Emma Crichton-Miller is a freelance journalist and an Apollo columnist

Vase (c. 1896–97), Alfred William Finch

The art nouveau potters who broke the mould

The fin-de-siècle movement fired up the imaginations of avant-garde ceramicists across Europe

The Mocking of Christ (c. 1280), Cimabue (Actéon, €24.2m)

Uncommon grounds – the market for paintings on gold

When it comes to gold-ground paintings from Italy, condition is everything and the older the work, the better

28 Nov 2022
Folding horseshoe chair, late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), China. Sotheby’s Hong Kong, HK$124.6m ($15.8m)

Why is the market for classical Chinese furniture so hot?

Collectors are snapping up elegant huanghuali chairs and beds of the Ming and Qing dynasties at record prices

24 Oct 2022
Relief avec deux collines (1972), Magdalena Abakanowicz. Sotheby’s London, £52,500

Threads of potential – the market for textiles by women artists

From the United States to the Soviet Union, women artists of the post-war era found creative freedom in fibre art – and their works are beginning to loom large in the market

26 Sep 2022
Marble sculpture by Mino da Fiesole

How early Tuscan Renaissance works made an unexpected return to the market

These once-overlooked pieces are making a comeback – and with few on the market, they’re more collectable than ever

30 Aug 2022
Masque Îles Mortlock mask

A question of ethics – the market for African and Oceanic art

As museums make promises to return looted works of art, provenance is now of paramount importance in the market

20 Jun 2022

Beyond Rubens – drawings by the lesser-known Flemish masters

Rubens may dominate the field, but there are other names worth seeking out – and plenty of surprises to be found

23 May 2022

A shiny future for Hispanic silver

Silversmithing has had a turbulent history on the Iberian Peninsula. The market is quiet, but showing new signs of life, says Emma Crichton-Miller

28 Apr 2022
(detail; 1936), Paul Nash.

Why the art market is finally taking note of British Surrealism

It isn’t easy to define a made-in-Britain equivalent to the Paris Surrealists, but collectors are increasingly drawn to the uncanny side of British modernism

Good Times: Lion Leopard Lake (detail; 2020), Yao Jui-chung. Michael Goedhuis (price on application)

Asian Art in London turns the spotlight on East Asian art

From famille-verte vases to contemporary ink paintings – Emma Crichton-Miller selects her highlights from this year’s event

27 Oct 2021
Illustration (detail) of arms and armour with Sanskrit inscriptions, 18th–19th century, Rajasthan or Awadh, India. Runjeet Singh (price on application)

Indian and Islamic art takes centre stage at Asian Art in London

From Mughal manuscripts to contemporary Sri Lankan painting – Emma Crichton-Miller selects her highlights from this year’s event

18 Oct 2021
Detail of Dragonfly table lamp (c. 1906), Tiffany Studios. Lillian Nassau (price on application)

The temptations of Tiffany glass

With its gorgeous, shimmering colours, Tiffany glassware has a well-established market in the US – but be sure you’re buying the real deal

20 Apr 2021
Casket (16th century), Gujarat, India. São Roque – Antiguidades e Galeria de Arte (price on application)

Not just another digital art fair – a preview of BRAFA 2021

This year’s event has come up with a hybrid model that puts the focus firmly on galleries

26 Jan 2021
Leaf from a set of eight choir books (detail; 1470s–80s), San Sisto, Piacenza. Christie’s London, £657,250 (for the set)

Monastic habits – the market for illuminated choir books

With splendid examples of illumination accompanying early musical notation, medieval choir books are highly prized by collectors around the world

Moving Off the Land (2019), Joan Jonas. Performance with Ikue Mori and Francesco Migliacco, Ocean Space, Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Venice, 2019.

Politics, performance and porcelain – at the Venice Biennale and beyond

Themes of exile and migration thread their way through the works in the main exhibition, national pavilions, and elsewhere

15 May 2019
Collateral (2007), Sheela Gowda.

Sheela Gowda shows her extraordinary works made out of everyday materials in Milan

The artist’s installations seem completely at home in the HangarBicocca

15 Apr 2019

The best of Bruegel – in his own backyard

Flanders is celebrating one of its greatest artists this year, with events and exhibitions across the region

The Little Girl in Blue (detail; 1934), Amrita Sher-Gil. Sotheby’s Mumbai, INR18.7 crore

The market is hot for modern Indian art

Work by post-Independence artists is increasingly hard to find, with prices surging – in India and abroad

31 Jan 2019
Panel depicting lobsters (1888), signed Shibata Zeshin. Christie’s, £662,500.

The lustre and allure of Japanese lacquer

In the last decade some exceptional pieces have sold for six-figure sums, but lacquerware is still good value for money

Installation view of ‘Edmund de Waal: Early work – vessels from the Rosenheimer Collection’ at the New Art Centre, Roche Court, Wiltshire, 2018.

Edmund de Waal looks back at his early porcelains

An interview with the British ceramicist, who reflects on a formative relationship with a collector of his art

18 Jun 2018

Patronage, prizes and Mad King Ludwig pens

The luxury brand Montblanc recently launched the 27th edition of its cultural patronage awards

14 May 2018
The Schoolroom (detail; 1938), Vanessa Bell. Osborne Samuel, £4,500

The changing fortunes of modern British printmaking

The market for British prints between the wars is now strengthening after decades of neglect – but many works remain affordable

The Harrington Commode. Thomas Chippendale

‘The only name that means anything in furniture’

On the tercentenary of his birth, Thomas Chippendale still exercises a unique hold on the market for British furniture

Intimation (2014), El Anatsui. Axel Vervoordt Gallery (price on application)

Highlights of BRAFA art fair

From a 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite to an array of modern and contemporary art, here’s what not to miss this year

24 Jan 2018