Auctions

An auction record for a British coin was set in New York when a 1703 Vigo five guineas piece sold at $900,000 (£703,000) – $1.08m (£845,000) including premium. The sale was conducted by Baldwin’s of St James’s as part of The New York Premier Sale in Manhattan on January 13.

The precise function of the series of English tin-glazed earthenware seated cat jugs common to the 1650s-70s is unknown but, as many are dated and initialled, they may have been given as marriage or betrothal gifts.

Historical weapons from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan will be offered for sale in Oxfordshire in the spring.

This Aesthetic movement X-frame armchair took £11,000 against an estimate of just £100-150 at Lawrences of Crewkerne.

Eight examples of beautiful bindings feature in a selection from recent auctions held across the world.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from January 29-February 9, 2019.

A two-in-one purchase, this Simon and Halbig bisque-headed doll comes with its own teddy bear in a 550-lot online-only auction of toys and past playthings.

Pistols remain one of the most popular of all categories among gun collectors and the winter sales in London proved a bumper season for handguns, from the earliest wheel-locks of the late 16th century to the semi-automatics which ushered in the modern age at the end of the 19th century.

This rare 1870s Zulu shield or Isihlangu below sold for £1650 at the C&T (20% buyer’s premium) auction of the Mick Woodfield collection of Zulu and other tribal weapons in Tunbridge Wells on January 9.

This 3ft 2in (97cm) high Roman marble statue of draped female form with a lyre, representing the Greek muse Euterpe, dates from the 2nd-3rd century AD.