Decorative Art

Plucked from a box of bric-a-brac brought in for a general sale, a Commonwealth gilt brass sealing wax box sold for £5200 at Lawrences of Crewkerne. A clever pun gives a clue to its maker’s identity - and perhaps his political leanings.

The Swinton Estate, which spans approximately 20,000 acres of North Yorkshire, has been in the Cunliffe-Lister family since the 1880s.

Pulling out a suitcase from under a bed during a probate valuation, Dawsons’ valuer could scarcely have guessed what they would find hidden inside.

Our selection of lots from ten upcoming auctions

Wanting to create a new perfume for the modern woman, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel invented her signature fragrance Chanel No. 5 in 1921.

This Sèvres porcelain basket-shaped centrepiece was one of the highlights in a sale held by Ostantix Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Ostend on September 3-4.

Founders Antiques is an online business which specialises in English period furniture, art and 20th century design. Proprietor Steve Foulkes was contacted by the family of the potter, Isabella Pope, who died in the 1990s.

One of the most popular fairs in the Grandma’s Attic seven-venue portfolio across southern England is in Woking.

Whether it is a collection accumulated by a family often over generations or amassed through the efforts of an individual, such sales can deliver big results - especially now for regional auction houses winning consignments

The vulture and serpent teapot designed for Minton by the Victorian soldier, artist and writer Colonel Henry Hope Crealock in 1874, is considered the most coveted of all majolica teapots.

A recent sale held by Auctions at Showplace (20% buyer’s premium) included an early work from the Panamanian National Pottery School.

A set of six rare Scottish provincial silver trefid spoons dating from c.1686 were not only among the earliest Glasgow-made spoons recorded, but also appeared to be the only extant work by the goldsmith George Luke.