Auction Reports

Only a very few coin dies have survived from antiquity so there was great interest in the Hellenistic examples offered by Apollo Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on June 8.

Stock of retiring dealer offered at auction includes items with fascinating backgrounds

A recent sale at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) was led by this example of early English furniture: an oak aumbry or dole cupboard.

This unusual 19th-century Indian enamel-on-copper footed bowl soared to 26 times its top estimate at Lindsay Burns (22% buyer’s premium) in Perth.

The fashion for tea caddies and other boxes in the form of houses or other decorative buildings emerged in the last quarter of the 18th century and continued into the 19th century.

Oxfordshire sale includes minaudière designed as an alternative to traditional handbags - plus a more conventional ‘French Jazz Age’ evening bag

Sword linked to former emperor is one of the highlights at London sale held by maritime specialist

Before hitting stratospheric heights, US grunge rockers Nirvana were playing on a European tour in late 1991 in front of crowd of 700 at one point.

The only known bass drumhead featuring John Bonham’s personal symbol – the interlocking rings that became his mark after Led Zeppelin’s fourth album – hammered at $70,000 (£53,000) at Heritage (25% buyer’s premium) in Dallas.

A suitably psychedelic 1967 poster of Bob Dylan, designed by Martin Sharp, fetched £900 at the James & Sons (25% buyer’s premium inc VAT) auction in Fakenham on January 15.

Now famous for a career of filling stadiums as one of the biggest and most successful bands in the world, Pink Floyd played more humble venues back in the day.

“A Holy Grail moment for collectors worldwide” was the promise from Merseyside auction house Omega (29/35% buyer’s premium inc VAT) when a scarce picture sleeve came for sale.

“This has been the biggest single cataloguing job of my career - an extraordinary experience,” said John Silke, vinyl specialist of Surrey saleroom Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium).

As part of a Fine Art auction in Surrey on June 25, Catherine Southon is selling a collection of British art exhibition posters from the estate of Professor Zacron (Robert Drew), the maverick artist best known for the album cover of Led Zeppelin III.

The first clockwork robot with a walking action appeared at Hartleys (20% buyer’s premium) in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, on April 5.

This skeleton of an extinct cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) sold for £17,000 in Tennants’ (24% buyer’s premium) Natural History and Taxidermy Sale.

Talk of ‘mammoth’ sales usually entails a sizeable selection of lots.

A lot offering a Shanghai Municipal Jubilee Medal, November 17, 1893, proved so appealing that it sold at five times the top estimate.

Like many English joiners of his time, not a great deal is known about the private life of Gerrit Jensen.

Like Toulouse Lautrec, Ramon Casas y Carbo (1866-1932) was not only an avant-garde artist but a master poster maker and graphic designer.