International

The main series of Asian works of art sales in Paris takes place during December. Auctions include dedicated sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Artcurial and Tajan while the Drouot auction centre has no fewer than 15 auctions wholly or partly dedicated to this field.

An Old Master painting by a mid-14th century painter who was active in Bohemia drew dramatic competition at a small auction house in France last week. It was knocked down at €5m (£4.27m) to a dealer acting for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

One of the highest auction prices for a painting by Pierre Soulages (b.1919) came in a recent sale held in Paris.

With estimates from £400-£100,000, here are six previews of upcoming sales this week.

One of the highest-ever totals for an art auction in Ireland was set last week when the sale of the Ernie O'Malley collection held by Dublin saleroom Whyte's in association with Christie's raised a premium-inclusive total of €5.42m (£4.65m).

A lobby card for the 1931 classic horror movie Dracula, once owned by the film’s lead actor Bela Lugosi, sold for a hammer price of $160,000 (£123,000) at Heritage Auction’s Movie Poster sale in Dallas.

Copenhagen auction house Bruun Rasmussen has set an auction record for any painting sold in Denmark.

A 17th century copy of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ formerly owned by Charlton Heston (1923-2008) is reappearing at auction only three years after it sold from the actor’s collection.

A previously unrecorded painting by French Impressionist Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) sold above estimate at a recent auction in Paris.

A copy of The Birds of America by John James Audubon (1785-1851) will be offered at Sotheby’s Fine Books and Manuscripts sale on December 18 in New York.

Dresden’s Royal Palace has been targeted by thieves who cut the electricity supply to enter exhibition rooms at its museum containing thousands of valuable antiques.