Christie's

An extensive collection with Astor family provenance offered at auction was billed as best of its type in more than 20 years.

Paintings by lesser-known Pre-Raphaelites took the honours at the latest Victorian art sales held at Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9%) and Christie’s (25/20/12.5%).

Carroll rubbed shoulders with Wilde, Rackham, Tolkien and many other children’s works in recent auctions.

A fine Pushkin collection, running to a dozen lots in all, was a major attraction in the Russian section of at a Christie’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) sale.

The traditional Christmas Old Master series in London provided the first test of the market since the spectacular sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in New York three weeks before.

A tin of Horlick’s was one of the odder and cheaper lots in the $3m sale of material from the Martin Greene library on ‘Russian America and Polar Exploration’ held by Christie’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on December 7.

Paris’ status as a centre of the tribal art market was underscored this season with a brace of high prices in the field of Oceanic art.

A ‘rediscovered’ fifth copy of Martin Waldseemüller’s globe gores from c.1507 was withdrawn from sale last week after a group of academics and dealers in the US expressed doubts over its authenticity.

Strong competition emerged for an oil sketch for Eugène Delacroix’s 'Liberty Leading the People' at Christie’s in London on December 14.

Sporting and ornithological art collected over half a century by the Astor family will be offered in a single-owner sale during Christie’s ‘Classic Week’.

Modern British art by blue-chip names drove demand during the week-long series of November sales in London.