Surrey

Shin-hanga, meaning ‘new prints’, emerged in Japan during the early 20th century. Aimed at Western tastes, the artistic movement combined the traditional colourful woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e with nostalgic and romanticised Japanese subjects.

“As soon as the vendor pulled the board from her bag, I recognised something of serious interest.”

The English artist, illustrator and author Christopher ‘Kit’ Williams (b.1946) is best known for the book 'Masquerade', the pictorial storybook which contained clues to the location of an 18ct gold jewelled hare buried somewhere in the British countryside. It created quite a sensation in 1979.

Alongside pieces made in Kinsale, Galway and Waterford, silver from the small County Cork town of Youghal is among the scarcest of all Irish provincial silver. Only a handful of pieces survive that carry the punning town mark of a yawl.

The sale at John Nicholson’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Haslemere on October 24 included a substantial collection of ancient (or ancient style) coloured glassware: more than 60 pieces sold across half a dozen group lots.

This classic mail coach scene by the 19th century painter James Pollard (1792-1867) doubled pre-sale hopes in a picture auction at Surrey saleroom John Nicholson’s (25% buyer’s premium).

Launched two years ago at a Victorian mansion at Nutley in Surrey by local antiques dealer David Steel, the 25-dealer 'Tree of Ages Antiques Fair' runs four times a year at Robert Denholm House.

Less familiar than some of the busts and maquettes of Winston Churchill by Oscar Nemon (1906-85) was this bronze resin maquette, below, offered at Catherine Southon’s (18% buyer’s premium) sale in Selsdon, Surrey.

Special loading area created to cope with increased buying from film and TV companies

This 21 x 15in (54 x 39cm) watercolour, below, probably depicting the New Julfa quarter of Isfahan, is by the Armenian-Iranian painter Sumbat Kiureghian (1913- 99).

Two English furniture ‘discoveries’ excelled against modest hopes at auction in mid-September. Top-end London dealers bought both pieces.

Boosted by the ‘wrong therefore rare’ factor – so important in the world of collectables – a 1977 British quad film poster for the first Star Wars film took top billing in a 250-lot specialist sale at Ewbank’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Surrey saleroom bucks the trend to hold dedicated picture auctions on regular basis

This c.1800 flintlock pistol below by James Wilkinson, London, was used on packet ships to protect the General Post Office mail.

Bearing a thumbprint on the title-page – along with a note by a secretary, Susan Macey, witnessing it as genuine – a 1988 UK edition of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief of History of Time… was estimated at £200-400 but sold for £3000 in a May 30 sale.

Jane Alexander of Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs is always pleased to welcome new faces to her antiques fairs at the Dorking Halls in Surrey.