Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Chinese export cabinets at Bellmans come market-fresh from family
31 August 2020A pair of Chinese export black lacquer chinoiserie decorated cabinets on stands came for sale at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in Wisborough Green, West Sussex on August 11 with a blue-chip provenance.
Carved ‘Black Forest’ hound stars in our pick of five auction highlights sold this week
28 August 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a carved hound stick stand that sold for more than four-times estimate in Hampshire.
£17,000 Martinware tortoise emerges from hibernation
24 August 2020This Martin Brothers stoneware model of a tortoise with a mirthful face was a very welcome discovery for auctioneer Rupert Toovey on a post-lockdown valuation in the Surrey Hills.
Antiques dealer's French imperial naval eagle soars at auction
24 August 2020According to his family, this French imperial naval eagle was purchased by the dealer Jack Webb (1923-2019) from a ‘totter’ in the early 1970s over the counter at his shop in Camden Passage.
Dealer’s kitchen antiques collection finds new home
24 August 2020A vast collection of Victorian kitchen antiques formed by a dealer from Kent has found a new home in North Yorkshire.
Statues surface from sunken garden site after decades in the undergrowth
24 August 2020An extraordinary cache of garden statuary, unseen for decades, comes for sale at Summers Place Auctions next month.
Pick of the week: Disc-end spoon discovery scoops £21,000
24 August 2020While most early Scottish spoon types follow closely known and comparable patterns from England or mainland Europe, the ‘disc-end’ is an exception. Made for perhaps a century from c.1580, it is a form seemingly unique to Scotland.
A military watch collection, a Bernard Leach jar and a Shakespeare halfpenny are among the five lots to watch at auction this week
24 August 2020With estimates from £100-35,000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
The Mouseman in his prime
24 August 2020Classic Robert Thompson products from family collections underline current keen demand.
Batavian box gives buyer something to chew on
24 August 2020The centuries-old Indonesian habit of chewing betel nut, the fruit of the reach palm, was quickly adopted by settlers from the Dutch East India Company who appreciated both its psychoactive properties and its importance as a local social ritual.
Bayonet axed for being costly is now highly valauble
24 August 2020The so-called Elcho bayonet was designed for the Martini-Henry rifle in 1870 by Lord Elcho, the 10th Earl of Wemyss & March.
Carving much mightier than a mouse
24 August 2020The Robert Thompson firm produced shire horses, such as this example offered by Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne on July 23, from the 1960s-90s.
Politician proves influential in the antiques world
24 August 2020Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond (1944-2014) – the founder of the Norbrook pharmaceutical group in Northern Ireland – proved just as influential in the world of politics as he was in business.
Sphinx flies in black glass
24 August 2020The best-known press-moulded models made by John Derbyshire at the Regent Road Flint Glassworks in Salford are the series of animal and figural paperweights made in frosted, flint and coloured glass.
Bronze deity makes a jumbo price
24 August 2020In Tibetan Buddhism the elephant-headed deity Vignataka is treated with considerable ambivalence.
Politicians on the saleroom menu
24 August 2020Estimated at £100-200 but sold for £2800 at Thomas Watson (25% buyer’s premium) in Darlington on August was a set of four Worcester parian menu holders.
Minton majolica bear that once appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow stars in our pick of five auction highlights sold this week
21 August 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Minton majolica dancing bear that sold for four-times estimate in Surrey.
Rothschild taste adds to record Salisbury total
17 August 2020A group of works of art from a country home once owned by members of the Rothschild family boosted the latest Woolley & Wallis auction.
Pick of the week: Tiny box with calligraphy from the ‘Little man of Nuremberg’ who excelled at micro masterpieces
17 August 2020Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), the so-called ‘Little Man of Nuremberg’, was just 2ft 5in (74cm) tall. Born in Ansbach without legs and having truncated arms without fingers, he nonetheless excelled at many occupations associated with physical dexterity.