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Leading Roseberys’ inaugural stand-alone sale of 20th century decorative arts on January 23 – the first under new head of department Fiona Baker – was this large Art Deco ceramic vase and cover (right) by the important French Art Deco ceramicist René Buthaud (1886-1986).

A 17th century long-necked sealed ‘shaft and globe’ wine bottle sold for an unexpected £8300 (plus 15% buyer’s premium) at Barbara Kirk Auctions in Penzance on January 23.

London coins and medals specialist Dix Noonan Webb is changing its management structure.

An Arctic Medal with a provenance indicating it was awarded to a member of the doomed Franklin Expedition which vanished searching for the elusive Northwest Passage has surfaced at a Surrey auction house.

Hermann Historica (23% buyer’s premium) of Munich mounted its customary assault on the arms and armour market with no fewer than seven catalogues covering more than 6000 objects, ranging from ancient Greek helmets to military and other vehicles.

Art by a pair of 20th century artists who actively avoided belonging to any artistic school or movement stood out in recent US auctions.

I was enjoying the annual SLAD Christmas drinks in December, when a dealer started to recount an extraordinary experience he had with a German auction house.

The same French collection that brought the fine pair of Boutet pistols to the Thomas Del Mar Sale on December 6 also included a number of later Continental pistols that were rare and certainly unfamiliar to most British collectors.

The New Year is traditionally quiet in the salerooms but the 1800-lot Cheetham collection generated some real excitement at Adam Partridge (18% buyer’s premium) in Macclesfield.

A complete suit of well-matched period armour is rare indeed, so there was no doubting the star of Bonhams’ (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale in London.

Catalogued as “fresh and beautifully preserved”, a broadside printing of America’s Declaration of Independence authorised by the colony that had led the struggle against British rule, Massachusetts, was the star turn of the first major Americana auction of the year.

A trio of shotgun sales in the spotlight.

A reminder of the dramatic drop in demand over recent decades for Victorian landscapes was evident in Gloucestershire where two such oils by Sidney Richard Percy (1822-86) went under the hammer.

Holt’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) sale in London on December 14 included two prime examples of weapons designed to get their owners out of a tight corner.

Attributed to the arms manufactory at Ripoll in northern Catalonia, this pair of 18th century miquelet-lock belt pistols (below) proved the surprise lot of the sale held by Italian arms specialist Czerny (20% buyer’s premium) in Sarzana on December 9. In good condition with an overall inlay of pierced and engraved decorative steelwork, they sold for €15,500 (£13,600).

A small painting by Scottish artist Robert Gemmell Hutchison (1855- 1936) took a mid-estimate £6000 at Surrey saleroom John Nicholson’s (24% buyer’s premium).

The ink and watercolour manuscript plan of New York City and the Hudson River seen here was prepared by cartographers attached to the Comte de Rochambeau’s forces during the Yorktown campaign in the American War of Independence, c.1781-82.

Readers have contacted ATG asking for a definition of ‘museum quality’ – the term used by the British Art Market Federation in regards to those pieces of antique ivory it believes should be exempt from any proposed ban. Here we publish BAMF's exemption explanation as featured in its submission to DEFRA.