The German auction house Van Ham sold a 2011 Gunther Uecker work for €2.75m late last week. It was part of a €8.5m Modern and Contemporary sale. The sale at $3.26m slightly exceeds the March total achieved in London for two works Spirale 1 and Spirale II which together made £2.629m (or $3.209m on the day) which makes it a record for Uecker in dollar terms. Here’s Van Ham on the sale:

• “The monumental piece from 2011 once formed part of the personal property of Helge Achenbach. In two trials, Mr and Mrs Achenbach sought in vain to prove that this work should be considered part of their private collection. Eight international telephone bidders and one in the auction room competed for this first double spiral ever to surface at auction, until eventually a German collector on one of the telephones prevailed over his competitors.”