Features

One of the best places to find furniture from across the ages this autumn was the 'Winter Art & Antiques Fair Olympia'.

The top-seller of the small Chinese offering from Exbury House was this colourful, elaborate 18th century cloisonné cong.

A round up of portrait miniatures appearing at auction and offered by dealers.

Despite being buffeted by the vagaries of fashion and now the modern crusade against antique ivory, portrait miniatures have managed to keep a keen collecting base.

Two ancient country manors refurbished by two of the 20th century’s leading UK interior designers brought what the auctioneers described as ‘pre-Covid atmospheres’ at Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) Donnington Priory rooms.

Carved giltwood mirrors were in strong demand at Dreweatts, four of them among the five-figure prices.

How can an enthusiast create a museum-quality collection without vast sums of money?

“I couldn’t have started collecting without the help and guidance of Robert Bayne-Powell (1910-94).

When collecting portrait miniatures it is important to know what materials have been used.

Tapestries featured at both Dreweatts’ Chilham Castle auction and Flaxley Abbey sale.

The market presence of Sarah Biffin (1784-1850), a portrait miniaturist born without hands, arms and legs, has been rising over the past few years.

The unashamed opulence of interior decoration that became known as Le Goût Rothschild as it spread from 19th century France to Austria, Germany and Britain is a style that has always been admired.

In 1888, in response to a tender issued by the War Office, Prof Archibald Barr and Dr William Stroud submitted an application for an optical range-finder patent to the Patents Office.

Relatively few gallantry medals available for what was short self-contained conflict, heroic stories involving highly collectable regiments, a relatively morally unambiguous backstory (for British collectors at least)… the Falklands War can generate high demand at auction.

Lt William Emlyn Hardwick (1885-1918) was born in Brecon but by the time he enlisted to fight in the First World War he was living in Australia.

Despite their sterling service with the Allies, a large number of Polish soldiers could not return home when the fighting ended, as a fascinating archive reveals.

Air Commander J Searby had a key role to play in the Peenemunde Raid targeting the V weapons factory during the night of the August 17-18, 1943, as part of the RAF’s elite Path Finder Force.

When Bill Speakman won his Victoria Cross on November 4, 1951, fighting beside him was Corporal John Pender.

Stroud Auction Rooms’ sale on November 9-10 will feature over 1000 lots of guns, weapons, medals and militaria, including two notable collections.

A group of father-and-son lots related to the Royal Navy may have been small in size but revealed a combined service in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars that was lengthy.