Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Record annual total and sales volume for London's numismatic auction houses
10 February 2020A record take of £48m and a one-third increase in the number of lots available to bidders – ATG reviews a healthy 2019 for London numismatic saleroom
Sèvres porcelain collection of Judith Howard sold at auction after 48 years of acquisition and study
10 February 2020Judith Howard (1945-2019), collector, part-time dealer, museum curator, author, TV expert and lecturer, was a self-confessed ‘maximalist’. Every shelf and wall space in her Wiltshire end-of-terrace was there to be filled. Dusting was a chore reserved for just one day a year.
Maiolica discoveries at Newbattle
10 February 2020The opening lot of the Five Centuries sale at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on February 5 was this previously unrecorded maiolica handled and spouted wet drug jar.
Arts & Crafts ewer, 17th century bible and neoclassical intaglios – five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes in the last week
07 February 2020ATG’s selection of hammer highlights this week includes an 18th century Dutch East India Company bell that sold for more than 12-times estimate.
Regional market strong despite a year of turmoil
03 February 2020Business was certainly hard-won but the elite of Britain and Ireland’s regional fine art auction houses enjoyed a largely positive 2019.
Pick of the week: Purse strings open for a rare survivor
03 February 2020An early 17th century Limoges enamel draw purse attracted a flurry of bids at Chorley’s Attic Sale in Gloucestershire. Set with period portraits of a lady on one side and a gentleman on the other, the accessory has remained intact for about 400 years – in most examples the fabric has deteriorated significantly.
Remarkable Chinese vase incorporating ‘Dutch’ figures brings global interest to Pennsylvania auction
03 February 2020A remarkable piece of Qing porcelain sold for $270,000 at Pook & Pook in Downington, Pennsylvania.
Catherine Southon auction to offer late-16th century gaming board found in bombed-out London
03 February 2020“As soon as the vendor pulled the board from her bag, I recognised something of serious interest.”
Five lots to watch at auction this week including a Liberty wool cape featured on BBC's Antiques Roadshow
03 February 2020With estimates from £200-5000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
Simple but sophisticated chest boasts ingenious woodworking technique.
03 February 2020Although outwardly simple objects, cedar ‘bent corner’ chests, still made today by the indigenous people of the Pacific North West, employ a number of sophisticated woodworking techniques.
Portrait of England's 'last professional jester' brings major competition
03 February 2020This 18th century English provincial school full-length portrait depicts the jester Black John. He was in the employ of the famously eccentric John Arscott (1718-88) of the Tetcott estate in Devon, said to be the last man in England to keep a professional jester.