Olympia Auctions

Consignments held back during the restrictions are now impressing in salerooms, as recent auction results show

This rare pair of south Italian or Sicilian devotional plaques (capezzali) sold for £26,000 at Matthew Barton of Olympia Auctions in west London on May 25.

This 19th century thangka depicts the Buddhist goddess Tara seated in lalitasana on a lotus growing from a lake a pond, a padma in each hand.

The sale held by Matthew Barton at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on November 18 included a series of pairs of 6in (15cm) diameter porcelain bowls from a private European collection assembled in Hong Kong in the 1980s-90s.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Sylvia Gosse street scene.

A wealth of Indian and Islamic art and artefacts are available to view and buy in late October from both participants at Asian Art in London and auction houses whose sales are timed to coincide with the festival.

Edward Bawden (1903-89) was one of a number of artists invited to submit designs ahead of Britain’s changeover to decimal coinage. Designs were invited for six coins: the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p pieces.

Indian miniatures are a common sight at UK auctions. With a keen, dedicated and often very knowledgeable collecting base, they remain a somewhat independent but active sub-set of the art market.

One fascinating section of a recent Thomas Del Mar (25% buyer’s premium) sale featured Stone Age and Viking weapons and artefacts from a European private collection.

Two spectacular early-19th century British presentation sabres have turned up in the salerooms recently, one in London and the other in Munich.

Edged weapons from the East continue to feature regularly among the top lots in auctions across the world. Awareness of the rich array of culturally-significant weapons to be found in Western collections has grown as internet technology reaches a new international audience.

Rare and well-preserved armour from pre-history to the 17th century was well received in the pre-Christmas sales. Three examples are pictured here.

Matthew Barton (25% buyer’s premium) attracted international interest in this early-19th century German gold snuff box at his November 20 London sale.

The British Museum has added this rare hand-coloured lithograph to its two-million-strong print collection after securing it at an auction in west London.

A selection of silver lots coming up in the salerooms.

Painted by Lt Gen Henry Hope Crealock (1831-91), this 6ft 8in (2m) wide pen and ink drawing is an eyewitness account of The Action of Bareilly – the battle of the last stronghold of Indian independence in 1858.

A 2m (6ft 7in) pen and ink drawing, estimated at £5000-7000 in Olympia Auctions on April 17 in west London, forms an intriguing eyewitness view of the final moments of the Indian Mutiny.