Germany

A court in the US has given the go-ahead for Germany to be sued for the return of Nazi-looted art and artefacts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Numerous 18th and 19th century watchmakers in Geneva and London made their living by manufacturing watches for the Chinese market, many destined for the Chinese Emperor and members of his court. One of the pioneers in this field was William Ilbery who was active in London from about 1780 until his death in 1839.

A bronze Etruscan statuette that was stolen from Berlin’s Antikensammlung during the Second World War has been returned after the intervention of London dealers Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch.

Online auction house Auctionata is closing down after an attempt to find new investment failed to materialise.

The company behind online art and antiques auctioneer Auctionata and Paddle8 has filed for preliminary insolvency to restructure its business.

A remarkable drawing by German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) that was recently restituted to the family of a Holocaust victim has sold for €1.7m (£1.44m) at an auction in Berlin.

As you peruse this story on your computer, smartphone or tablet, take a look at the keyboard on said devices and spare a thought for the Rev Rasmus Malling-Hansen (1835-90).

A much-exhibited early 19th century drawing, restituted in August to the heirs of a Holocaust victim, has immediately appeared for sale in Germany.

Martin Klosterfelde, a former Berlin-based contemporary art specialist and director at Phillips, has joined Sotheby’s.

An auction of a Thracian coin – minted in the city of Apollonia Pontica (in modern-day Bulgaria) in the 4th or 5th century BC – was halted by eBay on the grounds the listing was ‘hateful or discriminatory’.

The Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim has had to close a major exhibition after collectors withdrew their loans following the approval of Germany’s new Cultural Property Protection Act.

German auctioneers are preparing to move sales abroad following the passing of a controversial new cultural heritage law.