South-west England

A major price in the English regions came earlier today for a Victorian picture as Bournemouth saleroom House & Son took a £240,000 bid for an Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922) painting.

Letters from the late Princess Diana surfaced at auction earlier this year in Cambridge and now another set is being offered in Gloucestershire.

The Bath Decorative Fair kicked off this year to a larger crowd than ever before on its opening trade day Thursday.

The worldwide reach of UK regional auctions is summed up beautifully by a militaria lot sold in the Cotswolds: a kora fighting sword given by a Nepalese ruler to a British field marshal who commanded in India and was revered by the Australians and Gurkhas.

A photo album giving a glimpse of late 19th century life in one of Britain’s most distinguished country seats is heading back home.

The first sale by dealers-turned-auctioneers Kingham & Orme made a hammer total of £289,490 and was led by a Martin Brothers bird.

The white shirt bears a dark ‘V’ across the front more like St Helens rugby league team, but the ball underneath is unmistakably round rather than oval. Then the words ‘Manchester United’ emblazoned below the figure give the game away.

A Bristol filming session for the BBC's TV show Flog It! series saw the multi-estimate sale of this Victorian gold ring.

THESE days climbing Everest is a bit old hat. Don’t get me wrong – people still die in the attempt and it is a massive achievement – but more than 4000 people have climbed the world’s highest mountain since it was first conquered in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

A Picasso vase uncovered in a remote Cornish cottage has sold at auction in Plymouth for £2800.

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.