France

Good sales and happy exhibitors as France’s showpiece fair moves from November to mid-September

Part of an extensive collection of British and continental silver and glass, recently bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford by a couple who lived in the Loire Valley, will be sold at auction in France.

In Paris this autumn, Les Enluminures holds Jewels on Paper: Secrets of Creation, comprising an archive of design spanning the 18th century to the 1970s. Running from September 18 to October 31, it is accompanied by a fully illustrated book.

For its fourth edition, 'FAB Paris', the premier French art fair that unites 'Biennale des Antiquaires' and 'Fine Arts Paris', brings a wealth of top exhibitors, special exhibitions and a new date.

A rare and early late 11th or early 12th century wooden statue of the Virgin and Child in Majesty was the highlight of the 'Haute Epoque' auction of antiquities and early works of art held by Aguttes (25/23% buyer’s premium) at Neuilly-sur-Seine.

In 1830 the French government organised a competition for a painting to decorate the wall of the Chamber of Deputies’ Sessions Hall in the Palais Bourbon.

The second half of the 19th century was a key period in the European art pottery movement with much experimentation in glazing and design.

French château contents sales, like their equivalent country house sales in the UK, still surface occasionally on the auction market.

Pierre-Jean Chalençon is well known as an enthusiast for Napoleonic memorabilia and this summer Sotheby’s Paris (27/22/15% buyer’s premium) offered just over 100 lots from his collection.