Watching people spend millions in a tent in a muddy field in Derbyshire!

TEN years ago, I wrote an article for Reflections on the popularity of architectural antiques, which featured the Chatsworth Attic auction. It is reassuring to know that, a decade later, the auction world for architectural items is still as strong as ever. The origin of antiques is so crucial to the price that things will make at auction, a point clearly illustrated by the recent events at the Chatsworth Attic Sale. It is amazing what a few aristocratic connections can do for auction prices. There were certainly plenty of people at the Chatsworth Attic Sale held recently, all wanting to get a piece of the decorative arts feast, and others who were there just to say they were part of the scene, including Jerry Hall. It was a stylish affair, although perhaps a little bizarre watching the great and the gracious spending their millions in a tent in a muddy field in Derbyshire!…