot of John Ward!
No condition reports. Only a few photos. You are operating buying under standard Auctioneers rules which give very little protection for the buyer. To cap it all you have a jaw dropping Buyer's commission of 33% including VAT! For a lot of those items You would do a lot better buying from a reputable seller on Ebay!

The problem with the condition reports is that you have to log in to your account and request one, i thought it would have been easier to attach one to each lot. I mentioned the quantity of John Wards for sale at the moment in my other post 35 at the present time.

In this computer world there needs to be two prices

2AR — Bernard Leach, attributed
Bowl

£800 (£1064 IBP&V) - £1,200 (£1596 IBP&V)
Starting bid £800 (£1064 IBP&V)

IBP&V =Including buyers premium & VAT
Excluding Artists Resale Rights

croker wrote:The problem with the condition reports is that you have to log in to your account and request one, i thought it would have been easier to attach one to each lot. I mentioned the quantity of John Wards for sale at the moment in my other post 35 at the present time.

             
One thing is for certain. We will soon know how strong the market for John Ward is. Its interesting that there was a big boost in both in Alan Wallwork's and John Maltby's prices in the period after their deaths. That  has gone now. Their prices have certainly taken a knock. One suspects the same will happen in this sale.
               In my opinion descriptions in  in Online Auctions should be there as a matter of course. When they deny you any chance to examine a piece, then descriptions should be automatic in all auction catalogues. Equally, their accuracy should be guaranteed. The Auctioneers are now acting exactly like retailers, but still hiding behind the different rules for auctioneers. Same old.....

There is viewing available from May 5th to the 14th so you aren't being denied the chance to examine pieces in person. yes, you've got to go to central London but viewing any auction means a journey.

A bad sale for Bonhams with less than half the lots sold, the studio ceramics section fared the best although there were a number of lots unsold including the Maltby's and Bernard Leach, John Ward fared better with 15 of the16 pieces on offer selling. The commission is quite heavy at around 33% +4% AAR + around £100 postage for the average pot.

Thanks for that Croker, I think the first thing it proves is that not many people know that Bonhams are actually selling studio pottery. Secondly their expert is unsure of the market, A number of those pieces were never going to get much, The Abuja, the Peter Smith for instance.
John Maltby is no longer flavour of the month. But that has been clear in the market for some time. Given the declared prices now include the Buyer's commission then the John Ward prices did not to do that well.
One does wonder if the limits of Buyers Commission are now being reached. It has crept up little by little year after year, until it is a hefty old chunk. Are Buyers finally resisting it in a big way?

All the Abjuba pieces were left overs from a previous sale, only a regular viewer of Bonhams sales would actually know the sale was taking place as it was not advertised anywhere and consequently there were few bidders.I don't think that Bonhams can attract good studio ceramics anymore,it seems that the market is now sewn up with MAAK, and Partridge with Woolly's and Mallams taking second place. I did manage to buy one piece of Ward today.I spoke to an auctioneer recently and he thought that buyers commission rates would probably rest at around 40%.

Since when has a Ladi Kwali tankard been worth £2k ? Bits I've seen don't even make half that.

https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29081/lot/24/ladi-kwali-tankard/

To that list of auctioneers you could also add a fair number that end up with some interestingn stuff. Usually innaread that have some connection with Studio pottery.
         Cheffins, Sworders, Chorley's,, Kirkhams, and Cornwall and Leach. David Lays, Barbara Kirk. Up North, Tennants.
As to where Buyer's commission will end up. Probably as high as they can get away with. hHgher at the International mega auctioneers like Sothebys and Christies. One would think there was a figure that the regional auctioneers customers would be deterred at. Mind you of course. The higher the Buyer's commission the more likelihood of lower hammer prices. Especially on the more mundane stuff.