Swan Fine Art Auctioneers

Demonstrating the continued interest in pocket watches by most renowned English makers, two Georgian watches, one signed for Thomas Earnshaw and the other for Thomas Mudge, achieved strong results for regional salerooms on the same day in March.

Creative examples featured in recent UK auctions show the influence of religion and culture on the Manchu rulers of the Qing

The sale at Swan Fine Art (21% buyer’s premium) in Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, on August 11-12 included two Irish ‘freedom’ boxes, c.1775.

A 1926 London Transport poster with artwork by Montague Birrell Black (1889-1964) imagining what the capital may look 100 years into the future was offered at Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Woking on January 21.

It was catalogued as 18th or 19th century but this 2½ x 3½in (6 x 8.5cm) ivory plaque was more probably a product of medieval Christendom.

The sale held by Swan Fine Art (20% buyer’s premium) in Tetsworth on May 6 included a fine-quality ventriloquist’s doll, c.1930.