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Sotheby’s July 11 Old Master sale will include the re-discovered Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) oil on panel The Massacre of the Innocents, pictured right.

Post-War sales at Christie’s (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) tend to be more predictable, less mercurial events than their cool contemporary outings and the established reputations of the artists invariably guarantee a procession of solid six-figure results.

TWO maps of the Americas, as predicted, brought the highest bids in this Sussex sale at Rupert Toovey on 13 February. A copy of William Heather’s New General Chart of the West Indies... of 1809, backed on (contemporary) paper and with some light soiling and a few small tears to the blank margins, was sold at £900, while for Heather’s New Chart of the Coast of America from Philadelphia to the Gulf of Florida..., a corrected and improved edition of 1812, bidding rose to £1450.

In the second major Internet shill bidding case, three people have been charged with running a scheme that boosted the sale prices of hundreds of pieces of Lalique glass auctioned on eBay.

THE only problem with a number of highly-collectable Doulton pieces put into the January 30 sale at Dorking held by Crow’s Auction Gallery (10% buyer’s premium) was restoration, and estimates reflected this.

For The King’s Pleasure. The Furnishing and Decoration of George IV’s Apartments at Windsor Castle, by Hugh Roberts, published by The Royal Collection, distributed by Thames & Hudson. ISBN 1902163044 £75 hb

French billionaire quits battle over auction market: Backed by a dotcom businesswoman and an investment bank, two auctioneers last week bought the majority stake in Phillips de Pury Luxembourg from luxury goods group LVMH.