July Welsh Sale: Post Sale Report

The sale commenced with a very fine collection of Welsh porcelain from the factories of Swansea and Nantgarw which combined to a total of £31,290. Highlights in this section included a rare Swansea vase in the French-Empire style selling for £4,200, a salad bowl from the Burdett-Coutts service taking £3800 and a super Nantgarw teapot which saw fierce bidding from collectors to finally hammer at £2,800.

The large picture section followed.

Ben Rogers Jones; ‘’the painting section was one of the most memorable of any Welsh Sale with some of the best examples I have seen from some artists. Bidders responded accordingly with record auction prices achieved for several pieces including works by Aneurin Jones and Valerie Ganz. There were also very strong bidding on the section of historic Welsh paintings - pleasing to see a recovery in this market’’

The importance of Sir Kyffin Williams to Welsh art does not go unnoticed at Rogers Jones, and so the prints, works on paper and oils by Kyffin were arranged in a separate section to other artists. Seven oils were offered with each of them finding buyers, while 8 out of 9 works on paper find new homes too. The highest price in the section of works by Sir Kyffin Williams was for Lot 279 at £52000. The total for the Kyffin section was £221,640.

Ben Rogers Jones; ‘’It was another remarkable day for Sir Kyffin Williams. The demand for his work is getting stronger if anything. Works on paper are definitely selling better than they did a few years ago while the desirability for owning an iconic oil is as high as it ever was. The demand for Kyffin has been passed down the generations and the interest came from bidders far and wide. I was especially pleased with Lot 279, the oil of Pen Lleyn, which almost doubled the auction estimate. From the moment I saw the quality of the picture I thought that it might do very well, and so I am relieved and delighted that it did so’’

Below are some of the highlights from the section devoted to Sir Kyffin Williams RA:

The final lots of The Welsh Sale came under the umbrella of Welsh Sculpture, Antiques and Memorabilia, and it was two very different chairs which accepted the plaudits. A primitive 19^th Century Welsh stick-back chair taking £3,600 followed by a 1917 Eisteddfod armchair which realised £2,800. A mention should also be given to the Cardiff City FC programme for their 1927 FA Cup victory which scored a price of £1500.

The next Welsh Sale is at the end of October and entries are required as soon as possible.

Ben Rogers Jones: ‘’The final Welsh Sale of the year is already looking bright. A fabulous one owner collection of pictures has come from Monmouthshire and two oils by Sir Kyffin Williams have been consigned too (below). We urge potential vendors to contact us as soon as you can as we anticipate closing entries early. The market continues to be very exciting for Welsh fine art’’

For potential entries to the next Welsh Sale please email images to brj@rjauctions.co.uk or call us on 02920 708125