A Marquise cut 4.10-carat Bvlgari diamond ring (lot 80) is bound to flabbergast auction goers for its beauty and quality at Philips Auctions timed online Prestige Modern & Antique Jewellery auction which ends from 12pm Monday May 24 at 47 Glenferrie Road, Malvern.

The diamond carries a $90,000-$140,000 catalogue estimate and is the most valuable item in the sale.

Chinese antiquities such as a rare 19^th century late Qing dynasty cinnabar lacquer table screen (lot 23) are among the higher value items at Melbourne-based Gibson’s Auctions forthcoming Autumn Auction Series sale from 11am Sunday May 16 at 885-889 High Street, Armadale.

To anyone who has never been to Venice, Australian artist Arthur Streeton’s (1867-1943) painting The Grand Canal, 1908 is a marvellous almost lifelike portrayal of waterways, gondolas and orange stepped terracotta tiled roofs from the lofty heights of Palazzo Foscari.

So good is the work that experts place it alongside paintings of the same subject by such international greats as French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) and 18^th century Venice School Italian Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768) – commonly known as Canaletto.

Australian artist Fred Williams (1927-1982) is one of the highlights at Melbourne-based Gibson’s Auctions forthcoming Australian & International Art auction from 2pm Sunday April 18 at 885-889 High Street, Armadale.

The work on offer, a 1968 gouache on paper entitled Desert Landscape (lot 14) with a solid provenance and part of his 2011 National Gallery of Australia exhibition called Infinite Horizons, while nowhere near the money paid for one of his major paintings still has a healthy $30,000-$50,000 catalogue estimate.