Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Islamic brass bowl 'found to be 14th century'
06 March 2023Estimated at a mere £20-40, this Islamic brass bowl on a later associated stand sold for £11,000 at Taylors (25% buyer’s premium) in Montrose.
Christopher Dresser: ‘I propose three feet formed as to serve as handles’
06 March 2023Dr Christopher Dresser’s conical sugar bowl with three angled leg-like supports is one of the great ‘eureka’ moments in Victorian design.
Tankard has the look of the Irish
06 March 2023Size, quality and sheer Irishness made the tankard shown here the toast of the silver sold at Ipswich auction house Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium).
The exotic appeal of coconuts and porcelain
06 March 2023Cups with coconut bowls mounted in silver or silver-gilt were fashionable rarities in western Europe throughout the 16th and early 17th century. At the time the coconut was, like other ‘exotics’ such as nautilus shells or imported pottery and porcelain, held in high esteem.
Windowsill of opportunity provides Chinese vase
06 March 2023Spotted sitting among modern pottery on the windowsill of a small cottage, a meiping porcelain vase with ‘robin’s egg’ blue glaze was the plum piece.
Rare Soviet-era vase stars in our pick of five auction highlights
03 March 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a Lomonosov Porcelain Factory vase from 1929 that made over 35 times estimate in Buckinghamshire.
Florentine panel fit for an emperor takes six-figure sum at Roseberys’ auction
27 February 2023Research reveals £265,000 auction purchase is a celebrated work from Grand Ducal workshops
Not just another brick in the wall: a Babylonian memento emerges at Essex auction
27 February 2023This 13 x 13in (33 x 33cm) brick is from the walls of Babylon and dates from 604-562BC.
Pick of the week: The lighter side of mass destruction as novelty grenade lights up auction
27 February 2023While they may not appear such comfortable bedfellows today, the novel weapons of mass destruction created during the First World War were deemed a perfectly suitable subject for novelty trinkets of the day.
An Edward Burne-Jones stained glass window by Morris & Co is among five lots to watch
27 February 2023With estimates from £300, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week.
Jaeger LeCoultre: ‘The best watchmaker in the world’ says specialist
27 February 2023“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” comments Fellows’ watch specialist Kes Crockett. “Jaeger LeCoultre is the best watchmaker in the world. Rolex is without question the most well-known manufacturer and Patek Philippe has produced some of the most collectable watches on the market. However, JLC arguably has a richer and more important horological history than both.”
Navigate your way round Breitling Navitimer dial styles
27 February 2023Over the years, the Navitimer has undergone a variety of cosmetic and mechanical changes. Pictured here are three iterations of the watch as it evolved across two decades.
Previews: issue 2582
27 February 2023A selection of 11 upcoming lots available at UK and Irish auctions.
Deep pockets for the Fifty Fathoms
27 February 2023The Fifty Fathoms watch was born in the 1950s from the encounter between the Swiss firm Blancpain (by then using the legal trading name Rayville) and two French naval officers, Capt Robert Maloubier and Lt Claude Riffaud.
Make a bone call when bidding for Chinese jiaguwen
27 February 2023The Shang period (c.1600-1045BC) is the first of China’s many epochs from which written documents survive.
Watches: Why Breitling was ‘the smartwatch of its time’
27 February 2023The firm established in Switzerland nearly 140 years ago achieved many ‘firsts’ in chronograph production. ATG considers the market for some of the most famous references from the Navitimer to the ‘Thunderball’ Top Time
Stuart period signet ring stars in our pick of five auction highlights
24 February 2023ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a 17th century gold signet ring that more than doubled its estimate in Essex.
Uruguayan artist Juan Manuel Blanes rides off to an auction record at Toovey’s
20 February 2023A rediscovered work by ‘Uruguay’s most important painter’ Juan Manuel Blanes (1830- 1901) has sold for a record £1.15m in West Sussex.
Annual auction totals: Dreweatts retains top spot as market readjusts after the pandemic impact
20 February 2023In the first test of the post-Covid era many of the UK’s top salerooms posted strong figures for art, antiques and luxury items across the calendar year.