Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Irish silver beer jug features among five lots to watch
14 October 2024With estimates from £100, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Ace in the pack as rediscovered Old Master flies to six times estimate
09 October 2024The latest sale at Aces Gallery in Stamford, Connecticut was topped by the multi-estimate performance of a rediscovered allegorical painting by Venetian artist Paris Bordone (c.1500-71).
Huge cache of Chinese art released from storage after a century heads to Roseberys auction
08 October 2024In storage for a century, a remarkable cache of Chinese works of art comes for sale in London this month.
Ravilious: the crowning glory
07 October 2024A rare colourway of the Ravilious for Wedgwood coronation mug took a bid of £13,500 at Gildings - a record price for Eric Ravilious ceramics.
Meccano robot plays its cards right
07 October 2024Its survival a mystery for years, a rare 1950s Meccano store display figure has surfaced in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
‘Wandering hour’ watch found a home in Australia
07 October 2024Any gold ‘wandering hour’ watch made prior to the introduction of the balance spring is a rarity.
Forsyth’s tribute to killed nurse Cavell in panel form
07 October 2024Gordon Mitchell Forsyth (1879-1952) is best known as a ceramicist - specifically for his work as art director at the Pilkington’s Lancastrian factory from 1903-14 and his subsequent teaching career as superintendent of art instruction in Stoke-on-Trent.
Moorcroft pottery collection provides focus on prime period works
07 October 2024Moorcroft pottery collection offered in Essex saleroom had a great focus on signed wares of the initial Macintyre era when the designer was at his prime
Mouseman: small character carvings prove to be a cut above
07 October 2024Small-scale Mouseman carvings were typically made in Kilburn for promotional purposes – attracting custom at the Yorkshire Show or similar trade events. Rarities continue to bring muscular sums in the salerooms.
Czech out industrial style with the H269
07 October 2024With its exaggerated, curved armrests, ample cushioning and cantilevered frame, the H269 bentwood chair is perhaps the best known of all Czech industrial furniture designs.
Pratchett’s first flight of Discworld fantasy
07 October 2024The inaugural sale at Rare Book Auctions (26.5% buyer’s premium) in Lichfield included this signed and inscribed first printing of Terry Pratchett’s 'The Colour of Magic'.
Martin face jug ‘we trust you will like’
07 October 2024Not only was this Robert Wallace Martin (1843-1923) stoneware ‘face’ jug deemed an excellent example of its type, but it was sold with a hand-written letter to David Oxen Esq, the original buyer of the jug in 1914.
Small thing, big satisfaction
07 October 2024The Scottish printer David Bryce (1845-1923) said that when he “descended to the miniature, mite and midget size” he had “many a scoff and jeer as to the absurdity of the production”.
Voysey rose to the occasion for textiles
07 October 2024In 1897 Charles Francis Annesley Voysey agreed a contract with Alexander Morton and Co to provide designs for a minimum of 10 textile designs each year for five years.
Art Nouveau & Art Deco previews including a Birmingham Guild brass panel
07 October 2024A selection of upcoming lots focusing on stand-out items from two key design movements
'Wavy edged' Chinese export silver bowl features among five lots to watch
07 October 2024With estimates from £350, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week
Tinworth? Doulton Lambeth? That rings a bell
07 October 2024Designed by George Tinworth, c.1885, this Doulton Lambeth spill vase commemorates the first transatlantic phone call between the UK and the US.
European avant garde design embraced by American silversmith
07 October 2024Relatively little is known about the German-born artist and designer Elsa Tennhardt (1899-1980).
Hawker aluminium furniture gives a lift to Bucks auction
07 October 2024A recent sale at Claydon Auctioneers (21.5% buyer’s premium) in Buckinghamshire included a suite of aluminium bedroom furniture by the HG Hawker Engineering Company.