South-west England

Consigned from a private deceased estate, a group of decorative mosaic floor tile fragments took a multi-estimate £2200 at Clevedon Salerooms (22% buyer’s premium) in Bristol.

A dozen lots of Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts once owned by Ferdinand Mainzer (1871-1943), a German-Jewish gynaecologist turned historical author, will open Woolley & Wallis’ tribal art and antiquities auction in Salisbury on September 22.

This Egyptian polychrome painted wood sarcophagus mask comes from the lid of an anthropoid coffin. These were coffins carved to the outline of the mummy’s body and decorated with the face and wig of the deceased.

The Rolex GMT-Master, originally designed in collaboration with Pan American Airways and issued by the airline to their crews on long-haul flights, was made as an aviator watch.

An intriguing Indian miniature portrait drew strenuous competition against an estimate of just £30-50 at Clarke’s (18% buyer’s premium) in Shaftesbury, Dorset.

Belgrave St Ives is moving from its premises of 22 years to operate as an online gallery from September 1. Formerly using a space on Fore Street, it will now run out of its studio and art store in nearby Towednack, where individual viewings may be arranged.

Once the second city in the kingdom, Norwich had its own silver assay office during three periods between 1565 and 1702.

Extensively interleaved with scholarly notes and running to over 700pp, a Japanese and English Dictionary compiled by JC Hepburn was a notable rarity in a Cornish summer sale.

Wider spectrum of buyers means presenting catalogue entries in greater detail can pay off

Cornish event returns for second staging after ‘excellent response’ from dealers and visitors

A number of single-owner collections feature in Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury’s September 22 Tribal Art and Antiquities auction. These include the Michael G Johnson collection which makes up over 100 lots in the North American section.

This sailor’s walking cane below displays many elements of the scrimshander’s art: a whalebone shaft carved with spiral fluting, collars inlaid with shell from the hawksbill turtle and a handle carved as a dove from the tooth of a sperm whale.

At the very beginning of July, Adam Partridge in Liverpool sold an early 20th century Spode cup and saucer to a highly desirable ‘liner china’ pattern for £8400.

The Robert Thompson firm produced shire horses, such as this example offered by Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne on July 23, from the 1960s-90s.

A group of works of art from a country home once owned by members of the Rothschild family boosted the latest Woolley & Wallis auction.

Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), the so-called ‘Little Man of Nuremberg’, was just 2ft 5in (74cm) tall. Born in Ansbach without legs and having truncated arms without fingers, he nonetheless excelled at many occupations associated with physical dexterity.

Circumstances are quickly changing the way items are bought and sold at auction – but the first principles of quality, keen pricing and provenance still apply.

Sapphires come in a range of hues from colourless to blue. The ‘fancy’ canary yellow stones, caused by trace amounts of iron, are particularly desirable - the best found in Sri Lanka.