East Midlands

It was during the Song dynasty that tea parties became the vogue and tea houses flourished.

Power of the Force line was launched as the original Star Wars began to lose its shine but rarest figures still bring demand

The top-selling lots at Hansons’ April 1 Fine Art Sale were two pieces of Chinese blue and white porcelain.

An 18th century marble statuette with an extensive provenance emerged at a recent Nottingham auction.

Plates from a documented mid-19th century Sèvres dessert set sold for £36,000 at Golding Young & Mawer in Grantham on April 6.

Callum Jackson founded Jacksons Antique in 2019. He is based in Lincolnshire and recently stood at the Chelsea Antiques Fair.

Dealer promises to promote Nottingham specialist fair

The largest showground fairs are so extensive that it would be impossible to browse items on all the stands in one day. IACF’s Newark Antiques Fair, for example, is held on an 84-acre site with up to 2500 stands.

Harry Potter just keeps on doing well at auction, and Hansons (25% buyer’s premium), which has enjoyed a particularly close and profitable relationship with JK Rowling’s creation over the years, had more to offer in a March 9 sale.

Nottingham sale showcases wares of ‘the most complete manufacturer in England in metal’

Found in a wardrobe during the clearance of a deceased estate in Spalding, ‘a group of four early 19th century French heraldic plaques’ sold way over hopes at Stamford Auction Rooms in Lincolnshire on February 26.

Early works by Harold Knight (1874-1961) are not seen very often at auction but a group of six appeared at Mellors & Kirk of Nottingham at the end of last year.

The Palais Royale built for Cardinal Richelieu in 1629 had a variety of uses over the years but in the 18th and early 19th century was rebuilt as a place for public recreation and social gathering.

Among the more unusual recent lots at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) was an early Victorian table carved from parrot coal.

Pedal cars are regular visitors to salerooms but rarer powered versions were also produced for children to use, partly for road safety training

Marked for Savage & Lyman, Montreal, c.1855-60, this silver tankard was awarded to British bare-knuckle boxer Tom Sayers.

A rare Royal Crown Derby teapot made to a design created by Salvador Dalí surfaced recently at Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) in Stamford.

The so-called Arundel Lions were once a well-known landmark in Sheffield.

Still a figure of glamour 450 years after her execution, Mary Queen of Scots was reputed to have embroidered the c.16th century fragment of bed curtain sold at Hansons (25% buyer’s premium) at Etwall on December 7.