Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Transatlantic rook flies as souvenir chess piece sells at Oxford auction
20 July 2020As implied by an extensive inscription, this souvenir chess piece was produced by Carlo Joseph and Arthur Alphonse Giuliano, sons of the celebrated Italian artist jeweller Carlo Giuliano, to commemorate a chess match played via telegraph in 1897.
Casket at Sevenoaks auction reflects rags to riches story
20 July 2020This late Victorian silver-gilt and enamel ‘freedom casket’ sold at Ibbett Mosely (15% buyer’s premium) of Sevenoaks carries the name of John Aynsley II (1823-1907) and was awarded following his tenure as mayor of Longton from 1886-90.
Irish writer and nationalist Erskine Childers’ sword stars in our pick of five auction highlights this week
17 July 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Victorian 1827-pattern officer’s sword owned by Robert Erskine Childers that sold above estimate in Co Dublin.
Estimate €5000, sold for €6.4m: Lost folios of Chinese encyclopedia surface in Paris
13 July 2020Two lost folios from the 'Yongle Dadian', the Ming dynasty encyclopaedia that has assumed national treasure status in China, surfaced for sale in Paris last week.
Ceramics and glass: Market reboot helps to break the mould
13 July 2020The market for traditional British and Continental ceramics did not lie idle for three months. As ATG reports, a renewed enthusiasm greeted the first major UK sale since lockdown
An exhibition-quality skeleton clock and a RAF pilot’s Omega wristwatch are among the five lots to watch at auction this week
13 July 2020With estimates from £700-15,000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
18th century dentist's delftware ointment jar gives added bite to auction
13 July 2020This rare 2in (5cm) English delftware ointment pot, c.1775, carries the inscription in manganese 'The Queen’s Dentifrice'.
Auction previews: issue 2451
13 July 2020Sixteen upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Chinese elephants with Rothschild provenance star in our pick of five auction highlights this week
10 July 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare pair of 19th century lapiz lazuli models of elephants that came from the home of Lionel and Edmund de Rothschild and made over double estimate in Salisbury.
Pick of the week: New peak for Wainwright as sketch of the fells climbs to £10,200 record
06 July 2020A record price of £10,200 was paid last month for a pen and ink sketch by fell-walking legend Alfred Wainwright at 1818 Auctioneers of Milnthorpe, Cumbria.
A copy of the first published comic and an Arts & Crafts crucifix are among six lots to watch at auction this week
06 July 2020With estimates from £400-8000 here are six previews of upcoming items this week.
Squirrels taxidermy diorama is a big deal
06 July 2020The 252-lot Natural History and Taxidermy auction at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) on June 19 included this Victorian anthropomorphic diorama of card-playing, cigar-smoking red squirrels, c.1870-1900.
Box ‘made for the Siamese market’ makes 17-times estimate Dreweatts
06 July 2020A highpoint of the Dreweatts (25% buyer’s premium) ‘lockdown’ sale of Asian art in Newbury was provided by this 19th century Chinese export silver gilt and enamelled box.
De Morgan sets house record in Fife
06 July 2020This 12½in (31cm) ruby lustre jar and cover, a textbook piece from William De Morgan’s Sands End Pottery (1888-1907), was the star at a recent sale at Bowler & Binnie (16% buyer’s premium) in Dunfermline.
British craftsman Peter Collingwood weaves his magic at auction
06 July 2020Topping the Mid-Century Design sale held by Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, was a trademark work by Peter Collingwood (1922-2008) – the British craftsman at the forefront of weaving for 50 years.
Silver: Examples from across the world lead to choice selection at auctions
06 July 2020Silver made in both Britain and the Continent provides a wide variety for buyers via auctions and dealers across the globe. Here ATG picks out a selection of 13 recent sales and upcoming lots.
Watch sounds the alarm for the first time
06 July 2020Not to be confused with the modern reissues, the original Vulcain Cricket was marketed in 1947 as the world’s first wristwatch with an alarm.
Auction previews: issue 2450
06 July 2020Sixteen upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Portobello dealer’s collection of kitchenalia and more proves a sell-out at Newbury auction
06 July 2020Joan Dunk (1930-2019) was a Portobello Road market stalwart. Her stall, for decades an outside pitch on the corner of Westbourne Grove, was affectionately known as IDA – the trade name of an early 20th century German kitchen equipment manufacturer which she adapted to mean ‘Interesting Domestic Appliances’.
Sought-after Airfix set stars in our pick of five auction highlights this week
03 July 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes an Airfix scale model Attack Force battle set complete in its original packaging that made over 30-times estimate in Suffolk.