Features

Originally Roman, Portchester Castle near Portsmouth was first used to house captured enemy soldiers in 1665, when England was at war with the Netherlands.

One of the best performers against estimate at Tennants’ (24% buyer’s premium) Militaria & Ethnographica sale on September 20 was a fascinating collection of photographs and ephemera relating to a French Second World War hero.

An intriguing painted wooden British soldier doll sold for more than 10 times the top estimate when it was offered at Guernsey auction house Martel Maides (24% buyer’s premium).

Cheffins of Cambridge is offering a marble bust of Lord Nelson, after Franz Thaller (1759-1817) and Matthias Ranson (fl. c.1800).

It is a big move for auctioneer Charles Miller. Well, big in terms of his new premises being larger and taller. Not so big in terms of huge distance, however.

Only 155 Arctic Medals 1875-76 were issued, with 59 of those being to HMS Discovery.

The front page of ATG No 2558 featured a Second World War nurse’s cape decorated with an array of cloth regimental badges that sold at Essex auction house Sworders in August last year.

Among recent paratrooper items that impressed at auction, this Polish badge with combat wreath doubled the top estimate at Bosleys to take £4000 from a UK online private buyer.

Airborne forces memorabilia is usually a winner at auction but especially when it’s an early example

Marchant’s exhibition Kangxi Biscuit and Pottery: A Private French Collection includes this early Kangxi famille verte biscuit porcelain circular sweetmeat set, c.1670.

Jacqueline Simcox stages her exhibition of Chinese textiles in South Kensington’s Cromwell Place.

The ancient Tokoname kiln was the largest and most prolific of the so-called six ancient kilns of Japan.

Bonhams’ Fine Chinese Art sale on November 2 includes this Qing jade carving of a mythical beast that formed part of the seminal Chinesische Kunst exhibition of 1929 in Berlin.

This pair of kesi chair covers woven with front-facing dragons against an apricot ground, date from the late Ming or early Qing dynasty period.

The first stand-alone Chinese and Japanese Works of Art sale at Olympia Auctions in London on November 8 includes this pair of Yongzheng period famille-rose fishbowls on European giltwood stands estimated at £40,000-60,000.

Woolley & Wallis will offer five catalogues this November – including two named single-owner sales.

Duke’s Asian Art sale in Dorchester on November 29 features works from the family of the late John Walden, an active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society from the 1950s.

The 26th edition of Asian Art in London takes place from October 19 - November 4

Korean businessman Dr Hahn Kwang-ho CBE (1923-2014) was a well-known philanthropist and collector

This Jin dynasty Cizhou-type double gourd vase comes for sale at Mallams in Cheltenham on November 8 with an estimate of £2000-3000.