Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell

16th century purse makes 60 times estimate
11 November 2024This late Tudor or early Stuart purse or sweet bag with a connection to Mary, Queen of Scots sold for £30,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at a recent sale at Hutchinson Scott.

Danish designer's storage system among five lots to watch
11 November 2024With estimates from £150, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

Burne-Jones family connection brings in bidders
11 November 2024Four items including an Irish harp and William Morris designs boasted a family connection to the artist

Pioneering 19th century phones connect with buyers
11 November 2024One of the very first commercial box telephones appeared for sale at White’s Auctions (27% buyer’s premium) in Middleboro, Massachusetts.

Through the tiny keyhole: intricate diorama of a locksmith’s shop secures attention
11 November 2024This Edwardian diorama offered by Smiths of Newent (20% buyer’s premium) in Gloucestershire depicts a locksmith’s shop.

Getty last selection gave a taste of Eastern exoticism
11 November 2024Getty collection provides another auction highlight while glass and patinated bronze lanterns also shine in Massachusetts

Books & Works On Paper: auction previews
11 November 2024A special selection of upcoming lots raging from the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Beano to Oppenheimer's passport and Machiavelli’s The Prince

A London Cartier Tank sets Birmingham house record
11 November 2024Updated 1960s and 70s versions of earlier Cartier classics are much in demand. The best are those made for the London boutique during the Jean-Jacques Cartier years, with the cases commissioned from the London workshop Wright & Davies and the manual wind movements supplied by Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The pick so far of Ashley Down Bristol orphanage samplers
11 November 2024The highest price at auction for a Bristol orphanage sampler was registered at Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham.

Lock-inspired tables on the auction block in the US
11 November 2024George II period furniture bought by ‘international bidder’ for five-times top estimate in Connecticut

Claudet helped to develop UK photography
11 November 2024Although born in the La Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, Antoine François Jean Claudet (1797-1867) is best known for his contribution to the history of British photography.

Estonian artist Wiiralt brings party time and hellish experience
11 November 2024Two of the most familiar works by Estonian graphic artist Eduard Wiiralt (1898-1954) came for sale in St Paul, Minnesota, on September 17.

Sotheby’s sets highest price for a piece of Asian art in the UK for seven years
08 November 2024Recently rediscovered in a German family collection where they have been for at least a century, a pair of Ming dynasty wucai ‘fish’ jars and covers have sold at Sotheby’s for £8.3m.

Reunited De Rothschild vases take top result at auction of works from dealer Tomasso
04 November 2024Dreweatts’ sale of items from the Leeds and London dealership Tomasso included a recently reunited pair of porphyry vases.

Limehouse cat find gives paws for thought
04 November 2024Leading Bonhams’ Fine Glass and British Ceramics sale in London on November 26-27 is a recently discovered Limehouse porcelain cat.

18th century London view among five lots to watch this week
04 November 2024With estimates from £400, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

Single-owner 'beautiful collection' helps design sale to top the £1m mark
04 November 2024Premium-inclusive total achieved in Edinburgh underlines the quality of lots on offer

Asian Art in London award winners announced
04 November 2024Prizes were awarded for outstanding objects at the opening gala party for this year’s staging of Asian Art in London.

Local history in a local saleroom: documents and maps uncover story of a Quaker family
04 November 2024Maps and documents relating to Quaker family come up at Essex auction house centuries later