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Set of 12 Chinese export pictures portrays a production line of porcelain

09 January 2026

A set of 12 Chinese export pictures depicting the manufacture and distribution of porcelain was among the highlights of a recent sale held by Nadeau’s in Windsor, Connecticut.

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Bought for buttons, now worth £48,000

09 January 2026

Bought for just £40 earlier in the year, two rare bronze buttons designed by Alberto Giacometti for Elsa Schiaparelli hammered for £48,000 at the latest Modern Decorative Art & Design sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge.

Silver tea and coffee service

‘People are coming in with their entire stock’

06 January 2026

Antiques are being scrapped in bulk as the price of silver continues to soar.

head study of a bearded man

Bidders overlook condition issues as drawing flies to 50 times estimate in Gloucestershire

06 January 2026

Despite suffering from water damage, wear and loss to the sheet as well as chips and cracks to the later 1950s-style frame, a head study of a bearded man brought intense competition at a recent sale at Wotton Auction Rooms.

Matthew Upham

Tributes for antiques dealer lost in Christmas Day swim

06 January 2026

Antiques dealers and singer Kate Bush were among those paying tribute to Matthew Upham, 64, following his tragic disappearance at sea.

Microscope

Dutch buyer secures another British microscope for his museum of science

05 January 2026

A rare Georgian brass microscope by Edinburgh maker John Clark will join an important Dutch collection after its sale in the Cotswolds.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

First edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland donated to Oxford University

05 January 2026

The most important of only 23 known surviving copies of the first – and subsequently withdrawn – June 1865 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been given jointly to Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries.

Ronald Searle illustration

Do book collecting terms fox you? Pick up a Searle at auction

05 January 2026

An original illustration for one of the most entertaining works on rare book collecting hammered for £15,000 to lead Mallams’ latest Modern Art & Design auction.

Venison dish

More than 1000 lots from Cumbrian castle offered at Tennants

05 January 2026

An extensive collection of art, antiques and silver from Corby Castle, one of Cumbria’s most historically important mansion houses, will go under the hammer in a three-day sale at Tennants from January 22-24.

A daguerreotype of Ada Lovelace

National Portrait Gallery buys only known photographs of Ada Lovelace via Bonhams

02 January 2026

Three photographs of computing pioneer Ada Lovelace (1815-52) have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in a private treaty sale.

ATG

Government launches consultation on licensing sellers of knives and bladed items

22 December 2025

Antiques dealers in bladed items are hoping to encourage collectors to respond to the latest consultation.

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Trade alert after masked men steal Guild of Handicraft jewellery

19 December 2025

Police are appealing for information after many identifiable pieces of antique jewellery were stolen during a robbery in the Cotswolds.

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A £31,000 Fabergé farmyard star brings animal magic to Macclesfield

19 December 2025

The first day of the December 10-12 sale at Adam Partridge in Macclesfield, Cheshire, included a 2in (5cm) high Fabergé jewelled agate model of a cockerel or rooster.

Tolkien sale cancelled after questions raised over authenticity

19 December 2025

An auction claiming to offer personal items belonging to JRR Tolkien was cancelled after doubts were raised over authenticity.

Captain John Narbrough journal

UK buyer sought for 17th-century English maritime manuscript

16 December 2025

The manuscript journal of Captain John Narbrough (1640-88) has been temporarily blocked from export in the hope a UK institution can raise the more than £800,000 needed.

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Cloisonné imperial vases pair up at £145,000

15 December 2025

The latest sale at Alastair Gibson Auctions in Kent was led by a stellar example of Meiji or Taisho era cloisonné: a pair of imperial presentation vases by Nagoya master Hattori Tadasaburo.

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Watches consulted by three heroes of Trafalgar during the battle sell as a wave of Nelson interest sweeps in

15 December 2025

Pocket watches owned by Horatio Nelson, Thomas Hardy and Cuthbert Collingwood and consulted throughout the Battle of Trafalgar were sold together as a single lot in London on December 9.

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Medals from stricken soldier who helped Florence Nightingale on offer at Noonans

15 December 2025

The Distinguished Conduct Medal awarded to Private Samuel Vickery of the Coldstream Guards who kept Florence Nightingale safe during the Crimean War is to be offered at Noonans on January 14.

JRR Tolkien's Merton College desk

JRR Tolkien ‘Lord of the Rings’ desk triples estimate at Christie's

12 December 2025

A desk used by JRR Tolkien during the final revisions to the Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold at auction in London for £260,000 (£330,200 including 27% buyer’s premium).

Gabriele Ricciardelli view of Dublin Bay

18th century view of Dublin Bay bought by Irish institution ahead of auction

12 December 2025

Due to be offered at Adam’s earlier this month, a panoramic view over Dublin Bay by Italian painter Gabriele Ricciardelli (1690-1782) was bought by an Irish cultural institution ahead of the sale on December 4.

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