Features

While the kilns at Sèvres languished during the Revolution, Napoleon recognised the value of a national porcelain factory and used it as an extension of his power.

At a recent sale at Stamford Auction Rooms (20% buyer’s premium) in Lincolnshire this pair of mid-19th century Staffordshire red squirrels sold for a surprise £2000.

A Bamfords (20% buyer’s premium) sale included this 3¼in (34cm) tall Chelsea figure from the Red Anchor Senses set created by the Low Countries sculptor Joseph Willems (1710-66), in c.1755.

Estimated at £200-300 in the belief they were later copies, a pair of Sèvres dishes sold for £9500 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium).

Estimated at £400-600, a Meissen chinoiserie decorated porcelain snuff box took £12,000 at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in West Sussex.

British porcelain element of renowned US collection amassed in European salerooms comes to auction in London

If you wanted to keep the strings of a tennis racket taut, you could do with a tennis racket press – a device consisting of a frame closed by a spring mechanism.

Before match programmes grew into the glossy mini-magazines of today they were relatively simple affairs – most just a single sheet printed on both sides.

Stan Anderson (1934-2018) was a north-eastern football stalwart playing as captain for a hat-trick of local clubs.

A group of “rare and interesting” 20th century cycling ephemera relating primarily to the Olympic Games offered by Catherine Southon (20% buyer’s premium) came from the collection of cycling journalist David Taylor (1937-2020).

A humble table tennis bat bought at a car boot sale in Surrey for £3.50 served up a surprise at Hansons’ (25% buyer’s premium) London monthly auction on September 25.

A silver tea service presented to Sir Stanley Matthews (1915-2000) to mark his record England cap has been sold by a Hampshire dealer.

Derbyshire auction house Hansons (25% buyer’s premium) sold memorabilia this summer worn by two Manchester United favourites of different eras: George Best and David Beckham.

An England blue velvet and silver braid cap awarded to Sir Alfred Ramsey sold for a mid-estimate £3400 at Lacy Scott & Knight (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Bury St Edmunds.

Maurice Setters (1936-2020) is perhaps best known to many football fans as the assistant to Jack Charlton as Republic of Ireland enjoyed success in the 1980s-90s.

A painting of a pugilist will now be researched by the dealer who bought it at auction thanks to his collecting fascination with the early days of the sport

A pair of early 19th century Staffordshire pearlware figures modelled after bare-knuckle boxers Tom Cribb and Tom Molineaux who fought for a ‘world title’ of sorts is estimated at £3000-5000 in Tennants’ Autumn Fine Sale on November 13 in Leyburn.

Not all football memorabilia has to be Manchester United or early FA Cup, say, to catch the eye of buyers.

The highlight of an impressive range of football memorabilia offered by specialist Graham Budd (20.5% buyer’s premium) was the earliest Manchester United medal sold at auction.

The hare, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, is associated symbolically with longevity and the moon.