Auctions

Found in a country house in Gloucestershire, this letter written by Lord Byron (1788-1824) to Major John Cartwright (1740-1824) sold for £6000 at Chorley’s (28.2% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on March 20.

A Copeland vase produced to mark 100 years of American Independence was among the highlights of the second tranche of the Flower collection of majolica.

Abell’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Los Angeles on April 17 included a spectacular Art Nouveau vase from the workshop of French ceramicist Clement Massier.

The stand-out performance in the March series of Asian art sales was a Qing monochrome clair-de-lune bottle vase offered by Freeman’s Hindman (26% buyer’s premium) in Chicago on March 24.

Turtle soup, which first became a delicacy on European tables with the emergence of the West Indies trade in the 18th century, was hugely popular among the elite of American society at the turn of the 20th century.

As an original Mercedes-Benz 300SL now costs something north of $1m, it is perhaps no surprise to learn that original accessories associated with the Flügeltürer are eagerly sought.

Irish marquetry furniture is a very distinctive form of decorative technique associated in particular with Killarney.

A collection of microscopes and other antique scientific instruments from the estate of Ohio scientist John A Davidson Jr (1939-2023) came for sale at Gray’s Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium) on April 17.

Among the highlights of Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Interiors sale was a collection of antiquities formed by the late Sir Clinton Charles Donald Cory (1937-2022), 5th Baronet of Coryton.

'A New Chart of History' by the British chemist and natural philosopher Joseph Priestley is considered one of the most influential timelines published in the 18th century.

The well-known miniature portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh by Nicholas Hilliard (c.1547-1619) in the National Portrait Gallery was painted c.1585, the year after Raleigh was knighted.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

Following the major sum for a rare picture painted in India by Arthur William Devis (1762-1822) at Gorringe’s, another work by the artist flew over estimate a fortnight later in Devon.

First published by James Nisbet in 1858, 'Lays of the Holy Land from ancient and modern Poets' comprises verse from a range of authors together with black and white Illustrations from Victorian artists including Myles Birket Foster, John Everett Millais and Thomas Seddon.

Among the starring lots at the Wright (26% buyer’s premium) Design sale on March 28 was a pair of Gio Ponti lacquered wood, upholstery and brass Triennale armchairs, dating to 1951.

Pictured here are two lots of seat furniture that impressed bidders in recent auctions in Gloucestershire and Cheshire.

Warrant for Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, sells well eight years after last auction appearance

Many items from a group on offer in west London had been displayed at National Trust sites

Russian porcelain is still in demand, especially those early Soviet-era pieces from the years following the Revolution.

Works consigned by family descendants of artists proved to be an intriguing aspect of the latest Old Master, British & European Paintings sale at Bellmans (25% buyer’s premium).