Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Auction previews: issue 2503
26 July 2021A selection of 16 upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK
Peach of a lot consigned in a plastic bag attracts 100 bids
26 July 2021Very much to current collecting taste is the 6½in (16.5cm) ‘peach bloom’ saucer dish shown here, offered by Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) on July 3.
Parfilage: the pick of the bunch at Bleasdales’ sewing sale
26 July 2021Set of tools was designed specifically to take apart rather than create fine textiles
Prize example of a tazza draws interest at Cotswolds auction
26 July 2021This 15in (37cm) Sèvres porcelain presentation tazza or ‘Coupe Cybele’ was made for the Paris Exposition 1878.
Pinxton pieces at their finest
26 July 2021William Billingsley (1758-1828), a key figure in the history of both English and Welsh porcelain, left the Derby factory in 1795 yearning to create the finest, whitest and most translucent porcelain.
Republican pieces spotted within lots of plates
26 July 2021Aficionados of later Chinese porcelain who happened to stumble on a lot of ‘collector’s plates’ at Unique Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Lincoln would have been excited to spot two fine artist-signed Republic period pieces.
Whone tram trundles to record at McTear’s
26 July 2021Growing collector interest in the work of musician-artist Herbert Whone (1925-2011) has meant his auction record price has been beaten on an almost annual basis in recent years.
Double gourd snuff bottle sniffed out
26 July 2021Mallams’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Asian art sale was topped at £27,000 (estimate £3000-5000) by a Qing jade double gourd form snuff bottle.
Artist Joshua Reynolds’ coffee cup stars in our pick of five auction highlights sold this week
23 July 2021ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a pair of Chinese export coffee cups and saucers commissioned by portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) that doubled estimate in Yorkshire.
Christie’s says Asian buyers now dominant
19 July 2021Asian buyers have become the dominant force at the top end of the auction market, according to Christie’s.
Sly bidder bags Lalique’s rare fox
19 July 2021One of the rarest of all of the 31 car mascots made by Lalique between 1925-31 came up for auction at Kinghams in the Cotswolds.
Pick of the week: Demand for Georgian print is racing certainty
19 July 2021A rare Georgian print on a sporting theme was offered by Northumberland auction house.
Super Mario 64 makes an equally super $1.35m
19 July 2021Remarkable sums were paid for vintage video games at Heritage Auctions – including a record-breaking $1.35m (£1m) bid for Super Mario 64.
An Arts & Crafts lustre wall charger and a Roger Fry picture are among the five lots to watch this week
19 July 2021With estimates from £100-8000 here are five previews of upcoming items this week.
Early reproductions of French furniture now matching the price of original pieces
19 July 2021The price gulf that once existed between good 18th century French furniture and very good late 19th century revivalism is no longer visible at auction. A quality reproduction can often outsell its period exemplar.
Australian pioneer artist John Glover's sketchbook emerges at Ewbank’s
19 July 2021The British artist John Glover (1767- 1849) would doubtless have faded into relative obscurity had he not chosen, in 1831, to make a new life in colonial Australia. He ended up being dubbed ‘the father of Australian landscape painting’.
Classic Art Deco selection of car mascots includes six-figure result for a notable Lalique rarity
19 July 2021With their cross-over collecting appeal to the automobile market, Lalique 'bouchons de radiator' – car mascots or hood ornaments – assume their own price levels.
Portrait by artist Sarah Biffin, born without hands, arms or feet, is among the latest pick of five auction highlights
16 July 2021Our weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a portrait by artist Sarah Biffin which sold for more than ten times its estimate.
Irish silver gilt chalice pre-dates Reformation
12 July 2021This 6½in (16cm) Irish silver gilt chalice dating from c.1480 is a rare survival from before the Reformation.
Rare silver inkstand makes its mark among latest London auctions
12 July 2021The overall performance of the latest London sales of Old Master pictures and ‘important’ works of art was fairly mixed but the auction houses did at least welcome the return of some big-ticket items.