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MADAM – Last year readers may recall a Victorian presentation ‘ivory tusk’ dinner gong was removed from display in one of the Royal Collection exhibitions.

Characterised by high-quality craftsmanship, a bold use of colour plus a love of whimsy, the menagerie of gem-set or enamel animal designs are particularly recognisable as signature Kutchinsky pieces.

This portrait of an elderly gentleman tickled the taste buds of bidders when it was offered at Heliers Auction (18% buyer’s premium) in Lancashire.

MADAM – Thank you for printing my previous correspondence (ATG No 2337). If I thought that a ban on pre-1947 ivory would stop the death of 50 elephants I would stop writing.

Three more modestly valued works drawing attention at recent regional sales works at regional salerooms below £500 including a still life by Sudbury artist Paul Earee.

MADAM – The government’s ill-conceived attack on antique ivory will likely mean that two pieces in my home – a 19th century Cantonese puzzle-ball chess set and my wife’s Corpus Christi acquired shortly after our marriage 50 years ago – now have no value in probate.

An old photo of a former owner and a memorial inscription will seldom add commercial value to a Victorian locket. However, the example by the Phillips Brothers of Cockspur Street offered by Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) in Oxford on March 21 carried the inscription 'Julia Hay Norman, Died 3rd October 1873'.

Among the flurry of sales providing a welcome spring tonic for the trade generally, two weighted heavily towards furniture provided welcome encouragement.

This hyper-realist oil on canvas 'Orlando Furioso' was painted by Pierre Peyrolle in 1996 and is one of the collection of pictures by the artist included in La Profondeur de l’Artifice, the first exhibition for the French artist in the UK. It runs at the Tomasso Brothers’ London gallery until May 11.

An 18in (45cm) figure of Shiva Vinadhara c.12th century – £220,000.

“They were as bold, diverse, and brave as René Lalique and his peers had been in the 1900s, bucking convention and tradition to change the landscape of British jewellery.”

A remarkable collection of around 4500 postcards relating to a wide range of aspects of Jewish life in the 19th and 20th centuries was the fascinating, and often sobering, centre of interest when offered by Norfolk auction house Horners (17% buyer’s premium).

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period 12-18 April, 2018. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

On song at Stratford-upon-Avon, a late 19th century French automaton musical bird soared beyond the £1000-1500 estimate at Bigwood (19% buyer’s premium).

If a 74% selling rate points to continued selectivity among furniture bidders, the hammer total of £534,000 achieved at Dreweatts’ (24% buyer’s premium) 275-lot Fine Furniture and Works of Art sale showed they also have money to spend – “a trend we’ve seen for a while now”, said auctioneer Ben Brown.

When John Schaeffer visited the pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Tate Gallery in 1984 it changed the course of his art enthusiasm.

A hand-coloured design for Charles Voysey’s 'River Rug' surfaced at Lawrences of Crewkerne where it sold at £21,000 (plus premium).

This 19th century French walnut chest of drawers, offered at Ewbank’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) Surrey rooms, sold at £5500.

A sale devoted to 700 lots of magic memorabilia is to be held by Potter & Potter Auctions in Chicago on April 28.

On April 28 the Bordeaux auction house Briscadieu is holding a sale devoted to Peintures Bordelaises – featuring scenes by a mix of local artists and those from further afield who visited this picturesque region. An idea started in 2015, this is the auctioneers’ third such themed sale.