Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Pick of the Week: Bovey pottery figure of Joseph Stalin in British bidding battle
24 April 2017The Bovey Pottery Company, closed in 1957, would have passed into collecting history without incident had it not been for the ‘Our Gang’ collection of figures.
Indian miniature painting of emperor to hold court at Mallams' auction
20 April 2017A late 18th century Rajput miniature with an excellent provenance is to be offered at auction next week at Mallams in Cheltenham.
Californian auctioneers unite to amend controversial new ‘collectables’ bill
18 April 2017A coalition of California auction houses fighting to reword a new law governing the sale of autographed collectables has cleared its first legal hurdle.
Tribal art gathering pace in regions
18 April 2017Auctioneers and vendors are quickly discovering that Europe’s country houses, furnished with the routine period objects that no longer generate great excitement, can occasionally yield valuable souvenirs of a colonial past.
Pick of the Week: The Regent’s piano returns home
18 April 2017A grand piano commissioned by George IV in 1821 is to return to Brighton Pavilion after it sold for £62,000 at Piano Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in London on April 6.
The popular and enduring riviere Georgian style
18 April 2017The rivière – one of the most popular and enduring styles of necklace to come out of the Georgian period – features an endless line of matched or subtly graduated gems set within inconspicuous collets. However, as Marielle Whiting at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury points out, seldom are they equals.
Tiffany jewels at auction in New York
18 April 2017Much like René Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s successful career as a glassmaker overshadowed his genius as a goldsmith. Both men created jewellery that have come to define Art Nouveau in France and North America.
Cummings craftwork at Tiffany
18 April 2017This Tiffany gold necklace and earclip suite composed of textured rose petal links by Angela Cummings (c.1944) sold for £10,200 at Bonhams Knightsbridge (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on March 15.
Giuliano revival at auction in London and Darlington
18 April 2017A textbook Renaissance style jewel by Carlo Giuliano (1831-95) led a strong jewellery offering at Thomas Watson (24% buyer’s premium) in Darlington on March 21.
Jewellery shines in Oxford and Essex auctions
18 April 2017An Edwardian emerald, pearl and diamond pendant by Carrington & Co, London sold for £24,500 (estimate £6000-10,000) to an online bidder at Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium) in Rayleigh on March 20. The central heart-shaped old-cut stone weighs 3.5cts and was given a colour grade of K/L and a VS clarity.
The spoils of many Ganna Walska marriages
18 April 2017A late 19th century/early 20th century ruby cameo and baroque pearl pendant once formed part of the celebrated jewellery collection assembled by Ganna Walska (1887-1984). It sold for a multi-estimate £55,000 at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of fine jewels in Bond Street on March 22.
‘Good forms and good work’ at Messrs Phillips
18 April 2017In the chapter titled ‘Modern Jewellery’ in her taste-making book, The Art of Beauty (1878), English writer Mary Eliza Haweis references the “artistic appreciation of good forms and good work” she found at Messrs Phillips of Cockspur Street.
Rich seams for dealers and auctioneers from Portuguese ‘golden period’
18 April 2017From noble jewels to semi-precious gems, a show in May will celebrate a ‘golden period’ of Portuguese jewellery in the 18th century. Here we preview the exhibition and then present other recent and forthcoming sale highlights.
George IV grand piano goes home to Brighton Pavilion
13 April 2017A grand piano commissioned by George IV for the Brighton Pavilion in 1821 is to make its way home after a local museum won the bidding at auction.
Former Christie's South Kensington boss decries closure plans
10 April 2017A former chairman of Christie’s South Kensington has written an open letter to owner François Pinault warning that his plans for the company could “gravely harm Christie’s in London”
Goya’s bullfighting epic rediscovered
10 April 2017A previously unknown complete set of Goya’s La Tauromaquia led Sotheby’s sale of Prints & Multiples in London on April 4.
Turner and Guardi: big guns arrive for London’s July Old Masters series
10 April 2017A large, late work by JMW Turner appears at Sotheby’s on July 5 with an estimate of £15-25m.
Guardi to lead Christie’s summer Old Masters evening sale
07 April 2017Christie’s Old Masters evening sale on July 6 will be led by Francesco Guardi’s 'The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi' which is expected to fetch more than £25m.
Exceptional Ming ‘fish pond’ bowl sells for more than £22m at auction in Hong Kong
05 April 2017An exceptional Xuande mark and period ‘fish pond’ bowl, trumpeted by Sotheby’s as among the greatest examples of early Ming blue and white porcelain in private hands, sold in Hong Kong for HK$229m (£22.9m) on April 4.