Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Mystery chess set gets bidders on board
27 September 2021A handful of collectors joined the competition when Mehlis (23% buyer’s premium) in Plauen offered a 19th century ivory and ebony chess set.
Brueghel’s ‘own view’ of everyday Dutch rural life
27 September 2021Numerous international bidders set their sights on a tondo by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638).
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.
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.
Standing figure makes bidders sit up and take note
27 September 2021A rare standing figure from the Yuat River area of Papua New Guinea was the star of the show at a Brussels auction.
Lion sculptures and corkscrews among eclectic delights at German auction
27 September 2021An eclectic mixture of works from the vast collection of the multi-talented German artist Charles Crodel formed a substantial part of a Hamburg auction.
Showing caution over ‘El Greco’
27 September 2021Experts split over El Greco attribution but Holy Family painting offered in Germany gets away
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.
Munich fair switches from summer to autumn
27 September 2021The stage was set for the 12th edition of Highlights in Munich at the beginning of July, but at short notice the local authorities prevented the event from going ahead, due to concerns about Covid.
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.
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.
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
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.
Warhol flowers bloom in German saleroom
09 August 2021Over many years, Helga and Walther Lauffs collected American and European art from the 1960s-70s.
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).
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.
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.
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.