Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Sapphire-set owl makes five times estimate at Oxford sale
22 August 2022The owl had been a symbol of wealth and wisdom since the days of ancient Greece and inspired designers such as Lalique.
Previews: issue 2556
22 August 2022A selection of eight upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
The small world of Gamda toys
22 August 2022Special Auctions Services (25% buyer’s premium) in Newbury sold the collection of John Garside last month.
Go batty about a brooch
22 August 2022Although, thanks in part to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (first published in 1897), bats have acquired a reputation as ‘creatures of the night’ in many cultures they are viewed as symbols of luck or reincarnation.
Old World works of art come fresh to Massachusetts saleroom
22 August 2022English and Continental ‘country house’ offerings are rare in the US but not gone forever
Roman marble busts from the Finches
22 August 2022On November 9-10 Sworders will conduct an auction of objects from the collection of pioneering dealer Jan Ellen Finch (1952-2021) of Finch & Co.
Obituary: Jerome Eisenberg
22 August 2022Jerome Eisenberg (1930-2022), who died aged 92 on July 6, was a leading member of the antiquities trade.
On the zigzag trail
22 August 2022TimeLine Auctions’ Antiquities sale includes a dozen good examples of Roman glass including this 3rd-5th century unguentarium with zigzag trail decoration.
New faces including at Catherine Southon Auctioneers, Olympia Auctions and LAPADA
18 August 2022The latest appointments and moves across auction houses, dealers and associations.
Banks close down client accounts for some smaller auction houses due to anti-money laundering rules
15 August 2022Chattels auction houses operating at the lower end of the market are being told to close client accounts as the banking sector tightens its rules.
Buyer shells out for a tortoise teapot
15 August 2022Among the most desirable examples of Victorian majolica is the series of whimsical teapots produced by factories in the second half of the 19th century.
Pick of the week: George IV period dining table in demand at Bath sale
15 August 2022A recent sale at Aldridges of Bath (20% buyer’s premium) included a fine George IV period mahogany extending dining table.
‘Finest’ Welsh treen collection consigned to Bonhams
15 August 2022Bonhams is to offer what it calls ‘the finest collection of Welsh treen ever presented’ for auction next month.
A remarkable Jacobite goblet is among five lots to watch this week
15 August 2022With estimates from £250-5000, here are five previews of items coming up at auction.
Tumbler to be taken on the last campaigns
15 August 2022This glass tumbler, pictured below, engraved with a crowned 'N' over a band of diamond cutting, contained in a tooled leather cylindrical travelling case, is of a type that accompanied Napoleon on campaign.
Previews: issue 2555
15 August 2022A selection of eight upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.
In the emperor’s service
15 August 2022The French silver-gilt table knife and fork shown here, c.1810, is from a service made for Napoleon Bonaparte.
Trafalgar celebrated with a splash of vinegar
15 August 2022This example of the well-known Nelson memorial vinaigrette made by Matthew Linwood of Birmingham in 1805 sold for £2800 at Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne.
Meet the son of an emperor
15 August 2022Only two examples of this 11in (28cm) Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Napoleon’s son, Napoléon-François-Charles-Joseph Bonaparte (1811-32), are known.
Napoleonic memorabilia: Bust of Boney sold at Sotheby's among latest highlights
15 August 2022Rediscovered sculpted portrait heads a special report covering recent lots linked to the man who became emperor, dedicated to both his triumphs and defeats