Auctioneers

The highlight of Bonhams’ Chinese art series conducted in London last week was the sale of the Parry collection of Chinese art.

Connecting two of Britain’s leading 20th century female artists, a pencil drawing by Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) given to Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) as a wedding present was the highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s recent auction of works from the latter’s collection.

Multi-estimate sums are not confined to Chinese works of art.

Spider-Man became the most expensive comic book superhero in a Heritage (20% buyer’s premium) sale this autumn.

If you wanted to keep the strings of a tennis racket taut, you could do with a tennis racket press – a device consisting of a frame closed by a spring mechanism.

A clockmaking industry thrived in the Chew Valley of Somerset in the second half of the 17th century.

In 2010 The National Gallery held the first exhibition of works by Frederick Cayley Robinson (1862-1927) in the UK for 30 years.

Top lot in a sale held by Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) of Oxford was a 1719-20, first edition set of 'The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe…', 'The Farther Adventures…' and 'The Serious Reflections…' in later but very smart bindings of red morocco gilt by Francis Bedford of London.

On December 2 at Drouot, auction house Daguerre is selling a painting by Raden Saleh (1811-80), the first modern Indonesian painter of the 19th century.

Before match programmes grew into the glossy mini-magazines of today they were relatively simple affairs – most just a single sheet printed on both sides.

Stan Anderson (1934-2018) was a north-eastern football stalwart playing as captain for a hat-trick of local clubs.

One of the first sales held by Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) in its new Paris rooms was devoted to works by Jean Cocteau (1889- 1963).

A group of “rare and interesting” 20th century cycling ephemera relating primarily to the Olympic Games offered by Catherine Southon (20% buyer’s premium) came from the collection of cycling journalist David Taylor (1937-2020).

A humble table tennis bat bought at a car boot sale in Surrey for £3.50 served up a surprise at Hansons’ (25% buyer’s premium) London monthly auction on September 25.

William De Morgan considered pieces from the Moonlight and Sunset Suite made in the early 1890s to be his very best work.

Among Gilbert Ledward’s (1880-1960) most admired works is the sensuous nude, 'Awakening' or 'The Awakening', that today stands in Ropers Garden on the Chelsea Embankment.

Relating to perhaps the most famous of all compositions for the lute, a version of John Dowland’s 'Lachrimae pavane' proved a major attraction in a music sale held by Sotheby’s (26/20/13.9% buyer’s premium).

Derbyshire auction house Hansons (25% buyer’s premium) sold memorabilia this summer worn by two Manchester United favourites of different eras: George Best and David Beckham.