International

About 80% of the global art market by value takes place outside the UK. The largest art market in the world is the US with China in third place (after the UK) followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Many more nations have a rich art and antiques heritage with active auction, dealer, fair, gallery and museum sectors even if their market size by value is smaller.

Read the top stories and latest art and antiques news from all these countries.

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Al Thani's 18th century day bed rises way above estimate at Sotheby's sale

26 July 2021

Ornate piece of c.1780 furniture from sheikh’s collection heads a sell-out auction

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Christie’s says Asian buyers now dominant

19 July 2021

Asian buyers have become the dominant force at the top end of the auction market, according to Christie’s.

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Super Mario 64 makes an equally super $1.35m

19 July 2021

Remarkable sums were paid for vintage video games at Heritage Auctions – including a record-breaking $1.35m (£1m) bid for Super Mario 64.

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Guns belonging to American statesman Alexander Hamilton make $1m

19 July 2021

London-made flintlocks with a solid provenance to Alexander Hamilton took to the stage at US sale

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Furniture treasure trove amassed over 30 years

19 July 2021

Prize examples of French 18th century furniture were on offer at Drouot when Hughes Taquet of the auction house Hôtel des Ventes de Mantes-La-Jolie (26.4% buyer’s premium inc VAT) offered the collection of René Siméoni.

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Art market: Bowie sprinkles saleroom stardust

19 July 2021

Record for a painting by the music legend David Bowie leads a look at rockstar attempts at visual art

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Art Deco necklace fetches new high for Fouquet

19 July 2021

A quintessential example of avant-garde Art Deco jewellery by a French designer who was renowned for such modernist pieces was the toast of Christie’s (25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) online Jewellery sale in Paris which closed on July 7.

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French sales feature Indo-Chinese works with Hanoi link

19 July 2021

What is known as Indo-Chinese art frequently comes up for auction in France, in part because this area of south-east Asia was formerly a French colony.

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Salon du Dessin back in play at long last

19 July 2021

The Salon du Dessin, the Paris fair dedicated to works on paper, finally staged its 30th edition this month.

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Repeat performance: early examples in the quest for workable rapid-fire weapons

19 July 2021

Very soon after the gun was invented men were trying to find ways of speeding up the process of reloading powder and shot to obtain a superior rate of fire.

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Ottoman sword is swell buy in Munich

19 July 2021

The prize lot sold at a recent Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Munich was this 19th century Ottoman kilij of characteristic form with a curved blade swelling towards the tip.

Marc Knighton
Kempton

England relaxes coronavirus restrictions but recommendations remain in place

14 July 2021

The UK government has confirmed that from July 19 in England many of the coronavirus restrictions will be relaxed.

'120 Days of Sodom'

French state buys infamous Marquis de Sade’s manuscript with help from a wealthy banker

13 July 2021

France’s Ministry of Culture announced the acquisition by the state of the ‘120 days of Sodom’ by the Marquis de Sade and a number of other manuscripts.

Fang head

Paris auction sets record for a tribal art collection result

12 July 2021

The sale of Michel Périnet’s collection of tribal art at Christie’s in Paris on June 23 real ised a remarkable €66m/£57m (including buyer’s premium) and every one of the 61 lots were sold.

Leonardo drawing

One Leonardo sold, another caught up in a court battle

12 July 2021

Two Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) drawings created national news last week as Christie’s posted a record for a sketch by the great master in London while a court in Paris is to determine whether another can be legally exported from France.

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Belting Belk Gambrell ceramics selection

12 July 2021

European ceramics from renowned US collector come to the New York rostrum.

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TEFAF online line-up revealed

12 July 2021

Organisers of TEFAF Maastricht have released the exhibitor line-up for its next digital edition.

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Wedgwood on the way

12 July 2021

The sale of European Décor and Design to be held by Skinner in Massachusetts online from July 20-29 will include a large selection of Wedgwood ceramics.

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Paul Henry peak power

12 July 2021

A classic west of Ireland landscape by Paul Henry (1877-1958) was among the top-sellers at the latest round of Irish art sales in Dublin.

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