Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Use of silver fuels powder flask desirability
03 March 2025A rarity offered on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham on February 11-12 was this George III silver pear shape powder flask.
Wedgwood medallions form important part of slavery story
03 March 2025Shortly after the production of the first batch of his jasperware abolitionist medallion, Josiah Wedgwood sent a package to Benjamin Franklin with a covering letter dated February 1788 saying: “I embrace the opportunity to inclose [sic] for the use of your Excellency and friends, a few Cameos on a subject I am happy to acquaint you is daily more and more taking possession of men’s minds on this side of the Atlantic as well as with you.
Victorian mineral water bottle makes a very refreshing £19,000 price at Warwick saleroom
26 February 2025This rare English mineral water bottle sold for £19,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Griffin’s Auctioneers in Warwick on February 25.
Monumental Hans Coper vessel unearthed in London back garden
24 February 2025A key work by the Anglo-German studio potter Hans Coper (1920-81) has been found in a garden in London.
Paris dealer wins auction battle for Kwele mask
24 February 2025The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on February 19 included this striking tribal mask from central Africa.
Lost Nazarene oil found in commissioning family
24 February 2025Paris auction house Tajan is to sell a previously lost and unpublished work by German artist Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869).
Pick of the Week: Peter Rabbit second printing prized
24 February 2025Turned down by several publishers, Beatrix Potter shouldered the expense of privately printing The Tale of Peter Rabbit with Strangeways Printers in December 1901.
Cartier Courtauld jewels on display at Eltham Palace after £19,000 auction buy
24 February 2025Two Cartier brooches commissioned by Sir Stephen Courtauld for his wife have gone on display at Eltham Palace, eight months after they were sold at auction by Dreweatts in Newbury.
Heroic sea rescue recognised
24 February 2025An atypical entry to the March 4-9 sale at the Harwich antiquities specialist TimeLine is this gold medal struck in Philadelphia following the sinking of American steamship Casper, on December 23, 1928.
Go with the grain for an unusual Victorian pictorial souvenir
24 February 2025A rare visitor to the auction room came in the form of this pocket-sized Victorian sand picture book.
In defence of a British military disaster
24 February 2025Lieutenant General John Burgoyne (1722-92) was put in command of the British forces in Canada in 1777 after outlining the shortcomings of his own commanding officer.
‘It is time to declutter’ declares earl as Holkham Hall contents hit the auction block
24 February 2025Cellars and attics at famous Norfolk estate are cleared out as part of ‘housework’ to allow guided tours
Arts journal page displays pioneering print
24 February 2025Victorian arts journal was first to be illustrated with a photograph to promote Fox Talbot book
Rediscovered early Nazarene painting comes to Paris auction
21 February 2025Paris auction house Tajan is to sell a previously lost and unpublished work by Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869).
Rare surviving pieces of Newcastle silver emerge at Chiswick Auctions
20 February 2025Two rare pieces of 17th century Newcastle silver come for sale in London on February 26.
Risqué 1790s French gown causes sheer excitement
17 February 2025On February 11, vintage costume specialist Kerry Taylor Auctions sold a private collection of Napoleonic and Regency dress formed over the last two decades by Cristina Barreto and Martin Lancaster.
Buyer bids triple estimate sum to secure Batavian betel box
17 February 2025This Dutch East Indies gold mounted tortoiseshell betel box hammered at £15,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk in Nottingham on February 11-12.
Lot that really caught the eye
17 February 2025The fashion for eye miniatures – or lover’s eyes – is said to have begun with a politically and socially unacceptable royal affair.