International

About 80% of the global art market by value takes place outside the UK. The largest art market in the world is the US with China in third place (after the UK) followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Many more nations have a rich art and antiques heritage with active auction, dealer, fair, gallery and museum sectors even if their market size by value is smaller.

Read the top stories and latest art and antiques news from all these countries.

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Kirchner steps back into view

11 May 2024

For over a century, the whereabouts of the painting Tanz im Varieté (Steptanz) (Vaudeville Dance/Tap Dance) by the Expressionist Ernst Ludig Kirchner were unknown.

Michel Ney’s maréchal’s baton

High ranking Napoleonic marshal’s baton emerges at Fontainebleau auction

08 May 2024

Michel Ney (1769-1815) was probably the most famous of Napoleon’s marshals.

Caravaggio picture

Caravaggio rediscovered in a small Madrid auction house to go on display in The Prado

07 May 2024

An artwork attributed to a pupil of José de Ribera and offered with an estimate of just €1500 (£1300) is actually by Caravaggio.

Eva Gonzalès picture

Getty Museum buys 17 drawings from private collection

07 May 2024

The J Paul Getty Museum has acquired 17 drawings dating from the 16th to early 20th centuries from a private collection.

Boba Fett action figure

Rocket-launching Star Wars action figure expected to make sky-high price at auction

07 May 2024

An action figure that never was will be going under the hammer this month.

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Javanese prince who became an artist

06 May 2024

Over the years, Cologne auction house Van Ham has achieved high prices for works by Raden Saleh Ben Jaggia.

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Wash your hands... go on, it won’t bite

06 May 2024

This large silver zoomorphic aquamanile Caquesseitão (a vessel designed for the ceremonial washing of hands at the table) will feature as a highlight of the May sale to be held by Veritas Art Auctioneers in Lisbon.

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Prud’hon Psyche caused a stir

06 May 2024

One of the highlights on the first day of the May 30-31 auction at Grisebach in Berlin is a collection of 33 works on paper from the collection of the one-time Cologne gallery owner Rudolf Zwirner.

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Latest brews: ninth Brandt tea-infuser emerges

06 May 2024

It has often been said that no other work of art encompasses the spirit of the Bauhaus more perfectly than Marianne Brandt’s tea-infuser or Teeextraktkännchen MT49, as it was officially called.

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Monkey business from von Max

06 May 2024

The German artist Gabriel von Max (1840-1915) was not only an accomplished painter but also a passionate follower of Darwinism.

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Flights of fantasy: artist depicted hot-air balloons he never saw

06 May 2024

With very few exceptions, the French artist Victor Philippe Lemoine-Benoit devoted almost all of his painting career to one subject: hot-air balloons of the Montgolfière type.

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Canaletto works (with a bit of help)

06 May 2024

Venetian painter sometimes used studio assistants

New hires

New faces at Roseberys and Heritage Auctions are among the latest Movers & Shakers

03 May 2024

The latest jobs news across the world of art and antiques.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone illustration

Original cover artwork for Harry Potter estimated at record $600,000 comes to auction

02 May 2024

The original cover watercolour for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by Thomas Taylor is coming to auction with the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on an item of any Harry Potter-related work, according to Sotheby’s.

After Giambologna sculptures

Shahmoon family Giambologna bronzes sell at over 400 times estimate

01 May 2024

Casts of two well-known Mannerist bronzes raced to 400 times their estimate at an online sale conducted by a New York auction house last month.

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New Zealand welcomes the Great White Fleet

29 April 2024

An auction of traditional European decorative arts at Sotheby’s New York (20/10% buyer’s premium) on April 16 included this New Zealand Arts & Crafts presentation casket.

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Scientist’s microscopes go under a bidding inspection

29 April 2024

A collection of microscopes and other antique scientific instruments from the estate of Ohio scientist John A Davidson Jr (1939-2023) came for sale at Gray’s Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium) on April 17.

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Scarce medieval stained glass now sought after

29 April 2024

The March 14 sale at Willow Auction House (25% buyer’s premium) in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, included a New York private collection of leaded and stained-glass panels.

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Death sentence for king's mistress proves popular

29 April 2024

Warrant for Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, sells well eight years after last auction appearance

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Mercedes-Benz tools make $8000 on their own

29 April 2024

As an original Mercedes-Benz 300SL now costs something north of $1m, it is perhaps no surprise to learn that original accessories associated with the Flügeltürer are eagerly sought.

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