1) Mother’s portrait of her son proves £100,000 sleeper at Colchester sale
A portrait of a young boy in profile drew spectacular bidding at the latest sale held by Reeman Dansie of Colchester.
2) ‘Lockdown locket’ of Henry III could go home to France
A ‘lockdown locket’ discovered at a regional auction house has been identified as depicting Henri III, King of France (1551-89) by portrait miniature consultant Emma Rutherford at dealership Philip Mould.
3) Sandro Botticelli portrait takes $80m at Sotheby’s Old Master auction in New York
A portrait by Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510) sold for $80m (£58.4m) at Sotheby’s in New York. With fees the price was $92.2m.
4) Victorian kidney-shaped desk is among five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes
ATG’s selection of hammer highlights includes a Victorian walnut and tulipwood kidney-form desk that made over five-times estimate.
5) Rare George III watch barred from leaving country in hope it can be bought by a UK buyer
A £2m pocket watch once owned by George III has been temporarily blocked from export to give a UK institution the chance to purchase it.
This list is based on unique users for individual news stories over the period January 28-February 3, 2021.