South-west England

“There is roughly a 50/50 split of Cornish and ‘out of county’ dealers, which is great”, enthused Ralph Retallack, organiser of the annual 'Enys House Antiques & Decorative Fair'.

Although condition remains a pivotal factor in the Old Master market, a number of lots sold recently in the UK regions suggest increasing interest for works that represent a promising restoration project.

This iron model of a hawk above is a striking example of a jizai okimono – lifelike, articulated animal figures popular in the last decades of Edo-period and Meiji Japan.

A group of works by painter, printmaker and war artist Edward Ardizzone (1900-79) was offered at Lawrences’ latest picture sale in Crewkerne, with eight lots coming from the artist’s family.

When this triptych came in for examination at Gloucestershire saleroom Dominic Winter, it was difficult to distinguish certain areas of the painting.

The top-priced picture of the Dominic Winter sale on July 23 came for a print from a separate source to the Oliver Hoare prints.

The Cotswold Auction Company will offer a small lifetime portrait of the first American president as part of a pictures sale on October 19.

A classic ‘barn find’ piece, this somewhat dilapidated jukebox was spotted as a potential golden oldie at Gardiner Houlgate (22% buyer’s premium).

Group acquired by influential dealer Oliver Hoare brings solid demand

A small oil painting discovered among the contents of a Leamington Spa property sold for many multiples of its estimate at Kinghams (23% buyer’s premium).

Only a handful of companies have created products with sufficient impact that their brand names become generic descriptions for objects of their type.

The Robin Simpson (1940-2020) collection of British commemorative ceramics comes for sale next month.

Morris works and Sangorski & Sutcliffe bindings stand out in single-owner collection

Chinese trick or surprise cups were made to deceive a drinker and illustrate the classical paradigm that modesty brings gain and arrogance results in loss.

The central stone to this Art Deco seed pearl and diamond pendant is an elongated cushion-shaped pink sapphire, weighing about 25ct.

Distinctive steeple cups are scarce but an Elizabethan silver example came to market at a Somerset auction house

Demand for anything to do with Concorde is always high but a huge ‘museum quality’ model at Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) had an extra touch.

A silver sale at Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer’s premium) this summer included a selection of 24 snuff boxes from the Lion collection – as published in 'British Silver Boxes 1640-1840, The Lion Collection' (2015).

Naomi Knight is back with her Sunday monthly and popular Bath Vintage & Antiques Markets with the next on August 29.

By the 1980s toy action figures were shrinking in size from GI Joe and Action Man proportions to the likes of Action Force and Star Wars.