Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Goblet sums up the busy Sigismund
29 September 2025Sigismund III Vasa (1566-1632) was a man of many parts. His father was King John III of Sweden; his mother Catherine was the daughter of King Sigismund I of Poland.
Very different styles of Meissen
29 September 2025Vase and clock produced around the same time nevertheless display significant design variation
Goth’s striking lady makes another auction impact
29 September 2025The distinctive 'Portrait of a Lady' by the Hungarian artist Imre Goth was star of the show at an auction at Mehlis (24% buyer’s premium) in Plauen, Germany.
Art Nouveau 'fishing' vase sells at six times estimate
29 September 2025On numerous occasions, Théodore Deck, who has often been called the father of Art Nouveau ceramics, collaborated with the sculptor and designer Joseph Chéret, brother of the painter and lithographer Jules Chéret.
Mighty mice: Zsolany vase taken to €24,000
29 September 2025In 1896, Vilmós Zsolnay, director of the eponymous ceramics factory in the south-western Hungarian city of Pécs in Hungary, presented his newly invented Eosin lustre glaze at the National Millenium Exhibition in Budapest.
Remarkable family collection takes Munch prints prices to an unprecedented level
22 September 2025Galerie Kornfeld in Bern devoted the evening session at its auction on September 11 to a remarkable collection of prints by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. It was rewarded by some equally remarkable prices.
South America fascinated artist Rugendas, not Grand Tours of Italy
22 September 2025At a time when many of his painter colleagues were drawn to Italy for their artistic inspiration, Johann Moritz Rugendas, who was born in Augsburg in 1802, headed for more distant lands.
Rosenthal rides in with an ostrich
22 September 2025Having produced tableware for over 25 years, the Bavarian porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal established an artistic department in 1908.
Bauhaus chess set brings pieces down to an abstract form
22 September 2025When Martin Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus design school, set out the prerequisites for its products, he reduced it to the formulas ‘practical, enduring, affordable, beautiful’, and ‘form follows function’.
One of just a handful of Meissen Turkish coffee pots comes to auction
22 September 2025An unusual piece of very early Meissen is coming up for sale at Metz in Heidelberg on October 18.
Märklin collectors all fired up for prime pieces from a noble source
22 September 2025Provenance to a noble family and market freshness generate impressive results for rarities
Sizeable Guanyin figure generates large demand
11 August 2025This unusually large giltwood figure of Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of compassion and mercy, attracted numerous bidders to Nagel’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) sale of Asian art on June 6-7 in Stuttgart.
Something in the air tonight: Raynaud eroticism excites bidders
11 August 2025A classic example of fin-de-siècle eroticism caught the eye of several collectors at Hampel (29.5% buyer’s premium) on June 26 in Munich.
Sixteenth century padlock secured by buyer at five figures
11 August 2025Among the bidders’ favourites at the sale of antiques on May 16-23 at Kinsky (30% buyer’s premium) in Vienna was a highly ornate, mid-16th century German or Austrian forged iron padlock with key.
Russian imperial vase salutes crushing naval victory of Navarino
11 August 2025Piece made by St Petersburg factory was produced to mark 1827 allied triumph over Ottoman forces
Items of dress fit for an emperor adorn Vienna saleroom
11 August 2025Even though the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was abolished in 1918, there is still no shortage of nostalgic buyers for memorabilia and relics from the House of Habsburg.
Turkestan textiles take high sums at German auction
11 August 2025Textiles from the nomadic Tekke tribe of Turkestan were highly sought after at Rippon Boswell’s (25% buyer’s premium) May 31 auction in Wiesbaden.
German tropical grandeur embodied in an elaborate pith helmet
11 August 2025When the situation demanded it, German consular officials in the tropics were required to wear a ceremonial helmet.
Miniature portrait of Egyptian scholar bid to 20 times estimate
21 July 2025A watercolour portrait of the 19th century Egyptian scholar Mohammed-el-Chabassy was one of the surprising high points at a recent auction of 16th to 19th century drawings, held by Bassenge (25% buyer’s premium) in Berlin.
Schlemmer estate opens up market after bitter legal dispute
21 July 2025Descendents of Bauhaus artist finally reach settlement allowing first 22 works to come for sale in Cologne