Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Jewels of the real-life Lady Chatterley
20 November 2017Twelve items of jewellery belonging to Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938) – the woman who inspired the DH Lawrence character Lady Chatterley – contributed more than £15,000 to the sale conducted by Woolley & Wallis on October 26.
Mourning jewellery makes sales to remember
20 November 2017Anita (1930-2015) and Irvin Garfield Schorsch (1927-2014) were not typical Americana collectors.
A selection of real gems
20 November 2017A round-up of recent auction highlights from Anglo-Saxon treasure to a magnificent man in his flying machine.
Pendant marks brief calm before revolutionary storm
20 November 2017In May 1789, as the political and financial situation in France grew ever bleaker, Louis XVI was forced to summon the three estates – the clergy, nobility and commoners – who had the power to levy taxes and implement reform.
Trio of jewellery auction previews
20 November 2017A selection of stand-out lots from auctions in west London, Mayfair and Gloucestershire.
The name’s Submariner – Rolex Submariner
20 November 2017The first Rolex Submariner was introduced to the public in 1954 at the Basel Watch Fair but it was Ian Fleming’s fictional spy, James Bond, who in 1962 transformed a reliable and rugged dive watch to a status symbol embodying suave masculinity and a sense of adventure.
Get Cartier and a diamond pleaser
20 November 2017Mallams in Oxford posted a house record for jewellery on November 15 when a pair of Cartier earrings sold to one of 12 international phone bidders for £72,000 (plus premium).
Bonhams sits comfortably in Asian art auction series
13 November 2017Bonhams capitalised on the strong market for classical Chinese furniture to set the two highest prices of the London Asian art auction series.
Cole carriage clock strikes a chord in Bath auction
13 November 2017“No one can rival Thomas Cole for engraving in the 19th century,” said director Jamie South after this exhibition-quality carriage clock sold for £26,000 (plus 20% premium) at Gardiner Houlgate in Horsham, Bath, on October 25. It went to an American buyer towards the top end of the estimate.
Whalebone cane strolls to £17,000
13 November 2017A mid-19th century scrimshaw carved whalebone walking cane sold for a house record of £17,000 (plus 18% buyer’s premium) at East Bristol Auctions on November 9.
New editions at Forum Auctions
13 November 2017Forum Auctions has expanded its modern and contemporary prints and editions department with two new appointments.
Pick of the Week: Tobacco leaf lots light up the saleroom
06 November 2017A collection of tobacco leaf pattern Chinese export porcelain surpassed all expectations to sell for a combined £116,000 at Mallams Cheltenham (20% buyer’s premium).
Le goût Rothschild proves the salt of the Earth
06 November 2017Sotheby’s From Earth To Fire sale in Bond Street on November 1 was topped by a kunstkammer object with a Rothschild provenance.
Spains Hall sofa sold for £140,000 at Bonhams
06 November 2017Bonhams’ Important Design sale in Bond Street on October 25 included this George III mahogany hall settee in the manner of William and John Linnell. Estimated at £8000- 12,000, it sold at £140,000 (plus premium), writes Roland Arkell.
Duke’s reviews due diligence over Wallis fakes
06 November 2017Dorchester auctioneer Duke’s said it has changed its due diligence procedures after advertising fake works it claimed were by Cornish artist Alfred Wallis (1855-1942).
Auction house Duke’s fined for offering fake Alfred Wallis works
01 November 2017Dorchester auction firm Duke’s has been ordered to pay £18,275 after advertising fake works it claimed were by Cornish artist Alfred Wallis (1855-1942).
Trade wins clarification over California law
23 October 2017A coalition of auction houses and book dealers has succeeded in rewording a controversial new law governing the sale of autographed collectables in California.
Pick of the Week: Ottoman beads beat ‘Bakelite’ pitch but no Turkish bid delight
23 October 2017The presence of two Turkish gentlemen at the Objects of Desire sale at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet on October 18 had raised a few eyebrows – if only because they appeared singularly disinterested in the contents of this ‘handbags and gladrags’ sale.
Camille Claudel family collection comes to auction
23 October 2017Paris saleroom Artcurial will offer a group of 20 works from the family of Camille Claudel (1864-1943) for sale on November 27.
Auction houses probed in report by elephant ivory pressure group
23 October 2017A new report into the sale of ivory at UK auctions claims to have found “widespread flouting of the law by many auction houses”.