Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Poetry work that awakened the genius of John Keats
15 July 2024Only 29 books from the library of John Keats are recorded - among them a 1679 printing of the collected works of the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser given to him by the artist Joseph Severn (1793-1879).
British silver pieces from renowned Texas collection on offer
15 July 2024New Orleans dealership MS Rau has acquired 222 pieces of English silver from the collection of Texan businessman Billy Joe ‘Red’ McCombs (1927-2023).
Intriguing timeline of a rediscovered Tompion clock
15 July 2024Bonhams’ Fine Clocks sale in London on July 3 included a table clock by Thomas Tompion (1639-1713) that came for sale via an unorthodox route.
Illustration done on a grand scale: fantastic fish watercolours from naturalist Sarah Bowdich Lee
15 July 2024Naturalist produced a fish-focused work featuring nearly 3000 original watercolours across 50 copies
Spoon by the famous Haslewood silversmithing family comes to sale as a rare Norwich survivor
15 July 2024A rare example of Norfolk Charles I silver – a seal-top spoon made by the patriarch of the famous Haslewood silversmithing dynasty – sold for £3600 at a recent sale of Silver and Objects of Vertu at Chiswick Auctions (26% buyer’s premium) in London.
The Japanese prints spoils of a seasoned bidder
15 July 2024Collector never seemed to give up in a battle to win more magnificent ukiyo-e works
Cows can fly: Beswick lot bid to a bullish 30 times estimate in Glasgow
12 July 2024Arthur Gredington, who was appointed chief modeller at the Beswick factory in 1939, found inspiration across the animal kingdom from cats and kittens to butterflies and leaping fish.
Prime-period Zsolnay shines in Munich auction
08 July 2024Selection of items by the Hungarian family firm date from most in-demand era of production
Iznik at the double thanks to two private collections at Olympia Auctions
08 July 2024The sale of Indian and Islamic art at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in London on June 5 included two fine private collections of Iznik pottery.
Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze seals a sensational price
08 July 2024Concept Art Gallery (22% buyer’s premium) in Pittsburgh enjoyed a sensational result on June 8.
Torpedo bottle hits £5000 hammer
08 July 2024Storing a bottle of carbonised mineral water upright often caused the cork to dry out, the gas to escape and the drink to go flat. Persuading a chemist or grocer to store them horizontally proved difficult until the adoption of William Hamilton’s egg-shaped or torpedo bottle.
Archer family provenance points the way to debut sale success
08 July 2024Father and son collection stars as centrepiece of 150-lot inaugural Islamic and Indian art offering
Join the club for tribal art fans
08 July 2024Late last year auctioneer and valuer Mark Huddleston received three images of a chief’s staff or pole club along with an ‘is this worth anything’ enquiry. The vendor had inherited it from his family who (by repute) had done Presbyterian missionary work in Polynesia in the 19th century.
Titian work helps Christie’s record “strongest Old Masters evening in over a decade”
04 July 2024The ‘Longleat’ Titian and the rediscovered primary version of Metsys’ Madonna of the Cherries provided what Christie’s deemed its “strongest Old Masters Evening sales at in over a decade” on July 2.
Largest collection of Louis Vuitton trunks come to auction
02 July 2024Christie's is offering the largest and most extensive private collection of Louis Vuitton trunks ever to come to auction.
‘California’ era Hockney viewed as a £320,000 discovery
01 July 2024Detail of signature and labels on the back also shown.
Cartier brooches come with Courtauld appeal
01 July 2024The Dreweatts (26% buyer’s premium) sale on June 18 included two Cartier brooches commissioned by Sir Stephen Courtauld to designs inspired by Eltham Palace.
‘G’ marks jug as a Gorham production
01 July 2024Although the designer and silversmith are unknown, this silver snake jug forms part of the group of trompe l’oeil objects produced during the 1870s-80s by the Gorham factory in Providence, Rhode Island.