International

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in interest for works by Adolph Menzel (see also ATG No 2649), whose works often go way above the guides and achieve unexpected six-figure prices.

Sometime c.1900, a craftsman or accomplished amateur spent a lot of time building or converting a 6ft 7in (2m) cupboard into a fully fitted dolls’ house.

Swiss collectors were in a generous mood at Koller’s (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) recent Zurich auction.

Examples of products by Viennese factory founded 10 years after Meissen prove popular purchases

A US auction house that was forced to halt the sale of a collection of drawings by King of Pop Michael Jackson (1958- 2009) at the last minute has said it fully intends to sell the works at a later date.

Spotlight on copy sold in superb Strutz collection – plus a look at other recent results for the Tolkien classic

Works on paper by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) are regularly strong sellers at Austrian auctions, but even so, the result for one of his coloured pencil drawings at a Dorotheum (30/25% buyer’s premium) sale in Vienna was quite a surprise.

William Strutz’s library built within his home in Bismarck, North Dakota, consisted of some 15,000 books, which the attorney began assembling while in college in the late 1950s

Following the Franco-Prussian War, when Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by Germany, workers at the Sarreguemines factory rejected German nationality and brought important technical skills and artistry to Choisy-le-Roi.

The swan-form sad iron is a favourite of iron collectors and has been much reproduced.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) epitomised the power of words and, on June 25, that is what bidders had the chance to own in the form of those penned by the political and spiritual leader himself in a letter to his friend, South African architect Hermann Kallenbach (1871-1945).

The colours and designs of Qing dynasty robes were designed to convey rank and entitlement.

A pair of pistols Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly intended to use on himself after defeat sold for €1.69m (£1.4m) including buyer’s premium at auction house Osenat in Fontainebleau, France.

Spectacular gold dressing table set was made in the Arts & Crafts form inspired by Norse motifs

On July 2, Vienna auction house Tiberius (27% buyer’s premium) sold the inventory of Laudon Castle, a privately owned, moated baroque residence on the outskirts of the Austrian capital.

The latest sale of Fine & Decorative Arts at Morphy’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Denver, Pennsylvania featured many good examples of Amphora and Zsolnay.

The pale blue hue known as clair-de-lune is one of the most treasured Qing monochrome glazes, and was reserved exclusively for imperial porcelains.

This unusual famille rose ‘cong’ form vase is finely painted with scenes of huntsmen, two with camels and two on horses.