BRAFA postponed until January 2022
The organiser of the BRAFA Art Fair, Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique, has postponed the event that was scheduled for January next year in Brussels. It will now be taking place on January 23-30, 2022.
Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke, BRAFA president, added: “This was obviously a tremendously difficult decision. Our priority was to avoid unnecessary risks for visitors and exhibitors.
“While there was plenty of enthusiasm for the event – almost all exhibitors had confirmed their attendance – the risk of a forced cancellation just a few weeks prior to the opening was equally real.”
Long Museum buys £26.5m Yuan scroll
A full 75 minutes was required to sell Ren Renfa’s Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on October 8.
The late 13th or early 14th century scroll by the Yuan painter and government official received over 100 bids before it sold to the Long Museum in Shanghai at HK$265m (£26.5m) – HK$306.6m including premium.
Ren Renfa’s 'Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback' – HK$265m (£26.5m) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on October 8.
The 6ft 6in (2m) work depicts the princes riding horses with four attendants. One of the princes, who copes best with effects of strong drink, is Li Longji, who became the long-reigning Tang dynasty emperor Xuanzong.
The scroll, with numerous imperial seals, has been highly prized since the time of the Ming dynasty. It was removed from the Forbidden City by the last emperor Pu Yi, after the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Drysdale in the Melbourne picture
One of the most important works by Modern Australian artist Russell Drysdale (1912-81) has been consigned to auction by descendants of the well-known art critic, Clive Turnbull.
The writer, journalist and art critic at three newspapers (the Melbourne Herald, the Argus and The Age), had acquired Going to the Pictures at Drysdale’s landmark exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in 1942, the year after it was painted.
'Going to the Pictures' by Russell Drysdale will be the centrepiece of Deutscher and Hackett’s sale on November 11 estimated at Aus$2.5m-3.5m.
The 18 x 22in (46 x 56cm) signed oil on canvas remained in Turnbull’s family after his death in 1981. Turnbull’s descendants have now consigned it to Deutscher and Hackett’s sale in Melbourne on November 11 where it is estimated at Aus$2.5m-3.5m.
ILAB launches new missing books list
Australian book dealer Sally Burdon has said she will use her second term as ILAB president to consolidate changes and launch a new missing books register following the international book trade association’s recent election.
The new site, dubbed the ILAB Missing Books Register, is set to launch in 2021, replacing the current Stolen Books Database. Burdon said: “Featuring up-to-date listings, the new Missing Books Database will more closely address the needs of librarians, collectors, and law enforcement.”
During her second term she also plans to launch a new ILAB website. She was re-elected president of the association last week when presidents of each of the 22 national ILAB associations held their first virtual meeting. Mario Giupponi of Italy was elected as new vice president and two new members joined the committee: Eberhard Köstler (Germany) and Angus O’Neill (UK). Robert Schoisengeier (Austria) and Michael (Oscar) Graves-Johnston (UK) are leaving the committee after each serving for four years.
T-rex bites record
A complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was hammered down at $27.5m (£21.3m) at Christie’s New York October 6 to an unknown buyer.
‘Stan’ the T-rex – $27.5m (£21.3m) at Christie’s New York.
The specimen, known as Stan, is one of the largest, most complete and widely studied T-rex skeletons ever discovered. It is named after the paleontologist Stan Sacrison who found the partially unearthed hip bones in 1987 in South Dakota.
The 67m-year-old dinosaur had previously been at the Black Hills Institute in South Dakota. It was estimated at $6m-8m. Christie’s said the price set a new world record for any dinosaur skeleton or fossil ever sold at auction.
Most read
The most viewed stories for week October 1-7 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 New hires across the art and antiques sector including at Dreweatts and Bonhams
2 Bow model of red squirrel stars in our pick of five auction highlights sold this week
3 Marquess heads back to ancestral home from US
4 Very early Victoria Cross awarded for Crimean War gallantry features in London auction
5 Sotheby’s opens shop in Bond Street saleroom as auction houses grow their focus on private and retail sales
In Numbers
27
The number of colonial-era artefacts set to be returned from French museums to Benin and Senegal after France’s National Assembly passed a bill with 40 deputies approving it, six abstaining and none against. The draft law now passes to the Senate.
