In ‘Treasures and Relics’, Brian Clarke depicts a symbol at the centre of each work: a Spitfire plane, a Porsche sports car, a paint tube and the royal symbol, the fleur de lys.

In 2020, Clarke said:

‘I’ve never been interested in cars or modes of transport - I only know the names of ones from when I was a kid. But the Spitfire and the Porsche and the battleship have always seemed to me to have something of perfection in their design. They are anonymous in their beauty, like the fleur-de-lys, and compelling, like heraldic ciphers of the 20th century.’