Carved c.1880 and acquired in Shanghai during the 1930s, the opal cameo shown here was the choice of pre-Christmas jewellery offered in a Somerset sale.

A late 19th century novelty silver teapot offered at Halls (22% buyer’s premium) was made by US silversmith Gorham of Rhode Island.

The chest of drawers and the kneehole desk are both classic forms of early Georgian walnut furniture. However, rarely are they seen on the same piece.

A set of eight Minton Aesthetic movement bone cabinet plates topped the Bonhams Skinner (27.5/25% buyer’s premium) sale of British pottery and porcelain that ran online from Marlborough, Massachusetts, in the last days of 2022.

Discovered by a metal detectorist on Dorset land once owned by Sir Thomas Brook, the late 14th century diamond set gold love ring captured hearts and international interest at Noonans’ (24% buyer’s premium) Mayfair rooms.

A selection of 16 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.

Among a wealth of English furniture consigned from a Wiltshire country house the outstanding items were a George I japanned bureau-cabinet and a pair of George III carved giltwood girandoles.

Collectors of Staffordshire have noted a number of higher prices of late and further evidence of a more active market came when a pair of Victorian Staffordshire flatback figures was offered by Lacy, Scott & Knight (22.5% buyer’s premium).

An auction record was set for an Alfred Dunhill ‘aquarium’ lighter at Chiswick Auctions.

A major draw to a recent Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art was a cache of Qing porcelain and hardstone carvings previously owned by Anthony de Rothschild (1887-1961).

Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) ‘part II’ sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at the end of last year included Chinese export porcelain from ‘the china store of a Somerset country house’.

By illustrating and combining popular folk songs with scenes of dramas of the time, the artist or workshop named Ding Liangxian created a new type of woodblock print for urban Chinese audiences in the second quarter of the 18th century.

A selection of eight upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.

The Rokujuyoshu Meisho Zue (Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces) series was the last great landscape work created by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858).

The Komai family of sword makers and armourers were among the many Japanese metalworkers courting a new clientele during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Although Dutchmen John and David Elers came to London sometime in the 1680s as silversmiths, the brothers are remembered today as the potters who brought fine unglazed stonewares to Staffordshire.

The sale at Kinghams (23% buyer’s premium) in Moreton-in-Marsh included a 12in (30cm) carved cinnabar lacquer dish dating from the late Yuan or early Ming period – c.1350-1400.

A large reticulated ‘dragon and phoenix’ censer came for sale at Mallams’ (25% buyer’s premium) in Cheltenham from a Herefordshire vendor whose family had lived in Shanghai in the 1930s.