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WHEN Shropshire auctioneers Mullock’s sold a dealer’s stock for nearly 50 per cent above estimate, they thought that the vendor’s sole reaction would be one of satisfaction. Instead, they found themselves in court and having to pay out hundreds of pounds in compensation and costs.

MORE than 130 pieces of Caughley blue and white porcelain from a Worcestershire collection sold for £56,000 when it returned to Shropshire for sale at Halls in Shrewsbury.

SOTHEBY’S first quarter results have been boosted by February’s healthy Contemporary and Impressionist sales in London, showing the company on a decisive upward curve after last year’s slump in revenues.

THE issue of the Manchester Art Gallery’s missing Eric Gill sculpture has been resolved, Cheshire auctioneer Adam Partridge has told ATG.

THE ringleader of the notorious Johnson family gang, who played the key role in a series of audacious thefts at stately homes across the UK, faces an increased prison sentence.

ATG’s parent company, ATG Media, has agreed to provide the technology for the first live internet bidding site in Germany.

THE return of free-spending at the very top end of the art market continued apace at last week’s Impressionist and Modern sales series in New York as boom-time levels of bidding were seen on the blockbuster lots. For the second time this year, a new record was set for any artwork ever sold at auction.

BUSINESS is holding up well for members of the British Antique Dealers’ Association despite the recession. With a projected combined turnover of about £752m, the impact of the downturn has not been as heavy as feared.

THIS George IV silver-gilt presentation vase and stand by Philip Rundell, London 1823, was the highlight of the so-called Russell silver, a £250,000 cache of Regency plate by Paul Storr and Philip Rundell sold by Salisbury auctioneers Woolley & Wallis.

AN American collector who sued Sotheby’s, alleging they concealed a financial interest in, and inflated the price of, a painting that he bought for almost $10m, has lost his case.

THE first Victoria Cross awarded to a soldier in the British Army sold for £210,000 (plus 20 per cent buyer's premium) at Spink in London on April 22. The Conservative Party donor and VC collector Lord Ashcroft was beaten to the prize by an anonymous buyer.

LONDON dealers Wartski are holding a loan exhibition at their Grafton Street Gallery from May 11-21 titled The King's Blood: Relics of King Charles I.

POLICE want to speak to this man, pictured right, in connection with a scam that has taken in several of London’s West End dealers.

EBAY users in the US are questioning the merits of the feedback system after a buyer from Florida who left negative comments for a seller has been hit by a $15,000 lawsuit for defamation.

FOR the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island, wooden dance paddles known simply as Rapa were essential to many ceremonies and dances.

THIS George I christening mug was one of four items of silver stolen from dealer Clive Wilder at IACF’s Newark fair on Thursday April 8.

WHAT a difference a year can make. At the start of 2009 vendors shaken by the economic climate were reticent to consign to the major houses’ Hong Kong sales. But, a series of strong international Chinese sales during the latter half of last year restored market confidence.

BONHAMS have secured a major art collection that puts them squarely at the centre of the Australian auctions scene once more.

ANTIQUITIES and other cultural property claimed by Italy as part of its heritage may soon be barred from entering the United States unless accompanied by Italian export permits. This could have a significant effect on the trade and transport of classical coins, for which the US is one of the largest markets.

THE Greek courts have agreed not to pursue dealer Malcolm Hay any further pending his appeal against his conviction for trading in stolen antiquities.