Auctioneers

Estimated at £100-150, this pair of 4in (11cm) Chinese vases sold for an estimate-busting £39,000 at Gorringe’s (23% buyer’s premium) in Lewes.

Every lot of a collection of Meissen porcelain, restituted earlier this year to the heirs of Dr Franz Oppenheimer, was sold in a recent US sale.

A portrait of Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift that has hung at Howth Castle since 1735 sold for €234,000 (£200,000) this month.

This rare Victorian silver vesta case with an enamelled scene of an early tiller-driven automobile is hallmarked for Sampson Mordan & Co, London 1896.

As 1980s rocker Shakin’ Stevens once sang: ‘Green Door, what’s that secret you’re keeping?’

Serving in the Glider Pilot Regiment was a tough task during the Second World War.

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.