Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Jewellery auction previews in time for Christmas all at 'affordable' levels
25 November 2024As the gift-giving season arrives, jewellery seldom disappoints. Pictured here are a range of antique and vintage jewels coming up for sale in the next couple of weeks, all with estimates under £1500.
Poem 'survives as unique text' in a late 15th century Italian manuscript
25 November 2024A recent sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included a late 15th century Italian manuscript that is thought to be a codex unicus.
Hongs held crucial role for Chinese export porcelain
25 November 2024Maryland auction offers a fascinating collection of Chinese porcelain intended for foreign markets
Mexican made in colonial era – fine South American objects at auction
25 November 2024A single-owner collection of Antiquities & Oddities offered without reserve by Shapiro Auctions 30/29/18.9% buyer’s premium) in Mamaroneck, New York included several fine South American objects made in the Spanish colonial era.
Story tellers: How jewellery pieces with a fascinating background boost value
25 November 2024While the buying audience still loves its brand names and big stones, jewellery with a narrative is a strength of the market
Fab Four phonograph is a hit
25 November 2024The Beatles Memorabilia Auction at Tracks (25% buyer’s premium) in Chorley, Lancashire included one of the most desirable of all commercial Fab Four items: the 1964 Beatles record player by NEMS Enterprises.
Modern classics by female designers in focus
25 November 2024The French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) started making jewellery in the early 1970s after she was introduced to the Italian goldsmith Giancarlo Montebello in Paris.
Dickin Medal earned by ‘Dog of War’ is up for sale
18 November 2024A Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross – is expected to reach £30,000-40,000 at coin and medal auction specialist Morton & Eden in London on December 4.
Tunbridge ware table cabinet is among five lots to watch
18 November 2024With estimates from £500, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
British provincial wares pack a punch at auction
18 November 2024Although the size of the collecting audience is changing - and the arrival or departure of just one or two committed buyers can make a significant difference to prices - British provincial wares can command decent prices.
Purdy miner’s lamps improved the safety margin
18 November 2024A collection of miner’s lamps at Bamfords (24.75% buyer’s premium) in Derby included a pair of patent lamps by William Purdy.
Rostrum goes under the hammer
18 November 2024The Autumn Auction at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26/25% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included an array of unusual objects from the collection of the late Christopher Hawkings.
Condition is key to appeal of the handful of Alwar survivors for sale
18 November 2024In his magnus opus Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, 1883, Thomas Holbein Hendley (1847-1917) documents what he called “a new and most interesting style of engraved silver plate developed in Alwar”.
Touch of luxury and novelty evident in a west London sale silver selection
18 November 2024Dressing table sets are among the most frequently surviving elements of late 17th century hollowware.
Enough to render you ‘speechless’: exceptional Chinese art amassed by industrialist
18 November 2024In storage for a century, a remarkable group of Chinese works of art has sold for £870,000 at a south London auction.
How special quality can help silver to beat a scrapyard fate
18 November 2024With the scrap price of silver at such a high level the sad truth is that many items will end up in the melting pot.
Qing wares deliver strong performance at UK Asian art series
15 November 2024The wider market is increasingly selective, but Qing mark and period porcelain continues to shine in the saleroom.
Clock-watch sounds the alarm at £27,000
11 November 2024This remarkable Charles II period silver clock-watch with alarm appeared for sale at Wotton Auction Rooms in Gloucestershire this month.
Meissen slapstick figure highlights Merkle collection auction
11 November 2024The second instalment of Meissen porcelain from the collection of German businessman Hadrian Maria Oskar Merkle (1942-2018) was sold at a recent sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr of Paris.