Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Freeform table flies past estimate to take €75,000
08 June 2020A freeform table from the 1950s was the surprise winner at the design sale of Schops Turowski (23% buyer’s premium) in Krefeld on May 9.
Nagel to offer Johann Heinrich von Dannecker terracotta model for clock case
08 June 2020In his day, Johann Heinrich von Dannecker was one of the most prominent German Neoclassical sculptors. He was born as the son of a stable-hand to the Duke of Württemberg, but went on to become the duke’s court sculptor.
German collector wins battle for portrait of Johannes Draconites in Bavaria
08 June 2020A portrait of a 16th century Protestant theologian and reformer surfaced at a sale at Ginhart (23% buyer’s premium) in Tegernsee, some 35 miles south of the Bavarian capital Munich.
Toyoharu’s powers of perspective evident from album offered in Zurich
08 June 2020While the Japanese woodblock print artist Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764) is credited with the first use of one-point perspective in the depiction of interior spaces, a technique previously known only in Western art, his colleague Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814) achieved even greater fame when he mastered the creation of perspective prints of outdoor scenes, known as Uki-e.
Descendants win fight for justice for Carl Spitzweg painting
08 June 2020Painting went through lengthy ownership saga before being returned to family and then sold.
Gods adorn Moscow tankard offered in Vienna
08 June 2020A veritable pantheon of Greek gods adorns this partly gilt silver tankard which is coming up for sale in an auction at Im Kinsky in Vienna on June 23-25.
Bronze figures representing rivers by Bernini’s pupils bring strong bidding in Lower Saxony
08 June 2020One of the central attractions in Rome is the Piazza Navona and the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). It was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1650 at the behest of Pope Innocent X.
Chinese table clock combining Western and Oriental features offered at Hanover sale
11 May 2020For centuries, China was a rewarding market for European clock and watchmakers who created extravagant timepieces for their Oriental clientele.
Artist of reverse still life painting revealed in Munich sale
11 May 2020Among the interesting lots sold at Scheublein (26% buyer’s premium), in Munich on April 24 (a sale originally scheduled for March 20), was a 'Still Life with Basket of Fruit and Flowers'.
Danish collectors' eclectic items come to auction in Cologne
11 May 2020Over nearly four decades, a collector in Copenhagen acquired works of art to furnish and decorate a patrician residence in the Danish capital. Part of his eclectic collection is on sale at Lempertz in Cologne on May 29-30.
Canaletto influence lifts William James' Venetian scene
11 May 2020Work thought to be by studio assistant is regarded as accessible alternative to famous master
Musical box suitable for a big noise comes to auction
11 May 2020As a rule, musical boxes, which were the favoured mode of reproducing music by mechanical means in the salons of Europe and the US during the 19th century, were more or less portable mechanisms.
Teacher carved out career as a sculptor
11 May 2020Anyone walking past the Palais de Chaillot in Paris may have noticed a large sculpture of an architect on the edifice of the north wing. It is the work of the French artist Jean-René Debarre who was born in 1907.
Small piece of furniture attracts high level of interest at German auction
11 May 2020Several surprising prices emerged at Geble (19% buyer’s premium) in Radolfzell on Lake Constance on April 25.
Robe became magical prop in Paris before auction in Munich
11 May 2020This late 19th century surcoat or longgua, finely embroidered in silk and gold thread with eight dragon roundels, was originally worn by a high-ranking woman at the Chinese Imperial court.
From king to maharaja: Cartier watch with a British royal connection sells in Hamburg
20 April 2020A luxurious watch with a British royal connection went under the hammer last month at Cortrie (20% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg.
Israels lights up at Wendl
20 April 2020'Portrait of a Young Girl with a Cigarette' was a high-flyer in a sale at Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt held before open auctions were prohibited by the German authorities.
German auctions: An upbeat mood in changing times
13 April 2020Despite the inevitable restrictions German auction houses are generally adapting well
Elizabethan silver makes rare appearance in Swiss auction
12 March 2020Elizabethan silver rarely appears at auctions in continental Europe, so an upcoming collection being offered for sale at Koller in Zurich is something of a special occasion.
Burning question from Charles Dickens
02 March 2020One of the many memorable scenes in Charles Dickens’ 'Bleak House' was the portrayal of the apparent spontaneous combustion of Mr Krook, leaving “the cinder of a small charred and broken log of wood sprinkled with white ashes”.