London

Two iconic Colt pistols were the big money-earners from both sides of the Atlantic in the pre-Christmas arms and armour sales.

Such was the demand for suits of armour from late 19th and early 20th century collectors that European master armourers were kept hard at work long after the practical need for such protective wear had passed.

At Bonhams in London this single-barrelled 28-bore made in 1877 for one of the sons of Prince Duleep Singh reached £20,000.

A ‘Hunger Strike’ Women’s Social and Political Union Medal awarded to a Suffragette who threw at lump of iron at Winston Churchill’s car made £10,000.

Nicolas-Noel Boutet and Anton Vincent Lebeda pistols star at two London auctions.

Krupp mountain guns made in Nanjing as China modernised come up at Thomas Del Mar auction.

A print by street artist Banksy (b.1974) called Morons, depicting an art auction featuring the former Christie’s boss Charles Hindlip, has been sold by a member of his family.

Even the composite parts of weapons now long lost have a value at auction.

The market for antique furniture received a welcome boost last week with Christie’s sale titled Apter-Fredericks 75 Years of Important English Furniture.

Bermondsey Antiques Market is under new management and will return to trading once lockdown restrictions ease.

London Art Week has a full calendar of events for this year including virtual exhibitions and plans to host in-person shows if restrictions allow.

Usually held on the mezzanine of the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park, the London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) migrates online this year with an extended run.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Famed south London market will open again under new management when conditions allow

After more than 20 years operating a gallery in St James’s, central London, Asian Art dealers Jonathan Tucker and Antonia Tozer have relocated the dealership to Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

The Swiss maker Bovet Fleurier, chartered on May 1, 1822, in London as one of first watch companies to do business in China.

Dealership offers items from the excellent Sir William McAlpine collection at Forum Auctions

The form of this 2ft (61cm) high Tang dynasty (618-907) pottery figure of a Bactrian camel and rider points towards the Silk Road.