Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Two fairs in Munich lead a spotlight on the art and antiques scene in Germany
08 October 2018Autumn in the Bavarian capital Munich is traditionally fair time. Shortly after the Oktoberfest closes, exhibitors at two art and antique fairs are hoping for masses of equally enthusiastic visitors.
Paul Storr silver tureen offered at Cologne auction
08 October 2018From the very beginning of his career as an independent silversmith in the late 18th century, the London craftsman Paul Storr received numerous noble and royal commissions. He was the foremost artisan in his field from the early 1790s until the late 1830s and supplied most of the silverware purchased by the royal household during this period.
Habsburg royal memorabilia leads selection of Central European hammer highlights
06 August 2018Imperial souvenirs, Expressionist portraits and metalware from Augsburg and Iran were among the recent highlights at sales in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Bamberg boom time as visitors flock to German festival
23 July 2018Over 20 years ago, leading art and antiques dealers in the picturesque Bavarian city of Bamberg came up with the idea of holding a coordinated summer sales exhibition.
A Chinese chair to make bidders sit up
02 July 2018Stuttgart auction house Nagel (33% buyer’s premium) held its summer sale of Asian art in Salzburg having acquired an impressive array of quality pieces from European and other collections.
Auctions in Germany that explode into life
25 June 2018Germany’s most expensive painting sold at auction, an unusual early firearm and a fin de siècle snake charmer are among the highlights featured here from recent auctions in Munich, Berlin and Cologne.
Max Beckmann heads to new height for a German auction record
25 June 2018It took less than five minutes for a work by Max Beckmann (1884-1950) to become the most expensive painting ever sold at a German auction.
German and Swiss sales on a roll
07 May 2018Old Masters and post-Impressionist paintings, vintage luggage and the almost inevitable Asian artefacts all appeared among the best-sellers in the recent round of auctions held across Germany and Switzerland.
Life’s a picnic in Zurich
07 May 2018Axel Plambeck (b.1936) was CEO of a re-insurance company and in his spare time he collected vintage luggage and picnic sets.
Art Nouveau centrepiece set to take prominence in Munich
07 May 2018A late 19th century Art Nouveau centrepiece is one of the highlights at Quittenbaum’s Munich sale on May 15.
Jewellery by a Wiener Werkstatte leading light on offer in Vienna
07 May 2018Main stage at the design auction at Dorotheum in Vienna on May 30 is taken by jewellery designed by Josef Hoffmann, one of the leading lights of the Wiener Werkstätte.
Eyewitness view of Napoleon in Russia 1812 up at auction
07 May 2018Pride comes before a fall and in the case of Napoleon, Smolensk came before Moscow. On May 18 Ketterer Kunst is selling a 2ft x 2ft 7in (60 x 79cm) scene of Napoleon observing the burning city of Smolensk.
Flintlock muskets to trigger bidding in Cologne
07 May 2018Numerous works of art in the spring sales at Van Ham in Cologne come from the extensive legacy of Friedrich Wilhelm Waffenschmidt (1925-2017), founder of one of Europe’s leading electronics retailers.
A Grand Tour of auction highlights across Germany's regional centres
26 March 2018Pictured and discussed here is a selection of interesting and unusual lots from sales in February and early March, ranging from a Russian enamel jug in Saarbruecken and an aristocratic de Lászlo portrait in Heidelberg to an early Grand Tour souvenir in cork in Cologne.
10 Things to know about the German auction scene
26 March 2018The essential guide to the German auction world - 10 things to know
Hurdy-gurdy, armonica and serpent sales
05 February 2018An 800-year-old hurdy-gurdy, thought to be the oldest in Europe, features in a collection of 450 musical instruments from a German private museum coming up at auction.
Latest German saleroom results show Asian buyers stepping up
29 January 2018Asian art sales are always unpredictable, more often than not in a positive sense.
Uecker is nailed on as greatest hit of the influential Zero group
02 January 2018Paintings by major exponents of Expressionism almost invariably occupy many of the top slots in the modern and contemporary art sales staged in late autumn across Germany and Austria.
Beyond Zero: modern and contemporary highlights
02 January 2018The potential star of the show at the sale of Selected Works held by Grisebach (25% buyer’s premium) in Berlin on November 30 lived up to its expectations.
Discs prove golden for Ernst Wilhelm Nay prices
02 January 2018The market for works by Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-68) was pushed into a new dimension at recent German auctions.