Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Collector gripped by Classical Greek pottery appeal
29 April 2024Among the highlights of Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Interiors sale was a collection of antiquities formed by the late Sir Clinton Charles Donald Cory (1937-2022), 5th Baronet of Coryton.
Tureen dished out the delicacy of turtle soup
29 April 2024Turtle soup, which first became a delicacy on European tables with the emergence of the West Indies trade in the 18th century, was hugely popular among the elite of American society at the turn of the 20th century.
Light Ponti armchairs carry weighty auction value
29 April 2024Among the starring lots at the Wright (26% buyer’s premium) Design sale on March 28 was a pair of Gio Ponti lacquered wood, upholstery and brass Triennale armchairs, dating to 1951.
Chinese vase goes over the moon with 140-times estimate price
29 April 2024The stand-out performance in the March series of Asian art sales was a Qing monochrome clair-de-lune bottle vase offered by Freeman’s Hindman (26% buyer’s premium) in Chicago on March 24.
Massier Art Nouveau vase goes bats at auction
29 April 2024Abell’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Los Angeles on April 17 included a spectacular Art Nouveau vase from the workshop of French ceramicist Clement Massier.
Flower power: British majolica hits the bigtime in US
29 April 2024A Copeland vase produced to mark 100 years of American Independence was among the highlights of the second tranche of the Flower collection of majolica.
B for Byron: letter of apology
29 April 2024Found in a country house in Gloucestershire, this letter written by Lord Byron (1788-1824) to Major John Cartwright (1740-1824) sold for £6000 at Chorley’s (28.2% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on March 20.
PG Wodehouse presentation copy comes in sought-after dust jacket
29 April 2024The third book in the 'Blandings Castle' saga by PG Wodehouse was first published in the United States on July 1, 1929 by Doubleday Doran, New York, under the title 'Fish Preferred'.
Nelson's Worcester teapot brings £42,000
26 April 2024The so-called Horatia service – named after the daughter of Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton – is among the best documented commissions from the Chamberlain’s factory.
Portrait of short-lived Tudor monarch Edward VI comes to LA auction
23 April 2024A portrait of Edward VI, the Tudor monarch who reigned as a boy for just six years from 1547-53, comes for sale at Andrew Jones Auctions in Los Angeles.
A gift from Emma Hamilton to Nelson is among six lots to watch
22 April 2024With estimates from £600, here are six previews of lots coming up at auction this week.
Spink sells Coins of England reference book to Sovereign Rarities
22 April 2024The industry-standard reference book for British coins has been sold by Spink to fellow London numismatic dealership and auction house Sovereign Rarities.
Collectors respond to call for earliest phone bidding at Massachusetts auction
22 April 2024Relics from the dawn of the electro-magnetic telephone created a sensation when they appeared for sale in Massachusetts.
Blancpain watch bought in 1957 surfaces at auction
22 April 2024The Fifty Fathoms diving watch was born in the 1950s from the encounter between the Swiss firm Blancpain and the French Ministry of Defence.
Kidder the cookery school pioneer comes up at auction
22 April 2024Sought-after book of recipes including a puff-pastry print first was intended for the use of his pupils
Wonders produced worldwide in a west London silver sale focus
22 April 2024London auction shows the collecting appeal and opportunities for silver produced beyond Europe
Merkle's Meissen figures show strength in Paris
18 April 2024The first part of one of the finest assemblages of 18th century Meissen porcelain figures still in private hands generated a premium-inclusive €948,450 at Bonhams in Paris on April 17.
Artist Prunella Clough’s gifts to dealer Christopher Bangs emerge at Essex auction
17 April 2024A cache of original works by Prunella Clough (1919-99) came for sale at Sworders’ latest Modern and Contemporary Art sale.