1) Jobs to be cut across the big London auction firms
Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams are all undertaking rounds of redundancies.
Sotheby's is currently undergoing a 'consultation period' with staff based in its London headquarters.
2) Star Wars figure becomes most expensive vintage toy
A missile-firing 1979 Star Wars Boba Fett action figure was launched into the record books after selling for $525,000 (£411,000) at Heritage Auctions in the US.
The 1979 Boba Fett action figure sold for $525,000 (£411,000) at Heritage Auctions.
3) De Pinna cup to finally appear for sale after scientific testing
At the third time of asking, an enigmatic Elizabethan style silver and porcelain goblet will finally be offered at auction this month.
The de Pinna cup, a previously unrecorded unmarked silver mounted Chinese porcelain bowl with mounts dated to c.1580-1600. It is estimated £6000-8000 at Chiswick Auctions.
4) Sale of Maradona Ballon d’Or halted over ownership dispute
The auction of Diego Maradona’s 1986 Ballon d’Or trophy has been suspended following a dispute over its ownership.
The Golden Ball is in the style of the ‘Azteca’ match ball used in the 1986 World Cup.
Image copyright: Aguttes/Yann Vernerie
5) Portrait of doomed naval commander makes second highest auction price for Oswald Birley
Just three crew members survived out of 1418 after HMS Hood was sunk on May 24, 1941, after a ferocious and brief exchange of gunfire with German battleship Bismarck.
Sir Oswald Birley's portrait of HMS Hood commander Ralph Kerr, 1943, sold for £36,000 at Dawsons.
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