Decorative Art

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.

No good library of British art pottery literature is complete without a copy of Paul Atterbury’s 'Moorcroft'. The jacket illustration alone with its myriad tube-lined miniatures in a bewildering range of forms and patterns is particularly memorable. More than one collector has attempted to emulate the beguiling display.

This silver tennis bangle, below, triggered a classic singles match at auction.

A set of three George II silver tea caddies by the famed English silversmith Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751) was one of the stand-out sales in the opening days of 'Masterpiece London'.

Cologne auction house Lempertz (24% buyer’s premium) held a recent sale devoted to the Schwarzach Collection of mortars, which is thought to be the most extensive of its type in Europe, if not worldwide.

Italy – or more specifically Sicily – came up trumps for Stamford auction house Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) in the form of this 4½in (11cm) carved coral and copper-gilt urn and cover.

Ceramics commemorating the coronation of Edward VIII are less rare than often supposed, having been produced in abundance before the coronation was aborted. Most bring relatively small sums.

A rare 19th century pearlware horse is available to buyers visiting BADA’s inaugural staging of the BADA Collection at 46 Pimlico Road this summer.

Folk art (or art populaire as it is known in France) has gained an increased following over the years.

More of a curiosity than a clock but a decorator’s dream, a life-size caricature of a smiling Chinese man clutching a willow-pattern plate with gilt dragon hands emerged in the Ayr rooms of Thomas R Callan (17.5% buyer’s premium).

A rare early Worcester plate, c.1752, painted in Chinese famille verte style is offered by dealer Robyn Robb at 'A Collectors’ Paradise', the annual group selling show of pottery and porcelain in St James’s. Offered for £9500, it features a bird perched on a flowering prunus tree.

An impressive 8in (20cm) high ice pail, cover and liner made what is thought to be a record auction result for Swansea porcelain when it sold for £38,000 hammer at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on June 5.

A mixed-discipline summer estates sale to be held by Neal Auction Company in New Orleans on June 22-23 will include this pair of 70oz, silver-gilt Edwardian figural tazzae by Elkington & Co marked for Birmingham 1907 with removable glass bowls.

This silver-gilt Doncaster Cup racing trophy has hallmarks for Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp for 1767.

Nicky Gould of Gould Antiques offers a range of small items including portrait miniatures, perfume bottles and various objects of vertu from the 16th-20th centuries. She next exhibits at Olympia.

The fine and decorative arts sale to be held by Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania, on June 18-19 includes a selection of ceramics from the Amphora factory set up in what is now the Czech Republic.