Museum acquisitions

The right of French museums to claim a lot offered at auction as soon as the final price is determined by the fall of the hammer always adds an extra dimension to any auction in France.

A replica of the largest Roman mosaic to be found in Britain could return home to Gloucestershire where it was made.

A rare 17th century Chinese silver ewer has been acquired by the Palace of Versailles in a private treaty sale conducted by the auction firm Beaussant Lefèvre. It is the only known surviving piece of silverware from a lavish diplomatic gift presented to Louis XIV by the King of Siam (Thailand) in 1686.

A silver teapot that belonged to the last colonial governor of Virginia has been donated by a British descendant to the Colonial Williamsburg collection.

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism is postponing the unveiling of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ at The Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Christie’s has helped broker the sale of portrait of a young Dylan Thomas by Augustus John (1878-1961) to the National Portrait Gallery.

A large 19th century panorama of London, completed towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, has entered the Museum of London’s permanent collection after the institution acquired it at a recent Sotheby’s auction.

Canterbury Cathedral has bought a rare illuminated bible once owned by one of the last members of Britain’s monastic community before the Reformation.

A group of museums, with the backing of film-maker James Cameron, has teamed up to buy artefacts from the wreck of the 'Titanic'.

A recently discovered self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi, the celebrated Italian Baroque artist, has been acquired by the National Gallery in London for £3.6m.

The bronze figure known as the ‘Dresden Mars’ is returning home after the Dresden State Art Collections agreed to buy the artwork ahead of a planned auction tomorrow.

A vast collection of ivories from The Sir Victor Sassoon Chinese Ivories Trust will be going on display at the British Museum after it acquired the collection earlier this year.

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has acquired a marble sculpture of Queen Victoria by Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854-1934) after raising the required £1.01m to prevent it from export.

A painting of a game of bowls by John Singer Sargent previously in the collection of the late A Alfred Taubman has sold to the National Trust’s Ightham Mote, the manor house in Kent depicted in the picture.

A record-breaking year for Art Fund, including the purchase of £5.5m of art, is a ‘step in the right direction’ as the national charity seeks to increase its annual grant giving to £10m.

Two Attic black figure vases that formerly belonged to Lucien Bonaparte, the younger brother of Napoleon, were acquired by the Louvre from an auction held at Drouot in Paris by Pierre Bergé et Associés (PBA).

A collection of photographs capturing a century of Scottish history has been saved for the nation at a price tag of £1m.