A ‘lost’ landscape by JMW Turner (1775-1851), thought to be the first oil painting the artist ever exhibited, sold for £1.5m at Sotheby’s latest Old Master evening sale. Depicting a former hot spa in ...

An extraordinary Elizabethan swagger portrait drew dramatic competition at Bonhams’ latest Old Master sale. The three-quarter-length painting of the opulently dressed Sir Edward Monins of Waldershare ...

"In their view, we Londoners know little about God, and nothing about pottery". Royal Doulton's rise from London makers of domestic stonewares to an internationally-recognised Staffordshire Potteries ...

Lowestoft Porcelain. The East Anglian fishing port of Lowestoft, set far away from the other centres of 18th century porcelain production like London, Staffordshire or Liverpool, began producing ...

The years between the loss of the American colonies and George IV’s death in 1830 were the golden age for single-sheet political caricatures – bracketing the careers of two giants of the genre, James ...

By 1897, the antiquarian Albert Hartshorne had published Old English Glasses: An account of glass drinking vessels in England, from early times to the end of the eighteenth century.This seminal work ...

British studio pottery moved into new financial territory at the end of June with the sale of a vase by Dame Magdalene Odundo (b.1950) for £570,000. The price is not just an auction high for a living ...

Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu (1917-94) is sometimes described as ‘the first African artist to gain international recognition in the modern art world’. He was dubbed ‘Africas greatest contemporary ...

Islamic brass bowl ‘sleeper’ stars in our pick of five auction highlights. ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a possible 14th century Islamic brass bowl that made over ...

When they first came into use in the 1830s, friction matches were hazardous and could combust without warning, so vesta cases were something of a necessity. But as their production became more ...

A painting by Canaletto (1697-1768) once owned by the first British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole sold for £27.5m at Christie’s latest Old Master evening sale.

Longcase Clocks. The longcase clock, also known as the grandfather clock after the popular Victorian song, was the product of two pan-European horological breakthroughs of the late 1650s – the ...