Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Chinese wig stand sells for £360,000 in Cambridge
08 April 2014This Qianlong mark and period hat or wig stand sold for a massive £360,000 at a recent Cheffins sale in Cambridge.
Hungary buys half Sevso hoard
04 April 2014€15m deal sets seal on more than three decades of dispute
New York set for total ban on ivory trade
04 April 2014Wide-ranging bill to end sales already given unanimous backing at the initial stage
‘Unseen’ Hoffman collection of art pottery includes exceptional Martinware models
02 April 2014New York has hosted three key events in the modern commercial history of the Martin Brothers.
King and its crown to be reunited – privately
31 March 2014A group of private collectors from China’s Hunan province have privately purchased the famed Min Fanglei, a bronze ritual wine vessel from the Late Shang or Early Western Zhou period due to be sold in New York last month.
Meissen squirrels fetch £45,000 at Sussex auction
28 March 2014Estimated at £8000-12,000, this rare pair of Meissen figures of red squirrels, c.1750, modelled by J.J.Kändler, took £45,000 at Bellmans auctions of Wisborough Green, near Billingshurst.
Masonic gathering in South London
25 March 2014South London auctioneers Rosebery’s sold the Masonic collection of Albert Edward Collins Nice (1898-1969) as the first tranche of their quarterly fine art sale that covered three days and three catalogues.
Sotheby’s forced to buy back $83m pink diamond
24 March 2014Sotheby’s have had to buy back the 59.60 carat flawless fancy vivid pink diamond they sold in Geneva last November for a world record $83m.
Is this Knibb’s earliest surviving clock?
20 March 2014This Charles II eight-day longcase clock by Joseph Knibb – a ‘snapshot’ of early longcase clock development – doubled its estimate to sell for £240,000 at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions sale in Donnington Priory.
Fabergé discovery: Wartski win ultimate Easter egg hunt
18 March 2014A previously lost Fabergé egg has been found by Mayfair jeweller Wartski in the American Midwest.
Bidding battle sees rare Worcester mug taken to £34,000
11 March 2014This Worcester mug c.1754-55 proved the highlight of the Raymond Dennis collection of early English porcelain sold by Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury.
King of the castle sets record at £8500
04 March 2014The commercial fortunes of Victorian silver ‘castle top’ card cases, engraved or embossed with views of British landmarks, depend primarily on the scarcity of the scene depicted.
US include antiques in ivory ban
25 February 2014A ban on the commercial trade in elephant ivory “except in a very limited number of circumstances” announced by the USA this month promises far-reaching consequences for the antiques trade.
US Ivory Ban: The White House Policy Document
25 February 2014US Ivory Ban: The Trade Response
25 February 2014The British Antique Dealers’ Association, LAPADA and the National Antique and Art Dealers’ Association of America are taking the February 11 White House statement on ivory very seriously.
Porcelain plaques found in bungalow make £420,000 in Dorset
25 February 2014Estimated at just £200-300, a set of four early 20th century Chinese famille rose porcelain plaques depicting the four seasons in mountainous settings were bought by a phone bidder from Shanghai for £420,000 at Charterhouse of Sherborne in Dorset.
Congo figure adds up to £44,000
19 February 2014The first stand-alone tribal art sale held by Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury was topped at £44,000 by this 19th or early 20th century Yombe seated figure from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Competing for leaden hearts
11 February 2014A rare visitor to the recent numismatic sale at Lockdales in Martlesham Heath, Ipswich was a group of three convict tokens.
The mark of Barbedienne helps jardinière to £95,000 in Chiswick
11 February 2014High Road Auctions set a new house record with the sale of this French bronze and cloisonné jardinière c.1870 by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-92).
Furniture prices continue their slow downward trend
11 February 2014There are very few positives to take from the latest findings of The Antique Collectors’ Club’s Annual Furniture Index (AFI). For reasons of fashion and function, the English antique furniture market remains in a parlous state and no category from early oak to Georgian mahogany held firm.