Auctioneers

Letter from German mathematician to English scholar takes £14,000 in Edinburgh saleroom

Small is considered beautiful in many sectors but increasingly so when it comes to collecting traditional antiques with space often at a premium.

An eastern European picture that commanded bidding at a recent UK regional auction was a trademark painting by Polish artist Jan Lebenstein (1930-99).

Works by the Turkish artist Mubin Orhon (1924-81) can be a valuable proposition.

This silver and enamel vase by Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927), the great master of Japanese cloisonné, sold to an English collector for £11,000 at Halls (24% buyer’s premium).

Pictured here are two paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) appearing on the French auction scene this season within the space of a month - one sold, the other upcoming.

Among the most desirable of all ‘Prattware’ transfer printed wares are the series of very rare and highly decorative exhibition-style advertising plaques produced for firms such as Crosse & Blackwell and Huntley & Palmers.

It is often said that the mark of a good illustrator is that their work is instantly recognisable.

Fashion specialist Kerry Taylor was astonished to receive an email containing images of actress Elizabeth Taylor’s Oscar dress from 1961.

Sixth instalment of single-owner collection on offer in west London features wonderful workshops

Collection from unnamed vendor supplies some of the highest prices in a sale at the Drouot centre

Some notable auction action has been generated by the artist Robert Polhill Bevan (1865-1925) over the last few months.

Cast-iron provenances and first appearances on the market combine to boost value in a Cornish saleroom

An exceptional silver Breguet hump-backed carriage clock commissioned by car maker Ettore Bugatti topped Bonhams’ latest Fine Clock Sale.

Top-selling lot in Halls’ (24% buyer’s premium) books and manuscripts sale on November 15 was a collection of 14 letters written by the Anglo-Irish novelist Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) between 1818-31.

Among the many highlights of the Alan and Simone Hartman collection at Bonhams New York is a copy of the monumental catalogue of the famed Bishop collection of Chinese jades. The deluxe volume, once owned by the last tsar of Russia, carries expectations of $100,000-150,000 as part of the 114-lot dispersal on December 14.

Dealer Daniel Hadden is hoping for an early Christmas present with the sale of two tree decorations that once belonged to Queen Victoria.

An album of watercolour studies of Ottoman ceramics that connects two of the British collectors of the early 20th century raced away from its estimate at Dominic Winter in Gloucestershire.