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In the immediate post-war era the work of the French designer-decorator Jean Royère (1902-81) took a turn to embrace a more organic or ‘biomorphic’ style.

The seat of the Curzon family, the present Kedleston Hall, near Derby was designed in 1759 for Sir Nathaniel Curzon by the Palladian architects James Paine and Matthew Brettingham.

MADAM – As a collector of antique ladies’ skirt lifters, I was extremely interested to learn that Carole Walker bought one in silver (type unknown) dated 1836.

Early manuscript compilations for medical and culinary recipes feature quite regularly and successfully at auction, but an example in a recent London sale was one with a morbid statistical addition that achieved a treble-estimate £15,000.

The Federalist…, a collection of essays first published in New York newspapers in the years immediately following independence, is today recognised as a seminal work on American political theory and a cornerstone of constitutional governance.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Most high-flying ‘design’ is made in multiples. These can be limited editions in short runs but, as some of the most iconic pieces have been produced in their millions, their commercial value is typically vested in early examples or prototypes.

MADAM – The consultation by DEFRA on the proposed government ivory ban seemingly gave no information for or against a total ban on ivory which could help respondents have an informed opinion.

Stroud Auction Rooms has moved into a grade-II listed property in the Gloucestershire market town while securing a second site for future expansion.

In the bottle collecting field, they are calling it ‘one of the best ever finds’.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the online sale of items from Boris Becker’s collection following the tennis legend being declared bankrupt in the UK last year.

Public relations and fairs specialist Freya Simms is a mere two weeks into the job as chief executive of dealer body LAPADA but has hit the ground running.

St Augustine of Hippo’s De civitate Dei (below) was penned to counter pagan claims that what had prompted the Visigoth sacking of Rome in 410 was the adoption of Christianity by its emperors. The book was first printed around a thousand years later in the 1460s, but it was 150 years before a first English language edition appeared.

Paul and Alex Peacock started trading four years ago and opened a showroom in Pimlico earlier this month. They are exhibiting at The Art & Antiques Fair Olympia from June 20-27. Below, Paul discusses the pair’s transformation from collectors to dealers.

As regimental silver, the Victorian centrepiece shown below qualified to be part of the Militaria, Coins & Medals sale at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne and, as a memento of the gallant 9th (The Queen’s Royal) Lancers, it swept the field.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Post-war material is attracting growing interest across all sectors of the art market. A pioneer was the Design sale that championed the creations of designers and taste makers from the second half of the 20th century and beyond.

The specialist Finnish lighting designer Paavo Tynell proved to be the strong suit in a 111-lot Scandinavian design sale held by Artcurial (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Paris.

The bill that will mean a near-total ban on the sale of African elephant ivory could be extended to include other ivory-bearing species before it becomes law.