Italy

There was saleroom drama at Aste di Antiquariato Boetto (25% buyer’s premium) in Genoa on June 19 when a 12in (30cm) Chinese blue and white jar estimated at €2000-2300 shot to €820,000 (£692,000).

The subject of this massive Italian micromosaic panel is taken from the lost series of frescoes depicting the Hours of Day and Night by Raphael.

Watch chatelaine offered at auction was produced by a man who created many works for the Hanoverian household

The Memphis Miliano design movement was born on the evening of December 11, 1980, when architect-designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) invited young creators and architects to discuss the future of Italian ‘post-modern’ design.

Although the image may be familiar from stereoscopic photographs and engravings of the period, this view of the 1862 'London International Exhibition of Industry and Art' is an oil and canvas by the Italian painter Federico Moja (1802-85).

Two quite different pieces of glass designed by Dino Martens (1894-1970) led the April 23 sale at Aste di Antiquariato Boetto (25% buyer’s premium) in Genoa.

Current collecting taste means that Old Master paintings exploring the darker side of the human character can often find more admirers than more typical subject matter of Georgian gentleman or European landscapes. Works of the grotesque are particularly popular.

In 1902, while visiting stands at the Esposizione Internationale d’Arte Decorativa Moderna in Turin, the Queen of Italy congratulated Carlo Bugatti on his ‘Moresque’ style of furniture. He reportedly replied, “You are mistaken, majesty, this style is mine!”

This 18th century pastel on paper portrait showing a young friar has many hallmarks of the work of the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).

Two titled topographical views by a journeyman 18th century Venetian artist excelled at the Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings sale at Wannenes (35% buyer’s premium) in Genoa.

Despite specialising in Modern art, Tommaso Calabro hopes to snag some Old Master collectors at his first TEFAF.

Two exceptional pieces of Venini glass surfaced at auction in the final days of 2023 on different sides of the Atlantic.

In 1961 when Christie’s auctioned off items from the Wilton House Collection, the catalogue included a full-page image of a monumental Roman marble.

The eggs of the extinct Aepyornis maximus or elephant bird are the largest of any known species.

Recent advertising highlights from UK sales and an Italian auction

A classic pale pastel toned still-life by Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) is one of the headline lots in a two-day sale of Modern and Contemporary Art at Farsettiarte in Prato in Italy on May 26-27.

This drum major’s uniform is from the era of Queen Elizabeth II, as indicated by the big, gilded-thread monogram E II R under the crown.

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has acquired two large paintings by Giulio Aristide Sartorio (1860-1932) from Rome dealership Antonacci Lapiccirella.

Demonstrating how the internet has transformed the market for potential sleepers, three portraits that drew strong interest recently at different auctions in the UK and Europe all sold to online buyers.