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In our weekend series, Antiques Trade Gazette brings you a selection of quotes from across the trade. This week we cover stories on the ivory bill, accusations of a stolen ancient Greek horse and designer Victoria Beckham's venture in to the world of Old Masters.

Three bidders – one French, one Japanese and one Swedish – did battle for half an hour in the chase to acquire the skeleton of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur at a Paris auction this month.

Despite having lost a hand and suffering minor wear and chips to her chin, not to mention being just 5.5in (14cm) high, a doll caused a considerable stir at auction with six phone lines and internet bidders all desperate to succeed.

Online vintage and second-hand watch retailer Watchfinder.co.uk has been bought by Swiss luxury goods firm Richemont.

A painting from the early years of Vincent van Gogh’s (1853-1890) career as an artist has sold at an auction in Paris for a hammer price of €6m (£5.26m).

An auction of tennis legend Boris Becker’s collection of memorabilia is taking place as a timed online sale that runs until June 28.

The strong round of Chinese and Asian art sales last month continued in London with sales reaching a premium-inclusive £1m at Chiswick Auctions.

From TEFAF Maastricht and a new CEO at a US auction house to a Mod Brit specialist and a porter who used to take tea with John Major - another ATG round-up of the latest appointments.

A small bronze figure of a horse from ancient Greece is at the centre of a New York court case after Greece’s ministry of culture demanded its return and stopped its sale at auction.

It may amaze our many younger readers to learn that England once had a team capable of winning the World Cup. And did so.

A painting of a game of bowls by John Singer Sargent previously in the collection of the late A Alfred Taubman has sold to the National Trust’s Ightham Mote, the manor house in Kent depicted in the picture.

Dealership Stanley Gibbons Group has hired Graham Elliott Shircore to push ahead with its strategy of focusing on its core business of stamps and coins and reducing its debts.

The arrival of Meghan Markle into the royal family has highlighted the pressure on the monarchy to meet modern expectations, but it is not a new phenomenon. A medal group coming up at a London auction house Morton & Eden (M&E) on June 28 underlines the role of a man who once reportedly told the queen that: “Your job is to spread a carpet of happiness.”

The bill that will mean a near total ban on the sale of ivory passed its second reading in parliament with unanimous support last night.