South-west England

By the 1980s toy action figures were shrinking in size from GI Joe and Action Man proportions to the likes of Action Force and Star Wars.

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.

Edition marked the first time a person of African descent had work published

Dramatically lit above a Windsor armchair, 'Up and Across' by St Ives artist Trevor Bell (1930-2017) is a dynamic work of abstracted shapes in fiery red, browns and gold.

Medals awarded to a recipient who served in three very collectable units sold for £14,000 at British Bespoke Auctions (22/15/12.5% buyer’s premium).

The sale of a Military Cross group of honours at Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer’s premium) of Salisbury marked what is believed to be the first time that the medals of a British prime minister have been offered at auction.

After more than 18 months, 'The Cotswolds Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair' is ready to open its doors again.

Mallams’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Asian art sale was topped at £27,000 (estimate £3000-5000) by a Qing jade double gourd form snuff bottle.

Found in the garden room of a local property among a stack of other pictures, this unsigned oil on canvas had a distinct resemblance to portraits by Allan Ramsay (1713-84).

Updates from two events taking place in the south of England.

Two views of children in flowery fields, both by Scottish artists, were among the works drawing competition at Woolley & Wallis’ (25/12% buyer’s premium).

This small Transitional porcelain vase came for sale at Gardiner Houlgate (22% buyer’s premium) in Corsham, Bath, on July 1.

This 15in (37cm) Sèvres porcelain presentation tazza or ‘Coupe Cybele’ was made for the Paris Exposition 1878.

One of the rarest of all of the 31 car mascots made by Lalique between 1925-31 came up for auction at Kinghams in the Cotswolds.

With their cross-over collecting appeal to the automobile market, Lalique 'bouchons de radiator' – car mascots or hood ornaments – assume their own price levels.

The vast majority of cushion-moulded mirrors from the late 17th century have lost their original cresting, which was both flamboyant and fragile.

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

A set of remarkable wine glasses that had remained in the same family since the 18th century was one of the highlights among quality items in two sales.