Auctioneers

Two English furniture ‘discoveries’ excelled against modest hopes at auction in mid-September. Top-end London dealers bought both pieces.

A second version of one of the best-known images in Welsh art comes for sale in Cardiff next month.

Many talented footballers had their careers interrupted or even curtailed by the world wars. Although Allenby Chilton is not exactly a household name, not many players featured in both a Manchester United title-winning side and the D-Day Normandy landings.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the football league in Scotland has not always been dominated by Celtic and Rangers. The last time a team outside the Old Firm won the title was Aberdeen in 1985.

Stand-out lot in the Julien’s auction on November 14 in Beverly Hills is a Brooklyn Dodgers coaching uniform worn by Babe Ruth, America’s baseball hero. It comes from a 350-piece private collection amassed over 30 years.

While typically it is the very earliest pieces of Worcester porcelain from the 1750s that excite the market, there is always great interest in documentary pieces.

Amassed by one of the longest-serving members of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), a group of cricketing lots notched up a number of auction highlights last month.

This late 9ct gold Football League medal was awarded to Billy Bassett (1869-1937), one of the best-known footballers of the late Victorian era.

American Lance Wyman (b.1937) is regarded by many as one of the greatest graphic designers of the modern era and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico – the first to be held in Latin America – gave him the ideal canvas to showcase his considerable talents.

Peter Dingley (1923-2018), who died last year aged 95, is a name synonymous with the best of modern British craft. David Whiting, author of 'Modern British Potters & Their Studios' (2009), described him as “a remarkable member of the small band of post-war pioneering gallerists who supported British ceramics”.

The London firm founded by Frederick Henry Ayres in the mid 19th century is best known for its for high-quality rocking horses but Ayres also produced a wide range of equipment for indoor and outdoor games and sport.

A yellow Tour de France jersey once worn in the gruelling race by the legendary Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx (b.1945) sold for a mid-estimate hammer price of £7000 at Rogers Jones (18% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on June 14.

Emmerdale actor’s love of Ayrton and circle seen at Tetsworth estate sale

On October 12 Auction Team Breker in Cologne is holding a sale dedicated to antique office equipment. Among the distinctive pieces on offer is this Arithmomètre from 1865 guided at €3000-5000.

Traditionally, many 19th century painters copied famous works by the Old Masters as part of their artistic training.

A group of five rare bronzes by Joseph Durham (1814- 77) from the Gould collection will be offered at The Canterbury Auction Galleries on November 26-27.

A selection of Victorian cricket scenes (one shown below) by Lucien Davis (1860-1941) was offered at Roseberys London (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

Celtic legend Tommy Gemmell’s boots from the 1967 European Cup final went under the hammer at Glasgow auction house McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) on July 19. They doubled the lower estimate, selling at £14,000.

Bellmans in Wisborough Green, West Sussex is to offer two watercolours by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) as part of a Fine Paintings sale on October 15. Both come from a local private collection.