Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
A gaoler’s ring?
09 July 2018This Tudor period gold finger ring with the initials RB was found by a detectorist on land to the west of Crewkerne in 2017.
Wellington’s favourite charger
09 July 2018A hairwork bracelet offered at auction was inscribed to a gold mount: From the Mane of the Charger Copenhagen which carried the Duke of Wellington 18 successive hours on the 18th June 1815, The Battle of Waterloo.
HG Murphy’s masterwork
09 July 2018Woolley & Wallis is currently selling across a number of sales a cache of items from the family of HG Murphy (1884-1939), whose Falcon Studio produced some of the finest English silver of the inter-war era.
The nine lives of Cartier’s creative genius
09 July 2018Legend has it that, while on safari in Africa with her lover and employer Louis Cartier, Jeanne Toussaint spotted a panther and immediately exclaimed: “Onyx, diamonds, emeralds – a brooch!” The Cartier range of feline jewels was born.
Bronzed in London: sculptures take centre stage as heat rises during capital’s big sales week
09 July 2018Important works of European sculpture were stars of the London auction season’s highpoint last week.
Dark Lord and Skipperera star in niche market
09 July 2018As the market develops, some of the ‘secondary’ niche Swiss brands have entered the mainstream collecting arena. The Bonhams (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Watches and Wristwatches sale on June 20 offered a range of 46 Heuers from a single-owner private collection.
Zimmermann revival
09 July 2018This Egyptian revival gold, enamel and gem-set collar necklace below established a new record for the jewellery of Marie Zimmermann (1879-1972) at Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey (25% buyer’s premium) on June 10.
Hoffman clock strikes success in Rotterdam
02 July 2018Unmistakably the work of the Viennese avant-garde, this gem-set silver plated table clock sold for €205,000 (£186,000) at a recent sale held by the Rotterdam auctioneer Vendu Notarishuis.
Damaged Chinese vases still pack a punch at auction
02 July 2018Down but not out, a smashed Qing porcelain famille vase sold for an unexpected £94,000 (plus 18% buyer’s premium) at Adam Partridge in Macclesfield on June 28.
Early club from a cellar in Fife becomes £26,000 seller in Lewes
02 July 2018This hitherto unknown iron – part of select group of perhaps a dozen very early golf clubs from the late 17th or early 18th century – emerged at Gorringe’s in Lewes on June 26.
Horlicks’ Mouseman furniture comes to auction
25 June 2018The Horlicks collection of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson furniture will be sold at auction in Stansted Mountfitchet this autumn.
First Hours of Aristophil sell-off
25 June 2018The mammoth disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts began last week with a premium-inclusive €17.6m series of seven June auctions offered over four days at Drouot (June 15 and 18-20).
French museums swoop on books, letters and manuscripts at the mammoth auction series of the Aristophil collection
25 June 2018French institutions exercised their right of pre-emption on a number of occasions as the gargantuan disposal of the Aristophil collections of historic manuscripts began last week.
Bid £31,000 – and let the meter run
25 June 2018"He had taken a taxi from Heathrow to Easingwold. After fierce bidding on the phones and internet he bought it, put it in his suitcase and the taxi was still waiting outside the saleroom with the meter ticking to go back to Heathrow.”
Japanese buyer keeps Heathrow taxi waiting when buying 'Ming period' dish for £31,000 in North Yorkshire
20 June 2018A blue and white porcelain dish, believed to be from the Ming period, took more than 100 times its estimate at a small auction house in North Yorkshire. It sold to a buyer from Japan, who had flown in for the sale.
Salerooms set sights on more capital gains
18 June 2018A trio of auctioneers have announced plans for further expansion into the London market. Joined by specialists in new disciplines, The Pedestal has plans for a London sale, Tennants has taken offices in the capital while Chiswick Auctions is hiring more staff.
Pick of the Week: Fabergé blossoms in Teddington
18 June 2018“It was totally unexpected – as the best finds always are,” Derbyshire auctioneer Charles Hanson told ATG. “A client came along to our office in East Molesey carrying a cardboard box. Inside, wrapped in an old tea towel, was not one, but two, Fabergé flowers.”
Seal of approval for ‘repro’ bottle
18 June 2018In the bottle collecting field, they are calling it ‘one of the best ever finds’.
Lot of bottle for Yorkshireman who plans to auction rare 17th century sealed glass find
14 June 2018A Yorkshire dealer is selling a rare sealed bottle at auction in July near Barnsley after realising it was the real thing and not a reproduction.
MPs consider extending ivory ban to more species
11 June 2018The bill that will mean a near-total ban on the sale of African elephant ivory could be extended to include other ivory-bearing species before it becomes law.