Auctioneers

Duke’s of Dorchester posted the top regional Asian art price of the season on May 18 when Wu Guanzhong’s (1919-2010) scroll painting White Birches on Mount Chang Bai (Zhangbai) sold at £500,000 (plus buyer’s premium).

The big surprise at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood'’s April 11-12 sale at Exeter was this 17th-18th century Tyrolean wood and gilt crucifix.

Made by Paul Storr, highly decorative and from the family collection of the late Sir Nicholas Harington, this 1836 piece of silver had the name, the look and the provenance to overcome the somewhat unfashionable nature of inkstands.

A painting by British artist Evelyn Dunbar (1906- 60) set a record price at auction for the artist at Cheffins’ Art & Design sale on May 11.

“When I first visited, the hairs on the back of my neck shot up. I knew immediately this was a unique capsule – a bohemian delight where a generation of artists had been inspired, had lived, loved and socialised.”

The new boss of Dreweatts says he sees “huge potential” for the saleroom as it reverts to owner-management focused on its headquarters in Newbury.

Woolley & Wallis holds one of its dedicated English and Continental ceramics auctions in Salisbury on May 23. The wide range of material on offer takes in everything from the major 18th and 19th century English porcelain factories to a group of Italian maiolica.

Unusual appearance of mountain views by painter whose career was cut short by tuberculosis

Satellite events and specialist photography sales are riding on the coattails of Photo London (May 18-21) this spring, coinciding with the fair’s four-day run at Somerset House.

Inscriptions and/or dates add a premium in many classes of ceramics but especially so in delftware. Some afficionados such as the late Syd Levethan made this a particular goal for their collecting.