Scotland

London’s art world between the wars was a surprisingly diverse community.

Estimated at just £100-200, a rare automaton of a stereotypical Chinaman smoking an opium pipe sold for £7400 at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium).

Talented amateur artist enjoyed riding excursions with the author to antiquarian sites

At 20in (50cm) long, this stylised tinplate racer and driver was the largest toy car made by the German toymaker Johann Distler.

Peter Closon (c.1594-c.1662) was one of the most prolific of the so-called First Period lantern clock makers – although little is known about his life.

Offered as part of a sale at Taylors (24% buyer’s premium) of Montrose with an estimate of just £20-30 was a catalogue of the library at Fasque House, or Fasque Castle as it is also known.

A wax seal matrix bought at auction by National Museums Scotland has revealed how James V of Scotland (1512-42) treated one of his illegitimate sons.

This Neo-classical silver tea service combines the talents of two giants of the Regency era.

With classic watches usually priced in five or six figures, it is worth discovering the less well-known brands and especially those from the 1980s, says newly appointed Lyon & Turnbull specialist Sarah Fergusson

Another auction house staging regular sales of Scottish Contemporary art is McTear’s of Glasgow, whose next auction in this category takes place on February 28.

In his book 'Oriental Rugs' (1998), textiles scholar Murray Eiland Jr lamented the challenges in dating and identifying carpets woven in south-east India.

Challenging, grotesque and raw, 'The Fete' sums up the art of Pat Douthwaite (1934-2002).

This Victorian dirk – with ensuite knife and fork – sold for 10 times the top estimate, £2000, at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) in Glasgow on January 21.

A collection of watercolours by Sir William Russell Flint (1880-1969) given their own stand-alone catalogue set pulses racing at Lyon & Turnbull.

Traditional picturesque views of Scotland show signs of a market revival

Click-and-collect services from non-essential retail will now no longer be allowed in Scotland.

A recent sale at Franklin Browns (18% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on included one of the most ambitious and most desirable of all early 19th century Staffordshire figure groups: the 'Polito’s Menagerie of the wonderful burds and beasts from most parts of the world'.

Shown here is the opening spread of a special copy of an 1895 Dent edition of 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' sold at Lyon & Turnbull (25/20% buyer’s premium).