France

Plaudits were deserved in Paris on November 27 for Camille Claudel (1864-1943) when Artcurial’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) dedicated sale of 20 of the sculptor’s works were offered direct from her family.

A mammoth skeleton, carved zitan brushpot and gold watch made in London are among the varied lots on offer in upcoming French sales.

After a two-year wait, lots from the defunct manuscript investment scheme Aristophil will be resold at the Drouot in Paris next month.

A sale devoted to pieces by French designers and held in the French capital proved to be a winning formula for Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) latest auction in this category on October 31.

A newly discovered, hitherto unpublished painting by the French master Sebastien Bourdon is coming up for auction in Marseille at Maison R&C on November 16.

Artcurial’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) auction focus on Charlotte Perriand, the celebrated 20th century French designer and a current hot ticket in the design market, took the form of a select sale of just 20 lots chosen to showcase her strengths and versatility.

Among recent highlights at the Drouot in Paris, Beaussant- Lefèvre’s (21.53% buyer’s premium inc VAT) classic sale of Old Masters, furniture and works of art on October 18 produced a substantial €265,000 (£240,910) for a modestly estimated bronze of the goddess Diana.

Masters of Design are very much in the spotlight in Paris at the moment. A week after Artcurial’s Charlotte Perriand sortie on October 31, Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) was mounting its traditional autumn sale devoted to major works from the Art Nouveau, Art Deco, post-war and modern design periods.

The Louvre museum in Paris is hoping to raise more than £8m to buy a jewel-encrusted Book of Hours.

Paris, like London, is in full fair swing in the autumn. Once Frieze closed in the UK capital, contemporary art galleries move across the Channel to the French capital for FIAC.

Paris Photo also serves as an opportunity for Paris auction houses to mount their own photo fest. Sales taking place during early November to coincide with the event at the Grand Palais include dedicated auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and various firms at Drouot. Like the fair itself, the material on offer will range from contemporary works by living photographers through to pieces by some of the earliest pioneers.

A new fair in a favourite Parisian location opens this month. Devoted to drawings, paintings and sculpture from the 16th century to today, Fine Arts Paris (FAP) will be staged from November 8-12 in the Palais Brongniart on the Place de la Bourse.