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Christie’s is weighing up options for the sale of the lease of its Old Brompton Road premises after it held its last sale before closing the popular South Kensington auction rooms.

When this cabinet on stand appeared in the inventory of a Gloucestershire home in the 1920s it was described simply as ‘An old Italian Cabinet of ebony and Tortoiseshell’. In fact, it is Flemish rather than Italian and was probably made in Antwerp in the first half of the 17th century.

Nic McElhatton, former chairman of Christie’s South Kensington, is leaving to set up his own business that will see him move between the worlds of auctions and private sales.

A large Qing blue and white bottle vase with a Yongzheng (1723-35) mark sold for £150,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Halls in Shrewsbury.

Roseberys has made a swoop for senior Christie’s South Kensington former heads as the south-east London auction house signals its mid-market ambitions.

The farewell party for Christie’s South Kensington, around the corner from Old Brompton Road at The Kensington Hotel on July 19, was a melee of former staff, clients and friends of the auction house. So packed was the room, moving from one end to the other was tricky.

This bronze Lantaka ship’s swivel gun/signal cannon is one of the antique firearms to be offered by Cordier Auction in a July 30 auction of more than 350 lots of militaria and firearms.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period July 13-19, 2017. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

London Art Week (June 30-July 7) had its first run as a biannual event organised by a limited company.

Dreamy landscapes, fairies and classical female nudes fill many of today’s best-known canvases by the Victorian artist Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914). But it was his skills as a portraitist that impressed critics most while he lived.

A superb set of decorated armour sold at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) is believed to have set a record. The £880,000 hammer price for the three-quarter-length cuirassier protection is believed to be the highest auction result for 17th century armour.

A sale entirely devoted to memorabilia from the world trade fairs and exhibitions is to be held by Grays Auctioneers in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 31.

Possibly the largest quantity of watercolours by the Second World War artist Thomas Hennell (1903-45) to come to auction in one sitting was on offer at Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) on July 5

Auctioneers and dealers will have to decide whether to absorb the cost of credit card transactions or pass them on to buyers in another form when a ban on all such fees comes into force in January 2018.

This work above by the popular cartoonist Max Beerbohm (1872-1956) was a highlight of Mallams’ library sale on June 21.

A scarce collection of watercolours by Biggles creator WE Johns (1893-1968) sold beyond expectations in Sworders’ (22% buyer’s premium) June 27 sale in Stansted Mountfitchet.