Auctioneers

Prices for good-quality writing desks continue to recover – as was evident when a George II example more than tripled top hopes.

Fellows’ Fine Jewellery sale in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter on September 30 includes an extraordinary collection of 63 mourning rings.

This large Ottoman metal thread and silk hanging features a dedication to Sultan Ahmed III (1673-1736).

A recent sale at Wotton Auction Rooms (21.6% buyer’s premium) in Wotton-Under-Edge included this set of three yellow metal fobs set with carnelian intaglios.

This 1932 linocut is by the Swiss artist Lill Tschudi (1911-2004), who studied at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art.

The so-called Irish Crown Jewels or State Jewels of Ireland, were created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the Order of St Patrick. The order was established as an Irish equivalent of the English order of the Garter and the Scottish Order of the Thistle.

A collection of Belleek porcelain totalled £7600 at Cuttlestones (20% buyer’s premium) on July 21.

It is difficult to replicate the occasion of a royal themed auction. Ergo not everything that resurfaces on the market from the fabled ‘Princess Margaret’ sale at Christie’s in June 2006 shows a great appreciation in value.

Combining technical mastery with recurring motifs derived from nature, Pierre Sterlé’s (1905-1978) style is instantly recognisable.

His daring organic sculptural designs re-energised the British jewellery scene in post-war Britain, now Andrew Grima’s (1921-2007) creations are leading the revival of ‘60s and ‘70s designer jewellery on the secondary market.

By the mid-20th century several design houses were taking a more playful approach to zoomorphic jewellery.

A selection of four upcoming jewellery lots including a necklace comprising 21 cameos and intaglios previously owned by the Duke of Wellington.

Few furniture forms suffered a bigger crash in prices than the davenport.

Presentation copies and private press books were a key feature of a Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) summer sale.

This photo, below, was taken on September 4 at the annual inter-auction house sailing regatta at Seaview, Isle of Wight. The teams represented were Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Phillips, Roseberys and a dealers’ team represented by the likes of Colnaghi and Agnews.

This Victorian snake necklace is one of the best of its kind to appear on the regional market in recent memory.

A selection of sapphires that drew interest at auction over the last two months

Sapphire mining at the Yogo Gulch in Montana began in 1895 after a cigar box of pale blue gems picked from a creek by a local rancher found its way to Tiffany’s in New York, where an appraiser pronounced them “the finest precious gemstones ever found in the United States”.

Baron Ribeyre & Associés is holding a two-day auction at Drouot in Paris devoted to a collection of enamelled advertising signs from 1900-60.

The career course of Edith Robinson (1862-1929), a London art teacher and painter of chocolate box watercolours was changed in 1893 when she and her new husband, the Stamford artist Nelson Dawson (1859-1941) attended a series of lectures given by the enameller Alexander Fisher.