 TREASURE CHEST
VIENNA: Antique furniture of extraordinary aristocratic pedigree is on offer at the Dorotheum’s Property from Aristocratic Estates auction on 1 March. Pieces include a Josephine cabinet for cards and notes previously owned by the Prince of Windisch-Graetz and Count Hoensbroech (circa 1780–1800, estimated at €10,000–€14,000) and a mid-19th-century Italian chest of drawers owned by Count Althann (estimated at €2,000–€3,000). www.dorotheum.com Count Althann’s old drawers may fetch €3,000 in Vienna ALL’S FAIR AT WORLD-BEATING EUROPEAN EVENT  MAASTRICHT: At only eight years old, the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) has become one of the world’s leading art fairs, showcasing leading international art dealers and attracting thousands of artists, dealers, museum curators and directors, and private collectors. With a legendarily tough vetting process, TEFAF ensures that only the finest dealers display their wares. Ranging widely across ancient and contemporary art, the fair includes Old Master paintings, classical and Egyptian antiquities, contemporary furniture, ethnographic objects from around the globe, jewellery, silver, and original works by artists such as Kandinsky, Pollock, Miro and Toko Shinoda. A rare opportunity to snap up rare artworks while they are still in private hands, this year’s TEFAF event, on 9–18 March, offers such gems as Picasso’s Homme et Femme Nue (detail above), Lion and Lioness in the Mountains by Eugène Delacroix, and a late Gothic German drinking horn, circa 1500. www.tefaf.com
 SOTHEBY’S MASTER PLAN
AMSTERDAM: A luxuriant collection of Old Master and 19th-century paintings, jewellery, coins and art deco furniture is available at Sotheby’s An Important Private Collection from Hanover auction on 27 and 28 March. Highlights include Hendrick de Meijer’s Ice Skaters (estimated at €20,000–€30,000) and the dramatic Tower of Babel oil painting (below) by the circle of Tobias Verhaecht, the man who famously taught Rubens how to draw (estimated at €60,000– €80,000). www.sothebys.com  RAISE YOUR GLASSES
LONDON: Christie’s International Wine Department reported record-breaking sales for 2006, with a global total of €49.3m. Wine fanatics should head for the renowned auctioneer’s King Street venue for its Fine Wine auction on 22 March. For those with daintier tastes, Bonham’s auction of the Sir Jeremy Lever Collection on 7 March presents a singular opportunity to bid on a thoroughly English collection of 18th-century Worcester porcelain. Items going under the hammer include several fine pairs of rare cornucopias in the estimate range of €2,000–€5,000. www.christies.com, www.bonhams.com |