Buried treasure

From topless staddle stones outperforming complete ones to two versions of the same desk selling on the same day 212 miles apart, bizarre occurrences are par for the course at contents sales

A pound of flesh NEVER was an ...

PAINTING NOSTALGIA Artist Polly Mabel Nicolaou creates ...

Armigers from the Tudor and Stuart era had their moment last month, with a seal ring linked to Royal Exchange founder Sir Thomas Gresham and a ruffler once owned by philanthropist Sir Edwin Rich causing a stir at auction

Online galleries have transformed how we discover and collect pieces – these platforms offer a curated selection that’s just a click away

Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro spent time in London, but it took James McNeill Whistler to act as artistic bridge with Britain and the ‘sweetened’ Impressionism of Jules Bastien-Lepage to inspire most homegrown painters, says Caroline Bugler