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A decade ago V&A curators used an X-ray to discover what was inside a vintage Christmas cracker made in the 1920s by the Tom Smith company without having to actually pull it. This revealed a small chocolate.

Contrasting contraptions both sell for strong five-figure sums in salerooms north and south

The golden age of topaz was the 18th and early 19th century.

Prices for the 19th century Polish genre painter Simeon (Szymon) Buchbinder moved to a new level at a sale at Blank (22% buyer’s premium) in Bad Vilbel, near Frankfurt.

Our selection of lots from eight upcoming auctions

It has been estimated there are between 500 and 1000 different types of marble-in-neck mineral water bottles based on the famous 1872 patent by Hiram Codd.

The world of Islamic art has lost one of its most beloved sons with the passing of Bashir Mohamed, a true visionary in his field who possessed the intuitive spirit of a hunter and the soul of a historian.

Although he produced numerous bronze figures for public monuments and decorative elements for religious building, the German sculptor Ewald Mataré (1887-1965) is best known for his numerous figures of cows in a multitude of styles from realistic to cubistic.

It has been some years since a good piece of Vizagapatam furniture turned up at a German auction, so it was quite an event when Bieberle (21.42% buyer’s premium) in Magdeburg offered a writing cabinet.

Stand-out lots from seven upcoming sales

While two early Märklin carousels went round and round, the bids at Hohenstaufen (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Göppingen went up and up.

Joan B Mirviss uses Asia Week New York to launch its spring exhibition Six Celestials, featuring works by modern artists who laid the groundwork for contemporary Japanese clay work.

A group of three works by LS Lowry (1887-1976) consigned from two separate sources appeared in a recent sale at Dawsons (27.5% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

The Wurlitzer Company was founded in the US in 1856 and the Centennial 2000 jukebox model was created to commemorate the centenary anniversary.

Stehende Frau (Standing Woman) by Georg Kolbe soared to a new record at Grisebach (32% buyer’s premium) in Berlin.

ATG’s pick of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com, featuring both the highest prices over-estimate and the top prices paid online.

Inventive pieces that can be broken down into modular elements – transformable jewels – began with the French parure in the court of Louis XIV.

A recent sale at Halls (24% buyer’s premium) in Shrewsbury included an exceptional Swiss music box: a Sublime Harmony orchestral music box by George Baker & Co, Geneva.

Vienna sale includes sought-after works by local creative talents Moser, Hoffmann and Marenzeller