Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Florida fairs: Sunshine State finds stability
14 January 2019The closure of south Florida’s primary exhibition venue for a two-year, $615m refurbishment threw the annual winter pilgrimage to the Sunshine State into flux. Perhaps, now that works at the Miami Beach Convention Center are largely complete, 2019 will be a little more straightforward.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes in the last week? Five auction highlights including a Beatles poster and a bronze of Hercules
11 January 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include ancient coins and sentimental needlework from around the regional auction houses.
More of ‘America’s first porcelain’ surfaces in UK
07 January 2019A previously unrecorded teabowl and saucer attributed to a pioneering American porcelain factory is expected to bring a six-figure sum when offered for sale in Salisbury next month.
Pick of the week: US celebration of English silver on New Year’s Day
07 January 2019Auctions on New Year’s Day are a tradition in regional North America. The sale at Nadeau’s in Windsor, Connecticut, on the first day of 2019 included a collection of 17th and 18th century English silver that had been given to Yale University in 1896 in memory of a former alumnus, the Pennsylvania coal baron James Browne Neale.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes in the last fortnight? Five auction highlights including a Liverpool delft soup bowl
04 January 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week includes a Liverpool delft soup bowl with a battle scene showing the famous capture of Porto Bello by the British in 1739.
Five predictions for the art and antiques market in 2019
31 December 2018What will happen to the art and antiques market in 2019 and what are the key factors at play affecting collectors, dealers and auctioneers? ATG looks ahead and makes five predictions for the next 12 months.
The year of the Dragon – Chinese bronze sculpture could be Summer Palace discovery
21 December 2018Did the final days of 2018 provide the year’s greatest discovery? Bidders who pursued a bronze dragon head from €20,000 to €2.4m (£2.2m) at the Drouot in Paris on December 17 certainly thought so.
Pick of the week: Rare Louis Vuitton travel trunk full of interest
21 December 2018“Every specialist has an object that they dream of having in their sales,” says Matthew Rubinger, Christie’s head of handbags and accessories. “For me, it’s the aluminium Explorer trunk by Louis Vuitton. The market is full of silver-coloured metal trunks, but this piece is their inspiration.”
Beyond Brexit: The new reality and changing landscape for the art and antiques market in 2019
21 December 2018Brexit uncertainty. Tick. A weak pound. Tick. The ivory ban. Tick. Some of the themes that will permeate 2019 are already clear. But what else might the next 12 months bring for the art and antiques trade and its buying audience? ATG does a little crystal-ball gazing...
Crab grabs Martin Brothers record at Phillips’ auction
21 December 2018A new auction record for the idiosyncratic stonewares of the Martin brothers was established at Phillips’ Design sale in New York.
Chinese peach at auction shows longevity in the market
21 December 2018Estimated at £40-60, this unusual Chinese scholar’s object took £32,000 (plus buyer’s premium) at a recent auction at Rogers Jones in Cardiff.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes this week? Five auction highlights including a dated slipware jug from the time of Charles I and a Beswick huntsman figure
21 December 2018ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include a portrait of a red bonnet-wearing lady, a Beswick huntsman figure and slipware jug from the time of Charles I.
Legal landmarks: high-profile cases and incoming legislation to watch out for in 2019
21 December 2018The arrival of the ivory ban in late 2019 is not the only piece of imminent legislation that the antiques trade should be aware of. The efforts of global art and antiques trade body CINOA are currently focused on two broad issues: anti-money-laundering legislation and laws surrounding the import of cultural goods.
Handbags at a new dawn as Hermès Himalaya Birkin bag makes £190,000
20 December 2018The Hermès Himalaya Birkin bag is often described as the most desirable handbag in the world. And so it proved earlier this month when an example set an auction record for a handbag sold in Europe.
Mod Brit art from Cumbrian collector to be auctioned at Sworders in Essex
17 December 2018A single-owner private collection, including significant works by artists from the Modern British canon, will be sold at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet on January 15.
Viennese fancies: £440,000 for gold-mounted Du Paquier tureen
17 December 2018A lavish Viennese gold-mounted porcelain tureen and stand – the epitome of Habsburg court luxury during the reign of the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI – topped Bonhams’ Fine European Ceramics sale in London on December 6.
Pick of the week: Precocious Pugin showcased by Windsor Castle work aged 15
17 December 2018A table designed by a teenaged Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) for Windsor Castle sold for £23,500 (plus 21% buyer’s premium) at Gorringe’s of Lewes on December 4.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes this week? Five auction highlights including a Spitfire instrument panel and a Barlow-painted Doulton Lambeth vase
14 December 2018ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include a modernist slate fireplace and an intriguing blue glass tankard.
Star Wars costume designer’s personal sketchbook makes £100,000 at Bonhams
13 December 2018The archive of John Mollo, the concept artist behind the Star Wars franchise, came up at Bonhams this week. Leading the sale was a personal sketchbook showing some of the first hand-drawn costume designs for Darth Vader, Chewbacca and the stormtroopers.
From Ancient to Renaissance: Five top sculptures from London’s auction series including an early Roman statue of a poet
12 December 2018The London auction calendar in early December offered a busy schedule of antiquities, sculpture and works of art sales running side-by-side with the Old Master series. Overall the sales were relatively well-received with improved selling rates on previous years. Here we select five highlights from the series.