Europe

A small but select sale of a collection of carpets and tapestries comes up for sale at Piasa in Paris on June 15. The 14 lots of weavings spanning the 16th to 18th centuries have a particular emphasis on Spain and the New World.

Less than six months after they announced the discovery of an unpublished Leonardo drawing, the French auction house Tajan has revealed another major artistic discovery – a pair of paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) that last appeared in the late 18th century. Both the Leonardo and the Fragonards have been declared National Treasures by the French State.

Bruun Rasmussen is holding a sale of Russian works of art in Copenhagen on June 9 featuring material from various private collections, including that of Norwegian commercial attaché Richard Zeiner- Henriksen (1878-1965).

The year 1884 was very significant for the Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Aged only 21, he travelled to Madrid for the third time, where he was awarded a second-class medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts for El Dos de Mayo 1808, and he received a grant to study in Rome for four years.

The strikingly striated exotic timber known as palmwood was a signature material for the designer and interior decorator Eugène Printz (1889-1948). A characteristic example of the distinctive furniture he created in this medium featured in the decorative arts sale held by Tajan (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on May 16.

The Syndicat National Des Antiquaires, organisers of the Biennale Paris, has announced the latest exhibitor list and progamme details for France’s main art and antiques fair which takes place in September.

A Parisian fair is ‘exploring new horizons’ with its first international event held at a former royal ice rink in the Belgian capital.

Included in Tajan’s design auction on June 1 is this striking 21st century low plexiglass table created by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito (b.1941).

An unexpected highlight of an April 28-29 sale held by Brussels saleroom The Romantic Agony (24% buyer’s premium), was a leaf from an illuminated manuscript.

Tribal, non-European or ethnographic art has experienced a huge growth in both general and financial appreciation this century. This boost is partly due to the connections made between indigenous art and its influence on modern and contemporary artists.

While most tribal art events take place in major cities, the Bourgogne Tribal Show makes the most of its rural location.

'Cultures – The World Arts Fair' is a gallery-based event staged every June in the antique-dealing district of Brussels known as The Sablon.