Europe

A suspected art smuggling ring has been busted after Europol and police across 18 countries helped seize 3561 works of art and cultural goods.

Easter Rising 1916 memorabilia may be treasured now by collectors, especially after last year’s centenary, but a medal just sold at auction in Ireland once ended up in a bin rather than proudly displayed.

The company behind online art and antiques auctioneer Auctionata and Paddle8 has filed for preliminary insolvency to restructure its business.

Sotheby’s Geneva has relocated to a new office, exhibition space and saleroom in the banking quarter of the Swiss city.

The Musée Rodin and the Detroit Institute of Arts have been awarded the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund for conservation.

Art dealer Guy Wildenstein has been cleared of tax fraud in a surprise verdict following a criminal trial in Paris.

Over 130 dealers will start setting out their stands next week as the BRAFA art fair, Belgium’s premier art and antiques show, opens in Brussels on January 21.

A Chinese hardstone imperial seal set a record at Drouot in Paris on when Pierre Bergé & Associés sold this impressively carved 4in (10.5cm) square specimen, inscribed 'Qianlong Yu Bi Zhi Bao', for a hammer price of €17.5m (£14.58m).

An archive of over 400 letters and drawings by Sir William Orpen (1878-1931) has been acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland in a deal brokered by Dublin auctioneers Whyte’s.

A rediscovered chalk portrait by Andrea d’Angiolo, called Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), has set an record for any Old Master drawing sold at auction in France.

A suspected antique libation cup is among €100,000 worth of goods seized during a raid in Ireland.

A small Castilian mediaeval alabaster statue of Saint Cecilia playing a portable organ led a strong selection of traditional art and antiques in the Paris pre-Christmas auctions at Hotel Drouot.

A remarkable drawing by German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) that was recently restituted to the family of a Holocaust victim has sold for €1.7m (£1.44m) at an auction in Berlin.

This Rembrandt Bugatti bronze of ‘The Giant Anteater’ (Le Grand Fourmilier) more than lived up to its status as the potential star at a recent auction in Paris.

A newly-discovered drawing that has been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci will be offered by Paris auctioneers Tajan next year, estimated at €15m (£9.62m).

If a Chanel snow globe, a Fabergé bracelet or a blue table by Yves Klein are on the list for Father Christmas this year then head to Christie’s Paris showroom this weekend.

As you peruse this story on your computer, smartphone or tablet, take a look at the keyboard on said devices and spare a thought for the Rev Rasmus Malling-Hansen (1835-90).

A group of art and antiques dealers, fairs and museums have become the first to use the new internet domain name of ‘.art’.