North-west England

Originally medieval drinking vessels, wassail bowls became highly decorative status symbols by the 19th century as this large silver-mounted walnut example shows.

Focus on two shops launched in a former bank in Wiltshire and restaurant in Cumbria

Adam Partridge Auctioneers & Valuers has opened its third saleroom in the north-west and hired new staff to target consignments from the Lancashire and Lake District areas.

An impressive piece of neoclassical silver gilt with an impressive provenance, this George III trophy was consigned to Gerrards (18% buyer’s premium) by a vendor whose great-grandmother had apparently been given it ‘by royalty’.

Two music-makers caught the eye, or rather ear, at Adam Partridge’s (20% buyer’s premium) Macclesfield sale.

The talented Sèvres factory decorator Desire Leroy (1840-1908) came to the United Kingdom in 1878 to take up an appointment at Minton in Staffordshire. However, he is perhaps best known for his work at the Royal Crown Derby where he worked from 1890, aged 50, until his death in 1908.

Red jackets and white helmets looked lovely on the parade ground but in the modern world of warfare developing at the end of the 19th century they also made fine targets for accurate long-range rifles.

As one of the most meticulously made pedal cars ever produced, the Austin J40 is always a target when it comes to auction.

Under the Discover Vintage banner, Keeley Rosendale’s vintage home shows in Manchester and the Midlands continue to demonstrate the popularity of well-priced Mid-century furniture.

“Although hailing from the north west of England and having close ties to many of the important Northern artists, Geoffrey Key (b.1941) has never really strived to be associated with this school and as such has a more universal, broader appeal and freedom to expand his painting horizon.”

Although the Hugo Lonitz factory produced a range of domestic tablewares and small collectables, it is best known for its naturalistic majolica groups, particularly animal and bird examples modelled in lifelike size and detail.

A 120 million-year-old fossilised ammonite is among the selection of decorative items on offer at the Chester fair following a change in ownership and focus.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales below £2000, including a pen and ink wash by Paul Sandby.

Until electricity became commonplace in homes, the power source of choice for the gramophone was a spring motor that required frequent winding. One unusual solution to silent interludes at the dinner dance was to power the device by hot air.

The prolific artist Percy Kelly (1918-93) was averse to the limelight and only a few of his paintings were shown publicly during his life. But a major retrospective at the Tullie House gallery Carlisle in 2015 and a birth centenary last year has helped raise the Cumbrian artist’s profile.

This rare oak Slazenger tennis racket press featured in the Vintage & Antique toy sale at Mitchells (20% buyer’s premimum) of Cockermouth on July 20.

A model example of trans-European trucking, this diecast van advertising a Swiss company was made in Italy and sold to a German buyer at the Runcorn rooms of British Toy Auctions (18% buyer’s premium).

Entered by a vendor who hated them, a pair of 6in (15.5cm) long 19th century nutcrackers reflected in their way two different aspects of auctioneering today: how smaller country firms see their future and what will happen to antique ivory items when most of the trade in them is banned.