Random Treasure

A Website about Antiques, Auctions and Alchemy

Welcome

Random Treasure Cover final-page-001

I’m Roger Stewart.  Welcome to my Random Treasure website.

Since early childhood I’ve spent much of my spare time buying, researching and selling antiques, operating on a limited budget and frequenting local auctions and charity shops.  As a result, I have a house full of stuff, and a lot of stories about remarkable objects bought and sold – sometimes with extraordinary and spectacular success in the saleroom.

I have written about some of the the stuff and told some of the stories in my blog on this website and in my new book Random Treasure – Antiques, Auctions and Alchemy.

Random Treasure  is my first book. It was published in September 2017 by The Book Guild Ltd.  Here’s a link to the publisher’s website.

I hope you enjoy your visit.

“I have just finished your book, and can truthfully say I have never got more enjoyment from a printed text. It was gripping from beginning to end, and absolutely fascinating”

“Roger Stewart writes beautifully, with humour and insight . . . Even if you don’t have a particular interest in collecting, this book is well-written, funny and informative. A great read – highly recommended” 

“His writing is charming and funny. I’d say the only thing that would be better than reading Random Treasure would be to walk along with the author as he hunts for treasures in his favorite shops and auction houses. Or to see his latest finds in person and to hear their histories . . .”

Pottery and poetry

04/07/2018

I’ve been thinking about figurative versus abstract art. Art that tells stories versus art that uses only colour or pattern or shape or material. Very possibly I could do some research to find out what the art theory experts have to say about this difficult topic. Probably a lot, very little of which I would … More Pottery and poetry

Expert Connoisseur

14/06/2018

I’ve always been highly suspicious of anyone who is described, or describes him- or herself, as a connoisseur. It’s a term you frequently hear bandied around in art and antiques circles. But what does it mean? According to the artist and critic Jonathan Richardson in his book Two Discourses, published in 1719, connoisseurship has three … More Expert Connoisseur

A good week

23/05/2018

Readers of the Random Treasure blog will know that I spend much – ok, too much – of my time wandering around charity shops in search of – well, in search of random treasure. More often or not, it’s a fruitless pursuit, and I return empty-handed and frustrated from my local rounds, or sometimes from … More A good week

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