Auctioneers

An Edwardian emerald, pearl and diamond pendant by Carrington & Co, London sold for £24,500 (estimate £6000-10,000) to an online bidder at Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Rayleigh on March 20. The central heart-shaped old-cut stone weighs 3.5cts and was given a colour grade of K/L and a VS clarity.

A textbook Renaissance style jewel by Carlo Giuliano (1831-95) led a strong jewellery offering at Thomas Watson (24% buyer’s premium) in Darlington on March 21.

Marielle Barde, Edgar Degas’ great-niece, was one of the heirs and vendors of the Degas studio drawings and attended Christie’s Paris sale. This was the second such dispersal the family had held in these rooms of artworks from her famous great-uncle following a house move some decades ago.

A piece of Russian porcelain and an Asian painting raised most interest at West Country auctioneers Tamlyns (18% buyer’s premium) on March 8. However, a 13in long (34cm) gouache scroll painting of magpies and prunus was considerably more of a surprise.

Much like René Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s successful career as a glassmaker overshadowed his genius as a goldsmith. Both men created jewellery that have come to define Art Nouveau in France and North America.

This pastel portrait by Maurice Quentin de la Tour is the potential star of the auction taking place at Drouot held by Kalck & Associés.

The rivière – one of the most popular and enduring styles of necklace to come out of the Georgian period – features an endless line of matched or subtly graduated gems set within inconspicuous collets. However, as Marielle Whiting at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury points out, seldom are they equals.

A carte-de-visite album of the 1860s containing a previously unknown photograph of the abolitionist heroine Harriet Tubman was one of the high points of the March 30 sale held by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

A former chairman of Christie’s South Kensington has written an open letter to owner François Pinault warning that his plans for the company could “gravely harm Christie’s in London”

A previously unknown complete set of Goya’s La Tauromaquia led Sotheby’s sale of Prints & Multiples in London on April 4.

Christie’s is to appeal last month’s French court ruling that declared Droit de Suite is a charge on the vendor rather than the buyer.

First editions of Jane Austen’s most popular book, Pride and Prejudice of 1813, in contemporary bindings don’t come along often. But one such prize – a copy with a rather distant but nonetheless attractive family link – appeared at Mellors & Kirk (20% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham on March 22-23.