Features

Crowning the summer jewellery sales was the spectacular Cartier London turquoise and diamond tiara from 1930 offered by Bonhams (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium).

The finest mourning jewels pertain to historical events, royalty, and well-known personages. A good selection has come to market in recent weeks

A Chaumet Art Deco white gold, rock crystal, diamond and ruby lapel clip brooch seen in a 1990s episode of Antiques Roadshow reappeared at a recent Roseberys (26/25/20% buyer’s premium) jewellery auction in West Norwood, London.

A rarity at a recent Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium) ceramics and glass sale was a late 18th century Wedgwood basalt intaglio seal, featuring a profile portrait of the notorious American spy Captain Nathan Hale (1755-76) beside the reversed inscription 'My Country!!!'.

Lyon & Turnbull’s (26% buyer’s premium) sale marking the centenary of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes - the event that later gave Art Deco its name - included a Lalique glass vase that was shown at the event. Quatre Figurines Femmes Formant Soutien, standing 6½in (17cm) high and modelled as a quartet of crouching female nudes supporting an ovoid bowl, was made using the cire perdue (or lost wax) technique.

Two auctions held in the region underline demand for the locally produced ceramics

A collection of ceramics by the Hanley-born pottery painter Arthur Holland (1896 1979) comes for sale at Potteries Auctions in Newcastle-under-Lyme on July 12.

Chelsea Red Anchor period ‘Hans Sloane’ plates are named with reference to the royal physician, traveller, and natural historian who helped transform the Chelsea Physic Garden into a centre of botanical knowledge during the Enlightenment.

Among the great Beilby discoveries of recent times was the emergence - from two separate sources across 14 years - of six small firing glasses decorated in red, yellow and white enamel with Masonic emblems.

Ceramics expert’s collection sold at auction included notable pieces made on Merseyside but also a Limehouse cup that proved very popular with bidders

A biannual addition to Sworders’ calendar is The Glass Sale - the first on October 28.

The great Georgian porcelain decorator and technician William Billingsley (1758-1828) was that recognisable type: artistic genius and downright rogue.

Many works by the great British artist are now owned by institutions but smaller paintings and sketches are common sights at salerooms

We sample a range of exhibitions taking place this summer – from a show on Second World War maps in Edinburgh to a display of Lucian Freud’s etchings at Titanic Belfast, a dive into the Picture Post archives in Cardiff, and a Magna Carta exhibition in London exploring the lesser-known Charter of the Forest

It may be a new name in the summer calendar, but this inaugural initiative is building on a firm foundation of previous ‘collegial’ events encompassing an array of selling exhibitions

A wide range of dealer exhibitions are on offer to brighten up this summer even further. Here is a selection

The third edition of Treasure House Fair carries on the long tradition of summer events in London, with a selection of highlights to savour

Summer brings us both fine weather and fine art. It is the perfect time to get out and about.

Whether captivated by exquisite jewellery or the clean lines and tactile allure of British studio pottery, the V&A’s two summer exhibitions are not to be missed

This summer, a diverse range of noteworthy lots will go under the hammer at auction houses across the UK. Her we spotlight some of these – from a flag flown at the Battle of Trafalgar and a recently attributed painting by Artemisia Gentileschi to a medieval encyclopaedia and a collection of mustard pots assembled by a former Eton housemaster