Auctioneers

Tiny portrait thought to show a Spanish noblewoman was bought at a local school in the 1970s

The decision by Cologne auction house Lempertz (26% buyer’s premium) to postpone the sale of Max Pechstein’s 1909 Expressionist work Selbstbildnis, liegend (Self Portrait, lying down) from June to December 1 proved to be a wise one.

In the early years of the HN collection in the 1920s several companies commissioned Doulton figures to advertise their products.

Sending the old year out with a bang, a George III brass mortar by Jan Verbruggen took £49,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Sworders.

Among the star attractions at the 60-lot evening sale of works from the collection of Hubert Guerrand-Hermès (1940-2016) at Sotheby’s Paris was a carved and regilded Louis XVI chair.

A still-life by Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949) that appeared in the final sale of the year at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) “generated ripples of excitement among private collectors and the trade alike” according to the West London saleroom.

Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams revealed mixed annual sales figures indicating the ups and downs of the art market in 2023.

The Christmas Gifts sale at TW Gaze in Diss included a rare example of 18th century Catholic colonial jewellery: a Mexican 'escudo de monja' or nun’s badge.

Bonhams’ (28/27% buyer’s premium) latest Old Master sale at its New Bond Street rooms was hard going, with almost half the lots unsold and two-thirds of those that did get away either going on or below their low estimate.

One of the Old Masters attracting significant interest at Lyon & Turnbull’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) latest Five Centuries sale in Edinburgh was a small still-life that drew strong competition against a £5000-8000 estimate.

Rembrandt prints were a prominent feature of the London Old Master sales in December.

Very few English Golden Age clocks signed by Ambrose Gardner are recorded.

A couple of views of London were strongly contested at the latest Old Master auction series in the capital.

The music memorabilia sale at Omega (28.8% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on November 29 included the handwritten lyrics to two tracks on David Bowie’s 1972 classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Antiquities from the collection of famed works of art dealer Ernest Brummer (1891-1964) sold for a combined total of over $2m at Hindman (26/20/15% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

Quirky subjects generate the most eye-catching results at the latest Old Master auction series

Fleetwood Mac are famous for the huge-selling Rumours album that propelled the band to superstardom but the original line-up and sound were very different.

The handstitched booklet titled Balls & My Partners, 1844-1845 was written by Adelaide Horatia Elizabeth Seymour (1825-77) as she enjoyed the life of a debutante.

Single-owner collection forms biggest dispersal of mustard pots at auction for many years