About
Diddi Malek & Associates is an independent fine art consultancy giving guidance to both private collectors, as buyers or sellers, and to professional advisers overseeing the management or disposal of their clients' art assets, in an increasingly complex market place.
We provide both consulting and specialist services. For the art collector, we offer general advice on developments within the international art market and assistance in building and preserving a coherent art collection. For those requiring a more specialised service, we are able to provide professional valuations and expert taxation advice.
Across all disciplines of the fine art market, we offer all our clients a tailor-made service combining in-depth market knowledge with a professional and personal approach.
Fine Art Consultancy
As fine art consultants, we act on behalf of our private and corporate clients, to ensure the best quality purchase for the buyer and to achieve the most favourable return for the vendor.
For the Buyer
Our experience gives us the ability to offer strategic and commercial advice to collectors, both corporate and individual, on all aspects of collecting, curation and collection management, sourcing fine art whether at auction, through the trade or by private treaty sale. We work with the best art restorers so are able to advise on condition and restoration, as well as working with professional experts in tax, accountancy and legal matters.
For the Seller
We advise on the best way to sell, by auction or private treaty, and through external connections we can advise on any tax consequences. We will represent you at all stages of the consignment process, with the intention of getting you the best possible return.
Our fees are highly competitive and we are able to provide full details of our charges upon request.
Notable Sales and Collections
Established in 1999, Diddi Malek & Associates has handled a number of important single owner collections, and an impressive variety of fine art and objects, some of which were great discoveries. Highlights of collections that we have sold, either as agent or through private treaty, include the corporate art collection of a multinational media company, the Cyril Frankel collection of works by Hans Coper and Lucie Rie, the Library of Mohamed and Margaret Makiya and an important private collection of Contemporary Middle Eastern Art.
We have also brokered sales of works ranging from Old Masters like Canaletto and Turner to Modern British artists such as Lowry and Hitchens. We discovered a rare Turkish Iznik pilgrim flask in a London warehouse which ultimately fetched over £500,000 at a London auction house. We also found a tiny jade object on a probate valuation which fetched £185,000 in a regional saleroom.
We have excellent relationships with all of the international auction houses in London as well as regional salerooms all around the UK, so we can recommend to our vendors the possibility of using more than one auction house in order to maximise the return to the seller. In addition to paintings, we have handled the consignment process of numerous pieces of jewellery, islamic art, rare books, musical manuscripts and decorative art pieces.
Valuations & Probate
We offer authoritative appraisals of fine and decorative art, providing a service for insurance, probate, family division or market purposes, arranging with third party specialists as required. Our valuations can offer market comparables and sale recommendations if needed. Our independence allows us to act without any conflicting interests and completely objectively for our clients.
For the executor, we aim to carry out probate valuations as sympathetically and swiftly as possible, providing a global valuation figure within two days. With our broad expertise, we can swiftly ascertain the material value of any item and thus the appropriate sale platform. We will handle sale arrangements on behalf of the executor at no extra cost to the estate, negotiate the best vendor terms and oversee the necessary marketing and press promotion. We can organise clearance of non-saleable items to the appropriate venue. We can offer a comprehensive reconciliation report for the winding-up of the estate on completion of all sales.
Who We Are
Diddi Malek
Educated at Oxford University, Diddi Malek trained with Sotheby’s. In 1987, she was appointed Director of Valuations at Bonhams, bringing a number of important single owner sales to the market. In 1993, she set up their Islamic department, and was instrumental in building Bonham’s increased market share for this category.
In 1999, she set up Diddi Malek & Associates based in Mayfair and since then has handled a broad range of fine art and objects ranging from the acquisition and disposal of important corporate collections, handling important works for private treaty and acting as agent for professional advisers and private clients.
Diddi also acts as a charity auctioneer and has lectured on the art market.
Harry Edmonds
Harry worked at Sotheby’s in London for over five years, with four years spent in the 19th Century European Paintings Department supporting the business getting initiatives for auction and private sale. He has a particular interest in Old Master, 19th Century and Modern British paintings and supports Diddi Malek on valuations, research and also works with a number of clients.
Angela Broad
Angela began working in the art world in the 1980s from a background of publishing and politics. She subsequently became responsible for the overall running of the Chelsea saleroom of Bonhams.