International

Auction houses will no longer be legally required to publicise guarantees on artworks sold in New York City when a repeal of business regulations goes ahead next month.

This Charles II ebony and silvermounted table clock by the London golden-age clockmaker Joseph Knibb (1640-1711) emerged for sale in Germany.

Christie’s flagship sales of Modern and Contemporary art in New York produced a running total of $1.25bn (£1.02m) including premium from four evening auctions last week.

A late version of the Penitent Magdalen by Titian (c.1485- 1576) that surfaced at Austrian saleroom Dorotheum has sold for €4.1m (£3.5m).

This remarkable Baccarat tantalus in the form of an elephant and howdah sold at Can$120,000 (£75,000) at an auction in Victoria, British Columbia.

Alchemical work is best-seller as Vishniac lots create a valuable mix in the saleroom

In what was the auction house’s most successful sale ever in financial terms, and one that boasted a 97% selling rate, a March 4 sale at Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) was led at $65,000 (£49,240) by a 'Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen’s Captivity from the Time of his Being Taken by the British, near Montreal… in 1775, to the Time of his Exchange…in May 1778'.

An historically significant document dating from 1785 and a previously unrecorded campaign handbill concerning the election that saw Thomas Jefferson become the third US president were highlights of a February 17 sale at Freeman’s (26/20/12% buyer’s premium).

Specialist toy sales held in April on either side of the Atlantic have yielded some notable prices for items from two specific categories: toys relating to Popeye and a collection of toy boats.

Two upcoming lots at US book auctions.

The six lots described here are drawn from a hugely successful sale of comics and comic art held in Dallas by Heritage (20% buyer’s premium) over four days, from April 7-10.

Strawser auction group holds a three-day sale series in Indiana on May 25 & 27-28.

Though it is the pineapple that is most prominent, it is the assortment of creatures that flutter around, climb or emerge from its leaves that are the principal attraction of this coloured plate, below.

A fair featuring books, posters, photographs, pictures and records covering Surrealism, counter culture and underground movements will take place in Paris this summer.

If social media makes you feel like Big Brother is watching you, and if truth occasionally feels stranger than fiction, then like many bibliophiles you might be exploring books that suggest models for society and the role of the individual.

A selection of 14 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and overseas.

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.