Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Pick of the Week: Shedding light on a £26,000 lantern
07 August 2017Triple lens or Triunial magic lanterns were the iPhone 8 of their day. Since the days of the Sturm lantern in the 17th century, the technology had developed from basic projectors producing small, dimly lit images, to these magnificent machines capable of spectacular technicolour lantern entertainments.
Judge orders Christie's to name Stargazer ‘buyer’
07 August 2017A US judge has ordered Christie’s to identify the winning bidder of the $12.5m (£9.7m) Guennol Stargazer, an ancient Anatolian idol auctioned in New York in April.
Clarice Cliff goes online only at Christie’s
07 August 2017The collection of Clarice Cliff formed by André Aerne, a voice professor at Butler University in the US who died last year, will be offered in an online sale at Christie’s this month.
Woolley’s strengthens Asian department with Morgan move
07 August 2017After a 23-year career at Christie’s, where he was a director and international specialist in Asian art, Jeremy Morgan has joined Woolley & Wallis.
Core Arts & Crafts collection stolen
07 August 2017Thieves in Chipping Campden have struck at the core of the Court Barn Museum’s collection of Arts & Crafts silver and jewellery.
Goodman plans Fine Art Bourse relaunch
07 August 2017Tim Goodman, former chairman of Sotheby’s Australia, is to relaunch his online auction house Fine Art Bourse (FAB) this month.
Cottrell collection avoids market wobbles
07 August 2017More than 400 copper, tin and ceramic moulds, collected by the late antiques dealer Andrew Cottrell, were dispersed by timed auction at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in Winchester on July 12.
Pick of the Week: Cabinet stands tall as Flemish highlight
24 July 2017When this cabinet on stand appeared in the inventory of a Gloucestershire home in the 1920s it was described simply as ‘An old Italian Cabinet of ebony and Tortoiseshell’. In fact, it is Flemish rather than Italian and was probably made in Antwerp in the first half of the 17th century.
Damaged ‘Yongzheng’ vase sells for £150,000 at Halls' auction
24 July 2017A large Qing blue and white bottle vase with a Yongzheng (1723-35) mark sold for £150,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Halls in Shrewsbury.
CSK: the milestone moments
24 July 2017Landmarks along the Christie’s South Kensington memory lane...
Christie’s South Kensington – the final curtain call
24 July 2017With the disappearance of Christie’s South Kensington the London market is in a state of flux. ATG looks to the future and considers the opportunities for the firms that seek to take its place.
Stirrup cup shows horse sense
24 July 2017Despite their function, stirrup cups in the form of equine heads are a little harder to find than those of dogs and foxes.
Final Christie's South Kensington sale: going, going… and definitely gone
24 July 2017At just after 10am on July 19, William Porter – the first of four carefully chosen auctioneers – climbed the rostrum to a ripple of applause from an audience of two dozen staff and a dozen or so buyers. “Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Christie’s South Kensington and welcome to the Interiors sale.” Long pause. “For the last time,” he said. “Boo,” heckled a voice from the front.
Studio pottery from Porlock
24 July 2017The interest in studio pottery goes beyond the premier names in the field. Three pieces by Waistel Cooper (1921-2003), a Scot who worked first in Porlock in Somerset and later from the Barbican Pottery in Penzance, generated plenty of bidding at Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s (19% buyer’s premium) July 6 sale in Taunton.
Traditional concertinas are sound auction buys
24 July 2017Helped by a revival of interest in traditional music, the market for the best antique concertinas has accelerated in recent years. Prices for some models have trebled across the decade.
Phone bidders fuel cigarette box bidding
24 July 2017This shagreen, silver and enamel cigarette box and cover, made for Liberty and Co and attributed to Manx designer Archibald Knox (1854-1933), doubled its estimate to sell for £10,500 at Halls (20% buyer’s premium) in Shrewsbury on June 21.
Sweet dreams are made of these Rowntree's tins
24 July 2017Mitchells’ (20% buyer’s premium) Vintage and Antique Toy Sale on July 15 included a collection of 15 Rowntree’s sweet tins from the Edwardian era.
Rare Lowestoft porcelain objects highlight of Norfolk auction
22 July 2017A pair of white glazed figures of musicians made by the Lowestoft factory c.1770, sold for £4000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at the July 18 sale at Keys of Aylsham. The pair – perhaps the first to come onto the market for at least 30 years – provided the highlight of more than 100 lots of Lowestoft porcelain.
A monumental Lancastrian and Pearson in silver
22 July 2017Leading the sale of Arts & Crafts at the Woolley & Wallis June 21 sale was the monumental Pilkington’s Lancastrian vase shown above, standing some 48cm (19in) high.
WATCH: Christie’s South Kensington chairman Nic McElhatton makes emotional speech at saleroom’s final auction
19 July 2017The final auction at Christie’s South Kensington took place today with a 466-lot ‘Interiors’ sale rounding off the saleroom’s 42-year history. Before offering the final two lots of the sale, chairman of CSK Nic McElhatton made an emotional speech to bid farewell to one of London’s most popular auction venues.