Features

On November 9-10 Sworders will conduct an auction of objects from the collection of pioneering dealer Jan Ellen Finch (1952-2021) of Finch & Co.

Jerome Eisenberg (1930-2022), who died aged 92 on July 6, was a leading member of the antiquities trade.

Different way of operating involves exhibitions, some non-commercial, in a variety of premises.

TimeLine Auctions’ Antiquities sale includes a dozen good examples of Roman glass including this 3rd-5th century unguentarium with zigzag trail decoration.

This glass tumbler, pictured below, engraved with a crowned 'N' over a band of diamond cutting, contained in a tooled leather cylindrical travelling case, is of a type that accompanied Napoleon on campaign.

The French silver-gilt table knife and fork shown here, c.1810, is from a service made for Napoleon Bonaparte.

This example of the well-known Nelson memorial vinaigrette made by Matthew Linwood of Birmingham in 1805 sold for £2800 at Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne.

Only two examples of this 11in (28cm) Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Napoleon’s son, Napoléon-François-Charles-Joseph Bonaparte (1811-32), are known.

Rediscovered sculpted portrait heads a special report covering recent lots linked to the man who became emperor, dedicated to both his triumphs and defeats

Sealed wine bottles possess a powerful sense of time and place. For some collectors it is the regional connections that appeal most.

Sealed examples with coats of arms, names, dates and places reveal a social history and give an ideal opportunity for genealogical research

This sealed and dated onion in olive green glass, below, comes with a handwritten scrap of paper inscribed 'George found [this bottle] when he dived into the Thames at Windsor'. The seal reads 'S Slater 1710'.

For reasons of both supply and economics not every collector of English 18th century drinking glasses gets to own a piece from the great Beilby enamelling workshop that operated at Amen Corner in Newcastle in the 1760s-70s.

Of all antique sealed bottles, those made for the All Souls College Common Room are probably the most prevalent.

Among the very rarest bottles to appear for sale in recent months was a miniature shaft and globe in dark aqua glass, c.1650, sold in South Yorkshire.

The reference 3330 antimagnetic is one of the rarest pre-Oyster chronographs made by Rolex.

ATG reports on the market for the Enicar series of watches that were taken to Everest

The watch market can be obsessed with brand names – and the best names do come with a price tag to match.

Two Rolex tool watches were estimated to bring £80,000-120,000 each at a recent Fine Watches sale at Bonhams’ (27.5/25% buyer’s premium).

Platinum jubilee excitement combined with an emotive back story and a royal connection to create the perfect conditions to sell an Elizabeth II brooch