Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Wilton House Aphrodite provides allure as sculpture triples estimate
02 June 2026A Roman marble bust of Aphrodite, formerly in the celebrated collection of the Earls of Pembroke at Wilton House in Salisbury, has sold for £280,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
William Wordsworth house contents up for auction in the town where he was born
29 May 2026Furnishings and personal items from Rydal Mount, the final home of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, will be offered at auction this month.
Tile once adorned Kashmiri gateway
29 May 2026The cuerda seca (dry cord or kashi) technique of decorating tiles was developed in Central Asia during the latter part of the 14th century.
Charlie Watts' bird box on song at Exeter auction
29 May 2026This 19th century gilt metal and enamel singing bird automaton that took £17,000 was among the highlights of the Charlie and Shirley Watts collection sold by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood.
Beaker, boarding house and a Russian empress
29 May 2026The story of this late 19th century Russian beaker goes back to a boarding house in Harrogate in 1894.
Showcase staged to celebrate William De Morgan
29 May 2026From May 26-29 Gloucestershire auction house Kinghams held a spring exhibition titled 'William De Morgan Master Potter'.
Was ‘Red Fuji’ painted by Wirgman Jr?
29 May 2026Small but intriguing coastal scene estimated at just £50-80 spotted by eager bidders and taken to £3500
Side table takes centre stage with a £26,000 bid
22 May 2026This Indo-Portuguese ivory inlaid rosewood side table had last been sold in 1950 when it was bought by the ceramicist Eric James Mellon (1925-2014) while an art student in London.
As one Oscar Wilde Oxford college photo sells in the UK, another is found in US library
22 May 2026A rare photograph of the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde taken during his time at Magdalen College, Oxford sold for £4200 (plus 22% buyer’s premium) at a Dominic Winter auction.
Ex-Christie’s specialist Patrick Lindsay to sell contents of London home
22 May 2026On June 2, Dreweatts is selling the contents of the London home furnished by a renowned Christie’s auctioneer and a distinguished interior decorator.
The first book devoted exclusively to Oman by Shaik Mansur aka Signor Maurizi
22 May 2026Pioneering book covering daily life in Oman and life of the sultan was actually written by an Italian doctor
Angelic figures, fiery content
22 May 2026The East Anglia sale at Reeman Dansie (25% buyer’s premium) in Colchester on April 8-9 featured a stump work bound book of sermons delivered by the prominent 17th century Puritan divine Samuel Ward (1577-1640).
Monster price: Rabindranath Tagore watercolour flies to over 150 times estimate
21 May 2026The unexpected highlight of the collection of Niall Hobhouse sold by Dreweatts on May 13 was a painting by the Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).
Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk sells to US buyer at West Sussex auction
19 May 2026Toovey’s of West Sussex sold another zinc covered Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk on May 14 – the fourth the firm has handled in recent years.
Buyer gets a grip on exceptional Louis XV cane handle
15 May 2026Among the highlights of the Fine Jewellery sale at Adam’s in Dublin on May 12 was this remarkable Louis XV hardstone, gold and gemset cane handle.
Kutchinsky shines in Stuttgart
15 May 2026With Sixties and Seventies style again part of the collecting zeitgeist, vintage Kutchinsky pieces are now common currency for the best of the UK’s antique and vintage jewellery dealers and auction houses. However, it also pays to look further afield.
Region’s leading price for stellar Victorian jewel
15 May 2026Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) of Dorchester sold a Victorian diamond and natural saltwater pearl double pendant brooch for £570,000 earlier this year, a house record for jewellery.
Da Messina discovered in private collection
15 May 2026This oil on panel portrait of a saint is an addition to the small number of autographs by Quattrocento painter Antonello da Messina.