Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Folk and drama prints proved popular with urban audiences
02 January 2023By illustrating and combining popular folk songs with scenes of dramas of the time, the artist or workshop named Ding Liangxian created a new type of woodblock print for urban Chinese audiences in the second quarter of the 18th century.
Previews: issue 2574
02 January 2023A selection of eight upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Hiroshige took a stand for the vertical format
02 January 2023The Rokujuyoshu Meisho Zue (Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces) series was the last great landscape work created by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858).
Sword makers and armourers forced to turn to peaceful pursuits
02 January 2023The Komai family of sword makers and armourers were among the many Japanese metalworkers courting a new clientele during the Meiji period (1868-1912).
Pick of the week: Take tea early with an Elers English caddy
02 January 2023Although Dutchmen John and David Elers came to London sometime in the 1680s as silversmiths, the brothers are remembered today as the potters who brought fine unglazed stonewares to Staffordshire.
Two birds dish brings in £165,000 at Kinghams
02 January 2023The sale at Kinghams (23% buyer’s premium) in Moreton-in-Marsh included a 12in (30cm) carved cinnabar lacquer dish dating from the late Yuan or early Ming period – c.1350-1400.
Home called Hazelwood stood in Shanghai
02 January 2023A large reticulated ‘dragon and phoenix’ censer came for sale at Mallams’ (25% buyer’s premium) in Cheltenham from a Herefordshire vendor whose family had lived in Shanghai in the 1930s.
Provenance is key to cong result
02 January 2023Neolithic jade congs – the inspiration for many pieces of Qing and later porcelain – are probably some of the most intriguing objects from ancient Chinese culture.
Vietnamese focus at UK sales
02 January 2023Vietnamese buyers have sent the best works of art from the Le (1428-1789) and Nguyen (1802-1945) dynasties to unchartered territory in recent years.
Asian art: Look through a lens of Tibetan Buddhism
02 January 2023Creative examples featured in recent UK auctions show the influence of religion and culture on the Manchu rulers of the Qing
George I walnut ‘combination’ furniture stars in our pick of five auction highlights
23 December 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare piece of furniture combining a desk and chest of drawers that made over six times estimate in Dublin.
Auction record for Meissen vases
21 December 2022A new record for a pair of Meissen porcelain vases was set by a previously unrecorded example offered at Bonhams.
Creature comforts made by renowned Hanau silversmith
19 December 2022The most famous of the many silversmiths in the German city of Hanau in the late 19th century was Neresheimer & Söhne.
Pick of the week: EH Shepard's Wind in the Willows drawing sells with a swagger at auction
19 December 2022Since its first publication in 1908, Kenneth Grahame’s 'The Wind in the Willows' has appeared in various editions and reprints illustrated by nearly 50 artists.
Smart’s famous Frant folk art found twice
19 December 2022At Frant there dwells a Man of fame. By trade a Tailor, Smart by name.
Panini Mexico 70 stickers are the pick of the bunch
19 December 2022The Panini company, founded by two brothers in Modena in 1961, began life producing football cards of Serie A teams.
Sixteen lots from renowned Transitional porcelain collection reunited after Hong Kong sale
19 December 2022Sir Michael Butler (1927-2013) was part of that post-war generation of ‘gentlemen in the professions’ who chose collecting as their primary leisure activity.
Boney and Pitt slice up globe for dessert
19 December 2022'Plumb-pudding in danger or State Epicures taking un Petit Souper' is the most famous of all James Gillray’s satirical caricatures and perhaps the most well-known of all Georgian political cartoons.
Previews: issue 2573
19 December 2022A selection of seven upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Thai 10 Baht now worth £12,000
19 December 2022This Thailand 10 Baht note appears to be a printer’s design that was unissued.