Germany

Forty years ago, Dr Jürgen Fischer held his first auction in Heilbronn which was devoted solely to glass. Since then it has been the main, but not exclusive, focus of the house.

A work printed by Johannes Fust and Peter Schöffer will be offered for sale this month in Königstein, as part of Reiss & Sohn’s October 29-31 series of book, map, manuscript, photograph and print sales.

Even though the Bauhaus design school was forcibly closed in 1933, its influence continues to this day.

On October 12 Auction Team Breker in Cologne is holding a sale dedicated to antique office equipment. Among the distinctive pieces on offer is this Arithmomètre from 1865 guided at €3000-5000.

Traditionally, many 19th century painters copied famous works by the Old Masters as part of their artistic training.

The key influence on the work of the French sculptor Roger Godchaux (1878-1958) came from an unexpected source. He had trained at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and soon became passionate about animal figures, first exhibiting at the Salon in 1905.

Oktoberfest, the world’s largest volksfest held annually in Bavaria in September and October, is just one reason to travel to Germany in the autumn. Another is the plethora of auctions held in what is traditionally a busy season for the country’s salerooms

Aeneas Bastian is director of Bastian gallery in Berlin and London. It was founded by his parents, Céline and Heiner, in 1989 and expanded to Mayfair earlier this year.

Dealers from France and England contributed to a protracted bidding battle for a rare Renaissance maiolica dish offered at an auction house in Saxony.

One the most productive Bauhaus furniture designers was the Hungarian-born Marcel Breuer (1902-81). From 1925-28 he was in charge of the so-called interior workshop at the design school.

Centenary of the hugely influential school’s foundation prompts a string of auctions.

Metalware in all its forms played a major part in the development of the Bauhaus and recent sales contained examples in every price range.

One of the offshoots of the Bauhaus was the ceramic factory in Velten-Vordamm, just north of Berlin. Much of the stoneware designed by the ceramic artists at the school was executed there, several examples of which came up for sale at Quittenbaum.

In its active years, some 1200 students passed through the Bauhaus school. It marked the starting point of many an illustrious career as numerous members of the teaching staff went on to become the most important artists of their era.

Far and away the highest result for an Asian work of art in recent sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was the spectacular price of SFr4.2m (£3.3m) achieved by Koller in Zurich for a Chinese bronze censer (see front page, ATG No 2397).

Since the late 1880s, opera fans have braved the often intense heat of the summer to visit the Wagner festival in Bayreuth.

From the 18th century onwards, the city of Birmingham was a major centre of the British gun-making industry.

Views of Venice figure prominently in a collection of 42 Old Master drawings from the 18th century, being sold by Metz in Heidelberg on July 20.

Numerous tribes inhabit the Cross River state of south-eastern Nigeria, close to the border with Cameroon. Animals of many kinds play a major part in the myths and religions of the area.