By way of a little light relief, we are launching a series of brief articles under the banner Specialists in Lockdown. Find out how our valuers and experts are filling their days during the current restrictions.
The first chat is with Alexander Hallett from our Fine Interiors team, an auctioneer and valuer who has a strong interest in Furniture, Works of Art and Asian Art.
By way of a little light relief, we are launching a series of brief articles under the banner Specialists in Lockdown. Find out how our valuers and experts are filling their days during the current restrictions.
The first chat is with Alexander Hallett from our Fine Interiors team, an auctioneer and valuer who has a strong interest in Furniture, Works of Art and Asian Art.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment where will be chatting with our fabulous auctioneer and valuer Briony Harford!
I have been cooking like a maniac! Like everyone else in the world I have tried my hand at sourdough, and have been eating loads of lovely fresh fish, of which there is plenty down in Dorset where I have been self-isolating with my family. At this time of year there is lots of wild garlic about, so I have been trying out some new recipes, some successful and some not so successful…
This is a really delicious salad dressing:
1 tin of anchovies
A glug of olive oil
A teaspoon or two of mustard
The juice of a lemon
Parsley
Capers
Either chop the anchovies, capers and parsley or whizz the whole thing up in a food processor. I don’t think I’ll ever dress a salad with anything else ever again!
I’ve been reading a lot, mainly antiques books on areas of the market about which I’d like to know more. That and our family’s newly established cocktail hour!
I have really enjoyed that prominent dealers and figures from the industry have been letting us into their homes via Instagram to talk about their personal collections and their influences. Philip Mould’s ‘Art in Isolation’ series in particular has been fascinating! The Met’s virtual tours and exhibitions are stunning, too!
You can contact Alex on alexanderhallett@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
A major highlight of our forthcoming 'DREAMS | A Unique Private Collection' sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.
2 July 2025
'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.
2 July 2025
We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.
20 June 2025