Antiques Magazine Archive, October 2014

• Gem hunter donates 60 carat Mozambican aquamarine
• 1,000 tickets available for a chance to win
• All proceeds go to help Fine Cell Work’s prison inmate rehabilitation

The gem in question is probably one in a million however, when the 60 carat heavy-weight Mozambican aquamarine worth £40,000 is raffled by prison charity Fine Cell Work on 20 November 2014, ticket holders will have a one in a thousand chance to win it.

Frieze Masters week – A reminder of the power of sculpture

There was a time in history when sculpture was a more revered art form that it is today. Admittedly, today’s art produces mesmerising video artwork and mixed-media creations that nobody has ever remotely conceived of. But in decades and centuries past, the casting of bronze struck into the hearts of many art lovers.

Maps

"We must always remember with gratitude and admiration the first sailors who steered their vessels through storms and mists, and increased our knowledge of the lands of ice in the South."

Roald Amundsen

This month we're looking at maps. Maps revolutionised the way we saw the world - they made the world more detailed, they made it seem more daunting and unknown. Maps would give explorers the incentive to go out and find the world, other people, other ways of life. It may not have seemed that great for the people they discovered, as they were forced to take on the languages and religions of their new masters, but the world changed because of men who dared to dream.

“Today’s a nipping day, a biting day;
In which one wants a shawl,
A veil, a cloak, and other wraps….”
Winter: My Secret
Christina Rossetti

After an unusually mild October and unseasonably warm weather we sit at the door of winter. We know it’s coming, but September and especially October, lulled us into a false sense of security. Now, we see the night’s drawing in, the blustery storms shaking the trees and we draw ever closer to the fire.

We can do nothing more now than look forward to the spring, but winter can be fun - we can enjoy it if we allow ourselves to. As the autumn month’s draws to a close, it’s a time for resting at home with loved ones, gathering strength before bearing the brunt of Christmas shopping and the crueller colder months of January and February.