Oxford

Among the highlights of a recent jewellery sale held by Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) in Oxford was this mid-to late-19th century amethyst parure.

Two very different works offered in Oxford now have new owners from Australia and continental Europe

A Roman marble bust of the tyrannical Emperor Commodus attracted a flurry of bids at Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) in Oxford.

Made with oil and sand, this work by Italian artist Domenico Gnoli (1933-70) was taken to a multi-estimate £42,000 via a phone bid at Mallams (25% buyer’s premium).

Overseas buyer emerges victorious as Old Master generates fierce competition in an Oxford sale

Rediscovered books and manuscripts that once belonged to former antiquarian book dealer John Percival Love and had been stored away in a bank vault for nearly 50 years captivated collectors and the trade alike at auction.

Jane Bond (b.1939), a costume designer for stage, television and films, started painting portraits especially from the early 1980s onward.

A couple of cat pictures made bidders’ whiskers twitch of late.

A lucernal microscope is a rare survivor.

A group of Victorian rowing memorabilia generated plenty of bidding at Claydon Auctioneers (19.5% buyer’s premium) in Buckinghamshire on June 25-26.

A medal awarded to Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood artist William Holman-Hunt (1827- 1910) has been purchased by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford from dealer Tregeagle Fine Art.

More than 70 lots of paintings, works on paper and antiques assembled by the well-known auctioneer and collector Paul Whitfield (1942- 2018) went under the hammer at Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) in Oxford on May 17.

The professional goldsmith and jewellery designer was not the first woman in such a role but received significant prominence in the Victorian era under her own name

Mallams regained the record for a pot by Jennifer Lee (b.1956) on May 18 when a large asymmetrical vessel from c.1990 sold at £40,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium).

This untitled work from c.1945 by Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) comprises a mahogany relief applied with oil paint. It was offered at Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) of Oxford on May 17-18 as part of its Modern Art & Design sale.

French artist Louis Tesson (1820-70) is best known for his genre paintings in the Middle East and north Africa.