International

The desire by top museums to buy works by under-represented groups, including women and minority ethnic artists, has led to two new auction records in the US.

The bright blue iridescent feathers of the kingfisher have been used to decorate objects and jewellery and items of personal adornment for over 2000 years in China, where the birds are also known as jade or jadeite birds.

Auction firms in France followed a more traditional course in 2023 according to the latest figures.

Jesse Rossa of California firm Triolet Rare Books is one of the exhibitors at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair.

Catalogue of ‘mechanised thought’ counts as one of the stand-out items for sale at San Francisco event

In Ireland, Adam’s of Dublin held 32 auctions over the course of 2023, raising a hammer total of €13.8m (£12m) which was up from €12.6m in 2022.

When Australian auction house Artvisory offers the Robert Burke collection on February 19-20 in Melbourne it will launch around 300 lots of prime 18th century English porcelain onto the market.

Entertainment memorabilia specialist auction house Propstore held some of the most successful sales of 2023.

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

An original dust jacket made all the difference when Weiss Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) offered a first edition copy of Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness in Lynbrook, New York.

Though largely forgotten today, Lillie Langtry (1853-1929) was probably England’s first superstar, moving effortlessly from the stage to high society.

This extraordinary Tiffany & Co. silver and mixed metal vase has many of the characteristics of the firm’s chief designer and director of its silver works, Edward Chandler Moore (1827-91).

Top lot in the Potter & Potter (25% buyer’s premium) comics sale featured the debut of Captain America – introduced on the cover punching Hitler.

A “true gentleman”, who was “full of cheerfulness, good humour”, and with a “ready smile”, are some of the words used on rip.ie to describe the late George Mealy, who died on December 22.

Pierre Hodé (1889-1942) learned his trade in Paris, a resident of the famous Bateau-Lavoiri building in Montmartre where his close neighbour was Juan Gris.

As well as being an artist’s model and gallery owner who founded the museum dedicated to the work of the sculptor Aristide Maillol, Dina Vierny was also known as a collector of antique dolls.

Portrait of Sandwich Islands noblewoman who visited London on diplomatic tour in 1824 appears in Maryland auction