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ON Friday April 2, this distinctive silver and 18 carat rose gold Boucheron lady’s minaudière, pictured right, 5 1/4in (13.5cm) across, was stolen from the Pullman Gallery at 14 King Street in St James’s.

It is not unusual for an auctioneer to receive enquiries from members of the public who have seen items ‘identical’ to theirs in a newspaper, a magazine or on television. In reality the Queen Anne walnut chest turns out to be a 1920s reproduction worth £100 – but, yes, they do look almost identical.

With the Chinese economy expanding at an unprecedented rate, and Chinese tourists becoming increasingly numerous in Europe, China Trade paintings are an area of the art market that might prove a cannier investment than most.

WHILE print devotees will be flocking to The London Original Print Fair (April 22-25) this week at the Royal Academy’s new space in Burlington Gardens, off Old Bond Street, it should not be forgotten that there are currently a number of other events celebrating the printmaker’s craft.

QUALITY, rarity, condition, provenance and fashion all have a bearing on auction prices, but perhaps the most difficult criterion for any specialist to value is the appeal of an object’s quirkiness.

THE chances of finding good-quality tribal material in the remoter parts of Cumbria may be slim but a local vendor furnished Mitchells' (15% buyer's premium) 1294-lot March 4-5 outing with a 19th century African carved wooden headrest.

The perennial and international popularity of the radially expanding dining table was underlined in South Africa when Stephan Welz & Co (in association with Sotheby’s) sold this William IV circular extending dining table by Johnstone, Jupe and Co for R950,000 (£84,820), plus 10 per cent premium, in Cape Town on March 30.

DEALERS are advised to check their vehicles before leaving showground fairs following a sophisticated robbery attempt at Sunbury Antiques Market.

ONCE the rustic Cinderella of the antiques trade, but proving to have more solid staying power than some other fashions, the strength of the oak furniture market was evident at Brightwells' (15% buyer's premium) 139-lot single-owner Herefordshire outing on March 18.

THE importance of colour to collectors of saltglaze ceramics was emphasised at BBR's (10% buyer's premium) March 7 500-lot specialist sale near Barnsley when the orangey-brown hue and unusual subject matter made an Ugly Woman saltglazed inkwell one of the most desirable entries.

THERE was an encouraging take-up for Victorian and Georgian furniture in Byrne's (15% buyer's premium) 623-lot March 10 outing, with buyers found for the more standard fare as well as for the better lots. “We had more than our fair share of Victorian mahogany triple wardrobes but most sold to a mixture of private buyers and the trade,” said Byrne’s specialist Adrian Byrne.

DEMAND for good-quality, period stools continues unabated and one led Mervyn Carey's (10% buyer's premium) February 25 506-lot Kent outing. A Queen Anne walnut example, with drop-in, upholstered seat and scrolled cabriole legs, it sold at £3200, while a slightly lesser quality George I walnut stool, also with cabriole legs, managed a winning £950.

WHEN valuing a piece of furniture in the clutter of a client’s poorly lit home, quality can be difficult to gauge. Like most auction house specialists, James Lees, at Banbury-based Holloways (15% buyer’s premium) admits there have been times he has subsequently doubted his initial appraisals.

ON Thursday March 18 thieves broke into the Oxfordshire home of ex-jockey and racehorse trainer Stan Mellor and stole silver and works of art.

OSCAR Pierre Erard is one of the many shadowy figures who occupy the record books of the 19th century glass industry in Stourbridge.

LONDON’S art world leaders have come up with an initiative for extending the peak selling period that is London in June.

THE new money-laundering laws appear inadvertently to have created a problem for the coin trade.

ALTHOUGH most of the finest cast-iron mechanical money banks were made in America (and many of those by J&E Stevens of Connecticut), by 1885 a British company had got in on the act.

FURNITURE historian Bill Cotton and the Cotswold Antique Dealers Association (CADA) are among those participating in Chairs 2004, the first international chairmakers’ symposium. The new event will be held at the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, Tetbury from May 1-3.

ONE can always rely upon Lincolnshire auctioneer Chris Richardson of Richardsons, Bourne (15% buyer's premium) for a straight up-and-down opinion of business in his area.