Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Egypt brought to life in just two dimensions
13 March 2026The artist Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950) is considered one of the most important figures in 20th century American Egyptology.
Late recognition for those who served in the dangerous and freezing Arctic convoys
13 March 2026Following Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion of Russia, Winston Churchill proposed the Arctic Convoys to deliver supplies to the Soviet Union via Iceland.
Rare Dutch glass goblet sails in to take €50,000
06 March 2026Rediscovered during a routine valuation, a wheel-engraved glass goblet by master engraver Jacob Sang (1720-86) has sold at auction in the Netherlands.
Forum Auctions to sell last stock from Dutch dealership
06 March 2026With the recent retirement of Allard Schierenberg and Jeanne van Bruggen, the remaining stock of Dutch dealership Antiquariaat Junk will be sold at auction.
Thatcher who became a Led Zeppelin album cover star
06 March 2026Described as “a remarkable convergence of Victorian social history and 20th century musical heritage”, a gelatin silver print of the Wiltshire thatcher Lot Long sold for £16,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Denhams in Warnham, West Sussex on February 25.
Cornish studio pottery from renowned dealer brings demand at Lay's
06 March 2026The latest sale of Cornish Art, Fine Art & Studio Pottery at Lay’s (21% buyer’s premium) in Penzance featured 85 lots from the personal art collection of Michael Hunt.
On a single passage to India: a successful debut sale dedicated to the subcontinent
06 March 2026Inaugural Forum standalone auction achieves impressive results in south London
Chinese makers got their skates on to take advantage of porcelain export market
06 March 2026Among the most desirable of the Chinese export porcelain patterns made for the Dutch market is the so-called ‘skating lesson’ design.
Mouseman furniture finds fans in two auctions
06 March 2026A Mouseman single wardrobe with panelled adzed decoration sold for £7400 against a guide of £4000-6000 at Summersgills (18% buyer’s premium) in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
Vintage cameras that turn bidders’ heads in salerooms
06 March 2026Contrasting contraptions both sell for strong five-figure sums in salerooms north and south
Recalling the golden age of pink topaz
06 March 2026The golden age of topaz was the 18th and early 19th century.
Praise be to Codd: Bulb neck bottle sells in Warwick
06 March 2026It has been estimated there are between 500 and 1000 different types of marble-in-neck mineral water bottles based on the famous 1872 patent by Hiram Codd.
Jewellery: How 'transformable' combination designs can be broken down to suit any occasion
06 March 2026Inventive pieces that can be broken down into modular elements – transformable jewels – began with the French parure in the court of Louis XIV.
Sublime Swiss design in the form of a music box
06 March 2026A recent sale at Halls (24% buyer’s premium) in Shrewsbury included an exceptional Swiss music box: a Sublime Harmony orchestral music box by George Baker & Co, Geneva.
Holbeinesque jewellery: Inspired by the Northern Renaissance
06 March 2026Holbeinesque is the term used to describe Victorian jewellery inspired by the Northern Renaissance and the jewels shown in the paintings and sketches of Hans Holbein.
Stanley Webb Davies furniture taken to new price territory in North Yorkshire
04 March 2026A chestnut bedroom suite by renowned Lake District furniture maker Stanley Webb Davies has sold for a total hammer price of £26,100 at Tennants in Leyburn.
Dealer Paul Fitzsimmons' 'Life in Oak' told through 700 lots at Woolley & Wallis
27 February 2026Woolley & Wallis is conducting a single-owner sale of early furniture and sculpture over two days on March 10-11. The auction, titled Paul Fitzsimmons – A Life in Oak, offers 708 lots from the proprietor of specialist oak dealership Marhamchurch Antiques that opened in Devon in 1991.
Letters at auction recall reign of tragic ‘Nine Day Queen’ Lady Jane Grey
27 February 2026An extremely rare survival from the nine-day reign of Lady Jane Grey, one of the more dramatic episodes in English history, came to market on February 25.