Latest News Articles by Anne Crane
Merkle collection showcases slapstick scenes of the Commedia dell’arte to a Parisian audience
21 October 2024On October 31 Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr of Paris will be holding the second instalment of its dispersal of Meissen porcelain from the collection of Hadrian Merkle.
Full house is always a winner: French château contents sale in detail
21 October 2024Old-fashioned contents sale from a château helped Drouot autumn season kick off with a strong start
Dudley set his sights on sailing
21 October 2024Tajan is to offer a rare early pioneering maritime atlas/encyclopedia in its Paris rooms on November 27.
Painting reveals Thomas Germain silversmith secrets
21 October 2024The star of a recent auction held by Pousse-Cornet (21.8% buyer’s premium inc tax) in Blois was a particularly interesting still-life painting by the artist Alexandre-Francois Desportes (1661-1743).
Watches were doctor’s orders when it came to his collecting
21 October 2024Aguttes (26/23% buyer’s premium) held a 66-lot sale in Neuilly on October 8 of a collection of watches spanning the 17th to 20th centuries formed by a doctor and horological enthusiast.
Autumn signals busy art market
23 September 2024With the Olympics over and the new season well under way, there is plenty of activity in the French art market.
Monet sketchbook draws the eye
23 September 2024Studies include caricature-like portraits which were an early preoccupation of the young artist
Surrealism and tribal in tandem
27 August 2024Themed exhibitions at this year’s Parcours des Mondes link ethnographic art with Surrealist movement
Tibetan statuettes hit heights
22 July 2024Himalayan gilt metal statuettes featured prominently among the best-sellers in several Drouot sales including a number of modestly estimated examples that were pursued to way past their guides.
Drouot’s dozen sales of Asian art produce stand out highlights
22 July 2024Over the course of six days from June 7-14, a dozen sales devoted to the arts of Asia were staged by 11 firms at the Drouot auction centre as part of Printemps Asiatique.
Items of devotion amassed by devoted collector set market test
22 July 2024Dealer Speelman’s own figures and vessels shine among Asian art sales held in Paris
Qianlong vase generates hefty competition in French auction
22 July 2024A long bidding battle took this Qianlong mark and period covered vase to a triple-estimate €230,000 (£194,915) to top Peschetau-Badin’s (30% buyer’s premium inc tax) Asian arts sale on June 13.
Sword ‘linked to the Lion of the Punjab’ takes a £44,000 slice of the action in huge four-day sale
24 June 2024A number of strong performers stood out in a variety of individual pieces offered in Bamfords’ (24.75% buyer’s premium) large four-day auction
How US troops stormed ashore on D-Day with a travel guide
24 June 2024The Ivoire Clermont-Ferrand auction house in France has organised themed sales based around the famous Michelin Guide for 25 years with its specialist Pierre Gabriel Gonzalès.
Collection of devoted fan sets H&R Daniel demand test
17 June 2024Porcelain from the Staffordshire factory takes up half a sale – and it’s just the first part of a huge collection
Chardin still life raises bar for an Old Master in France
13 June 2024Christie’s set a record for any Old Master sold in France when a still-life by Jean Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) made €23m (£19.4m) at an auction in Paris on June 12, selling to a European collector.
Multiple bidders compete for 1939 Michelin Guide used by D-Day forces
12 June 2024The Ivoire Clermont-Ferrand auction house in France has organised themed auctions based around the famous Michelin Guide for 25 years with its specialist Pierre Gabriel Gonzalès.
Vincennes candleholders spark hot contest in Gloucestershire saleroom
10 June 2024Pair of rare and early French examples offered separately create a bidding frenzy despite condition issues
Alfred Jewel made a millennium afterwards points to four figure result
10 June 2024The Alfred Jewel is a famous piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmith craftmanship, a gold-mounted piece of rock crystal enamelled with a portrait of a man and the inscription translating as ‘Alfred ordered me to be made’.
Cartier brooches boast Courtauld provenance
10 June 2024Two Cartier brooches commissioned for Lady Courtauld and presented to her by her husband Sir Stephen Courtauld, with designs inspired by their Eltham Palace home, are up for auction at Dreweatts.