Auctions

Our weekly selection from salerooms.

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

An unusual but welcome inclusion to the latest silver and vertu sale at Lawrences of Crewkerne was a medieval walrus ivory tableman or backgammon piece.

The English artist, illustrator and author Christopher ‘Kit’ Williams (b.1946) is best known for the book 'Masquerade', the pictorial storybook which contained clues to the location of an 18ct gold jewelled hare buried somewhere in the British countryside. It created quite a sensation in 1979.

Any museum or collector seeking a centrepiece for their display need look no further than the Gatling gun – a pivotal invention that makes its presence felt by its sheer size and bling.

Rare and well-preserved armour from pre-history to the 17th century was well received in the pre-Christmas sales. Three examples are pictured here.

This ‘Black Forest’ type clock on the theme of hunting is signed by Swiss master carver Johann Huggler of Brienz (1834-1912).

Edged weapons from the East continue to feature regularly among the top lots in auctions across the world. Awareness of the rich array of culturally-significant weapons to be found in Western collections has grown as internet technology reaches a new international audience.

It was during the Carter, Stabler and Adams period in the 1920s-30s that some of the most memorable Poole wares were produced. Much of this Art Deco range – red earthenwares covered in a white slip and a semi-matt-glaze before decoration in a variety of Jazz Age patterns – was based on the work of chief designer Truda Carter.

The latest sale at Clarks in Liskeard included a collection of walking canes collected by the late actor Edward Woodward.

This 14in (35cm) earthenware ‘face’ charger made by Madoura to a design by Pablo Picasso carries an estimate of $2000-3000 at Neely Auction in Lantana, Florida, on February 16.

The impressive arms offered in London from a collection which supplied weapons for many films were far from being theatrical props

A sensitive portrait of a First World War soldier by the Irish painter William Orpen (1878-1931) was among a series of valuable lots chased by bidders at art sales in Dublin.

A picture of a famous Italian Grand Tour view by one of the best-regarded artists of the American Hudson River school of painting is one of the highlights of a sale at Skinner in Boston on January 24.

On January 30, Millea Bros of Boonton, New Jersey, will offer more than 400 lots of English and American furniture and decorative arts from the estate of Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Seeler (1926-2018).