Europe

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.

A complicated astronomical carriage clock by Breguet & Fils, first sold in January 1826, went dramatically over the odds at Antiquorum (25% buyer’s premium) in Geneva.

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.

The Salvator Mundi drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop which sold for €500,000 (ATG No 2692) was not the only sought-after work at Dorotheum’s (28/25/22% buyer’s premium) spring Old Master sale.

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

The latest family generation to run Galerie Steinitz talks to ATG about the business and a landmark auction

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

A hitherto unrecorded Art Deco masterwork by Armand-Albert Rateau (1882-1938) caught the eye at an Italian sale.

A fine English table clock by Huguenot maker Stephen Rimbault (1711-86) generated plenty of competition at auction in the Netherlands.

This impressive array of costume jewellery sold in Paris showcased the work of half a century and seven creative directors of the Dior brand.

The sale of Fine Jewellery & Ladies Watches at Adam’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Dublin on May 13 included an impressive retro sapphire and diamond ‘tank’ ring, c.1940, that came for sale from the ‘private collection of a Continental lady’.

A rare preparatory study by Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec (1864-1901) for one of his famous lithographic posters proved to be the highlight of the 20/21 Century Art evening sale at Christie’s (26/21/15% buyer’s premium) in Paris.