Auctions

This Allegory of Spring by the 17th century Italian artist Pietro Liberi (Padua 1605-Venice 1687) is one of the works in the May 21 auction of Old Master paintings and furnishings that opens Babuino’s next auction series in Rome.

A speciality for collectors of silver wine labels are the enamelled examples produced in Battersea in the 18th century.

An early German whaling scene took top honours at marine specialist Charles Miller’s (20% buyer’s premium) May Day sale in West Kensington.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales.

Two fine Dutch pieces quadrupled estimates at Woolley & Wallis on April 24-25: a c.1637 wine cup by an unidentified Middelburg smith and a table bell.

What is your bidding technique? This Bateman cartoon on offer at John Nicholson’s on May 23 should strike a chord with ATG readers who remember the days before bidding paddles.

Australian enthusiasts did much to buoy up the Royal Doulton market in its 1990s pomp. And one such fan certainly did his bit to bring some life to what can now be a weak market by consigning a choice collection of Lambeth, flambé, Burslem and prototype wares to Kingham & Orme (20% buyer’s premium).

Estimated at £400-600, a Satsuma censer by Kinkozan provided more evidence that there is considerable life in the market for top-quality Meiji works of art when offered by Surrey auctioneer Catherine Southon (18% buyer’s premium).

The footballing power of mighty George Brown led to his nickname of ‘Bomber’ decades before the title went to Gerd Müller. Brown’s glory days were with Huddersfield Town FC, a power in the land 90 years ago.

Buildings constructed out of straw bales sound more like the world of Channel 4’s Grand Designs rather than the often solidly traditional realm of art and antiques auctioneers.

The belief that porcelain dolls are somehow sinister has taken hold in recent years – and doubtless the appearance of the rare bebe pictured below rather reinforced the bias of some who viewed the Heliers (18% buyer’s premium) sale at Blackburn.

Suffolk auction house Bishop & Miller is holding its first-ever specialist Oriental Art and Antiques Sale on May 24.

A look at the latest saleroom appointments, including Roseberys appointing a former director and works of art specialist at Christie’s.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period May 3-9, 2018. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Briefly catalogued as a 19th century French cabinet embellished with gilt metal mounts and a jasperware plaque, this highly decorative piece shown below was a stand-out offering at Rayleigh auction house Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium).

The coming weeks will offer some special, if sometimes very costly, opportunities for bird lovers.

Whether you’re in the market for mammoths or missiles, for 10 years Summers Place Auctions has been a likely destination. In 2008 SPA held its first auction, having been formed the year before.

The honours of the last Duke of Cambridge (before Prince William) will be in the spotlight at a London auction this summer.

Bid to €60,000 (£53,100) in a March 16 sale held by Venator & Hanstein (23% buyer’s premium) was a group of letters sent by Charles Darwin in the 1860s and ‘70s to a German botanist, Friedrich Hildebrand.

Unusual in the post-internet age, Freeman’s first-floor gallery in downtown Philadelphia was standing room-only for the April 29 auction of the collection of Dorrance ‘Dodo’ Hill Hamilton (1928-2017).