A story to savour

Silverware, with its glistering surface and ornate designs, dresses the table like no other material and has an unmatched capacity for turning a meal into an occasion, as Matthew Dennison discovers

A sale of Modern British Art earlier this year brimmed with the kind of wonderful works that auctioneers find a little heart-wrenching to let go, including a Waterfall full of wild windiness by Sir Kyffin Williams

Sèvres made the exquisite porcelain plates now belonging to collector and scarf designer Rory Hutton, but it’s the wittiest of Irish playwrights that encouraged him to use them

Fans of the leading British artist David Hockney will know how much he doted on his pet dachshunds. Sold at Phillips last autumn, Little Stanley Sleeping was a poster made for the show ‘David Hockney:

Chess sets and backgammon boards are a familiar sight on drawing-room tables, but one expert Highland woodworker is refashioning their forms in beautiful new ways, writes Mary Miers

Still Life Flowers in a Jug at Charleston, ...