Europe

THE appeal of Paris as an auction centre for jewellery received a boost at the start of the year, when France slashed import VAT on “rare” or “high value” jewellery from 19.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

The Irish Government have decided to go the same way as the UK in not applying the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) to the heirs of dead artists until 2012. The extension means that ARR will continue to apply to works by living artists only.

SALES in 2008 in Paris saw Sotheby’s and Christie’s occupy the top two spots for the first time – and open up a significant gap on the rest of the field.

A FAMILY feud has led to yet another cancellation of the sale of 63 works of art by Oskar Schlemmer, one of the central figures of the Bauhaus.

NEXT year's 22nd TEFAF Maastricht will see a record 240 exhibitors from 15 countries (this year there were 227) and for the first time there will be a dedicated section for 20th century and contemporary design.

PERSONAL intervention by French President Nicolas Sarkozy has raised the stakes in the battle over extending the Artist’s Resale Right (Droit de Suite) to the heirs of dead artists.

Christie’s have announced the exact dates and location for the Paris sale of the collection put together by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. It will be held jointly by two auction houses, Christie’s and Pierre Bergé & Associates, on February 23, 24 and 25 next year.

PRE-COLOMBIAN art valued at €5m in total was withdrawn from sale in Paris on September 12 after the last-minute intervention of the Mexican Embassy.

Christie’s have announced that they are to sell the multi-million collection of Yves St Laurent, who died in June, and his business partner Pierre Bergé in February next year.

GALERIE Kugel in Paris are to hold an exhibition of the Prince of Liechtenstein’s collection of bronzes from September 10 to November 7.

The German auctioneers Ketterer Kunst will mark the opening of their first purpose-built saleroom at Neue Messe in Munich with a traditional Bavarian-style topping-out ceremony on July 23.

A FRENCH company has launched a new online stolen art database which allows victims of theft to offer rewards directly.

EBAY have vowed to fight a new French court ruling that effectively makes them responsible for what is sold on their site. In effect, the ruling could mean them having to vet items before they are offered, rather than removing offending objects once they have been alerted to them.

A COLLECTION of furniture and objects from a grand Parisian townhouse will go under the hammer in France at the end of the month – courtesy of the Ivory Coast Government.

TWO very different scenes of cricket matches in progress sold recently at very different locations. The artists themselves could also hardly be more contrasting: Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) and L.S. Lowry (1887-1976).

A FRENCH court has ruled for the first time that eBay are directly responsible for what is sold on their website.

THE battle over Antiquorum, the world’s leading clock and watch auction house, has stepped up a gear, with significant moves from both sides.

Two auctioneers, two Gérôme sculptures, but two very different estimates

The Louvre have secured the return of a French Crown Jewel after 121 years, through a private sale with Christie’s New York.

Nearly two years after its rushed introduction in the Republic of Ireland, the Artist’s Resale Right is still causing confusion among auctioneers, dealers, artists and aministrators.