Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Brilliant Brunel – and a scandalous corset
12 December 2022Commissioned by the 'Illustrated London Times' to document the construction of the mighty Great Eastern, the young photographer Robert Howlett (1831-58) took some of the most famous images of ship’s designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59).
Butterflies send collectors all of a flutter
12 December 2022A very fine Victorian butterfly collection formed between c.1880-1920 was offered by Minster Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Leominster on November 24.
Folk art pictures star in our latest pick of six auction highlights
09 December 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a pair of portraits by a self-styled ‘Professor of Peculiar Art’ made from leftover scraps from his tailor’s shop.
Martin Brothers' grotesque grinner is a winner at auction
05 December 2022An old family collection of Martin Brothers stonewares, assembled with purchases from the Southall potters in the late 19th and early 20th century, was offered in Cambridgeshire.
Pick of the week: Cadbury’s advertising signs takes a tasty five figures
05 December 2022It was, said the catalogue, “a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a top end sign in such remarkable condition”.
A Catherine the Great seal found in a biscuit tin is among five lots to watch
05 December 2022With estimates from £800-30,000, here are five previews of items coming at auction this week.
Transport lots that tell a story
05 December 2022A fine First World War silver presentation model of the Vickers FB5 or Gunbus made by Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company (London 1916) was sold together with two related photographs plus a copied letter of provenance at Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium).
Final view of Victoria in the coins realm
05 December 2022The final proof coin set bearing Queen Victoria’s portrait was issued by the Royal Mint in 1893.
Shelley’s Art Deco icon makes a punchy price in Newcastle
05 December 2022Shelley first introduced the geometric Vogue and Mode shapes in 1930 – both the designs of Eric Slater who had worked at the factory since the end of the First World War.
‘Past master’ Dresser still admired today as claret jug makes 10 times estimate at Catherine Southon
05 December 2022The Birmingham silversmithing firm of Hukin & Heath received the approval of the progressive (if slightly pompous) writers of The Furniture Gazette when it signed a big name to produce some of its designs in 1878.
Expand your furniture horizons with a Jupe and Johnstone table
05 December 2022Ingenious design sold at auction involves a wind-out mechanism and extra pieces to fill
Previews: issue 2571
05 December 2022A selection of 16 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Record price for a Horace Elliot pot in Cardiff auction
05 December 2022A pottery has stood in the Welsh village of Ewenny for five centuries but, with a few exceptions, the collecting market does tend to focus on the decorative slipwares produced under the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement.
Rare photograph of Isambard Kingdom Brunel stars in our pick of five auction highlights
02 December 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare print showing the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel that made 12 times estimate in Gloucestershire.
Dealer solves Staffordshire figure crime mystery
28 November 2022Dealer Damon Revans-Turner of RTS Antiques in Liverpool has put a name and story to a rare Staffordshire figure that has hitherto evaded attribution.
Pick of the week: Château attic find sets vintage Chanel record
28 November 2022A ‘Russian’ tunic from Chanel’s famed Spring 1922 collection sold for €100,000 (£86,000) in Paris – a record for her early work.
Chiswick Auctions' autumn starters for 10
28 November 2022Chiswick Auctions has been busy recruiting since the move to new premises at the Barley Mow Centre in September.
Elizabeth Gage earrings and a Gillray cartoon are among five lots to watch
28 November 2022With estimates from £600, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Buckler purchase from Portobello
28 November 2022Once thought to have been made in antiquity, bucklers are now understood to have been late medieval or Tudor small shields.
Zsolnay glaze perfected after his Parisian days
28 November 2022The most desirable of the varied wares produced by the small ceramics factory established by Vilmos Zsolnay (1828-1900) in the south-west Hungarian town of Pecs are those created after the 1890s.