‘ASK THE EXPERT’

Q.
I was clearing out my father’s estate when we found this old tin in one of the kitchen cupboards. When we found it, it was full of plasters and safety pins but guess that was not its original purpose. We were going to throw it away but thought we had better see if it had any value?

A.
The tin you have found is in fact an exceptionally rare tin. Produced in the early part of the twentieth century, as the name on the side suggests it was made to originally contain lozenges, (today we would call them cough sweets). What makes this a special tin is the novelty shape. There is a huge following for all things railway related adding to the wide appeal of this piece. The cab lid lifts up to reveal the compartment for the lozenges and even the wheels rotate. Such pieces would have been conceived as advertising pieces for the railway company and also to appeal to children.

It is a good thing that you did not discard it because it should fetch £3,000-4,000. Similar versions have surfaced on the market in the form of vintage cars, one of which sold recently for as much as £13,000!

I have inherited this watercolour which I have always been led to believe is by Laura Knight. Could you confirm and suggest a value?

A
Your charming watercolour is indeed by Laura Knight and bears the monogram ‘L.K’ and date 1933 lower left.

Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) was an English painter and designer who studied at Nottingham Art College. She later exhibited regularly at The Royal Academy, London and moved to Cornwall attracted by the presence of a number of influential artists at the time. Knight’s most famous subjects are those featuring ballet and circus scenes as she painted backstage at the London ballet and travelled with the Mills and Carmos Circus in the 1930’s. She went on to become an official war artist and her designs can even be found on Clarice Cliff ceramics and stained glass windows.

Original works by Dame Laura Knight attract high bids at auction, and although of a small size, you watercolour should fetch over £4,000. An oil painting of a circus performer backstage recently fetched £30,000.