Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Viennese fancies: £440,000 for gold-mounted Du Paquier tureen
17 December 2018A lavish Viennese gold-mounted porcelain tureen and stand – the epitome of Habsburg court luxury during the reign of the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI – topped Bonhams’ Fine European Ceramics sale in London on December 6.
Pick of the week: Precocious Pugin showcased by Windsor Castle work aged 15
17 December 2018A table designed by a teenaged Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) for Windsor Castle sold for £23,500 (plus 21% buyer’s premium) at Gorringe’s of Lewes on December 4.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes this week? Five auction highlights including a Spitfire instrument panel and a Barlow-painted Doulton Lambeth vase
14 December 2018ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include a modernist slate fireplace and an intriguing blue glass tankard.
Star Wars costume designer’s personal sketchbook makes £100,000 at Bonhams
13 December 2018The archive of John Mollo, the concept artist behind the Star Wars franchise, came up at Bonhams this week. Leading the sale was a personal sketchbook showing some of the first hand-drawn costume designs for Darth Vader, Chewbacca and the stormtroopers.
From Ancient to Renaissance: Five top sculptures from London’s auction series including an early Roman statue of a poet
12 December 2018The London auction calendar in early December offered a busy schedule of antiquities, sculpture and works of art sales running side-by-side with the Old Master series. Overall the sales were relatively well-received with improved selling rates on previous years. Here we select five highlights from the series.
‘A quite extraordinary day’ as sleeping Asian bronzes bring multi-estimate sums in regions
10 December 2018Two under-catalogued Sino-Tibetan bronzes illuminated the regional saleroom scene with multi-estimate sums in the final days of November.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes this week? Five auction highlights including a Renaissance revival ewer and a vodka-drinking Russian
07 December 2018ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include a piece by the ‘crystal king of England’, a Japanese style sword, a vodka-drinking Russian figure and a Renaissance revival ewer.
Pick of the Week: Rare 1920s Robert Thompson dining suite with early features shines at Doncaster sale
03 December 2018Capping a vintage year for prime-period Mouseman furniture, a dining suite attracted huge interest when offered for sale in Yorkshire recently.
Super silver-gilt Storr candelabra leads Bonhams’ Important Design auction
03 December 2018A pair of William IV candelabra from the Pembroke service led Bonhams’ Important Design: 500 Years of Fine Decorative Arts sale on November 21, selling at £190,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium).
Meiji cloisonné provides boost to English salerooms
03 December 2018An unusual dish from the workshop of Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927) sold for £18,000 at Woolley & Wallis on November 14. But this was not the only example of top-tier Meiji cloisonné for sale last month.
De Waal Netsuke collection brings welcome addition to Blythe Road auction
03 December 2018A welcome addition to the November 21 Asian Works of Art sale at Matthew Barton (24% buyer’s premium) of 25 Blythe Road in west London were 79 netsuke from the collection belonging to Edmund de Waal, author of the bestselling memoir 'The Hare with Amber Eyes'. London Japanese art dealer Max Rutherston helped organise the sale and took this section of the auction.
Home turf before theatre of dreams
03 December 2018A rare photographic postcard sold via thesaleroom.com at a surprise £850 (estimate £30-50) at Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Washington, West Sussex on October 30.
Yuan peony jar leads Dublin sale of Asian art
03 December 2018The influx of Asian art buyers that accompanies the Asian Art in London initiative also encourages activity across the Irish Sea. Both Adam’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Dublin, for the first time, and Sheppards (20% buyer’s premium) in Durrow held designated sales on November 3 and November 11 respectively.
Sotheby's hoping to be big in Japan again with London sale
03 December 2018For the first time in a decade, Sotheby’s Asian Art in London offering included a designated sale of Japanese art on November 6.
UK sales of Asian art – a coming together of cultures
03 December 2018Despite the disparity in numbers, the market for Chinese and Japanese works of art are increasingly aligned.
Rockefeller pattern Chinese export porcelain ware brings demand at Dreweatts
03 December 2018Among the most coveted of all the standard Chinese export porcelain designs is the so-called ‘Rockefeller’ pattern or Palace ware.
Ming period brick from the Great Wall of China sells at Somerset auction
03 December 2018Included in the sale at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne on October 11 was a brick from the Great Wall of China. It probably dated from the Ming period when Great Wall sections were widely built with fired clay bricks, adhered with lime mortar and sticky rice.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes this week? Five auction highlights including Edmund de Waal’s netsukes and a Lalique bronze hand mirror
30 November 2018ATG’s selection of hammer highlights that sold at auction in the last week including a netsuke collection, a Lalique mirror and rare Georgian silver.
Shout, shout, clear it all out! Tears for Fears sell tour gear to make room
29 November 2018Specialist musical instrument auction house Gardiner Houlgate is to sell a cache of touring equipment from '80s band Tears for Fears.
Commonwealth crackers pair up
26 November 2018This pair of Commonwealth silver plates, London 1645, bear the contemporaneous arms of the Puritan Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-75).