D’Oyly Carte opera items discovered at Llandudno antiques valuation

A dummy keyboard and books relating to the famous D’Oyly Carte Opera Company have been consigned for auction at a leading Shropshire fine art auction house after their discovery in Llandudno.

The items, which belong to a man who formerly worked for the opera company, were discovered by a team from Halls Fine Art at an antique valuation event held at The Imperial Hotel on Thursday last week. Valued at around £300, they will be sold at auctions in Shrewsbury later this year.

“The gentleman who consigned the items worked for D’Oyly Carte Opera Company where he acquired the dummy keyboard which was used in an opera,” explained Alexander Clement, Asian Art and watches specialist and senior general valuer at Halls Fine Art.

“The books relating to D’Oyly Carte operas were gifted to the owner by Peter Katin, a famous British classical pianist who died in 2015.”

Maryanne Lineker-Mobberley, Halls Fine Art’s silver, jewellery and bijouterie specialist, assessed a number of items, including a four stone diamond ring at up to £1,800, a diamond crucifix at up to £700 and a ruby and diamond brooch at up to £500.

Abigail Molenaar, Halls Fine Art’s paintings and print specialist, saw a number of paintings, the highlight of which was a William Selwyn watercolour and charcoal work valued at up to £600.

The fine art specialists will return to The Imperial Hotel for their next antiques valuation day on Thursday, October 17 from 10am to 2pm.

Anyone who was unable to attend this week’s event but who wishes to have a collection or potentially valuable individual items valued, can contact Halls Fine Art on Tel: 01743 450700. Specialists from the company visit North Wales regularly.

“We know from past experience that there are absolute gems just waiting to be discovered in North Wales,” said Maryanne. “Obviously, we are looking for items to sell in our future auctions, but we offer free valuations without an obligation to sell.

“Receiving an up-to-date valuation of silver, jewellery, watches, pictures and antiques is very important for homeowners, as they will not want to be underinsured in the unfortunate event of having to make a claim.”

Abigail added: “Works by Welsh artists sell really well in Shrewsbury and we have a lot of Wales-based buyers on our database.”