UK

What to buy the auctioneer who has it all?

An auction titled China 500 Years held by Mayfair orientalist firm Plakas (29% buyer’s premium) included a rare Kangxi (1662-1722) blue and white porcelain toilet garniture.

Despite a recent work on paper auction record, the artist’s works remain relatively affordable according to specialists

Quality and craftsmanship is rarely out of fashion.

A letter written by Florence Nightingale in which she discusses the creation of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention is being sold by Sworders.

The Red Barn Murder of 1827, which occurred in the tiny rural village of Polstead, Suffolk was the biggest crime story of the era.

Produced in Ottoman Turkey between the 15th and 17th centuries, Iznik pottery experienced a sudden and passionate surge of Western interest in the mid 19th century.

The Ledbury Collective in the so-named design quarter in the attractive Herefordshire town was opened last year by Sarah Baldwin.

Arch Books of Richmond, southwest London, recently sold the personal expedition copy of Fridtjof Nansen’s Fram over Polhavet [Farthest North] (1897), owned and signed by fellow Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928).

A Queen Anne olivewood oyster, holly and walnut cabinet on stand offered by Dreweatts (27/26% buyer’s premium) in Newbury was among a number of lots sold recently showing the commercial boost that royal provenance can provide.

Robes and coronets worn by notable dignitaries invited to coronations are not uncommon sights at auctions but often prove popular.