Glass

Bonhams Glass auctions offer British and European glass and paperweights from the 15th to 20th centuries. As the recognised market leaders in this field and the only international auction house holding dedicated specialist sales of early glass, our auctions are a regular fixture of the auction calendar - taking place twice a year in London, with additional single-owner sales.

Our position as industry leaders was established in the mid-late 2000s with several landmark single-owner sales, including the contents of Harvey's Wine Museum and the renowned collections of Ron and Mary Thomas, James Hall, and A C Hubbard Jr. The exceptional results we have achieved for collections of English glass, such as that of Julius and Ann Kaplan, are complemented by a repertoire of single-owner sales of important Continental glass including the Mühleib Collection, Masterpieces of Bohemian Glass, the Klaus Biemann Collection, and the Lady Cartwright Collection. The comprehensive illustrated catalogues for these sales are in many casess now standard reference works on the subject.

Our world record results include The Origin of Painting, which broke the previous record set by The Attack for a piece of English cameo glass, to become the most expensive piece of English glass ever sold at auction. The current record price for Beilby enamelled glass was set by The Prince William V Goblet and we continue to achieve exceptional results for glass from the Beilby workshop. In 2021, we set a new record for a Privateer glass, and we hold prestigious records for Continental glass. The Dessau Goblet remains the most expensive piece of German engraved glass ever sold at auction and in 2021 we exceeded all previous auction records for façon de Venise and latticinio glass.

Buying and selling glass at Bonhams
Bonhams Glass department has over 60 years of combined experience and our specialists are the authors of numerous articles and books. We have specialists and consultants in London who regularly travel throughout the UK and worldwide.

With offices and representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams gives buyers and sellers access to a global network of collectors and unparalleled marketing resources to achieve the highest price and level of client satisfaction possible. Contact a specialist directly for more information or submit your item online for a free auction estimate.