Salisbury

Before independence in 1947, the Naga hill tribes of north-east India were considered an exotic society, radically different in culture and beliefs from the better-known Hindu peoples of the plains and renowned for their fierce resistance to British rule.

A Cartier Egyptian revival jewel, previously known only from an advert that appeared in The Illustrated London News in the 1920s, sold for £55,000 at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium).

Two English Delftware plates, described on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow a decade ago as “as rare as you can get”, went under the hammer at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium) on February 5.

Salisbury saleroom holds specialist offering staged as part of a three-day sale as demand increases

The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on February 19 included this striking tribal mask from central Africa.

A rare visitor to the auction room came in the form of this pocket-sized Victorian sand picture book.

Sir Bruno Welby (b.1928), a member of both the English Ceramic Circle and the French Porcelain Society, has bought European porcelain since the 1950s.

The Sir Bruno Welby collection (see main story in this edition) sold at Woolley & Wallis shone the spotlight on two familiar names from the early English porcelain literature: Jefferyes Hamett O’Neale (1719/20-97) and Fidelle Duvivier (1740-after 1796).

On February 6 Woolley & Wallis is selling the Sir Bruno Welby collection of European porcelain. Estimates across 350 lots cover an affordable range from £50 to £2500 with the group as a whole expected to fetch around £100,000.

The silver sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on February 4-5 includes this Indian silver inkstand by Hamilton & Co.

Some strong bids were achieved in 2024 for the best of the Della Robbia Pottery but none higher than the £14,000 tendered at Woolley & Wallis (plus 26% buyer’s premium) for a large plaque by Cassandra Annie Walker.

This oak panelled back armchair can be firmly dated to the Commonwealth period.

Portrait of artist's wife stands out among works by more famous names in Salisbury saleroom

A forgotten moment from the engaging story of the Martin family of potters is told through a teapot sold at Woolley & Wallis’ British Art Pottery & Design auction on December 3.

Although the size of the collecting audience is changing - and the arrival or departure of just one or two committed buyers can make a significant difference to prices - British provincial wares can command decent prices.

In his magnus opus Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, 1883, Thomas Holbein Hendley (1847-1917) documents what he called “a new and most interesting style of engraved silver plate developed in Alwar”.