North America

A Japanese Meiji period shibayama inlaid lacquer shodana will feature in the Asian works of art section of Weschler’s Capital Collections auction on December 13 in Rockville, Maryland.

Bruneau closes the year with a December 14 sale of Comics and Toys, for which Travis Landry, its director of pop culture, will join forces with ‘event entertainment company’ Altered Reality Entertainment.

On January 11-12 the specialist doll auction firm Theriault’s will be offering the collection of an American heiress, the late Huguette Clark.

A selection of books relating to conjuring dating back to the 17th century is one of the features of the latest Potter & Potter Magic sale to be held on December 14 in Chicago.

A 1637 first edition of 'New English Canaan…' was one of the homegrown highlights of a sale held by Christie’s New York (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium).

Possibly dating from the late 16th or early 17th century, a Spanish text manuscript version of Andrea Alciato’s 1531 'Emblemata', the first and most frequently reprinted emblem book, sold for $9000 (£7030) at Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in New York.

A more recent purchase for the Starrs was this late-18th century, 10¼in (26cm) high, black basalt two handled amphora, from the section of encaustic-decorated wares that were inspired by classical attic vases.

The most expensive piece in Sotheby’s Arnhold sale was a lot that made a dramatic increase on its $4000-6000 estimate. This 7½in (19.5cm) diameter blue and white saucer dish (below) was an early example of blue and white Meissen from c.1721-22 that had Japanese Palace inventory marks.

Featured here are three photographic carte de visite portraits of American interest from an historical manuscripts and documents sale held in Dallas by Heritage (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium).

High selling rates at two American salerooms show how the market can absorb traditional ceramics in volume when estimates are realistic

Original watercolours intended for pioneering, unpublished work are now highly valued

Early-18th century porcelain scent bottles from Chelsea and the St James’s factory have been the object of increasing interest and value in recent years. Some high-flying examples emerged in the sales in New York.

Another of the highest prices in the Stair Galleries’ sale of a New York ceramics collection came for this Staffordshire rarity.

Plenty of affordable Wedgwood from all eras was available in the Stair sale.

After their intitial interest in Wedgwood, the Starrs went on to collect other examples of early English porcelain, some of which was keenly pursued in Sotheby’s sale.

The Starrs collection at Sotheby’s featured 25 reticulated vases or decorative objects produced by George Owen for Royal Worcester, most them purchased at auction in the early 1980s.

The large collection of predominantly English ceramics offered by Stair Galleries from a New York collector included examples of 18th century porcelain from many of the major English factories.