Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
French banks close UK trade accounts as part of clampdown on money laundering
09 March 2016Tighter regulations surrounding fraud and money laundering are prompting French banks to close the euro accounts of some UK dealers and shippers.
‘Joan of Arc’ ring sells for £240,000 after English v French bidding battle
07 March 2016A medieval ring long associated with Joan of Arc sold for £240,000 – almost 30 times its estimate – at Timeline Auctions in Bloomsbury on February 25.
Raid on Wimbledon taxidermy dealer
07 March 2016Specialist taxidermy dealer Alexis Turner has lost a significant portion of his stock following an extraordinary raid on a London warehouse.
US establishes ivory repository
07 March 2016The US Fish and Wildlife Service have announced a new programme to “help reduce the overall ivory market”.
Stanley Gibbons auditors quit over risk
03 March 2016The auditors for Stanley Gibbons, the venerable collectables dealership and parent company of Dreweatts Bloomsbury, Mallett and AH Baldwin, have resigned because they believe the firm is exposed to excessive risk.
Clarice Cliff’s rare Lucerne pattern vase emerges in Cheshire saleroom
02 March 2016The so-called Lucerne pattern, decorated in primary colours with a stylised Mediterranean chateau in a landscape, ranks among the scarcest and most desirable of all designs from Clarice Cliff’s ‘Appliqué’ range.
Cooper’s cased trout brings demand in Cirencester
02 March 2016Cased fish, once the only acceptable face of the taxidermy market, have cooled since the 1990s when prices in excess of £3000 were commonplace.
Images from New Zealand’s first female photographer appear at Shropshire auction
02 March 2016Originally from Lymm in Cheshire, Elizabeth Pulman (née Chadd) (1836-1900) is regarded as the first professional female photographer in New Zealand.
UK dealers told to destroy ivory antiques in US
25 February 2016Four London dealers were made to deface valuable antiques after they imported objects into the US without declaring their ivory content.
Export paddle boat steams in at Duke’s
23 February 2016This rare early 19th century Chinese gilt decorated export lacquer model of a paddle steamer sold for £7000 at Duke’s of Dorchester.
An expensive kittens’ wedding at $100,000
18 February 2016Two of the best-known anthropomorphic creations of the celebrated Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter (1835-1918) resurfaced at Treadway Toomey in Oak Park, near Chicago, Illinois, on February 6.
Function and fashion mean few positives for furniture index
11 February 2016Prices for standard English antique furniture fell for the eighth successive year, according to latest figures from the Antique Collectors’ Club’s (ACC) Annual Furniture Index (AFI).
TEFAF takes bite of the Big Apple
09 February 2016The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), umbrella organiser of the world’s foremost art and antiques fair in Maastricht, are launching two boutique events in the Park Avenue Armory, New York.
Maiolica charger takes £210,000 at Sotheby’s
28 January 2016Sotheby’s recent sale of royal and aristocratic heirlooms, titled Of Royal and Noble Descent, included this maiolica istoriato charger.
Monkey business – Swiss museum buys automaton at Bristol auction
19 January 2016A museum in Switzerland has acquired this extraordinary monkey band automaton at an online-only auction conducted by East Bristol Auctions, in Hanham, Bristol.
2015 totals: the auctioneers’ view
13 January 2016
Phillips set new high for Martin Brothers
31 December 2015Phillips set a new high for Martinware with the sale of this 14in (36cm) high bird jar modelled as Benjamin Disraeli for a double-estimate $190,000 (£126,670).
Commission suggest legal definition for ‘antique’ firearms
23 December 2015The Law Commission, the independent body which reviews laws in England and Wales, have recommended to the government that the term ‘antique firearm’ be defined in statute for the first time.
Qianlong vase brings house record in Derbyshire
22 December 2015Hansons of Etwall in Derbyshire posted a new house record in the closing days of 2015 with the sale of a 13in (32cm) high Qianlong (1736-95) mark and period famille rose vase for £300,000.
Scott collection fires the market for English clocks
18 December 2015One of the most ambitious dealer selling exhibitions of recent memory – the Tom Scott collection of clocks at Carter Marsh – has concluded with market-defining sales for the Winchester dealership.