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Goodbye 2021: Our Record Year!

2021 was our 29th year since we first opened our auction room doors, and what a year it was. For the first time in our history we have auctioned over £3m. We also conducted our best Welsh yet, selling Welsh fine art and Welsh antiques on November 6th to £499,000. It has been some year. Below are some highlight lots, stories and videos of 2021 at Rogers Jones & Co.

2021 was the 29th year since David and Margaret Rogers Jones first opened the Colwyn Bay auction rooms, back in 1992. And what a year it has been!

For the first time in our history we have auctioned over £3m in lots over the course of the year. Here each of our valuers look back at 2021.
We also conducted our highest value Welsh Sale auction yet with Welsh fine art and Welsh antiques knocked down for a total of £499,000 in November.

In July, we broke our own auction record for an original work by Sir Kyffin Williams RA at a hammer price of £62,000. This surpassed the former record held by us of £60,000 from 2016. This new record was followed up in November when we achieved the highest auction price for a Sir Kyffin Williams watercolour AND for a Kyffin print, in the same Welsh Sale auction.

Below each of our valuers look back at the year that has been.

David Rogers Jones

''I remember Margaret, my wife, and I celebrating at the saleroom when we first sold £1m in auction lots in one year. That was in the early days, around 1994, I think. It is good to remember those moments so you can see how far you have come. In those days, it was myself and Margaret running the business, we had a couple of part-time porters and my brother-in-law Glyn and wife Joy would help out with the clerking on sale day.

We lived above the saleroom in Colwyn Bay. We lived in a flat above the saleroom and the small office was next to the kitchen, visitors would ring a bell which would sound in the office, I would then need to be transported down to the saleroom in a very slow and wobbly domestic lift to see the visitors! The lift was getting some very good use by the time we celebrated the £1m.

The industry and the company has changed massively in the quarter of century since. I am very proud of what it has become with three offices in Wales, serving the whole of Wales. I am hugely proud of my team, the office personnel - many of them have been with us for many years, and the valuers, of which there are now six -all with vast collective experience. Turning £3m in one year has absolutely surpassed the expectations that Margaret and I had when we started in 1992.

2021 has been an incredible year. Admittedly I am not involved day to day, these days, but I rarely miss watching one of our auctions online and it has been very exciting. There have been some brilliant moments across the spectrum of antiques, fine art and jewellery, from both north and south auction rooms.

What I have always loved about the industry, is that you never ever stop learning. One thing I was amazed to hear in recent weeks was that there is retrievable platinum in old radio valves. This came to light when several boxes sold for £1900 in an auction in Colwyn Bay. The buyer explained to me why these valves are so valuable. This is part of why I have loved being an auctioneer. The learning of, sometimes completely useless but interesting information!

But in all serious, it has been an incredible year which comes before the company's 30th birthday. I am especially pleased that although the business has grown and matured so much, it does remain at the core a family business.

David's favourite lot of the year?

It has to be Sir Kyffin William's painting of Rhoscolyn, Ynys Mon (Anglesey). Having sold his work for so many years, I have seen all different compositions by the great man. But this was extremely special. It was not a surprise to see it make the record price. It was also very poignant that the painting was bought by a collector who was baptised at the chapel in the scene. The buyer loved the village and new it before it had become a mecca for second-homes and holiday makers.

David Rogers Jones
David Rogers Jones

The industry and the company has changed massively in the quarter of century since. I am very proud of what it has become with its three offices in Wales, serving the whole of Wales. I am hugely proud of the team, the office personnel - many of them have been with us for many years, and the valuers, of which there are now six -all with vast collective experience. Turning £3m in one year has absolutely surpassed the expectations that Margaret and I had, when we started in 1992.

2021 has been an incredible year. Admittedly, I am not involved day to day, these days, but I rarely miss one of our auctions online, and it has been very exciting. There have been some brilliant moments across the spectrum of antiques, fine art and jewellery, from both north and south auction rooms.

What I have always loved about the industry, is that you never ever stop learning. One thing I was amazed to hear in recent weeks was that there is retrievable platinum metal in old radio valves. This came to light when several boxes sold for £1900 in an auction in Colwyn Bay. The buyer explained to me why these valves are so valuable. This is part of why I have loved being an auctioneer. The learning of, sometimes completely useless, but interesting information!

But in all serious, it has been an incredible year which comes before the company's 30th birthday next year. I am especially pleased that although the business has grown and matured so much, it does remain at the core the family business we started''.

David's favourite lot of the year?

''It has to be Sir Kyffin William's painting of Rhoscolyn, Ynys Mon (Anglesey). Having sold his work for so many decades, I have seen all different compositions by the great man. But this was extremely special. It was not a surprise to see it make the record price. It was also very poignant that the painting was bought by a collector who was baptised at the chapel that was central to the composition. The buyer loved the village of Rhoscolyn, and knew it before it had become a mecca for second-homes and holiday makers''.

Sir Kyffin Williams 'Rhoscolyn'

SIR KYFFIN WILLIAMS RA oil on canvas - Ynys Mon (Anglesey) landscape with farmer and dog walking on a lane from the village of Rhoscolyn, with the village chapel centre to the composition, signed with initials, 50 x 110cms

£62,000

62

Ben Rogers Jones

''As the valuer and cataloguer for Welsh art and sporting antiques, it has been a truly memorable year for me with important items being sold in both sectors.

We have been in several situations this year where we have pitched for consignments against the big London salerooms, and I am proud to say that on most, if not all of these occasions, the vendors have seen the advantage of offering their items or collection of items with us in Wales.

The highest price of the year was for the world record Kyffin Williams painting which I collected from Swansea in the early summer. Bringing the painting back to the saleroom, knowing that I will be the custodian of it for a few months, is as exciting as the auction itself. The painting had been in the family's possession almost since the day that Kyffin painted it, so it was a big moment for the family to pass the picture into our care. The vendor had considered sending the painting to London but fortunately saw the attraction of offering in Wales in the heart of the core populous for Kyffin Williams. She also felt that, to offer the painting with a Welsh auction company who employ people in Wales was a better thing to do.

I seem to be visiting prospective clients in London every few weeks these days, and the other big moments for me this year, all started in London. The Birkett Rugby Union collection is a consignment that I will never forget. The collection came from the Birkett family in South London, and it surely goes down as the most important archive of early English rugby that has ever been to auction. The collection made a total of £57,000 in our Selections & Collections auction in April.

Later in the year I valued and arranged collection, from the salubrious Mayfair district of London, a magical collection of prints by the legend that is Bob Dylan. These sold over the expected market value, for a fabulous price of £26,900. Many selling to a collector in Denmark which again demonstrates our global reach.

At the back end of the year, also collected from London, was a dramatic collection of original works by Sir Kyffin Williams. At the November sale, the oil of a sunset took £48,000 hammer, another oil of Penmon, Ynys Mon sold for £40,000 and most incredibly two watercolours made£18,000 (a new record) and £11000 respectively. The vendor consigned with us as she was impressed by the quality of our catalogues, but again saw the great advantage of offering these paintings in Wales to the core audience for Kyffin Williams.''

Ben's Favourite Lot of the Year

''I won't forget selling any of the lots above in our most successful year yet, but most gratifying was seeing the Birkett Rugby Union Collection sell so brilliantly. I had put a lot of hours into the research and in trying to tell the Birkett family story.

So, if I was to identify one lot as being the most memorable, it would be Lot 578 on April 17th.

This was the rugby photograph album belonging to the Birkett Collection and it realised £12,000. Admittedly I got the estimate incorrect at only £1000-1500 but I can say with confidence, that if I had not catalogued the album in such detail, as I did, then it would not have made the price that it did. There was one single photograph in the album, which I noticed, recorded and described - it made all the difference''

J G G Birkett's England Rugby Union Cap

AN IMPORTANT & IMMACULATE ENGLAND RUGBY UNION CAP AWARDED TO JOHN GUY GILBERNE BIRKETT (1884-1967) embroidered with references to every one of his record 21 England International appearances between 1906 and 1912

£6,000

England Rugby Union Cap SOLD 6000

Later in the year I valued and arranged collection, from the salubrious Mayfair district of London, a magical collection of prints by the legend that is Bob Dylan. These sold over the expected market value, for a fabulous price of £26,900. Many selling to a collector in Denmark which again demonstrates our global reach.

Bob Dylan 'Two Sisters'

BOB DYLAN (American, b. 1941) limited edition (180/295) giclee on paper print from the 'Drawn Blank' series - 'Two Sisters', 103 x 129cms

£8,000

Bob

In the autumn, and also collected from London, was a dramatic collection of original works by Sir Kyffin Williams which all found new buyers in the November Welsh Sale auction. The oil of a sunset took £48,000 hammer, another oil of Penmon, Ynys Mon sold for £40,000 and most incredibly two watercolours made £18,000 (a new record) and £11000 respectively. The vendor chose to consign with us as she was impressed by the quality of our catalogues, but again saw the great advantage of offering these paintings in Wales to the core audience for Kyffin Williams.''

Sir Kyffin Williams

SIR KYFFIN WILLIAMS RA large oil on canvas - entitled verso 'Storm at Penmon', dated 1975, 75 x 125cms

£40,000

Sir Kyffin Williams RA Oil Storm at Penmon SOLD 40000

Sir Kyffin Williams 'Waves at Llangwyfan'

SIR KYFFIN WILLIAMS RA oil on canvas - entitled verso 'Waves at Llangwyfan (No.25)', dated 1982, 74.5 x 74.5cms

£48,000

Sir Kyffin Williams RA Oil Waves at Llangwyfan SOLD 48000

Ben's Favourite Lot of the Year

''I won't forget selling any of the lots above in our most successful year yet, but most gratifying was seeing the Birkett Rugby Union Collection sell so successfully. I had put many days into the research, and in endeavouring to bring the Birkett family story to life.

So, if I was to identify one lot as being the most memorable, it would be Lot 578 on April 17th.

This was the rugby photograph album belonging to the Birkett Collection and it realised £12,000. Admittedly I got the estimate incorrect at only £1000-1500, but I can say with confidence, that if I had not catalogued the album in such detail, then it would not have made the price that it did. There was one single photograph in the album, which I noticed, recorded and described - it made all the difference''

PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM RELATING TO THE RUGBY UNION CAREER OF JOHN GUY GILBERNE BIRKETT

A COMPREHENSIVE PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM RELATING TO THE RUGBY UNION CAREER OF JOHN GUY GILBERNE BIRKETT (1884-1967) including official England International Rugby Union team photographs, school and club photographs, 1900 through to 1912

£12,500

Early 20th Centry Rugby Union Photograph Album SOLD 12500

Charles Hampshire

''What a year that has been. Probably the best in my auction career for quality, prices and excitement but above all I am absolutely thrilled to have officially opened Rogers Jones offices in Carmarthen. We all appreciate that life has its challenges at the moment, but I do believe that our lovely Carmarthen office helps a little. The office in the heart of west Wales means that vendors can consign their antiques, fine art and jewellery locally, while buyers do not have to travel to Cardiff or Colwyn Bay to collect purchases.

I now have my wife Morganna with me at the Old Vicarage offices, and it is great feeling to be an extended part of the Rogers Jones family business. The Carmarthen office is a lovely space, set beside a gorgeous park and with good access to the main road network. It is becoming busier week by week and we look forward to having special events there in due course (there may be wine involved)!

As Ben and Philip will testify, I do love being on the rostrum for the auctions, and 2021 has been no exception. We saw some amazing battles between bidders online and on the phones. Most memorably for me were Wing Commander Rex Sanders' World War II medals. These were consigned to me in West Wales and I truly was honoured to be entrusted with them to sell. I have to say that I had a lump in my throat as the lot came up during the auction. There was a confusing mixture of emotions - pride, excitement and sadness, I suppose, it was very poignant. I was relieved and delighted that the group exceeded everyone's expectations to take £16,000 at the sale.

I was also on the rostrum when the Kyffin Williams watercolour of ponies in the snow made £18,000 - a new world record for a work on paper by Sir Kyffin. That was a really exciting moment as a determined telephone bidder won the day against an internet bidder. I was pleased to discover that the watercolour went to a collector in 'my region' so I was thrilled to pass it over to him, at the Carmarthen office. Interestingly the underbidder on the internet was also from West Wales, it just goes to show where the market for Sir Kyffin's work is strongest - here in Wales!

Other memorable highlights were the Harry Potter first edition, which came in through the Carmarthen office. We needed to do a bit of research and verification on this book, and when you do that extra bit of work on a lot it is even more rewarding to see it sell well. There have also been some quality bits of jewellery through the door and a consignment of diamonds from a lady owner in Tenby, did especially well.

There have been many great moments this year; away from the rostrum, in the Carmarthen office, a local lady farmer was grateful to us for brining down two lots of musical instruments from a Colwyn Bay auction. She was so grateful and kind that she insisted I have a joint of organic beef. from her farm. I was too embarrassed to say I was vegetarian...no, not really! It was lovely, and it is those moments that make the job all the more special.


Charles' Favourite Lot of the Year

Definitely the Grana military wristwatch. I am a 'watch person' and this watch is amazingly rare - the rarest of the World War II 'Dirty Dozen' watches. It turned up in a house clearance as a real 'barn find'. Fortunately the vendor was sensible enough to check the watch out with us and fortunately for her, although the watch looks fairly innocuous, I knew of its notoriety and advised her to bring it into the office. It made a very good price of £18,000, which we believe was around the record price for the model at auction. The purchaser from Holland, collected it personally, he has cleaned it up and is now proudly displaying it on his wrist on social media in Amsterdam!

£16,000

Wing Commander Rex Southern Sanders OBE Medal Group SOLD 16000

I was also on the rostrum when the Kyffin Williams watercolour of ponies in the snow made £18,000 - a new world record for a work on paper by Sir Kyffin. That was a really exciting moment as a determined telephone bidder won the day against an internet bidder. I was pleased to discover that the watercolour went to a collector in 'my region' so I was thrilled to pass it over to him, at the Carmarthen office. Interestingly the underbidder on the internet was also based in West Wales, it just goes to show where the market for Sir Kyffin's work is strongest - here in Wales!

Other memorable highlights were the Harry Potter first edition, which came in through the Carmarthen office. We needed to do a bit of research and verification on this book, and when you do that extra bit of work on a lot it is even more rewarding to see it sell well. There have also been some quality bits of jewellery through the door and a consignment of diamonds from a lady owner in Tenby, did especially well.

There have been many great moments this year; away from the rostrum, in the Carmarthen office, a local lady farmer was grateful to us for brining down two lots of musical instruments from a Colwyn Bay auction. She was so grateful and kind that she insisted I have a joint of organic beef. from her farm. I was too embarrassed to say I was vegetarian...no, not really! It was lovely, and it is those moments that make the job all the more special.''


Charles' Favourite Lot of the Year

''Definitely the Grana military wristwatch. I am a 'watch person' and this watch is amazingly rare - the rarest of the World War II 'Dirty Dozen' watches. It turned up in a house clearance as a real 'barn find'. Fortunately the vendor was sensible enough to check the watch out with us and fortunately for her, although the watch looks fairly innocuous, I knew of its notoriety and advised her to bring it into the office. It made a very good price of £18,000, which we believe was around the record price for the model at auction. The purchaser from Holland, collected it personally, he has cleaned it up and is now proudly displaying it on his wrist on social media in Amsterdam!''

Sir Kyffin Williams 'Horses in the Snow'

SIR KYFFIN WILLIAMS RA pencil and watercolour - fine example with four standing horses, entitled verso on Thackeray Gallery label 'Horses in the Snow', signed with initials, 34 x 49cms

£18,000

Sir Kyffin Williams RA Pencil Watercolour SOLD 18000

Other memorable highlights were the Harry Potter first edition, which came in through the Carmarthen office. We needed to do a bit of research and verification on this book, and when you do that extra bit of work on a lot it is even more rewarding to see it sell well. There have also been some quality bits of jewellery through the door and a consignment of diamonds from a lady owner in Tenby, did especially well.

Harry Potter's Philosopher's Stone

ROWLING (J. K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition, first issue, London Bloomsbury, 1997, paperback, print line on copyright page reads '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1', '1 wand' appears twice on p.53, 'Philosopher's' is misspelled 'Philospher's' to rear cover, 'Wizardry and Witchcraft' to rear cover, rather than 'Witchcraft and Wizardry'

£3,800

Harry Potter First Edition

There have been many great moments this year; away from the rostrum, in the Carmarthen office, a local lady farmer was grateful to us for brining down two lots of musical instruments from a Colwyn Bay auction. She was so grateful and kind that she insisted I have a joint of organic beef. from her farm. I was too embarrassed to say I was vegetarian...no, not really! It was lovely, and it is those moments that make the job all the more special.''


Charles' Favourite Lot of the Year

''Definitely the Grana military wristwatch. I am a 'watch person' and this watch is amazingly rare - the rarest of the World War II 'Dirty Dozen' watches. It turned up in a house clearance as a real 'barn find'. Fortunately the vendor was sensible enough to check the watch out with us and fortunately for her, although the watch looks fairly innocuous, I knew of its notoriety and advised her to bring it into the office. It made a very good price of £18,000, which we believe was around the record price for the model at auction. The purchaser from Holland, collected it personally, he has cleaned it up and is now proudly displaying it on his wrist on social media in Amsterdam!''

Grana Dirty Dozen Wristwatch

RARE GRANA WWII BRITISH MILITARY ISSUE WRISTWATCH, stainless steel case with manual wind movement, one of the famous 'Dirty Dozen', the circular black dial bearing broad arrow mark, luminous 'pencil' hands and Arabic numerals, railroad minute track and subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o'clock

£18,000

Grana Dirty Dozen Military Wristwatch


Philip Keith

''I have been at Rogers Jones for two years now and it has gone really quickly. It has been a weird start to my career with the company of course, because there have been no room bidders for most of that time. However, the market has been exceptionally buoyant and the technology we have in place at Rogers Jones has meant that we have had two excellent years with some amazing prices. while keeping everyone safe.

My role at the Cardiff office is to work with Charles and Stephen on the Jewellery & Collectables auction, the Fine Art & Interiors auction and the three times per year Selections & Collections auctions. The objective is to offer the whole of Wales and beyond a market-leading auction solution for items across the board (not just the Welsh and sporting things which we are best known for). So while, Charles covers west Wales, Stephen is in the North, I cover south and east Wales. I also have specialist knowledge in Asian and tribal arts.

This year has been particularly satisfying because those auctions we manage as a team, we have improved in quality and the revenue has increased from the previous years. It really does appear that the company is on a period of growth, it is in a very exciting moment.

At the auction houses I worked for previously, it was difficult to get 'air miles' on the rostrum as there were many auctioneers. But I spend much more time on the rostrum at Rogers Jones & Co and I am really enjoying it. It can be a very satisfying conclusion to the pre-auction work we do of research, cataloguing, marketing and photography.

There have been some amazing moments this year. I especially enjoyed the experience of selling an armchair by Ambrose Heal at the start of 2021. It was a rare chair with a integral coffee table and had no labels but after a great deal of searching I found the model illustrated in a 1932 catalogue that I managed to acquire. It is very rewarding to know that you have succeeded in cataloguing something correctly when it could easily have been entered without the famous name. It went on to sell for £2300

Philip's Favourite Lot of the Year

Ambrose Heal Armchair

AMBROSE HEAL OAK RECLINING BOOKTABLE ARMCHAIR, c. 1930, with integral drop flap reading table and bookcase, adjustable back, fluted uprights with exposed dovetails, white cotton upholstered cushions, 74-102cm wide Auctionee'rs Note: illustrated in Heal's 1932 catalogue.

£2,300

Ambrose Heal Armchair 1

Talking quirky, another item that I will always remember from this year, is a train door. Yes, a train door! But a very finely carved Victorian mahogany carriage door. I spoke to various museums about the door, to determine whether it may have come from a particular train, but without any concrete information coming back. So the vendor agreed to let the market decide. Would you believe, it ended up going to New Zealand of all places.

A FINE LATE VICTORIAN MAHOGANY RAILWAY CARRIAGE DOOR, c. 1890, being an internal clerestory door for a dining car, first class, pullman carriage, the rectangular glazed upper section with gilt bronze oval bars and floral medallions, above a centre section of fruiting basket between carved griffins in the Gillows style, and panelled quarter veneered section below, all within moulded borders, Midland Railway style anthemion cast handle plate, brass hinges, 198.5 x 67cms

£700

Victorian train carriage door

Rare watches have been memorable this year too. We found a pair of Waltham pocket watches that were loose in a drawer at a property we were dealing with. We were able to ascertain that they belonged together and that one was a very rare sidereal watch. Then there was the rare Tudor Prince wristwatch which made £5000, There has been a significant change in the watch market with brands such as Seiko and Tudor being on the up and other brands of 'tool watches', watches that calculate something other than simply the time, doing really well too.

Pair of Waltham sidereal astronomic & vanguard pocket watches

MATCHED PAIR OF FINE WALTHAM SIDEREAL ASTRONOMIC & VANGUARD POCKET WATCHES, early 20th C., the A.W.W. Co. no. 18028576 open face Sidereal keyless wind watch with 19-jewels, damascened movement adjusted to 5 positions jewels in gold settings, bi metallic balance with overcoiled Breguet hairspring, diamond endstone, micrometer regulator, lever set, white enamel dial signed 'SIDEREAL', minute ring

£2200

Waltham sidereal watch

Rare Tudor Bracelet Watch

RARE TUDOR STAINLESS STEEL AUTOMATIC CALENDAR BRACELET WATCH, Prince Oysterdate 'Snowflake' Submariner, Ref: 9411/0, Serial No.843***, c. 1976, 25-jewel Cal. 2784 automatic movement, matt black dial with tritium block, baton and triangle hour markers, printed 200m=660ft, Submariner, and T Swiss Made T, white outer minute divisions, polished 'snowflake' hands with centre seconds hand, acrylic crystal with cyclops lens above date window, brushed and polished tonneau form case with screw down Rolex inscription Oyster back

£5400

Tudor Prince Wristwatch

At the end of the year, we had sent down from the north Wales office, a very interesting collection of Chinese ceramics to get my teeth into. The most curious item being a dragon decorated dish which sold for £7000. I felt that the dish was later than the marks suggested and so travelled to London to see my Asian arts contacts to discuss it with. They agreed that it was probably 19th Century and not as the character marks suggested, nevertheless it still made over its value....in our opinion! It is all about opinion!''

Chinese porcelain dragon saucer dish

CHINESE PORCELAIN 'DRAGON' SAUCER DISH, Kangxi mark but probably later, centre painted with sinuous five-clawed dragon chasing a flaming pearl in underglaze blue on a mustard yellow ground, 6-character kaishu mark in double circle, 20.8cms diam

£7000

Chinese Saucer Dish

Philip's Favourite Lot of the Year

''My favourite lot would be the historic Edward Duncan watercolour of a sea rescue off the Cornwall coast, dated 1873. I discovered that the wreck was of the schooner Ellen Martin. The painting shows a breeches buoy rescue. The figurehead of the Ellen Martin remained in the garden of the Captain for many years. It sold for £950, not a huge sum, but I just thought it was an exciting composition with lovely history''.

Edward Duncan Watercolour

EDWARD DUNCAN R.W.S. (British, 1803-1882) watercolour - Off the Coast of Cornwall, a dramatic breeches buoy rescue, with cottages in the middle distance and under stormy skies, signed and dated 1873, titled on the mount, 28 x 55cms

£950

Ed

Stephen Roberts

''I have been in the antique furniture for over thirty years, and this year we have definitely seen some long awaited green shoots in the antique furniture market. Compared to recent years, there has certainly been a better demand for vernacular furniture such as Welsh dressers and for fine furniture too. We have also seen a very healthy demand for antique upholstered armchairs this year, as well as the leather Chesterfield type seating which has been selling well for some time. The super strong market for mid-Century Scandinavian interiors, whether it is furniture made in Denmark or England, looks like it will continue too.

The most memorable instruction we received at the Colwyn Bay office in 2021, was at the start of the year. Not a house call but a castle call, to see furniture located at the historic Bodelwyddan Castle. It is not often that you get to do a 'castle call', let alone a landmark castle that you pass in the car every other day. So, this was very exciting.

There was some quirky and interesting furniture, lighting and effects at the castle, and the contents made over £70,000. The highlight was the French gilt console table that made £55,000, selling to a purchaser in France online.

I work with Charles and Philip on sourcing quality items for the Selections & Collections auction. Vendors in north Wales contribute massively to these auctions - which are now established and prestigious auction events under the banner Super Saturday. We watch them online from home, and they are far more exciting than anything else on the airwaves on a Saturday afternoon! One of the highlight objects that was consigned to me for the Selections auction this year, was a pottery figure group of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. These figures are a rare collectable group known as 'Our Gang', they were created by the lesser known factory of Bovey in Devon, and designed by Fenton Wyness and Gwynneth Holt. They are unpainted and not well known, so understandably the vendor had quite a shock when I explained that they are quite valuable and should make over £1000. One of the joys of the job is receiving a happy and surprised reaction from the vendor. The group made over £1700 at the auction.

Stephen's Favourite Lot of the Year

My most memorable lot this year in terms of the object, and the circumstances to which it was entered for auction, has to be the Doulton bench ends, entered at the beginning of the year. What an amazing company Doulton were. They made such a huge variety of objects, from the very small and delicate to these imposing and impressive stoneware bench-ends dating from the turn of the century. I will also remember the consignment as being one that was completely digital, in that I valued them from images, I had a meeting with the client online, the images were forwarded to our remover, they were collected and sold online for a great price of £2900''.

A fine gilt console table

A FINE GILT CONSOLE TABLE, oblong, having a grained pink marble shaped top and with an extravagantly scrolled gilt and floral base with floor level split scrolled stretchers with centre featuring 'a wild boar being aggravated by two other animals',

£55,000

Z

I work closely with Charles and Philip on sourcing quality, researching and cataloguing items for the Selections & Collections auction. Vendors in north Wales contribute massively to these auctions - which are now established and prestigious auction events under the banner Super Saturday. We watch them online from home, and they are far more exciting than anything else on the airwaves on a Saturday afternoon! One of the highlight objects that was consigned to me for the Selections auction this year, was a pottery figure group of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. These figures are a rare collectable group known as 'Our Gang', they were created by the lesser known factory of Bovey in Devon, and designed by Fenton Wyness and Gwynneth Holt. They are unpainted and not well known, so understandably the vendor had quite a shock when I explained that they are quite valuable and should make over £1000. One of the joys of the job is receiving a happy and surprised reaction from a vendor. The group made over £1700 in two lots at the auction.

Bovey Pottery 'Our Gang' figures of Churchill & Roosevelt

BOVEY POTTERY 'OUR GANG' FIGURES OF CHURCHILL & ROOSEVELT, former entitled 'The Boss', both in cream matt glazes, brown printed marks, 21cms high

£320

Our gang1

Bovey Pottery Stalin Figure

RARE BOVEY POTTERY 'OUR GANG' FIGURE OF STALIN, in cream matt glaze, brown printed marks, 19.5cms high

£1400

Our gang 2

Stephen's Favourite Lot of the Year

My most memorable lot this year in terms of the object, and the circumstances to which it was entered for auction, has to be the Doulton bench ends, entered at the beginning of the year.

What an amazing company Doulton were. They made such a huge variety of objects, from the very small and delicate to these imposing and impressive stoneware bench-ends or garden seats, dating from the turn of the century. I will also remember the consignment as being one that was completely digital, in that I valued them from images, I had a meeting with the client online, the images were forwarded to our remover, they were collected and sold online for a great price of £2900''.

Doulton Stoneware Garden Bench

RARE DOULTON GLAZED STONEWARE GARDEN BENCH, c. 1900, the side supports modelled as seated sphinxes, before acanthus and channel scrolled backs with laurel swag embellishments, plinth bases both impressed 'Doulton Lambeth London' in characteristic script, later stained wood seat and back slats, 91 x 76 x 211cms

£2,900

Doulton Stoneware Garden Bench SOLD 2900

John Rogers Jones

''Echoing Stephen's thoughts, the Bodelwyddan Castle consignment was the most exciting of the year for us in North Wales. We have also sourced some fabulous paintings for The Welsh Sale most notably for Sir Kyffin Williams but also for Donald McIntyre

Ben Rogers Jones & Arfon Haines Davies discuss 'Bryn Cader Faner'

Apart from the Bodelwyddan Castle, another consignment in north Wales which stood out for me was the collection of Florence Nightingale items that we sold in October for over £4000. They came in from a distant descendant of 'the lady of the lamp'. The lots which were mainly of a bibliographic nature were a real privilege to handle, especially in a period when the NHS is in the spotlight. There was also a very fine and unusual locket in the consignment which was given to Ruth Florence Verney, goddaughter of Florence Nightingale.

Locket relating to Florence Nightingale

ELIZABETHAN STYLE LOCKET and a 9ct gold muff chain, the locket reportedly fashioned by Liberty, having a large central Indian moonstone, 20 x 15mm, enamel decorated surround and hanging loop set with further moonstones and rubies fashioned circa 1900 in unmarked, probably 18ct gold, the back having pop-out view window, 4.25cms overall L, 2.75cms W, accompanying note reads 'Elizabethan locket - Lady Sarah Elizabeth Amherst went with her father to India for his governor-generalship, and brought back this stone unset. She married Sir John Hay Williams of Bodelwyddan and left the stone to her daughter Margaret Maria Verney'. In 1900 MMV took it to Liberty with a picture of a Tudor locket belonging to Queen Elizabeth I. Liberty set the stone and it was given to Ruth Florence Verney (goddaughter of Florence Nightingale) on her coming of age

£5,800

Victorian Muff Chain and Pendant

Another special consignment was a trio of Welsh oak furniture items which I saw in Caernarfonshire and sent down to The Welsh Sale for auction in Cardiff. Again they had special provenance, having been in the same family ownership since the 18th Century and could be traced back to a family farm. The bread and cheese cupboard made a healthy £2200, the tridarn made £1600 and the dresser made £2000''

18th Century Caernarfonshire dresser

A SMALL CHARACTERFUL OAK NORTH WALES CUPBOARD-BASE WELSH DRESSER early to mid-18th Century, having a base of two panelled cupboards and three upper drawers on stile feet, the boarded rack with two shelves over flanking cupboards, centre cavity with unusual carved fretwork and four spice drawers with brass swan-neck handles, possibly Llyn Peninsula, Caernarfonshire,

£2000

Deeeee

18th Century Snowdonia Tridarn

EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SNOWDONIA CWPWRDD TRIDARN early to mid-18th Century, the two cupboard base with arched fielded panels and three drawers on stile feet, the middle section with flanking panelled cupboards and globular pendants with unusual three panel frontage, all below an open canopy top containing later shelves and with smaller decorative pendants, 212h x 136w x 51cms

£1600

Early Eighteenth Century Tridarn SOLD 1000

Caernarfonshire Cwpbwrdd bara caws

A CAERNARFONSHIRE OAK & PINE CWPWRDD BARA CAWS / FOOD CUPBOARD, early to mid-18th Century, having a two cupboard base on stile feet with two centre drawers and a two door upper cupboard with spindled ventilation panels, one unusual scrumbled side, 189h x 96w x 52cms

£2200

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John's Favourite Lot of the Year

''My favourite lot would be lot 1 in the January 12th auction - the first lot of the year. It was a supreme French kingwood, inlaid and gilt ormolu writing desk which made £4,800 against an estimate of £400-600. I think it set the ball rolling for a remarkable year of auctions, prices and records broken. Now bear with me as I ensure that Lot 1 in January 22 is equally impressive!''

Louis XVI style desk

LOUIS XVI STYLE KINGWOOD, INLAID & GILT ORMOLU WRITING DESK, the gilt brass rectangular top with hatch inlay to a central oval panel of multi-wood inlays showing flora, books and literary props lifting to reveal an oval mirrored interior with cherub and swag gilt metal spandrels

£4,800

Louis XVI style desk

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We wish everyone a healthy and peaceful Christmas and look forward auctioneering for you in 2022.

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