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OUR AUCTIONEERS

Tim Wonnacott

From a tender age, when he would watch auctions at his family’s saleroom in Devon, Tim Wonnacott aspired to follow his father into the antiques trade. His first experience of conducting an auction was at the age of sixteen, when he auctioned the contents of a kitchen to conclude a farm sale! After qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor and a Chartered Auctioneer, he trained in Fine and Decorative Arts at the V &A, before taking a position at Sotheby’s in 1978. By 1985, he had risen to Director, overseeing Sotheby’s operations in the North-West, and in 1998 was appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s South saleroom in Sussex. From 2001 to 2003, he held this position concurrently with the role of Chairman of Sotheby’s new Kensington saleroom in Olympia.

Tim’s initial expertise was developed in Sotheby’s furniture department, although a lifetime’s experience in the field has given him a broad-ranging scope of experience across the decorative arts, including in ceramics and silver. After leaving Sotheby’s in 2003 to focus on developing his media career, Tim launched his fine art and brokerage business Tim Wonnacott and Associates, through which he and his colleagues provide independent advice to buyers and sellers of art and antiques.

Tim appears regularly on Antiques Roadshow, and, since 2003, has presented BBC One’s Bargain Hunt. His other television appearances include BBC One’s Restoration; The Great Antiques Hunt, Antiques Roadtrip, and The Divine Michaelanglo, as well as Top Gear!

Once described by the Daily Telegraph as ‘Sotheby’s Finest Auctioneer’, Tim puts his saleroom skills to philanthropic use by conducting high-profile charity auctions. The most notable of these was London’s ‘Cow Parade’, raising more than £400,000 for Childline. His most recent ‘Cow Parade’ auction, on the Isle of Man, raised over £100,000 in the presence of Prince Andrew.

Edward Rising of TimeLine Auctions

Edward Rising

Edward Rising started with Phillips Auctioneers in Bristol in 1989. He soon worked his way up through the ranks to become a Head of Department in Bayswater, London.

Over the past twenty-five years, Edward has worked for most of London’s top auction houses including an eight-year stint as a senior auctioneer for Sotheby’s. During this time, he was entrusted with chairing some of Sotheby’s most high profile auctions, including the collection of the late Gianni Versace, which sold for £7.5m.

Edward sold a Mameluk dynasty gilded and enamelled glass finger bowl, known as the 'Rothschild Bucket', for £1.6m in the Sotheby’s London “Arts of the Islamic World” sale and the contents of the Shrublands Park stately home which sold for £4.5 million.

Edward has worked extensively in the Fine Art World, conducting decorative art, furniture, fine-art and classic car auctions throughout the globe including sales in Hong Kong, Dubai, Doha and London. He has dedicated much of his time to raising funds for charities. His unique auctioneering style was appreciated by the film director Danny Boyle, who cast him as the 1960s auctioneer in his 2013 film, “Trance”.

Lord Dalmeny, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's, has said: "Ed is one of the best auctioneers I have seen".

Lindsey Gundersen

Lindsey Gundersen is an on-location reporter as well as an established broadcaster with many years professional experience. A former Sky studio anchor, she is a wine expert by specialism, and, being a fluent Mandarin speaker, has gained a considerable reputation as an actor and presenter in China. After attending school in Hertfordshire and university in Nottingham, where she read History of Art, she began her career in the auction world in 2006, when she was deemed Auctioneer of the Year at Park West Gallery, Michigan, USA. Lindsey hosts high-profile charity auctions and exclusive wine events in China and has hosted televised auctions in the UK, China and the US.

Lindsey currently divides her time between London and Shanghai, where she hosts the ‘China Untapped’ series, investigating Chinese history, art and architecture, and stars in the drama series 'Cafe Zhou'.

Peter Bufton

Peter, an alumnus of Merchant Taylor’s School, founded in the third quarter of the 16th century, particularly enjoyed history, Latin, English and sport as well as collecting coins, stamps and a variety of curiosities during his growing-up years. Merchant Taylor’s ethos is as old as the school itself: “It is not a mind, not a body that we have to cultivate, but a man, and we cannot divide him” (thus spake MTS’s first headmaster, Richard Mulcaster, in 1561). Some notable past alumni include various remarkable individuals such as Clive of India, Scott of the Antarctic and Boris Karloff (of Dracula fame). Such holistic thinking inspired Peter to join Knight, Frank & Rutley at the age of eighteen, having previously worked with an oriental art dealer, and then Christie’s of St. James’s the following year.

Peter gradually rose through the ranks becoming an auctioneer, head of Chinese jade / snuff bottles, head of Japanese / Korean art and then Director. After 16 successful, enjoyable, stimulating and much-travelled years, Peter left Christie’s to take a year’s sabbatical before becoming a Vice-President at Sotheby’s New York. During his time at Christie’s and Sothebys’ he produced more than eight catalogues per year, resulting in a total of more than 250 over the course of his career. His major specialisms included netsuke and inro, Japanese ceramics, lacquer and metalwork, Chinese jade and snuff bottles. Eventually tiring of the Big Apple, he returned to the UK to seek new challenges and take up consultancy posts at Phillips and Bonhams as well as Habsburgs, Geneva.

Since the mid-1990s, Peter has greatly enjoyed working as an independent Far Eastern art consultant advising various museums, auction houses and private collectors in connection with Japanese, Korean, Chinese and South East Asian Art (as well as some Ethnographic Art, a personal passion of his, particularly American Indian culture). He has written many articles over the years and after helping to organise an exhibition of Japanese ceramics belonging to the Lupin Foundation at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 1997, he then co-wrote the exhibition catalogue. Nowadays he spends much of his time travelling, following the International Art Market and indulging his passion for Far Eastern and South East Asian culture, whilst being involved in further challenging and unusual projects.

Sean Kelly

After a childhood spent in Germany and Italy, Sean Kelly joined the U.S. army, where he specialized in military intelligence and completed a tour of duty in Iraq. On his return to the U.S. Sean began a career in marketing and sales, and in 2003 founded his own auctioneering business, quickly gaining a reputation for his energetic and engaging speaking style. He has honed his presence and charisma on the rostrum through extensive television work, notably as host and auctioneer of the popular American reality series Storage Hunters, (including its recently launched U.K. version) and as a stand-up comedian. Sean is committed to charitable work, and has used his skills to raise considerable sums for medical and children’s organisations through charity auctions across the U.S.A.