London

Surprise bid highlights demand for vintage Rolex accessories at auction.

Newly established auction houses Tate Ward and Kings Russell Auctioneers plan their debut sales over the coming fortnight in London.

At a swell party in the heart of Chelsea, with the Taittinger Brut Reserve free-flowing, BADA 2019 exhibitors could be forgiven for relaxing after days of stand set-up.

Launched in 2003, the one-day fairs remain a big draw for lovers of 20th century design.

Offered for £18,000, a pair of Chelsea baluster shaped vases were one of the highlight sales at Albert Amor’s show of Chelsea Gold Anchor period work from a private collection.

This 1937 portrait of art dealer Ambroise Vollard is included in an exhibition of Picasso ceramics, linocuts, etchings, lithographs and books at Peter Harrington’s Fulham Road gallery.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

A massive 3ft (92cm) high majolica urn – a riot of grotesque masks, mythical figures and other motifs drawn from Renaissance sources – combining the talents of two key figures in the history of the Minton factory was included in Fonsie Mealy’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale on March 5.

Ornithological books and artworks have played their part in the success of two recent sales and a selection of just a few of those lots begins with books from the Ladwell library.

A selection of post-war Italian pieces from the interiors of Casa Lucano, a large apartment in Milan designed by Gio Ponti in 1951, will be offered in a joint auction by Phillips and Italian auction house Cambi in London on March 21.

A fleamarket which launched three years ago under the railway arches of London Bridge SE1 at Flat Iron Square in London’s Bankside has moved to Vinegar Yard on St Thomas’ Street, 15 minutes away near Guy’s Hospital.

St James’s exhibition shows works of a watercolourist seduced by British rural beauty.

An oil on board painting Rotherhithe from Wapping Pierhead (c.1955) is among the works by Dorothy Rendell (1923-2018) currently on show at Abbott and Holder where it is offered for £2750.

A c.1710 English hunting scene embroidered in deep green crewel work and offered for £1800 by Meg Andrews Antique Costumes & Textiles was one of the stand-out sales at The London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA).