Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Sussex saleroom to offer rare collaborative Bloomsbury Group artwork
12 August 2025Gorringe’s is selling a significant Bloomsbury Group painting in September.
Faithful servant of Dr Livingstone in focus at Essex auction
11 August 2025A rare photograph from the funeral of Victorian explorer Dr David Livingstone (1813-73) comes to auction in Essex this summer.
Pick of the week: Murrine glass became fusion of old and new
11 August 2025The lost art of murrine - the creation of complex patterns by fusing together slices of coloured glass cane - was rediscovered by glass blowers in the Venetian lagoon in the late 19th century.
Expert’s mine of information on the evolution of the English language
11 August 2025Etymologist buys a glossary which provides a rich seam when it comes to English language changes
Arts and craftsmen: clock inventor and ship’s figurehead carver caught on canvas
11 August 2025The only known portrait of the inventor Reverend Edward Barlow (1639-1719) was sold by Bath horology specialist Gardiner Houlgate (20% buyer’s premium) earlier this summer.
Buttons were a bright idea to find the lost Franklin Expedition crews in the Arctic
11 August 2025During Edward Belcher’s fruitless two-year search for the lost Franklin expedition from 1852-54, many attempts were made to communicate with Inuit hunters in the hope they would have news of Franklin’s men.
Metal detectorist’s 10th century silver penny proves to be a market first
06 August 2025A previously unknown Anglo-Saxon era silver penny, recently found by a metal detectorist in Lincolnshire, is expected to sell for between £20,000-30,000 at auction in the autumn.
De Morgan doubles up with charger and designs
04 August 2025Two contrasting works by William De Morgan (1839-1917) - a sketchbook and a triple-lustre charger - were offered by Dominic Winter in consecutive auctions.
Libertas medal gets away at £63,000 hammer
04 August 2025A fine example of the Libertas Americana silver medal sold for £63,000 at Anderson & Garland in Newcastle. The medal offered on July 22 came to light during a valuation event in nearby Tynemouth and was subsequently sent for professional grading by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).
Pamphlet sold in West Sussex shows William Wordsworth turning from revolutionary to reactionary
04 August 2025The books section at a recent Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) auction included a volume containing more than a dozen early 19th century political pamphlets concerning the issue of reform.
Sandoz rabbit hops into Kent sale
04 August 2025Along with Francois Pompon and Rembrandt Bugatti, Edouard Marcel Sandoz (1881-1971) was one of the leading animal sculptors of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods.
Titus rises: Another Roman antiquity success at Essex saleroom
04 August 2025Bust once thought to be 18th century reassessed as 1st century AD after auction house’s research
Historic Piprahwa gems return to India in private sale after planned Sotheby’s auction cancelled
31 July 2025A collection of relics linked to the historical Buddha will now go on public display in India.
Portrait of first governor of Western Australia reappears at Perth auction
31 July 2025A dozen years after it was last sold in England, a portrait of Sir James Stirling (1791-1865), the first governor of Western Australia, returned to auction Down Under earlier this month.
William De Morgan strikes twice as sketchbook and charger emerge in Gloucestershire
30 July 2025Two contrasting works by William De Morgan (1839-1917) – a sketchbook and a triple-lustre charger – were offered for sale by Dominic Winter in consecutive sales this month.
Ancient Egyptian grasshopper takes six-figure sum at auction
28 July 2025An ancient Egyptian cosmetic vessel made in the form of a grasshopper or cicada sold for £340,000 at Apollo Art Auctions in London on July 27.
Rare Libertas Americana silver medal sells at Newcastle auction
24 July 2025A fine example of the Libertas Americana silver medal sold for £63,000 at Anderson & Garland’s Fine Silver and Objects of Vertu auction in Newcastle this week.
Guennol Grasshopper: Controversial Egyptian vessel comes to auction
24 July 2025An ancient Egyptian cosmetic vessel made in the form of a grasshopper or cicada comes to auction in London this week.