South-east England

Hetty Purbrick and Caroline Zoob believe that small is beautiful. That’s not to say that the annual Decorative Living Fair in Eridge Park they launched 13 years ago is in any way under-used – they simply know that size isn’t everything.

The stellar sporting entry to John Nicholson’s (24% buyer’s premium) sale in Haslemere on April 25 was an early oil by the prolific equine painter, John E Ferneley (1782-1860).

Since the start of the Chinese boom at UK auctions many, if not most, estimates have been little more than here-to-sell signals. Settling on a figure with which vendors are happy with, and then leaving it to the worldwide market on the net, is now common practice.

Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair is bigger than ever this year as it returns for its fourth staging.

The theft of a piece of pottery from an antiques centre in Hampshire has been met with responses from other shop and centre owners reporting similar occurrences.

An ideal marriage of skills, rather than a clash of cultures, put a pair of c.1790-1800 Chinese export vases into the limelight at Hannam’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Selborne.

Early works painted before an artist has adopted their signature style can make for intriguing viewing – especially if that artist is widely known.

Lady McAlpine says she is now more determined than ever to make the Décor- Architectural architectural salvage event a success after the death of her husband, Sir William, on March 4.

An old photo of a former owner and a memorial inscription will seldom add commercial value to a Victorian locket. However, the example by the Phillips Brothers of Cockspur Street offered by Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) in Oxford on March 21 carried the inscription 'Julia Hay Norman, Died 3rd October 1873'.

If a 74% selling rate points to continued selectivity among furniture bidders, the hammer total of £534,000 achieved at Dreweatts’ (24% buyer’s premium) 275-lot Fine Furniture and Works of Art sale showed they also have money to spend – “a trend we’ve seen for a while now”, said auctioneer Ben Brown.

An 18in (45cm) figure of Shiva Vinadhara c.12th century – £220,000.

In our continuing series looking through the keyhole of ‘bricks and mortar’ shops and centres, ATG talks to John Howard of Antiques at Heritage in Oxfordshire.

This 19th century French walnut chest of drawers, offered at Ewbank’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) Surrey rooms, sold at £5500.

Even in the hugely popular world of SAS medal collecting, where extraordinary deeds and great stories are taken as read, every now and again a consignment will come along with that ‘wow’ factor.

Bought recently for just £70 in a job lot, this German military-issue Leitz lens below sold for £5500 in Special Auction Services (17.5 buyer’s premium) Photographica sale on March 13. The Hektor 13.5cm f/4.5 lens, offered with an estimate of £4000-6000, sold to the European trade.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

A rare Western Zhou bronze, taken when the Summer Palace was sacked by British troops in 1860, sold for £410,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at the Canterbury Auction Galleries.

Military badges offered at Bosleys provided a good snapshot of a niche collecting area.

Organiser of new Surrey event pleased at positive reaction and trader response.