International

Market shows strength only for select works as sourcing high-quality material proves inceasingly difficult

Running for the first time under new ownership Master Drawings New York (MDNY) produced strong results for many of its exhibitors, including London dealer Guy Peppiatt.

The Barbier-Mueller family is well known as a collecting dynasty, especially for its ethnographic art.

A faience dinner service that belonged to the famous French novelist George Sand sold for €7000 (£5980) at the Rouillac (24% buyer’s premium inc tax) auction on February 10.

The British and US postal clerks aboard transatlantic liners had the duty of sorting the mail during the passage.

Richard Potter (1783-1835) is considered the first successful stage magician born in the US and African-American celebrity.

Portrait of monarch impresses as château of the Comtes de Marcellus delivers treasures to auction

Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s offered notable works by French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1808) at the latest Old Master auction series in New York.

A printing of George Washington’s 1795 Thanksgiving Day proclamation sold way above hopes at Sarasota Estate Auction (23% buyer’s premium) in Florida.

A Chinese blue and white dish recognised by bidders as a fine example of bleu de Hue porcelain flew to $26,000 (£20,500).

The most eagerly contested lot at the Echoes Antiques & Auction Gallery (23% buyer’s premium) sale on January 23 was a Japanese cloisonné miniature teapot bearing the mark of the great Namikama Yasuyuki.

An ensemble of modernist rosewood furniture by the designer and architect Pierre Chareau (1883-1950) is to be offered by Valoir Pousse-Cornet auction house.

The surprise decision by Sotheby’s to cut its buyer’s premium and standardise its vendor fees sparked a wave of comments across the art and antiques trade.

US artists Ruth Lewin (1924-75) and Charles Seliger (1926-2009) have their first joint exhibition in New York this month.

A hunting rifle believed to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte when he ruled as emperor of France led the line at Alexander Historical Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

A 19th century scrimshaw carved on board a whaling ship with an all African-American crew sold for $7250 (£5700) at Bruneau & Co (20% buyer’s premium).

A Venetian Old Master painting of St Roch attributed to the circle of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696- 1770) awoke from the slumber of a $600-900 estimate to hammer for $75,000 (£59,000).

A small 8in cast bronze relief or architectural element c.1900 designed by Art Nouveau and Art Deco master René Lalique was offered in Florida.