George Leslie Hunter paintings at Bonhams’ Scottish art sale

TWELVE paintings by Scottish Colourist George Leslie Hunter are going under the hammer at Bonhams’ Scottish art sale in Edinburgh on 19 October. The collection was assembled by Hunter’s cousin, Arthur Leyden, and is being sold by the descendants of Leyden’s daughter, Peggie. The paintings coming up for auction include The Blue Teacup, a work…

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What’s up with whisky: A Tale of Two Elchies

Mark Littler returns with his monthly look at the world of whisky auctions. WELCOME back, and welcome to September. This month we come to you with tales of the Elchies as we chat about the split that is appearing in the whisky bottle market. As we begin autumn, there are signs of softening across areas…

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Royal Banks’ ‘Red Guinea’ notes hits auction

THE Royal Bank of Scotland’s “red guinea” banknote from 1777 is going under the hammer next week. The red guinea is thought to be first tri-coloured note to be issued in Scotland and possibly in Europe. The banknote promises to pay “Archibald Hope” one guinea. Hope is believed to have been Sir Archibald Hope, who…

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Fancy owning a 40 million year old crocodile?

THE fossil of a 40 million-year-old crocodile is coming up for auction next week in Glasgow. The ancient croc is one of nearly 200 fossils going under the hammer at McTear’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” auction on 10 August. The collection as assembled by a retired geologist based in the Highlands. It includes a fossilised crocodilian…

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A timely gift for a shoe tycoon goes to auction

A gold watch may be the ‘go to’ retirement gift for long serving employees, but when staff at Victorian shoemaker, Clarks of Kilmarnock, decided to honour their founder in 1880, they decided to take things a step further. As a mark of their respect for George Clark, the employees presented him with an impressive ‘skeleton’…

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Exclusive whisky auctioned to help Ukraine

Glenfiddich is releasing an exclusive limited-edition whisky to raise funds to help with the long-term support of the people of Ukraine. The Glenfiddich Spirit of Speyside is a long-established bottling highly sought after by the whisky community. A special 2022 edition of just 460 bottles will be auctioned on whiskyauctioneer.com from Thursday 5–9 May, with…

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What’s up with Whisky: March Madness

Welcome to our new whisky column where we will be discussing the secondary whisky market. As well as insights into the market we will be giving you a roundup of key auction results, record setting bottles, trends and chatting about when something particularly mad happens. Speaking of which, let’s get the bottles rolling with some…

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First Scottish Pictures Auction of 2022 at McTears

Glasgow auction house McTears is looking for submissions for next month’s Scottish Pictures Auction. This specialist auction, held twice-annually, focuses on fine 19th to mid 20th century pictures by Scottish artists or of Scottish subject matter. The first auction of 2022 will takes place on 27 April and entries are invited. The previous Scottish Pictures…

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Macallan 78 year old sells at auction for £79,300

A bottle of one of the oldest known Macallan Scotch Whisky ever produced – The Macallan-78 year old – sold for £79,300 at Bonhams Whisky sale in Edinburgh on Thursday, 10 March. The pinnacle of Macallan’s Red Collection, the bottle was numbered 133 out of a limited edition and came in its original oak and…

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Sotheby’s head to Edinburgh for valuations on March 4

From jewellery, watches, wine and spirits, Sotheby’s finds and sells the world’s finest luxury objects to a global audience of collectors. Their specialists provide confidential estimates to determine a luxury object’s potential at auction, guiding clients through every step of the consignment and sale process. The market for signed and vintage jewellery, as well as…

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