Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Pomander petal power at Woolley & Wallis
11 September 2017This 19th century gold, turquoise and peridot pomander is exceptional both in terms of size and quality.
Turkey's Stargazer claim sets ‘disastrous precedent’ says Christie’s
04 September 2017Christie’s has said Turkey’s claim to own an ancient Anatolian idol that has been on American soil for over half a century sets “a disastrous precedent for collectors, museums and the art market”.
All eBay final value fees now subject to VAT
04 September 2017For the first time eBay is applying VAT to the fees of its business sellers.
Pick of the Week: Doulton figure is big sale catch
04 September 2017It is well-known that the market for Royal Doulton HN series figures is at something of a low ebb. However, the exception to the general rule of bargain-basement prices comes for the small number of very rare figures that appeal to a core collecting base. Many end up in North America.
From the Coromandel Coast to the Wrexham exhibition
04 September 2017A group of six Indo-European solid ebony chairs (sold for £26,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Dawson’s of Maidenhead on August 26. The buyer bidding online via thesaleroom.com was from the London trade.
19th century ‘Grand Tour’ necklace with Roman intaglios emerges at Cheshire auction
29 August 2017A fine example of Grand Tour jewellery comes up for sale at Peter Wilson of Nantwich this month.
Sotheby’s tears up online-only pricing model
28 August 2017Sotheby’s has upped the ante in the digital auction space by scrapping buyer’s premium for online-only sales.
Government issues export bar on Scottish seal linked to Robert the Bruce
28 August 2017Culture Minister John Glen has placed a temporary export bar on a Scottish two-part seal matrix linked with Robert the Bruce.
Scam listings guides resurface
28 August 2017Dealers and auctioneers are again being targeted by scam guides that seek to extort large sums of money in return for inclusion in worthless trade listings.
Medieval brooch is much loved by bidders at Hansons auction
28 August 2017Seven phone bidders competed for this 15th century gold heart-shaped brooch, a medieval gift of love from the time of the Wars of the Roses, at Hansons in Derbyshire.
Pick of the Week: Chinese bustle and calm in one view
28 August 2017Large-scale paintings of intimate domestic scenes are unusual in Chinese art. The Chinese export reverse-painted glass painting of a young mother nursing her infant son offered at Northeast Auctions in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, earlier this month is thought to be one of only a handful of full-size versions painted of this once popular image.
Tribal clubs strike it hot at Elgin auction house
25 August 2017There was some good old-fashioned auction drama at the Elgin Auction Centre in Morayshire on August 23 when two lots of loosely-catalogued tribal clubs sold to online bidders for a combined £46,500.
Grand Tour jewellery takes a trip to auction in Nantwich
23 August 2017A fine example of Grand Tour jewellery comes up for sale at Peter Wilson of Nantwich on September 13.
Marchant holds sale during New York Asia Week
21 August 2017London dealership Marchant is to sell Chinese artworks at a dedicated auction in New York.
Plans unveiled for Chiswick in South Ken
21 August 2017Chiswick Auctions is to open its South Kensington showroom manned by a group of former Christie’s staff early next month.
Pick of the Week: Breaking news of a Jacobite rarity
21 August 2017The highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s sale of Scottish Silver & Applied Arts on August 16 was a Jacobite drinking glass with a difference.
Channel Islands painted bridal chest heads to auction at Bonhams
16 August 2017A George II polychrome-painted bridal chest leads Bonhams Oak Interior sale on September 20 with an estimate of £30,000-40,000.
Chinese dish once valued at Antiques Roadshow heads to auction in Derbyshire
16 August 2017Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, Derbyshire will offer a Yongzheng (1723-35) mark and period dish as part of its Fine Arts and Asian auction on September 29.
Lowestoft musicians play £4000 part in Keys’ sale
14 August 2017A pair of white glazed figures of musicians made by the Lowestoft factory c.1770 sold for £4000 at the July 18 sale at Keys (plus 20% buyer’s premium) of Aylsham.
Pick of the Week: Doccia displays fatal attraction
14 August 2017The Doccia factory is perhaps best known for its hard-paste sculptures – many of them near-direct copies in porcelain of 17th and early 18th century bronzes. The key figure is the talented modeller Gaspero Bruschi, himself a Florentine sculptor.