UK

Despite their small size and often unsophisticated appearance, Lowestoft models of animals are highly collectable.

A pair of trademark gouaches by Mary Fedden (1915-2012) drew strong bidding at auctions in Derbyshire and Essex.

Early children’s books, many from a single collection formed by the late Mary Joy Sanger, provided a principal attraction in a February 27 sale held in Penzance by David Lay (18% buyer’s premium).

Collecting traditional English ceramics is still a popular pursuit on both sides of the Atlantic – but one where purchases are always tailored to fit the purse strings of the core collecting audience.

The contents of a country house near Tetbury yielded many of the better lots in a Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Prinknash Abbey which included a garniture of three Pinxton porcelain bough pots.

British portraiture with pedigree provided plenty of action in a strong sale of pictures at Cheffins (22.5% buyer’s premium) of Cambridge.

An 80-lot James Bond collection offeredin a recent Lincolnshire sale had been formed over a 40-year period.

Art market experts are calling for the trade to tackle the widely reported claim that the sector is unregulated, made by a defendant in a $50m international money-laundering case.

London auctioneer Roseberys is to offer a previously unpublished sketch by John Constable on March 21.

A long-running dispute over the export of an important Old Master painting from Portugal has finally been settled after authorities ended an attempt to have the work repatriated.

Paul Comolera (1818-97) was one of a series of prominent sculptors who travelled to work in Stoke-on-Trent at a time of political upheaval in France.

LAPADA, the Association of Art & Antiques Dealers, has appointed a former head of the Chelsea Flower Show as its new fairs and events director.