Oxfordshire

A piece of recycled wood used to make an Arts & Crafts reading table on offer at WR Harvey has been revealed to contain the names of mischievous boys from Eton College.

A jumble of names scratched into a piece of oak by naughty children (or possibly adults) has been discovered on the underside of an antique table in the latest exhibition at WR Harvey in Witney.

Delight as the Cotswolds association’s event successfully switches from April to February.

Every year, a female portrait is chosen as the ‘Face of the Fair’ at CADA (see main story for fair details).

English pottery specialist John Howard is among the many dealers featuring pig-related pieces at the next Cotswolds Art and Antiques Dealers’ Association (CADA) Fair.

Historical weapons from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan will be offered for sale in Oxfordshire in the spring.

Following the fall of Seringapatam in India on May 4, 1799, portions of the spoils were variously allocated to senior officers of the British force.

British art specialist Patricia Jordan Evans rounds off more than four decades in the trade with her next show called 'The Last Hurrah! 45 Years at Bohun Gallery'.

One of the more unusual corkscrews to come onto what is a fiercely competitive collectors’ market recently was a brass, steel and wooden contraption of the type one may have seen clamped to the bar of fin-de-siècle brasseries.

By contrast to electrical rarities offered in Wiltshire also covered in this week's hammer highlights, the type of mid-19th century library clock shown below is probably the most popular item in the current horology market.

Decoratives dealer Marcus Potts is the enthusiastic organiser of the well-regarded biannual Antiques at the Holt Fair which runs at the Holt Hotel, Steeple Aston.

Among the most desirable of all needlework samplers are those associated with pupils of the orphanages, asylums and charity schools of the Georgian and Victorian eras.

Modestly estimated staples of the once-booming Georgian furniture market can still bring pleasant surprises.

Described by one of his biographers as ‘The Last of the Norwich School’, Leonard Squirrell (1893-1979) was an East Anglian man through and through.

Signed in gold to the 10in (25cm) damascus barrels Manton London, the best-known name among London gunsmiths, a cased pair of 25-bore flintlock duelling pistols led the specialist arms and armour sale held by Antony Cribb (22% buyer’s premium) at Abingdon on July 24.

The set of flicker books published c.1930 titled 'Drive and Mashie', 'Brassie and Iron' and 'Out the Rough and Putt', were once used as teaching aids for golfers.

Entered from the same consignor, two c.1810 mahogany cellarettes were offered singly, rather than as a near pair by Mallams (20% buyer’s premium) at Abingdon. However, after two centuries, they will remain together after selling to the same private buyer on the phone.