Auctioneers

The first sale by dealers-turned-auctioneers Kingham & Orme made a hammer total of £289,490 and was led by a Martin Brothers bird.

Kitchener’s moustache-adorned stern visage staring out with finger extended demanding that you join your country’s army is not only one of the best-known First World War posters but one of the most familiar posters overall.

Three Hermès Birkin handbags were among the leading pieces at Fellows’ latest Designer Collection auction this week.

This dramatic study for the last masterwork produced by the Danish artist Peder Severin Kroyer (1851-1909) will be one of the highlights of the paintings and drawings sale at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen later this month.

The white shirt bears a dark ‘V’ across the front more like St Helens rugby league team, but the ball underneath is unmistakably round rather than oval. Then the words ‘Manchester United’ emblazoned below the figure give the game away.

Qi Baishi’s painting of bees and chrysanthemums is coming up for sale at Chiswick Auctions, featuring both a charming subject and history as it once belonged to a journalist who trod on Chairman Mao Zedong’s toe.

Works collected by the late Lord Weidenfeld, founder of the publishing firm that first brought out ‘Lolita’ in English, go under the hammer at Christie’s in May. The single-owner sale includes drawings of the female form by Egon Schiele and Alberto Giacometti.

A selection of Ming dynasty objects are to be offered for sale at Sotheby’s New York next month.

“Non-runners but ripe for restoration” is how Cheshire auction house Peter Wilson describes three 1930s cars found in a garden. It also sums up what fans of classic car ‘barn finds’ are after.

Bonhams has announced the appointment of Ben Walker as head of modern and decorative art and design in the US.

Joe Trinder is leaving Wotton Auction Rooms, were he is auctioneer, valuer and cataloguer, to join start-up saleroom Dawson’s.

The sale of an early 20th century artwork attributed to Paul Nash has been cancelled after recent tests have thrown doubt on its origins.

One challenge that auctioneers face is whether to sell a collection as a whole, or in several different groups, or individually. Finding the right strategy is vital to getting lots away with decent prices.

A Bristol filming session for the BBC's TV show Flog It! series saw the multi-estimate sale of this Victorian gold ring.

A French collection comprising 70-lots documenting historical attempts at achieving flight will be offered at Bonhams on March 1.

Saturday’s last-gasp, nail-biting England victory was hailed as one of the greatest games of the Six Nations championship. Talking of rugby ‘greats’, a jersey coming up at auction on February 18 is a reminder of an earlier international player who falls into the ‘legend’ sports category.

THESE days climbing Everest is a bit old hat. Don’t get me wrong – people still die in the attempt and it is a massive achievement – but more than 4000 people have climbed the world’s highest mountain since it was first conquered in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.