Delighted to say that the Antiques Trade Gazette (ATG) has this week given extensive coverage to the just opened Archibald Knox Exhibition “Order and Beauty” at the Manx Museum. See this link to read the article in full.
Archibald Knox “Order and Beauty” is now open at the Manx Museum, Douglas Isle of Man. I spent the most fabulous opening weekend at the Knox symposium with curators, lenders and visitors. The two lectures I gave on Knox timeline of silver design will now be turned into an article for publication. See link for the BBC’s latest coverage of the opening. Images below of some of the silver exhibits.
Archibald Knox silver Order and Beauty Manx Museum
Celebrating the major forthcoming Archibald Knox exhibition, the Post Office has issued a set of ten Archibald Knox stamps. The BBC, no less, has covered the launch at this link. I am delighted that pieces from the Peartree Collection are featured as images on three of the ten stamps.
BBC Isle of Man has covered the pre-launch of the forthcoming Knox Exhibition to be held from April 2025 to March 2026 at the Douglas Museum. See this link. There will be a series of lectures and events at the opening, including talks by Dr Steve Martin and myself. Book your flight!
Delighted and grateful to win a Best Object award at the LAPADA Berkeley Square Fair 2024. Details of the winning necklace by Georgie Gaskin can be found at this link.
A video of my stand can be seen at this link
One of the pleasures of being a dealer is helping items find the right home. That was very much the case for this splendid Birmingham Guild of Handicraft key that was used at the 1937 opening of St Pancras Town Hall, latterly Camden Town Hall. Located opposite St Pancras Station, the Hall is undergoing a remarkable transformation. This stunning neo-classical building will soon be a special event space boasting a versatile layout featuring a main hall (one of central London’s largest), two smaller venues, and dedicated workspaces on the upper floors. The versatile venue, slated to open in Winter 2024, will cater to events of various sizes. Whether the key is to be used at its opening or simply displayed remains to be seen.
An examination of the Hardman ledgers has identified the specific entry for June 7 1852, priced at £12. Full details have been added to the product write-up in the archive at this link
I am delighted to say that following extensive research, I have just listed two sterling silver pieces designed by Augustus Pugin.
I retrieved some original Hukin / Dresseer registered designs for 1881 claret jugs from the National Archives. This threw up two insights. One being that the jugs were entered as “coffee percolators?” I am sure their radical design confusing the registrar. Also written below the designs is “metal protected only”, suggesting the bottle shapes could be copied, as we do see by other manufacturers of the period. Full details at this link.
