Antiques Magazine Archive, January 2024

Do you know how bottles of wine are bought around the world in 1 year?

31.4 billion bottles!

Whilst a lot of these will come with screw tops, can you imagine how many corks there are that need to be removed?

The problem has always been this: how do we open them?

Even the Romans couldn’t work that one out. But nowadays, our little friend – stuck in the back of the kitchen drawer – has seen a lot of wine in its time.

In this article, Antiques.co.uk founder Iain Brunt explores the history and development of the trusty corkscrew - and why they should be collector's items.

January is a fantastic time for clearing out old items from storage. Maybe you have paintings sitting in your attic, or old ceramic pots in the garden which you've never liked? 

Many people just want to get rid of what they consider to be old junk - it ends up at thrift stores or charity shops, where just occasionally, the buyer finds out that it's worth a fortune! 

Here are the top five most incredible antique discoveries ever made.