Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
How Wenlock was key to Olympics launch
23 May 2022This large iron lock and key is inscribed Presented to WP Brookes Esq by a Member of the Wenlock Olympian Class May 18th 1869.
Pick of the week: Top tables with a touch of Chippendale emerge in Edinburgh
23 May 2022This pair of satinwood demilune console tables with their fine marquetry and carved details are of exceptional quality and workmanship. The Thomas Chippendale workshop is a good candidate for their manufacture.
A £105,000 Chinese vase found among the bric-a-brac
23 May 2022This rare doucai porcelain vase, with Qianlong marks and probably of period, provided a classic tale of discovery in the saga of the Chinese boom.
Previews: issue 2544
23 May 2022A selection of 15 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and Ireland.
‘Am I not a Man…’ relic is a rarity in glass form
23 May 2022The medallion of a kneeling slave asking the rhetorical question 'Am I Not A Man And A Brother?' was first made in 1787 on the founding of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
With this marriage chest I thee wed
23 May 2022Translating simply as ‘a box with drawers’ but so much more exotic than that, a rare Spanish Renaissance caja con cajones was the outstanding lot at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s (25% buyer’s premium) quarterly fine art sale in Exeter.
French photographer Gustave Le Gray’s Napoleon III army album comes to auction
21 May 2022Phillips will offer a recently discovered copy of Gustave Le Gray’s famous 'Souvenirs du Camp de Châlons' at auction in London next week.
Exceptional Chinese ‘nine dragon’ vase stars in our pick of six auction highlights
20 May 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Qianlong mark and period doucai 'nine dragon' vase that made 10-times estimate at Sotheby’s.
‘Practical man’ makes Chippendale marquetry discovery
16 May 2022A specialist in 18th century marquetry believes he has identified the craftsmen responsible for inlaid decoration on some of the finest English furniture.
A Knibb golden opportunity: table clock emerges in German auction
16 May 2022This Charles II ebony and silvermounted table clock by the London golden-age clockmaker Joseph Knibb (1640-1711) emerged for sale in Germany.
Edinburgh dealership buys famous Scottish furniture brand
16 May 2022Edinburgh firm Georgian Antiques has bought the brand of Whytock & Reid, one of the most famous names in Scottish cabinetmaking.
Noel Gallagher's guitar and a Louis XVI style commode are among five lots to watch
16 May 2022With estimates from £150-500,000, here are five previews of items coming up this week.
Pick of the week: Buyer hooked by Fijian whale ivory rarity
16 May 2022Sperm whale teeth, acquired from mammals that had beached on local reefs, had a deep significance to Fijian society.
Nelson mourning ring by ‘special request’
16 May 2022The Marine Sale at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) included a very rare gold and enamel ring marking the death of Admiral Lord Nelson in 1805.
The next generation: ‘The book trade is so varied it is always possible to find a corner to make your own’
16 May 2022Seldom does the stereotypical image of the rare book specialist fit the current generation of dealers and auctioneers. Members of the 21st century book trade come from all walks of life with their interests and areas of specialisation just as varied. ATG speaks to five members of the trade to discover their route into rare books.
Going for a Song at £56,000
16 May 2022It was during the Song dynasty that tea parties became the vogue and tea houses flourished.
Time for a commercial break
16 May 2022Try original advertising artwork if you want to capture the atmosphere of an era.
Constantinidis ceramics on the rise
16 May 2022Typically, the work of studio potter Joanna Constantinidis (1927-2000), for nearly 40 years a lecturer in ceramics at Chelmsford Technical College and School of Art, has tended to occupy the second tier of the burgeoning contemporary ceramics market.
Previews: issue 2543
16 May 2022A selection of 15 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and Ireland.
Rediscovered Chinese vase stars in our pick of five auction highlights
13 May 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rediscovered doucai porcelain vase with Qianlong marks that made over seven-times estimate in Hampshire.