Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Forster’s letters and books to the policeman he loved
02 January 2024Letters and books marking the deep relationship between author EM Forster and policeman Bob Buckingham and his family sold for £9000.
Items collected by renowned dealer Ernest Brummer take high prices
02 January 2024Antiquities from the collection of famed works of art dealer Ernest Brummer (1891-1964) sold for a combined total of over $2m at Hindman (26/20/15% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.
Bowie lyrics make a stellar result in Merseyside sale
02 January 2024The music memorabilia sale at Omega (28.8% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on November 29 included the handwritten lyrics to two tracks on David Bowie’s 1972 classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Micromosaic plaque with maximum decorative effect
02 January 2024Estimated at $2500-3500, this micromosaic plaque depicting the Rape of Europa hammered for $13,000 (£10,300).
Tiny but with 48 blades — a remarkable exhibition knife
01 January 2024It was with dazzling exhibition pieces that Joseph Rodgers & Sons made its reputation as Sheffield’s foremost knifemaker.
Exceptional 19th century miniature penknife stars in our pick of five auction highlights
21 December 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare Joseph Rogers & Sons miniature penknife made for royal presentation that more than doubled estimate.
‘True masterpiece’ bowl brings a new auction high for studio potter Lucie Rie
18 December 2023The market for Lucie Rie ceramics continues to reach new heights.
Pick of the week: Scientist made his living as a painter
18 December 2023The most remarkable result at Cheffins’ Fine Art Sale in Cambridge was provided by a group of four ‘English School’ plumbago on vellum portrait miniatures.
Smoking causes healthy results: tobacco related items
18 December 2023Corporate collection of British American Tobacco includes choice antique items related to the habit
Copeland dinner service came from Lowther sale
18 December 2023There were many massive English country house sales in the 20th century but the largest by volume was the contents sale at Lowther Castle during April, May and June 1947.
Regency sofas with a rich provenance
18 December 2023The Fine & Decorative Interiors sale at The Pedestal (25% buyer’s premium) included a pair of Regency white painted and gilt sofas with a rich provenance.
Brooch was ‘gift from Duke and Duchess of Windsor’
18 December 2023The sale at Young’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Farnham, Surrey, on November 25 included jewels and objects of vertu with royal provenances.
Reminder of Rennie Mackintosh’s Suffolk sojourn
18 December 2023A group of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) watercolours and drawings were sold on behalf of the Glasgow Art Club at Lyon & Turnbull’s (26% buyer’s premium) Design since 1860 sale in Edinburgh.
Collector Interview: Dedicated to the etchings of the Detmold twins
18 December 2023Based on his own 50-year collecting odyssey, Iain MacPhail has privately published a hardback catalogue raisonné of the etchings created by the prolific Victorian and early 20th century book illustrators Charles Maurice and Edward Julius Detmold. Here he talks to ATG about his collecting passion.
Bidders display passion for a Holy Land panel
18 December 2023Mother of pearl and olivewood devotional objects were made in Jerusalem in large quantities as tourism to the Holy Land took off in the late 19th and early 20th century.
McWilliam sculpture reflects troubled times in Northern Ireland
18 December 2023A bronze from Frederick Edward McWilliam’s (1909-92) Women of Belfast series of sculptures sold for £37,000 at Halls (24% buyer’s premium) on December 6.
English table clock stars in our pick of five auction highlights
15 December 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes an extremely rare ebony veneered English table clock signed for Ambrose Gardner that more than doubled its estimate at auction.
Indian and Egyptian travel photo album takes sensational £135,000
11 December 2023An impressive result emerged at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on December 5 when a travel album titled The Ramblings and Adventures of an Indian Officer was knocked down at £135,000.