Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell

Guangxu in pastel shades
30 November 2020The term 'qianjiangcai' refers to a ‘pastel coloured’ palette of enamels used by Tongzhi (1856-75) and Guangxu (1875-1908), porcelain painters in the years after the Taiping rebellion and the destruction of the Jingdezhen kilns.

Lucky lacquer at Surrey sale
30 November 2020The November 11 Islamic & Oriental sale at John Nicholson’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Fernhurst was topped at £6200 (estimate £400-600) by this 19th century cinnabar lacquer table mirror.

Auction previews: issue 2470
30 November 2020A selection of 13 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and Ireland.

Qing gilt-bronze incense burner sells at 17-times estimate to Hong Kong buyer at Sworders
30 November 2020Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) latest Asian art sale in Stansted Mountfitchet included this ‘splashed’ gilt-bronze incense burner from the Qing (1644-1911) period.

Monochrome surprise as Chinese bowl brings hefty bidding at Dreweatts
30 November 2020The unexpected highlight of Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) sale on November 12 was provided by this copper red glazed globular form bowl.

Windfall sums for the three abundances at Olympia Auctions
30 November 2020The sale held by Matthew Barton at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on November 18 included a series of pairs of 6in (15cm) diameter porcelain bowls from a private European collection assembled in Hong Kong in the 1980s-90s.

The heavenly globe: Exceptional Qing famille rose vase soars over estimate at Chiswick Auctions
30 November 2020“The first sight I had of the vase was from an old photograph and my heart skipped a beat,” said Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) specialist Lazarus Halstead of this spectacular 20in (51cm) Qing famille rose vase.

Magnificent monteith is £90,000 prize
30 November 2020It is thought that the earliest Chinese porcelain monteith appeared c.1715, coinciding with the establishment of the East India Company’s factory in Canton.

Textbook Kangxi blue and white vases emerge at sales in the north and south
30 November 2020Pictured below are two textbook Kangxi (1662-1722) period blue and white vases.

Early wares with Janssens provenance provide highlights to Roseberys sale
30 November 2020On November 11 in West Norwood, London, Roseberys (25% buyer’s premium) offered 50 lots from the estate of Anglo-Dutch collectors Albert (1927-2018) and Leonie van Daalen-Roell (1930-2018). Many pieces – typically early bronzes and sancai glazed ceramics from the classic era – had been bought from London dealer Ben Janssens Oriental Art.

Our pick of 12 pieces of continental porcelain appearing at auction in December
30 November 2020A special selection of European continental porcelain coming up in UK auctions and abroad.

Qatari family jades return in new era
30 November 2020In November 2008, Christie’s held a sale in London of Chinese works of art that included lots from the collection of Baron (1894-1991) and Baroness von Oertzen (1908-2007). The couple, who had settled in South Africa after the Second World War, acquired a deep knowledge of Chinese art and a large and varied collection, buying from the 1960s onwards.

Yongzheng dish lights up Hope Smith collection at Bonhams
30 November 2020One of the unexpected high points of Bonhams’ (27.5/25% buyer’s premium) Fine Chinese Art sale on November 5 was a 8in (20cm) Yongzheng mark and period famille rose ‘butterflies and peonies’ dish.

Chinese brush pot makes £23,000 at Bishop & Miller
30 November 2020The Bishop & Miller's (25% buyer’s premium) recent sale of Asian Art in Stowmarket was topped by two pieces of Chinese red overlay white glass: a brush pot with three ribbed bands and a scrolling foliate body and a vase with a scrolling leaf design.

ʻThe epitome of old European taste’: British diplomat's collection of Chinese ceramics sells at Semley Auctions
30 November 2020Semley Auctions (22% buyer’s premium) in Dorset secured one of the choice consignments this season: the Martin Robert Morland (1933-2020) collection of Chinese ceramics.

Chicken cup and ʻShi Tao’ landscape scroll turn heads at Lyon & Turnbull
30 November 2020Lyon & Turnbull’s (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Asian Works of Art in London on November 5 featured as its top-estimated lot, a 3in (8cm) diameter doucai ‘chicken cup’.

Qianlong masterworks or honorific doppelgangers?
30 November 2020The unusual Chinese porcelain model (pictured below) forms the shape of a lingzhi stem vividly enamelled with a blend of green, blue and pink glazes. It measures 9in (23cm) high and carries a Qianlong (1736-95) mark.

Asian art hammer highlights: The great call of China
30 November 2020Despite the restrictions on travel and viewing, the market for Chinese works of art has appeared remarkably robust in the year of coronavirus. ATG reports on the highpoints of the recent round of London and UK regional sales

Late Qing table screen makes £11,000 at Ewbank’s
30 November 2020This 12in (30cm) high late Qing famille rose porcelain and hardwood table screen came for sale at Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Send, Surrey, on November 12.

‘Kyng James’ hawking ring found by a metal detectorist stars in our latest pick of five auction highlights
27 November 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes an early 17th century silver hawking ring found by a metal detectorist in West Sussex that sold for over three-times estimate.