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Called shuttles, but a world away from Blake’s dark satanic mills, the two sewing tools illustrated here were hand tools used by elegant ladies doing polite tatting work. The use of luxury materials was designed to reflect their status.

Jewellery designers of the 1930s and '40s were attracted to Bakelite, a plastic resin developed in 1907 for industrial purposes, as it was both hard enough to cut and polish and available in a wide range of colours.

In May 1789, as the political and financial situation in France grew ever bleaker, Louis XVI was forced to summon the three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to levy taxes and implement reform.

Eureka Stockade has been dubbed as the only ‘battle’ to have taken place in Australia but was in reality little more than a skirmish in global terms. However, the 1854 uprising that cost nearly 30 lives is now recognised as a seminal political event in colonial history and one that marked the birth of democracy in Australia.

A rediscovered Francis Bacon is to be offered at Christie’s next month with a £7m-10m estimate.

This 19th century gold, turquoise and peridot pomander is exceptional both in terms of size and quality.

Jewels by Buccellati, all from European aristocratic collections, feature in the jewellery auction at Dorotheum in Vienna on October 19.

Glasgow saleroom McTear’s holds a dedicated military watch auction on September 19. Most entries are from a private collection and include watches from the so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ – the 12 Swiss manufacturers commissioned to supply the British Ministry of Defence during the Second World War.

It was a busy summer for Keys (20% buyer’s premium), who had book sales in both July and August.

Jacob ben Asher’s Arba’ah Turim (The Four Orders of the Jewish Code of Law) was compiled in the early 14th century and its dissemination throughout the Diaspora led quickly to its recognition and acceptance by Jewish scholars as an authoritative, convenient and concise approach to Jewish law.

Lawyers and accountants have drawn up documents laying out the issues facing the art and antiques trade to inform government as it negotiates the terms of Brexit.

Breathing quality, this 22ct gold, pocket watch, below, was by an apparently unrecorded maker but nevertheless pitched at a positive £3000-3200 at Tamlyns’ (18% buyer’s premium) sale at Bridgwater on August 30.

Among the highlights of the sale at Doyle New York on October 18 are two emerald and diamond brooches set with stones that display the prized deep green colour concentration of Colombian emeralds.

A small white zip-up bag used by Neil Armstrong to bring samples of lunar material back to earth following the historic Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969 was the star lot in a Space Exploration sale held by Sotheby’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on July 20.

Two Mayfair exhibitions starting this month feature modern art, one focusing on British sculpture, the other on French painting.

A collection from someone with a famous relative will normally prick up the ears of any self-respecting auctioneer.

Artist’s Resale Right, the royalty payable by a buyer to an artist or an artist’s estate for a painting resold for €1000 or more, is likely to be adopted by the UK along with other EU laws after Brexit.

The slow, but observable, return of competition for fine Japanese works of art was evident at Hannam’s (20% buyer’s premium) of Selborne on August 23 in the form of this large Meiji ivory scholar’s table screen, below.

The coloured stones market remains strong, so Skinner can expect strong international competition for an antique sapphire pendant brooch (below) in Boston on September 19.

A group of dealers and artists will gather in a village just outside York for a temporary collective this month, displaying a sample of their offerings to a local audience.