Auction Reports

The sale at Young’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Farnham, Surrey, on November 25 included jewels and objects of vertu with royal provenances.

Mother of pearl and olivewood devotional objects were made in Jerusalem in large quantities as tourism to the Holy Land took off in the late 19th and early 20th century.

A bronze from Frederick Edward McWilliam’s (1909-92) Women of Belfast series of sculptures sold for £37,000 at Halls (24% buyer’s premium) on December 6.

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

While mustard pots and caddy spoons made up much of the silver smallwork in Anderson & Garland’s (25% buyer’s premium) silver sale on November 28 (see ATG No 2619), it did also contain one notable example of a Dutch miniature.

The small German beakers known as monatsbecher (‘month beakers’) were made in sets of a dozen: one for each month of the year.

Although originally trained as a goldsmith, Dirck Van Rijswijck (1596-1679) developed his own characteristic style using less rarefied material.

Decorative Highland dirks from the late 19th century, often mounted in silver and set with cairngorms, appear for sale with some frequency.

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.

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

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).

Porcelain from short-lived Staffordshire firm comes from collector and dealer who revived the market

In Chinese symbolism, three goats shown together are representative of the New Year, bringing a change of fortune (sanyang kaitai).

A 43-lot private collection of Pilkington’s ceramics from Manchester opened Tennants’ (24/22% buyer’s premium) sale of 20th century design held in Leyburn on October 7.

Like many English joiners of the period, not a great deal is known about the private life of Gerrit Jensen.

Yabu Meizan (1853-1934) is considered the ‘prince’ of the so-called Satsuma medium.

This 18th century Korean eight-panel screen depicts a subject borrowed from Ming prototypes: a banquet honouring the famed Tang dynasty general Guo Ziyi.

A Chinese ‘dragon’ box fashioned in the prized Asian wood zitan sold for £110,000 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) on November 3.

Lyon & Turnbull’s (26/25/20% buyer's premium) Lalique sale in London included six of the rare pieces made using the cire perdue technique.

Jade censer modified by the architect-designer for his own enjoyment returns to auction in Edinburgh