2023 was an an exciting year of welcoming you to our salerooms and galleries across the UK, and online from across the globe, for auctions, events and exhibitions. We were delighted to welcome Iain Mackinnon as our new chairman and present an outstanding range of exceptional works of art, design, jewellery and antiques to you throughout the year.
Year Review
A Look Back at 2023
20 December 2023
Lyon & Turnbull
Top quality artworks, both Traditional and Modern, were highly sought-after throughout the year in our 45 auctions that took place across the UK.
The Scottish Colourists soared in our Scottish Paintings & Sculpture auctions this year, with two beautifully accomplished works by F. C. B. Cadell - Still Life with Tulips, an image of arresting beauty, and Cassis, le Port, which had been unseen in public for two generations, reaching £400,200* and £287,700*, respectively.
S.J. Peploe's Still Life with Tulips is a striking prime-period example dating from the immediate post-war period, before Peploe settled into the rose still lifes which he painted, exhibited and sold in great numbers during the 1920s. This remarkable work achieved £225,200*.
Antique jewels and glittering diamonds drew attention in both our Edinburgh and London Jewellery auctions, whilst rare luxury watches continued to be highly desirable. A pear-shaped light orangy-pink diamond ring brought £87,700* and a rose gold Rolex Daytona saw £31,450*.
European artists from across the centuries achieved strong results in our sales. A fine Dutch still life attributed to Rachel Ruysch saw competitive international bidding to realise £150,200* and Polish artist Jankel Adler's sophisticated & poetic Mädchen mit Katze (Girl with Cat), a major example of continental Modernism, painted in Britain, achieved £105,200*.
Comprised of 26 stunning 19th century watercolours by Shaykh Muhammad Amir of Karraya, one of the leading practitioners of Company School painting, The Balfour Album sold for £112,700* in Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs.
Fine design saw Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Ivy Seed set a new auction record for a work from his Walberswick series at £112,700* and René Lalique's rare cire perdue Deux Grenouilles vase drew in bids from around the globe to reach £100,200*. Further world auction records included William Strang's Girl with Fan at £53,950* and Bessie MacNicol's Elizabeth which sold for £60,200*.
We were delighted to present several private collections at auction this year. The Hancock Collection reached a grand total of over £727,000*, while Lalique in Colour: A Private Collection exceeded its top estimate, achieving a 90% sell through rate, led by the Tortues & Languedoc vases at £47,700* & £30,200*, respectively. A Private Collection of Seals: Highlights from The Matrix Collection presented a fine selection of institutional and organisational desk seals to competitive bidders across the continents, and Dr Kenneth P. Lawley's Collection of Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Southeast Asian Arts was a ‘white glove’ sale with 100% of lots sold.
Other notable moments of 2023 included the latest edition of our extremely popular Elements: Festival of Jewellery, Silver & Gold, and our fantastic Glasgow exhibition, shining a light on the work of Glasgow Girl Jessie M. King.
Finally, our sincerest thanks to everyone who helped us to raise a total of over £148,000 through our fundraising events and auctions for several charities this year, including our charity of the year, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, Maggie's Centres in our EveryWatch auction, and The Brain Tumour Charity in the Piece of Mind auction.
Thank you for joining us in 2023. We look forward to welcoming you back to our salerooms, galleries and online in 2024.
*All sold prices include buyer's premium.
