Germany

The demand for a well-documented genre painting by the 17th century Flemish artist Jan Steen surprised the auctioneers at Döbritz (26% buyer’s premium) in Frankfurt.

An unusual, possibly unique stereo viewer from the last decade of the 19th century attracted numerous bids at Auction Team Breker (21.8% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.

Numerous bidders at a recent Mehlis (24% buyer’s premium) auction in Plauen were not prepared to let a late 19th century vase by Emile Gallé get away for the estimated €350.

A recently discovered floral still-life by Jan Davidsz de Heem sold for €2.8m.

Roger Godchaux is regarded as one of the most accomplished French animalier sculptors of the first half of the 20th century.

The workers who were given the task in 1869 of demolishing a medieval patrician house in the Bavarian city of Regensburg found much more than they had expected.

Since his inception in 1939, Batman, the Caped Crusader, has never really been out of fashion.

One of the star lots at an auction of African and Oceanic works of art held by Zemanek-Münster (25% buyer’s premium) in Würzburg was a dance mask of the Telei people in the Buin district of Bougainville, one of the Solomon Islands.

An unusual 19th century gold watch by the Swiss maker Sylvain Mairet caught the eye of numerous bidders at a recent sale at Dr Crott (25% buyer’s premium) in Mannheim.

The Bohemian glassmaker Leopold Blaschka’s fascination with marine life began in 1853, when the ship in which he was travelling to the US became becalmed off the Azores.

In its day, the Parisian porcelain manufacture founded by the Austrian born Jean Népomucène Hermann Nast in 1783 was regarded as a worthy competitor to Sèvres.

Works by the tragically short-lived German artist Franz Horny are by necessity relatively rare.

Meissen decoration linked to mining is not a rare sight but a cachepot with cavern scene is sought after

Polish items were in high demand at German saleroom Hermann Historica (29.5% buyer’s premium inc tax) during the Spring Auction series.

The toy manufacturer Märklin did not just produce models for private use.

ATG takes a look at some stand-out lots sold recently at an auction in Berlin

Painting of a cabinet includes letter fixed to the door with possible mention of Grand Duke Cosimo III

The evolution of Berlin porcelain – produced by Royal Porcelain Factory founded in 1763 by King Frederick II of Prussia – was well illustrated by two vases which both went way over the estimates in recent sales.

Two enticingly estimated, early glasses from a west German private collection were fiercely contested in the online sale held by Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt.