Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Contents of a Staffordshire manor house comes to auction in Derbyshire
09 October 2018Derbyshire auction house Hansons is selling the complete contents of a Staffordshire manor house next week. Bishton Hall, at Wolseley Bridge, near Stafford, was built and has been home to the Stafford Northcote family and Saint Bede’s Prep School since 1946.
Buyers dig deep for classical ‘Roman’ bust at Sheffield auction
08 October 2018A classical marble bust took an unexpected £129,000 at Sheffield Auction Gallery on September 21.
‘Chinese Mona Lisa’ comes to auction from Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick
08 October 2018Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury will sell an important oil by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fei Yun (b.1954) next month. It comes for sale from the charity established by Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick (1942-2007).
Value of English coinage increases at Mayfair dealership Sovereign Rarities' first auction
08 October 2018Landmark prices were paid for rare large-denomination English coins when Mayfair coin dealership Sovereign Rarities conducted its first auction on September 25.
Pick of the Week: Pair to the ‘Bainbridge vase’ sells for £14.6m at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction
08 October 2018The pair to the famous ‘Bainbridge vase’ sold in Hong Kong on October 3 for HK$130m (£12.75m) plus premium. Five bidders competed for the lot.
When British beer cans burst into life at auction
08 October 2018In the long history of beer, the can is a relative newcomer. The first canned beer came with the end of Prohibition in the US – the shiny new light-weight packaging used by Krueger’s in Richmond, Virgina, to market a pasteurised beverage from January 1935.
Roman gold coin hoard uncovered in Italy
06 October 2018Workers charged with the demolition of the former Cressoni Theater in Como, Lombardy have unearthed a hoard of 5th century Roman gold coins.
Adding lustre to Pilkington's Lancastrian collection at auction
04 October 2018The BBC’s Antiques Roadshow spotlight fell upon the Pilkington's Lancastrian factory this week - just days before an important private collection of these Salford-made lustre wares is offered for sale at auction in Scotland.
Pair to the ‘Bainbridge vase’ sells for £14.6m at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction
03 October 2018The recently discovered pair to the famous ‘Bainbridge vase’ has sold in Hong Kong today for a premium-inclusive HK$149m (£14.6m). Bidding opened at HK$40 million and steadily climbed as five bidders competed for the lot.
British grand piano from 1845 sells in Dallas auction
01 October 2018Heritage Auctions in Texas sold this Broadwood amboyna and giltwood grand piano for $22,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at a recent auction. Evidently it had been on quite a journey.
Pick of the Week: George IV accession medal made for his sister Sophia
01 October 2018“A truly beautiful medal and a royal provenance make this something quite out of the ordinary. And, without hesitation, we can say that it is unique.” Stephen Fenton, specialist at Baldwin’s of St James’s, singled out a George IV accession medal as a highlight of the Peter Earthy collection.
Furniture from Mouseman’s major commission for the Horlick’s factory in Slough – one to watch next week
28 September 2018With a loyal UK collecting base – and a growing number of fans overseas – Mouseman furniture of all periods has a strong following on the secondary market.
Hammer highlights: five lots that caught bidders’ eyes this week including a rare Italian corkscrew
28 September 2018ATG’s selection of highlights sold at auctions held over the last seven days, including a rare 18th century Italian corkscrew and a Napoleonic officer’s coat.
Lost Henry VIII tapestry found in Spain goes on show in the UK
25 September 2018A previously lost tapestry, commissioned by Henry VIII for Hampton Court during turmoil of the English Reformation, has been rediscovered in Spain.
Auction of Staffordshire manor house contents unearths first edition copy of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
24 September 2018A first edition copy of Adam Smith’s 'The Wealth of Nations' has been unearthed during final preparations for the sale of the contents of a Staffordshire manor house.
Swan’s first bulb sheds light on Bonhams science and technology auction
24 September 2018One of the earliest surviving incandescent light bulbs, made by the English physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) in the 1870s, sold for £7500 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Bonhams’ sale titled Instruments of Science and Technology.
Pick of the Week: British studio pottery from Jennifer Lee thrown into new territory
24 September 2018Proof of a burgeoning market, a series of stellar results for British studio pottery were posted at the ‘Made in Britain’ sale conducted by Sotheby’s on Bond Street.
The roots and the routes of export trade from 'the Indies'
21 September 2018Globalisation is not a 21st century phenomenon. The ‘fusion’ art arising from the interaction between Western and Eastern cultures has captivated generations of collectors since the 17th century.
Shedding light on the first incandescent bulbs
20 September 2018One of the earliest surviving incandescent light bulbs, made by the English physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) in the 1870s, was snapped up at auction at Bonhams.
British descendant donates silver teapot to Colonial Williamsburg museum
19 September 2018A silver teapot that belonged to the last colonial governor of Virginia has been donated by a British descendant to the Colonial Williamsburg collection.