Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell

Waterloo

Archaeological dig at the battlefield of Waterloo wins support from Bonhams

16 July 2018

Auction house Bonhams is sponsoring Waterloo Uncovered, an archaeological dig at the battlefield of Waterloo.

Willy Wonka

Record set for Sir Quentin Blake illustration as 40-year collection sells at auction

13 July 2018

Watercolours and drawings from the personal collection of artist Sir Quentin Blake (b. 1932) have been sold at Christie’s for over £750,000.

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'Nazi-loot' claim over $250m Guelph Treasure can go to trial in US federal court

13 July 2018

A Washington DC appeals court has upheld a decision to allow a ‘Nazi forced sale’ claim against a spectacular collection of medieval devotional art to go to trial in the US.

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Hailwood makes quick return with Dreweatts

09 July 2018

Wristwatch expert Adrian Hailwood has joined Dreweatts as a senior specialist.

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Rarest of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ comes to auction

09 July 2018

This unassuming Grana military issue c.1945 forms part of the so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ wristwatches made by 12 Swiss manufacturers for the British army.

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A gaoler’s ring?

09 July 2018

This Tudor period gold finger ring with the initials RB was found by a detectorist on land to the west of Crewkerne in 2017.

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Wellington’s favourite charger

09 July 2018

A 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.

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HG Murphy’s masterwork

09 July 2018

Woolley & 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.

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The nine lives of Cartier’s creative genius

09 July 2018

Legend 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.

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Bronzed in London: sculptures take centre stage as heat rises during capital’s big sales week

09 July 2018

Important works of European sculpture were stars of the London auction season’s highpoint last week.

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Dark Lord and Skipperera star in niche market

09 July 2018

As 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.

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Zimmermann revival

09 July 2018

This 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.

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Hoffman clock strikes success in Rotterdam

02 July 2018

Unmistakably 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.

Jiaqing vase

Damaged Chinese vases still pack a punch at auction

02 July 2018

Down 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.

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Early club from a cellar in Fife becomes £26,000 seller in Lewes

02 July 2018

This 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.

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Horlicks’ Mouseman furniture comes to auction

25 June 2018

The Horlicks collection of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson furniture will be sold at auction in Stansted Mountfitchet this autumn.

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First Hours of Aristophil sell-off

25 June 2018

The 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).

Van Gogh letter

French museums swoop on books, letters and manuscripts at the mammoth auction series of the Aristophil collection

25 June 2018

French 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.

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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.”

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Japanese buyer keeps Heathrow taxi waiting when buying 'Ming period' dish for £31,000 in North Yorkshire

20 June 2018

A 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.