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Beloved of TV antiques programmes and of bidders knowing the lots are absolutely fresh to market, there are few phrases to stir the blood at an auction as much as ‘from the attic’.

The so-called ‘Great Bardfield Artists’, named after the Essex village where a community of painters and designers lived from the 1930s onwards, has become fertile ground for local auction house Sworders (22% buyer’s premium).

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Following the multi-million-pound sale at Sotheby’s in 2015, more items from West Horsley Place, the remarkable Grade I listed mansion in Surrey, are to be sold at auction to raise money for urgent repairs.

Welsh artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins’ recent series of screen-prints are a fitting subject for a January exhibition.

Overall, a Voices of the 20th Century sale held by Bonhams New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on December 6 was rather disappointing, with only 100 of 264 lots sold (and only six of the 55 Russian lots). However, among the more curious entries was the ‘Paradummy’ pictured below.

The Marquis de Sade’s manuscript, '120 Days of Sodom', and André Breton’s 'Surrealist Manifestos' have been declared national treasures by the French government and were withdrawn from a planned auction.

A 17th century portrait of a woman who suffered from a rare congenital condition resulting in excessive hair growth on the body has been acquired by the Wellcome Collection.

Buyer’s premium and a proliferation of fakes in the art and antiques world are the biggest concerns for the trade, ahead of Brexit issues or regulation, according to the latest ATG reader survey.

Paris’ status as a centre of the tribal art market was underscored this season with a brace of high prices in the field of Oceanic art.

Art assembled by Peter Mangold, the late political historian, led a strong line-up of Modern British pictures at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) in Salisbury.