Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Hawaiian high: Sandwich Islands noblewoman sells for 180-times top guide
22 January 2024Portrait of Sandwich Islands noblewoman who visited London on diplomatic tour in 1824 appears in Maryland auction
Pick of the week: Costume drama – the great Pinetti
22 January 2024A rare portrait of the magician Chevalier Joseph Pinetti (1750-1800) emerged for sale in Asheville, North Carolina.
Early Newcastle silver sniffed out in Oxford saleroom
22 January 2024The earliest records of the silversmithing on the Tyne date from 1249.
Archive shines light on Wedgwood Liberty ware
22 January 2024A rare archive related to the Wedgwood Liberty Ware project designed to raise money for victims of the First World War comes for sale at Freeman’s Hindman in Philadelphia.
English Civil War siege relics race away to hammer for 25 times the low estimate
22 January 2024This 19th century glazed wooden case containing musket balls, ceramic fragments and three complete clay pipes was eagerly contested at auction.
Signed Fab Four photos are big hits with bidders
22 January 2024A c.1964 publicity photograph signed by all four members of The Beatles sold for £13,000 at Bristol auction house Auctioneum (21% buyer’s premium).
Lampshade highlights the work of Quentin Bell, the last of Bloomsbury
22 January 2024A lampshade painted by Quentin Bell sold for a remarkable £4700 when Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) dispersed the residual collection of Michael Evans in Macclesfield.
Keeping the dust jacket was definitely not a dumb move
22 January 2024An original dust jacket made all the difference when Weiss Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) offered a first edition copy of Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness in Lynbrook, New York.
Abigail and Maria’s sampler skills still celebrated today
22 January 2024There is a huge disconnect today between the best and rest in the sampler world.
Beck Underground map success blew away Stanford bubbles version
22 January 2024London Transport commissioned publisher Edward Stanford to create the so-called ‘Bubble Map’ in 1934-35.
Fertile imagination can generate a healthy price
22 January 2024This terracotta figure is typical of the highly stylised pottery models honouring a fertility or mother goddess, made in Persia in the first millennium BC.
Morden map cards lead the way at Newbury auction
22 January 2024Auction offered near-complete example of the set that also formed a first pocket atlas of England and Wales
Silver plane travels well at small scale
22 January 2024A sterling silver scale model of the Lockheed TriStar aircraft was the top lot at Kinghams’ (25% buyer’s premium) Silver and Objects of Vertu sale in the Cotswolds.
Nantgarw plate displays Pardoe’s decorating talent
22 January 2024Roseberys’ (26/25/20% buyer’s premium) final Fine & Decorative sale of the year included this recent charity shop donation: a Nantgarw cabinet plate decorated by Thomas Pardoe (1770-1823).
Titanic memorabilia fascination surfaces once more at auction
22 January 2024A tartan deck blanket, a pocket watch and a first-class dinner menu were all top-sellers in the latest auction of Titanic, White Star and Transport Memorabilia at Henry Aldridge & Son (plus 26.4% buyer’s premium).
Tobacco wealth fuelled commission of Tiffany vase
22 January 2024This extraordinary Tiffany & Co. silver and mixed metal vase has many of the characteristics of the firm’s chief designer and director of its silver works, Edward Chandler Moore (1827-91).
Donald Duck butts in thanks to ‘Walt Disney’ greeting
22 January 2024The Doll & Bears Sale at Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium) in Stockton-on-Tees included this rare Disney Donald Duck from the 1930s.
Artist’s neighbour was Cubist legend
22 January 2024Pierre Hodé (1889-1942) learned his trade in Paris, a resident of the famous Bateau-Lavoiri building in Montmartre where his close neighbour was Juan Gris.
Six-figure candlestick stands out as a shining example of Mamluk artistry
22 January 2024Estimated at $5000-10,000, a 14th century candlestick made during the classical period of Mamluk artistic production hammered for $100,000 (£79,500) at Leland Little (20% buyer’s premium) in Hillsborough, North Carolina, on December 1.
Lalique scents an opportunity at Illinois auction
22 January 2024For René Lalique, glass making represented a second career.