Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Xuande period suspected, £43,000 hammer resulted
08 April 2024This 8in (19cm) high vase may belong to a select group of Ming cloisonné enamel vases dating to the Xuande period (1426-35).
Cole clock now with Oz dealer
08 April 2024This parcel gilt silver cased cheval clock by Thomas Cole (1800-64) is hallmarked for London 1850 and the maker John Samuel Hunt of Hunt & Roskell.
Louis Vuitton miniature trunk flies over estimate in Maine
08 April 2024Correct in detail, material and quality of construction, down to brass hardware, stencilled cloth and monogrammed leather trim’, a miniature Louis Vuitton trunk sold for $7500 (£5900) at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium).
Frodsham given to a lifesaver
08 April 2024This 18ct gold pocket watch by Charles Frodsham with accompanying chain (offered separately) was presented by Sir Victor Horsley (1857-1916) to the man he credited for saving his son’s life.
Rolex told time for intrepid explorer
08 April 2024A Rolex used by Spanish sailor and scientist Vital Alsar Ramirez (1933-2020) during his Amazon and Atlantic expeditions in 1977 sold for £10,000 at Halls (24% buyer’s premium).
Two for one deal on ‘Singer Sargent’
08 April 2024Two watercolours in the manner of John Singer Sargent sailed above hopes when offered by Amelia Jeffers (20% buyer’s premium) in Delaware, Ohio on March 7.
Intelligence officer's Korean screen goes over 100 times above estimate in New Orleans
08 April 2024This Korean 10-panel folding screen made in the late 19th century in the final years of the Joseon period (1392- 1910) was offered on the second day of the recent Unreserved Sale at the Neal Auction Company (25/15% buyer’s premium).
Chair made for the Vanderbilts brings bidding battle at Bonhams Skinner
08 April 2024This Herter Bros inlaid rosewood and upholstered slipper chair was part of a suite made for the Vanderbilt family c.1881-82.
Nicholson relief was produced as a Tate replica
08 April 2024Ben Nicholson’s series of monochromatic three-dimensional relief paintings - created by the thick layers of white paint and carving wood - were first produced in the mid-to-late 1930s.
Extraordinary mourning gown shows its Worth
08 April 2024A sale titled Vintage for Valentines at Augusta Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Bellows Falls, Vermont, was topped by an extraordinary printed chiffon outfit by the Parisian fashion house Worth.
Clocks & watches: Fret design points to hand of famed maker
08 April 2024Castings on Charles I era lantern clock suggests the work of William Bowyer
Lovely bubbly: Snappy is a happy dragon
08 April 2024Snappy the Happy Bubble Blowing Dragon is a scarce battery-operated toy made by Marx in Japan in the 1960s.
Collector who just loved Schuco toys
08 April 2024Canadian saleroom offers 180 lots from group amassed by a big fan of the German toymaker
Japanese ghosts and real women
08 April 2024During his travels to Europe, Winfield Robbins (1841-1910) amassed some 150,000 prints that he later left to his hometown of Arlington, Massachusetts.
Two Jacques who combined organic materials with metal modernity
08 April 2024Mid-century works by the French Modernist architects and interior designers Jacques Adnet (1900-84) and Jacques Quinet (1918-92) were in strong demand at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (31/25% buyer’s premium).
Hey Presto – speedy painter’s work offered in the US
08 April 2024A recent Brunk’s (23% buyer’s premium) auction in Asheville, North Carolina, included a group of six small oil-on-copper mythological scenes by Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano (1634-1705).
Sleeping clair-de-lune bottle vase from Ohio yeast magnate rises to six-figure sum
03 April 2024The stand-out performance in the March series of Asian art sales was a Qing monochrome clair-de-lune bottle vase.
Scottish country house giltwood side tables spark international bidding battle
02 April 2024A pair of 18th century giltwood side tables from a Scottish country house made £220,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
Outstanding Meissen figure collection comes to auction in Paris
01 April 2024The first part of one of the finest collections of 18th century Meissen figures still in private hands will be offered at Bonhams in Paris on April 17.