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A child’s plate that celebrates a performing elephant which was bizarrely accused of murdering her keeper will be an unusual highlight at Towy Events’ last antiques and fleamarket of the year.

Amid current stories in the media of drastic Royal Navy cutbacks, it is difficult to imagine a sizeable task force of British ships sailing thousands of miles to fight a war. But in 1982 HMS Brilliant (F90) was part of that fleet heading to the South Atlantic to take on, and beat, the Argentinians who had invaded the Falkland Islands.

December is traditionally a month when Paris focuses attention on sales of Asian art, with auctions in the rooms across the city and at the Drouot centre.

LAPADA has reached outside the art and antiques sector for its new chief executive, appointing the former publishing director of Tatler magazine, Patricia Stevenson.

Art Basel-owner MCH Group is to expand the Masterpiece brand across the US, Asia and the Middle East after it bought a majority stake in the art fair.

This enamel copy of Hans Holbein’s Whitehall mural portrait is by William Bone Senior (1792-1846) – second-generation member of the Bone dynasty of miniaturists and enamellists.

Despite its current high profile, commercial interest in Soviet-era art remains selective. With the centenary of the Russian Revolution and anniversary exhibitions at the Royal Academy and Tate Modern, the latest series of Russian sales in London had aimed to cash in on the focus on this sector.

The Jean-Claude Lepileur (1926-2016) collection of Chinese archaic bronzes offered as a stand-alone collection at Gorringe’s in Lewes on November 28 totalled £582,000.

Selling the contents of historic estates, especially those in the same family for several generations, will often throw up surprises.

A mammoth skeleton, carved zitan brushpot and gold watch made in London are among the varied lots on offer in upcoming French sales.

ATG’s selection of auction lots bought by internet bidders on thesaleroom.com from the period November 23-29 2017. This includes both the highest prices over estimate and the top prices paid online.

A philosopher of mathematics, the human consciousness and language, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was described by his teacher Bertrand Russell as “the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived”.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days.

In a category of its own – and bringing one of the highest prices at the Tennants autumn sale – was a brass, tooth-edge dog collar engraved Rt. Honble Lord Byron.

Described as the ‘Proustian Holy Grail’ by Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium), one of just five special copies printed on Japanese paper of Marcel Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann sold for a premium-inclusive €535,000 (£471,780) in a sale of October 30.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships

Barry Potter is surely the king of toy fairs: he and his sons Ellis and Simon run toy, train and model collectors’ fairs in seven venues across the country – in Surrey, Bolton, Coventry, Doncaster, Birmingham, Stafford and Rugby.

“This year the Malvern Flea has been the prize in our portfolio,” says Helen Yourston, director of B2B Events.

Shapes Auctioneers based in Edinburgh is to close.

Two examples of the 19th century European craftsmen’s love of mother of pearl shone at Hannam’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Selborne on November 15.