Gloucestershire

The Rolex GMT-Master, originally designed in collaboration with Pan American Airways and issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul flights, was made as an aviator watch.

Wider spectrum of buyers means presenting catalogue entries in greater detail can pay off

Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), the so-called ‘Little Man of Nuremberg’, was just 2ft 5in (74cm) tall. Born in Ansbach without legs and having truncated arms without fingers, he nonetheless excelled at many occupations associated with physical dexterity.

Spread over two days and running to 600 lots, a very mixed sale held by Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) included Oscar Wilde’s 'The Importance of being Earnest' as one of the literary high spots.

Some aspects of the traditional antiques market continue to perform with zest – and ‘folk art’ is among them.

Estimated at just £30-50, a late 19th century sampler sold via thesaleroom.com for £1850 at Wotton Auction Rooms (18% buyer’s premium) in Gloucestershire. A clue to the appeal is the inscription 'M Mountain, 5 Orphan House, Ashley Down, Bristol, 1879'.

A terracotta sculpture of Mary Seacole (1805-81) sparked fierce competition at Dominic Winter.

South Cerney sale of nearly 900 lots mirrors the huge offerings held in Germany

Such has been the fall in prices of Georgian card tables that it has become the norm for auctioneers to estimate most at well below £1000.

Samuel Palmer (1805-81) prints are not unusual on the market but one of two that were offered as a single lot at Chorley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Cheltenham carried an interesting inscription by the artist’s son, AH Palmer.

There were two in the room when British Bespoke Auctions held a four-and-a half hour sale last week. On the rostrum on April 1, in an office rather than the saleroom (which is closed), was Nicholas Granger. Behind him was Bella, a blue-and-gold macaw who has been by his side for 20 years.

Rare works in South Cerney sale document the formative years of the Bank of England

Two Italian Mannerist chalk drawings emerged as the top sellers in a section of Old Master drawings and prints at Cirencester saleroom Dominic Winter.

Two alluring early-20th century British school portraits of attractive young women caught the eye in recent regional sales. Both modestly estimated, they brought similar four-figure sums.

Interest from bidders in more than 40 countries competed for what Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium plus VAT) called a “world-class private collection of over 4000 military badges”.

This finely modelled Hellenistic white marble figure of Aphrodite sold for £60,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) at Dominic Winter in South Cerney on March 5. Bidding opened at £30,000, twice the low estimate, before bids were exchanged between the internet and the phones.

Arts & Crafts enthusiasts who hoped to buy a pair of Voysey chairs at something close to their £20-40 estimate at an auction in the Cotswolds were to be disappointed.