International

USA: As expected, US show organiser Sanford Smith has been forced to follow other New York fairs and cancel his two high-profile mid-November shows at the city’s two armory buildings.

The German-based Oetke Group are currently in negotiations to sell the Bond Street galleries of Colnaghi, one of the oldest names in the London art trade, to the London and Munich Old Master dealer Konrad Bernheimer.

Early Qing imperial porcelain has long been the darling of the Hong Kong Chinese auctions so when a Qianlong (1736-95) mark and period dragon vase with a previously unpublished pattern came up at Sotheby’s (20/15/10% buyer’s premium), Hong Kong on October 29, sparks flew and an auction record was set for a piece of Qianlong porcelain.

Christie’s are to make 23 staff redundant in Los Angeles, their second largest saleroom in America. The decision is part of an ongoing, worldwide cost-cutting programme undertaken by the company following the settlement of the $256m lawsuit over commissions and the downturn in the art market this year.

The most hotly contested property in Christie’s 335-lot Japanese and Korean sale on October 15 was a selection of Korean art from the Falk collection. Just over half of the reasonably estimated 55 Korean entries hailed from this New York collection, that attracted new American buyers as well as regular European privates and dealers.

The comprehensive collection of French royal issues formed by Michel Bonhomme was dispersed in Paris at Christian Delorme et Vincent Fraysse (expert: Alain Weil) on October 9-10. The period covered was from Charles V (1364-80) until the fall of the French monarchy in 1792.

FRANCE: There were some prestigious names among the 24 exhibitors at the first Salon International d’Art Asiatique, held at the Hôtel Dassault on the Champs-Elysées from October 5-8.

USA: STELLA Management have been forced to cancel New York’s Triple Pier Antiques Show despite moving the venue.

FRANCE: After a long and frustrating delay, Sotheby’s and Christie’s finally got the official go-ahead late last week to conduct auctions in France. They were among the first four auction houses to receive a licence from the French Conseil des Ventes on October 25 and both houses swiftly announced details of their inaugural sales to be held later this year.

AWAY from New York, the international trade have been preparing to return to serious business in the US at David and Lee Ann Lester’s second annual Texas International Fine Art Fair, running from November 1 to 7.

Penrith Farmers' and Kidd's have been badly affected by world events this past year. Situated in one of the worst hit areas for the Foot and Mouth epidemic, the county all but shut up shop. And just as things were starting to pick up the devastating events in America have created a marked caution in the trade.

SOTHEBYS.COM are offering a rare portrait by Frederick Lord Leighton, which has been discovered in the estate of a collector from Indiana in the United States.

THIS year’s annual International Fine Print Dealers Association Print Fair, scheduled for October 31 to November 4, has been cancelled with the forced closure of the Seventh Regiment Armory to non-military activities.

A new design fair made its debut last month in Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre on September 29. Focusing on pieces, from the 1950s to the present SM’ART (le salon du mobilier et de l’objet design) mixed post-war design classics from Italy, France and Scandinavia with works by contemporary designers.

The rediscovery of a significant work by a major Old Master painter is always an event for the art trade, even if the work not obviously commercial. When Anthony Blunt wrote his monograph on Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665) this painting, right, of The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist, executed c.1627-28 when the young Poussin first worked in Rome, was only known from engravings.

FRANCE: With Art Deco becoming increasingly rare and costly, collectors and auctioneers are starting to take a serious interest in Post-Deco: furniture and furnishings from the 1940s and later.

Lawyers have filed a motion attempting to quash a case that has the potential to blight the entire trade in Egyptian antiquities in the United States.

Cloudband.com, the specialist Website firm for rugs and textiles, have had their financing badly hit as a direct result of terrorist attacks in New York on September 11.

FAIRS organisers in New York plan to approach the city authorities with a view to getting events back on track as soon as possible. But they fear that with the continuing problems facing the city, it will be January at the earliest before suitable space can be found to resume anything close to a normal service.

Several auction records were broken when Christie’s New York sold the library of Abel E. Berland in an October 8-9 sale that saw 90 per cent of lots sold for a premium-inclusive total of $14.4m (£9.8m).