Germany

A late 18th century clock at auction in Germany has links to a French architect.

Although he was born and died in Moscow, the decisive phase of Wladimir von Bechtejeff’s artistic development can be dated to his time in Germany.

For many decades, the name Arnold Topp meant little to art collectors.

One of Sandro Botticelli’s most iconic paintings was his 'Madonna del Magnificat', painted in the 1481. The title is taken from the opening words of the Virgin’s song of exaltation, 'Magnificat anima mea dominum' (My soul doth glorify the Lord), which she is writing in the book before her.

The opening 27 lots at Nagel’s sale of Asian works of art on December 7 in Stuttgart come from the collection of an aristocratic German family and have been in their possession since before 1904, when they were purchased in China.

Guaranteed to attract attention at science and technical antiques specialist Auction Team Breker on November 6 was this remarkable Ericsson telephone.

Metz auction house will feature plenty of pieces of Meissen among the ceramics in its sale to be held in Heidelberg from December 9-11.

A copy of the first modern atlas by Abraham Ortelius, which set the standard for all following atlases, will be on offer at Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg on November 29 with an estimate of €80,000.

The sale at Peter Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionshaus in Pforzheim on October 14-16 includes a near complete copy of 'Atlas minor, sive geographia compendiosa qua orbis terrarum per paucas attamen novissimas tabulas ostenditura' by the Dutch engraver, cartographer and publisher Nicolaes Visscher (1649-1702).

Like Antiques Trade Gazette, German biblio auction house Reiss & Sohn is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

Experts split over El Greco attribution but Holy Family painting offered in Germany gets away

A handful of collectors joined the competition when Mehlis (23% buyer’s premium) in Plauen offered a 19th century ivory and ebony chess set.

Numerous international bidders set their sights on a tondo by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638).

An eclectic mixture of works from the vast collection of the multi-talented German artist Charles Crodel formed a substantial part of a Hamburg auction.

The stage was set for the 12th edition of Highlights in Munich at the beginning of July, but at short notice the local authorities prevented the event from going ahead, due to concerns about Covid.

One of the unusual lots in the glass sale at Dr Fischer in Heilbronn on October 16 is a mid-17th century wooden casket, the sides and top panel of which are fitted with engraved rock crystal panels.

For most of the second half of the 19th century the Viennese silversmith Josef Carl Klinkosch produced all types of silverware and objects of vertu.

From the middle of the 19th century, Parisian clockmaker Lévy Frères, which had established a workshop in the late 1820s, was a highly successful manufacturer of timepieces in the neo-rococo style.

Born in 1926 as Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé, the French artist Jacques Villeglé has had a long and varied career.

Regulators hold their own distinct appeal for collectors who like their aesthetic and are interested in their historic horological function as precision timepieces.