International

About 80% of the global art market by value takes place outside the UK. The largest art market in the world is the US with China in third place (after the UK) followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Many more nations have a rich art and antiques heritage with active auction, dealer, fair, gallery and museum sectors even if their market size by value is smaller.

Read the top stories and latest art and antiques news from all these countries.

Phillips

Rolex record set at Phillips auction for Vietnamese Emperor's watch

15 May 2017

A new record has been set for a rare Rolex watch once owned by the last Emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai.

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‘School of Rubens’ panel flies at Swiss Old Masters sale

15 May 2017

Estimated at CHF9000-12,000, a panel painted in the manner of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) sold for CHF700,000 (£564,500) at Galartis SA in Crissier, Lausanne on May 5.

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Fabergé silver cigarette case and Paul Nash poster on offer at New York auctions

15 May 2017

Fabergé and Russian works of art take the lead at Doyle while Nash heads the history of advertising design sale at Swann

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Celebrating 50th anniversary of Summer of Love at Heritage Auctions

15 May 2017

Jimi Hendrix's Fender Stratocaster - 'the guitar that changed music' - is being offered at Heritage Auctions' sale in June

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Rome around to Sunday antiques fairs

15 May 2017

The ancient Romans believed that no matter what happened in the world or how many empires came and collapsed, Rome would live forever. Hence its description by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC as the Eternal City.

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Delft touch on both sides of the Atlantic

15 May 2017

Inscriptions and/or dates add a premium in many classes of ceramics but especially so in delftware. Some afficionados such as the late Syd Levethan made this a particular goal for their collecting.

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Love letters straight from the heart of American artist Wyeth

15 May 2017

Despite being one of the best-known American artists of the 20th century, relatively little information exists on the early years of Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) when he began to emerge as a prominent force in the art world.

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‘Heretical’ Galileo planetary work which horrified the Inquisition is star lot in Paris auction

15 May 2017

Following the publication in 1632 of his Dialogo…, Galileo found himself hauled before the Inquisition and tried for his heretical views.

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Gangsters and outlaws feature in Boston auction

15 May 2017

A snake ring made by Clyde for Bonnie heads RR Auctions' memorabilia sale on June 22

Stanley Gibbons to ‘pursue remedies’ after Neville conviction

15 May 2017

Following the sentencing of former Mallett director Henry Neville for his part in an embezzlement case in April, Stanley Gibbons says it is “pursuing remedies for recouping the losses suffered as a result of these matters”.

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Maryland auction offers over 500 dolls

15 May 2017

This French etrennes presentation gift set from c.1900 is a type that was popular in the early 20th century with toy and department stores who competed with each other to create the most eyecatching arrangements to attract customers.

Kennedy

Jackie Kennedy’s watch and painting head to auction in New York

12 May 2017

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier watch and a rediscovered painting are on offer as part of Christie’s 'Rare Watches and American Icons' sale in New York.

Auction gavel

Higher auction margins and private sales boost Sotheby’s results

10 May 2017

Sotheby’s latest set of results for the first quarter of 2017 showed an improvement in its fortunes over the equivalent period last year.

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

Books marking 500th anniversary of Protestant Reformation offered in German auction

10 May 2017

As far as I can recall, my first introduction to Martin Luther was a colour plate in a children’s book, showing him nailing his ‘95 Theses’ to a church door.

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Privately printed edition of Lawrence of Arabia's classic at New York auction

08 May 2017

One of 170 complete copies of the privately printed Cranwell edition of the 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph', 1926, by TE Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) leads the Swann Galleries sale on May 16 in New York.

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Painting by Javanese prince emerges at Van Ham in Cologne

08 May 2017

On May 19, not for the first time, Van Ham in Cologne is selling a painting by Raden Saleh Ben Jaggia (1811-80), a Javanese prince who made a career for himself during the 22 years he spent in Europe, mainly in The Netherlands and Germany.

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Diamond cluster rings with Kashmir sapphires offered at Milan jewellery auction

08 May 2017

The jewellery sale at Il Ponte in Milan on May 17-18 will include items with provenance to a number of Italian aristocratic families.

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Turkey appeals against stargazer sale

08 May 2017

Last week’s spectacular $14.5m sale of an ancient ‘stargazer’ idol has been placed in doubt after the Turkish government challenged Christie’s right to sell it.

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Hemingway under the hammer in New York auction

08 May 2017

Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald were among the financial big-hitters when a third part of the extensive Maurice F Neville collection of modern literature was sold by Sotheby’s New York (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on April 24.

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Literary path begins for Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain

08 May 2017

Compiled by J Wells Kelly and published in San Francisco in 1862, a rare copy of the First Directory of Nevada Territory…, which was worn, dry and splitting but in original, leather-backed printed boards, sold for $6500 (£5080) in a PBA Galleries sale of April 20.

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