The estate of William F Reilly
Christie’s New York
October 14
The late William F Reilly, former chief executive of publishing giant Primedia, liked the feel of a great English country house, so he replicated one at his impressive residence in New York’s blue-chip Sutton Square. This $10m sale comprises the majority of the fine art and furnishings that filled it, a total of more than 250 items that range from a pair of imitation lemon trees ($600-$800) to a Benjamin Vulliamy clock that was originally commissioned by the Prince of Wales for Carlton House in 1815. It cost about £40 then but could now fetch $60,000. The remarkable star of the sale, however, is a 16th-century painting by a Flemish artist identified only as “MO”. Utterly enchanting and hugely desirable, the canvas measures almost 8ft in length and depicts dozens of meticulously painted “acrobats and gentlefolk” in and around a villa. It is sublime and could fetch $800,000.

Vintage cars, automobilia and motorcycles
Dorotheum, Salzburg
October 17
This sale, being staged by arguably the world’s oldest auction house (it can trace its roots to 1707), takes place during Salzburg’s Classic expo. It will feature more than 500 lots of automobilia, motorcycles and cars. Among the latter is a 1952 Aston Martin DB2 that began life as the firm’s Earl’s Court motor show car before being used in competition at some of Britain’s top circuits, including Goodwood.

Jewels and the Annenberg diamond
Christie’s New York
October 21
All eyes will be on the remarkable Annenberg diamond during this sale. Tipped to realise up to $5m, the 32.01 carat, flawless, D-colour stone comes in the form of a ring designed by Manhattan jeweller David Webb. It belonged to the late Leonore Annenberg, wife of publishing tycoon and diplomat Walter Annenberg, who died seven years ago, leaving his $1bn impressionist art collection to New York’s Metropolitan Museum. Despite the shaky economic climate, Christie’s has already sold no fewer than 16 jewellery lots for more than $1m apiece this year.

International modern and contemporary art and jewels
Christie’s Dubai
October 27 and 28
The ever-expanding remit of Christie’s Dubai contemporary art sale this year sees the addition of works from the Indian subcontinent, notably pieces by Maqbool Fida Hussain and Syed Haider Raza. Last year, a category for Saudi Arabian works was successfully added, leading to the consignment this time of “Identified”, a black and white portrait from the “Women of Allah” series by Iranian photographer Shirin Neshat ($12,000-$18,000), while one of the top western artists represented is Yves Klein whose group of three, coloured Perspex tables are each estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Jewellery and watches will be offered the following day, with one of the top lots being a $300,000 diamond, ruby and pearl necklace. A ring made from a 12.3 carat emerald is conservatively estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

The Lehman Brothers collection
Freeman’s Philadelphia
November 1
It has fallen to the relatively small auction house Freeman’s to sell the corporate art collection of Lehman Brothers Holdings following the collapse of the long-established financial services firm in September last year. Creditors shouldn’t get too excited about the sale, however, the entire collection has only been valued at $1m. Among the best items is a Roy Lichtenstein screen print called “I Love Liberty” (estimate $20,000-$30,000) while lesser lots include Arturo Herrera’s “pulp” painting “Mine” ($10,000-$15,000) and a 1938 Louis Lozowick lithograph showing workmen fixing the Brooklyn Bridge ($7,000-$10,000). Non-Lehman lots in the sale include a 1959 Picasso linocut estimated at $50,000-$80,000.

The Antonio and Liliane Mariani collection
Bonhams & Butterfields San Francisco
November 2
From the estate of the late owners of San Francisco’s well-known Antonio’s Antiques store come 400 lots of English, French and Italian furniture that fall under the hammer during the time of the city’s autumn antiques show. The first part of the collection was successfully dispersed in March but plenty of quality items remain, such as a pair of late 18th-century Louis XVI polychrome decorated Provençal doors and surrounds ($12,000-$18,000) that measure 11ft in height, an unusual, George III collector’s cabinet that stands 7ft tall ($6,000-$8,000) and a rare pair of Victorian brass-mounted mahogany campaign chests ($8,000-$12,000). One of the best pieces is an Italian-made parquetry and gilt-bronze cylinder desk that could fetch up to $25,000.

Impressionist and modern art
Sotheby’s New York
November 4-5
Only recession-proof big spenders need apply for this sale, which is topped by Wassily Kandinsky’s 1932 Bauhaus work “Krass und Mild”, a monumental canvas with an equally monumental estimate of $6m-$8m. It is one of six works from the collections of the late American psychiatrist, medical publisher and art philanthropist Dr Arthur Sackler and was formerly part of the Guggenheim Foundation collection. Of similar value (estimate $5m-$7m) is Picasso’s “Claude à Deux Ans et son Cheval Bois”, of the artist’s son with his toy horse in 1949. Renoir’s “Femme au Chapeau Blanc” seems almost bargain-basement in comparison: the estimate is $2.5m-$3.5m.

Photographs
Phillips de Pury New York
November 14
Phillips de Pury will, for the first time, stage sales across all four of its departments during November’s New York Contemporary Art Week. The photography section is especially strong, containing sought-after images by some of the top names of the past 80 years. Among the older works is Edward Weston’s “Nude” from 1927 ($30,000-$40,000), while more recent images include Irving Penn’s “Two Guedras, Morocco” ($50,000-$70,000), William Eggleston’s 13-print “Cadillac Portfolio” ($50,000-$70,000) and Albert Watson’s nude study of Kate Moss shot in Marrakech in 1993 ($10,000-$15,000). Some excellent interior images from Andreas Gursky, Andrew Moore and Ahmet Ertug are also up for grabs.

Photographs
Sotheby’s Paris
November 20
A remarkable selection of no fewer than 14 photographs by Eugene Atget is among the highlights of this sale. Atget’s meticulous chronicling of early 20th-century Paris went virtually unnoticed until after his death but examples of his work can now be found in museum collections around the world. His albumen print of Place Saint Sulpice taken in 1910 is estimated at €25,000-€30,000, while an 1851 daguerreotype portrait of Joseph Heco (the first Japanese to be naturalised as a US citizen) could realise up to €80,000. The image, thought to have been shot by Harvey R Marks, is one of just nine of the photographer’s daguerreotypes to have survived.

The Willy Neutkens BMW motorcycle collection
Bonhams Munich
November 28
Taking place at the BMW museum, this sale includes almost every model of BMW motorcycle built since the company commenced two-wheeler production in 1923. Assembled by the late Willy Neutkens, a BMW fanatic who earned himself a Guinness World Records entry for owning more machines of a single make than anyone else, the collection comprises almost 100 bikes. It includes rare, early models such as a 1923 R32 (£30,000-£40,000), a 1930 R16 (£15,000- £18,000) and a 1936 R17 (£12,000-£16,000). Wartime bikes include a brace of R75 Kriegselefant sidecar outfits painted in Afrika Korps livery.

Important watches
Christie’s Hong Kong
December 2
Hong Kong has become one of the world’s strongest watch auction markets with modern pieces proving especially popular. This sale is led by a Greubel Forsey “Invention Piece 1”, made in 2006 and one of a limited edition of 11, which is estimated at HK$2.2m-HK$3m (£180,000-£245,000), and an A Lange and Söhne Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite”, also made in 2006 and from an edition of 51, that could fetch up to HK$4m. A Patek Philippe split-seconds chronograph in white gold with leap-year indicator and moon phase display is on offer at HK$1.2m-HK$1.6m, while a year-old Panerai Luminor 1950 tourbillon should realise upwards of HK$550,000.