Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Exceptional Lowestoft boosts London sale
12 July 2021Some exceptional pieces of Lowestoft featured in Bonhams’ (27.5/25% buyer’s premium) sale on June 23 – many of them from a single vendor.
Teapots to the Kate Foster taste
12 July 2021These two teapots – among the top-selling lots at the Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer's premium) sale of English and European Ceramics and Glass on June 16 – came for sale from the family of Lady Kate Davson, known to many by her maiden name of Kate Foster (1938-2020).
Collectors wise to owl rarity
12 July 2021Back in 1990, following a famous and much-repeated Henry Sandon valuation on BBC Antiques Roadshow, a late 17th century slipware owl jug and cover was acquired by the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent for £22,000.
Charles II wassail bowl stars in our latest pick of six auction highlights
09 July 2021Our weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare Charles II lignum vitae wassail bowl and cover that went above estimate in Salisbury.
Pick of the week: Philadelphia to Scotland and back again at $3.7m
05 July 2021Charles Carroll’s printed copy of the Declaration of Independence – discovered earlier this year in a Scottish family home – sold at auction in Philadelphia for $3.7m (£2.85m) plus premium.
A Wedgwood vase and a Matisse etching are among five lots to watch at auction
05 July 2021With estimates from £800-12,000, here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
Rare Commonwealth goblet makes 19-times estimate at Mallams
05 July 2021Mallams’ (25% buyer’s premium) Jewellery, Watches and Silver sale included this Commonwealth silver wine goblet.
‘Mouseman’ commissions excel in the salerooms
05 July 2021Smaller decorative pieces by Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson (1876-1955) continue to excel in the saleroom.
The life of Prof Riley – British tattoo pioneer
05 July 2021Thomas Riley was one of the few professional tattooists of the Victorian and Edwardian era and – with patrons among international royalty and the aristocracy – a key figure in the changing perception of tattoos from ‘sailors’ marks’ to ‘body art’.
Best Iraqi niello silver soars in value
05 July 2021As recently as a decade ago relatively little attention was paid to Iraqi niello silver.
Auction previews: issue 2500
05 July 2021A selection of 16 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK
Piano and stool from 1901 Glasgow Exhibition surfaces at eclectic Ayrshire summer sale
05 July 2021What auctioneer Michael Callan called “a modest mid terrace town house in Irvine, Ayrshire” was the source of one of the star lots of a recent Thomas R Callan (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Ayr.
‘Harmonica’ pistol from the 1860s stars in our weekly pick of five auction highlights
02 July 2021ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare J Jarre & Co second type ‘harmonica’ pistol that made over four-times estimate in Italy.
German all-time auction record: Sino-Tibetan bronze takes €9.5m bid at Nagel
28 June 2021Stuttgart auction house Nagel called it ‘beyond doubt one of the most important gilt-bronzes to appear on the market for many years’ – and the monumental Ming dynasty Sino-Tibetan figure of the wrathful deity Vajrabhairava did not disappoint.
Mudge Green stands out in Taylor clock sale
28 June 2021Highlights from the first tranche of the clock collection of Isle of Man entrepreneur and horologist Dr John C Taylor (b.1936) were offered for sale by dealership Carter Marsh in London last week.
A clock by a Royal maker and a picture of William Hogarth’s dog are among five lots to watch at auction
28 June 2021With estimates from £1500-60,000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
Auction previews: issue 2499
28 June 2021A selection of 11 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Family history lifts Cartier brooch to £120,000
28 June 2021The star of a recent Chiswick Auctions’ (25/12% buyer’s premium) Jewellery auction was an Art Deco diamond and rock crystal Cartier brooch, c.1925.
Liver bird brooch made as a wartime order
28 June 2021This liver bird brooch, hallmarked for 1943, appears to have been commissioned as a bespoke order for Margaret Hall, the daughter of a lord mayor of Liverpool who, from 1935-6, was herself the lady mayoress of the city.
How Cartier still shone despite the thrifty financial times
28 June 2021In the thrifty years after the Wall Street Crash, many Cartier jewels used fewer large diamonds and more colourful secondary stones. What they lost in intrinsic value they more than made up for with the ‘wow’ factor.