UK

Underlined by a £65,000 bid for a table cabinet, the attraction of Indo-Portuguese furniture – that combines familiar European forms with the exotic lure of the East – is as strong today as it was in centuries past.

Some buyers regard sales of dealers’ stock as a minus on the grounds that the lots have been ‘seen’. Others view them as a plus, reckoning the material has already been the choice of an expert.

Porcelain from five private collections features in a special exhibition on the stand of Jupiter Antiques at this month’s Chelsea Antiques Fair.

“Our visitor profile is generally interior style enthusiasts with an age range of 30-60 and it tends to be couples, families with small children and also ‘empty nesters’ who want to revamp their houses now they have it back to themselves.”

The wealth of material brought back to Britain from the days of the East India Company was illustrated at John Nicholson’s (24% buyer’s premium) sale when four Indo-Portuguese or Anglo-Indian tortoiseshell and ivory works were consigned by different vendors.

A wave of fresh interest in female artists is sweeping the UK, forcing museums and galleries to rethink their displays and purchasing policies – and driving demand at dealerships and auction houses in the process.

Specialist auction house Dix Noonan Webb bought the dedicated Britannia Medal Fair in 2018 from the event’s previous owner, Mark Carter.

Silver across five centuries caught the eye at provincial sales in February.

Scottish artist Craigie Aitchison (1926-2009) painted few subjects more obsessively throughout his career than the crucifixion.

Waterhouse & Dodd’s Jamie Anderson attributes a recent flurry of interest in the works of Dorothy Mead (1928-75) to her inclusion in the Tate Britain’s 'All Too Human' show last year.

The London Photograph Fair, on March 17, has a new venue at the Hellenic Centre in Marylebone for this edition.

The Court Gallery has joined forces with the Museum of Somerset to stage an exhibition of the works of Doris Hatt (1890-1969), a local pioneer of British modernism.

Post-war art stored in a cupboard for “many years” by an academic institution in Leicestershire drew strong bidding for two British artists in particular at Derbyshire saleroom Hansons (20% buyer’s premium).

Never wholly out of demand since top Victorian upholsterer Howard & Sons began producing furniture from its Soho premises, these built-for-comfort sofas and armchairs continue to excel whenever offered at auction.

'The Vintage and Classic Arms Fair' will run at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury, Middlesex, on Sunday, March 24.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Women artists – historically overlooked in scholarship and undervalued on the market – have emerged more and more at auction over the last few years.

Seventeenth century philosophical work sold in Sussex discusses nature of life and death.