Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
No market wobble here as jelly mould sets new auction record
10 April 2023This rare Victorian copper jelly mould shaped as a tortoise or turtle on rockwork sold for a remarkable £2000 at Brighton & Hove Auctions.
Pick of the week: Poor Taff morphed into symbol of pride
10 April 2023Before the familiar image of a lady in tall black hat and shawl took hold, the stereotype of Welsh identity was Shon-Ap-Morgan or Poor Taff.
A rare South African Dinky toy car is among five lots to watch
10 April 2023With estimates from £280, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Elephant with a lighter touch
10 April 2023Tennants’ Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver sale, held concurrently with the Country House auction on March 18 included a very tactile and much-coveted Fabergé silver table lighter in the form of a walking Indian elephant.
Flight’s pride in family porcelain connection
10 April 2023The Collections sale at Bonhams (27.5% buyer’s premium) in London on March 21 included more than 70 lots of Regency porcelain from the collection of the Conservative party politician Howard Emerson Flight.
Heavyweight bids for feather picture
10 April 2023Feather ‘mosaic’ pictures made in Mexico for Christian conquerors are among the most remarkable objects from 16th century Mesoamerica.
Cricket dish catches £4400
10 April 2023By far the most desirable wares from the Goodwin & Harris ‘Metropolitan Scenery’ series of blue and white transfer printed earthenwares are those featuring cricketers in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.
Shell pump globes in action at Chippenham auction
10 April 2023The sale of automobilia at Richard Edmunds Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Chippenham on March 25 included a total of 16 different glass pump globes advertising Shell products.
Blue John beloved of Boulton
10 April 2023This George III blue john vase standing 14in (14cm) high on a square marble base was probably turned and carved by the Derby marble mason Richard Brown for Matthew Boulton.
The baker’s guild jug: Bergen peg tankard brings £11,200
10 April 2023The name ‘peg tankard’ is derived from the vertical row of pegs inside that can be used to measure the amount of alcohol drunk as the tankard was passed around the table. The form, made in wood and in silver, was particularly prevalent in Scandinavia.
Early telegraph keypad stars in our pick of five auction highlights
07 April 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare ‘Telegraphic Key Apps’ from 1855 that made over 10 times estimate at a German auction.
Nelson in frieze frame form takes a five-figure sum at Sussex auction
03 April 2023This monumental white marble frieze titled Nelson receiving the Spanish surrender after the Battle of St Vincent was created c.1826 by the English sculptor Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867).
Eyewitness view of Napoleon’s funeral catches the attention
03 April 2023Subject to particular competition from Napoleon buffs at the sale of Books and Works on Paper at Chiswick Auctions on March 16 was an original watercolour sketch titled Funeral Procession to the grave of Bonaparte, 9 May 1821.
Pick of the week: Old Romantics who loved to dress up
03 April 2023This military tunic was worn by the English soldier and friend of the Romantic poets Edward John Trelawny during the Greek War of Independence.
A triptych design for church windows by artist John Piper is among five lots to watch
03 April 2023With estimates from £400, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
The Iron Duke’s hands of time
03 April 2023Sculpture of a personal nature leads a fine collection of memorabilia offered in Gloucestershire saleroom
Fabergé elephant table lighter stars in our pick of six auction highlights
31 March 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a sought after Fabergé silver elephant table lighter that more than doubled estimate in Yorkshire.
The jug that jogs the memory: pair to wine jug found and then sold at same Yorkshire auction house
27 March 2023The George III silver wine jug sold by Tennants in Leyburn in March is the exact pair to another the auction house offered on behalf of a different vendor two years ago.