Auction

At a rare and remarkable auction, the royal palaces of Europe offer up their treasures in a sale which includes a singing clock made for the Empress Josephine. Leading independent auctioneer Charles Miller, who specializes in marine sales, auctions off some naval treasures such as a snuff box made from the timbers of HMS Victory, Nelson's Famous Flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar.

The best of twentieth century design goes under the hammer in Paris. This unique collection includes a ‘ski chair’ made for the Maharaja of Indore in 1929 which may fetch over £2 million. In London, a portrait of Debbie Harry by Andy Warhol is one of the highlights of a modern art auction. And, sixty years on, a sketch portrait of The Queen at the Derby is attracting a lot of interest.

After years in the wilderness, the work of the British artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema is in demand. In New York, his painting of Antony and Cleopatra has an upper estimate of $6 million, but will two very determined bidders raise the price?  In Edinburgh, a table designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh should make £20,000. But will the fact that it’s been in someone’s garden lower the price?

The world comes to the quaint English county of Wiltshire for a teapot. But this is no ordinary teapot. It’s from the Qianlong dynasty, made from a single block of jade and is expected to fetch over £300,000, reflecting the prices being paid by Asian bidders anxious to buy back their heritage. And in London, Victorian Impressionist paintings are on offer, including an unusual work by Edward Seago.

The bids are frenzied as the world’s biggest (and most expensive) jewelry box comes under the hammer. It was made for the Exposition Universelle in Paris in the nineteenth century and could fetch more than half a million pounds. And in London, the Chicago gangster Al Capone’s revolver comes up for sale. But will the buyer get enough bang for their buck?

Would you pay over a million pounds for a chandelier? Perhaps, if you knew about its royal connections and the fact that it was once owned by the French couturier Hubert de Givenchy. It’s part of a sale in London of exceptional pieces from the great houses of Europe. Elsewhere a sketch by Michelangelo for a painting that was never completed is up for sale. But how much will it fetch?

One of Britain’s most important private art collections is up for sale. Assembled by the solicitor Wilfrid Evill, it includes work by his friend and client, the artist Stanley Spencer. In Salisbury, clocks made for high-end store Liberty in the Arts and Crafts style are attracting intense interest. In Scotland, the sale of the contents of Kinross House unearths some unexpected items.

In the nineteenth century, to prevent their destruction, legendary artist Monet purchased a row of Poplar trees that he desperately wanted to paint. Now his painting of the Poplars near Giverny is up for sale in New York. But what will it make? In London, a stunning sculpture of Berenice, carved from a single block of marble by Ambrogio Borghi, may fetch £400,000.

In London, the writer, former politician and now amateur auctioneer Jeffrey Archer is holding a charity sale. He’s selling off everything from the watch used when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier in 1954, to Mrs Thatcher’s handbag. But will it fetch the estimated £100,000? Elsewhere, the German artist Gerhard Richter confirms his position as a star of the saleroom.

Was George Stubbs the greatest horse painter of all time? That’s what the auctioneers in London believe. They’re asking £20 million for his portrait of Gimcrack at Newmarket. In Geneva, the most important emerald and diamond tiara to come to the market for 30 years has an upper estimate of $10 million. And tables made for the new Liberty department store in 1928 are up for sale in Edinburgh.