Decorative Art

Items from the collection of architect Christopher Smallwood (1937-2024) were offered for sale at Dreweatts on May 13.

A triple-faced owl vase by the Zsolnay factory hammered for $9000 (£6610) at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium).

Exhibitors selling to other traders, alongside decorators and private buyers, is a key feature of The Decorative Fair in Battersea.

Items associated with the White Star Line, the British shipping company that built its global brand on unmatched passenger comfort, continue to thrive at auction.

Banker and businessman Jörg Woltmann, who rescued the Berlin porcelain manufacturer, now also acquires a huge vase by the firm.

Each June, a familiar circuit of selling exhibitions draws collectors, dealers and specialists in porcelain and ceramics to London.

The French sculptor Paul Comolera (1818-1897) first appears in the Minton records in October 1873 and is listed until 1876. During this short time, he created some of Minton’s greatest models of animals which were often observed from life.

This early 20th century Russian silver and cloisonné enamel pill box measuring just 1½in (3.5cm) across bears marks for Fabergé and Feodor Ruckert (1840-1917).

Henry Piddington (1797-1858) was an English sea captain who sailed mostly in East India and China.

Two very different pieces of glass went way over the odds at a specialist sale at Dr Fischer (30% buyer’s premium) in Heilbronn.

Two impressive vases from the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg took top honours at the sale held by Auktionshaus OWL (27% buyer’s premium) on May 16 in Bad Driburg in North-Rhine-Westfalia.

This 10½in (26cm) high Meiji period cloisonné vase from the workshop of Namikawa Sosuke came for sale at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on May 6 with a primary provenance.

A true connoisseur’s collection of early silver greeted those who viewed the Woolley & Wallis (27/26% buyer’s premium) Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu sale in Salisbury on April 28-29.

As pre-sale Instagram posts go, the promo for the auction at Martel Maides (20% buyer’s premium) in St Peter Port, Guernsey, on May 1 was inspired.

Furnishings and personal items from Rydal Mount, the final home of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, will be offered at auction this month.

The cuerda seca (dry cord or kashi) technique of decorating tiles was developed in Central Asia during the latter part of the 14th century.