West Midlands

Stoke-on-Trent’s Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is hopeful of raising nearly half a million pounds to buy a Wedgwood First Day’s vase after it was awarded a £90,000 grant from the Art Fund.

What is thought to be the earliest example of Iron Age gold ever discovered in Britain was unveiled to the public this week at The Potteries Museum in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

A Chinese porcelain wucai fish vase sold for £810,000 at Fellows on Monday – 450 times its estimate. Such large wucai or 'five colours' fish jars tend to date from the reign of Jiajing (1522-1566) but Fellows believed it to be 20th century.

The Cotswolds will be welcoming a new auction firm when two ceramics dealers launch Kingham & Orme Auctioneers next week.

Star Wars, Action Man and plastic soldiers are just three of the toy collectable fields growing in demand as buyers get all nostalgic about their childhoods. Another biggie in this market is Lego.

The War of the Worlds 1953 British quad film poster is regarded as a scarce must-have in that collecting market.

A Chinese cinnabar lacquer brush pot sold for £155,000 at Shrewsbury auctioneers Halls earlier today.

The original ‘It’ bag, a Hermès Birkin, has proved yet again that it remains the world’s most desirable bag after setting an auction record for Fellows Auctioneers this week.

A new Antiques for Everyone Fair is to launch in London in January 2017.

A gold watch given by The Who drummer Keith Moon and John Entwistle’s Anello & Davide tan suede heeled boots are among the lots up for sale in the Film & Music Memorabilia Auction at Aston’s Auctioneers on September 15.

Buyers at a recent Fellows auction in Birmingham showed the strength in the market for amber.

Estimated at £1200-1800, a rare Tunbridge ware spice box sold for £10,600 at Bleasdales in Warwick.

A record price for a work by Sir Lawrence Gowing (1918-1991) came at the latest fine art sale held by Brightwells of Leominster.

The rising cost of building maintenance contributed to the final closure of Hereford Antique Centre which houses nearly 25 dealers.

The summer instalment of Antiques for Everyone opened yesterday at Birmingham’s NEC.

Warwick Antique Centre has been forced to move out of its home of more than 40 years following the expiration of its lease.