Dumfries and Galloway

The windswept shore of south-west Scotland is a long way from Pitcairn Island, but a cannon coming up for auction at a Dumfries saleroom links the far-flung locations and a famous mutiny.

Two former members of auction house Bonhams have teamed up to open a new dealership in Dumfriesshire.

Boneshakers and Penny Farthings were the forerunners of the bicycle we know now but were hardly practical as everyday transport for the masses. Step (or pedal) forward the ‘safety bike’.

A lost portrait of Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth – thought to be the only one taken from life left in private hands – is to go on loan for display in the poet’s final home in Dumfries.

Another Henry Moore sculpture has been taken in the latest in a spate of thefts targeting works by the artist.

Scottish auction house Thomson Roddick are to sell the residual contents of Cromlix House Hotel in Perthshire, a former home of Scottish family the Hay-Drummonds.

This carved oak box (with later leather case) is believed to have been the property of the poet Robert Burns and dates from his days as an exciseman.

The Art Fund have thrown their weight behind the campaign to save Dumfries House for the nation with a £2m pledge towards acquiring the house and its contents. Christie’s, who are due to sell the contents at a showpiece sale next month, say such good intentions have arrived too late.

Pick up a copy of a Beswick price guide from the late 1990s and it will tell you that the Galloway Bull, designed by Arthur Gredington, was made in three versions.

CHRISTIE'S have announced that discussions with the National Trust for Scotland concerning a private sale of Dumfries House and its contents have ended.

IN these days of global marketing and online bidding it is reassuring to know that, just occasionally, with some wit and a little good fortune, one can still make a good wage from a solitary find at the local auction room.