Art News: Old Masters Dominate Auction Scene - WSJ.com

Old Masters dominate the European collecting scene next week. In London, an array of gallery shows and auctions feature old-world paintings, drawings, sculpture, furniture and precious objects.

At Master Paintings Week (July 3-9), 25 international dealers join auctioneers Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams in spotlighting the world's great, early painters. Running parallel will be Master Drawings London, with 21 dealers mounting special exhibitions of works on paper.

On July 6, Christie's will offer Peter Paul Rubens' powerful "A Commander Being Armed for Battle" (circa 1613-1614) estimated at £8 million-£12 million. In the same sale will be Giovanni Francesco Barbieri's monumental portrait of "King David" (1651) estimated at £5 million-£8 million. The paintings come from Althorp, the ancestral home of the Spencer family, one of England's most prominent aristocratic families of which Princess Diana was a member.

Christie's Images Ltd. 2010

Peter Paul Rubens, portrait of a commander being dressed for battle, estimated at £8 million to £12 million.

On July 7-8, at an auction in Christie's South Kensington, the Spencers will clean out both attic and barn with a sale which includes a collection of 19th-century horse-drawn carriages. On July 8, Christie's at King Street will hold an auction with exceptional English and French antique furniture, porcelain and art objects from the Spencer Collections.

Elsewhere, "Treasures," the title of a Sotheby's auction July 6, offers 21 rare pieces, including decorative folding stools (circa 1786-1787) made for Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (estimate: £150,000-£250,000) and an engraved ivory inlaid rosewood table (circa 1596-1597) owned by the Duke of Urbino and later by the Medicis (estimate: £500,000-£1 million).

The highlight of Sotheby's auction July 7 will be J.M.W. Turner's "Modern Rome -- Campo Vaccino" (1839), a dreamlike vista combining the remains of classical antiquity with daily 19th-century life (estimate: £12 million-£18 million).

In addition, superb illuminated Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts will be offered by Sotheby's (July 6) and Christie's (July 7). A star performer at Christie's should be a 16th-century Book of Hours (prayer book) opulently decorated for King Francois I of France with an estimate of £300,000-£500,000.