South-west England

In a marketplace seriously in need of entry-level collectors, the great majority of Royal Doulton character jugs and HN series figures are worth under £100 – and most of them less than £30 when sold without reserve at auction.

This 2ft 5in x 2ft ½in (75 x 62cm) bust length portrait drew the attention of a number of bidders with a particular interest in historical pictures when it appeared at auction in Dorchester.

This large, scratch-built 5in gauge Great Western Railway locomotive is one of two being sold at Lawrences of Crewkerne on November 2, with both expected to realise £3000-4000.

Once she was Picasso’s muse, now she is capping her own career of more than 25 years as an artist with a three-week exhibition at The Fosse Gallery in Stow-on-the-Wold.

Previously only known from a 1910 print and unrecorded for half a century, this 20in x 2ft 6in (50 x 75cm) oil by John William Godward (1861-1922) was sold by Lawrences in Crewkerne on October 12.

Works of art by architect-designer William Burges (1827-1881) are extremely rare – but serendipity has seen half a dozen pieces emerge recently in the regions.

Cotswold auctioneers Tayler and Fletcher are to hold their first live internet auction of Asian and Oriental art and antiques on October 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Thirty original Art Deco seats from Cirencester’s Regal Cinema, demolished in 2004, are going under the hammer at local auction house Moore Allen & Innocent on October 12.

An exceptional find – a Roman white marble sarcophagus found in a Dorset garden – turned out to be something more of a rediscovery for Duke’s of Dorchester.

Joy Barnes (b.1912), a life-long artist and local Somerset resident who turns 100 next month, was present in the saleroom to watch her collection of Modern British art and studio ceramics sold by Greenslade Taylor Hunt in Taunton.

Previously only known from a 1910 print and unrecorded for half a century, this 20in x 2ft 6in (50 x 75cm) oil by John William Godward (1861-1922) will be offered by Lawrences in Crewkerne on October 12.

Greenslade Taylor Hunt will offer this small sitting horse by Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993) in Taunton on September 20.

Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury are selling the work of some of the most collectable British artists of the 20th century in their paintings auction on September 19.

This large 19th century cast-iron bust of a gentleman is believed to be Richard Hussey Vivian (1775-1842), the 1st Baron Vivian, famed for his distinguished military career which included leading Lord Uxbridge’s cavalry charge at Waterloo.

Duke’s of Dorchester’s annual vintage clothing auction on September 5 will include a Brussels lace wedding dress from c.1908.

A pair of Sèvres porcelain ice-cream pails will be offered for sale at Clevedon Salerooms, near Bristol, on August 30.

This Victorian silver stirrup cup will be offered at Charterhouse Auctions in Sherborne, Dorset on August 23-24.

A David Hockney (b.1937) print is the highlight of The Cotswold Auction Company’s sale in Cheltenham on August 29.

Any sale where European silver plays a big role is likely to see the goldsmiths of Nuremberg well represented, and so it was at Woolley & Wallis’ most recent two-day auction in Salisbury.

Last month, we reported on Sue Ede’s purchase of The Bath Decorative Antiques Fair from Robin Coleman, the Bath-based dealer who has organised the event for the past 23 years.