Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Auction record for natural saltwater pearls shows strength of gems market
02 May 2014The run on pearls continues with two spectacular prices paid for exceptional natural saltwater gems at auctions on either side of the Atlantic this week.
The £150,000 doorstop with an Imperial past
02 May 2014The latest Asian art sale at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet was led by this massive 9½in (24.5cm) high Chinese calligrapher’s brush pot dating to the late 18th or early 19th century.
Somerset’s £43,000 cabinet of delights
28 April 2014This 21in (54cm) wide ‘Indo-Portuguese’ ivory inlaid hardwood fall front cabinet sold for an extraordinary £43,000 at Lawrences of Crewkerne.
Live the Mackintosh dream
28 April 2014Located in the village of Kimacolm, close to the Firth of Clyde and 20 miles west of Glasgow, is Windyhill, one of only three houses built by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Tougher sentences for thefts that hit heritage
24 April 2014Thieves who target cultural property or items of great sentimental value could be hit with tougher sentences under official new proposals.
Archibald Knox on top form as silver cup takes £42,000 at Hampstead auction
23 April 2014This silver cup and cover designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty and Co and hallmarked for Birmingham 1901 sold for £42,000 at north London’s Hampstead Auctions.
A love of rich colour – two windows on Harry Clarke
22 April 2014Irishman Harry Clarke (1889-1931) made his reputation as a book illustrator whose work straddled the passing Art Nouveau and the coming Art Deco movements.
Auctionata secure funding
22 April 2014The Berlin-based online art and auction house Auctionata has secured €21.5 million in new equity capital and funding following a second funding round from the existing investors.
Chinese wig stand sells for £360,000 in Cambridge
08 April 2014This Qianlong mark and period hat or wig stand sold for a massive £360,000 at a recent Cheffins sale in Cambridge.
Hungary buys half Sevso hoard
04 April 2014€15m deal sets seal on more than three decades of dispute
New York set for total ban on ivory trade
04 April 2014Wide-ranging bill to end sales already given unanimous backing at the initial stage
‘Unseen’ Hoffman collection of art pottery includes exceptional Martinware models
02 April 2014New York has hosted three key events in the modern commercial history of the Martin Brothers.
King and its crown to be reunited – privately
31 March 2014A group of private collectors from China’s Hunan province have privately purchased the famed Min Fanglei, a bronze ritual wine vessel from the Late Shang or Early Western Zhou period due to be sold in New York last month.
Meissen squirrels fetch £45,000 at Sussex auction
28 March 2014Estimated at £8000-12,000, this rare pair of Meissen figures of red squirrels, c.1750, modelled by J.J.Kändler, took £45,000 at Bellmans auctions of Wisborough Green, near Billingshurst.
Masonic gathering in South London
25 March 2014South London auctioneers Rosebery’s sold the Masonic collection of Albert Edward Collins Nice (1898-1969) as the first tranche of their quarterly fine art sale that covered three days and three catalogues.
Sotheby’s forced to buy back $83m pink diamond
24 March 2014Sotheby’s have had to buy back the 59.60 carat flawless fancy vivid pink diamond they sold in Geneva last November for a world record $83m.
Is this Knibb’s earliest surviving clock?
20 March 2014This Charles II eight-day longcase clock by Joseph Knibb – a ‘snapshot’ of early longcase clock development – doubled its estimate to sell for £240,000 at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions sale in Donnington Priory.
Fabergé discovery: Wartski win ultimate Easter egg hunt
18 March 2014A previously lost Fabergé egg has been found by Mayfair jeweller Wartski in the American Midwest.
Bidding battle sees rare Worcester mug taken to £34,000
11 March 2014This Worcester mug c.1754-55 proved the highlight of the Raymond Dennis collection of early English porcelain sold by Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury.
King of the castle sets record at £8500
04 March 2014The commercial fortunes of Victorian silver ‘castle top’ card cases, engraved or embossed with views of British landmarks, depend primarily on the scarcity of the scene depicted.