UK

Moorcroft Boy recorded one of the great comebacks in racing history when he recovered from a horrific injury at Aintree in 1995 to win the Scottish National the following year.

A SPATE of raids between October and December have seen pieces of furniture by Robert Thompson stolen from rural churches in Yorkshire.

THIS well-preserved Charles II delft portrait charger established a new house record for Rosebery's of West Norwood in south east London on December 13 with a hammer price of £105,000.

ONLY two Scottish 17th century lace-back spoons are recorded by the National Museum of Scotland so this example offered by Dreweatts at Donnington Priory was quite a rarity.

FAME, rarity and the finest provenance propelled a c.1795 gilded and painted Worcester vase and cover to a predictable top spot at the latest sale held by Brightwells at Leominster.

SILVER dealer Daniel Bexfield has claimed a moral victory over the Burlington Arcade planning row after most of the controversial proposals were withdrawn – and others turned down at the consultation meeting on December 8.

THE strong competition that emerged for some of the most exciting pictures at the latest Old Master sales in London helped lift the series and compensated for the lack of interest at lower levels.

This previously unrecorded and beautifully painted dish, dated 1537, by the maiolica artist Francesco Xanto Avelli (c.1486-1542) sold for £325,000 at Lyon & Turnbull's latest in Edinburgh.

A HIGHLIGHT of the autumn Russian art series in London was Sotheby's sell-out 127-lot sale of works from the family of Alexander Benois (1870-1960), a name synonymous with the Ballet Russes.

“EUROPE certainly shouldn’t be creating new burdens,” said Chancellor George Osborne as he dismissed plans for a financial transaction tax on the City as “a bullet aimed at the heart of London”.

MASTERPIECE London has secured planning permission for the third edition of the lavish marquee fair next year.

SOTHEBY’S are to change the format of their sculpture works of art sales in London.

THE Birmingham Assay Office is launching a new one-day course, Buying Scrap Gold and Silver, on January.

It may look like a textbook early 19th century silver teaset, but this unprepossessing three-piece service seen at Tennants of Leyburn, North Yorkshire on November 17-19 carried marks later identified as those of the early Australian silversmith Alexander Dick (c.1791-1843).

Lowestoft porcelain specialist and Suffolk auctioneer Russell Sprake marked 50 years in the auction business last month with perhaps his finest ever sale – and a record price for the factory at auction.

THE days of informal scrapping of precious metals such as gold and silver could well be numbered after a new Bill was put before Parliament on November 15 to tackle theft.

ONE SaferGems alert featured two men wanted in connection with a jewellery theft at a discount jewellery shop in Spring Bank, Hull. During the incident one offender distracted the jeweller while the other stole jewellery to the value of £2300.

COMPETITION between major collectors and new players in the market for L.S. Lowry saw a host of dramatic prices in London last week as Christie's offered 14 works from the collection of the late hotel magnate Lord Forte.

RAMRAIDERS have smashed their way into the Court Barn Museum, home to the Guild of Handicrafts collection, and stolen unique pieces of silver.

ALL things Asian were in the spotlight in London last week as the capital celebrated Asian Art in London, with a raft of dealers' shows and specialist auctions.