Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Harry Potter first edition, James Cook voyage medal and micromosaic wall plaques – five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes in the last week
27 September 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week includes a first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone’ that created a bit of auction magic at Chiswick Auctions.
Pick of the week: Rare example of a surviving maestrophone sells at 20-times estimate in Nantwich auction
23 September 2019Until electricity became commonplace in homes, the power source of choice for the gramophone was a spring motor that required frequent winding. One unusual solution to silent interludes at the dinner dance was to power the device by hot air.
Two George II tables bring major sums in regional rooms
23 September 2019Two English furniture ‘discoveries’ excelled against modest hopes at auction in mid-September. Top-end London dealers bought both pieces.
Rogers Jones to offer one of the best-known images in Welsh art in Cardiff auction
23 September 2019A second version of one of the best-known images in Welsh art comes for sale in Cardiff next month.
Five lots to watch at auction this week including an Arctic sledge flag, a Royal Academician’s cup and a model train
23 September 2019With estimates from £800-6000, here are five previews of upcoming sales this week.
Worcester mug rides crest of bidding wave
23 September 2019While typically it is the very earliest pieces of Worcester porcelain from the 1750s that excite the market, there is always great interest in documentary pieces.
Studio ceramics: Collection from the home of a pioneering gallerist offered at Mallams
23 September 2019Peter Dingley (1923-2018), who died last year aged 95, is a name synonymous with the best of modern British craft. David Whiting, author of 'Modern British Potters & Their Studios' (2009), described him as “a remarkable member of the small band of post-war pioneering gallerists who supported British ceramics”.
Modern British Art: Rediscovered Cedric Morris painting to be sold to benefit Benton End
23 September 2019Proceeds of painting by artist-plantsman Cedric Morris will benefit Benton End – the house where it was painted and home of the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing
A watercolour of Iran, a fashionable chair and a patriotic longcase clock – five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes in the last week
20 September 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week includes a rare watercolour depicting of Isfahan in Iran and an early 20th century tub chair by Howard & Sons. Both were bid to 10-times estimate.
BADA dealers call for EGM over fair sale
16 September 2019Members of the British Antique Dealers’ Association (BADA) have called for an extraordinary general meeting as some dealers reacted with anger and confusion at news that the association’s flagship London fair had been sold.
Shock £1.3m bid for Yongzheng mark vase at Hampshire auction
16 September 2019Estimated at £400-600, a Chinese porcelain vase was bid to £1.3m at an auction in Hampshire last week.
Going for bust with a £96,000 bid in Essex auction
16 September 2019This Italian marble bust of an emperor, catalogued as 17th century after the antique, provided a moment of saleroom drama at Sworders’ Fine Interiors auction in Stansted on September 10.
Pick of the week: Living up to the teapot with a punchline
16 September 2019George du Maurier (1834-96) joined the staff at Punch magazine in 1865, drawing two ink cartoons a week until his eyesight deteriorated in 1891. His most common targets were the affected manners of Victorian society and Britain’s growing middle class in particular.
Fabergé sedan chair sets house record for Cirencester firm
16 September 2019A gold, jade and rock crystal model of a sedan chair by Fabergé was hammered down at £380,000 last week – a new house record for a Gloucestershire auctioneer.