Star sales

British eccentricity at its best shone in a series of sales earlier this year that encompassed a fruitwood hand holding an apple, two puzzle pipes and an unusual wooden snuffbox inset with bone panels

Camels and souks , Jerusalem and Petra are once again capturing people’s imagination, as a crop of sales earlier in the spring demonstrates

H&H CLASSICS, BUXTON. 21 MAY

AUCTION REVIEW CHARTERHOUSE, MORETONHAMPSTEAD MOTOR MUSEUM. 16 MAY

Collectors who hunt new pieces must create space for them and others must downsize, which is why the past month saw two sales of distinguished possessions

When I was very little – two-and-a-half or three years old – I was given a rabbit fur suit; an all-in-one with a hood. I have a photograph of me wearing it. The photo is very old and worn now, and the