Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Florentine panel fit for an emperor takes six-figure sum at Roseberys’ auction
27 February 2023Research reveals £265,000 auction purchase is a celebrated work from Grand Ducal workshops
Not just another brick in the wall: a Babylonian memento emerges at Essex auction
27 February 2023This 13 x 13in (33 x 33cm) brick is from the walls of Babylon and dates from 604-562BC.
Pick of the week: The lighter side of mass destruction as novelty grenade lights up auction
27 February 2023While they may not appear such comfortable bedfellows today, the novel weapons of mass destruction created during the First World War were deemed a perfectly suitable subject for novelty trinkets of the day.
An Edward Burne-Jones stained glass window by Morris & Co is among five lots to watch
27 February 2023With estimates from £300, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Previews: issue 2582
27 February 2023A selection of 11 upcoming lots available at UK and Irish auctions.
Make a bone call when bidding for Chinese jiaguwen
27 February 2023The Shang period (c.1600-1045BC) is the first of China’s many epochs from which written documents survive.
Watches: Why Breitling was ‘the smartwatch of its time’
27 February 2023The firm established in Switzerland nearly 140 years ago achieved many ‘firsts’ in chronograph production. ATG considers the market for some of the most famous references from the Navitimer to the ‘Thunderball’ Top Time
Navigate your way round Breitling Navitimer dial styles
27 February 2023Over the years, the Navitimer has undergone a variety of cosmetic and mechanical changes. Pictured here are three iterations of the watch as it evolved across two decades.
Jaeger LeCoultre: ‘The best watchmaker in the world’ says specialist
27 February 2023“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” comments Fellows’ watch specialist Kes Crockett. “Jaeger LeCoultre is the best watchmaker in the world. Rolex is without question the most well-known manufacturer and Patek Philippe has produced some of the most collectable watches on the market. However, JLC arguably has a richer and more important horological history than both.”
Deep pockets for the Fifty Fathoms
27 February 2023The Fifty Fathoms watch was born in the 1950s from the encounter between the Swiss firm Blancpain (by then using the legal trading name Rayville) and two French naval officers, Capt Robert Maloubier and Lt Claude Riffaud.
Stuart period signet ring stars in our pick of five auction highlights
24 February 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a 17th century gold signet ring that more than doubled its estimate in Essex.
Uruguayan artist Juan Manuel Blanes rides off to an auction record at Toovey’s
20 February 2023A rediscovered work by ‘Uruguay’s most important painter’ Juan Manuel Blanes (1830- 1901) has sold for a record £1.15m in West Sussex.
Annual auction totals: Dreweatts retains top spot as market readjusts after the pandemic impact
20 February 2023In the first test of the post-Covid era many of the UK’s top salerooms posted strong figures for art, antiques and luxury items across the calendar year.
Pick of the week: Bidders battle for Naples Nelson porcelain
20 February 2023Elements of an important Naples porcelain service made after the Battle of the Nile have resurfaced at auction in the US.
A rare 16th century livery cupboard is among five lots to watch
20 February 2023With estimates from £800, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Previews: issue 2581
20 February 2023A selection of 13 upcoming lots available at UK and Irish auctions.
A world coming into focus thanks to Negretti & Zambra
20 February 2023Early stereoscopic images featured in the collection of a dealer curious about how technology transformed life in Victorian times
Fine body of work from a French anatomist and naturalist
20 February 2023The French anatomist and naturalist Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux (1797-1880) set up a workshop making very accurate human and veterinary anatomical models.
Weather forecast all in one
20 February 2023Dreweatts in Newbury has for sale this fine Victorian ‘weather station’ with a full provenance and a portrait of its former owner.
White Star Line cup and saucer star in our pick of six auction highlights
17 February 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Spode cup and saucer with a Titanic connection that made six times estimate at Richard Winterton.