East Midlands

A man who broke into Derbyshire auction house Hansons and stole over £20,000 worth of items has been jailed.

Chinese chairs smaller and less formal than the ‘yoke-back’ or ‘horseshoe-back’ armchairs are referred to as rose chairs (meiguiyi) or writing chairs (wenyi).

Underlining once again the desirability of football match programmes for games that were actually postponed or cancelled, an Arsenal example offered on March 3 hammered at £7500 via thesaleroom.com.

An antiques centre in north Derbyshire is set to close on March 31 after 15 years in business.

Among the watercolours attracting interest at the earlier part of the year were four works by Lucy Elizabeth Kemp-Welch (1869-1958) that appeared at Lincoln saleroom Golding Young & Mawer (24% buyer’s premium).

A rarity offered on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham on February 11-12 was this George III silver pear shape powder flask.

This Dutch East Indies gold mounted tortoiseshell betel box hammered at £15,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk in Nottingham on February 11-12.

Paintings depicting humble carpenter and not-so-humble locksmith benefit from market freshness

Two antiques centres operate at Cromford Mills in Matlock, Derbyshire.

A suite of three oak panelled bedroom pieces with original invoices from the Robert Thompson workshop were the stand-out lots at a recent sale at Gildings (24% buyer’s premium) of Market Harborough.

With new visitors, international buyers returning and a fresh look at events, the mood is upbeat

British comedy star Eric Morecambe’s (1926-84) lifetime collection of showbiz memorabilia and personal treasures are set for auction at Hansons on January 10-11.

Manual relating to church charity schools is the latest example of its type to impress in a saleroom

A cabinet cup and saucer decorated by perhaps the most skilled of all Sèvres painters was spotted for sale in Derbyshire.

An eight-page account of the famous football match played on Christmas Day in the First World War during an unofficial truce was a highlight of a remarkable album compiled by Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse Maude Alice Lineham (1883-1967).