Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Trotain silver box sails in to Munich saleroom
18 November 2024Between 1923, when he opened his workshop and 1935, the year he dissolved his company, the French goldsmith Jean Trotain primarily produced vanity cases and cigarette boxes for many of the most prominent designers of the Art Deco era.
First die-cast Leica camera comes up
18 November 2024The first-ever Leica die-cast camera, dating to 1933-34 and created by the Oskar Barnack, the father of modern 35mm photography, appeared as a landmark lot in the sixth sale from Wetzlar Camera Auctions (21.01% buyer’s premium) - held in the hometown of the manufacturer.
Restituted Blechen mills flow finally to a saleroom
18 November 2024When he was 24, Carl Blechen abandoned his intended profession as a banker and devoted himself to painting.
From satire to satyr in Zurich
18 November 2024Old Master and Daumier artwork, bronze figure and Italian porcelain all on offer over three days
Electric train sparks bidding battle
18 November 2024Star of the show at Auktionhaus Heilbronn’s (21.7% buyer’s premium) latest sale of tinplate toys was a rare three-carriage Märklin train from the Rheinuferbahn, the line from Cologne and Bonn along the banks of the Rhine.
‘Mallet’ vase ready for hammer time
18 November 2024Among the attractions at Nagel’s auction of Asian art on December 9 in Stuttgart is a blue and white imperial vase from the Kangxi period (1662-1722).
Cunard sign shows bouyant market in Germany
11 November 2024A rare enamel advertising sign in almost perfect condition was the biggest eye-catcher at the recent dedicated sale held by specialist Pari (20% buyer’s premium) in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg.
The €60,000 Breguet with complications
11 November 2024An early pocket watch by Abraham Louis Breguet with the low serial number 104 was one of the highlights of a recent watch sale at Cortrie (21% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg.
Fierce foursome: drawings show talent and power of Tiepolo junior
04 November 2024Like his younger brother Lorenzo, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) learnt his art in the studio of his father Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Small tower clock rose out of Augsburg
04 November 2024For many decades, from the middle of the 16th century, the south German city of Augsburg was, alongside Nuremberg, the leading clockmaking centre in Germany.
'Chapel lock' secures four-figure result in Munich
04 November 2024From the 14th century onwards, locksmith guilds were well established in major cities throughout Europe.
Cabinet sold by order of Stalin nearly a century ago, now back at auction
04 November 2024Mid-17th century piece of furniture bought in a Berlin saleroom in 1928 sells again in the German capital
Francken's Triumph of Love comes to Munich saleroom
04 November 2024Around 1621, the Flemish painter Frans Francken II created a type of Who’s Who of mythological couples, when he painted his 20in x 2ft 1in (50 x 64cm) 'Triumph of Love' on a copper panel.
Royal clockmaker’s revolutionary turn
04 November 2024In the 18th century, it was common practice for English watchmakers to spend several years in Paris where they were able to learn from the greatest craftsmen of the day, before returning home.
Nerly brings Venetian grandeur, intrigue – and snow – to a Cologne auction
14 October 2024On October 26, Cologne saleroom Lempertz is holding a sale in Berlin devoted to the collection of some 100 paintings amassed by a German connoisseur from the 1980s onwards.
Five upcoming auction highlights in Germany
14 October 2024Our selection of lots from five sales taking place in Germany this season
Rozenburg porcelain gets to the art of the matter and Zsolnay hits its peak
07 October 2024Among the hundreds of new products launched at the Exposition Universelle in 1900 was the so-called eggshell porcelain, produced by the Rozenburg Royal Delftware Factory in the Hague.
Celebrated Swiss auctioneer Kornfeld’s own collection offered on the rostrum
07 October 2024Items amassed by the late Eberhard Kornfeld feature in bumper series of five sales at the firm he ran
Seven-figure successes help celebrate saleroom 70-year anniversary
19 August 2024This year, Munich auction house Ketterer (32/27/22% buyer’s premium) is marking its 70th anniversary and the evening sale provided plenty of opportunities for celebration.
Sketch sourced from Austrian castle captures Cairo terror in Napoleonic era
19 August 2024Viennese auction house Tiberius (27% buyer’s premium) recently sold the inventory of Laudon Castle, a privately owned, moated baroque residence on the outskirts of the Austrian capital.