Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Enamel and gilt metal box sniffed out at Wiltshire auction
25 September 2026The highlight of the sale of British and Continental Ceramics and Glass at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes on September 23 was this exceptional south Staffordshire enamel and gilt metal snuff box, c.1765-70.
Pick of the week: Double delight for detectorist
25 September 2026Metal detecting finds, and the success of the 1996 Treasure Act that allows finders a share in the market value of ‘treasure’, have become the market’s key source of medieval jewellery. And for Andrew Riley, a semi-retired architect from North Yorkshire, the hobby has been a particular boon.
Coin found among Nelson's personal possessions on HMS Victory had a poignant family connection
25 September 2026A Georgian gold coin that was found aboard HMS Victory among Nelson’s personal possessions fetched £30,000 – three times the top estimate – at Noonans (24% buyer’s premium) in Mayfair.
Wartime posters saved for posterity from the scrap pile
25 September 2026A collection of Second World War National Savings posters came for sale at Sworders’ (27/25/20% buyer’s premium) Open House timed online sale that ended on September 7.
Token of a healing royal touch trebles estimate in Edinburgh
25 September 2026Belief in divine ability to cure the sick persisted among Stuart heirs in exile even as the Jacobite dream died
Thirty years on, Ebay trialling ‘soft close’ end to its auctions
18 September 2026Ebay is looking at changing its traditional auction model by trialling ‘soft close’ bidding.
Astronomical price for ‘masterpiece’ clock at Dreweatts auction
18 September 2026A 16th century Renaissance astronomical table clock was among the stand-out lots at Dreweatts recent clocks sale.
Turner watercolour with a Farnley Hall provenance on offer in US auction
18 September 2026New York saleroom Auctions at Showplace is offering a well-documented Turner watercolour on October 8.
Coins & Medals: Heads and tales from London’s numismatic showpiece Coinex
18 September 2026Coinex returns to Grosvenor Square this month with 50 exhibitors and a raft of auctions.
Microscope attributed to eminent maker Adams
18 September 2026Eminent Georgian instrument maker George Adams (c.1709-72) first described his ‘variable’ microscope in 1771 in the fourth edition of his Micrographia Illastrata.
Cartier ladybug hits the spots in London
18 September 2026Cartier debuted the Coccinelle ladybug brooch in 1935, and the design – a whimsical and colourful symbol of good fortune – was popular into the 1940s.
Letter from the doomed Titanic tops estimate at Henry Aldridge
18 September 2026Such messages from second-class passengers on the liner are some of the rarest to be offered at auction
Lost then found, two portraits resurface in French auction
18 September 2026French neoclassicist Marie Guilhelmine Benoist (1768-1826) is another of the long-overlooked female artists whose work is being reappraised by the market in the 21st century.
Patek Philippe watch attracts worldwide interest at Penzance auction
18 September 2026The Patek Philippe Ref 448 dress watch is one of original Calatrava references, named after the ornate ‘Calatrava’ cross that is part of its brand.
18th century cartoon of Britain taking on America emerges in London auction
18 September 2026Issued in January 1781 by London publisher Robert Wilkinson, the caricature The Ballance of Power depicts the figure of Britannia standing as Justice proclaiming, No one injures me with impunity.
‘Rockefeller’ porcelain returns to the rostrum
18 September 2026Among the most coveted of all the standard Chinese export porcelain designs is the so-called ‘Rockefeller’ pattern or Palace ware.
Louis Vuitton luxury luggage showcased in catalogues
18 September 2026The Louis Vuitton 1914 catalogue was issued as the company opened its flagship store at 70 Avenue des Champs-Élysée.
Silver stand-outs in Newcastle auction
18 September 2026An unusual lot offered in the Fine Silver sale at Anderson & Garland (25% buyer’s premium) in Newcastle upon Tyne was a ‘pair’ of oval teapots and stands modelled as staved barrels: one a ‘period’ example with marks for John Harris, London 1786, the other by early Victorian maker John Terry (London 1838).