08/06/2026
Dear Friends
Welcome to our June Newsletter.
As I work in my garden office following a glorious bank holiday weekend spent cruising in the Solent, the temperature gauge reads a sultry 30 degrees, it appears that flaming June has arrived early and most welcome it is. There is even talk of the UK’s record May temperature of 32.8°C being broken today, a temperature recorded way back in May 1922. Call me cynical but do you suppose in May 1922 they were discussing global warming? Perhaps these are just naturally recurring weather patterns, which is not to say we shouldn’t all do our bit to help protect the environment that we live in.
At the beginning of May I captured this adult blue tit feeding the nestlings, some 10 days later this inquisitive little fledgling appeared out of the nest, hopefully it will survive to return one day.
Aside from the weather, the very finest Japanese Meiji Period metalwork achieved sizzling hot prices during the month of May. By contrast however, reams of ordinary low value tourist type wares failed to muster serious interest at many of the Asian art sales, there is little doubt that the appetite for the very finest Japanese works of art remains as strong as ever.
As just one example you might recall this outstanding pair of vases, artist signed by Nakagawa Yoshizane, son of Shoami Katsuyoshi, that featured in my first exhibition book "2020 Vision Of An Enlightened Ruler" way back in lockdown days.
I had sold these vases for what I considered to be a handsome sum at that time, and I was latterly very proud to hear they had joined the incredible Japanese collection at the late Mr Murata’s Kiyomizu Sannenzaka museum in Kyoto.
Last month I received an alert from an agent in Japan which left me rather shocked to see my vases once again up for sale, this time in a Chinese based auction as a small part of the late Mr Murata’s extensive collection. Naturally, it was now my goal to attend this auction, remotely online at this late notice, to reclaim what was once mine.
Well how naïve was I, the vases were now in the far east and out of reach of 99% of dealers and collectors in the west, even as a well known dealer it was such an arduous task to register to bid online. The auction was essentially being marketed to and dominated by wealthy Chinese and Far Eastern buyers, with the end result of $1,200,000 HKD being way beyond commercial viability for me. Yes, I was angry, frustrated, upset, a whole string of emotions … but at the end of the day I had owned these magnificent vases once before and now it was somebody else’s turn. Will they ever come around again, who knows? But that’s the thrill of the chase that inspires me daily.
The moral of the story is to simply buy the very best you can afford, always from trusted reliable sources. As I have preached many times before - "less is certainly more!!"
Our featured item for May was this most unusual exceptional quality carved wooden vase with an Australian provenance. This rare vase barely had a chance to feature in my online gallery before being snapped up by a long-standing client.
A further couple of sales to mention in May were the rather unusual iron and enamel lidded box as well as the super quality shibuichi cigarette case by a leading artist of the late 19th century, Yamada Motonobu 1847-1897, both pieces now finding their way into Japanese collections. Thank you to the existing and new clients for their valuable business.
As this month's featured item, I am delighted to offer this most charming silvered bronze okimono featuring a cockatiel upon a most unusual wall mounted en suite stand, both pieces artist signed by Yosh*tani.
And finally, it would be remiss of me not to offer huge congratulations to my boyhood club AFC Bournemouth, for their record-breaking achievements in the Premier League, finishing sixth with a record points haul, thus enabling them to reach a European competition, the Europa league, for the first time in the club’s history.
I am proud to be a lifelong fan and to have played a small part, along with many others who helped us navigate the turbulent start of this most improbable journey. Not least my Chairman, the tireless Jeff Mostyn, an inspirational leader that simply didn’t know how to give up when others more sensible than us were running for the door marked Exit. Jeff is pictured here with me during my tenure as co-owner and vice chairman, in what surely must be one of footballs most incredible stories.
In 2008 we were minus 17 points in league division 2 and facing imminent danger of expulsion from the football league, today many of those long-suffering fans are dusting down their passports for a European Tour, incredible!!
It just goes to show that “Together anything is possible”.
Best wishes
Steve
