Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Auctioneer Kornfeld’s own collection comes up for sale
30 October 2026Artists’ portfolios prove popular as Swiss auctioneer’s own firm disperses items from his personal library
Early 18th century marble bust sends bidders into a whirl at Viennese auction
28 October 2026A sculpture offered at Dorotheum, attributed to the Venetian sculptor Antonio Corradini, soared to nearly 100-times estimate in Austria.
Model of 1878 tethered balloon rises to €l8,000 hammer
16 October 2026One of the biggest attractions at the Exposition Universelle, held in Paris in 1878, was Le Grand Ballon Captif, a huge tethered balloon, constructed by Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard, a pioneer of airship travel.
Candelabra marked a Victorian royal match
16 October 2026A pair of monumental silver candelabra with a royal provenance is going under the hammer at German auction house Wendl on October 28-31.
Viennese longcase clock ticks the boxes for Berlin auction buyer
16 October 2026No self-respecting clock enthusiast was going to let an early 19th century precision longcase clock get away for the guide of €1000 in an auction held by Historia (27% buyer’s premium) in Berlin.
Not going into battle: a different Albrecht in subject matter
16 October 2026The Bavarian artist Adam Albrecht (1786-1862), head of a family of successful painters, was known primarily for his depictions of battles, several of which he had experienced first-hand.
'Great tremor' sculpture by Basque artist causes a stir in Swiss auction house
16 October 2026Chillida and Giacometti compositions are sought after by bidders
Previously undocumented early Lindig coffee pot emerges to sell in Plauen
16 October 2026An early ceramic work by Otto Lindig was one of the stars at a recent sale at Mehlis (24% buyer’s premium) in Plauen.
Bidders Ruysch in to buy rare work by 17th century woman artist
09 October 2026Paintings by the Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch seldom make it to market and when they do, regularly command six-figure and on occasions even seven-figure prices.
From the railway platform to the auction room: station collectables are snapped up at German auction
09 October 2026Vending machine and music box could once be found on railway station platforms to serve passengers
Replica calculator adds up to a €50,000 auction sum
09 October 2026Since 1925 the Deutsches Museum in Munich has been exhibiting a complex and highly decorated 18th century calculating machine that bears the inscription Braun Invenit – Vayringe Fecit.
Belgian designer and architect's Weimar designs come to German auction
09 October 2026The multi-talented Belgian designer and architect Henry van de Velde spent many of his most productive years in the east German city of Weimar, where he lived and worked from 1899-1917.
Hildebrandt picture inspired by Brazil triples estimate
09 October 2026Although he was rejected by the Berlin art academy, Eduard Hildebrandt, who was born in Danzig in 1818, went on to become one of the most celebrated landscape painters of his time. He was without doubt one of the most widely travelled.
Sale stands as a fitting testimony to discerning taste of the Ducrets, father and son
09 October 2026A family collection of faience ceramics attracted worldwide interest at auction in Zurich
Bellotto view of Vienna’s Karlskirche emerges at Dorotheum
30 September 2026A previously unpublished painting, only recently discovered in an Austrian private collection, promises to be one of the high points at Dorotheum’s upcoming auction of Old Masters in Vienna.
Auction results for John Smart trio in Germany are a sign of the times
11 September 2026Portrait miniatures by the renowned British artist face a different and difficult modern mindset
Final toast to Neumeister firm: last auction ahead of autumn closure
11 September 2026Neumeister (25% buyer’s premium), a stalwart of the German auction market, held its last auction in Munich this summer.
Clock dating back to 1584 takes five figure sum in German auction
11 September 2026For over 300 years, 12 generations of the Liechti family in the northern Swiss town of Winterthur built clocks.
Gilbert blossomed growing in his own way
11 September 2026In retrospect, it was a blessing for Victor-Gabriel Gilbert (1847-1935) that his parents did not have the money to finance his training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Battleship and trains in Bavarian auction spotlight
11 September 2026Toy specialist Lankes (25% buyer’s premium) in the small Bavarian town of Döhlau could harvest a bumper crop of good results during its sale of July 20-24.