The emperor Qianlong collected Western clocks throughout his 60-year reign, building upon the interest of his grandfather Kangxi.

Well-provenanced Chinese monochromes dominated bidding at recent Asian art sales across the UK regions.

Last year the UK’s regional salerooms were treated to a generous handful of five- and six-figure bids for unappreciated masterworks of Aboriginal and Oceanian art – a Maori putorino or bugle flute sold to a French dealer for £140,000 at John Nicholson’s of Haslemere among them.

The 57-page UK ivory ban bill which was published last week deviates little from the proposals announced in April. Here ATG picks out some important points to note.

T Crowther & Sons was founded in 1880 in Fulham and was well established before the First World War. The company was split into two sections in the 1940s: Albert Crowther trading from Syon Lodge and T Crowther & Sons in Fulham.

Chippendale’s move to a modest Kensington terrace house in 1776 probably marked his partial retirement from business at the age of 58. He would remarry the following year but died in 1779 leaving under £29 (not much more than the cost of one of the Dundas giltwood armchairs which sold at £20 each).

As a name synonymous with English furniture turns 300 years old this year, dealers are hoping the Chippendale 300 initiative can raise the profile of good English period furniture and inject some fresh pride in an historical craft.

Much of Thomas Chippendale’s renown is thanks to his forward-thinking approach to business in the first decades of consumerism – and in particular the creation of a pioneering catalogue of furniture designs in the style of the great architectural books of the period.

The London auction community is gearing up for the summer season – and this year there is plenty of action beyond the big four.

Catalogued simply as ‘a pair of English soft-paste porcelain models of parrots’, these rare 18th century figures by Bow sold at Thomas Watson in Darlington, County Durham, for £16,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) on May 15.

Lancashire County Council is to reopen Lancaster Judges’ Lodgings, home to a key collection of Gillows furniture.

A rare James II ‘gunmoney’ half-crown sold for €10,500 (£8850) at Whyte’s sale titled the Eclectic Collector in Dublin.

Three extra French auctioneers are to assist in the mammoth disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts.

The epic white-glove sale of the David and Peggy Rockefeller collection at Christie’s New York has established a new high for a single-owner auction.

Unusual in the post-internet age, Freeman’s first-floor gallery in downtown Philadelphia was standing room-only for the April 29 auction of the collection of Dorrance ‘Dodo’ Hill Hamilton (1928-2017).

If pictures provided the backbone of the Dodo Hamilton collection, then there was no denying the sale’s most popular entries: a large selection of polychrome painted rattan and wicker conservatory furniture, perfect for the Florida beach house.

Trade bodies whose members will be affected by the government’s plan for a near-total UK ban on the sale of ivory are seeking legal advice on challenging the proposals before they become law.