Europe

Paris Enchères Collin du Bocage will be holding a single-lot sale on July 22 in Paris of a painting by Nicolas de Staël (1914-55).

The Rijksmuseum was in action at the Drouot to carry off a 9½in (24cm) wide porcelain punchbowl from the Ansbach factory.

This set of 40 Paris porcelain cabinet plates, c.1850, decorated with views of Constantinople, sold for €36,000/£32,730 (estimate €20,000-30,000) at a recent sale held by Dutch firm Oriental Art Auctions (28% buyer’s premium) in Hattem.

The sale of the Müller-Frei collection of paintings and decorative arts held by Koller (25% buyer’s premium) in Zurich last month included two early 18th century Meissen figure groups that outstripped their estimates.

Pictured here are five from a near-complete set of 41 polychrome terracotta figures of the Danse Macabre offered by Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) in Cologne. They are typical of the work of Anton Sohn (1769-1841), who settled in Zizenhausen near Stockach in 1799.

Bearing an estimate of just €100-150, a double-sided lot in a big Dutch sale attracted great international interest and ended up selling at €32,500 (£29,120).

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 14-29, 2020.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 7-23, 2020.

Without the signature and dedication, this crayon and pencil drawing of 'Dorfhaus mit Baum und Randsteinen' (Village House with Tree and Rocks), coming up for sale at Neumeister in Munich on July 16, would be virtually impossible to attribute to its creator.

This pastel by the Barbizon school artist Jean-François Millet (1814-75) is one of the highlights in the Esprit du XIXème Siècle auction at Osenat in Fontainebleau on July 19.

A selection of early Continental silver from the 16th and 17th centuries was a notable feature of the Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) decorative arts auction in Cologne.

Catalogued as French and late 19th century, this 5in (12cm) drinking vessel offered by Lisbon saleroom Renascimento appears to be an electrotype of the famous Warren Cup.

Among the sales series held by Koller (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) in Zurich in June that had been postponed from March was the single-owner auction of works from the Müller-Frei collection.

At the 19th century international exhibitions, the Viennese silversmith Hermann Ratzendorfer (1845-94) gained a reputation for his mixed-media works in the neo-Renaissance taste.

In Koller’s mixed-owner auction of furniture and decorative arts, it was a rare example of 18th century Italian silver that took centre stage.

The easing of lockdown rules across the UK and Ireland will help the art and antiques sector return to some normality during the summer months.

The medium of jewellery provided perhaps the greatest canvas for the new international style that flowed through the decorative arts around the turn of the 20th century.

Christie’s claimed a new record for Vietnamese ceramics when a large 15th century blue and white storage jar sold for a surprise €380,000 (£339,300) as part of the Art d'Asie sale in Paris.

Jewellery provided one of the great expressions of the Art Nouveau style. Here ATG reports on four exceptional items made in four different countries in the early years of the 20th century