Auctioneers

The 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, aka the Dunkirk evacuation in May-June 1940, has been in the headlines recently. However, less well known is the fate of the British 51st Highland Division almost 100 miles further along the French coast.

Harry Potter first deemed too scruffy by a public library brings a spellbinding result

The move towards online auctions during the lockdown has not led to the disappearance of intense bidding battles, as witnessed with a number of works at the Daniel Katz auction (see main report) and earlier at the Rafael Valls sale (see ATG No 2440).

US auction house Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) reported record levels of participation at its latest American & European Works of Art sale.

An American collector bought this original Second World War RAF ensign flag at a recent East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium).

An ancient writing tablet made famous by Yuval Noah Harari in his bestseller 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' comes for auction in London next month.

In 1765 the engineer and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) visited Paris, where he observed first-hand the workshops of bronziers and the wares that were proving hugely popular with Georgian Britain’s elite.

Over a century old, Cartier’s most famous watch is seemingly ubiquitous on the market. But pre-war examples of the Tank are scarcer than one might imagine.

The Heuer Monaco, the world’s first automatic chronograph with a square case, was launched at the Basel fair in 1969 with the retail price set at $200.

As the implementation of the Ivory Act 2018 draws closer, it is approaching closing time at the last-chance saloon for UK owners who wish to monetise Art Deco chryselephantine sculpture.

Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) reported a cumulative total of €5.4m for the five online sales it held over two weeks in mid May through to early June. The initiative attracted new buyers, said the auction house, with 35% in the jewellery sale and 27% in the Contemporary art auction.

This ‘pre-Moon’ Omega Speedmaster purchased new in Berlin in 1960, came for sale at Aston’s (24% buyer’s premium) in Dudley on June 11.

Originally scheduled for the end of March, an ‘African Americana’ sale planned by Swann Galleries (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) was postponed until May 7, when it was successfully sold online with almost 90% of the 400 lots finding buyers.

A rare ‘pocket watch’ sold by East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) was more surveillance device than timekeeper.

A newly discovered bronze by a French Renaissance sculptor was acquired by the Louvre museum for €1.15m (£1.05m) at an auction in Paris on June 9.

This painting of Madame de Saint-Maurice is one of five works by Edouard Vuillard spanning the years 1900-18 from the Georges and Jacqueline Herbin collection on offer at Artcurial in Paris.

This 1890s Japoniste-style photograph frame in brown patinated bronze applied with gilt branches of stylised myosotis is by the Paris firm of Maison Millet.