July 20- July 21

99 modern paperworks were put up for sale at Saffronart 24 hour auction on July 20 and July 21, 2011.

Of the 99 lots 78 were sold at a total of (inclusive of buyer's premium) was Rs. 2, 26, 03,020. The highest winning value was for a Tyeb Mehta untitled work which sold for Rs 18, 97, 500. The other top sellers were V S Gaitonde, M F Husain, F N Souza, Nasreen Mohamedi, Jogen Chowdhury, Akbar Padamsee and K H Ara to name a few.

Bonhams

Highest price goes to Japanese card case

June 5

The Sale of Chinese ceramics and Asian art at Bonhams, London were sold on July 5, 2011. Of the 476 lots 386 were sold at total of 19, 59, 84 £ (inclusive of buyer's premium). The highest winning value was for a Japanese ivory and shibayama card case, Meiji Period (1868-1912) which was sold for £ 4560. The card case which is decorated in silver and gold hiramakie and takamakie and inlaid with coral, shell, tortoiseshell and stained ivory depicting flowering peony, morning glory and bellflowers with birds and insects; another of Chinese origin carved in relief with courtiers, and with a lion dog in a garden in gold lacquer, 19th Century -- 4 7/16 and 3 7/8in. (11.3 and 9.8cm.) long (2).

Christie's

The Sale of Old Master Prints at Christie's London

July 7 - July 8

The Old Master Prints were sold at a total of 434,100 (British pounds) on July 7 and July 8, 2011 at Christie's London, South Kensington. The highest price went for Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (B, M, Holl 1; SMS 39) was sold for £34,850. The next highly priced sale was that of Andrea Andreani's (1558/9-1629) after Domenico Beccafumi (1484-1551) The Sacrifice of Abraham: a chiaroscuro woodcut printed from four blocks in three shades of grey and black, 1586, B., S. 375 x 380 mm. It was sold for £18,750.

Sotheby''s

Old Master Painting

July 7

On 7th July, 2011Sotheby's brought a strong total of £47,640,900 ($76,492,229). The house sold 50 of the 73 offered lots with a 91.6% rate for value and an average lot value of £952,818. Yet more than half of the company's success is attributed to one artist only - Francesco Guardi, whose Venice view painting established not only the highest price of the week, but also the highest price for any work sold of art at an International auction house in 2011. Guardi smashed the record for the 2nd highest auction price ever for an Old Master painting, fetching an incredible £26,697,250 ($42,865,105). The sale also constitutes a personal record for the artist and for any Venetian view painting.

Forthcoming auctions

Bonham's

Items from St Barnabas House & Chestnut Tree House

August 2

Isidore Bonheur (French, 1827-1901) came from a family of important painters and sculptors. He exhibited regularly at the salon from 1848 onwards, winning medals in 1865 and 1869 and a prestigious gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. His naturalistic studies of animals are now some of the most highly sought after works by any of the Animalier sculptors.

A bronze model of a bull cast by Hippolyte Peyrol dark brown patination, on a naturalistic oval base, signed I. BONHEUR and stamped PEYROL, (45cm wide x 28cm high) is estimated at £3,000 - 4,000, € 3,400 - 4,500. The auction will also include carpets, rugs and furniture.

Brilliant-cut diamond to sell for £ 7,000

August 10

Brilliant-cut diamond in a six-claw setting, diamond approx. 2.50ct, ring size T½ estimated to sell for £ 7,000 - 10,000, € 8,000 - 11,000.

Christie's

Vintage Interiors at Christie's London, South Kensington

2 August

Christie's Interiors Department will host an auction of vintage furniture and lighting items. The auction will also include sculptures, statues and figures, prints and multiples, paintings, drawings and water colours. Works of Willem Blaeu (1571-1638), Diego Velazquez (1599-1660), David II Teniers (1610-1690), Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) and others will be auctioned. Items include tables, vases, lighting, chair, mirrors, cabinets/cupboards, figure, jars & flasks, decorative tableware & centre pieces, garden ornaments, scientific instruments, bust, utensils, wall & bracket, wall-hanging, fireplace and others.

A pair of French ormolu three-branch wall-lights by Henri Vian (1860-1905), late 19th century is estimated to sell for £4,000 - £6,000. Each modelled as a ribbon-suspended arrow-filled quiver backplate issuing three scrolled branches with circular drip-pans and petal-shaped nozzles, each signed 'h. Vian', the branches formerly hung with floral swags 43½ in. (110.5 cm.) high.

Antique paintings, sculptures and furnitures

9 August

On 9th August a total of 407 Lots will be auctioned at Christie's London, South Kensington, including antique paintings, prints, water colours, furniture, lighting, sculptures, statues and figures, prints and multiples and textiles and costumes. Including works of James Jackson Curnock (1839-1891), Henry Charles Brewer (1866-1950), Michael Ayrton (1921-1975) and others. The items to be auctioned are made up of a varied range of material like: gilt, glass, porcelain, mahogany, metalwork, ceramic, marquetry, iron, terracotta, copper, mirror glass, silver plate, steel/stainless steel, fruitwood, papier mache, bone & horn and other materials. The designs are equally wide ranged. They range from flowers & plants, figural, animal, architectural, natural history, birds, portrait, sporting, commemorative, insects, marine life and shells, novelty, Chinese to mythological.

A pair of regency mahogany, satinwood, amaranth and ebony card tables of early 19th century is a highlighted feature of the auction. One baize lined, the other polished inside, the mahogany tops crossbanded in satinwood and amaranth, the tablet-fronted friezes inlaid to the front and sides with ebony lozenges, the friezes chamfered on all four angles and inlaid to each angle with line-and-dot, the bases conformingly inlaid to all four sides 29 in. (74 cm.) high; 36 in. (92 cm.) wide; 18 in. (46 cm.) deep (2), estimated at £4,000 - £6,000.