Art market professionals have won the day: on December 28, after a long consultation process, the French government adopted a decree raising the value thresholds above which a certificate is required to export cultural property (Journal Officiel publication no. 0314 of December 29, 2020). This...

Furniture and artworks were not the only items plundered during the Second World War. Books were also targeted and on a much larger scale. The figures speak for themselves: while specialists estimate that 100,000 cultural artifacts and items of furniture were stolen between 1940 and 1945 in France,...

Eighteen monumental lacquer wall panels made by an extraordinary artist for the smoking room of the Normandie will soon go under the hammer in Le Havre. An ambitious man, Jean Dunand (1877-1942) entered the school of decorative arts with great expectations. He eventually found a project that made...

Born in Nigeria in 1973, Gerald Chukwuma (a graduate of the University of Nigeria, where he met El Anatsui) is now considered one of the most dynamic artists in his country. His large-scale sculptures are exhibited in Ghana, Cameroon, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey and the USA. As...

Rolex watches are omnipresent in auction rooms and increasingly sought-after, including as a safe investment. The Sea-Dweller is an example. The Submariner, Oyster Perpetual and Daytona rank among the flagship models of the Swiss luxury precision watch brand founded by Hans Wilsdorf in London in...

The year’s first installment of "Drouot Déco", a regular exhibition co-organized by auction house experts, is on view in Room 2 through January 25th. It assembles an eclectic lot of accessibly priced furniture and art offered in upcoming sales. Not every art lover can offer themselves a ...

At the court of Versailles, people needed to know how to play the game in every sense to avoid being burned by the Sun. Today, the game is played at auction… When France was a kingdom, people in high places played games—not only for fun, but also by royal decree. Louis XIV made games a meticulous...

Every year, Artprice ranks the most expensive artworks sold at auction. The website posted very positive results for 2020, but scales of values decreased. Of course Bacon, Hockney and Rothko made the list; but Claude Monet  and Jeff Koons did not. Read more...

The sieges of Constantinople in 1204 and 1453 spurred the growth of a thriving luxury glassware trade in Europe. The invention of cristallo—thin, translucent glass—made Venice famous. From the 13th century, princes who collected precious objects became unhappy with the unreliability of the supply...