West Midlands

THE small factory at Limehouse, operating on the banks of the Thames just to the east of the Tower of London from 1745-1748, was one of the pioneers of English porcelain manufacture.

FAME, rarity and the finest provenance propelled a c.1795 gilded and painted Worcester vase and cover to a predictable top spot at the latest sale held by Brightwells at Leominster.

THE Birmingham Assay Office is launching a new one-day course, Buying Scrap Gold and Silver, on January.

STAFFORDSHIRE auctioneers and valuers Cuttlestones have recently opened a second saleroom in Wolverhampton which will host a series of auctions and valuation events throughout the year.

The OED lists ‘sphairistike’ as the name under which a certain Englishman, Major Walter Wingfield patented the equipment and rules for a new outdoor racquet and ball game in 1874.

"The best piece of furniture sold in Shropshire in a decade," enthused Shrewsbury auctioneer Jeremy Lamond of Halls.

THE National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers (NAVA) are holding their annual forum for chattels auctioneers and valuers – or anyone with an interest in the industry – at The Belfry, West Midlands just off the M42 on May 9.

ONE of Germany’s official war artists, Roman Zenzinger, who has long remained in the shadows because of his apparent hatred of the Nazis, is now having his works bought to light.

STOKE on Trent will shortly host the largest exhibition of Shelley and Wileman ceramics since the factory’s closure in 1966.

CONFUSION reigns over the Export Licensing Unit, whose proposed move to Birmingham from London in a bid to save money was delayed after protests from the London art market.

A recent sale conducted by Astons of Dudley included a collection of merchandise belonging to a former Palitoy UK sales representative.

WHILE a number of auctioneers had the snow to contend with, Steven B Bruce faced a double obstacle to their latest sale, now to be held in the new year.

GENERATING a 25-minute bidding battle at Halls' sale in Shrewsbury on October 20, The Earl of Oxford's Roan or Bloody shouldered Arabian by John Wootton (c.1682-1764) set a new house record when it was finally knocked down to an anonymous UK buyer for £326,000.

CHARLES Hampshire of Peter Francis auctioneers in Carmarthen has won the NAVA National Auctioneer of the Year Award.

IN the early hours of August 6, a Henry Moore sketch and two oil paintings were stolen from Trinity House on the High Street in Broadway, south Worcestershire.

AN extraordinary legal loophole threatens to decimate the unique collection of the award-winning Wedgwood Museum in Stoke-on-Trent.

THE original autograph stock book of Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, found in a box of girlie magazines, sold for £25,000 (plus 17% buyer's premium) at the Shropshire auctioneers Mullock's in Ludlow.

• Stock book should help rewrite story of leading artistAN overlooked item in a box of magazines sold at auction for a few pounds could help rewrite the story of one of the most sought after of England’s Victorian painters.

WHEN Shropshire auctioneers Mullock’s sold a dealer’s stock for nearly 50 per cent above estimate, they thought that the vendor’s sole reaction would be one of satisfaction. Instead, they found themselves in court and having to pay out hundreds of pounds in compensation and costs.

MORE than 130 pieces of Caughley blue and white porcelain from a Worcestershire collection sold for £56,000 when it returned to Shropshire for sale at Halls in Shrewsbury.