Europe

There is absolutely no way that one can describe the decoration of a late 19th century Meissen ewer sold by Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt as restrained.

In his autobiography Georg Schrimpf described how he originally lacked the courage to become a painter and spent several years as a baker, a waiter and a coalman until he finally found the conviction to devote himself exclusively to art.

Two hundred eagerly awaited examples from Brockhaus collection generate suitable response.

Among the most important clients of the 18th century artist Pompeo Batoni was Domenico Orsini, Duke of Gravina, who went on to become Cardinal Domenico Amedeo Orsini d’Arago.

An oil painting by Alphonse Etienne Dinet from 1897 caused the greatest stir at a recent auction at Karl & Faber (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich.

Two lost folios from the 'Yongle Dadian', the Ming dynasty encyclopaedia that has assumed national treasure status in China, surfaced for sale in Paris last week.

This set of 40 Paris porcelain cabinet plates, c.1850, decorated with views of Constantinople, sold for €36,000/£32,730 (estimate €20,000-30,000) at a recent sale held by Dutch firm Oriental Art Auctions (28% buyer’s premium) in Hattem.

Bearing an estimate of just €100-150, a double-sided lot in a big Dutch sale attracted great international interest and ended up selling at €32,500 (£29,120).

The sale of the Müller-Frei collection of paintings and decorative arts held by Koller (25% buyer’s premium) in Zurich last month included two early 18th century Meissen figure groups that outstripped their estimates.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 14-29, 2020.

The Rijksmuseum was in action at the Drouot to carry off a 9½in (24cm) wide porcelain punchbowl from the Ansbach factory.

Paris Enchères Collin du Bocage will be holding a single-lot sale on July 22 in Paris of a painting by Nicolas de Staël (1914-55).

Millon of Paris will offer this painting of a Tunisian street scene by Alexandre Roubtzoff (1884-1949) at its Antiquities and Orientalist sale on July 21.

Pictured here are five from a near-complete set of 41 polychrome terracotta figures of the Danse Macabre offered by Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) in Cologne. They are typical of the work of Anton Sohn (1769-1841), who settled in Zizenhausen near Stockach in 1799.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 7-23, 2020.

Among the sales series held by Koller (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) in Zurich in June that had been postponed from March was the single-owner auction of works from the Müller-Frei collection.

A selection of early Continental silver from the 16th and 17th centuries was a notable feature of the Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) decorative arts auction in Cologne.

At the 19th century international exhibitions, the Viennese silversmith Hermann Ratzendorfer (1845-94) gained a reputation for his mixed-media works in the neo-Renaissance taste.