Dorset

This Qing bronze fragment measuring a substantial 19in (47cm) across was once part of a magnificent sculpture of a crane that adorned an imperial palace.

The outstanding jade offered in the regions in the October-December period was this pale celadon teapot and cover that came for sale at Duke’s in Dorchester on December 8 from a Dutch private collection where it had been since the 1980s.

Brass and steel ‘combination’ or ‘puzzle’ boxes enjoyed a vogue in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Many of the unsung British heroes of both world wars served in the royal and merchant navies carrying and protecting supplies to Russia or the USSR.

The Anglo-Croatian sculptor Oscar Nemon (1906-85) first met Sir Winston Churchill when holidaying in Marrakech in 1951.

Among the book lots offered as part of an October 7-8 sale at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) the earliest was a Burgundian ‘Hours of the Virgin’ manuscript.

In 2010 The National Gallery held the first exhibition of works by Frederick Cayley Robinson (1862-1927) in the UK for 30 years.

Emile Berliner (1851-1921), a German clerk in a Washington DC haberdashery, is credited with inventing both the first commercially successful disc record and the first machine to play it.

A Paula Rego (b.1935) print was among the works bringing interest at a charity sale held by Dorchester saleroom Duke’s to support a disability centre.

Duke’s sale in Dorchester on November 25 includes this pair of Yongzheng period (1723-35) famille rose fish bowls.

Celebrating the county’s history, literature and its arts and crafts, an inaugural Dorset Auction was held in Dorchester by Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium).

A legal dispute that explored how long it is ‘fair and reasonable’ to wait for a buyer to pay for a six-figure purchase has concluded.

Only a handful of companies have created products with sufficient impact that their brand names become generic descriptions for objects of their type.

A tinplate model of the Alfa Romeo P2 sped past a £500-1000 estimate to take £4600 at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) auction in Dorchester.

Semley (22% buyer’s premium) earlier this summer sold this portrait of a young boy in profile by Maurice William Greiffenhagen (1862- 1931).

On a single day in 1919 the Imperial German Navy achieved the impressive feat of sinking 52 vessels. Unfortunately, they were its own ships.

This 6½in (16cm) Irish silver gilt chalice dating from c.1480 is a rare survival from before the Reformation.

Works by the Zinkeisen sisters continue to bring demand at auctions around the country.

Dorset auction house Duke’s is creating a heritage and valuations division and has hired a former surveyor of The Queen’s Works of Art to form the new team.

Former Edinburgh Woollen Mill turned into antiques market with more than 40 dealers