Essex

A rare work by Sarah Biffin (1784-1850), the early 19th century artist born without limbs, sold for £9000 at Sworders on December 15.

A sight increasingly uncommon at auction – the trade outbidding private buyers on key lots of Modern art – occurred a number of times at Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest sale in this category.

Estimated at £200-300 in the belief they were later copies, a pair of Sèvres dishes sold for £9500 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).

Maurice Setters (1936-2020) is perhaps best known to many football fans as the assistant to Jack Charlton as Republic of Ireland enjoyed success in the 1980s-90s.

A small picture by a giant of the 20th century Scottish art market captivated both domestic and overseas buyers at Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Modern and Contemporary art sale.

It was in the wake of the Great Fire of London in 1666 that the first societies were created to protect against the losses caused by fire.

A section of wood taken from the tree where Stanley met Livingstone in 1871 sold at Sworders’ September 14-15 Fine Interiors sale for £2400.

A high price for Scottish painter Ethel Walker (1861-1951) came at Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) sale of the Sally Hunter and Ian Posgate collection.

The price gulf that once existed between good 18th century French furniture and very good late 19th century revivalism is no longer visible at auction. A quality reproduction can often outsell its period exemplar.

Sworders’ next Design auction on July 13-14 is the first to include a dedicated section devoted to photography.

Interest in the exquisitely detailed ornithological paintings produced by Indian artists from the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries has grown significantly over the last few decades.

The 466-lot sale of the Sally Hunter and Ian Posgate collection at Sworders was a marathon event – taking over 10 hours in all.

Sworders' latest Design sale included a group of Arts & Crafts items from the estate of the design writer and biographer Fiona MacCarthy (1940-2020).

Modern prints can offer the chance to own interesting and eye-catching works, including those by well-known artists, without needing to invest large sums of money. This makes prints a viable option for collectors on a smaller budget as well as those just starting out.

Armorial head linked to the palaces of Henry VIII when he was married to Anne Boleyn.

Original photographs of a well-known Pre-Raphaelite beauty – the muse of William Holman Hunt and the mother of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell – sold for £2600 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).

While the Museum of Power at Maldon in Essex does not yet have a firm date for reopening – to gaze at the original mighty steam-pumping machines – Steve Haddon of Haddon Events can still make use of the site.

Walter Sickert (1860-1942) first met Cicely Hey at a public lecture in 1923. The very next day Hey arrived at his studio in Fitzroy Street and continued to sit for Sickert over the next decade.

Metal detectorist’s discovery linked to flamboyant earl who was a favourite of Elizabeth I