Germany

Top result from the October 26 arms and armour auction at Munich saleroom Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) was a 5ft 6in (1.67m) two-hand sword made by the acclaimed bladesmith Wolfgang Stantler II of Passau, c.1580.

Offered as part of a series of sales held by Reiss & Sohn (19% buyer’s premium) of Königstein im Taunus was an exceptionally early cookery book.

A welding course was to have a lasting effect on the artistic development of the British sculptor Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003).

The combination of Meissen porcelain and Augsburg silver proved to be a winning formula at a sale held by Metz (25% buyer’s premium) in Heidelberg.

A multitude of fabulous creatures are an integral part of traditional Chinese mythology. Among them is the Bixie, whose name translates as ‘to ward off evil spirits’.

The sculptor Prosper d’Épinay (1836-1914) was a true cosmopolitan. Born in Mauritius, he later became a British subject, but is still often considered to be a French artist.

Two closely related bronze sculptures by Alberto Giacometti are among the highlights of the Modern and Contemporary sales on December 2 at Lempertz in Cologne.

Glassware with provenance to Augustus of Saxony takes five-figure sum

In his diary entry for August 12, 1950, the German writer and Nobel Prize recipient Thomas Mann described a meeting with his daughter-in-law Gret, who had married his youngest son Michael in 1939, and her 10-year-old son Frido in a café in Innsbruck.

The creative roots of this 22in (56cm) bronze figure, which was one of the highlights at Nusser (22.69% buyer’s premium), date back to the pre-war years.

Since 1969, when it was sold at a gallery exhibition in Munich, one of Niki de Saint Phalle’s (1930-2002) well-known Nanas had belonged to a south German collector.

The complex and sometimes bizarre machines that the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely (1925-91) constructed during his long career belong to the most distinctive examples of kinetic art.

The central motif of Antoni Tàpies’ (1923- 2012) Personnage assis (Variation XI) has been the subject of many discussions among art historians.

Watercolour given as thanks to his Heinz family host in 2003 now sells to a US collector.

The Austrian artist and composer Hermann Nitsch, who died earlier this year at the age of 84, had as many detractors as followers.

According to Munich saleroom Ketterer, the 3ft 4in (1.02m) square painting N. O. 9th . Ward, which is part of the sale on December 9, is the first work by the American artist Stanley Whitney (b.1946) ever to be offered at a German auction.

Among the eye-catchers at Wendl in Rudolstadt from October 27-29 is an example of the world’s first functioning lighter.

On the first day of an auction held by Schloss Ahlden (26% buyer’s premium), a German collector with a passion for history saw off numerous dealers and collectors from home and abroad who had also trained their sights on a set of four silver candlesticks from the early 19th century.

From the late Middle Ages onwards, an unusual form of glass bottle appeared in many parts of continental Europe.