Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Drawing conclusions on jeweller Templier at auction
20 November 2023Raymond Templier (1891-1968) came from a traditional Parisian jewellery family but became one of a small group of designers dubbed ‘bijoutiers-artistes’ or artist jewellers.
Hardman jewel with a Pugin connection
20 November 2023This gothic revival gold and enamel 'artist's jewel' made by the Birmingham metalworkers Hardman and Co is very similar to one given by architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) to his third wife Jane Knill.
Imperial power told through a £110,000 hardwood chest
20 November 2023A Chinese ‘dragon’ box fashioned in the prized Asian wood zitan sold for £110,000 at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) on November 3.
Discovering Lalique’s lost wax
20 November 2023Lyon & Turnbull’s (26/25/20% buyer's premium) Lalique sale in London included six of the rare pieces made using the cire perdue technique.
Doat’s exhibition vase the pick of Kovel collection
20 November 2023On November 1, Rago and Toomey & Co in Lambertville, New Jersey sold property from the “duke and duchess of the North American antiques world”, Ralph and Terry Kovel. In the US, the Kovels are renowned as authors and experts who published over 100 books on collecting.
Yul Brynner behind the lens at auction in Vienna
20 November 2023Spanning two sessions at Leitz Photographica in Vienna on November 24-25 are consignments from the personal collection of the late Yul Brynner (1920-1985) via his daughter Victoria.
Chaumet’s ‘floating laurel leaves’ bring £240,000
20 November 2023Bonhams’ London Jewels sale on September 21 was topped by this Chaumet diamond necklace.
A trio of works by the brilliant Burges
20 November 2023Jade censer modified by the architect-designer for his own enjoyment returns to auction in Edinburgh
Silver: Cutting the mustard
20 November 2023The forthcoming sale of a collection of around 100 silver mustard pots in Newcastle highlights the connection between the northeast and the rise of the commercial trade in English mustard
New scholarship pays off for teapots
20 November 2023Chiswick Auctions’ most successful silver sale to date on October 11 included a George II teapot of American colonial interest.
Robert De Niro’s ‘Godfather’ suit stars in our pick of five auction highlights
17 November 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a suit worn by Robert De Niro in a famous scene from ‘The Godfather Part II’ that more than doubled estimate at an auction in Hertfordshire.
Massive prices for Massier majolica
13 November 2023Top prices set for majolica by the French Massier factory at auction in Belgium
Pick of the week: Chinese instruments belonging to a Dutchman who was in tune with China
13 November 2023The Dutch diplomat, musician, writer and sinologist Robert Hans van Gulik (1910-67), also known as Gao Luopei, was a great admirer of traditional Chinese literati culture.
Buyer chooses Chadwick couple
13 November 2023Lynn Chadwick’s (1914-2003) figure sculptures of the 1960s-80s consist largely of angular male and female couples – standing, sitting, walking or lying together.
Rare set of Keika chrysanthemums kept intact
13 November 2023The late 19th century Japanese artist Keika Hasegawa remains something of an enigma.
Drawing by young Elizabeth II failed to impress her mother
13 November 2023The October 18-19 sale at Everard Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Savannah, Georgia, featured manuscripts, photos and ephemera focused on European royalty.
Previews: issue 2618
13 November 2023Our selection of lots from five upcoming UK and Irish auctions
Egg breaks out of hotel confines
13 November 2023Famous chair created as just an edition of 50 went on to become signature product of Danish design house
Elizabethan gent ready to research
13 November 2023This three-quarter-length portrait of an Elizabethan gentleman, attributed to the circle of the court painter George Gower (c.1540-96), hammered for $32,000 (£26,500) on October 15.
‘Circle of JMW Turner’ watercolour stars in our pick of five auction highlights
10 November 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a watercolour of steamboats on the Rhine that made over 60 times estimate in Derby.