Sotheby's

A soapstone seal used by the emperor Qianlong to express his approval of paintings and calligraphy in the imperial collection sold at auction in Hong Kong for HK$131m (£13m) on April 29.

Letter to adviser in 1592 underlines her frustration at the French king’s policies

Street view by British artist offered in Orientalist sale sells at four times estimate

The sale of Important Chinese Art at Sotheby’s on May 11 includes this monumental Kangxi famille noire vase estimated at £220,000-280,000.

It was a white-glove result for the sale of works from the collection of André Mourgues at Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/10.9% buyer’s premium plus 1% overhead premium) where the 79 lots raised a premium-inclusive total that was just a shade under €10m.

An Isnik fritware tile familiar to ATG readers made its second visit to the saleroom last week.

In the wake of new sanctions on Russia, auction houses Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams have cancelled sales of Russian art in London scheduled for June.

Running to 63 photographs, a virtually complete set of those produced for Carleton Watkins’ 1863 publication '…Photographic Views of the Falls and Valley of Yosemite' in Mariposa County, California featured in a January 27 sale at Nate D Sanders (25% buyer’s premium) of Los Angeles.

A number of UK auction houses have stopped taking bids from buyers in Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Surrealist painting by René Magritte (1898-1967) led the latest round of Modern and Contemporary art sales in London.

In May 1930 Amy Johnson (1903-41) set off in a De Havilland Gipsy Moth called Jason to become the first woman to fly solo from Great Britain to Australia. The feat, followed by further long-distance solo and combined flights, earnt her place in aviation history.

One of the stand-out lots at Sotheby’s New York (26/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) was a 1949 first printing of The Intelligent Investor.

A collection of Chinese snuff bottles offered in two sessions stands out among an intriguing selection of Asia Week New York auctions and dealer shows.

The big number in a London sale of music books, manuscripts, etc, was a collection of early pieces for guitar described as the most significant manuscript of its kind seen at auction in over 20 years.