Although it was not the best month for Old Masters paintings in London, records were set at Sotheby’s when the Grimani Tables, two 17th-century tables inlaid with precious stones, soared past their conservative estimates of £400,000 to £600,000 and £300,000 to £500,000 to fetch £3m and £1.4m hammer (£3.5m and £1.6m with premium) respectively. The more expensive item set a new auction record for an antique hardstone top table. Bidders were spurred on not just by the finery of the pieces, but also by their impressive provenance—they belonged to the powerful Grimani family of Venice, which produced three doges, until Henry Greville, Earl of Warwick, bought them in 1829. They have remained in the Warwick collection since.