Auction

A new series opens with bidders shuttling between Sotheby's and Christie's in New York for the annual May sales of post-war and contemporary art.

At Sotheby's in London two ancient Scottish families are having a clear-out. Their treasures include a sword said to have been used at the Battle of Culloden.

A mega sale by Christie's of contemporary art includes a work by Peter Doig originally bought for \u163\'5f15,000. What will it fetch now? Plus, a rare Rothko goes under the hammer.

In London, Ingles and Hayday are selling a rare Stradivarius violin. Meanwhile at Sotheby's, masterpieces by Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and Jean Dubuffet are auctioned.

At Sotheby's in New York an 1897 painting by Gustav Klimt has surfaced after years in a private collection. Plus a work from the later years of Renoir is auctioned.

In a sale at Bonham's, there are swords from the English Civil War and letters revealing the extent of the love affair between David Ormsby-Gore and Jackie Kennedy.

In London, Christie's auction Francesco Guardi's Rialto Bridge painting, while Sotheby's are selling Turner's view of the fortress at Ehrenbreitstein, valued at \u163\'5f15million.

The marble lions from the tomb of Charles V of France are being sold at Christie's, while an exquisite Johann Christian Neuber snuff box comes under the hammer at Sotheby's.

Paintings by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and Spanish surrealist Joan Miro go under the hammer in London.

A packed saleroom at Christie's in London sees record prices paid for ancient treasures including a bronze dirk, an Etruscan mirror and a lion's head carved from granite.