Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Ex-Bloomsbury staff and former Dreweatts chief Stephan Ludwig launch Forum Auctions
16 May 2016Key former members of Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions have started a new auction firm.
Joseph Chait pleads guilty in smuggling case
12 May 2016Joseph Chait, a 38-year-old senior auction administrator with IM Chait gallery and auction house in Beverly Hills, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to smuggle items of rhino horn, ivory, coral and a hornbill casque.
Yongzheng perfection brings £750,000
06 May 2016Made under the watchful eye of the third Qing emperor, a Chinese porcelain vase valued at just £12 in the 1950s sold for £750,000 at the latest sale held by Mallams in Cheltenham.
Record price for British motorcycle as Brough Superior makes £331,900
04 May 2016Bonhams set a record auction price for any British motorcycle with the sale of a 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4 for £331,900.
Taxi driver’s £40 car boot find turns out to be £75,000 Indian miniature
22 April 2016A large Indian gouache on paper miniature was the unexpected highlight of a specialist Islamic & Indian Arts sale at Roseberys in London last week.
Three medal experts defect from Spink to DNW
13 April 2016Three leading specialists in orders, decorations and medals are leaving Spink to join rival London firm Dix Noonan Webb.
Medieval mourning figures return to Paris for Christie's sale
06 April 2016Christie’s Paris are to sell two figures of mourners as part of their European Sculpture and Works of Art sale on June 15.
Charles George collection vase to go to auction
06 April 2016Made under the watchful eye of the third Qing emperor, a porcelain vase valued at just £12-15 in the 1950s is expected to bring over £20,000 when it is sold at auction on April 27-28.
Cols Rouges deserve jail, says prosecutor
04 April 2016The prosecution in the trial of the Cols Rouges – the erstwhile portering staff at Hôtel Drouot, the communal saleroom facility used by most Paris auctioneers – have called for prison sentences of up to five years and fines of €250,000 for those found guilty of theft and criminal conspiracy.
Bath museum buys Wood the Elder’s instruments at Clevedon auction
31 March 2016John Wood the Elder’s (1704-54) set of drawing instruments were offered at Clevedon Auction Rooms earlier this month and were bought by the Bath Preservation Trust for £21,000.
French banks close UK trade accounts as part of clampdown on money laundering
09 March 2016Tighter regulations surrounding fraud and money laundering are prompting French banks to close the euro accounts of some UK dealers and shippers.
‘Joan of Arc’ ring sells for £240,000 after English v French bidding battle
07 March 2016A medieval ring long associated with Joan of Arc sold for £240,000 – almost 30 times its estimate – at Timeline Auctions in Bloomsbury on February 25.
Raid on Wimbledon taxidermy dealer
07 March 2016Specialist taxidermy dealer Alexis Turner has lost a significant portion of his stock following an extraordinary raid on a London warehouse.
US establishes ivory repository
07 March 2016The US Fish and Wildlife Service have announced a new programme to “help reduce the overall ivory market”.
Stanley Gibbons auditors quit over risk
03 March 2016The auditors for Stanley Gibbons, the venerable collectables dealership and parent company of Dreweatts Bloomsbury, Mallett and AH Baldwin, have resigned because they believe the firm is exposed to excessive risk.
Clarice Cliff’s rare Lucerne pattern vase emerges in Cheshire saleroom
02 March 2016The so-called Lucerne pattern, decorated in primary colours with a stylised Mediterranean chateau in a landscape, ranks among the scarcest and most desirable of all designs from Clarice Cliff’s ‘Appliqué’ range.
Cooper’s cased trout brings demand in Cirencester
02 March 2016Cased fish, once the only acceptable face of the taxidermy market, have cooled since the 1990s when prices in excess of £3000 were commonplace.
Images from New Zealand’s first female photographer appear at Shropshire auction
02 March 2016Originally from Lymm in Cheshire, Elizabeth Pulman (née Chadd) (1836-1900) is regarded as the first professional female photographer in New Zealand.
UK dealers told to destroy ivory antiques in US
25 February 2016Four London dealers were made to deface valuable antiques after they imported objects into the US without declaring their ivory content.
Export paddle boat steams in at Duke’s
23 February 2016This rare early 19th century Chinese gilt decorated export lacquer model of a paddle steamer sold for £7000 at Duke’s of Dorchester.