Brooch

Sold at £250, this brooch probably commemorates the opening of Hill House Military Hospital, also known as School Hill House Hospital, in Lewes.

A gilt metal cloak clasp taken from the apartment of Napoleon Bonaparte after his death on St Helena in 1821 has sold at auction for £10,000.

This Danish silver, amber and agate brooch from c.1915 by Georg Jensen will feature in the art and design sale to be held by Freeman’s of Philadelphia on June 26.

A collection of 18th and 19th century mementoes of love and death – “the likes of which we are unlikely to ever see again” according to specialist Eric Knowles – brought a white-glove success at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium).

In the days when loved ones in the armed forces would head abroad on service for up to several years, not knowing when or if they would return, ‘sweetheart’ brooches were a way of remembering them.