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Exotic blades from all parts of the world are making headlines in the salerooms. Recent auctions have produced some interesting results from unlooked-for places, but none was less expected than the £42,000 paid for a 19th century Siamese niello and silver-gilt mounted sword in the Japanese taste at Thomas Del Mar (24% buyer’s premium) in London on December 5.

Three modestly valued works sold in regional sales.

A rare pair of 19th century silver fish servers are on offer from Schredds at next month’s Petersfield Antiques Fair.

As parliamentary debates on future trade relations with the EU raged in London, cross-border business carried on regardless in West Sussex at IACF’s Ardingly International Antiques and Collectors Fair on January 15-16.

Following the fall of Seringapatam in India on May 4, 1799, portions of the spoils were variously allocated to senior officers of the British force.

An English School painting depicting one of the earliest venues in cricket was knocked down at £14,000 in a Winchester auction.

Mark Peaker is co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong’s 3812 Gallery, which specialises in Chinese post-war and contemporary art with a focus on ink. A new branch of the business opened in St James’s, London, last year. The exhibition 'Echoes' runs from January 28-March 9.

On Friday, January 25, Michael Bloomstein of Brighton was paying the following for bulk scrap against a gold fix of: $1282.95 / €854.15 / £981.33.

Once breech-loading guns became the norm, the gun itself was only one part of the equation. Ammunition was the great variable, as demonstrated by the advertising display boards produced in large numbers for the gun shops and ironmongers of the United Kingdom.

Many weapons have to remain silent witnesses to the conflicts in which they took part, so there is always extra interest in arms which can be linked directly to a particular soldier or battle.

Barewall Art Gallery in Burslem recently sold 'Chapel' by Arthur Berry (1925-94), raising £2170 for the British Heart Foundation.

MADAM – Bearing in mind that auctioneering can be a university qualification (unlike dealing) and is an occupation that charges for its services, should there not be some form of censure and control over firms that get it so wrong?

Dealers spend a lot of time and thought on the catalogues they bring out to showcase stock – here is the latest in our occasional series looking at recent examples covering a range of art and antiques

MADAM – I totally agree with the comments made by Eddie Holt (‘Spectacularly wrong valuations? No thanks’, Letters, ATG No 2376) regarding valuations given by ‘experts’.

This 3ft 2in (97cm) high Roman marble statue of draped female form with a lyre, representing the Greek muse Euterpe, dates from the 2nd-3rd century AD.

MADAM – Recently I was interested in an Chinese tile for sale at a well-known auction that was estimated at £5000-8000.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the Bodleian Libraries' purchase of a rare 15th century French Gothic coffer.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Sales of ski posters have long been a seasonal feature of the auction scene scheduled for those winter months when enthusiasts take to the slopes.

Buyers are spoilt for choice during May and early June when three decorative and salvage fairs will be running in the UK, all in interesting outdoor settings. Here is a short focus on them.