Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Pick of the week: Was this the best lockdown find?
28 September 2020An 18th century Beijing-enamel wine pot and cover described as the ‘ultimate lockdown find’ has sold for £390,000 at auction in Derbyshire.
Sumptuous Desportes still life brings £1.5m at Bordeaux sale
28 September 2020A newly-discovered work by François Desportes (1661- 1743) sold for a sensational €1.65m (£1.5m) at auction in Bordeaux.
Wine vessel is toast of New York series
28 September 2020The highlight of last week’s Asian art series in New York was this remarkable 14in (35cm) high Warring States period (475-221BC) bronze sacrificial wine vessel or 'fang hu'.
Bawden’s decimal coin design makes a Mint
28 September 2020Edward Bawden (1903-89) was one of a number of artists invited to submit designs ahead of Britain’s changeover to decimal coinage. Designs were invited for six coins: the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p pieces.
A grand piano, a car mascot and an Irish artist's portrait of a girl are among the six lots to watch at auction this week
28 September 2020With estimates from £180-60,000 here are six previews of upcoming items this week.
The paper trail: 12 works on paper available from dealers or upcoming auctions
28 September 2020The term ‘works on paper’ encompasses a diverse range of media from the drawings that offer a glimpse into an artist’s creative process to prints, posters, ephemera and documents. Pictured here is a section of items available to buy from dealers or bid for at auction.
Skeaping ahead: bronze equestrian group leaps over estimate in Poole
28 September 2020Just occasionally it doesn’t always pay to catalogue with great depth.
Auction previews: issue 2461
28 September 2020A selection of nine upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and Ireland.
Charles II silver sugar box stars in our pick of five auction highlights this week
25 September 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare Charles II silver sugar box described as “in an exceptional state of preservation” that sold above estimate in Nottingham.
Watch auctioneer Charles Hanson selling the ‘ultimate lockdown find’ found in a workman’s garage
24 September 2020An 18th century Beijing-enamel wine pot and cover described as the ‘ultimate lockdown find’ has sold for £390,000 at auction in Derbyshire.
Fabled Una and the Lion proof set returns to auction
21 September 2020A celebrated Una and the Lion proof set minted in the first year of Queen Victoria’s reign returns to auction next month.
Market proof: Queen Anne five guineas piece from 1705 sells for £220,000 at Spink
21 September 2020Choice specimens of the rarest English coins are reaching new financial territory.
Pick of the week: The Stobwasser box that was up to snuff
21 September 2020Economic stimulus packages are not a new phenomenon. Georg Siegmund Stobwasser (1717-76) was among the many craftsmen attracted to the Brunswick by the special privileges granted them in the city by Duke Karl I (1713-80) in the wake of the Seven Years’ War.
A Russian brooch and a sketch for a famous Antarctic explorer painting are among seven lots to watch at auction this week
21 September 2020With estimates from £1000-12,000 here are seven previews of upcoming items this week.
Wrapping the Pont Neuf – three times
21 September 2020Christo (1935-2020) is famous for the series of monumental projects to wrap landmarks around the world undertaken with his wife and collaborator Jeanne-Claude (1935-2008).
Auction of Scottish house collection provides cross-section of life in a grand country mansion
21 September 2020The allure of well-priced, market-fresh chattels from a blue-blood country estate can pique the interest of the most world-weary auctioneer or antiques dealer.
Maintaining a gold standard: Coins market focus
21 September 2020Coinex, the traditional autumn focus for the numismatic world, is cancelled this year.
Complete set of Gould’s Birds of Britain stars in our pick of five auction highlights this week
18 September 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare complete set of John Gould’s ‘Birds of Britain’ that doubled estimate in Gloucestershire.
Soviet propaganda porcelain plate makes over 100-times estimate in Stratford-upon-Avon
14 September 2020When, following the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolshevik government took control of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, large quantities of glazed but unpainted white hard-paste porcelain plates, cups and saucers remained at the site.
Thank you for the royal pardon – silver snuff box at Dutch auction tells story of engraver
14 September 2020This 4in (10cm) silver snuff box offered for sale at Veilinghuis de Jager in Goes, Zeeland was the subject of a learned article in the January-February Ghendtsche Tydingen, the magazine of the Ghent history society.