Dorset

When it comes to the value of classic railway station signs, key factors include: is the site now disused? Was it from a holiday resort? Is it an early design?

The Ancient Order of Froth Blowers was a British charitable organisation established in the decade after the First World War ‘to foster the noble Art and gentle and healthy Pastime of froth blowing among Gentlemen of-leisure and ex-Soldiers’.

This 19th century carved Siena marble inkstand is fashioned in the form of an ancient Roman sarcophagus.

A tribal art specialist, who started his career as a schoolboy, is one of 38 dealers at this thriving Dorset centre.

While some of the gloss has been taken off the market, the best pre-revolutionary Russian craftsmanship remains attractive to international collectors.

The theft of an Elizabethan silver chalice in Dorset has sparked fears it could be the latest in a spate targeting churches across the country.

A sketch book filled with drawings by Queen Victoria will be joining more than 4000 pieces of her art at the Royal Collection Trust.

Nelson memorabilia from a private collection in Devon was keenly fought over at Duke’s Spring auction.

A strong performer in the Anthony du Boulay (1929-2022) sale at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Dorchester was this 10in (24.5cm) enamelled chinoisierie milchglas vase.

This mid-18th century Maltese walnut and marquetry bureau cabinet was the top lot of the du Boulay Collection at Duke’s.

Anthony du Boulay (1929-2022) was well known as an expert on Chinese ceramics, although his interests were more wide ranging.

Estimated at just £50-80, a rare Staffordshire figure group sold online for £3000 at Clarke’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Semley, Dorset, on February 10.

A strong contest for a Dutch naval scene was generated at Dorset saleroom thanks in part to the picture bearing the signature 'A. Storck'.

Two Chinese blue and white dishes, recognised by bidders as examples of the bleu de Huế porcelain, flew to £20,500 at a sale in Dorset on January 26.

Bringing international interest to a Dorset auction, a limited edition Pierre Soulages (b.1919) print generated a strong bidding contest

Among the most eagerly contested lots in a sale of vintage posters was a set of three unrestored advertising posters by the Tuscany-born, Paris-based Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942).

One of the most local consignments provided arguably the most notable lot at a Busby (21% buyer’s premium) sale in Bridport, Dorset, on November 17.

In 1888, in response to a tender issued by the War Office, Prof Archibald Barr and Dr William Stroud submitted an application for an optical range-finder patent to the Patents Office.

Ceramics by Hans Coper (1920-81) and Lucie Rie (1902-95) have been assimilated into the collecting sphere of Modern British art with spectacular effect.