Europe

“It was a great deal of work,” said Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) managing director James O’Halloran of the operation involving the removal of 700 lots – including the ‘Armada Table’ and other massive pieces – to the Drogheda stately home venue of Townley Hall for sale.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from October 30-November 9, 2018.

Fine Arts Paris is the young November arrival on the fairs scene in the French capital. Launched last year, it celebrates its second staging in a new venue with a much enlarged exhibitor list.

A newly discovered work by the 17th century French artist Jacques Stella (1576-1657) found by Xavier de la Perraudière of auction house Ivoire Angers in a local property is to be offered for sale on December 5.

The multi-talented Deco designer and artist Jean Dunand (1877-1942) is one of the names celebrated in Christie’s selected design sale in Paris on November 14 with around 20 pieces in different media.

At a time when catering for niche interests is a profitable path for auctioneers, recent sales in Scotland, Ireland and England have shown that the furniture market can still come to life – provided it meets three criteria.

Fourteen unpublished paintings by Maurice Utrillo, the artist renowned for quintessential Paris street scenes, will be coming up for sale on November 23.

A sale of contents of four homes belonging to the late Pierre Bergé is to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Paris rooms in association with auction house Pierre Bergé & Associes.

An ensemble of fans both Oriental and Occidental is the subject of the dedicated sale organised by Coutau-Bégarie that takes place at Drouot on November 19. Examples date from the 17th century through to the early years of the 20th.

A classic Art Nouveau display cabinet by Emile Gallé is part of a collection of furniture by Gallé and Majorelle assembled over half a century ago to be offered for sale by Ivoire Reims on November 18.

This little oil on canvas showing a seated lion watching the setting sun from the top of a rocky plateau is evocatively titled Les Deux Majestés and is a work by the 19th century Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904).

Representing just a fraction of the international art market and often overshadowed by the demand for 2D art, Irish sculpture has undergone a quieter recovery.

Tribal art is very much a strength of the Paris art market, with sales taking place throughout the year.

This small-scale, 17th-18th century, Italian vanitas of a skull carved from Cararra marble measures 7½ x 9½in (19 x 24cm).

While demand is encouraging, a scarcity of high-quality work is hitting the supply side