South-west England

Drawing spectacular bidding at Lawrences of Crewkerne, this rare Chinese altar vase was knocked down at over 150-times estimate at the Somerset saleroom’s latest fine art auction. It was thought to have been specially commissioned by the Qing court for ceremonial use in palaces and temples.

What is the next collecting area about to take off when it comes to toys? As detailed often in ATG, rare Star Wars figures are now making big money. Lego is another popular market as 40 and 50-somethings settle down, get wealthier and get nostalgic about the toys they played with as kids.

A private treaty sale of a Benin bronze head helped Woolley & Wallis retain its status as the UK’s leading regional saleroom in 2016.

The beautiful Japanese woodblock prints created by artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige inspired similar works across the world and most famously the paintings of Van Gogh.

A photograph album of the ‘real Downton Abbey’ has been revealed after 120 years and will be up for auction next month.

London firm Criterion Auctioneers has left its Wandsworth saleroom after 13 years at the south London site following an issue with the landlord.

A rare European gold coin found by a dog-walker on a Cornish beach is to be auctioned in Penzance later this month.

“I am not a number, I am a free man,” was the cry of Patrick McGoohan in TV series The Prisoner. The important number at the Charterhouse auction house on February 12 is £20,000-25,000 - the estimate for a 1963 Lotus Super Seven S2, the model made famous by appearing in that 1960s cult favourite show.

Most collectors have a burning passion. For John and Patricia McKenzie, the items that fired their interest were vesta cases, the small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry.

In September last year Wayne Rooney hit his 48th goal for England, overtaking at last Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record. But the achievements of a much earlier England star will be celebrated on December 15 thanks to an auction in Cornwall.

Star Wars, Action Man and plastic soldiers are just three of the toy collectable fields growing in demand as buyers get all nostalgic about their childhoods. Another biggie in this market is Lego.

Arts & Crafts furniture from the collection of a former boss of brewing giant Mitchell & Butler will be offered at The Cotswold Auction Company this month.

East Bristol Auctions is holding a Lego sale next month. With more than 300 lots, the firm claims the auction will be the world’s first dedicated Lego toy sale.

The latest Asian art sale at Woolley & Wallis generated a total of £3.6m and posted some of the strongest prices at auction in the UK regions this year.

Did John Channon or Frederick Hintz make this table? This is the question that potential buyers of a George II pewter and brass inlaid tripod table will be asking themselves.

Cotswolds auctioneer Tayler & Fletcher will hold its debut sale at its new Bourton-on-the-Water saleroom tomorrow.

A rare Chinese imperial enamel vase bought for £10 at a car boot sale has been hammered down for £50,000 at Woolley & Wallis’ Asian sale today. It sold on the phone to a Chinese buyer.

Plymouth Auction Rooms made a surprise find on a recent visit to a remote Cornish cottage on the banks of the river Tamar. The auction firm was valuing a mixture of Cornish art and collectables at the address when it came across a Pablo Picasso vase.

The first two-day auction held at The Cotswold Auction Company’s new Bankside saleroom in Love Lane, Cirencester, clicked with one buyer especially.

A rare late 19th century Burmese silver bowl has come to auction having previously been used by the vendor’s mother as a waste paper basket.