Europe

A Mannerist bronze after Giambologna and a rediscovered oil sketch by Peter Paul Rubens posted seven-figure sums during the series of sales coinciding with the Salon du Dessin fair in Paris.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from April 9-18, 2019.

Head and shoulders above anything else in Millon’s (25% buyer’s premium) animalier bronze sale, Bestiare, held on March 8 at Drouot in Paris, was a dramatic study of a lion eating by one of the most sought-after names in the genre and the star of the so-called Antwerp school of sculpture.

France’s annual Journées Marteau event, organised by the French auctioneers’ association SYMEV (Syndicat National des Maisons de Ventes Volontaires), takes place this weekend, April 5-7.

In ATG No 2385 we ran a story on Rebecca Lloyd Marlow’s 12,000-strong collection of 18th to 20th century buttons which she had sourced over the past 20 years at fairs and brocantes across France. Here is a focus on two such events, one in the north and one in the south of the country where not only buttons but plenty of textiles, French furniture, ceramics and all sorts of desirables in between tempt hundreds of buyers.

A traditional art event keen to move with the times is pulling off a difficult double act.

A pair of early George III carved walnut Gainsborough chairs, c.1765, were among the early highlight sales at BADA 2019. Offered from the stand of Richard Courtney in excellent original condition, they sold for a price in the region of £70,000.

Early 20th century Italian sculpture attracts six-figure result in German auction house.

Contrary to popular opinion, the name of the Rock-Ola company of Chicago, which became famous for the production of distinctive jukeboxes, has no connection to rock ’n’ roll. It is in fact a fortuitous coincidence that the firm’s founder was actually called David Cullen Rockola.

A very rare gold coin took top honours at the auction held by Künker (23% buyer’s premium) in Berlin on January 31.

Through his numerous inventions, the Parisian craftsman Julien Leroy (1686-1759) is credited with revitalising the art of clock and watch making in the French capital and throughout the country.