STAR SALES

A games table, Disney celluloid and 19th-century pet portrait all charmed buyers this month

- says Caroline Wheater

1. Conjuring tricks

Estimate £1,000-£1,500 Sold £4,700

When a musical automaton of a conjurer was consigned to Roseberys' Fine & Decorative sale, specialist Jack Wallis knew it would strike a chord.

The piece was amongst 10 automata up for sale that day, and was highly coveted by collectors. The fine quality and subject matter indicate one of the top makers of the 19th century, such as Jean-Marie Phalibois or Marie-Emmanuel Cruchet, who are known to have created automata featuring magicians and tightrope walkers. The turban-clad conjurer performs the classic cups and balls trick, when a ball switches between two cups as if by magic. The golden age of automata was during the 18th and 19th centuries, and one of the most famous examples is the feeding, preening Silver Swan on show at the Bowes Museum in County Durham. The life-size bird was created in 1773 in the London workshop of James Cox, possibly for Emperor Qianlong of China; fortunately, it stayed put and was sold to John Bowes in 1873. See it perform at 2pm every day at the museum. roseberys.co.uk

2. Puppy love Estimate £2,000-£3,000 Sold £9,600