Germany

The essential guide to the German auction world - 10 things to know

An investigation in Germany into an Israeli art dealer, charged with being the ringleader of an international fraud ring, has concluded after the two central allegations against him were dropped.

Auction Technology Group's chief sets out how online consolidation, such as the company's purchase in March of e-commerce portal lot-tissimo, will bring benefits to both buyers and auctioneers...

An auction house in a small Bavarian town sold a Dutch Golden Age painting for more than 50 times its estimate back in November 2017 – setting a record for an artwork auctioned online in Germany.

Auction Technology Group (ATG) – owner of Antiques Trade Gazette and thesaleroom. com – has merged with German art and antiques portal Lot-tissimo.com.

An 800-year-old hurdy-gurdy, thought to be the oldest in Europe, features in a collection of 450 musical instruments from a German private museum coming up at auction.

I was enjoying the annual SLAD Christmas drinks in December, when a dealer started to recount an extraordinary experience he had with a German auction house.

Hermann Historica (23% buyer’s premium) of Munich mounted its customary assault on the arms and armour market with no fewer than seven catalogues covering more than 6000 objects, ranging from ancient Greek helmets to military and other vehicles.

Asian art sales are always unpredictable, more often than not in a positive sense.

The chap in the voluminous breeches shown below is far removed from today’s riflemen as far as combat uniform is concerned.

Paintings by major exponents of Expressionism almost invariably occupy many of the top slots in the modern and contemporary art sales staged in late autumn across Germany and Austria.

The potential star of the show at the sale of Selected Works held by Grisebach (25% buyer’s premium) in Berlin on November 30 lived up to its expectations.

The market for works by Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-68) was pushed into a new dimension at recent German auctions.

An exceptionally rare, complete copy in a 17th century binding of Hernán Cortés’ Praeclara Nova maris Oceanii Hyspania… of 1524 sold for a six-times estimate €240,000 (£212,390) at Hartung & Hartung (20% buyer’s premium) in its November 6-7 auction.

A mix of surprising and more predictable results emerged in the first round of Old Master auctions in Germany and Austria this autumn.

Among the many hundreds of services manufactured in Meissen, the Schwanenservice (Swan Service) is one of the most exclusive – a fact not lost on today’s collectors of 18th century German porcelain.

The impact of the controversial 2016 cultural heritage bill has moved up the political agenda in Germany in the wake of the country’s recent elections.