News

Christie’s, Blanche B. Exstein Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, March 21: Snuff bottles may not be to every collector’s taste, but Christie’s Blanche B. Exstein Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles achieved that rarest of auction phenomena: a 100 per cent sell-out by lot and by value.

In a much longer review that appeared in a recent issue of The Bookdealer, John Collins of Maggs Bros warned that it is “always difficult reviewing a collection of essays; each really needs its own review, so one has to steel one’s heart, and gallop through”.

There were auction highs and lows during New York’s March Asia week that saw Sotheby’s (20/15/10% buyer’s premium) and Christie’s (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) hosting eight sales in four days, from March 19-22.

THE names of two women artists, one very well known, the other undeservedly obscure, provided talking points at two provincial sales in March.

FRANCE: FROM June 6 to 9 the inaugural Le Salon du XXeme Siecle (20th Century Design Show) will be launched at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Paris in late March held various attractions for art lovers outside the saleroom. Europ’Art, a new contemporary art salon (March 14-17), attracted 200 artists from 18 countries (40 of them from ‘guest nation’ Israel). The International Paris Print Fair (March 22-25) assembled 30 exhibitors from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK (Elizabeth Harvey-Lee, Flowers Graphics, Garton & Co, Sims Reed, and William Weston).

The Doulton Lambeth Wares by Desmond Eyles, revised by Louise Irvine, published by Richard Dennis Publications, The Old Chapel, Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset, TA19 0LE. ISBN 090368579 £60 hb.