Auctions

Four Chinese jade vessels have sold for 10 times their estimate after being stolen more than 12 years ago.

A locket given to George IV’s true love was hammered down at £280,000 yesterday at Christie’s, more than doubling its high estimate.

It was known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice but life in the Italian city state could be turbulent. The maritime republic spanned the 8th to 18th centuries though opportunities to amass power and wealth were challenged by outside threats, particularly from the Ottoman Empire. Among a group of documents on offer at Christie’s is one which recalls the city’s naval endeavours - a commission for the pirate-hunter Benedetto Pesaro.

Francesco Guardi’s (1712-93) 'The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi' led Christie’s latest evening sale of Old Masters in London. It was knocked down at £23.25m following a competition between two phone bidders.

In a lively evening sale of Old Masters at Sotheby’s, one of the few large-scale oil paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) left in private hands was knocked down at £17m.

Ian Ehling has joined Bonhams’ New York office as director of fine books and manuscripts.

Militaria archive material such as documents, letters and log books has been delivering strong results at auction recently, aided by cross-over appeal to photography enthusiasts.

A long-running appeal to raise nearly half a million pounds to return a Wedgwood’s First Day’s vase to Staffordshire has triumphed.

One of the leading lots at this week’s Old Master auctions in London is a JMW Turner (1775-1851) that Sotheby’s predicts could make a record for a British-born artist.

The Holey Grail of the Australian coins world… hang on, we used that pun in a 2013 ATG story. Nevertheless, it is Holey appropriate:  the Holey Dollar remains a must-have for collectors of Australian coins.

The popular image of Queen Victoria in the latter days is of a sombre, dressed in mourning black, unsmiling monarch who was definitely not amused. However, an intriguing item coming up at auction shows her compassionate, caring side.