Europe

The independent salerooms and those operating from the Drouot auction centre in Paris provide an important part of the city's Drawings Week.

Designer and decorator Serge Royaux 1924-2016, whose collection of paintings, drawings, furniture and decorative items is being sold by Christie’s Paris rooms on April 17, liked to entertain and to arrange the decor of his table settings to suit individual guests.

The long-standing fair 'Salon du Dessin' remains at the core of the annual works on paper events in the French capital.

A massive 3ft (92cm) high majolica urn – a riot of grotesque masks, mythical figures and other motifs drawn from Renaissance sources – combining the talents of two key figures in the history of the Minton factory was included in Fonsie Mealy’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale on March 5.

Last November, Lempertz in Cologne held a successful sale of 19th century porcelain from the so-called Twinight Collection, amassed from 1994 by the New York businessman Richard Baron Cohen.

Although catalogued as 18th century, this marquetry table cabinet – sold for a multi-estimate sum in Ireland last week – is more probably late 16th or early 17th century.

Conducted by Christie’s Paris (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) in collaboration with Bertrand Meaudre of Paris dealer Librairie Landarchet, a February 20 sale featured the dispersal of the library of Marc Litzler for a premium-inclusive total of €4.4m (£3.82m).

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from March 12-23, 2019.

An intriguing find by a dealer new to TEFAF Maastricht leads a look at some of the highlights on offer at the huge event.

A surge of fresh faces in the Modern section, a shift in the global vetting policy and stronger links with the host city are among the recent shake-ups at TEFAF Maastricht, as CEO Patrick van Maris tells ATG.

The French auction system could be set for more reform with a draft bill recommending further change due to be launched later this month.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from March 5-16, 2019.

Art dealers and auction house experts were struck from all TEFAF vetting panels following the introduction of a new global policy last year.

Paris is a centre for auctions of Pre-Columbian art. On March 18 Copages is offering an Italian collection of works that were sourced from major salerooms such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Loudmer as well as specialist dealers like Galerie Mermoz and the Emmeritz Gallery.

On April 9 Christie’s will be holding a Pre-Columbian sale featuring the 90-lot collection formed by Felix and Heidi Stoll from Basel as well as around 50 pieces from other vendors.