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Discover the most exceptional lots at auction over the next seven days – including a painting once owned by Napoleon's brother

1. A very expensive vase of flowers

Unusually, this week's highest-priced lot comes, not from Sotheby's or Christie's, but Aguttes, in Neuilly, just outside of Paris. On December 18, their auction of 19th and 20th century paintings and sculpture is led by Sanyu's elegant Pot de fleurs ou pivoines, a delicate composition displaying the flowing lines that became the artist's trademark. Created in 1930, when Sanyu fully committed to oil painting, the piece comes with an estimate of €3,000,000-4,000,000 ($3,554,939-4,739,919). 

Though Pot de fleurs claims the title of this week's highest auction estimate, the sum requested by Aguttes remains far from the artist's previous auction highs. In 2011, Five Nudes sold at Ravenel Hong Kong for $16,493,375. The sum is yet to be exceeded, though Christie's Hong Kong came close in 2016, finding a buyer for Chrysanthèmes dans un vase en verre at $13,354,076. Click to track the artist's auction performance via our analysis page.

2. An imposing addition to any collection

Standing almost a meter and a half, Sinai 1967 by Mordecai Ardon would make an imposing addition to any collection. Rendered in vibrant oils, the work features symbols of the Israelites departure from Egypt, building upon Ardon's earlier work Steppes of the Negev (1953), which hangs in The Stedelijk Museum. Estimated at $500,000-700,000, the work comes to Sotheby's New York on 20 December, offered in The Israeli & International Art Sale.

Ardon's previous auction highs suggest Sotheby's estimate is comfortably attainbale. His highest price to-date was achieved for The Awakening, which sold for $821,000 at Sotheby's New York in 2014. Prior to that, in 2006, Timepecker realized $643,500, auctioned by Christie's in Tel Aviv. Track Ardon's auction performance here >

3. Taiwan's landscape, rendered in gold

Also at France's Aguttes is Liao Chi-Chun's Paysage près de Taipei, which features in the same sale as Sanyu's still life. Painted in 1962, the work epitomizes the artist's increasingly bold use of color in this decade, capturing the landscape of Southern Taiwan in a palette of red, green, gold and blue.

Estimated at €300,000-500,000 ($355,494-592,490), the painting is far from Liao Chi-Chun's highest sale price to-date. In 2006, Canal sold at Ravenel, Taipei for $2,526,563 — nudging just higher than Spring Scene in the Garden, which sold for $2,462,772 at Christie's Hong Kong the same year.  

4. A work once owned by Napoleon's younger brother

While the Old Masters season may have come to a close in London, in France, Tajan is leading a December renaissance. The auction house's Old Master Paintings Sale takes place on 19 December, lead by a remarkable canvas by Nicolas Poussin. Estimated at €300,000-400,000 ($356,946-475,927), the oil on canvas depicts the Holy Family and John the Baptist, which was one of the artist's favorite subjects. The piece boasts a remarkable history: sold in a Louis XIV gilt frame, it was once owned by Lucien Bonaparte, the younger brother of Napoleon. 

Given the exceptional provenance of this work, and Poussin's previous auction highs, Tajan's estimate might appear tentative: in 2003, The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist sold for $985,761 at Christie's London, a figure that was almost surpassed in 2008, when Jupiter and Antiope sold for $959,400 at Christie's New York.
 

5. A gold and bronze horse and chariot

Georges Braque had an exceptionally diverse output, producing paintings, sculptures, prints and collages. Cast posthumously, this gold and bronze horse and chariot is the result of the artist's ambition to reconfigure a number of his gouache works at the beginning of the 1960s, taking inspiration from Picasso. The lot joins Sanyu's floral composition at Aguttes, France on 18 December, estimated at €200,000-250,000 ($236,996 and $296,245).

Braque's previous auction highs have all been achieved by paintings: In 2013, Paysage à la ciotat sold for $15,845,000 at Sotheby's New York generating the artist's highest price to date. Subsequent highs have included Mandoline à la partition (le Banjo), which sold for $10,245,000 at Christie's New York in 2016. 

6. A (slightly less) expensive vase of flowers

Born in Romania, Israeli artist Reuven Rubin became known for his sun-drenched depictions of Jerusalem and the Galilee. This depiction of flowers, which seems to emanate sunlight is a highlight of Sotheby's forthcoming Israeli & International Art Sale on 20th December, estimated at $150,000-250,000.

Previous lots by the artist have jumped above Sotheby's estimated figure: in 2014, Jerusalem sold at Sotheby's New York for $653,000 — a sale followed by the success of The Road To Meron sold for  $634,000 in 2015. 

7. A celebration of the circus

Marc Chagall's fascination with the circus and its performers dated from his childhood in pre-revolutionary Vitebsk (then part of the Russian Empire, now in Belarus), where an early encounter with acrobats captivated the young artist. These performers, who lived at the fringes of society, are celebrated in the series Cirque, offered as a complete set of 38 lithographs in Bonham's upcoming Prints and Multiples sale, estimated at $134,352-201,528.

The price for Chagall's print works is considerably lower than his painting, offering collectors with smaller budgets a fantastic opportunity to acquire a work by an artist whose paintings have been known to reach dizzying sums. In 2017, Les Amoureux sold at Sotheby's New York for $28,453,000, following the success of Le Grand Cirque, which achieved $16,034,000.

8. The Merchant of Love

This terracotta relief by Claude Michel Clodion is one of two to feature in Sotheby's 19th December sale in Paris. All center around the theme of love, reinterpreting images Clodion encountered in classical paintings discovered at Herculaneum in 1759. Perfect for collectors with an eye for all things neoclassical, the work comes with a estimate at €100,000-150,000 ($118,982-178,473). 

Previous auction prices for the artist are incredibly varied: in 2015, Bacchante With Grapes Carried By Two Bacchantes And A Bacchant sold at Sotheby's New York for $2,853,000, while, in 2012, Pedestal sold for the comparatively low price of $28,125, also at Sotheby's New York. 

9. A 'Mastery of Color' 

Painted circa 1895-1900, Jean-Léon Gérôme's interpretation of Moses on Mount Sinai is an impressive demonstration of his mastery of color and complex compositional elements. The overall effect is a powerful evocation of one of the greatest moments in Jewish history. The work is a highlight of the Sotheby's Important Judaica Sale on 20th December in New York, estimated at $100,000-150,000.

Gérôme's previous auction highs include Femme Circassienne Voilée (Veiled Circassian Beauty), which sold for $4,098,638 at Christie's in London in 2008, and La grande piscine à Brusa (the Great Bath At Brusa), which sold for $3,491,064 at Sotheby's four years earlier. 

10. Diligence Rewarded 

Diligence Rewarded is one of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller's earliest paintings of figures in a landscape, depicting a proud mother in local costume, who runs a blind grandfather's hand over a proud young boy's medal, his mother and father looking proudly on. Estimated at $95,185-142,778, the work is set to be sold on 19 December at Sotheby's Paris, in a sale entitled An American Dynasty in Europe. 

Previous works by the artist have pitched well above Sotheby's estimate for Diligence Rewarded, suggesting there could be scope for this painting to do the same: in 1998, Vorfrhling Im Wienerwald sold at Christie's in London for $854,876 while in 2009, Children Decorate A Conscript’s Hat sold for $719,433, finding a buyer at Dorotheum..

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