UK

Dawson’s Auctioneers is a relatively fresh-faced newcomer to the auction house scene but is keen to open new chapters of business as soon as possible.

A blaze which tore through Norwich Central Library one August morning in 1994 destroyed thousands of historic documents and more than 100,000 books.

A horological story rarely makes the national news, but the announcement that Big Ben is falling silent until 2021 as major conservation work begins rang loud and clear in headlines.

Some auctioneers believe they are rock stars when they take to the rostrum. But the owner of a new auction business in the north-west has been closer to real-life rock stars than most gavel-masters.

The Vauxhall Art Car Boot will hit the south-east Kent coastal town of Folkestone on the opening day of the Folkestone Triennial.

With everything buzzing at Chiswick Auctions (22% buyer’s premium) ahead of the opening of the South Kensington showroom next week (see last week’s ATG No 2305), life at the west London rooms goes on providing a solid base for this ambitious expansion.

Possibly the most memorable press exposure the Folkestone Triennial has had was at its first event in 2008 when Tracey Emin left a trail of bronzed baby clothes and booties across the town to highlight the numbers of teenage pregnancies across the south-east.

Provincial sales throughout the summer were enlivened by big-money Chinese material but a more concentrated look at the market was afforded by the dedicated sale at Roseberys (20% buyer’s premium) on June 27.

Catching the eye at the Oriental Sale at Cheffins (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Cambridge on August 10 were the two highly collectable 4¾in (12cm) tall gourd cricket cages shown here.

Seven phone bidders competed for this 15th century gold heart-shaped brooch, a medieval gift of love from the time of the Wars of the Roses, at Hansons in Derbyshire.

A raft of contemporary and post-war art featured in the busy August schedule in Scotland. Such art remains a picky and tempestuous market north of the border. The latest results were scattered with a mix of bullish and more subdued results.

Sir Stanley Matthews’ first football contract showing the legend was paid a princely £5 a week has sold at Derbyshire saleroom Hansons.

Made in various materials across the centuries, brush pots used by Chinese scholars are steady favourites at UK auctions and the blue and white porcelain example shown here was no exception when offered at Thomas Watson’s (17.5% buyer’s premium) sale at Darlington on June 20.

Andrew Sim favours artists and images that have slipped through the system. Ahead of his appearance at the upcoming '20/21 British Art Fair' he talks to ATG about chasing the unknown...

The Grade II-listed Wordsley Manor has an unusual aspect – it lies in the middle of a sprawling 20th century housing estate.

Offered as a job lot, these 2¾in (7cm) tall Chinese cloisonné stemmed cups and tea bowl pictured here were entered into the August 15 sale at Stamford auction house Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) by a private vendor content with the £50-70 estimate.

Pieces with a maritime slant proved popular at the sale at Cowes held by HRD Auction Rooms (15% buyer’s premium) on August 3 during the yacht-fest that is Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight.

Three names prized by collectors helped this 19th century German train set, pictured, to top the 330 lots of toys and railwayana offered at the David Duggleby (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Scarborough on August 12.

Dealers and auctioneers are again being targeted by scam guides that seek to extort large sums of money in return for inclusion in worthless trade listings.

Two years after its last edition, the '20/21 British Art Fair' is back for its 28th staging.