Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Hôtel Drouot ‘pleased’ as 47 auctioneers and porters face trial
14 July 2015The Hôtel Drouot, the communal saleroom facility used by most Paris auctioneers, has welcomed the news that swathes of former staff members are to face charges relating to stolen property.
The first Silver Cross pram returns home
03 July 2015William Wilson’s patent for a perambulator was cheered by the infants of well-to-do-Victorians.
Lawyer slams DEFRA over CITES chaos
01 July 2015A leading CITES lawyer has criticised DEFRA’s “wholesale failure” to alert the public to law changes, after a court fined a jeweller £2000 for selling antique tiger claw pendants.
Regulations on tiger parts
29 June 2015The law on tiger jewellery is frequently flouted. Last week on eBay – a site that operates a ban on antique ivory – several items of big cat jewellery were on sale from UK vendors.
Five things you need to know about CITES
29 June 2015
Chiparus’ Queen of Babylon shines once more
29 June 2015“The ivory ban has been a right old dampener on the market as a whole but after taking time to consider its implications, collectors are coming back.”
Goodman and de Pury launch web-only auctions with promises to keep down fees
23 June 2015Two senior members of the international auctioneering profession launch separate online-only ventures this week.
Bonhams to close Oxford salerooms
10 June 2015Bonhams are to close their Oxfordshire salerooms and move more merchandise to London as part of a further review of their regional operations.
Godwin barn find becomes £31,000 reward at Essex auction
10 June 2015This spectacular barn find, an ebonised coromandel and inlaid octagonal centre table designed by Edward Godwin (1833-86), sold for £31,000 at Sworders’ sale of decorative art and design in Stansted Mountfitchet.
Saved from a skip, Ault pattern book on display at DresserFest
08 June 2015A previously unpublished book of ceramic designs that could shed new light on the work of Dr Christopher Dresser goes on public view for the first time during a three-day festival celebrating the life and work of the Victorian designer.
Ely House to become London auction venue
05 June 2015Auctioneers Dreweatts-Bloomsbury are to make increasing use of Ely House – Mallett’s showroom on Dover Street – as their primary London sale venue.
Liebermann restituted from Gurlitt cache comes to auction
04 June 2015Max Liebermann’s ‘Zwei Reiter am Strand nach links’ (Two Riders on a Beach) has become the first painting to be sold from Cornelius Gurlitt’s hoard of art.
A £23,000 Benson light show in Oxford
29 May 2015The work of designer and architect William Arthur Smith Benson (1854-1924) entered a new price arena when this silvered brass ceiling light sold for £23,000 at Mallams Oxford.
Eighteenth century Chinese bowl shines as £340,000 highlight in Salisbury
27 May 2015The highlight of the latest Woolley & Wallis sale of Asian art held in Salisbury was this 4in (10cm) Yongzheng (1723-35) mark and period doucai lingzhi bowl.
Stunning delft chargers take £34,500 in Exeter
14 May 2015The two outstanding blue dash chargers offered at a recent sale held by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter form part of a small but distinctive group of early 18th century delft dishes boldly painted with a variety of quirky bird, animal and figure subjects.
Judge praises trade’s role in sting operation
13 May 2015A judge has hailed the “professionalism and integrity” of members of the trade who helped snare a thief who stole antiques and art from her wealthy employer.
Thomas Loomes clocks: two come along at once
07 May 2015Two lantern clocks engraved with the signature ‘Thomas Loomes at ye mermayd in Lothbury’ recently appeared at auction within days of each other.
Soldani bronze brings £320,000
29 April 2015This Italian baroque bronze depicting ‘Ganymede and the Eagle’ by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740) proved the highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s recent sale in Edinburgh.
From £20 to £7000 – vendor spots rare Burmantofts plaque at car boot fair
23 April 2015This large Burmantofts faience plaque sold for £7000 at 1818 Auctions of Milnthorpe, Cumbria. The vendor, who bought it at a car boot sale for £20, was in the room to watch bidding surge way beyond a £400-600 estimate.
Art Loss Register launch stolen watch database
15 April 2015The Art Loss Register has launched a database dedicated to stolen watches, one they say can help anyone buying, selling or providing loans against second-hand wristwatches.