Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Whitefriars glass collectors drive prices upwards in Bedford sale
06 March 2025By the time glass designer Geoffrey Baxter (1922-95) died his contribution to the Whitefriars story had already assumed cult status and a collecting hierarchy had developed.
Memento of the Australian gold rush brings major competition in Devon
05 March 2025Among the earliest examples of Australian gold rush jewellery are the simple signet rings sold to miners in the settlement of Ballarat in the 1850s as a memento of the boomtown days.
Lavery portrait of his wife and daughter makes six-figure sum in Essex
04 March 2025An intimate work by Irish artist Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) has sold for £360,000 at Sworders.
Stand out pieces of Sèvres spotted at New York auction
04 March 2025An exceptional pair of Louis Philippe period Sèvres hard paste porcelain vases has been unearthed in upstate New York.
Pocket watches with historical back-stories bring demand in Exeter auction
03 March 2025The latest silver and jewellery sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26/25% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included two Georgian 18ct gold pocket watches from two generations of the Drummond family.
Rare Victorian mineral water bottle makes a refreshing result
03 March 2025A rare English mineral water bottle sold for £19,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Griff in’s Auctioneers in Warwick on February 25.
Plates once rated as rarities on Antiques Roadshow demonstrate that delftware ‘still has a following’
03 March 2025Two English Delftware plates, described on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow a decade ago as “as rare as you can get”, went under the hammer at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium) on February 5.
Use of silver fuels powder flask desirability
03 March 2025A rarity offered on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham on February 11-12 was this George III silver pear shape powder flask.
Wedgwood medallions form important part of slavery story
03 March 2025Shortly after the production of the first batch of his jasperware abolitionist medallion, Josiah Wedgwood sent a package to Benjamin Franklin with a covering letter dated February 1788 saying: “I embrace the opportunity to inclose [sic] for the use of your Excellency and friends, a few Cameos on a subject I am happy to acquaint you is daily more and more taking possession of men’s minds on this side of the Atlantic as well as with you.
Victorian mineral water bottle makes a very refreshing £19,000 price at Warwick saleroom
26 February 2025This rare English mineral water bottle sold for £19,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Griffin’s Auctioneers in Warwick on February 25.
Monumental Hans Coper vessel unearthed in London back garden
24 February 2025A key work by the Anglo-German studio potter Hans Coper (1920-81) has been found in a garden in London.
Paris dealer wins auction battle for Kwele mask
24 February 2025The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on February 19 included this striking tribal mask from central Africa.
Lost Nazarene oil found in commissioning family
24 February 2025Paris auction house Tajan is to sell a previously lost and unpublished work by German artist Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869).
Pick of the Week: Peter Rabbit second printing prized
24 February 2025Turned down by several publishers, Beatrix Potter shouldered the expense of privately printing The Tale of Peter Rabbit with Strangeways Printers in December 1901.
Cartier Courtauld jewels on display at Eltham Palace after £19,000 auction buy
24 February 2025Two Cartier brooches commissioned by Sir Stephen Courtauld for his wife have gone on display at Eltham Palace, eight months after they were sold at auction by Dreweatts in Newbury.
Heroic sea rescue recognised
24 February 2025An atypical entry to the March 4-9 sale at the Harwich antiquities specialist TimeLine is this gold medal struck in Philadelphia following the sinking of American steamship Casper, on December 23, 1928.
Go with the grain for an unusual Victorian pictorial souvenir
24 February 2025A rare visitor to the auction room came in the form of this pocket-sized Victorian sand picture book.
In defence of a British military disaster
24 February 2025Lieutenant General John Burgoyne (1722-92) was put in command of the British forces in Canada in 1777 after outlining the shortcomings of his own commanding officer.