Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Bidding battle sees rare Worcester mug taken to £34,000
11 March 2014This Worcester mug c.1754-55 proved the highlight of the Raymond Dennis collection of early English porcelain sold by Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury.
King of the castle sets record at £8500
04 March 2014The commercial fortunes of Victorian silver ‘castle top’ card cases, engraved or embossed with views of British landmarks, depend primarily on the scarcity of the scene depicted.
US include antiques in ivory ban
25 February 2014A ban on the commercial trade in elephant ivory “except in a very limited number of circumstances” announced by the USA this month promises far-reaching consequences for the antiques trade.
US Ivory Ban: The White House Policy Document
25 February 2014US Ivory Ban: The Trade Response
25 February 2014The British Antique Dealers’ Association, LAPADA and the National Antique and Art Dealers’ Association of America are taking the February 11 White House statement on ivory very seriously.
Porcelain plaques found in bungalow make £420,000 in Dorset
25 February 2014Estimated at just £200-300, a set of four early 20th century Chinese famille rose porcelain plaques depicting the four seasons in mountainous settings were bought by a phone bidder from Shanghai for £420,000 at Charterhouse of Sherborne in Dorset.
Congo figure adds up to £44,000
19 February 2014The first stand-alone tribal art sale held by Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury was topped at £44,000 by this 19th or early 20th century Yombe seated figure from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Competing for leaden hearts
11 February 2014A rare visitor to the recent numismatic sale at Lockdales in Martlesham Heath, Ipswich was a group of three convict tokens.
The mark of Barbedienne helps jardinière to £95,000 in Chiswick
11 February 2014High Road Auctions set a new house record with the sale of this French bronze and cloisonné jardinière c.1870 by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-92).
Furniture prices continue their slow downward trend
11 February 2014There are very few positives to take from the latest findings of The Antique Collectors’ Club’s Annual Furniture Index (AFI). For reasons of fashion and function, the English antique furniture market remains in a parlous state and no category from early oak to Georgian mahogany held firm.
Fellows open an office in Mayfair
13 September 2012Birmingham-based auctioneers Fellows have opened a valuation office in London.
Tonnes of antique silver scrapped after bullion price hike
03 May 2011HUGE quantities of antique silver and gold were scrapped last week as precious metal prices hit record highs.
Detective work pays off as Burges windows head home
04 April 2011TWO William Burges windows that surfaced at auction in Salisbury last year have been sold back to the house for which they were originally made.
Hidden gem from the Michelangelo of musical boxes makes £54,000
09 June 2008François Nicole, the Geneva-based pioneer of the musical box, is thought to have made around 440 boxes during his working life, but only 60 are known today. Make that 61: courtesy of a local vendor another turned up at Cirencester auctioneer Moore Allen & Innocent on May 30.