Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Chinese work with European inspiration attracts interest in Somerset
17 January 2022Many Chinese export porcelain forms were inspired by European silver or ceramic forms.
David Hockney’s reality check as unrecorded copy of etching emerges at Bonhams
17 January 2022There are only three other known examples of this early David Hockney (b.1937) etching titled 'Self-Portrait (not in S.A.C. or Tokyo)'.
Inuit amulet is the popular pup choice
17 January 2022A 19th century sea otter amulet in walrus ivory and baleen fashioned as a mother and her pup sold for £24,000 at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium).
Tagore shows artistic skills
17 January 2022Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the Nobel prize-winning poet, writer, composer, philosopher and social reformer, began to practise as an artist aged 60.
Moon flask slips away just below estimate
17 January 2022Qianlong moon flasks of this type are based on Ming dynasty prototypes that in turn were inspired by early Persian drinking vessels traded along the Silk Road.
Pin cushions with animal attractions tempt buyers
17 January 2022Appealing to a range of different types of collectors, Victorian and Edwardian animals pin cushions have their own niche in the novelty silver field.
Dish collected by porcelain obsessive Augustus the Strong brings bidding at Lyon & Turnbull
17 January 2022The scene on this 19in (43cm) Yongzheng famille rose dish depicts the Daoist immortal Magu on her way to celebrate the famous peach banquet of the Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wang Mu, who rules over the garden of the peaches of longevity.
Alfred Cohen’s Commedia view attracts interest against a lowly pitch
17 January 2022American artist Alfred Cohen (1920-2001) was inspired by the colour and handling of the Post-Impressionists and the imagery of the Commedia dell’arte.
Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze tops seasonal Asian art sales in UK regions
17 January 2022The highest single price posted in the regions during the autumn series of Asian art sales was the £380,000 bid at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Dorchester for a monumental Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze devotional figure of Tara broadly dated to the Qing period.
Poignant piece of palace art
17 January 2022This Qing bronze fragment measuring a substantial 19in (47cm) across was once part of a magnificent sculpture of a crane that adorned an imperial palace.
Mary Queen of Scots link to bed curtain fragment
17 January 2022Still a figure of glamour 450 years after her execution, Mary Queen of Scots was reputed to have embroidered the c.16th century fragment of bed curtain sold at Hansons (25% buyer’s premium) at Etwall on December 7.
The Givenchy ballgown that Hepburn dazzled in
15 January 2022Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy ballgown as worn in the 1957 film 'Love In The Afternoon' was the star of the December 7 sale at London fashion specialist Kerry Taylor (25% buyer’s premium).
Georgian portrait miniatures in our pick of five auction highlights
14 January 2022ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a pair of Georgian portrait miniatures that sold for more than 30-times their estimate.
Pick of the week: Berry map rarity takes pole position
10 January 2022Relatively few English mapmakers came to the fore in the 17th century at a time when Dutch cartographers were well ahead of the competition.
Finding the right combination in Dorset
10 January 2022Brass and steel ‘combination’ or ‘puzzle’ boxes enjoyed a vogue in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
A rare silver souvenir of the 1684 frost fair
10 January 2022Eight frost fairs were held on the Thames between 1607-1814, taking advantage of the firm ice that formed on the river as it flowed slowly in the shallows near the old London Bridge.
A collection of Cotswolds school furniture is among five lots to watch
10 January 2022With estimates from £600-6000 here are five previews of upcoming items.
Chinnery in China after fleeing Calcutta money woes
10 January 2022The sale at Thomas R Callan (20% buyer’s premium) in Ayr on December 3-4 included a sketchbook by George Chinnery (1774-1852) dated 1838.
Bottle buyer feeling blue but happy
10 January 2022In natural light this English ‘black glass’ onion form wine bottle appears distinctly blue.
Studio ceramics show post-Driscoll sale positivity
10 January 2022The full fall-out from the record-breaking Dr John P Driscoll sale of British studio ceramics is yet to be understood.