Christie's

Despite the unhelpful backdrop of Ukraine politics and the threat of economic sanctions, the Russian art market continued on its mercurial journey in the first week of June. The characteristic patchy selling rates for the ‘Londongrad’ sales were accompanied by moments of remarkable competition.

Was this the ring of the Tiger of Mysore, taken from his body when he was killed in battle?

This portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a spectacular discovery for the BBC’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’, will carry an estimate of £300,000-500,000 at Christie’s Old Master sale on July 8.

There was no slowing down in the Contemporary art market as the latest sales in New York posted a record for any auction series.

Christie’s posted a record total for any auction ever with a $745m (£462.7m) premium-inclusive total at their evening sale of post-war and Contemporary art in New York last night (Tuesday, May 13). It now begs the question: how much further can this boom keep going?

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.