Berkshire

How much would you spend on an antique or vintage chess set? Here are three examples from different periods that sold across a wide range of prices.

Kashmir sapphires have acquired a near-legendary status, due to their lustrous cornflower colour, soft velvety texture and extreme rarity.

Special Auction Services (SAS) achieved its most valuable ever auction last month, selling banknotes.

The sale of the collection of dealer and ‘titan of design’ Robert Kime drew a flurry of interest at Dreweatts last week, raising more than £7.6m hammer across three days.

The September 21 sale at Dawsons in Maidenhead includes this Cartier natural sapphire and diamond brooch designed as a single bloom of cherry blossom.

A large and striking 1920s portrait of a young woman drew strong competition at Dreweatts’ (26% buyer’s premium) sale of Anouska Hempel’s collection.

A fine Oscar Wilde letter sold for £16,000 at Dawsons (25% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead on June 29.

This ‘ferris wheel’ timepiece, thermometer and barometer compendium is a novel type that was first made in France in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Shown here is a copy in Latin of the 'Quirtii Horatii Flacci' opera, 1823, presented by Charles Dickens to his Latin tutor Richard Shiers (mentioned in a book titled 'The Life of Charles Dickens', p45).

Among the most popular lots in the Guinevere: 60 Years on the King’s Road sale was this rare Italian marquetery, vellum and bronze sideboard.

It is 20 years ago that the auction record for Clarice Cliff was sent tumbling when an 18in (46cm) May Avenue charger sold for £34,000 at Christie’s South Kensington on May 14, 2003. Those were heady days indeed.

Family group at auction offered works by several generations including the renowned John Sell Cotman

The 40 trays of British butterflies in this handsome mahogany four-section cabinet by JJ Hill & Son of London were collected by Geoffrey Alfred Cole.

As timing goes, the sale date for an album of handwritten letters, photographs and ephemera related to Sophia Duleep Singh (1876-1948) could not have been much better.

Featuring in the June 22 Jewellery, Watches Silver auction at Dawsons in Maidenhead is this late Victorian diamond garland necklace.

The highlight of Dreweatts’ Asian art sale on May 17-18 was this very rare Xuande (1426-35) mark and period cloisonné ‘pomegranate’ box and cover.

Flying over a £200-300 estimate at a recent sale at Dawsons (25% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead were two small mixed-media works by Maliheh Afnan (1935-2016).

Among the most popular cigarette cards to collect are those produced by the Taddy company.

A collection of works by the Cotman family of artists is coming for sale at Maidenhead auction house Dawsons this month.