London – Spanning art from antiquity to the 20^th century, Christie’s Classic Week in London returns this Summer with ten live auctions and one online sale. The series will run from 30 June to 14 July, with auction highlights on public view from 1 July.

This season’s Classic Week sales are led by a remarkable panel The Entombment of Christ by El Greco, the intimate size of a cabinet picture expressed with the grandeur and brilliant colouring for which the artist was renowned (estimate: £6,000,000-8,000,000); a landmark re-discovery of the last known pair of portraits by Rembrandt to remain in private hands, at auction 200 years after they were last seen at Christie’s (estimate: £5,000,000-8,000,000); and a discovery: a pioneering early work by Fra Angelico (estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000). Further highlights include  Jean-Léon Gérôme’s First Kiss of the Sun (estimate: £250,000-£350,000), J.M.W. Turner’s Sunrise over the Sea (estimate: £600,000-800,000), and three drawings from Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo’s Punchinello series from the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, which have not been on the market for almost a century (with estimates from £80,000 to £300,000). The star sculpture is a bust of Helen of Troy, a masterpiece in marble by Antonio Canova, which was a personal gift from the artist himself over 200 years ago (estimate: £2,500,000-4,000,000).

Paintings and drawings by Old Masters, ancient and classical works of art, furniture, decorative objects and one-of-a-kind innovations feature throughout Classic Week in the Old Masters, Antiquities and Exceptional sales. The Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale offers a captivating selection ranging from medieval manuscripts and autograph letters to first-edition books, with a particular focus on science and intellectual history represented by Charles Darwin’s corrected proofs for a work on insectivorous plants.

Classic Week also features the distinguished collections of J.E. Safra in Remastered, with all lots offered without a reserve price; Alice and Nikolaus Harnoncourt: Artists Collecting Art; BAYREUTH: A Connoisseur's Collection of English Silver and Gold Boxes and the Magnificent Library of Norman Bobins: Part II, presenting a remarkable collection of books with beautiful hand-coloured plates.

4 July at 2.30pm BST | Live Auction

Old Master and British Drawings and Watercolours is led by a luminous late 1820s watercolour of  Sunrise over the Sea by J.M.W. Turner; a wonderfully atmospheric drawing not seen on the market for over 50 years (estimate: £600,000-800,000). The British section of the sale presents 18^th and 19^th century drawings including a powerful Thomas Gainsborough, A Young Man reclining on a Bank beneath a Tree, possibly a self-portrait (estimate: £150,000-250,000), a remarkable early work by John Constable (estimate: £70,000-100,000), and a charming group of George Romney drawings and sketchbooks (with estimates from £1,000 to £10,000), as well as several 18^th century pastels. The Old Master Drawings section of the sale will present a curated selection of fine works on paper spanning the 16^th to the 19^th century from the Italian, Northern and French schools. Among the highlights are three sheets from Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo’s Punchinello series from the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, which have not been on the market for almost a century.

  5 July at 1pm BST | Live Auction

Antiquities will showcase a selection of artifacts from past cultures in the Mediterranean region, ranging from Ancient Egypt to the Byzantine period. Among the sale highlights is an Attic red-figured kylix attributed to the painter Makron and signed by Hieron as the potter, dating back to circa 490-480 B.C (estimate: £150,000-250,000) and an Apulian red-figured knob-handled patera in the manner of the Lycurgus painter, circa second half of the 4^th century B.C. (estimate: £10,000-15,000). Also included in the sale is a rare Attic red-figured statuette-vase depicting an African man and a crocodile. This remarkable piece, attributed to the potter Sotades and the Sotades painter, offers a unique glimpse into the artistic experimentation that occurred within ancient Greek pottery workshops and is considered to be the earliest depiction of a crocodile in all Greek art (estimate: £30,000-50,000). Another highlight of the sale is an impressive Scythian electrum appliqué in the shape of a resting horse (estimate: £80,000-120,000). This exquisite piece demonstrates the exceptional goldsmithing skills of the Scythians, a nomadic people who inhabited the Steppes region during the 1^st Millennium B.C. It reflects the importance they placed on equestrian prowess and serves as a testament to their craftsmanship.

6 July at 12pm BST | Live Auction

The Exceptional Sale showcases a selection of rare masterpieces with important provenances, many Royal and aristocratic, and ranging from Madame du Barry, Louis XVI and Augustus III to Thomas Hope and Alfred Morrison. All areas of Classic Arts are represented: silver, porcelain, gold boxes, French and English furniture, clocks, antiquities and sculpture, alongside a rare manuscript and scientific and musical instruments. Highlights include the Roman figure of Mercury, 1^st century AD (estimate: £650,000-850,000), in elegant contrapost position and true to life; a dramatic letter by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart immediately preceding his marriage to Constanze Weber (estimate: £300,000-500,000) and a group of extraordinary clocks including precious examples from China. The tripod tables from the Hope Collection (estimate: £50,000-80,000 and £30,000-50,000); the ‘Burghley’ toilet service (estimate: £100,000-150,000); the George III commode from the Portsmouth Collection, a masterpiece by Ince & Mayhew (estimate: £300,000-500,000); and the precious casket by Zuluoga (estimate: £150,000-250,000), are some of the extraordinary lots from the greatest English collections, which descended in families for centuries.

Royal furniture and works of art are represented by a vase from the fabled collections of the duc d’Aumont, acquired by Louis XVI in 1782 (estimate: £200,000-300,000); Meissen yellow-ground vases from Schloss Hubertusburg (estimate: £300,000-500,000); ‘Hanover’ gold travelling couverts (estimate: £30,000-50,000 and £20,000-30,000); a Gobelins tapestry given to Prince Heinrich of Prussia (estimate: £100,000-150,000) and a dressing-table from Windsor Castle (estimate: £30,000-50,000).

6 July at 2:30pm BST | Live Auction

Old Masters Part I Sale spans six centuries of European art, including a rich array of paintings, sculpture and illuminations across a multitude of themes. Highlights include a remarkable panel of The Entombment of Christ by El Greco, the intimate size of a cabinet picture expressed with the grandeur and brilliant colouring for which the artist was renowned (estimate: £6,000,000-8,000,000); the landmark rediscovery of Rembrandt’s Portrait of Jan Willemsz. van der Pluym and Jaapgen Carels, both rare and intimate portrayals of relatives of the artist and the last known pair of portraits by Rembrandt to remain in private hands (estimate: £5,000,000-8,000,000); and a celebration of the iconic Greek mythological figure Helen of Troy, with Bust of Helen, a masterpiece in marble created between 1816 and 1817 by the Italian titan of neo-classical sculpture Antonio Canova (estimate: £2,500,000-4,000,000). It also features a masterpiece of Northern Mannerism in Cornelis van Haarlem’s The Raising of Lazarus (estimate: £700,000-1,000,000); a phantasmagorical vision of Hell in one of Jan Breughel the Elder’s finest examples of his famous Hell landscapes (estimate: £1,500,000-2,500,000); a beautifully elaborate market scene of bountiful produce by Joachim Beuckelaer (estimate: £400,000-600,000); and a completely unpublished and unknown canvas by Michael Sweerts, perhaps his greatest picture on the theme of the artist’s studio (estimate: £2,000,000-3,000,000).

7 July at 10:30am BST | Live Auction

Old Masters Part II sale returns to a live format this July, offering a broad selection of paintings and sculpture across all European schools, dating from the 16^th to the 19^th centuries and at a wide range of estimates. The Italian School is led by a rediscovered painting by Jacopo Bassano, The angel appearing to the shepherds (estimate: £60,000-80,000) and a rare re-discovery by Antonio Solario, called Lo Zingaro (estimate: £80,000-120,000). The Caravaggesque School is well-represented by two masterpieces of tenebrist narration: an enigmatic Denial of Saint Peter (estimate: £50,000-70,000) and a David and Goliath on an impressive scale (estimate: £20,000-30,000). British portraiture is represented by a strong group of works painted across several centuries, from the early 1600s to Thomas Gainsborough and George Romney, and an excellent group of sporting works by James Seymour, Francis Sartorius and John Frederick Herring, Sr.

7 July at 11am BST | Live Auction

BAYREUTH: A Connoisseur's Collection of English Silver and Gold Boxes is a private collection sale comprising 201 lots, with a further eight lots showcased in The Exceptional Sale. The collector's passion for over 40 years, the philosophy and rigour that has driven the creation of the Bayreuth Collection has been one of quality, be it for condition, provenance, rarity or even novelty. This is illustrated by a captivating pendant incorporating a rare medallion commissioned by Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) as a gift to close friends who had remained loyal during King George III’s illness, to celebrate the King's ‘recovery’ in 1789 (estimate: £3,000-5,000). Estimates range from £1,200 to £250,000.

12 July at 10.30am BST | Live Auction

Valuable Books and Manuscripts will feature visual delights as well as documents of turning points in human history. Science and intellectual history are represented by corrected proofs by Charles Darwin for a work on insectivorous plants (estimate: £150,000-200,000), an autograph letter by Karl Marx to his French publisher (estimate: £150,000-200,000), a 13^th century manuscript of Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica (estimate: £30,000-50,000), and books and autographs by Einstein, Descartes, Huygens, Galileo, Kepler and Brahe. Artistic highlights include a series of lavishly-illustrated Books of Hours (estimates between £25,000 and £100,000) alongside decorated codices from Ethiopia (estimate: £40,000-60,000), Armenia (estimate: £40,000-60,000) and Siam (estimate: £8,000-12,000), and illuminated leaves from the collection of Alfred and Felicie Scharf (estimates from £700 to £60,000). The illustrated printed books range from Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s depictions of Empress Josephine’s gardens at Malmaison, published by Étienne-Pierre Ventenat in 1803 (estimate: £40,000-60,000), to Marc Chagall’s illustrations for Homer’s Odyssey, printed in 1975 (estimate: £40,000-60,000). Crossing the boundary between science and visual appeal are a number of important lots of cartography, including atlases by Ortelius, Mercator, Janssonius and Braun and Hogenberg, as well as a fine example of an extremely rare Chinese wall-map of the world: Complete Map of the Everlasting Great Qing with All under Heaven Unified, published in Beijing in 1814 (estimate: £50,000-80,000).

13 July at 10am BST | Live Auction

The Magnificent Library of Norman Bobins: Part Two, The Colourful World comprises over 300 lots and represents one the world’s most comprehensive gatherings of books illustrated by fine hand-coloured and colour-printed plates. Mr. Bobins, of Chicago, began collecting colour-plate books over 40 years ago. Concentrating on the period spanning from the second-half of the 18^th century and through the 19^th century, the library reflects Mr Bobins’ passions, namely history, art and travel, with sporting, satire and military subjects as dominant themes; estimates range from £1,000 to £150,000. The geographical scope of the collection is global, with works illustrating the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, India and Australia. The publication of travel books with beautiful and enticing illustrations assisted the emergence of a tourism industry, and books can be found in the collection promoting the likes of the Swiss Alps. These in turn, stimulated a demand for books illustrating regional costume and local customs, and there are also many of these in the collection. Variations of topographical books in the form of panoramas of views and cityscapes are also represented, some of them even depicting horse races. This sporting theme forms a large part of the collection, some illustrated with fine original watercolours, and many with important provenances, such as purchases made at the H.R.H. Duke of Gloucester sale at Christie’s in 2006.

13 July 1pm BST | Live Auction

British and European Art features a curated selection of pictures and sculpture representing more than 150 years of art history from the heart of Europe. The auction encompasses a range of movements from 19^th Century European, Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art, with estimates ranging from £1,200 to £350,000. Highlights include Jean-Leon Gerome’s finely detailed The First Kiss of the Sun (estimate: £250,000-£350,000), George Clausen’s Portrait of a girl (estimate: £150,000-£250,000) and Arthur Rackham’s The Music of the Stream (estimate: £25,000-£30,000) alongside a selection of Scandinavian works by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Harald Slott-Moller, paintings from the Barbizon school, topographical views of Venice and St Ives along with several British Impressionist pictures. Artists include Gustave Courbet, Sir Alfred Munnings, George Clausen, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Laura and Harold Knight and many more.

30 June 11am - 14 July 11am BST | Online

Alice & Nikolaus Harnoncourt: Artists Collecting Art is an online sale of 50 select works which opens for bidding on 30 June until 14 July, alongside a group of Old Master pictures and illuminated manuscripts that will be offered from their collection in the Old Masters Part I Sale on 6 July. A renowned classical violinist (Alice, 1930-2022) and a celebrated conductor and musicologist (Nikolaus, 1929-2016), the Harnoncourts were a remarkable artistic duo whose lives were dedicated to music and art. Intellectually curious, collecting was a shared passion that lasted the entirety of their sixty-three year marriage. Providing a window into the very private world of these celebrated public figures within Classical Music, the works being offered span fine and decorative European art from over five centuries, comprising Old Master paintings, early European furniture and sculpture, and ceramics. Notable provenances include the Rothschild family, Alfred Cortot, Yves Saint Laurent and J.P. Morgan.

6 July at 4:30pm BST | Live Auction

Remastered: Old Masters from the Collection of J.E. Safra – Selling Without Reserve, comprises works of European art from the 16^th to the 19^th century, with notable highlights including the exquisite View of the Tiber, Rome, painted in tempera by Gaspar Vanvitelli (estimate: £150,000-250,000), Laurent de La Hyre’s Angelica and Medoro (estimate: £200,000-300,000), and a view of the Inner Harbour, Macau by George Chinnery (estimate: £70,000-100,000). The sale also contains an exceptionally fine selection of British works on paper, led by four superb Turner watercolours (with estimates ranging from £50,000 to £250,000), including the artist’s view of Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire (estimate: £120,000-180,000), and The Domleschg Valley, Switzerland (estimate: £150,000-250,000).