International

BLOOMSBURY Auctions and Dreweatts have announced an alliance with Hermann Historica, the German specialist auctioneers in arms, armour and militaria.

IN a year dominated by Christie’s blockbuster 342m euros (£308m) sale of the Bergé/St-Laurent Collection, most Paris auctioneers reported a fall in sales averaging around 20 per cent. There were, however, signs of confidence returning to the market.

DROUOT President Georges Delettrez has announced “strong measures with immediate effect” after nine members of staff at the central Paris saleroom (eight warehousemen and one auctioneer) were charged with “criminal association and organised theft” in early December.

THE London Jewish Museum of Art (the Ben Uri Gallery) have announced that they have purchased a crucifixion by Marc Chagall for what they believe to be a fraction of its real value at a Paris auction.

SCIENTISTS in the United States have unveiled a ground-breaking piece of technology to identify fake pictures.

AN agreement over the disputed Blue Period Picasso painting The Absinthe Drinker may well lead to a clearer legal definition of what constitutes art sold under Nazi duress.

THE recession continues to take a heavy toll on the New York fairs scene and the first casualty of the new year looks set to be the Haughtons' International Fine Art Fair.

WHAT the latest Asian auction series in Hong Kong lacked in terms of headline-grabbing 18th century Imperial blockbusters, it more than made up for in solid performances across the board.

A COPY of A Christmas Carol has now knocked Oliver Twist off the top of the tree to become the most expensive Dickens title ever sold at auction.

THE Hôtel Drouot was rocked to its foundations on December 2 after a massive police swoop ended with 12 people being taken into custody on suspicion of organised theft.

AUSTRALIA has reversed its previous government’s decision and introduced its own version of the Artist’s Resale Right.

The trustee appointed to oversee the collapse of Toronto-based Ritchies Auctioneers has presented a damning portrait of the company’s operations.

CHINA is to encourage the return of its cultural heritage by offering overseas collectors “reasonable compensation”.

THE Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé sale mark II was never going to be in the same league as the 374m euros spring extravaganza.

DEUTSCHE Bank have signed a five-year deal to sponsor ART HK, the Hong Kong art fair which launched in 2008.

A “ONCE-in-a-century” discovery of Renaissance silver has been bought by the French State for 1.4m euros – less than a week before it was due to go on sale at Sotheby’s in Paris.

THE latest series of contemporary art auctions in New York provided some further evidence of confidence returning at the top end of the market.

ITALIAN auctioneers Finarte have announced that they will no longer make their auction results public because of complaints from both consignors and buyers.

HAS the top end of the art market bounced back? This was the opinion ventured by some commentators after the flagship sales of Impressionist and Modern art in New York last week.

THE troubled Toronto-based auctioneers Ritchies have finally closed after they were declared bankrupt by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.