Silver & Silver-plated items

Credited with saying “an army marches on its stomach”, Napoleon Bonaparte knew the value of eating well, both at home and on the road.

Sale of Kunstkammer items amassed by the founder of Mothercare will bring English and Continental silver and furniture in the princely tradition to the rostrum

To say that retired police officer Brab Hallowes has a passion for collecting would be something of an understatement.

The Leicester engineer Robert Crawford Johnson (1882-1937) registered the design for the cube teapot in 1916.

The silver sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on February 4-5 includes this Indian silver inkstand by Hamilton & Co.

Market for imperial Russian works of art appears to have shifted to US given global circumstances

British regiments stationed in Canada in the early to mid- 19th century suffered from a peculiar problem: soldiers had a habit of deserting across the American border.

Our selection of lots from 13 upcoming auctions

A George III Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund silver presentation two-handled covered cup was offered as part of the Fine Decorative Arts sale at Bonhams (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium) in London.

A small collection of Hester Bateman silver appeared Stateside at Lewis & Grant (25% buyer’s premium) in Newport, Kentucky.

A Gorham Martelé covered silver tankard hammered for $7500 (£5875) at Grogan & Company (25% buyer’s premium) in Boston at its September 26 Silver and Decorative Arts sale. It was estimated at $2000-3000.

A familiar and important piece of Scottish silver appeared at Waddington’s (25/22% buyer’s premium) auction in Toronto on November 7.

A spectacular Victorian silver fox modelled by taxidermist James Rowland Ward sold for £100,000 at Tennants on November 16.

Between 1923, when he opened his workshop and 1935, the year he dissolved his company, the French goldsmith Jean Trotain primarily produced vanity cases and cigarette boxes for many of the most prominent designers of the Art Deco era.

Although the size of the collecting audience is changing - and the arrival or departure of just one or two committed buyers can make a significant difference to prices - British provincial wares can command decent prices.

The Autumn Auction at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26/25% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included an array of unusual objects from the collection of the late Christopher Hawkings.