France

On the day that the Bastille was stormed Louis XVI famously recorded “rien” (nothing) in his game book.

France remains one of the most popular holiday destinations for UK residents. If you want to combine an antiques/vintage buying trip with a holiday in either Provence or the Haute-Savoie this month, then a visit to two of the regions’ most attractive towns might feature high on the itinerary.

Vincennes, Sèvres and Meissen are among the stars of a Paris and London auction spotlight.

There has long been a tradition of summer sales in Monaco, with an emphasis on the luxury goods area of the market: jewellery, watches, handbags and cars. Here are a few stand-out lots coming up.

A rare medieval gold head of a saint generated significant interest at a sale in Paris conducted by Pierre Bergé & Associés at the Hôtel Drouot.

The Paris high season is a time when classic sales of traditional fare are as much to the fore as buoyant sectors such as Asian, contemporary and modern and tribal art.

The mammoth disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts began last week with a premium-inclusive €17.6m series of seven June auctions offered over four days at Drouot (June 15 and 18-20).

More than 50 works by the French modern sculptor César (1921-98) are on display in the artist’s home city of Marseille.

The post-war industrial modernist designs of Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand remain firm sellers. Pieces from their best-documented commissions, like the furnishings created in the 1950s for the student residences of the Cité Universitaire in Paris, are particularly strong.

Post-war material is attracting growing interest across all sectors of the art market. A pioneer was the Design sale that championed the creations of designers and taste makers from the second half of the 20th century and beyond.

The specialist Finnish lighting designer Paavo Tynell proved to be the strong suit in a 111-lot Scandinavian design sale held by Artcurial (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Paris.

The Hôtel Drouot in Paris is to host a street art fair this autumn.

It is relatively rare to find items of 16th century costume on the market, especially pieces in good condition. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that this gentleman’s doublet from c.1580-1600 should end up going to a major museum when it went under the hammer in a Paris auction this month.