Auctioneers

Alain Lesieutre was one of the dealers and authors who pioneered the revival of interest in Art Nouveau and Deco in the second half of the 20th century.

A tiny 19th century Venetian oil by Frederico del Campo (1837- 1923) went under the hammer for the first time in a century at Catherine Southon (18% buyer’s premium).

“I’m enjoying quite a honeymoon period,” said Mark Law, new joint owner of Dreweatts (24% buyer’s premium). He took on the day-to-day running of the Newbury auction house on May 9 ahead of taking over formally with investor partner Gavin Alexander later this summer.

A carved wood sculpture by William G Simmonds (1876-1968), one of the great forgotten originals of the Cotswolds Arts & Crafts movement, sold for a record £21,000 (estimate £3000-6000) at Mallams Oxford (20% buyer’s premium) on May 25.

Comprising what amounted to a crowded Regency household, fully and elegantly furnished and inhabited by half a dozen bisque or parian dolls, a c.1820 mahogany dolls’ cabinet was the outstanding offering from C&T Auctioneers (18% buyer’s premium) in Tunbridge Wells.

The library of William O’Brien, an Irish-born QC and High Court judge in the Victorian era, sold for a premium-inclusive £2.8m at Sotheby’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on June 7.

ATG's weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

Led by the 17th century Goan hardwood, ivory and bone tabernacle which took a 100-times-estimate £36,000 from a European bidder (see Pick of the Week, ATG No 2294), a recent sale at Chiswick Auctions (22% buyer's premium) also included a tribute to a quintessential Victorian imperial hero – General Gordon.

Featuring more than 70 decorative or historiated initials in full contemporary colour, a fine copy of a Biblia germanica printed by Gunther Zainer of Augsburg in 1475-76 sold for a record €120,000 (£103,450) in a Ketterer Kunst (20% buyer’s premium) sale.

Largely based on three private collections – and helped by the strength of the collectables market – the spring sale of silver and boxes was the best yet for Salisbury auction house Woolley & Wallis (22% buyer’s premium).

“All art is erotic,” remarked the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, one of art’s great womanisers.

Leslie Hindman’s curriculum vitae encapsulates the changing American auction scene across four decades.

A group of five 8in (20cm) William de Morgan (1839-1917) tiles drew lively competitive bids at Cuttlestones in Wolverhampton on June 8.

ATG's weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.