ArtAntiquesDesign
Trusted, confidential valuations & advice.
Friendly, approachable and knowledgeable appraisals and valuations of art, antiques, design, and collectors’ items.
For families, probate executors, collectors, auctioneers, estate agents, solicitors and insurers in London, the South East and further afield.
Experienced
From Bonhams and Sotheby’s to eBay and the British Antiques Dealers’ Association to the BBC Antiques Roadshow.
Confidential
Complete discretion and confidentiality, at every step of the way.
Independent
Not affiliated to any auction house, dealer, or company — only your interests at heart.
Services
How can I help?
I offer a range of services to both members of the public and businesses inside and outside the art and antiques industry.
Don’t see what you want here and require a bespoke service? Get in touch and let’s talk.
Probate valuations
Acting for executors, solicitors and families by providing a full and accurate inventory in compliance with HMRC regulations and reflecting fair open market value.
Insurance valuations
Keep insurance costs under control whilst ensuring the financial value of your collection is correctly secured in a frequently changing market.
Private collections
As a collector myself, I understand the value – in all senses of the word – that private collections hold. I will assess and, if required, help to disperse precious collections.
Guidance for selling
From choosing the right auction house, to exploring other methods of dispersal – including via dealers, online, or private sales. There’s more than one way to bake a cake in the 2020s.
Auction house consultancy
Appraising, valuing and cataloguing collections or items that may be outside general expertise. From client meetings to taking an auction. Fully conversant with 21stC auction house processes.
Special pieces
Appraising and assessing special pieces, whether you’re buying or selling. Is the price right? Is the description accurate? Are you looking for a particular piece?
An expert in your corner
Why choose me?
Personable and personal, I enjoy people as much as I enjoy antiques, art and design. Communication and understanding are key. I want to help where I can, especially as some situations we find ourselves in are sad or unfortunate. We’ve all been there in some shape or form.
Conversely, the fun of building a collection can be equalled by the joy of seeing others enthuse over the pieces you love. Sometimes things need to find new homes.
I’ve had many different experiences in many different places, from auctioneering to dealing to filming, meeting tens of thousands of different people and handling tens of millions of pounds worth of objects. Some worth a few pounds, some worth an awful lot more. I’m not a snob, and I don’t judge. Value has many meanings.
Wide experience
Expertise in a wide range of subjects through working with Bonhams and Sotheby’s, eBay, the British Antiques Dealers’ Association, and the BBC Antiques Roadshow.
My little black book
An enviable list of international contacts across the industry, built personally over three decades. If I don’t know them, then someone I know will.
Complete coverage
Most auctioneers or dealers will only value the items they want to sell or buy, and will ignore the rest. I go further and cover more than they do.
Truly independent
I don’t buy or sell the things I appraise, so my advice is yours alone – not a sales pitch.
Fees
Clear and simple.
My fees are clear and simple. I do not charge you an additional percentage fee based on value. After seeing photos and finding out what you need, I’ll assess the task ahead, discuss it with you, and provide an estimate before any work begins. Just like an antique, every job is unique.
- Probate valuations
- Starting at £500, depending on the size of the estate.
- Insurance valuations & other advice
- Starting at £500 per day.
- Travel Expenses
- I charge all reasonable, related travel expenses, including accommodation and subsistence, at cost.
Process
Four considered steps.
I like to keep it simple and sympathetic, even when the piece, story or situation may be complex or difficult.
Clear communication, always.
Enquiry
Send a few photographs and tell me your story. We’ll talk about what you need.
Examination
I may visit in person to inspect the piece or collection carefully, discreetly, and without rushing.
Research
Comparable sales, archives, databases, and current market knowledge are considered, as relevant, for every piece.
Report
A clear, accurate appraisal or valuation you can rely on, whatever its purpose may be.
human help
But can’t AI do it all now?
No. Whilst AI and technology like Google Lens are extremely helpful tools, they don’t – and can’t – give us the full, true picture. Physical and other factors it can’t handle, such as condition, restoration, variations, fakes, size, presence, current market conditions, provenance, and choice and location of sales venue are of critical importance. A comparison of pixels on a screen do not make an accurate appraisal or valuation.
Also consider the context – is the appraisal and valuation for probate, for insurance, for sale by auction or via a dealer, or for something else? Each of these means a different financial value, and AI cannot recognise, judge or justify the difference.
AI also cannot distinguish between correct information from a reputable and trusted source and incorrect information from someone ‘having a go’ online. Or between auction and retail. Prices on certain online sales platforms that AI uses by default are also far, far higher than the truth, skewing its results. Furthermore, so keen is AI to give you a definitive answer, that it will also often make things up – or ‘hallucinate’ – presenting fiction as fact.
You need experienced human help and expertise to ground, understand, and maximise your opportunity.
If you don’t know where to begin
It starts with a simple message, email or phone call.
Whichever works best for you. In my roles for auction houses and on BBC TV, I’ve learned that the hardest part is often simply starting.
Whatever the item, however big or small the collection or home – and whatever it’s worth – there’s no such thing as a silly question.
Get in touch.
Simple explanations
I’ll explain how it works – the research, the valuation, the sales process and more. Every step of the way.
True costs uncovered
From explaining auction fees to how dealers buy and sell, to house clearance and selling online.
A sympathetic ear
There’s rarely just one decision, and some are hard. I’ll help and reassure you as best I can.
about
Mark Hill
Mark began his career in 1996 as a specialist in the collectors departments at Bonhams and Sotheby’s in London. He then joined iCollector where he became a director, forming and running its alliance with eBay Live Auctions that pioneered live online bidding in 2001. From 2018-24 he was Consultant and then a Senior Vice President at RONATI, a company offering digital solutions to the antiques industry. He has consulted for numerous auction houses and, from 2024-26, he co-founded and ran an auction house in Kent. Mark is also a dealer member of BADA, the British Antiques Dealers’ Association.
He is a regular expert on the BBC Antiques Roadshow (since 2007) and the BBC Antiques Road Trip, and co-presented a further four series on antiques for BBC2. From 2002-17, he was the co-author of the international Miller’s Collectables Price Guides and has contributed to many other books. His boutique publishing company specialises in producing books on new areas in 20thC design and the decorative arts.
Mark is an experienced accredited lecturer for The Arts Society and has lectured across the world. He has also contributed to innumerable newspapers, magazines, and radio programmes. Mark is a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and a Freeman of the City of London.
My journal
Art, antiques & design — read like a professional.
Read my journal on how objects are read, valued, and recognised in the industry. Through the things I find, I share the expertise, tips, and tricks behind success in the antiques, art, and design worlds.
From the journal
5 Minute Expert: Chintzware
Will an old favourite make a return?
From the journal
Did Buy, Didn't Buy & Why III
What I think of things I see when out browsing and shopping…
From the journal
A weird and quirky Victorian glass vase
A real 'Marmite Piece' – would you have bought it?
In their words
What clients say.
Mark is one of the best experts I have had the privilege to know in almost 30 years in the art and antiques industry. He’s also one of the most likeable and trustworthy people I have worked with. His versatility is extraordinary – valuer, dealer, auctioneer, tech wizard, author, journalist, TV presenter and more. He’s a one-off.
Genuinely independent advice, a rare thing. He told us plainly what was worth selling, where best to do it, and what to give to charity. He was polite, enthusiastic and caring, also helping us to choose what to keep.
Mark guided us through a difficult estate with patience and absolute discretion. The valuation was thorough, clear, and accepted without question by our solicitors.
Friendly and fascinating, I found out more about what my parents owned and why. Delighted with his advice, which was comprehensive and practical.
Contact
Begin by opening a conversation.
Most enquiries start with a single email and a few good photographs. Please send up to five images, or a document, and I’ll answer every message personally.
Hours
Mon-Fri 10.30 – 18.00 GMT
Location
Based in Central London, visiting across London and the South East. Further afield? Let’s talk.
Social
Websites