UK

Signed in gold to the 10in (25cm) damascus barrels Manton London, the best-known name among London gunsmiths, a cased pair of 25-bore flintlock duelling pistols led the specialist arms and armour sale held by Antony Cribb (22% buyer’s premium) at Abingdon on July 24.

It has not been a vintage season for armour in the saleroom, but some of the recent highlights from London and Munich are shown here.

This early Meissen teapot and cover was among the stand-out sales at the joint selling exhibition 'A Collectors’ Paradise' held at Brian Haughton Gallery in St James’s.

MADAM – My congratulations to Anthony Bernbaum and to Lewis Baer for their excellent letters: Mr Bernbaum’s account of why he left Online Galleries and Mr Baer advocating the creation of a global trade body for the art and antiques sector (ATG No 2352).

A famous royal regiment was remembered at the Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) auction in Carmarthen.

A very suitable buyer emerged for an 19th century picture of The Artists Rifles by John Evan Hodgson (1831-95) offered in Exeter.

A sweeping landscape by John Arnesby Brown (1866-1955) made a multi-estimate sum at Henry Adams (20% buyer’s premium), the second time in four months a work by the painter has done so at the Chichester firm.

Bill Clark runs Clark Art, which specialises in LS Lowry and modern British art, in Cheshire.

Demand for Scottish artist with a ‘distinctive personality’ drives a good auction result in Somerset.

The classic English sporting gun is a sidelock, but for many the ‘round-action’ shotguns perfected by John Dickson of Edinburgh in the 1870s are the most elegant of all.

“I would say in the short term it hasn’t put buyers off but I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know what the future will hold.” Auctioneer Henry Meadows’ take on the forthcoming ivory ban will be shared by many a regional auctioneer in the wake of summer sales.

Edged weapons from the East dominated the summer sale at Thomas Del Mar (24% buyer’s premium) in London on June 27 and it was an old collection of Indian dress daggers that produced the highest prices.

Ivory frames to this 18th century wooden box, below, with tortoiseshell panels, did nothing to hold back bidding on currently hugely popular Indo-Portuguese material.

Two albums of 19th century watercolours and drawings produced unexpected results in summer sales.

A rare and early combination of a war hammer and pistol was a highlight of the Bonhams (25/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale in Knightsbridge on May 23, selling for £24,000.

August can be a quiet time for exhibition-goers as dealers head off home or on holiday following the busier days of June and July. But some galleries take the summer as an opportunity to display an assortment of stock.

Every year in the seaside town of Bangor, south of Belfast, a small, local and dedicated team puts on an ambitious month-long programme of concerts, dance, arts and literary events, plus food and wine evenings.

The top lot at Bonhams (25/12.5% buyer’s premium) in San Francisco on June 19 was an exceptional cased example of a specially engraved Colt 1851 percussion revolver with shoulder stock.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

Firle Place near Lewes in East Sussex is the seat of Nicholas Gage, the 8th Viscount Gage, whose family has owned the estate since the 15th century.