Auctions

At the end of an article penned for the Regional History Society titled Furniture Terminology in Post-Medieval Middle Class Inventories, the late Victor Chinnery wrote that any full glossary on the subject should include, not just furniture, but also pottery, glass, metalwork and architectural fittings.

With this year marking the centenary of the sculptor’s death, Auguste Rodin is much in the news. While the Grand Palais in Paris is marking the event with a major exhibition, Fraysse et Associés sold a 2ft 1in (64cm) high lifetime cast bronze figural group for €1.55m (£1.35m) at Drouot on March 22.

Enforcing its Scottish significance, a Renaissance gold pendant known as the Fettercairn Jewel has been bought by the National Museums Scotland.

A painting from the early career of French artist Auguste Herbin (1882-1960) appeared on the market for the first time in nearly a century at Gildings’ Market Harborough salerooms on March 28.

It may have been under 2in (5cm) high, but a tiny ink drawing by Aubrey Beardsley sold for a sizeable $10,000 (£8000) in a sale of Illustration Art held by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in New York on March 21.

Included among the objects section of many sales featuring oak and vernacular material there are often examples of early metalware.

Among the most eagerly contested sections of the Bonhams sale was the 22 lots from the Golding Barrett Collection.

The Flemish Baroque painter Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) studied the works, and particularly the mythological scenes, of the Italian masters.

MADAM – I was amused to read in the Previews section of ATG No 2285 that the “star” in Locke & England’s March 30 sale would be a large organ clock, estimated at £3000-5000 (lot 100). This is certainly not the case.

Salisbury is latest auction house finding a sense of optimism despite some patchy areas

Calculations and notes predicting the orbit of what at the time was a newly discovered and very large asteroid, Juno, brought a bid of £7000 at Bonhams (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on March 1.

Shown here is one of 25 coloured litho plates that illustrate Sir Charles Doyly’s Views of Calcutta and its Environs, a large folio work published in 1848.

Inspired by an exhibition marking the 400th anniversary of Raphael’s birth in 1883, Alexander III (1845-94) commissioned a porcelain dinner service for use in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo, writes Roland Arkell.

Filling much of a full-page advertisement in ATG No 2284 for the Pierre Bergé/Sotheby’s (24/20.5/17% buyer’s premium) sale in Paris on April 26 of books and manuscripts from the library of Jean A Bonna was the star turn – a stunning copy of Galileo’s Discorsi et Dimostrazioni matematiche of 1638.

For many centuries the German city of Nuremberg was a major centre for glass decoration.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period March 23-29, 2017. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

Through surviving examples of Charles II beadwork, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the splendid colours of Stuart England.

A good mix of traditional and modern pictures drew decent bidding at Mallams’ (20% buyer’s premium) on March 16.