1) Chinese jardinière selling for 194-times estimate features in our pick of five auction highlights
Kangxi blue and white Eight Immortals jardiniere, £97,000 at Sworders.
ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Chinese blue and white jardinière that sold for 194 times its top estimate.
2) Auction record for Tipu Sultan’s sword
A detail of the bedchamber sword of Tipu Sultan. The gold koftgari hilted steel sword (sukhela) took £12m at Bonhams.
A sword taken from the Indian Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan when he was defeated and killed during the fourth Anglo-Mysore War was hammered down at £12m.
3) Antiquities returned to Iraq after latest investigation by New York’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit
The Sumerian alabaster bull, seized from the collection of Shelby White, was originally given as a religious offering to the goddess Inanna at her temple at Uruk (now Warka).
Two artefacts with a joint value of $275,000 have been returned to Iraq after the latest investigation by the New York's Antiquities Trafficking Unit.
4) ‘Earliest standard measure’ is the weigh to go
Edward IV bronze measure, estimate £40,000-60,000 at Bishop & Miller.
The Oak Interior sale at Bishop & Miller in Stowmarket on June 1-2 includes this ‘important and exceptional’ Edward IV bronze measure.
5) A lawyer writes: Why it is crucial to avoid crossing the line from being potential purchaser to adviser
Milton Silverton.
‘Substantial payout’ underlines the need for absolute clarity from experts on the role of the adviser.
