The Bordoni and the Luini were not the only strong results achieved in the Drouot auction centre in the November sales.
On November 15 a mixed-discipline sale at Mirabeau Mercier (25% buyer’s premium) realised €520,000 (£444,445) for a 2ft 5ft x 2ft (75 x 60 cm) oil on canvas by the 17th century Flemish artist Michael Sweerts (1618-64), the thirdhighest price paid for the artist at auction.
Touch, an allegorical but nonetheless realistic portrait of a grinning man clutching a cat whose head he strokes, is one of a series of depicting the five senses. Another, l’Oderat, is in the Académie des Beaux Arts in Vienne.