Auctions

Three bidders – one French, one Japanese and one Swedish – did battle for half an hour in the chase to acquire the skeleton of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur at a Paris auction this month.

Despite having lost a hand and suffering minor wear and chips to her chin, not to mention being just 5.5in (14cm) high, a doll caused a considerable stir at auction with six phone lines and internet bidders all desperate to succeed.

A painting from the early years of Vincent van Gogh’s (1853-1890) career as an artist has sold at an auction in Paris for a hammer price of €6m (£5.26m).

An auction of tennis legend Boris Becker’s collection of memorabilia is taking place as a timed online sale that runs until June 28.

The strong round of Chinese and Asian art sales last month continued in London with sales reaching a premium-inclusive £1m at Chiswick Auctions.

A small bronze figure of a horse from ancient Greece is at the centre of a New York court case after Greece’s ministry of culture demanded its return and stopped its sale at auction.

It may amaze our many younger readers to learn that England once had a team capable of winning the World Cup. And did so.

The arrival of Meghan Markle into the royal family has highlighted the pressure on the monarchy to meet modern expectations, but it is not a new phenomenon. A medal group coming up at a London auction house Morton & Eden (M&E) on June 28 underlines the role of a man who once reportedly told the queen that: “Your job is to spread a carpet of happiness.”

An original map of the Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood is coming up for sale at Sotheby’s.

Auction house Grisebach in Berlin is celebrating after it sold a Max Beckmann painting for a premium-inclusive €5.5m - the highest price ever paid for a painting at an auction in Germany.

A famous Ronnie Barker script that first came to light during an episode of the Antiques Roadshow in 2006 has been hammered down at £28,000.

The bravery of the Dambusters crews has been marked in this 75th anniversary year by a series of events and at North Yorkshire auction house Tennants this month you have the chance to bid for a rare bit of memorabilia.