South-east England

Twenty-six lots in the Science, Natural History and Curiosities sale at Burstow & Hewett (20% buyer’s premium) in Battle were previously owned by local botanist and entomologist George West.

Although easily mistaken for railway or ship lamps, this pair of brass and iron lanterns were made for a road locomotive: the steam-driven traction engines that were some of the first powered vehicles to travel on Britain’s highways.

This aristocratic survivor from the ‘brass and glass’ era of microscope making, a version of Powell & Lealand’s famous ‘No 1’ compound monocular and binocular microscope, is dated 1898.

With a West Sussex event about to start, we take a look at the appeal of these outdoor opportunities

A monumental painting of an Old Testament subject, which came to auction in a gloomy state, drew a remarkable bidding battle at a West Sussex sale.

Demonstrating the continued interest in pocket watches by most renowned English makers, two Georgian watches, one signed for Thomas Earnshaw and the other for Thomas Mudge, achieved strong results for regional salerooms on the same day in March.

This 8in (19cm) high vase may belong to a select group of Ming cloisonné enamel vases dating to the Xuande period (1426-35).

Giles Grendey (1696-1780) was a well known English cabinetmaker with a workshop in Clerkenwell, a member of the Joiners company rising to Master.

Castings on Charles I era lantern clock suggests the work of William Bowyer

It’s wise to keep a lid on estimates for traditional pictures where condition and market freshness is lacking

The Germans began firing V1 flying bombs at Britain in June 1944 and V2 rockets followed that September.

This large rectangular earthenware trough, measuring 20in (21cm) across the handles, is part of the range of flower containers made by the Fulham Pottery for the society florist Constance Spry (1886-1960) from the mid-1930s to the 1950s.

Two prominent single-owner collections put together into a single Town & Country sale at Dreweatts generated some decent if selective bidding when it came to the pictures on offer.

With space and privacy at a premium on board ships, sailors used ditty boxes to store their most treasured possessions plus personal necessities and everyday items such as sewing kit.

Probably the first of the 2024 season’s ‘country house antiques and vintage car boots’ will run on Sunday, April 28, at Stonor Park, near Henley in Oxfordshire, with 200 sellers.

“It had”, said the metal detectorist who found it, “been a wonderful Christmas present.”

Two sales of the classic furniture include items featuring direct family history

A sense of rediscovery came at Young’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Surrey when a portrait of a figure in eye-catching red attire emerged from a local deceased estate.