Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Snuff bottle buys outlined in detail
19 December 2025Extensive collection also came with impressive records of purchase such as original dealer invoices
Tall story adds to appeal of ‘Rose Tree’ tea caddy
19 December 2025This 18th century hardwood tea caddy, boldly carved in imitation of gnarled rootwood and mounted in white metal, is an Anglo-Chinese production, made for export in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou) c.1780.
Guanyin figure secures highest Chinese art sum in latest regional auction series
19 December 2025Dehua blanc de chine figures of Guanyin – the goddess of compassion, protector of mariners and bringer of sons – often carry the impressed double gourd seal of the great 16th or 17th century ceramicist He Chaozong.
Tiffany lamp record set as Magnolia pattern turns heads at Sotheby’s
16 December 2025A Magnolia pattern floor lamp has become the most expensive Tiffany Studios lamp to sell at auction.
Cloisonné imperial vases pair up at £145,000
15 December 2025The latest sale at Alastair Gibson Auctions in Kent was led by a stellar example of Meiji or Taisho era cloisonné: a pair of imperial presentation vases by Nagoya master Hattori Tadasaburo.
Plucked out: Banjo vase hits the right note in a yellow version at £10,000
15 December 2025While the market for post-war Whitefriars has waxed and waned in the past three decades, in 2025 several very active collectors have driven saleroom prices forward once again. It has been a strong year for the Geoffrey Baxter Textured range in particular.
Watches consulted by three heroes of Trafalgar during the battle sell as a wave of Nelson interest sweeps in
15 December 2025Pocket watches owned by Horatio Nelson, Thomas Hardy and Cuthbert Collingwood and consulted throughout the Battle of Trafalgar were sold together as a single lot in London on December 9.
JRR Tolkien ‘Lord of the Rings’ desk triples estimate at Christie's
12 December 2025A desk used by JRR Tolkien during the final revisions to the Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold at auction in London for £260,000 (£330,200 including 27% buyer’s premium).
Number plate from 'Lotus driving auctioneer' comes to auction for first time in around 40 years
11 December 2025A rare ‘three by one’ number plate tailor made for any successful auctioneer comes for sale in Herefordshire.
Spoon struck in first year of Newcastle assay office makes over six-times estimate
08 December 2025The city of Newcastle enjoyed a long gold and silversmithing tradition.
Bowl hits new high for Maori art sold in New Zealand
08 December 2025A record has been set for a Maori work of art sold at auction in New Zealand.
George II baskets top Krouse silver at Brunk
08 December 2025Sale of collection with superb furniture included high-quality 18th century items in a different field
Gems courtesy of an Irish gentleman
08 December 2025Nuremburg Chronicle, Chaucer and a work on witchcraft are among the highlights in Co Offaly saleroom
Staffordshire windmill and houses stand tall among desirable tiles at Gloucestershire sale
08 December 2025The Zena Kwiatkowski Corrigan collection of tiles was sold by Kinghams (26% buyer’s premium) in Moreton-in-Marsh over 291 lots on October 30.
Mighty Mouseman table sets hefty £42,000 record
01 December 2025An exceptionally large oak refectory dining table made for a prep school in Leeds in the 1930s sold for £42,000 (plus 22% buyer’s premium) on November 22-23.
Collector who banged the drum for mustard pots
01 December 2025‘Drum’ form mustard pots – known at the time as mustard tankards or cans – first emerged in the second half of the 18th century as the fashion changed from dry to wet mustard.
Patience rewarded as Oscar Wilde teapot makes $16,000
01 December 2025The 1882 Royal Worcester porcelain Patience teapot has become a satirical emblem of the Aesthetic movement.
Hempel’s Dresden sauceboats once served to please at court
01 December 2025This pair of mid-18th century Dresden sauceboats were once part of the huge holdings of silver used at the court of Frederick Augustus II (1733-63).
Ashbee and Knox mix the old and modern
01 December 2025Charles Robert Ashbee’s pseudo medieval wirework silver and glass jugs and bottles rank among the Guild of Handicraft’s finest work.