Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Dangerous not just decorative dirk
04 December 2023Decorative Highland dirks from the late 19th century, often mounted in silver and set with cairngorms, appear for sale with some frequency.
Pick of the week: Album connects ceramics collectors
04 December 2023An album of watercolour studies of Ottoman ceramics that connects two of the British collectors of the early 20th century raced away from its estimate at Dominic Winter in Gloucestershire.
Anchovy paste posts a tasty £8000 result at auction
04 December 2023Among the most desirable of all ‘Prattware’ transfer printed wares are the series of very rare and highly decorative exhibition-style advertising plaques produced for firms such as Crosse & Blackwell and Huntley & Palmers.
Hitchcock not Hancock but a quieter Hawaii scene from a member of ‘Volcano School’
04 December 2023Although this small oil sketch that surfaced at Oxio Paris (24% buyer’s premium) in Saint-Ouen on November 19 was catalogued as by ‘Howard Hancock’, the signature is clearly that of David Howard Hitchcock (1861-1943).
The highlights of Herat and Cairo, renowned workshops
04 December 2023Sixth instalment of single-owner collection on offer in west London features wonderful workshops
Yasuyuki masterpiece makes £11,000 in Shropshire
04 December 2023This silver and enamel vase by Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927), the great master of Japanese cloisonné, sold to an English collector for £11,000 at Halls (24% buyer’s premium).
Regency sofas star in our pick of five auction highlights
01 December 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a pair of Regency painted and gilt sofas with a rich provenance that made over three-times estimate in Oxfordshire.
Exceptional English chairs emerge in US
27 November 2023A fine pair of 18th century English chairs sold for $120,000 (£100,000) in Asheville, North Carolina, on November 16-18.
A drawing by Elisabeth Frink from the collection of designer Mary Quant is among five lots to watch
27 November 2023With estimates from £700, here are five previews of upcoming items.
Happy to have got your goat? Yes, three in fact
27 November 2023In Chinese symbolism, three goats shown together are representative of the New Year, bringing a change of fortune (sanyang kaitai).
Escher’s deep fascination with the Amalfi Coast
27 November 2023Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) arrived on the Amalfi Coast in 1923 and ultimately created more than 100 works there based on the landscape.
Autogiros made by Britains soar in Pittsburgh
27 November 2023Created in the late 1920s by Spanish aeronautical engineer Juan de la Cierva (1895-1936), the autogiro entered service in the late 1930s.
Sleeping ‘imperial poem’ plaques awakened at New Jersey auction
27 November 2023Catalogued simply as an ‘ornate Chinese plaque’ and estimated at $600-800, a Qing lacquer and porcelain panel hammered for a remarkable $440,000 (£359,000) at Regency Auction House in Rockaway, New Jersey.
Sculpture that stunned Rodin bid to six-figures at Rago auction
27 November 2023Eminent artist stepped aside once he saw the monumental figure by younger colleague Maillol
Deaccessioned works receive big auction welcome
27 November 2023Classical Chinese furniture deaccessioned from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts produced some sensational results at a dedicated Asian Art sale held by Brunk Auctions (23% buyer’s premium) in Asheville, North Carolina on October 19.
Roman marble bust of Hadrian flies over estimate at US auction
27 November 2023This Roman marble bust hammered for $47,500 (£39,100) against an estimate of $2000-3000 at Wiederseim Associates (25% buyer’s premium) in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania on October 20.
Strong box thought to be the work of Gerrit Jensen
27 November 2023Like many English joiners of the period, not a great deal is known about the private life of Gerrit Jensen.
Back from 1910 honeymoon with a Satsuma vase
27 November 2023Yabu Meizan (1853-1934) is considered the ‘prince’ of the so-called Satsuma medium.
Early chair by Eames team shows that detail counts when it comes to value
27 November 2023In the Mid-century market, the devil is in the detail.