Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Rome inspiration for Klinkosch's boxes
27 September 2021For most of the second half of the 19th century the Viennese silversmith Josef Carl Klinkosch produced all types of silverware and objects of vertu.
Ornate work of clockmaker Lévy Frères emerges in German sale
27 September 2021From the middle of the 19th century, Parisian clockmaker Lévy Frères, which had established a workshop in the late 1820s, was a highly successful manufacturer of timepieces in the neo-rococo style.
Work by French artist Jacques Villeglé on offer in Berlin
27 September 2021Born in 1926 as Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé, the French artist Jacques Villeglé has had a long and varied career.
Belgian buyers out in force as dealer's collection comes up for sale
09 August 2021Despite a disappointing selling rate, dealer’s collection included notable results
Slashed and rejected canvas now worth €120,000
09 August 2021If Marie Bashkirtseff had her way, the portrait she painted of her cousin in the late 1870s would never have survived, let alone made it to auction.
Warhol flowers bloom in German saleroom
09 August 2021Over many years, Helga and Walther Lauffs collected American and European art from the 1960s-70s.
Pocket globes point to Bavarian event
09 August 2021The organisers of the Bamberger Kunst-und Antiquitätenwochen (art and antiques weeks), which run until August 22, thought long and hard about whether to hold this year’s event in light of the pandemic.
Carpet weaves Genovese families link
09 August 2021An unusual feature of a large fragment of an Ushak carpet which was sold by Rippon Boswell (24% buyer’s premium) in Wiesbaden on May 29 was the alliance coat of arms of two powerful Genovese aristocratic families, the Doria and the Centurione, in the top corner.
El Divino painting draws international bidders and sells 60-times over estimate in Stuttgart sale
09 August 2021Nagel (25% buyer’s premium) in Stuttgart underestimated the international interest for a 16th century painting of Christ Carrying the Cross.
Timekeepers from two centuries apart sell in Vienna auction
09 August 2021Two very different timekeepers came up for sale at Kinsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna on July 6-8.
Meissen plaque catches the eye after being offered without reserve
09 August 2021This large 19th century Meissen plaque with an allegory of summer caught the eye of numerous bidders at Metz (25% buyer’s premium).
Painting in German collection now confirmed as work by Italian artist Spada
28 June 2021For over a century, a 5ft x 6ft 4in (1.52 x 1.93m) painting of Samson and Delilah had slumbered as the work of an unknown Italian artist in a German private collection.
Oak chair designed by Hoffmann for Klimt's studio appears at Vienna sale
28 June 2021At the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Klimt was without doubt the most famous Austrian painter, and Josef Hoffmann the most renowned designer and architect.
Icon overpainting fails to deter bids
28 June 2021Determined international bidders knew exactly what they were looking for at a sale of icons and Russian works of art held by Dr Fischer (28% buyer’s premium) in Heilbronn.
How De Stijl shaped Schmidt’s ideas
28 June 2021In 1922, Theo van Doesburg, gave a course at the Bauhaus in Weimar, devoted to the artists’ group De Stijl he had co-founded some five years before.
Scroll painting given to a politician makes eight-times estimate in Zurich
28 June 2021Li Keran, who died in 1989, is considered to be one of the most influential Chinese Contemporary painters. He not only taught a generation of young artists; he is credited with the revival of Chinese landscape painting.
Brazilian ‘Patek Philippe’ triples estimate in Swiss auction
28 June 2021The sale in 1872 of a silver pocket watch manufactured by Patek Philippe in Geneva to the jeweller and retailer Gondolo & Labouriau in Rio de Janeiro marked the beginning of a highly successful and mutually profitable business partnership that lasted until 1927.
Exquisite silver from dealer’s collection offered at Lempertz auction
28 June 2021Bernard De Leye has been trading in silverware since 1977 and has been a regular participant at major antiques fairs in Belgium and France for many decades.
Bench owned by Dutch notables emerges in Stuttgart sale
28 June 2021In the course of the 19th century, the company founded by Henrik Fredrik Jansen became one of the most important manufacturers of furniture and furnishings in Amsterdam.
Marble Roman river god offered in Munich
28 June 2021Among the antiquities coming up for sale at Gorny & Mosch in Munich on July 9 is this marble figure of a river god, carved in the first century, during the Roman imperial period.