Auctioneers

Dreweatts of Newbury will offer a selection of royal-related works in its Interiors sale on May 16.

Dreweatts’ sale on May 17-18 includes a very rare Xuande (1426-35) mark and period cloisonné ‘pomegranate’ box and cover.

The sale of Asian Art at Chiswick Auctions on May 19 is led by this rare example of Ming dynasty cloisonné.

The oshi-e technique, meaning ‘pressed picture’, involves folding and pressing scraps of fabric, such as kimono cloth, and washi paper to create an image.

Kate Day, known as the ‘Queen’s Milliner’, made hats for Queen Elizabeth II even before her coronation and continued afterwards.

Pictured here is a signed photo-portrait of the 20-year-old future Queen Elizabeth II and her then 15-year-old younger sister, Princess Margaret.

Two signed royal portrait photographs by Dorothy Wilding (1893-1976) will be offered at Chiswick Auctions.

Roseberys’ Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art sale on May 16-17 runs to over 1000 lots and includes two private collections.

The two-day sale of works from the French dealership Talabardon & Gautier was held at Drouot by Ader (28% buyer’s premium)

A garnet intaglio ring was bid to 450-times estimate at an auction in Birmingham after speculation that it could be one of the ‘lost’ Marlborough gems.

This typical genre scene by Italian painter Alessandro Milesi (1856-1945) was taken to a multi-estimate $37,500 (£31,000) at a US auction

While probably not made specifically for export, Chinese silver rice wine pots had arrived in Europe as early as the late 17th century.

This oil depicting the Acropolis in Athens by Hermann David Salomon Corrodi (1844-1905) was taken to £13,000 at Roseberys (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

French artist Louis Tesson (1820-70) is best known for his genre paintings in the Middle East and north Africa.

This charcoal drawing of a Normandy milkmaid is one of four works by Jean-François Millet (1814-75) to be included in Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr’s Paris sale of the collection of Alain Delon

While demand for 19th century European art remains selective, recent sales have enjoyed good bidding on the ‘right’ material with appealing estimates

This design for a fan leaf painted with two reclining figures of elegant women appeared in an Impressionist and Modern art sale held in Paris

James Rylands, director and co-founder of Summers Place Auctions, is retiring after 44 years in the auction business