Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Bidder catches silver fox at £100,000 hammer
25 November 2024A spectacular Victorian silver fox modelled by taxidermist James Rowland Ward sold for £100,000 at Tennants on November 16.
Lowestoft birth tablet is among five lots to watch
25 November 2024With estimates from £2000, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Country house was furnished thanks to three fortunes made
25 November 2024The residual contents of Yorkshire country house Copgrove Hall were sold by Duggleby Stephenson (25% buyer’s premium) in York.
‘Dutch lady’ now thought to depict a German Jew
25 November 2024When it was last sold 30 years ago, Chinese export figures of this rare type were thought to depict a Dutch lady - perhaps the wife of a governor of Batavia.
Jewellery auction previews in time for Christmas all at 'affordable' levels
25 November 2024As the gift-giving season arrives, jewellery seldom disappoints. Pictured here are a range of antique and vintage jewels coming up for sale in the next couple of weeks, all with estimates under £1500.
Poem 'survives as unique text' in a late 15th century Italian manuscript
25 November 2024A recent sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included a late 15th century Italian manuscript that is thought to be a codex unicus.
Hongs held crucial role for Chinese export porcelain
25 November 2024Maryland auction offers a fascinating collection of Chinese porcelain intended for foreign markets
Mexican made in colonial era – fine South American objects at auction
25 November 2024A single-owner collection of Antiquities & Oddities offered without reserve by Shapiro Auctions 30/29/18.9% buyer’s premium) in Mamaroneck, New York included several fine South American objects made in the Spanish colonial era.
Story tellers: How jewellery pieces with a fascinating background boost value
25 November 2024While the buying audience still loves its brand names and big stones, jewellery with a narrative is a strength of the market
Fab Four phonograph is a hit
25 November 2024The Beatles Memorabilia Auction at Tracks (25% buyer’s premium) in Chorley, Lancashire included one of the most desirable of all commercial Fab Four items: the 1964 Beatles record player by NEMS Enterprises.
Modern classics by female designers in focus
25 November 2024The French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) started making jewellery in the early 1970s after she was introduced to the Italian goldsmith Giancarlo Montebello in Paris.
Dickin Medal earned by ‘Dog of War’ is up for sale
18 November 2024A Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross – is expected to reach £30,000-40,000 at coin and medal auction specialist Morton & Eden in London on December 4.
Tunbridge ware table cabinet is among five lots to watch
18 November 2024With estimates from £500, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
British provincial wares pack a punch at auction
18 November 2024Although the size of the collecting audience is changing - and the arrival or departure of just one or two committed buyers can make a significant difference to prices - British provincial wares can command decent prices.
Purdy miner’s lamps improved the safety margin
18 November 2024A collection of miner’s lamps at Bamfords (24.75% buyer’s premium) in Derby included a pair of patent lamps by William Purdy.
Rostrum goes under the hammer
18 November 2024The Autumn Auction at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26/25% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included an array of unusual objects from the collection of the late Christopher Hawkings.
Condition is key to appeal of the handful of Alwar survivors for sale
18 November 2024In his magnus opus Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, 1883, Thomas Holbein Hendley (1847-1917) documents what he called “a new and most interesting style of engraved silver plate developed in Alwar”.
Touch of luxury and novelty evident in a west London sale silver selection
18 November 2024Dressing table sets are among the most frequently surviving elements of late 17th century hollowware.