Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
A glory of the chivalric age sets an auction record in Scotland
24 May 2021The Five Centuries sale at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on May 20 included a sensational example of medieval art – a 14th century French gothic ivory casket or coffret.
Supreme medal for Tudor numismatists offered at Swiss auction
24 May 2021A gold medal proclaiming Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England – the only known example in private hands – comes for sale in Switzerland.
A Limoges panel and Minton’s charger are among six lots to watch at auction
24 May 2021With estimates from £150-8000 here are six previews of upcoming items this week.
Design writer Fiona MacCarthy’s own collection sold in Essex auction
24 May 2021Sworders' latest Design sale included a group of Arts & Crafts items from the estate of the design writer and biographer Fiona MacCarthy (1940-2020).
Best dressed Georgian girl brings $250,000 at US auction
24 May 2021At 2ft 5in (74cm) high, this English made wooden doll c.1740 is unusually large.
Auction previews: issue 2494
24 May 2021A selection of 15 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
Beswick at its most avant garde
24 May 2021The 27 animal models created for Beswick by Colin Melbourne represented the firm at its most avant garde.
Early spectacles catch the eye in saleroom
24 May 2021While Georgian spectacles are relatively common at auction, 17th century examples are a rarer beast.
A glimpse of the old Singapore
24 May 2021Contents of a Straits Chinese shophouse sold at auction provide window to the past
Rare Aesthetic bedroom suite and a famous bare knuckle boxing print feature in our pick of five auction highlights
21 May 2021ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a bedroom suite from c.1870 that made 16-times estimate and a print depicting a famous bare knuckle bout that sold for over 10-times predictions.
Auction house department heads from Bonhams and Christie's become dealers
17 May 2021Two long-standing auction department heads launch second careers as dealers this month.
Pick of the week: Algernon Newton’s homage to Dorset tops Gloucestershire house sale
17 May 2021Duke’s sale of property from Wormington Grange in Gloucestershire included a record for the Modern British painter Algernon Newton (1880-1968).
Moving On: Roger Keverne sale marathon brings £4.8m
17 May 2021The first of two Bonhams sales dispersing the remaining stock of the long-established Chinese art dealership of Roger Keverne was a marathon affair.
A modern stylised sculpture and a dish by Omar Ramsden are among five lots to watch at auction
17 May 2021With estimates from £1000-10,000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
Tinworth’s mighty mice and a giant leap for mankind
17 May 2021Even 40 years ago, when the market for George Tinworth (1843-1913) anthropomorphic mouse groups was in its relative infancy, this 3½in (9cm) model above would have been a bargain at £1.
Hope vase was used as an Oklahoma table
17 May 2021A previously lost bronze and ormolu vase designed and commissioned by Thomas Hope has been discovered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it had been converted into a table base.
Auction previews: issue 2493
17 May 2021A selection of 17 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
De Morgan belter in Belfast
17 May 2021Bloomfield Auctions (15% buyer’s premium) in Belfast achieved a house record on May 11 with the sale of this William De Morgan vase for £15,000.
Samplers make a string of positive auctions results
17 May 2021Estimated at just £80-150, a Queen Anne or George I period needlework sampler sold for £10,000 via thesaleroom.com at Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne.
Fijian bowl with rare form brings fervent interest at Lyon & Turnbull
17 May 2021This Fijian kava bowl, or daveniyaqona, carved in the form of a shallow figure, would have been used for both the consumption of kava (yaqona – the intoxicating liquor of the pepper plant) by priests during religious rites and to hold sacred oil.