Auctioneers

Works by William Ratcliffe (1870- 1955) are pretty rare on the market and, when they do turn up, they tend to appear at London auctions.

The reassuring news from the East began with the first lot offered at Cheffins’ (24.5% buyer’s premium) Fine Sale when 10 China-based bidders competed for a Republican-era porcelain Putai.

Sealed examples with coats of arms, names, dates and places reveal a social history and give an ideal opportunity for genealogical research

The artists’ enclave of Newlyn in Cornwall was not exclusively a colony of painters.

This sealed and dated onion in olive green glass, below, comes with a handwritten scrap of paper inscribed 'George found [this bottle] when he dived into the Thames at Windsor'. The seal reads 'S Slater 1710'.

For reasons of both supply and economics not every collector of English 18th century drinking glasses gets to own a piece from the great Beilby enamelling workshop that operated at Amen Corner in Newcastle in the 1760s-70s.

What would appear to be a rare James Bond promotional poster proved the major attraction of a June 14 sale held by TW Gaze (18% buyer’s premium).

The Aguttes (25/23% buyer’s premium) Old Masters auction on June 28 at Drouot was led by a Murillo oil on canvas depicting the Christ child as The Good Shepherd.

Of all antique sealed bottles, those made for the All Souls College Common Room are probably the most prevalent.

With 207 pieces of silver from the Levant and all points East to China on offer at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium), the stand-out pieces were the work of Iranian smiths.

Sailor’s sweethearts or valentines were once thought to have been made by sailors as love tokens during their long trips away from home.

Playing cards displaying maps lead a look at a Gloucestershire sale

“Analogous to the Tunbridge ware but of a superior character” was Robert Russell’s description of his work at the 1851 Great Exhibition.

Colourful work with provenance back to artist’s sister catches the attention in Kent saleroom

The highlight of Tajan’s (25/20/12%buyer’s premium) Old Masters auction held on June 22 was an impressive large-scale modello created by the Italian artist Francesco Solimena (1657-1747) in preparation for his painting for the ceiling of San Domenico Maggiore, in Naples.

Austrian auction house Dorotheum will open a new office in Hamburg providing valuations and exhibitions. The office will be run by Dr Catherine, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein, who joins as the new managing director of Dorotheum Germany and new director of Dorotheum Hamburg.

Among the very rarest bottles to appear for sale in recent months was a miniature shaft and globe in dark aqua glass, c.1650, sold in South Yorkshire.