Auctioneer Nick Hall impresses Rotary Rochdale

President Neil Helliwell and Nick Hall holding LS Lowry sketch

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Auctioneer Nick Hall of Bargain Hunt and Flog It fame gave Rochdale Rotary Club an insight into the present day scene of antiques, arts and collectables on Thursday 5 September.

Over 50 Rotarians and friends heard Nick describe the changing market scene at a discussion held at the Frank Marshall Auction rooms in Knutsford.

One of the biggest changes pointed out in the discussion is that Chinese and Oriental art and porcelain are now in great demand. This is understood to be fuelled by wealthy buyers from overseas including China’s 'nouveau riche'.

African art is also currently in demand. During his talk, Nick discussed a tribal piece from a palace later ransacked by British colonial forces in the 19th Century. The statue, entitled Benin Bronzes sold at auction for £10,000.

Online auctions have also played a part in the change, with online auctions opening up the sales room to more investors giving visitors at auctions the chance to bid against a World Wide Web based audience.

Nick described a large 6’3” 17th/18th century copper alloy Sino-Tibetan statue of the one thousand armed Guanyin recently sold at his auction room for £126,000.00

Nick also described the fall in value of the Victoriana art, once the main interest of buyers. Nick believed this to be the case as the modern buyer is more than likely to be interested in non-antique collectables from the 20th Century.

LS Lowry has also become very popular and a Lowry sketch recently sold for over £5,000.

To add to this, a present day artist from Manchester, Janice Sylvia Brock, a life long arthritis sufferer, was shown as an example of successful contemporary art increasingly sold at auction likely to fetch at least £5,000.

As well as discussing antiques at length, Nick devoted a session to examining objects brought in by members including a Georgian silver teapot and porcelain of varying quality. With items like this, rarity and pristine condition helps to raise the price.