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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Prud’hon nude emerges with noble provenance

02 December 2024

A fine drawing by French Romantic painter and draughtsman Pierre Paul Prud’hon (1758-1823) sold for €190,000 (£158,300) at L’Huillier & Associés (30% buyer’s premium inc tax).

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Sizeable pick of Capiello posters in Paris

02 December 2024

A collection of just over 50 artworks for posters by the designer Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942) enjoyed considerable success when they went under the hammer at Ader (25/20/15% buyer’s premium) in Paris.

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Charming chimer or luxury Cartier to tick your boxes

02 December 2024

Pictured here are two very different timekeepers from sales held in Paris by Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium).

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Dutch drawing and Vietnamese painting both impress at Ivoire

02 December 2024

Pictured here are two strong results recorded in French regional salerooms by members of the Ivoire Group of auction houses.

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Les Puces: the lowdown on a Parisian antiques supercentre

02 December 2024

With more than a thousand traders doing business, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris is effectively 12 markets in one

Powell Duffryn Mural by Hans Coper

Unlocated Hans Coper mural rediscovered in German auction

27 November 2024

Since 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.

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‘Dutch lady’ now thought to depict a German Jew

25 November 2024

When it was last sold 30 years ago, Chinese export figures of this rare type were thought to depict a Dutch lady - perhaps the wife of a governor of Batavia.

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FAB opening sculpture sale

25 November 2024

Among the opening sales at the FAB Paris fair at the newly restored Grand Palais was this Sicilian Baroque polychrome and gilt wood sculpture group of the Annunciation.

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Hongs held crucial role for Chinese export porcelain

25 November 2024

Maryland auction offers a fascinating collection of Chinese porcelain intended for foreign markets

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Mexican made in colonial era – fine South American objects at auction

25 November 2024

A single-owner collection of Antiquities & Oddities offered without reserve by Shapiro Auctions 30/29/18.9% buyer’s premium) in Mamaroneck, New York included several fine South American objects made in the Spanish colonial era.

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Modern classics by female designers in focus

25 November 2024

The French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) started making jewellery in the early 1970s after she was introduced to the Italian goldsmith Giancarlo Montebello in Paris.

Portrait of Charles II

Portrait of Charles II goes on view at National Horseracing Museum after auction purchase

21 November 2024

The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket has put on display a portrait of Charles II which it bought at auction earlier this year.

Kafka First Sorrow

Manuscript of Kafka’s 'First Sorrow' to appear at German auction

20 November 2024

The manuscript of Franz Kafka’s short story 'Erstes Leid', or First Sorrow, accompanied by a three-page letter to his publisher will appear at auction in Hamburg on November 23.

Lavinia Fontana painting

Bidders spot the hand of Lavinia Fontana in Cologne auction

19 November 2024

Lot 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.

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Trotain silver box sails in to Munich saleroom

18 November 2024

Between 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.

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First die-cast Leica camera comes up

18 November 2024

The 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.

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Restituted Blechen mills flow finally to a saleroom

18 November 2024

When he was 24, Carl Blechen abandoned his intended profession as a banker and devoted himself to painting.

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From satire to satyr in Zurich

18 November 2024

Old Master and Daumier artwork, bronze figure and Italian porcelain all on offer over three days

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Electric train sparks bidding battle

18 November 2024

Star 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.

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German-made toy trains steamed into the British market but with a local identity

18 November 2024

In the early years of the 20th century toy trains made in Germany were also aimed at the British domestic market, eagerly sold by retailers such as Gamages.

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