Auction Reports

Dehua blanc de chine figures of Guanyin – the goddess of compassion, protector of mariners and bringer of sons – often carry the impressed double gourd seal of the great 16th or 17th century ceramicist He Chaozong.

Luxurious interiors, plush fittings, ornate signs and stylish promotion provide a plethora of entry points

Ernest Gimson (1864-1919), a central figure in the British Arts & Crafts Movement, applied a clear, pared-back design approach influenced by William Morris.

Collector Michael Blood’s passion for Victorian tiles was ignited at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire when two 19th-century examples pressed into his hands during restoration first caught his eye.

The Zena Kwiatkowski Corrigan collection of tiles was sold by Kinghams (26% buyer’s premium) in Moreton-in-Marsh over 291 lots on October 30.

Müller & Kadeder is not such a recognised name of the German toy market such as Märklin, Bing or Lehmann.

Extensive themed sale brings a shock result for Star Wars posters promoting a tie-in with burger chain

This 19th century French ‘tea drinker’ automaton emerged as part of a single-owner sale at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) of Dorchester.

This 1949-51 Massey Ferguson demonstration model by Mills Models of Sheffield comprises Ferguson TE-20 tractor with clockwork mechanism, two different ploughs, rubber wheels and Ferguson badge to front of the grill.

Nine years after taking a premium-inclusive £1375 as part of the The Robert White Collection sale at Bonhams, this Pastilles Valda shop display sales automaton came back to the same auction house in London.

Tether car racing, which began in 1930s California, sounds a strange concept to modern ears but is in fact a hobby still going strong worldwide*.

Some of the earliest dolls’ houses are also referred to as baby houses, although they were more like detailed miniature houses and it is said that the aim was not play but to reflect riches.

Newbury auction house Dreweatts (27% buyer’s premium) held a sale last month titled Syrie Maugham: A Family Collection, offering items from the interior designer and her descendants.

The renewed fashion for ancient bronzes during the Qing period reflected a confluence of scholarly interest, artistic expression and political strategy.

Rare stalking owl catches the eye in Lewes as local vendor sells Lalique car mascots and advertising signs

This late 19th century French gilt bronze and griotte rouge marble tripod table-stand in the Japonisme style sold for £15,000 (estimate £4000-6000) at Hansons (26.5% buyer’s premium) in Richmond, south-west London.

Polar bears have inspired multiple models by the Bing & Grondahl and Royal Copenhagen factories.

Bidders given a first slice of Britain’s ‘biggest collection of breadboards’ from museum in family home

Woolley & Wallis (27% buyer’s premium) considered the Elizabethan bed offered on October 1 to be to ‘by far the most original to be offered at auction in recent years’.

Cabinet was among Chinese exports headed for Europe shipped through the Dutch trading port in Java