International (print edition)

The arts and crafts of colonial America are enjoying a purple patch in the market as Western institutions seek to tell the story of Latin American art in more inclusive and expansive ways

When he was not crafting lacquer works, the 18th century Japanese artist Ogawa Haritsu spent his time, painting, creating pottery and composing haiku poems.

In his workshop records for the period October 1739 to January 1740, Johann Joachim Kaendler, Meissen’s most accomplished modeller, noted his creation of a “life-sized jay sitting on a trunk, naturally depicted, next to him is a life-sized squirrel seated on a branch, modelled in clay, along with other appropriate ornamentation”.

The combination of a master cabinetmaker, a good provenance and a modest estimate made a prolonged bidding match for a late 18th century writing desk more or less inevitable.

Security-minded German collectors were very keen to acquire pieces from a collection of historic metalwork that was offered by Van Ham (27% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.

Karl & Faber’s (27% buyer’s premium) latest auction of Old Master prints in Munich was its most successful sale of this type for many decades, achieving several new German records.

A handful of determined bidders were enamoured of a painted wood panel, originally catalogued as 18th or 19th century, which was in the sale held by Scheublein (27% buyer’s premium) in Munich.

With works by female artists now having a much higher profile among Old Masters than in the past it was not surprising to see a painting by the famous French portraitist Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) among the best-sellers in a September sale of works from a country house in Brittany.

The Ivoire group of auction firms has salerooms across the French regions that regularly hold auctions covering a range of specialist categories as well as more general sales.

Sir Henry Doulton placed great importance on international exhibitions to promote the work of both of his factories.

For most of the buttoned-up Grand Tourists who visited Florence in the final years of the 19th century, it was only proper to take home a marble copy of a sober Renaissance or antique masterpiece. The Bazzanti or Frilli galleries were the place to go for a David or a Venus.

Sale of collection with superb furniture included high-quality 18th century items in a different field

The Saturn table lamp was produced for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. While it is unclear which factory made them (some websites suggest the Houze Glass Company of Port Marion, Pennsylvania), they are considered classics of machine age Art Deco design.

In 1872 PT Barnum’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ became the first circus to travel by rail. It took 65 specially made wagons to haul the production from city to city.

Offered for sale as ‘a Chinese porcelain teapot’ with a $100-1000 estimate, a famille rose Buddhist ewer with a Qianlong mark hammered for $200,000 at Hill Auction Gallery (30/28/25% buyer’s premium) in Sunrise, Florida, on October 29. No date or period was given.

The 1882 Royal Worcester porcelain Patience teapot has become a satirical emblem of the Aesthetic movement.

Late 19th century French or Swiss singing bird boxes are regular auction visitors. Double bird boxes are a much rarer breed.

Works by Ambrosius Benson and an unknown artist possibly from Antwerp go way beyond estimates

Alexander Anapolsky, co-owner of Akiba Galleries (28% buyer’s premium) in Dania Beach, Florida, described an Indonesian or Malaysian kris found in a New York City estate as a compelling object with great presence.

This hand-coloured daguerreotype was taken in 1856 by Rufus Anson, a New York photographer who operated a studio on Broadway from about 1851 to 1867. His address is cut into the velvet interior of the case.