Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Clock with orrery marks a moment in time and space
23 September 2024The highlight of the sale of Fine Clocks, Barometers and Scientific Instruments at Dreweatts was this French mantel clock with orrery c.1810. Although unsigned, it is thought to be by the talented Paris clockmaker Antide Janvier (1751-1835).
Golf narrated as a Greek epic
23 September 2024First printed book dedicated to the game took the intriguing form of a heroic clash on Leith Links
Straits Settlement porcelain hits top sum
23 September 2024A new auction record has been set for Peranakan or Straits Settlement porcelain in Singapore.
Pick of the Week: Constable's letter from key patron
23 September 2024A letter written to John Constable by a key patron formed part of the sale of Old Masters and 19th Century Art at Chiswick Auctions on September 18.
Cricket covered in the form of a mock-heroic poem
23 September 2024An auction of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks and Cricket Books at Knights Sporting Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Norwich on September 14-15 was led by a first edition of the first separately published poem on cricket.
Qianlong period enamels up for auction in Surrey
23 September 2024Aubreys, the recently launched auction house holding sales at Loseley Park, Guildford, is offering a single-owner collection of Qianlong period painted enamels on September 26.
Autograph book from disinherited daughter of a three-times Prime Minister signs off at £16,000
19 September 2024A descendent of Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, who was Prime Minister three times in the 1850s and 1860s, consigned an extraordinary autograph album for sale at Chiswick Auctions.
Record for Straits Settlement porcelain as ‘dragon and phoenix’ basin brings 61 bids
17 September 2024A new auction record has been set for Peranakan or Straits Settlement porcelain in Singapore.
Museum given jewellery by dealer Wartski
16 September 2024London dealership Wartski has donated a collection of jewellery made by the Arts & Crafts silversmith Frederick Partridge to the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft.
US institution buys extraordinary harp-guitar
16 September 2024The final day of Gardiner Houlgate’s latest guitar auction included a remarkable Victorian-era instrument: a rosewood and mother of pearl inlaid harp-guitar or ‘guitarpa’.
Maps make Mary Tudor’s own copy of pioneering history work highly desirable
16 September 2024Mary Tudor’s personal copy of Vergil’s history of England has sold at auction for £140,000.
Rare book on mining history features among five lots to watch
16 September 2024With estimates from £800, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Cuneo and Spear star in auction double act
16 September 2024What promises to be a market-defining sale for two well-known Modern British artists will be held in Essex this autumn.
Film reels help to reveal story of a brigadier who came up with the name of the Special Air Service
16 September 2024A collection of cinefilms belonging to Brigadier Dudley Clarke (1899-1974), a key figure behind British military deception operations during the Second World War, was sold by Chiswick Auctions (26% buyer’s premium) on August 7.
Disappearing American tribes brought alive thanks to Thomas McKenney
16 September 2024Copy of well-known enlightened work featuring portraits and biographies comes to London saleroom
Maker may be a mystery but demand for unusual work by Australian goldsmith is definite
16 September 2024The latest sale of Objects of Vertu at Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) in West Sussex included two impressive examples of mid-20th century Australian goldsmithing.
Douglas Anderson's huge private collection of Scottish militaria comes to auction
16 September 2024Anderson & Garland (25% buyer’s premium) of Newcastle upon Tyne offered the private collection of militaria and weapons belonging to Douglas Napier Anderson (b.1927).
Final Flower collection sale comes up with a coveted Crealock Minton classic
16 September 2024The vulture and serpent teapot designed for Minton by the Victorian soldier, artist and writer Colonel Henry Hope Crealock in 1874, is considered the most coveted of all majolica teapots.
