South-west England

The country house car boot season, mostly held to raise funds for charities, is dominated by the mammoth annual fixture held in the grounds of Wilton House, near Salisbury, the seat of the Earls of Pembroke.

Mark Skipper of Cheltenham Rare Books talks about opening a shop, travelling as a dealer and the importance of fairs.

For the most important ceremonies and rituals, high-ranking Chinese officials along with the royal family would don the chao fu or full court dress. At the Qing court a whole range of garments and paraphernalia were associated with the chao fu – a hat, collar, necklace, girdle and boots – but the most important were the chao pao and jifu, the court robes. Their use was restricted to high-ranking officials and persons.

By definition ruyi sceptres are highly auspicious objects, favoured for their shape and ornamentation which together represent the propitious expression ‘as you wish’.

A lamp from a wagon that once travelled a 50-mile stretch of track linking the docks of Cardiff to the collieries of the south Wales valleys was hammered down in Bristol at £6300 (plus 18% buyer’s premium).

Over three busy days in May Dominic Winter (19.5% buyer’s premium) mounted a three-catalogue sale that presented close on 1600 lots in all.

The general sale at Dominic Winter was followed on May 11 by one of motoring literature, automobilia and historic bicycles and accessories – a 620-lot auction held in conjunction with Transport Collector Auctions.

First Professor of Cornish Studies at Exeter University and Bard of Gorseth Kernow, Charles Thomas (1928-2016) was both a prolific writer and a bibliophile.

Duke’s of Dorchester posted the top regional Asian art price of the season on May 18 when Wu Guanzhong’s (1919-2010) scroll painting White Birches on Mount Chang Bai (Zhangbai) sold at £500,000 (plus buyer’s premium).

The big surprise at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood'’s April 11-12 sale at Exeter was this 17th-18th century Tyrolean wood and gilt crucifix.

Woolley & Wallis holds one of its dedicated English and Continental ceramics auctions in Salisbury on May 23. The wide range of material on offer takes in everything from the major 18th and 19th century English porcelain factories to a group of Italian maiolica.

Unusual appearance of mountain views by painter whose career was cut short by tuberculosis

A Newlyn School work by Albert Chevalier Tayler (1862-1926) topped David Lay’s (18% buyer’s premium) April 27 sale in Penzance.

Books from the library of neurologist Dr MacDonald Critchley sold as part of an April 20-21 auction held by Charterhouse (19.5% buyer’s premium) naturally included books related to his professional interests, among them copies of his own works. But the lot that attracted most bidding interest was a novel by HG Wells.

This 176oz Victorian presentation silver centrepiece offered for sale at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury on April 25 has a strong Dutch connection.