France

Among the more extraordinary forms of French furniture is the ‘machine pneumatique’ – a device used in the Age of Enlightenment to demonstrate the mysterious properties of the vacuum or ‘the energy of the nothingness’.

Before his death on St Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte said: “What nothing will erase, what will live forever, is my Civil Code.”

Tiara takes highest sum as jewellery supplied to an aristocratic family features in Paris sale

March is traditionally the month for drawings and works on paper in Paris, a magnet that attracts enthusiasts from around the world to the French capital.

Staged in England from medieval times through to the early 19th century, bear baiting provided a popular theme in ceramic art in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Spirit of Ecstasy sculpture was created by Charles Sykes as a mascot for Rolls-Royce cars.

Elaborate cruet frames from the pre-revolutionary period stand out in a traditional sale selection

Lost from view for a century, a three-figure bronze group by the sculptor Camille Claudel (1864-1943) made an auction appearance in Orléans on February 16.

Paris auction staged at the Drouot centre offered a richly varied and valuable range of lots

The third edition of FAB Paris concluded at the end of November with healthy sales and enthusiastic interest.

The influential 20th century jewellery designer Suzanne Belperron (1900-83) had a wide-ranging clientele during her lifetime spanning royalty, artists and people from the worlds of fashion and entertainment.

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).

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.

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).

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