International

Though an assortment of highprofile sales took place at the recent TEFAF New York Fall, some participants reported that business was markedly slower than in other editions.

The very first lot offered as part of a Harry Houdini collection in an October 20 sale held by US magic specialist Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) was a 50 cent, 1898 copy of Magic Made Easy…

Illustrated below is a spread from a 1488 edition of a popular account of travels to various parts of the world that is generally referred to as a compilation by Sir John Mandeville.

The sale to held by Blackwell auctions in Florida on November 10 will include a selection of books from the library of Dromoland Castle, the Irish castle in County Clare where the historic ‘Armada table’ sold last month by Adam’s in Drogheda, Ireland, for €360,000 was housed for 300 years (ATG No 2364).

ATG’s calendar of auctions taking place in the US and Canada in November and December 2018.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from November 6-17, 2018.

“It was a great deal of work,” said Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) managing director James O’Halloran of the operation involving the removal of 700 lots – including the ‘Armada Table’ and other massive pieces – to the Drogheda stately home venue of Townley Hall for sale.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from October 30-November 9, 2018.

Fine Arts Paris is the young November arrival on the fairs scene in the French capital. Launched last year, it celebrates its second staging in a new venue with a much enlarged exhibitor list.

All rather slim – one in fact a single sheet broadside – the three items noted here were all part of a Bonhams New York (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of September 25 and, spanning some 80 years, all bear Boston imprints.

Representing just a fraction of the international art market and often overshadowed by the demand for 2D art, Irish sculpture has undergone a quieter recovery.

Tribal art is very much a strength of the Paris art market, with sales taking place throughout the year.

This little oil on canvas showing a seated lion watching the setting sun from the top of a rocky plateau is evocatively titled Les Deux Majestés and is a work by the 19th century Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904).