London

A total of £9.23m was raised from the latest dedicated sales of Modern British art at Sotheby’s and Bonhams in London.

Sotheby’s (26/21/14.9% buyer’s premium) Important Chinese Art sale on November 4 included two spectacular Qing dragon dishes – both consigned from continental European sources and both in near-perfect condition.

The term 'qianjiangcai' refers to a ‘pastel coloured’ palette of enamels used by Tongzhi (1856-75) and Guangxu (1875-1908), porcelain painters in the years after the Taiping rebellion and the destruction of the Jingdezhen kilns.

Dealer James Mackinnon is among the participants in this year’s London Art Week. He has been an independent dealer since 1970.

The sale held by Matthew Barton at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on November 18 included a series of pairs of 6in (15cm) diameter porcelain bowls from a private European collection assembled in Hong Kong in the 1980s-90s.

“The first sight I had of the vase was from an old photograph and my heart skipped a beat,” said Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) specialist Lazarus Halstead of this spectacular 20in (51cm) Qing famille rose vase.

A number of notable Modern British pictures came to the auction block at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) last month.

A marble relief, 'Sleep' by French sculptor and doll-maker Albert Marque (1872-1947), is among the highlights on offer at this winter’s edition of London Art Week (LAW).

On November 11 in West Norwood, London, Roseberys (25% buyer’s premium) offered 50 lots from the estate of Anglo-Dutch collectors Albert (1927-2018) and Leonie van Daalen-Roell (1930-2018). Many pieces – typically early bronzes and sancai glazed ceramics from the classic era – had been bought from London dealer Ben Janssens Oriental Art.

In November 2008, Christie’s held a sale in London of Chinese works of art that included lots from the collection of Baron (1894-1991) and Baroness von Oertzen (1908-2007). The couple, who had settled in South Africa after the Second World War, acquired a deep knowledge of Chinese art and a large and varied collection, buying from the 1960s onwards.

One of the unexpected high points of Bonhams’ (27.5/25% buyer’s premium) Fine Chinese Art sale on November 5 was a 8in (20cm) Yongzheng mark and period famille rose ‘butterflies and peonies’ dish.

Lyon & Turnbull’s (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Asian Works of Art in London on November 5 featured as its top-estimated lot, a 3in (8cm) diameter doucai ‘chicken cup’.

Matthew Adams is holding his first virtual vintage fashion fair, 'Lockdown Frockdown', this Sunday (December 6).

A missing Martinware bird has been recovered more than 15 years after it was stolen from Southall Library in Ealing, west London.

Furniture specialist puts on selected sale to drive interest during lockdown.

The economic crisis of the Great Depression inspired a vogue for many versatile jewels, particularly clip brooches that could be worn on lapels, hat trims and the latest hairstyles.

Gifts from Queen Victoria to two of her god-daughters garnered international attention at Cheffins (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Cambridge.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.