South-west England

Under forthcoming UK ivory legislation, there will be no legitimate market for bronze and ivory Art Deco figures.

Penzance auction house David Lay (18% buyer’s premium) is no stranger to the great Chinese boom but in July it staged Cornwall’s first dedicated Asian sale.

An unusual entry to the latest Silver & Objects of Vertu sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury was this 5in (13cm) silver and mixed metal tea caddy by Tiffany & Co.

A controversial Second World War poster by renowned designer Abram Games (1914-96) has sold for what is believed to be an auction record.

A prime example of mid-century Scandinavian furniture is offered at the Cotswolds Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair next month by dealer Roger Burgett of Scandinavian by Design.

A collection of diamond jewellery attracted international competition at Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s (19.5% buyer’s premium) June sale in Taunton. The cache of pre-war jewels was consigned following a house call by gemmologist and valuer Richard Slater. “It was a wonderful selection of jewellery. The owner had great taste,” he said.

A rare pair of bookends by Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson attracted huge interest and a remarkable £10,000 winning bid at Lawrences of Crewkerne.

Two south-coast dealers have secured the future of more than 100 traders with the purchase of a Bournemouth centre.

An 1841 guide to London’s ladies of the night sold by Hansons for £3300 featured recently in ATG (No 2390), and one of the many rarities that emerged from the recent Gloucestershire sale of the late Martin Orsky’s library was a group of four 18th century broadsides advertising prostitutes.

Pleased as the vendors were to be told by Gloucestershire auctioneer Martin Lambert that a 1920s trunk from their late parents’ home could be worth £2000, they were happier when pre-sale interest in Tayler & Fletcher’s recent sale brought a revised estimate of £2500-4000.

Patrick Heron’s screenprint 'January 1973: 12 1973' is among the offerings at Belgrave St Ives’ summer exhibition of Modern art.

Two musical boxes catching the eye and ear among the small vertu sections at summer silver sales.

A Taunton antiques company has taken over a long-running local antiques business.

The story of Cornish care worker Jordan Rogers, who proved he was the illegitimate son and legitimate heir to a £50m Penrose mansion, made national headlines in May. It also had a knock-on effect in the auctioneering world.

The origin of ‘Tudor’ globe pomanders is still under discussion. It is generally thought that most originate from northern Europe but were probably made by itinerant craftsmen in a number of countries.

In market terms, ecclesiastical gates are not the subject of mass appeal but examples by major 19th century designers certainly had their devotees at two June sales.