STAR SALES

A letter from Scott of the Antarctic and a Beatrix Potter painting are among the recent lots that caught Caroline Wheater's eye

- Caroline Wheater

1. Brontë discovery

Estimate £15,000-£20,000 Sold £32,000+BP

An evocative, delicate watercolour, The North Wind, came from the brush of free spirit Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights and one-third of the world-famous Brontë Sisters. It was consigned to Forum Auctions' Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper sale, and research revealed an interesting provenance. This painting dates from 1842, when Emily (then 24) and Charlotte (26) were enrolled in drawing lessons at a Brussels school, Pensionnat Heger. Emily may have left it behind or given it to the Hegers as a memento, but it stayed in the family for several generations before being gifted to someone else. Setting an estimate was a challenge, as the managing director of Forum, Rupert Powell, explains: 'We found no auction records for drawings or watercolours by Emily Brontë, but used precedent of equivalent drawings from Charlotte Brontë to help gauge the price. Drawings and paintings by Emily are extremely rare, and a full watercolour is especially desirable.' The watercolour's title is thought to reference poems by Emily and Anne Brontë, where a captive girl welcomes the cold as it recalls her native mountains – or, for Emily, the adored Pennine moors that surrounded their house in Haworth, Yorkshire. A dealer bidding on behalf of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth won the watercolour, bringing it home. forumauctions.co.uk

2. Dynamic gems

Estimate £2,000-£3,000

Sold £8,450