John Axford (Director)
After graduating from Leeds University John Axford worked for Phillips Auctioneers in London before joining Woolley and Wallis in 1993 to become head of the Ceramics, Glass and Oriental departments.
John was the first recipient of the Antiques Trade Gazette Ivor Turnball Memorial prize in 1997 for achieving the highest marks in the country for professional qualification exams. He writes and lectures on ceramics and oriental art, is a consultant to Miller’s Antiques Price Guide and has been a member of the BBC Antiques Roadshow team since 1999.
He discovered the first Limehouse figure in 2005, and discovered and identified The Alexander Vase, a 14th century Yuan dynasty Chinese vase which subsequently fetched £2,600,000. In May 2009 he sold a rare jade water buffalo for £3,400,000 - breaking his own record for the highest price achieved outside of London for any work of art.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424506
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Jo Butler
Jo graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2005 with a BA (Hons) in Antiques History and Collecting. Jo started in the picture department in 2007 as an assistant and is helping Victor Fauvelle to present the picture sales.
Contact Details
Telephone: 01722 424503
Fax: 01722 424508
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Orlanda Cooper
Orlanda graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2007 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Valuation achieving a first for her dissertation. Before and since graduation Orlanda has worked for Woolley and Wallis on a part-time basis helping on sale days alongside being a freelance art and antiques researcher. She then joined Woolley and Wallis in 2008 as John Axford’s assistant in the Asian Art department. She has recently published an article on Post-War Scottish Furniture Design in The Decorative Arts Society 2008 and has been awarded the Christopher Weston bursary award for an essay on Pilkington's Lancastrian Lustre ware in 2009.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424506
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Clare Durham
Clare graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2007 with a first class honours degree in Fine Art Valuation, having also twice been the recipient of the Christopher Weston bursary award. She joined Woolley and Wallis on graduation and works alongside John Axford cataloguing European ceramics and glass. In 2008 Clare won the first ever Society of Fine Arts Auctioneers essay prize.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0)1722 424507
Fax: +44 (0)1722 424508
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Jonathan Edwards FGAA
Jonathan Edwards, head of the jewellery department, has been involved in the jewellery auction industry for almost thirty years. After a short service commission in the Army he lived in Australia for 15 years and returned to England in 1990 to live in Salisbury.
Jonathan joined Woolley and Wallis in 2003.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424504
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Victor Fauvelle
Victor has been a picture specialist for 20 years. He joined Woolley and Wallis in 2007 as head of the Pictures Department after working in Sotheby's for 10 years, specialising in valuations for clients with large and varied high-value collections. Victor has a wide knowledge of the picture market and is particularly interested in 19th and 20th century paintings.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424503
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Lucy Grazier
After gaining a degree at Southampton in Fine Arts Valuation, Lucy joined Woolley and Wallis in 2000 as a valuer and auctioneer, running the General Sales for four and a half years. She has worked in the silver department since January 2005.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424530
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Will Hobbs (Associate Director)
Will’s very first job on leaving school was as a porter at Woolley and Wallis, later progressing to cataloguer working in all the different departments. After graduating from Southampton University Will returned to Woolley and Wallis to work in the Furniture and Silver departments.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 339752
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Michael Jeffery (Associate Director)
Michael graduated from Warwick University and after ten years at Christie’s, joined Woolley and Wallis in 2003. Michael has organised specialist sales of British Decorative Arts, Studio Pottery, Arts and Crafts, 20th Century lustrewares, the Arts of the Aesthetic Movement, Dan Dare, and Guinness Advertising Wares. In 2005, Michael organised the first specialist auction of The Martin Brothers Potters.
Michael is a member of the Decorative Arts Society. He has had numerous articles and reviews published and was the author of Arts and Crafts Style.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424505
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Liz Merry (Consultant)
Liz Merry’s love of books began as a child, when she spent long periods confined to bed and read voraciously to pass the time. After gaining her degree, she learned the book trade at Bernard Quaritch, the London firm of antiquarian booksellers, before working for Christie’s in Europe and London. For ten years she was an independent consultant before joining Phillips as director of the Book Department in 1990, returning to freelancing in 2002. She has undertaken valuation work for the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Her favourite areas include books on natural history and herbals, and she is also a keen plantswoman and walker.
Liz usually comes in on a Monday or Tuesday at the beginning of the month. For an appointment to see her please ring 01722 424500.
Contact Details
Telephone: 01722 424500
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Richard Price (Consultant)
Richard worked at Bonhams between 1975 and 1994, setting up the saleroom's first ever Clocks and Watches department. He has over thirty years experience in the industry, and for 28 years has been the Clocks and Watches specialist for the BBC Antiques Roadshow.
Contact Details
Telephone: 01722 339752
Fax: 01722 424500
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Mark Richards (Associate Director)
Mark read History of Art and Italian at Leicester University and went on to do an Erasmus scholarship at Tor Vergata and La Sapienza universities in Rome. After working at the Tate Gallery in London, Mark joined Woolley and Wallis in 2000 and after working in both Ceramics and Furniture now specialises in Furniture and Works of Art.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 411854
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 424508
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Rupert Slingsby
Rupert Slingsby joined Woolley & Wallis as Head of the Silver Department in May 2009. Rupert began his career in silver in 1992 after joining Bonhams Auctioneers, leaving in 2001 to pursue other interests. Rupert returned to Bonhams in 2005 to head up the London Silver Department, and it was from this position he joined Woolley & Wallis.
Rupert is a freeman of the Goldsmiths Company, a member of the Silver Society, the Silver Spoon Collector’s Club, and the Decorative Arts Society.
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0)1722 424501
Fax: +44 (0)1722 424508
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Paul Viney (Chairman and Managing Director)
Paul began his career at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford then worked for the National Trust at Waddesden Manor, the former Rothschild home near Aylesbury. He then joined Phillips Auctioneers where he was Vice-President in New York for three years and European Director from 1986-92.
He is well known to Radio Two listeners for his annual Children-in-Need auctions with Terry Wogan and has been appearing on The Antiques Roadshow since 1992. In 2009 Paul was appointed Chairman of the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers (SOFAA).
Contact Details
Telephone: +44 (0) 1722 424502
Fax: +44 (0) 1722 323929
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Marielle Whiting
Marielle studied graphic design at Plymouth University where she spent a year studying in Gent, Belgium. She gained a BA (Hons) 2:1 in 2008 and started working in the jewellery department in January 2009 as assistant to the Head of Department, Jonathan Edwards.
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