2026 Spring Welsh Sale (Part II): Auctioneers' Choices

It is pleasing to see a small but high-quality section of Welsh furniture within the Spring Welsh sale. Prices are still encouraging for the buyer and therefore present opportunities to buy, as my father would say, ”proper” antiques for the home at affordable prices. This lovely, believed Carmarthenshire, seven-stick back chair is a beautiful example with a lovely, almost ergonomic quality to it through its shaped saddle seat and bowed high back. It’s a chair I would happily retire to after a long and hopefully successful day on the rostrum!

You never stop learning when you are an auctioneer and Lot 257 sent me plummeting down that proverbial rabbit hole! Lot 257 in the Welsh Sale (Part II) to be held on April 21st is a photograph of the most celebrated American architect of all time - Frank Lloyd Wright; which is one thing...but it is the back of this photograph that grabbed me and took me on that educational journey. The back is signed by the architect - that's one bonus and which makes the photo valuable. Then the second bonus is that the photo was taken by one of the most influential portrait photographers of the 20th Century, Edward Steichen which is adds further prestige. But the icing on the cake is that the photograph was once owned and is dedicated to Welsh journalist Gareth Jones. Now, I must admit to initially not knowing who Gareth Jones was, perhaps he rang a bell but nothing more. But now I know quite a bit about this amazing Welshman, and wow was he a hero. I am not going to say anymore....there is a film called Mr Jones which came out in 2019, if you haven't seen it, do watch it. Mr Gareth Jones deserves wider recognition. 

Lot 335, a Pembrokeshire landscape by Jan Gregson (b.1949) caught my attention whilst scanning Day Two of our Welsh Sale.

I didn’t know a great deal about this artist but I am very much drawn to her dramatic use of colour which appears to be applied swiftly and with great confidence. In this painting the land takes precedence over the sea and all the vibrancy of colours following a rain shower are revealed.

This painting is understated, and a delight to my eye.

I started my career in London working as a junior cataloguer in the Ceramics & Glass department under Eric Knowles, so it's no surprise that I have chosen this fabulous Swansea ornithological plate. Decorated in the Pall Mall workshop of James Bradley after 1821 (all the shops on Pall Mall were renumbered), the painters routinely enlarged the exotic birds against the background for emphasis. Note that the Grey-headed Woodpecker has an exclusively continental European distribution and is not found in the UK. Don't overlook the quality of the flower and fruit painting in the border.

Easy choice here for me, Lot 234 Watkin Owen longcase clock.

Longcase, or ‘grandfather’ clocks have seen a dramatic drop in price over recent years. We are often seeing examples sell for less than £100. A case of plenty of supply and little demand.

Clocks from the Owen family have faired better than most in that there are still a few collectors around. This is a good example, the case particularly has that glowing patina that is hard to come by, coupled with the usual high-quality dial and movement. Ten years ago would have sold for more than £1,000, possibly quite a lot more. So, looks remarkably good value at £300 – 600.

Time perhaps to grab an iconic piece of Welsh furniture?

What are your favourite lots from The Spring Welsh Sale (Part II)? View the full catalogue here.