North America

The French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) started making jewellery in the early 1970s after she was introduced to the Italian goldsmith Giancarlo Montebello in Paris.

Les Enluminures has sold a thousand-year-old Giant Bible of St Maximin to the National Library of Luxembourg for €4.5m (£3.735m)

One of the very first commercial box telephones appeared for sale at White’s Auctions (27% buyer’s premium) in Middleboro, Massachusetts.

Getty collection provides another auction highlight while glass and patinated bronze lanterns also shine in Massachusetts

In Norman Dean’s day, to be a watch collector was to collect pocket watches. In today’s market, when the 20th century mechanical wristwatch is king, demand for pocket watches is now markedly segmented.

George II period furniture bought by ‘international bidder’ for five-times top estimate in Connecticut

Copies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy just don’t get much better than the set shown here.

A striking Art Deco marble sculpture by the Brazilian Modernist Victor Brecheret (1894-1955) achieved more than 10 times its estimate at John Moran (27% buyer’s premium) in Monrovia, California.

While the estimate of $20-50 did not necessarily reflect it, the sale at Hayloft Auctions (28% buyer’s premium) in the Bronx, New York, on September 9 included an exceptional piece of Japanese porcelain.

Among the most desirable Royal Doulton HN series models are the Harry Tittensor (1887-1942) creations based on the Arabian Knights story.

Bearing an innocuous estimate of $50-250, a small 6in (15cm) bronze of a sow mounted to a marble base skyrocketed to $10,000 (£7600) at Berner’s Auction (23% buyer’s premium) in Deland, Florida.

This rare Chinese export dish offered at Luxur Fine Art Auction (25/20/15% buyer’s premium) in Queens, New York, was painted with a portrait of the theologist Willem Deurhoff (1650-1717).

The latest sale at Aces Gallery in Stamford, Connecticut, was topped by the multi-estimate performance of a rediscovered allegorical painting by Venetian artist Paris Bordone (c.1500-71).

An enigmatic French aristocrat commanded plenty of attention at Neue Auctions (23% buyer’s premium) in Beachwood, Ohio.

Massimo Micheluzzi (b.1957), who began his glassmaking career as a photographer for the Venini factory, has become a name to watch in the modern design market.