Sotheby's

A sickle-leaf carpet from the William A. Clark collection has set a new auction record for a Persian carpet after selling for $30m (£20.5m) at Sotheby’s New York.

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone containing personal annotations and illustrations by author J.K. Rowling’s fetched £150,000 at a charity auction held at Sotheby’s in London last night.

Barnett Newman (1905-70) and Gerhard Richter (b.1932) starred at Sotheby’s evening sale of Contemporary art last night as the run of strong performing sales in this sector showed little sign of abating.

Sotheby’s lost $22.3m from January to March 2013, more than twice the amount for the same period in 2012.

Paul Cézanne’s ‘Les pommes’ led the way at Sotheby’s latest evening sale of Impressionist & Modern Art in New York.

The Mishneh Torah was withdrawn from a recent Sotheby’s sale at the eleventh hour after vendors Michael and Judy Steinhard struck a private treaty sale with The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Featuring only 22 lots, Sotheby’s latest sale of Orientalist art was a small affair but one that definitely packed a big punch.

A new auction high for Qing Kangxi porcelain was established in Sotheby’s latest spring sale series in Hong Kong.

Familiarly known as the Bay Psalm Book, one of the finest surviving copies of the first book printed in what is now the USA is expected to become the world’s most expensive book at Sotheby’s New York in November.

“Sales like this do not come along often,” said Sotheby’s specialist David Macdonald after the auction of Mark Birley’s collection from his South Kensington home.

TEFAF have announced that they are in discussions with Sotheby’s about the possibility of launching a high-end art fair in mainland China next year.

George Bailey, one of Sotheby’s leading figures, with over 34 years experience at the auction house, has taken a step outside the company by launching an online-only auction house this month.

Sotheby’s have followed Christie’s in restructuring their buyer’s premiums, but have pushed the thresholds even higher than their rivals in the bid for better yields.

Sotheby’s have issued a defence in response to a High Court claim made over a work sold at auction which was attributed to a ‘follower’ of Caravaggio.

After 45 years, Sotheby’s are to cease holding auctions in Canada to focus instead on private sales and sourcing material for the international market.

Sotheby’s evening sale of Contemporary art in London was led by a Francis Bacon triptych which sold to a German collector at £12.25m.

It looks too good to eat, doesn’t it? This is Sotheby’s Surrealist Tea, concocted by the Sotheby’s Cafe as a cheeky marketing gimmick (albeit a tasty one) to promote their Surrealist Art evening sale on February 5 at New Bond Street.

Sotheby’s Institute of Art are to partner Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles to offer a new Master’s degree in Art Business.

An early photographic album which has sold for a record-breaking £290,000 came into the hands of its first owner 140 years ago as a prize – for winning a pigeon-shooting competition.

As predicted, Michael Winner’s superb collection of original book illustrations realised a total in excess of £1m at Sotheby’s.