Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Obituary: Samuel ‘Beau’ M. Freeman II (1936-2017)
26 June 2017Samuel Miller Freeman II – known to all as Beau – was a fixture in the Philadelphia auction scene for just shy of six decades.
Large Burmantofts charger sells at £13,000 to match auction record for Leeds factory
22 June 2017A massive Burmantofts faience charger has sold for £13,000 at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury – the highlight of a remarkable collection of more than 700 pieces by the Leeds factory.
Royal Mint takes share in coin dealers
19 June 2017As part of a five-year plan to grow its interest in the coin collecting market, The Royal Mint has taken a share in Mayfair numismatic dealership Sovereign Rarities.
The final mile of packing and shipping
19 June 2017Delivery of art and antiques is highly competitive as suppliers vie to provide customers with a better, faster experience. But there are still complexities to iron out, not least expectations on cost.
Pick of the Week: Charles Rennie Mackintosh ‘white bedroom’ chair bid to $470,000
12 June 2017A very rare ebonised sycamore and canvas side chair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Kate Cranston’s home sold for $470,000 (£362,000) at Sotheby’s New York last week.
Arlington Conservation stock sale reflects contraction in market
12 June 2017Surrey auctioneers Ewbank’s is to sell the stock-in-trade of furniture restorers Arlington Conservation on June 23.
CSK closure: ‘For the long-term health of the business it is right’
05 June 2017Christie’s South Kensington, a popular and influential fixture on the London auction scene for over 40 years, will hold its final sale next month.
Victorian silver snuffbox with Montefiore crest takes £40,000 at Blythe Road auction
05 June 2017A Victorian silver snuff box engraved with a view of East Cliff Lodge in Ramsgate sold for a mighty £40,000 (plus 22% buyer‘s premium) at Matthew Barton‘s sale held at 25 Blythe Road, London, on May 24.
The £13m Asian art boon for London as Silk Road begins to run dry
05 June 2017“It was one of those eureka moments,” said Rosemary Scott, Chinese ceramics specialist at Christie’s. “My colleague Jeremy Morgan was on a perfectly normal valuation visit when he walked into the drawing room and there, on the mantelpiece, he saw these vases. He couldn’t believe his eyes.”
Bountiful Burmantofts collection emerges at Salisbury auction
05 June 2017Earlier this year Woolley & Wallis decorative arts specialist Michael Jeffery received a call out of the blue from the family of a recently deceased collector in the south of England.
Asian art hammer highlights at regional sales
05 June 2017A selection of stand-out results from auctions around the UK.
Christie's South Kensington to hold final sale on July 19
05 June 2017Christie’s UK chairman says the closure of Christie’s South Kensington, the largest upheaval in the firm’s recent history, “has been a very painful decision for all but for the long-term health of the business it is right”.
Asian art textiles: the uncut market for court dress
05 June 2017For the most important ceremonies and rituals, high-ranking Chinese officials along with the royal family would don the chao fu or full court dress. At the Qing court a whole range of garments and paraphernalia were associated with the chao fu – a hat, collar, necklace, girdle and boots – but the most important were the chao pao and jifu, the court robes. Their use was restricted to high-ranking officials and persons.
Christie’s restructuring: a case study
05 June 2017Christie’s Chinese art department – shorn of the experience of Jeremy Morgan and Pedram Rasti (long-standing heads of department in both South Kensington and King Street who have recently left the firm) – will be led by Marco Almeida as international senior specialist and Kate Hunt, former head of sale at Christie’s South Kensington.
Asian art Jades: any colour as long as it’s white
05 June 2017By definition ruyi sceptres are highly auspicious objects, favoured for their shape and ornamentation which together represent the propitious expression ‘as you wish’.
Asian art Japanese: Tomatada shines in Katchen collection
05 June 2017The centrepiece of Bonhams’ Japanese offering on May 11 was the second part of the extraordinary collection of netsuke formed by US concert pianist Julius Katchen (1926-69) and his wife Arlette.
Christie’s South Kensington to close sooner than expected
31 May 2017Christie’s is closing its South Kensington saleroom earlier than expected. The final sale will take place in mid July and it will close its doors on July 29.
Walkabout in W8: decorators meet dealers
30 May 2017Where do antiques fit into current interior design thinking? We took three decorators on a whistle-stop tour of Kensington Church Street to gather their views on trends in furnishing with antiques and dealing with dealers.
Rhymney on right track
30 May 2017A lamp from a wagon that once travelled a 50-mile stretch of track linking the docks of Cardiff to the collieries of the south Wales valleys was hammered down in Bristol at £6300 (plus 18% buyer’s premium).