London

This French porcelain hot water jug, or ‘pot à eau’ was made at the Vincennes factory in 1754, probably for the Dauphine Maria Josepha. The mother of King Louis XVI, who was guillotined during the French Revolution, she was an important patron of Vincennes.

A north London independent antique restorer who faced eviction has got the go-ahead to stay.

A musical manuscript at the centre of a row over whether it was handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven or a copyist has failed to sell at an auction at Sotheby’s.

Besides the danger of a dog bite, delivering the mail is not generally seen as a perilous business. However, as a presentation sword up at auction in London shows, on occasion it can be a matter of life or death.

A small and previously unrecorded portrait of Lord Nelson sold for £14,000 at Charles Miller’s latest Maritime and Scientific sale in West Kensington.

Christie’s auctions of Modern British & Irish art this week helped lift their annual total in this category to £68m, the highest figure the firm has ever posted.

Specialist sales of antiquities in London kick off at Bonhams later this month with a 192-lot auction in New Bond Street on November 30.

Portobello Road traders remain unconvinced of revised plans to develop the vintage end of the west London market.

Christie’s Education, the educational arm of the auction house, plans to relocate to the firm’s South Kensington saleroom.

A large-scale sculpture by Dame Barbara Hepworth led Sotheby’s evening sale of Modern British art tonight.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Galleries in the Victoria & Albert Museum has re-opened with more than 500 objects on display, free to the public.

The London Diamond Bourse and traders in Hatton Garden are looking at options to move amid rent rises in the historic area.

A violin made from one of Winston Churchill’s cigar boxes was one of the starring lots at Ingles & Hayday October 25 auction.

Concerns remain for the future of the historic art and antiques districts of Mayfair and St James’s despite planning protection coming into force last week.

Protestors organised by wildlife charity Action for Elephants are demonstrating outside of The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in London today to make the case for banning the ivory trade in the UK.

Art Recovery Group, founded by Chris Marinello three years ago as a rival to long-established The Art Loss Register, has split the firm to create a not-for-profit organisation called Artive.

Auction house Christie’s will take centre stage in a new BBC documentary this weekend. The company, which celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, is the subject of a two-part look behind the scenes at some of its biggest auctions.