North America

Market for imperial Russian works of art appears to have shifted to US given global circumstances

Collector’s complete set of books from Morris’ publishing project comes to a saleroom for first time in 50 years

A textbook example of British Arts & Crafts jewellery – a Guild of Handicraft peacock pendant necklace designed by Charles Robert Ashbee – sold for $35,000 (£28,100) in the US at the end of 2024.

Erik Weisz (1864-1926) launched his monumental career as the illusionist Harry Houdini in 1891 as a specialist in card tricks.

A late but textbook bronze by Henry Moore (1898-1986) sold for $75,000 (£59,000) at a 145-lot sale held in New York by Auctions at Showplace (25% buyer’s premium).

Gambling today - particularly card playing - is a largely sanitised affair, occurring in luxurious settings under strict observation in town centre casinos.

Jewellery dating to c.1960 was once owned by well-known women in New York and Palm Beach

Initially conceived of and worn by Madame de Montespan, Louis XIV’s most prominent mistress, to conceal her pregnancies, the robe à la française or sack-back dress became a dominant form of fashion in the mid- to late-18th century.

Passed down through generations at the historic Hayes Plantation in Edenton, North Carolina, the only privately held Ratification copy of the American Constitution dating to 1787 sold for a whopping $9m (£6.94m).

Classic Art Deco designs from a prime period for collectors capture the spirit and style of the period