Tim Bowen Antiques, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Wales in 100 objects

Thu. January 10, 2019

On our recent trip to the Senedd we bought a copy of Wales in 100 objects by Andrew Green with photographs by Rolant Dafis.  It’s a good book for dipping into and is well laid out, with details of the museum or location of where each numbered item can be seen.  Each item has a good quality image which fills the opposite right hand page – hooray! How often are otherwise interesting books spoiled for me by poor photography squashed between reams of text.  Well done to Gomer Press for setting it out so well. I wasn’t so keen on the white and gold cover and I nearly overlooked the book, thinking it might be something about the hundred best rugby tries.  Just goes to show you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  The objects themselves are varied, some you would expect like the Welsh hat (58) and the Nanteos cup (26). Item 44  Jacobite glasses engraved with name of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn who it seems may have incited an anti-Hanoverian riot in Wrexham in 1815 is interesting (the glasses are lovely too). There is a good Cwpwrdd tridarn (43) and how nice to be able to look at the naive painting by Penry Williams now housed at Cyfarthfa Castle Museum of the riots in Merthyr in 1816.  (Although I’d love to be able to see it in greater detail).  There were several objects to make me smile including (97) Catatonia’s first record and the 1904 image of an early Carmarthenshire motor car (78).  I imagine it must have been chilly sitting in an open car and the drivers and passengers in this image are well wrapped up. It will be easy to miss this book in the bookshops, there doesn’t seem to have been much publicity for it.  It is a welcome addition to the Bowen’s bookshelves although it might take a while to get there because its picked up and looked at so often.