Europe

Selection of items by the Hungarian family firm date from most in-demand era of production

A fine example of Thai silversmithing sold well above its estimate for €17,000 (£14,400) at Historia Auctionata (27% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Berlin on June 19. The 9in (23cm) parcel gilt and niello pumpkin-form tea kettle probably dated from the 1870s.

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.

Most Parisian galleries are going away for the summer but one hardy soul is holding an Olympic exhibition

The Rare Books sale at Ketterer Kunst (25/20/19% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg on May 27 included this first edition dedication copy of Das Kapital (1867).

Serpenti jewels, which followed the launch of Bulgari’s signature gold Tubogas bracelets in the late 1940s, were featured in Vogue and other fashion magazines on countless occasions in the Sixties.

In a private collection since it was last sold in 1991, one of only two known autograph manuscripts by author and journalist Albert Camus of his masterpiece L’Etranger was sold by Tajan (23/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Paris on June 5.

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

Fabergé’s rock crystal, platinum, silver and diamond ‘ice flower’ jewels were made by the workmaster Albert Holmström, c.1913-14, after designs made by his niece Alma Pihl (1888-1976).

Irish art sales rated as ‘very good’ despite some supply challenges as private collectors wait to consign

While the identity of the main artist was up for debate, the impressive ownership of a work sold in Austria was not in doubt

On May 8, Neumeister (30% buyer’s premium) in Munich sold the collection of Hans Constantin Faussner, a Bavarian lawyer and art collector.

The Ivoire Clermont-Ferrand auction house in France has organised themed sales based around the famous Michelin Guide for 25 years with its specialist Pierre Gabriel Gonzalès.

The last Jean-Jacques Rousseau herbarium in private hands came for sale at Ader in Paris on June 17.

It is safe to say that nowadays the image of a smoking dog would find little favour with animal rights activists or for that matter with the current (for now) UK Prime Minister.

A monumental painting of a fish market soared to unexpected heights at the May 16 auction at Lempertz (26% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.

On May 28 in Bruges, Carlo Bonte (28% buyer’s premium) offered The Hermit, Brother Luce, an oil study attributed to the French late Baroque painter Pierre Hubert Subleyras (1699-1749).

June 2, 1878, began as a normal day in the varied life of the German artist Adolph von Menzel.