Auctions

Qianlong seal scooped up by Chinese collector for €21m at Paris auction

The object, owned by one of China’s longest serving emperors, sold for more than 20 times its estimate

Heart-pounding discovery of rare Leonardo da Vinci drawing

The double-sided work, valued at €15m, depicts Saint Sebastian on its front and optical studies by the Old Master on the reverse

London's Old Master sales bolstered by private collections

Major surprise was last-minute withdrawal of Goya sketch at Christie's

Bonhams Los Angeles offers rare Quahog pearl that escaped the dinner table

New England grad student found the gem in a bag of clams he bought for $25

Christie’s chairman Brett Gorvy leaves auction house to join forces with New York dealer Dominique Lévy

The head of postwar and contemporary art has presided over the category’s explosive growth

Goya, Constable and Brueghel headline Old Master auctions in London

Tefaf New York proved there is life in the market—can this week's sales do the same?

Gun fired at Arthur Rimbaud sells for €434,000

Poet's lover Paul Verlaine shot at him with the weapon in 1873 but only grazed his wrist

New York sales defy fears of downturn

Fewer trophy works this season, but solid totals and record prices for several artists

King of the mountain: $11m Lawren Harris painting breaks all records for Canadian art

The Group of Seven artist, a favourite of the comedian and collector Steve Martin, hit his peak at Toronto sale

Auction houses avoid Chinese New Year clash

Growing Asian purchasing power precipitates alterations to sales calendars

Ames collection helps Sotheby’s bring strong result in contemporary art auction

Young star Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work fetches more than $1m, ten times previous record

Monet's Grainstack fetches $81.4m at Christie's, setting a new auction record for the artist

But mixed results at the Impressionist and Modern Art sale in New York reflect continued cautious market

Phillips on an upswing with $111.2m 20th-century art sale

The hammer total was below estimate, but met the auction house’s modest expectations for “a contracted market”

De Kooning painting sells for record $66m at Christie’s New York

Post-war and contemporary evening auction sees several big sales but still falls short of last year’s total

Munch’s Girls on the Bridge fetches more than $50m in bellwether New York auction

Solid results for Sotheby’s in first sale after Trump's election victory, but László Moholy-Nagy gets the only artist record

Bidding war for Bowie's angst-ridden Auerbach in record-breaking sale

Musician collected unfashionable works by British artists as well as Basquiat and Tintoretto

Looted Constable returned by Tate heads to auction at Christie’s

Heirs of Hungarian baron are selling Beaching a Boat, Brighton

Sotheby’s reports $54.5m in losses in third quarter

Continuing slump is tempered by online sales in the low and middle market, and a look to greater China for future growth

Sex sells: Paris’s Musée de l’Érotisme collection hits the auction block

The museum in the Pigalle red light district closed its doors, but you can take home one of its naughty objects

Object lessons: from Pissarro's rare colour print to Avedon's slaughterhouse worker

Our pick of highlights from the week's auctions and Asian Art in London

Benin bronze, sold off by British Museum in 1950, returns to market

But the 16th-century plaque, which has been substantially restored, failed to find a buyer

French film star Alain Delon puts 12 Rembrandt Bugatti pieces up for auction

Christie's sale includes artist's signature animal bronzes, along with a marble sculpture shown at the Venice Biennale 100 years ago

Still the one: Phillips to offer fresh-to-market Clyfford Still canvas

The untitled work was originally acquired directly from the artist by a fellow painter

French Realist painting resurfaces at Cincinnati auction thanks to Facebook tip

Work by William-Adolphe Bouguereau sells for $1.1m at Cowan’s Auctions

Sotheby’s raises buyer’s premium in bid to ‘offset margin pressure’

New rates to come into effect for November sales in New York