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The Chinese government has written to a UK auction house to demand a halt to the sale of a silver hunting flask, taken from the Summer Palace when it was sacked by British troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War.

A strong turn-out of collectors at the patron and curator evening of Masterpiece London and a busy preview day helped exhibitors to achieve significant early sales as the fair returned after a two-year pandemic-induced break.

Thieves hit TEFAF Maastricht last week, entering the venue and smashing a jewellery case on the stand of London’s Symbolic & Chase.

A string of top-end consignments of British works boosted the latest London sales of Modern and Contemporary art.

Alan Elliot’s professional life – he ran a world-class provider of time management and communication systems for many years – overlapped with his private interest in collecting clocks.

Abraham Barachin became the last silversmith to use the Hull town mark of three ducal coronets.

A sale held by Sotheby’s (26/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) to disperse natural history works from the library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven, contained a good many lots that brought six-figure bids, but the one featured here was one that proved a surprise.

Almost two thousand years ago, a wealthy Roman woman would have kept her jewellery or trinkets in a cylindrical box, a so-called Pyxis. They were originally plain vessels, often made of pottery.

I am writing with fond and cherished memories of a much loved and admired character, recently passed, in June 2022.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

Platinum jubilee excitement combined with an emotive back story and a royal connection to create the perfect conditions to sell an Elizabeth II brooch

A Victorian sapphire, diamond and pearl brooch-pendant was one of two pieces with Indian roots offered for sale at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium).

Dreweatts offers a private collection of work by Gerald Benney, perhaps the key figure in the revival of British silversmithing in post-war Britain.

Exhibitions in London, Cornwall and Edinburgh cover artists who worked in the town

After the difficult years of the pandemic, the organisers of the Bamberger Antiquitätenwochen are hoping that this year’s event will mark a return to some form of normality.

ATG’s pick of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com, featuring both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.