International

About 80% of the global art market by value takes place outside the UK. The largest art market in the world is the US with China in third place (after the UK) followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Many more nations have a rich art and antiques heritage with active auction, dealer, fair, gallery and museum sectors even if their market size by value is smaller.

Read the top stories and latest art and antiques news from all these countries.

Harry Potter books

Complete signed first edition run of seven Harry Potter books comes to auction

08 July 2025

A group of seven first edition hardback copies of the Harry Potter books, all signed by author JK Rowling, are being offered by Heritage Auctions.

Canaletto view of Venice

Top 10 Old Masters at auction

08 July 2025

The record-setting £27.5m Canaletto at Christie’s last week represented the sixth highest sum ever recorded at auction for an Old Master. But what others feature in the top 10?

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Compelling canine eyes draw you in

07 July 2025

This 18 x 15in (45 x 38cm) oil portrait of an English springer spaniel is by the great Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904).

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Luxury car company may have skimped on poster artist

07 July 2025

Rolling to top lot honours in New York at Swann Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) was a 1929 poster for the long defunct automotive brand Pierce-Arrow.

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Sex sells: The Pearl erotic magazine

07 July 2025

The notorious Victorian-era erotic magazine 'The Pearl' (subtitled 'Journal of Facetiae and Voluptuous Reading') was published by William Lazenby in London between July 1879 and December 1880.

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Spot the goalie competition: toy footballers score at auction

07 July 2025

Footballers were among the very first of the Britains hollowcast lead ‘civilian’ figures.

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Ornithologist provenance trumps pope, cardinal and king owners

07 July 2025

Watercolour can be traced back to nobleman and antiquary who commissioned the illustrator Leonardi

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Lalique fox mascot with ‘many imperfections’ still takes $27,000 at US auction

07 July 2025

One of the rarest of all of the 31 car mascots made by Lalique from 1925-31 came up for auction at Jeffrey Evans & Associates (25% buyer’s premium) in Mount Crawford, Virginia.

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Fleming signature boosts rare copy of Bond

07 July 2025

The presence of the author’s signature dramatically enhanced the value of a copy of Ian Fleming’s (1908-64) first collection of James Bond short stories 'For Your Eyes Only' offered at an auction at University Archives (25% buyer’s premium).

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Woolf takes bidders to the lighthouse

07 July 2025

Swann Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) recorded head-turning sales during its series of New York sales in May.

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Obituary: Toy specialist Ray Haradin

07 July 2025

It is with sadness that I advise the passing of a wonderful person who was also my client, Ray Haradin. He was only 60.

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Works of Confucius with French royal twist

07 July 2025

A foundation document of Western sinology appeared at Freeman’s Hindman (28% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

Landseer landscape

Landseer view of a loch without animal life brightens US auction

07 July 2025

British artist famed for The Monarch of the Glen also painted landscapes for his own pleasure

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William Billingsley: artistic genius and utter rogue

07 July 2025

The great Georgian porcelain decorator and technician William Billingsley (1758-1828) was that recognisable type: artistic genius and downright rogue.

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TEFAF pledges commitment to Maastricht venue as tough EU rules bite

30 June 2025

The incoming EU Regulation 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods, which became effective from June 28, continues to cause concern for the art and antiques market, with TEFAF the latest to warn of its impact.

Cape silver coffee pot

Cape silver collection on sale in South Africa

30 June 2025

A substantial collection of 18th and 19th century Cape silver, made by European silversmiths practising in South Africa, is coming for sale at Strauss & Co in Johannesberg.

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Flemish Old Master generates great excitement in Frankfurt

30 June 2025

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.

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Stereo viewer dances up to five figures

30 June 2025

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.

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Glowing example of Gallé vase at German auction

30 June 2025

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.

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Swiss collection includes a Cranach the Elder success

30 June 2025

A spring sale at Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer (25% buyer’s premium) in Basel was devoted to works of art from an impressive, wide-ranging Swiss collection.

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