Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Owl drinking vessel will perhaps be a wise purchase
17 March 2025Drinking vessels in the form of an owl were as decorative as they were practical.
Scarce Singer painting emerges at auction
27 January 2025Until the 1990s, Ilona Singer (1905-44) belonged to a forgotten generation of artists whose lives were cut short by the Nazis.
Schlemmer figure hits a new high
27 January 2025A plaster figure by the Bauhaus artist Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943) set a new auction record for one of his sculptures when it was sold by Lempertz (26/20% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.
Tinplate toys take impressive five-figure prices
27 January 2025Well-funded bidders joined the fray at the recent sale of tinplate toys held by Hohenstaufen (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Göppingen. The two top lots were very different but brought equally impressive results.
Marcks makes his mark at four salerooms just a few days apart
27 January 2025Bronze works by the accomplished 20th century sculptor prove to be sought-after purchases
Oppenheimer record set among Expressionist portrait successes
27 January 2025Fellow German artists Beckmann and Dix also starred during auctions held in Vienna and Munich
Wakey wakey with an alarm clock run on gunpowder
13 January 2025An unusual, slightly risky, but highly effective late 17th century alarm clock found a new owner at Dr Crott (25% buyer’s premium) in Mannheim.
Hodler captures the light of Lake Geneva – 18 times in total
13 January 2025Painting sold in Zurich was one of the series of views from the apartment where he spent his last months
Pissarro’s medical bills covered by picture payment plan
13 January 2025Before he devoted himself fully to Impressionism, the French painter Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) created numerous more traditional landscapes, one of which was on offer at Tiberius (27% buyer’s premium) in Vienna.
Sharp competition for Viking relic making rare appearance
13 January 2025Viking artefacts seldom appear at auction and when they do, they cause quite a stir.
Schongauer shows a crozier
13 January 2025The vast majority of the 116 known engravings created by the German artist Martin Schongauer in the second half of the 15th century are depictions of religious scenes or portraits of biblical figures.
Meissen and more from the Pettey collection sits pretty at German auction
30 December 2024Top Meissen pieces amassed by US buyer attract interest worldwide but many will stay in Germany
Gaillard vase flies to over 20 times its guide
30 December 2024A bronze vase by the Parisian goldsmith Lucien Gaillard caused a stir at Dobiaschofsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Bern.
Diptych is auction record for Perugino
09 December 2024Pair of religious panels used as altar sell on low estimate but still result in auction record for the artist
Cham relics from Vietnam sold in Vienna via museum
09 December 2024Two rare artefacts from the ancient Cham people of Vietnam went way above the odds at Zacke (25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna in the auction of October 17-18.
Breguet made a timely intervention at German auction
09 December 2024The 200th auction at specialist clock and watch saleroom Klöter’s (23% buyer’s premium) in Grafenau contained almost 950 timekeepers from all eras.
Modern antiquity: Queen Nefertiti bust from 1930
09 December 2024At Van Ham (27% buyer’s premium) in Cologne on November 12, the auctioneers were overwhelmed with bids when an early 20th century plaster copy of an iconic ancient Egyptian bust came up for sale with a guide of €6000.
Vendor strikes gold with Sèvres plate at auction in Germany
09 December 2024Auction house Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt found fierce international interest for an early 19th century plate from the manufacture in Sèvres.
Unlocated Hans Coper mural rediscovered in German auction
27 November 2024Since 1985, when it was auctioned by Christie’s in London, the exact whereabouts of a major work by the German-born British ceramic artist Hans Coper (1920-81) has been unknown.
Bidders spot the hand of Lavinia Fontana in Cologne auction
19 November 2024Lot number four, estimated at €8000-10,000, achieved the most spectacular result at Van Ham’s (27% buyer’s premium) sale of paintings on November 14 in Cologne.