Christie's

A reported increase in Asian buying was the most notable feature of a somewhat underwhelming series of Impressionist & Modern art auctions in New York last week.

Christie’s are hoping to tap the international movie star market by putting on a preview for a new annual summer sale at the Cannes Film Festival.

A group of private collectors from China’s Hunan province have privately purchased the famed Min Fanglei, a bronze ritual wine vessel from the Late Shang or Early Western Zhou period due to be sold in New York last month.

Christie’s has announced a major consignment of Old Master drawings which will be offered over the next two years in a series of sales in London, Amsterdam and Paris.

The Contemporary art sales in London last week raised a hammer total of £254.6m, a record for an auction series in this category in the capital.

Leading the latest series of Impressionist & Modern auctions in London, a textbook Cubist still life by Juan Gris (1887-1927) sold for £31m at Christie’s.

The book of hours known as The Rothschild Prayerbook sold for $12m (£7.55m) at Christie’s in New York.

Sales at Christie’s were up 16% for 2013 at £4.5bn ($7.1bn), a record annual total for an auction house.

The annual sales figures issued for several of the major French auction houses (or French branches of international auction houses) showed that for many, though not all, they saw an increase over the previous year despite what has been a difficult economic climate.

Having tempted buyers with one-off auctions called The London Sale in September 2012 and Out of the Ordinary in September 2013, Christie’s will continue to use this sale format to offer a tasty selection on January 16.

Amy Cappellazzo will leave Christie’s after the London auctions in February to pursue her career outside the company.

The sale by Christie’s of 24 items of Chinese ceramics from Croydon’s Riesco Collection will go ahead after a legal challenge failed through lack of funds.

Saleroom history was made in New York last night as Francis Bacon’s 'Three Studies Of Lucian Freud' set a new high for any lot ever sold at auction.

This Yongzheng yellow and green enamel vase was the highest-selling lot from the week-long auction series of Asian art held in London.

Christie’s mainland Chinese debut, the First Shanghai Auction on September 26, coincided with the opening of a free-trade zone in Shanghai.

Christie’s successfully completed their first auction in mainland China on September 26.

Christie’s Education are launching a new Art, Law and Business masters course, to be accredited by Glasgow University, next month.

Christie’s have announced that from September 30 their main buyer’s premium structure will change to the following:

The London Borough of Croydon has chosen Christie’s as the auctioneers for its controversial sale of 24 Chinese works of art from its collection.

The competition for private sales among the leading auction rooms will step up during the coming weeks as both Sotheby’s and Christie’s hold exhibitions at their new private galleries in London.