South-west England

There is a huge disconnect today between the best and rest in the sampler world.

Figural novelty silver-mounted glass claret jugs are a favourite collectable and some of the most popular examples are fashioned as animals.

Limoges is regarded as one of the most important centres in the world for fine enamelware.

The helmets and uniforms depicted in this oil study are clues to its strong performance at Cirencester saleroom Moore Allen & Innocent (21% buyer’s premium) on December 6.

Trapani in western Sicily has for centuries been renowned as a centre for objects mounted with carved coral, a tradition that derives from the nearby coral reefs and reached its height in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A copy of a lost painting that has been described as one of the most haunting and poignant depictions of Irish involvement in the First World War attracted a flurry of bids at Clevedon Salerooms (22% buyer’s premium) in Bristol.

The vast majority of Georgian-era Channel Islands silver baluster mugs are of a pint or half-pint capacity.

One of the most eyecatching collections of Impressionist and Modern art sold at a provincial auction at the end of last year comprised 17 lots from the late Ralph Bateman.

‘Substantial’ was certainly the description to use when it came to an archive related to the Barrington family of Beckett Hall, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire.

Latest ceramics sales demonstrate how Martinware demand has moved on beyond Wally Birds

The handstitched booklet titled Balls & My Partners, 1844-1845 was written by Adelaide Horatia Elizabeth Seymour (1825-77) as she enjoyed the life of a debutante.

She was the first female broadcaster to be heard on Radio 1 and the only journalist to accompany the Beatles during a four-day coach trip when they filmed their Magical Mystery Tour TV special.

An impressive result emerged at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on December 5 when a travel album titled The Ramblings and Adventures of an Indian Officer was knocked down at £135,000.

Pictured here are two fine 19th century presentation copies that, unexpectedly, topped sales in South Cerney and Cambridge in October.

It is often said that the mark of a good illustrator is that their work is instantly recognisable.

An album of watercolour studies of Ottoman ceramics that connects two of the British collectors of the early 20th century raced away from its estimate at Dominic Winter in Gloucestershire.