Auctions

The toy ripped open from plastic and cardboard may bring joy to a child – but it is the simple packaging that makes the big money when that child becomes a collector with an eye on pounds, not play value.

Strong sales of Modern and Contemporary art plus the Félix Marcilhac decorative arts collection helped propel Sotheby’s to the highest auction total in France in 2014, with sales figures of €213m.

A series of three events aimed at collectors and art enthusiasts in the run up to TEFAF Maastricht (March 13-22) launches next week in London to promote the fair.

This version of John Constable’s (1776-1837) celebrated painting ‘Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows’ sold for $4.5m (£3.1m) at Sotheby’s Old Master sale in New York yesterday. It was an oil sketch with quite a backstory.

Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions are to conduct monthly collectors’ sales in collaboration with website The Auction Room – the first taking place on February 4-5.

Masterpiece London 2015 have signed Bond Street dealership Richard Green – a significant boost to this year’s event.

The heavy volume of snow on the East Coast of America has led to the cancelling and rescheduling of auctions.

A fine quality mahogany commode with a blue-chip provenance proved the star lot at Lawrences’ latest furniture auction in Crewkerne.

Leading Lyon & Turnbull’s latest furniture and works of art sale in Edinburgh was this fine George II mahogany breakfront bookcase c.1755 in the manner of Vile and Cobb.

David and Lee Ann Lester have cancelled their American International Fine Art Fair in Palm Beach, Florida at the last moment, citing changing market forces.

What has been billed as the most significant sale of French 17th and 18th century paintings for 20 years was announced earlier this month.

Philatelic and numismatic specialists Spink have posted annual sales figures of just under £29m.

Sherborne auctioneers Charterhouse have been instructed to sell the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) pair awarded to a member of 617 Squadron, more commonly known as The Dambusters.

Annual auction totals hold steady across provincial salerooms.

Delftware experts Aronson of Amsterdam have recently reunited this pair of c.1690 Delft ‘bouquetière’ figures depicting William and Mary.

Five truly remarkable items of British wartime history are being offered for sale at J.P. Humbert Auctioneers of Towcester.

A recent sale in London saw the auction records for Tudor coins rewritten by two choice examples of a golden denomination.

An example of the first of America’s iconic silver dollars will be on sale at Spink USA later this month.

The bosses of a Berkshire auction house who defrauded customers of up to £250,000 have been found guilty of nine out of 11 charges.

A superb combination of history, condition and rarity came together as a figurehead from a Brazilian slavers’ ship sold at Essex saleroom Sworders for ten times the low estimate at £50,000.