March Auctions

Again, it is time for our run of monthly specialist auctions. We have picked out a few teasers of what is to come, but you can view all of the upcoming auction catalogues here.

Our popular Asian Work of Art Auction is on Tuesday 4th March and we have these two unusual hexagonal shaped satsuma vases in Lot 13. These vases are estimated between £50-£100 and will make a stunning statement in any room.

Later on Tuesday, we have our Furniture, Collectables and Works of Art Auction, with many interesting lots including Lot 394's, Vintage Vellum Travel Suitcase estimated between £70-£100. 

The Fine Jewelry auction has many beautiful lots, including this pair of smoky quartz and diamond earrings in Lot 1328. These earring are estimated between £150-£250.

A familiar Glasgow sight, SECC Lights, by Bryan Evans is a watercolour on paper in a mounted frame. This artwork is coming up in Lot 1714 on Sunday 9th March, in our Scottish Contemporary Art Auction, estimated between £150-£250.

We have many more Lots coming up this week, have a browse here.

Note the days of each auction:
Tuesday 4th March - The Asian Works of Art Auction.
Tuesday 4th March - The Clocks, Scientific and Musical Instruments Auction.
Tuesday 4th March - The Furniture, Collectables and Works of Art Auction.
Wednesday 5th March - The Rare and Collectable Whisky, Wine and Port Auction.
Wednesday 5th March -  The Watches and Coins Auction.
Wednesday 5th March - The Jewellery Auction.
Thursday 6th March - The British and International Pictures Auction.
Friday 7th March - The Interiors Auction.
Sunday 9th March - The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction.

Get ready to bid once again...

5 weeks have nearly past and once again McTear's are busy getting ready for next week's dedicated auctions.

Kicking off our 3 days will be the Asian Works of Art auction with ceramics, metalwork and furniture dedicated to rare and collectable objects from Asia including China, Japan and India. An example of one of these fine pieces is this beautiful Japanese Sumo Tegata from the 1981 sumo league, featuring hand prints and signatures of Kurohimeyama, Takamiyama and Chiyonofuji.


Lot 125 Estimate: £1500- £1600

McTear's will then give you the chance to bid on some fantastic items in our clocks, musical and scientific instruments auction including long case clocks, telescopes, violins and more. This unique and eye-catching Junghans Spelter mantel clock is just an example of what's to come in this auction.


Lot 349 Estimate: £120-£180

As with every block of dedicated auctions, we will be hosting our Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine and Port auction with roughly 500 lots going under the hammer. It's hard to single out specific lots in this auction as there is such a variety, however this one caught our eye. Highland Park1958 Singal Island Malt Whisky (700ml and 44% volume) with decanter and commemorative book in wooden box is set to go under the hammer for an estimate of £800-£1000.


Lot 700 Estimate: £800-£100

Whether you want to treat yourself or someone else we have the auction for you. McTear's Fine Jewellery auction will give you the chance to bid on approximately 300 lots beautiful jewellery. For example this stunning ring would be a fantastic gift with Christmas coming up. The unusual Pearl and Diamond dress ring set with a row of graduated diamonds, flanked by two spherical pearls (size P)is estimated to go for £400-£600.


Lot 1227 Estimate: £400-£600

This is just a small selection of what we have coming up next week in our auctions. Starting on Tuesday the 8th and finishing on the 13th of October with The Scottish Contemporary Art auction, it's a week of auctions not to be missed.

Asian Works of Art - Tuesday 8th October 10.30am

Clocks, Musical & Scientific Instruments - Tuesday 8th October 6pm

Furniture, Works of Art & Collectables - Tuesday 8th October 7pm

Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine & Port - Wednesday 9th October 10.30am

Watches & Coins - Wednesday 9th October 5pm

Fine Jewellery - Wednesday 9th October 6pm

The British & International Pictures Auction - Thursday 10th October 6pm

The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction (Sunday) - Sunday 13th October 2pm

What's Coming Up in McTear's End of July Auctions?

From 30th July until 4th August, we have 8 auctions for you to get bidding in. These include auctions of Asian Works of Art, Furniture, Works of Art & Collectables, Clocks, Scientific and Musical Instruments, Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine & Port, Watches & Coins, Fine Jewellery, International Pictures, and Scottish Contemporary Art.
We have an interesting piece in our Asian Works of Art auction; our Lot 39 Chinese Wooden Wedding Basket is rich in legacy and tradition and still used to this day. The basket is traditionally customized and filled with a wedding gift to give to the bride and groom. They are traditionally red in colour, as this colour symbolises joy and love... a pretty and practical addition to your home, but we are not sure you would want to give it away?


Lot 39

In our Furniture, Works of Art and Collectables Auction, Lot 400 brings 19th Century Pewter Scottish communion tokens. They were a token issued to members of Presbyterian churches to provide them entrance to the Lord’s supper. John Calvin first recommended Communion tokens with the intent that no unworthy person would be admitted to the communion service. Overtime, with church acculturation and rising liberal theology, the tokens became unfavourable as some people viewed the church discipline as unfashionable and judgemental, and communion became considered more of a means of grace than reward.


Lot 400

Finally, keeping in theme with the recent news of the birth of the Royal Baby, George Alexander Louis, we wanted to highlight the upcoming pen and ink drawing by Scottish artist Hannah Frank (1908-2008) in Lot 1667 'There was once a King's Son - The Garden of Paradise' in our Scottish Contemporary Art Auction on Sunday 4th August. Hannah Frank was born in Glasgow and attended Glasgow School of art. Her unique contemporary style of elongated black and white figures have been described as having a medieval romanticism and melancholy air bearing her instantly recognisable stamp.


Lot 1667

See below for further information on our auctions and browse our catalogues to find yourself more unique and wonderful pieces to get bidding on:

Asian Works of Art -Tuesday 30th July 2013

Furniture, Works of Art & Collectables- Tuesday 30th July 2013

Clocks, Scientific and Musical Instruments- Tuesday 30th July 2013

Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine & Port- Wednesday 31st July 2013

Watches & Coins- Wednesday 31st July 2013

Fine Jewellery- Wednesday 31st July 2013

The International Pictures Auction- Thursday 1st August 2013

The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction- Sunday 4th August 2013

A Taste of Scotland at McTear's

With July's special auctions just around the corner we are reflecting on some of the Scottish highlights from our June's special auctions... We have something for all 'tastes' at McTear's!

The Scottish Picture Auction on Thursday 27th June, offered a selection of pictures from Scotland's best known artists from the last 200 years. This favourable auction brings great interest and keen bidders. In particular, the signed oil canvas, named 'Girl With Ducks' from the Scottish Artist Annie Muirhead Paterson (1847-1947), will make a beautiful Scottish contribution to the successful bidder who won this canvas for the bid of £1700. Look out for our International Pictures Auction on Thursday, 1 August 2013 at 06:00 PM.


Lot 1706

From the traditional, to the more modern and 'interesting' type of artwork... The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction held on Sunday 30th June added a splash of unique taste. Check out the bird in this oil canvas titled 'The Voyagers' by John Bellany. This exquisite piece had a hammer price of £4800, and will certainly be a feature in the winning bidder's home. Our next Scottish Contemporary Art Auction is on Sunday, 4 August 2013 at 02:00 PM.


Lot 1706

JOHN BELLANY CBE RA HRSA THE VOYAGERS oil on canvas

Back to Scottish tradition, on Wednesday 26th June at McTear's, this 1938 Single Highland malt whisky, 'The MacAllan' in a branded wooden box, estimated between £2000 and £3000 went under the hammer for an amazing £3400- just one of numerous fantastic bids in our 'Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine and Port' Auction. We are sure this will be saved for a more than very special occasion!


Lot 572

Also, watch out for our other upcoming auctions:
Asian Works of Art Auction on Tuesday, 30 July 2013 at 10:30 AM
Clocks, Scientific and Musical Instruments Auction on Tuesday, 30 July 2013 at 06:00 PM
Furniture, Works of Art and Collectables Auction on Tuesday 30 July 2013 at 07:00 PM
Watches and Coins Auction on Wednesday 31 July 2013 at 05:00 PM
Fine Jewellery Auction on Wednesday 31 July 2013 at 06:00 PM

View our website, 'like' us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with McTear's.

Coming up in June...

Over the week beginning 24th of June we will have a total of 9 auctions including Fine Jewellery, Rare and Collectable Whisky, Wine and Port, Silver including Scottish Provincial and The Scottish Contemporary art auction.

Who thought the day would come that we would be auctioning a genuine antique Fijian weapon of war? This unique weapon, with a tribal name 'Totokia', designed to drive a hole into the skull of the enemy was also believed to possess there own life force or ‘mana’, making them treasured objects in life or in death. They are highly sought after so we look forward to seeing what will happen in the Furniture, Clocks and works of art auction on Tuesday at 6pm.


Lot 364

Another lot coming up during the week will be the craftsmanship of Tain silver, made in Tain, Ross-shire. This particular piece, a pair of bud vases made by William Innes of Tain circa 1835 demonstrates the quality of Innes's work, from each delicately worked wavy rim to the chased foliate designs of each vase. It will be up for bidding on our Scottish Silver auction on Tuesday 25th at 10.30am.


Lot 7

Our Scottish Pictures auction on Thursday 27th at 6pm will also feature a beautiful item up for auction. This fine example of McTaggart’s mature oeuvre was painted in 1873 and 'The Sea Bird' is definitely one not to be missed in this upcoming auction.



Lot 1737

For more information on these auctions including the expected hammer prices, have a look at the online catalogues for each auction.

British & Continental Ceramics & Glass -   Tuesday 25th June
Silver including Scottish Provincial - Tuesday 25th June 
Furniture, Clocks & Works of Art - Tuesday 25th June
Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine & Port - Wednesday 26th June
Clocks, Watches and Coins - Wednesday 26th June
Fine Jewellery - Wednesday 26th June
Sports, Movie & Television Memorabilia - Thursday 27th June
The Scottish Pictures Auction - Thursday 27th June
The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction - Sunday 30th June  

Spotlight on Sunday: Scottish Contemporary Art

Being the only auction house in the UK to provide a monthly sale dedicated to Scottish Contemporary Art, McTear’s unique auction on Sunday is set to be one to cause great interest.

It can’t be ignored that last months various auctions were both distinctive and in some cases record breaking! First of all was April’s Scottish Contemporary Art auction that saw a variety of special pieces going under the hammer including likes of John Bellany, Hamish MacDonald and Alison Watt OBE to name a few. Overall, the sale caught the eye of many keen bidders producing some fantastic results.


Lot 1687: John Bellany: Estimate: £700 - £1000 Hammer: £1100


Lot 1688: Hamish MacDonald: Estimate: £500 - £800 Hammer: £1600


Lot 1718: Alison Watt: Estimate: £8000 - £12000 Hammer: £7000

Then came the unforgettable Terry Howson Collection auction with almost 400 drawings, sketches and etchings by her former husband Peter Howson. It was questionable whether we would be able to fit such a massive sale in between April and May’s Scottish Contemporary Art auctions but with the effort and commitment of the McTear’s team “we worked something out”. It was not surprising that such a unique sale would have acquired such global interest especially with the pictures being sold at No Reserve with David Bowie fans competing to get that winning bid, the sale was a sell-out success.


Lot 56: Peter Howson OBE 'Monique' mixed media, signed and dated '07: Estimate: £200 - £500 Hammer: £2400


Lot 310: Peter Howson OBE 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' (The First Of The David Bowie Drawings): Estimate: £1000 - £2000 Hammer: £6000

This Sunday once again people will be eagerly watching and bidding as McTear's hold another Scottish Contemporary Art auction. After the Terry Howson collection last month this Sunday boasts an exciting array of Howson oils, from 1982 onwards. Other notable items going under the hammer include George Wyllie MBE and Jack Vettriano OBE.


Lot 1877: Peter Howson OBE 'The Justified Sinner': Estimate: £2000 - £3000


Lot 1889: George Wyllie MBE sculpture: Estimate: £500 - £1000


Lot 1902: Jack Vettriano OBE 'Letter of Consequence' oil on canvas: Estimate: £15000 - £20000

We are hoping that the upcoming Scottish Contemporary Art auction will be as successful as our previous ones and look forward to welcoming you there.

The Scottish Contemporary Art auction is this Sunday, 26th of May at 2pm.

Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter or visit our website for more information on what McTear's are up to.

Successful November

November proved to be a successful month for McTear's with this weeks special auctions resulting in exciting hammer prices being achieved.

Our Chinese, Japanese & Eastern Ceramics, Furniture & Works of Art auction that took place on Tuesday 27th November raised much interest. Highlighted in it was this Indian Goanese mother of pearl circular bowl. Estimated to reach between £800 and £1200 it ended up fetching a fantastic £3400.

Another piece worth noting in this auction is this Chinese rosewood collectors cabinet. Fetching more than 5 times its estimate, this unique and beautiful collectors cabinet sold for £5500 in Chinese, Japanese & Eastern Ceramics, Furniture & Works of Art auction. 

December will not see '3 day's of auction' however McTear's will have several exciting auctions before Christmas. This Sunday, the 2nd of December we have our Scottish Contemporary Art Auction that will feature a splendid selection of contemporary art by predominantly Scottish artists. On the 13th of December we have two further auctions. The Victorian & Edwardian Jewellery and Watches auction will take place at 12pm and will feature Victorian, Edwardian and Scottish jewellery of a range of values, along with pocket and wristwatches. At 2pm on that Thursday we will also have The Gentleman's Library auction that will feature antiquarian books, cigars and vintage smoking related objects, objects of vertu and fashion.

We hope and look forward to seeing everyone at the December auctions!

Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter or visit our website to find out more about whats going on at McTear's. 

'Three Days of Auctions'

It's nearly that time again for our 'Three Days of Auctions' event which will take place from Tuesday the 1st through to Thursday the 3rd of May.

Once every five weeks McTear's hold various auctions over a three day period with over 2000 lots of Rare & Collectable Whisky, Fine Wines, Jewellery, Watches & Coins, British, Continental & Asian Works of Art, Ceramics & Collectables and Silver, also Scottish, Contemporary & Fine Pictures, Antique Furniture, Clocks, Sports Memorabilia & Militaria.

Here's a sneak preview of some of the items that will be auctioned:

The Fine Pictures Auction will take place on Tuesday 1st of May at 10.30am.

Fine Pictures 01/05/2012: Lot 26 Estimate: £30000 - £50000

The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction will take place on Tuesday 1st of May at 6.00pm.

The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction: Lot 470 Estimate: £400-£600

Fine Jewellery, Watches and Coins Auction will take place on Wednesday the 2nd of May at 6.00pm.

Fine Jewellery, Watches and Coins: Lot 1008 Estimate: £9500-£10500

We will also have a Rare & Collectable Whisky, Wine & Port auction on Wednesday the 2nd of May at 10.30am. On Thursday the 3rd of May there will be a Decorative Arts & Design, Asian Works of Art and British & Continental Ceramics & Glass at 12pm and a Silver, Collectables, Decorative Pictures & Furniture at 6pm.  

For more information please visit our Website, Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.
 

Mctear's Scottish Contemporary Art Auction

This specialist sale on Tuesday 21st February is dedicated to contemporary pictures and will feature outstanding examples from many of Scotland's most prominent and collectable living artists.

McTear's Scottish Contemporary Art Auctions are held every ten weeks and feature approximately 400 paintings from private collectors as well as brand new work from selected artists. This unique format was started in 2008 and soon established McTear’s as the single largest outlet in the world for contemporary Scottish paintings.

Here is a small selection of the pieces available at our next auction:

FRANK COLCLOUGH WINTER STILL LIFE oil on board, signed 30cm x 25cm 

LAETITIA GUILBAUD READY FOR TAKE OFF acrylic on canvas,signed 40cm x 30cm

ALAN KING PAI DA STUDY FOR STRIPES oil on panel, signed 21cm x 7cm

You can view the auction catalogue in full here