Tredegar House 2 Antiques Roadshow


Tredegar House 2

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Welcome back to the Antiques Roadshow

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from Newport in Wales.

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I'm travelling across the River Usk on this grand aerial ferry,

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one of only six surviving transporter bridges in the world.

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This is travelling in style.

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It takes 90 seconds to get across

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and it was built for Edwardian workers who lived

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on the west side of the river, but who needed to get to the east,

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where the factories and the docks were.

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Otherwise, it was a four-mile round trip.

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It was opened on September 12th 1906 by Godfrey Morgan,

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the Second Lord Tredegar,

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resplendent with soup-strainer moustache

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on what looks like a very miserable day.

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The surrounding dockland and beyond was owned by Godfrey,

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who lived just a mile up the road

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at his fabulous pile, Tredegar House.

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In a discreet corner is a memorial to his remarkable horse, Sir Briggs.

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Godfrey took Sir Briggs with him to the Crimean War,

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and in October 1854,

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they led the line of the calamitous Charge of the Light Brigade,

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when British troops mistakenly assaulted

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heavily defended Russian positions.

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Despite heavy losses,

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miraculously, they both survived with barely a scratch.

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In fact, Sir Briggs went on to survive many major battles.

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The First World War fictional story of War Horse is rightly popular,

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but to my mind, if you want the original war horse,

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surely it has to be Sir Briggs.

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Godfrey buried his beloved horse with full military honours

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in the cedar garden at Tredegar House,

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where we find our specialists ready to welcome visitors from Wales

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to this week's Antiques Roadshow.

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A beautiful day, a beautiful garden, a beautiful house,

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one beautiful girl, two rings.

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Come on, tell me all about them.

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OK. This one was my grandmother's

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and this was my great-grandmother's.

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All I know is that this one was purchased in Plymouth

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and was a replacement engagement ring when they had more money,

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and that's all I know about them.

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Well, when you began to tell me that

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I felt that that must be true, because this particular ring

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-is rather older than this one.

-Yeah.

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-OK.

-Which turns the family provenance round in a rather complicated way.

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This is a very pretty little gold ring set with rubies and diamonds.

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-Yes.

-And it comes from probably

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the last few years of the reign of Queen Victoria.

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Conveniently, she lived until 1901,

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-so it takes us even into the 20th century.

-Right, OK.

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And they're beautiful, aren't they?

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-Yes, lovely.

-They're blood-red rubies and diamonds,

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-but this is a very fulsome diamond ring, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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I mean, it's quite, quite a sight,

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and look what it does in the sunshine.

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And have you ever thought about the setting at all?

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It's rather strange, rather dark, isn't it?

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No, I haven't, I haven't had anybody look at it before,

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-so I don't know much about it.

-Except you love it.

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I do absolutely adore it, yeah.

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-I'm just too scared to wear it.

-Oh, no, don't be that.

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It's set in silver and backed in gold. This one is only gold

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and it's one of the signposts to me that this is an earlier ring,

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because we can tell from the lapidary work and from the setting

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that it probably comes from the 1840s, something like that.

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-Oh, right.

-So 60 or 70 years before this one.

-Right, OK.

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But anyway, let's start with this one,

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it's a perfectly nice engagement ring.

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It's been through one lifetime and a little bit rubbed,

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probably only valued at £300-400

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but if you wanted to walk into a West End shop in London,

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where this sort of thing would be for sale,

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it would be a rare thing to be found for sale, a very attractive one,

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and I think you'd have to fork out £7,000 to get it.

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Oh, really? Wow.

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Wow! That's lovely news.

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Won't be selling it, but, yeah, it's a gorgeous ring. Thank you.

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-Can we see it on your finger?

-Yeah.

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-Yes, look at that, stunning, wonderful.

-Thank you.

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-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

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A jug which doesn't really need any introduction.

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Having said that, would you like

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to tell me who made it?

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Clarice Cliff.

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Clarice Cliff, and as far as Clarice Cliff goes,

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I have to tell you that in days gone by,

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I've been a guest speaker

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-at the Clarice Cliff Collectors Club Convention.

-Right.

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So I have actually met the ladies who decorated this in the 1930s.

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-Oh, right.

-So, the design -

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the design is oranges and lemons,

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and if I had to say what is my favourite design,

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-I think this is it.

-Right.

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First of all, it's called the "Conical" shape.

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OK, I didn't know that.

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Well, I can tell you that, but I want you to tell me a little bit

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about how a jug like this ends up in this idyllic part of South Wales.

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Well, the jug, my earliest memories, really, as a child,

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I would be taken down to Llanelli on a Sunday afternoon

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to visit some elderly relatives and there'd be nothing to do.

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Tea would be laid on the table and then after we'd eaten,

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it was a matter for my sister and I just to sort of walk around

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and sort of look at various objects in the house

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and this was one of them, and then of course, as time went on,

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the elderly relatives passed away and this came my way.

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Let's have a quick look at the mark under the base,

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because marks are quite important

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and you've got a mark there that says,

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"Bizarre by Clarice Cliff"

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and then it's a little bit misleading for you local people

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-because it says "Newport Pottery" under there, doesn't it?

-Yes.

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And the number of people who think

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that Newport Pottery is actually here in South Wales

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-but it wasn't, it was up there in Stoke-on-Trent.

-OK.

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-This design was introduced in around about 1931.

-Right.

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So, you know, you're into the Art Deco

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but moving into the Moderne,

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and as far as collectors are concerned,

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if I dare use the phrase, it ticks all the right boxes,

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so when it comes to the value,

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Clarice Cliff's a little bit like stocks and shares,

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-the market is always up and down.

-Yes, yes.

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So I would say that your jug is possibly round about 800,

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but maybe on a good day,

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possibly, possibly, £1,000.

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-We just might...

-Really?

-..just might get up there.

-Gosh!

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Really? I didn't expect that at all, actually.

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Poisonous snakes aren't everybody's cup of tea.

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But how do you feel about having a festival of snakes

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on your dining table, or do you not keep it on your dining table?

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We don't keep it on the dining table, no.

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We keep it under the stairs, actually,

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but now that I've seen it out again

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and it's a while since I've seen it out,

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it's actually quite attractive

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in a...scary sort of way.

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THEY LAUGH

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I think it's put away because

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I can't really decide what to do with it.

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Presumably if it's put away, you didn't buy it for use.

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No, no, no, it was my grandfather's.

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It's been handed down to me from my grandfather,

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who was in the army in the North West Frontier in the 1890s.

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-Right.

-So we think that's where he got it,

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that sort of area which is now sort of northwest Pakistan, isn't it?

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I can tell you exactly where it comes from.

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-Right.

-It's covered in local symbols.

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-Right.

-It comes from Kashmir.

-Right.

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And you've got Kashmiri, or local leaves,

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you've got chinar leaves and coriander leaves,

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and all this local flora - and fauna.

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-And fauna.

-Um, poking its head out,

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and rearing up in a very sort of aggressive-looking way.

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Um, the bowl itself is based on what's called a kashkul,

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which is a begging bowl,

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which the Dervish monks used to carry

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to collect alms from the locals,

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as in "whirling dervish",

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these men sometimes used to spin round and round in their...

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-Big begging bowl?

-A begging bowl.

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It's a popular shape that was used by the local craftsmen

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to turn into all sorts of things -

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for example, your lovely centrepiece.

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-Yes.

-Which is not ever intended to be sold to a Kashmiri,

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-this was always expected to be sold to a foreigner.

-Right.

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It's a wonderful item,

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it's much bigger than usually Kashmiri silver is.

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It's on a very grand scale,

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and as far as date of manufacture goes,

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this is going to be about 1890.

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And the market for what's essentially Islamic metalwork

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has grown and grown over recent years.

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This is not only skilful work, but a really nice-looking object.

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-It has, you know, some considerable value too.

-Ooh, right.

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Um, it could cost you about...

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somewhere around £4,000 mark.

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Oh, right.

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That's more than I was thinking. Yeah. Thank you very much.

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-Brilliant!

-Not at all, nice thing to be left.

-What a result.

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You want to get it out of the understairs cupboard, though.

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I think it will, yes, it might just. And some bananas to put in it.

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THEY LAUGH

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-You're obviously twins, Derek and...

-Elwyn.

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Elwyn, Derek and Elwyn, let's get it the right way round.

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It's a family dresser.

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What's its history, what can you tell me about it?

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It belonged to our grandfather, who used to live in West Wales.

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And he got married sometime in World War I period

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and we assume he acquired it at that time.

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But we don't know much about it apart from that.

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OK, well, it's a very typical West Wales dresser.

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I have an admission to make -

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I have one almost identical, that was my grandmother's dresser

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and I'm the current custodian of it

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and it's lived with me in about six or seven different houses now,

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but I still have it.

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This one probably dates from about 1880, it's oak,

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and this one is perhaps slightly better than average

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-because you've got this egg-and-dart cornicing across the top.

-Yes.

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And this feature that we see in the centre here, which is

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commonly called the dog kennel, this is something that you see

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very typically on dressers from the South and West Wales region.

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The handles are replacements on it, these are not original,

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-these were probably put on in about 1900, 1910 or so.

-Yeah.

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So which one of you is the current custodian of it?

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-Derek.

-Derek, and does it have pride of place in your "cegin", Derek?

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I'm afraid it lives in the garage at the moment.

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Does it? Oh, dear. OK.

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Did you inherit it after he passed away?

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Er, yeah, it went to an aunt first of all and then it came on to us.

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This is a photograph of our grandfather and grandmother

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and the two children at the front

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-is Elwyn and me.

-Us, of course, yes.

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-Of course, yes.

-We're actually...

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Obviously, you were identical as children,

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-slightly easier to tell you apart these days.

-Yes, identical twins.

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And which one of these is the grandfather that owned the dresser?

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The man in the doorway.

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The man in the doorway there, gosh, and was he a miner?

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Yes, he was, that's his very own mining lamp there.

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-Is it really?

-He used to work in quarrying and mining.

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He lived a fairly primitive life because there were no running water,

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no gas, no electricity, so it was candles,

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cooking on an open fire

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and water from the well in the field next door.

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Towards the end of his life in Rose Hill, the name of the house,

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he had water installed

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but he didn't want it in the house, he just had a tap in the garden.

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-Really?

-And nothing else changed at all.

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He really was happy to live in the past.

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Well, you know, it's obviously very important to you,

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it's part of your family history.

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They've slightly sort of fallen out of fashion in more recent years.

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-Yes.

-If you had to buy this at auction, you'd probably be looking

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at around £400-500 mark in the current market.

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-Right, OK.

-OK, fine.

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It's a rather interesting object.

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It's cloisonne, so enamel in these wonderful sort of wirework designs,

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making this lovely scrolling design and these stylised plant forms,

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and what it actually is, it's a matchbox or a vesta case.

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-So your matchbox would slide in just under here.

-Right.

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So your matchbox slides in there,

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what they've done rather cleverly,

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so you can still take your matches out and then

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get to the strike on either side.

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Dates probably from 1920s-1930s

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and value, not all that much

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but maybe £15 or £20, something like that.

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-It's a lot of work for £15, £20.

-It is indeed.

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I wouldn't want to do that! THEY LAUGH

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I think I'm in a Wallace and Gromit stage set!

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Now pay attention and look interested.

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THEY LAUGH

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It's Davies, he was the great genius of the Worcester factory

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and painting, and I suppose the vase is going to be now

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worth between £4,000 and £5,000.

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I'd better take care of it.

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Yes, oh, for heaven's sake, otherwise I'll come and haunt you!

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You've got some great tattoos.

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What's your connection

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with the tattooing business?

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My grandfather started tattooing

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in 1928, and obviously my family's been tattooing ever since,

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-my father and my uncle and my aunt.

-Right.

-And myself.

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I collect a lot of tattoo memorabilia, you know,

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I have a museum and I do a travelling museum round conventions.

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Right, OK. Well, I can see that this item we've got in front of us

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is actually what's called an Edison mimeograph,

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or an Edison electric pen.

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We all know Thomas Edison was a famous inventor,

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had many things under his belt - the phonograph,

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the first commercially-produced incandescent light bulb,

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and this, the stencilling pen, which he patented in 1876.

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Basically, this pen was powered by an electric motor which had

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a reciprocating needle which shot in and out as the motor span round.

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This thing moved on from being this reprographic object

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into something that became the mainstay of tattoo artists.

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Needle pens for tattooing,

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which you've obviously used as a tattooist,

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that's exactly what they do -

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they have that reciprocating needle in,

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that injects the ink under your skin

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and I think, if my memory serves me correctly,

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there are just under 40 around in the world today.

0:15:080:15:11

I think some of them...there are several in the Henry Ford Museum.

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-That's correct.

-Now, we've got two versions here.

0:15:140:15:16

I can see we've got this brass version.

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As far as we know, that's British.

0:15:180:15:20

It was found behind the back seat of a Morris Minor car.

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-It was donated to the museum.

-That's interesting.

0:15:240:15:26

But where it came from originally

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and who made it, we're not really 100% sure.

0:15:280:15:31

Well, I have to say, I have never seen that brass version.

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It's bigger, it's slightly more cumbersome than this one,

0:15:340:15:37

so that's very interesting.

0:15:370:15:38

Now, very few of these ever, ever come up for sale

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and when they do, they're very keenly contested.

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I think that there's a great possibility that this brass one

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is worth around about £7,000-10,000.

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And do you know, I reckon this one, the American version,

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is probably worth about £8,000-12,000.

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So what we're essentially looking at here is

0:16:020:16:05

around about £15,000-20,000 worth.

0:16:050:16:09

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

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Do you remember earlier on, I was on the Newport Transporter Bridge,

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which was opened by Godfrey Morgan,

0:16:200:16:22

who of course lived here in Tredegar House?

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It was opened by him in 1906,

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and the local museum has brought this along.

0:16:250:16:27

This was presented to Godfrey Morgan

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on the opening of the bridge,

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and you can see here

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it mentions the bridge

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and the fact that it was presented to Godfrey Charles Viscount Tredegar

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and this little piece at the top here is a replica of the mechanism

0:16:380:16:42

used to move the gondola backwards and forwards.

0:16:420:16:44

And what it actually is...

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is a cigar cutter, and you put the cigar in here,

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move the mechanism...

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Hey presto, cuts the cigar.

0:16:520:16:55

As cigar cutters go, it's not exactly portable, you can hardly

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slip it into your breast pocket,

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but I was showing this to Paul Atterbury earlier,

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who valued it in the high hundreds of pounds, and he said

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this was something he'd give his eye teeth to have,

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because he loves anything architectural,

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engineering, mechanisms, that kind of thing.

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And of course this commemorates

0:17:120:17:14

the day the Newport Transporter Bridge was opened.

0:17:140:17:16

But I like to think of the Viscount in his home here in Tredegar

0:17:160:17:21

with this maybe on the mantelpiece - a little conversation piece.

0:17:210:17:24

Well, this is about as far removed

0:17:270:17:29

from Chippendale as a chair can be.

0:17:290:17:32

Exactly, yes.

0:17:320:17:33

Who did it belong to?

0:17:350:17:36

It was my grandfather's,

0:17:360:17:38

or that's the earliest we can actually go back to,

0:17:380:17:41

-which is about 1935.

-OK.

-It was known in the family.

0:17:410:17:44

Yes. Do you remember it as a child?

0:17:440:17:46

Indeed, yes. I moved to Swansea when I was four years old

0:17:460:17:50

and it was in the house with my grandfather then.

0:17:500:17:53

And did he use it?

0:17:530:17:54

My grandfather always sat at the head of the table

0:17:540:17:57

and the grandchildren sat on the windowsill eating table.

0:17:570:18:01

Yes. So you have this wonderful picture of your grandfather

0:18:010:18:04

sitting in this chair.

0:18:040:18:05

Indeed, yes, he was a much, much bigger man than myself.

0:18:050:18:08

He was a master butcher. He smoked a large pipe.

0:18:080:18:11

-I can almost sort of visualise him sitting in it.

-Indeed, yes, yes.

0:18:110:18:15

So, 1935 is when you can take it back to,

0:18:150:18:20

but actually, it's a bit earlier than that.

0:18:200:18:22

-Oh, right.

-It dates from some time between around 1760-1790.

0:18:220:18:28

Good gracious!

0:18:280:18:29

And chairs like this were made out of native timber.

0:18:290:18:34

This one - do you know the woods this is made of?

0:18:340:18:36

No, I would assume that the arms are ash,

0:18:360:18:39

but that's as far as I would care to go.

0:18:390:18:42

-Spot on.

-Oh!

-That's absolutely right.

-Oh, right.

0:18:420:18:44

And there's another wood in here too.

0:18:440:18:46

This seat has been sort of...

0:18:460:18:48

-It's like a slice carved out of a tree, isn't it?

-Yes, yes.

0:18:480:18:52

And this wood is elm.

0:18:520:18:54

But that's not the best bit about this chair.

0:18:540:18:58

This is the original paintwork that was on the chair,

0:18:580:19:02

and how, from the second half of the eighteenth century,

0:19:020:19:06

it's got to now without being stripped down

0:19:060:19:10

is a sort of a bit of a miracle, really.

0:19:100:19:13

This sort of red colour,

0:19:130:19:14

and then there are traces of another colour behind.

0:19:140:19:17

And I don't doubt that that was the original colour it was painted.

0:19:170:19:22

-Right.

-Of course, houses pre-electricity,

0:19:220:19:24

-things were quite dull.

-Exactly, yes.

0:19:240:19:27

And this was a very humble, sort of, farm-made chair.

0:19:270:19:33

There's one thing I wondered -

0:19:330:19:36

there's no spindle from these two parts here.

0:19:360:19:40

Obviously they've been filled, so...

0:19:400:19:43

So they filled this hole, but it's the same plug, isn't it,

0:19:430:19:46

-that's filled it?

-Exactly, but there's no receiver at the bottom.

0:19:460:19:50

The great thing about chairs like this

0:19:500:19:52

is that they simply don't conform

0:19:520:19:54

to the patterns of city-made chairs.

0:19:540:19:56

I think whoever made this

0:19:560:19:59

just miscounted the number of spindles they had,

0:19:590:20:02

and that is part of its charm.

0:20:020:20:05

That is the beauty of a chair like this.

0:20:050:20:08

-So these chairs stand up quite well in the current market.

-Right.

0:20:080:20:14

A chair like this now would fetch

0:20:140:20:17

around £1,800.

0:20:170:20:20

I would have said 200.

0:20:220:20:24

I'm amazed, absolutely amazed.

0:20:240:20:27

What an appropriate jewel to come to the table

0:20:310:20:34

when we are surrounded by

0:20:340:20:36

these fantastic flowers and insects.

0:20:360:20:38

What made you bring this to me?

0:20:380:20:40

I just thought it was a very pretty little brooch

0:20:400:20:43

that I inherited from my godmother, who was born in the 1880s.

0:20:430:20:47

She was our next-door neighbour when we lived in London,

0:20:470:20:50

and I spent almost more time with her than I did with my parents.

0:20:500:20:54

She always wore this little brooch

0:20:540:20:57

after she got dressed to go into town in the afternoon

0:20:570:21:00

and it's just part of my childhood, really.

0:21:000:21:03

And I was very, very pleased when she left it to me.

0:21:030:21:06

How did she wear it?

0:21:060:21:08

She had dresses with cross-over fronts,

0:21:080:21:10

she always wore the same style, and a belt,

0:21:100:21:13

a little lace jabot underneath the cross-over, for modesty,

0:21:130:21:17

and the brooch always kept the two sides of the V neck together.

0:21:170:21:21

-So it would be high up she'd be wearing it.

-Yes, quite high up.

0:21:210:21:24

-Quite high up.

-Yes, yes.

0:21:240:21:26

Do you know, for me to see something that I've never seen before

0:21:260:21:30

is not easy, actually, as I do see quite a lot of jewellery,

0:21:300:21:34

but I have never seen anything like this before,

0:21:340:21:37

and that's what made me want to feel it and touch it -

0:21:370:21:39

-it sort of sprang out at me.

-Beautiful, isn't it?

0:21:390:21:41

It is absolutely gorgeous,

0:21:410:21:43

and do you know, jewellery is not all about big diamonds and big show.

0:21:430:21:47

Sometimes there's a huge message in something that's very small.

0:21:470:21:51

And here is the perfect message,

0:21:510:21:55

because we have this wonderful bumblebee in the middle

0:21:550:22:00

and it's in a heart shape

0:22:000:22:02

and it's on a brooch,

0:22:020:22:05

so it is saying, "Be sure of my love."

0:22:050:22:09

Because the surety is the pin,

0:22:090:22:12

the pin will keep the surety there, it will keep it there, the brooch,

0:22:120:22:17

and that's what it's saying, so a very simple, beautiful message.

0:22:170:22:21

And it is in enamel,

0:22:210:22:23

cushion shaped diamonds,

0:22:230:22:26

little ruby eyes for passion.

0:22:260:22:30

And of course, the bumblebee also represents plenty as well,

0:22:300:22:33

so plenty of passion and love, for always,

0:22:330:22:38

-because diamonds were for always.

-Oh, how lovely.

0:22:380:22:41

Who was her lover, do you think?

0:22:410:22:44

-Well, she was married.

-Yes.

-She married in 1915,

0:22:440:22:47

-and he was my godfather as well, so I would imagine it was him.

-Aw.

0:22:470:22:52

Unless she inherited it from her mother,

0:22:520:22:54

-but I wouldn't know about that.

-Well, this is made in about 1900 -

0:22:540:22:58

-1895,

-1900. Right, it would be her husband, then.

0:22:580:23:00

-So he bought it for her.

-Yes.

0:23:000:23:03

Because of his love and adoration for her.

0:23:030:23:07

The brooch itself is made of silver and gold

0:23:070:23:11

and the diamonds are set in silver,

0:23:110:23:13

and then on the back is the gold, which will strengthen the silver.

0:23:130:23:18

And of course, it's in the Garrard's box here -

0:23:180:23:22

which was the Crown Jewellers at the time.

0:23:220:23:24

So at auction - it has a little bit of enamel damage,

0:23:240:23:28

but I think it is just so beautiful.

0:23:280:23:33

I would think in the right auction,

0:23:330:23:35

you'd be looking at around about £1,500.

0:23:350:23:39

SHE GASPS Gosh!

0:23:390:23:41

Oh, my goodness, that means a lot to me.

0:23:410:23:43

And it would be to her as well, if she knew. That's lovely.

0:23:430:23:47

-Lovely period '60s tiles, yeah.

-'60s, yes.

0:23:500:23:53

How did you get them?

0:23:530:23:54

My father worked in the ceramic industry, and these were samples

0:23:540:23:57

that he would have had to have taken round to prospective clients.

0:23:570:24:00

-I'd like to suggest that we might film these.

-OK.

0:24:000:24:04

I think they're very interesting.

0:24:040:24:06

-I think they're very much of the time.

-Well, also,

0:24:060:24:08

they're very much of this time, now - they're very commercial

0:24:080:24:11

and these are the things that people are looking for.

0:24:110:24:14

Well, with images like these,

0:24:190:24:21

we don't quite have the backdrop today.

0:24:210:24:24

I would imagine that we should be looking at Count Dracula's castle

0:24:240:24:26

with thunder and lightning and crows

0:24:260:24:28

and mist coming across the lawn.

0:24:280:24:30

And here we are, bathed in beautiful sunshine.

0:24:300:24:32

So what can you tell me about these? How did you come by them?

0:24:320:24:34

I can't tell you a great deal.

0:24:340:24:36

I picked them up in a boot sale about three years ago.

0:24:360:24:38

-And what drew you to them?

-I'd never seen anything like them before.

0:24:380:24:41

-Uh-huh.

-And they looked really old, so...

-They are indeed really old.

0:24:410:24:45

They're what is known as penny dreadfuls

0:24:450:24:48

and they were, as we can see, a broadsheet,

0:24:480:24:51

a printed broadsheet that was sold to advertise,

0:24:510:24:55

as we can see here, upcoming executions

0:24:550:24:59

for murders and various crimes.

0:24:590:25:02

These are quite sensational headlines here -

0:25:020:25:05

we can see the "Trial, sentence and execution

0:25:050:25:08

"for the murder of James Delarue at Hampstead."

0:25:080:25:14

And if we come down to the bottom here,

0:25:140:25:16

we can actually see that this one is dated 1845.

0:25:160:25:20

These were sold for a penny, as the name suggests,

0:25:200:25:24

primarily in the county in, you know, hundreds of thousands,

0:25:240:25:28

and it was hugely, hugely popular during the nineteenth century

0:25:280:25:33

to come and watch these executions take place.

0:25:330:25:36

And we can see here in the image of this sort of wood block print,

0:25:360:25:41

it's portrayed as a nice family outing

0:25:410:25:43

and somewhere to go for the day.

0:25:430:25:45

You almost imagine them taking their picnic with them

0:25:450:25:47

and watching this rather gruesome event go on.

0:25:470:25:50

Charles Dickens himself actually, against his better judgment,

0:25:500:25:54

decided that he was going to go

0:25:540:25:56

and watch one of these executions take place

0:25:560:26:00

and he reported to the Times that it made his blood run cold.

0:26:000:26:04

They drew such tremendous crowds, up to 20,000,

0:26:040:26:09

and even in some cases up to 100,000 people,

0:26:090:26:12

and these were nicknamed "execurtioners"

0:26:120:26:15

travelling to watch these executions take place.

0:26:150:26:18

And I think if you pick up the corner,

0:26:180:26:20

it has almost the feel, I suppose,

0:26:200:26:22

of a crepe paper or something like that, it's very thin.

0:26:220:26:25

I think that would be why these are so scarce,

0:26:250:26:27

and that they haven't survived in high numbers.

0:26:270:26:29

-And now you're going to tell us what you paid for them.

-£20.

-£20.

0:26:290:26:33

-You've actually got another one underneath.

-Yeah.

0:26:330:26:35

So they cost a fiver each.

0:26:350:26:37

They are very desirable today.

0:26:370:26:40

I mean, a rather gruesome subject,

0:26:400:26:43

but they can be very important.

0:26:430:26:46

So I think each of them is probably worth at auction

0:26:460:26:49

-something around £300-500 per piece.

-Excellent.

0:26:490:26:53

-That's an amazing profit, well done.

-Excellent.

0:26:530:26:55

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

0:26:550:26:57

Whenever I see things associated

0:27:030:27:05

with the potteries of Staffordshire, I think how sad it is that

0:27:050:27:08

that total industry has gone into decline.

0:27:080:27:10

How did you get this collection?

0:27:100:27:12

Well, my father used to...well, for all of his life,

0:27:120:27:16

worked in the ceramic industry, in the tile industry,

0:27:160:27:18

selling tiles to customers.

0:27:180:27:21

And he died in 1969, but these were sort of left when he went

0:27:210:27:26

and they've lain, in fact, till more recently

0:27:260:27:29

and I've just rediscovered them.

0:27:290:27:30

And particularly with these tiles here, I was very impressed

0:27:300:27:33

with the design of them, which is why we framed them.

0:27:330:27:36

Yes, absolutely. So we've got some lovely examples here.

0:27:360:27:39

We've got the very '60s tiles here. We've also got other examples,

0:27:390:27:43

which were obviously in this salesman's sample box here.

0:27:430:27:46

-That's right.

-And then we've got various salesman samples

0:27:460:27:50

of fireplaces and a bath.

0:27:500:27:51

And it's interesting to look at them all,

0:27:510:27:54

because I've just moved from a Victorian house

0:27:540:27:57

to a much newer house,

0:27:570:28:00

and I think I might have been drawn

0:28:000:28:01

to the more traditional tiles originally,

0:28:010:28:04

but I think these tiles would look marvellous

0:28:040:28:08

-in my more modern house.

-They're stunning, aren't they?

0:28:080:28:10

-They really have such visual impact.

-Yes, absolutely.

0:28:100:28:14

It's interesting to look at Johnson tiles -

0:28:140:28:17

-of course, one of the great producers of tiles.

-Yes.

0:28:170:28:20

-And these are so '60s.

-They are indeed.

0:28:200:28:23

Marvellous colours, great shapes.

0:28:230:28:25

-Yes.

-You can just imagine the tiled tables

0:28:250:28:28

-that these often were used on from that period.

-Yes, yes.

0:28:280:28:31

But firstly, these prints here,

0:28:310:28:32

-of course, are from much, much earlier.

-Yes.

0:28:320:28:34

They're from when Minton's set up an art studio

0:28:340:28:37

-in London in 1870.

-Yes.

0:28:370:28:40

And directed by a WS Coleman,

0:28:400:28:42

-and these have a great Coleman feel about them.

-Right.

0:28:420:28:45

And in terms of valuation,

0:28:450:28:48

the prints here I would say

0:28:480:28:51

-about £200.

-Right.

0:28:510:28:54

These samples, which are still very stylish,

0:28:540:28:58

-but are probably sort of £10 each.

-Right.

0:28:580:29:01

But this framed example is just so stylish,

0:29:010:29:04

-I think it's got to be £250.

-Gosh.

0:29:040:29:08

Well, that's incredible, cos I never realised

0:29:080:29:11

they'd have that sort of value, so thank you very much.

0:29:110:29:13

This is a very bright and colourful interior scene, isn't it?

0:29:140:29:18

-Oh, it is.

-And when you look at it, the first thing I think -

0:29:180:29:21

this is not by an English artist,

0:29:210:29:22

because it's got a continental influence

0:29:220:29:24

and very much 20th century.

0:29:240:29:26

In fact, almost influenced by the German expressionists.

0:29:260:29:30

On the left-hand side, it's got the signature here,

0:29:300:29:33

-which is difficult to read, but it's Koppel, isn't it?

-Yep.

0:29:330:29:37

-And it's Heinz Koppel.

-Yeah.

0:29:370:29:39

-I see it's dated August '47.

-Mm-hm.

0:29:390:29:43

Now, it's interesting, cos he comes from Germany originally -

0:29:430:29:46

born in 1919 in Germany,

0:29:460:29:49

and his parents fled the Nazis in 1933 and they went to Prague.

0:29:490:29:54

-Mm-hm.

-And of course, as you know, the Germans marched into Prague.

0:29:540:29:59

They fled there, so he came over to England,

0:29:590:30:02

settled in Wales, and he studied art in London.

0:30:020:30:07

And I can see this European tradition

0:30:070:30:10

in his work coming to Wales.

0:30:100:30:12

Just look at the picture, it's absolutely fantastic.

0:30:120:30:14

-So how did you get it?

-My grandparents and parents

0:30:140:30:18

were friends of the Koppel family.

0:30:180:30:21

I actually played with his daughters as a little girl.

0:30:210:30:24

And my grandfather bought a few of his pictures off him

0:30:240:30:27

in the early days, and this particular picture

0:30:270:30:32

I grew up with on my parents' dining room wall,

0:30:320:30:35

and I always loved it, And when I reached 30,

0:30:350:30:38

and they asked me what I would like for my birthday,

0:30:380:30:42

I said I would like to have that painting.

0:30:420:30:44

Well, I think you've got a very good eye.

0:30:440:30:46

So your parents were friendly with the artist?

0:30:460:30:49

Yes, they were. They were one of a large group of people

0:30:490:30:53

that came over in 1939, my father from Vienna,

0:30:530:30:58

escaping from the Germans,

0:30:580:31:00

and my mother from Prague at the time.

0:31:000:31:02

There was quite a group of them that fled to Wales, actually.

0:31:020:31:06

It's a great image.

0:31:060:31:07

You've got minimalist brush strokes and it's quite flat to look at,

0:31:070:31:11

and a lot of colour in here.

0:31:110:31:14

And you've got a vase on the table with flowers and the chair.

0:31:140:31:18

In fact, you could almost say it's like a later Van Gogh,

0:31:180:31:22

cos you know, he used to do these interiors,

0:31:220:31:24

but in a different style, a more...almost a coarser style.

0:31:240:31:29

And I think if this came up for sale,

0:31:290:31:31

being a Welsh artist, and he is known in Wales,

0:31:310:31:34

-I think that would make possibly £800 to £1,200.

-Mm-hm.

0:31:340:31:38

So a very good choice on your part.

0:31:380:31:40

Oh, I couldn't possibly sell it. I love it.

0:31:400:31:43

SHE LAUGHS I will keep that forever.

0:31:430:31:46

In the middle of the nineteenth century,

0:31:480:31:50

the Victorians worked out how to keep fruit after the fruit harvest,

0:31:500:31:54

so it was considered very smart to serve soft fruits,

0:31:540:31:58

you know, on into the autumn.

0:31:580:32:00

And you'd have used this to sprinkle sugar on top of your berry dessert.

0:32:000:32:03

-Dessert. Lovely.

-Marks on the back are Scottish -

0:32:030:32:06

it's made in Edinburgh in 1820.

0:32:060:32:10

It was plain when it started out life, and it's been altered,

0:32:100:32:14

but oddly enough, it's worth more as an altered thing

0:32:140:32:17

-than it would be if it had stayed plain.

-Oh, right.

0:32:170:32:20

If it were plain, it would be worth maybe £50,

0:32:200:32:23

but with all the embellishment and the gilding in the bowl

0:32:230:32:26

-and it's berry-ness...

-Yes.

-it's worth closer to 100.

0:32:260:32:30

Gosh, that surprises me. Yeah.

0:32:300:32:33

Pleased with that.

0:32:330:32:35

-Jet or not jet?

-Well, I don't think it is jet, actually.

-No.

0:32:370:32:40

Cos it's got these conchoidal fractures.

0:32:400:32:43

Con...I can't pronounce that,

0:32:430:32:45

but if you say so.

0:32:450:32:46

-It looks like a chip to me.

-Yes.

0:32:460:32:48

-Very expensive new, not so much today.

-Yes.

0:32:510:32:55

-£25.

-Aw.

-That really is it.

0:32:550:32:59

-Wanted more than that.

-Glass is cheap!

0:32:590:33:01

HE LAUGHS

0:33:020:33:03

-This - I'm sorry.

-Not worth a penny. No, that's...

0:33:030:33:07

-It's not.

-Thank you, Fiona .. HE LAUGHS

0:33:070:33:10

You hate me now, don't you? Sorry.

0:33:100:33:13

It's one of those very, very interesting objects, I think,

0:33:130:33:15

that has next to no value at all.

0:33:150:33:18

LAUGHTER

0:33:180:33:20

# I'll tell you once more

0:33:200:33:22

# Before I get off the floor

0:33:220:33:24

# Don't bring me down. #

0:33:240:33:26

To show this car off at its best,

0:33:300:33:32

we've obviously had to move away from the event.

0:33:320:33:34

I'm restoring a classic car myself and I know what a nightmare

0:33:340:33:38

and an amazing experience it can be.

0:33:380:33:40

Now, as you pull up, you can think of Ferrari,

0:33:400:33:44

you can think of Lancia, Aston Martin,

0:33:440:33:48

all those influences, but this is closer to home, isn't it?

0:33:480:33:50

Very much so. It was built in Pontypridd,

0:33:500:33:53

about 26 miles from Newport, by two men who had a dream -

0:33:530:33:57

Giles Smith, who was a butcher,

0:33:570:33:59

and Bernard Friese, who was a prisoner of war,

0:33:590:34:02

an ex-prisoner of war from Germany.

0:34:020:34:04

And they met quite by accident on the side of the road

0:34:040:34:07

and started talking about cars,

0:34:070:34:09

and from that, the dream began to unfold.

0:34:090:34:13

And a year later, they started building their first production car.

0:34:130:34:16

And the name Gilbern is actually a split

0:34:160:34:18

between the two names, isn't it?

0:34:180:34:20

Exactly, it's Giles Smith and Bernard Friese.

0:34:200:34:23

They weren't just going to build a special,

0:34:230:34:26

which was a plastic body on an old Ford Pop or an Austin 7 chassis.

0:34:260:34:30

Being the engineer he was, Bernard Friese says,

0:34:300:34:32

"If we're going to do it, we're going to do it right."

0:34:320:34:34

-Wow.

-And they did it right.

0:34:340:34:35

There were actually a lot of problems with this car,

0:34:350:34:38

and the main one, I think, is why this wasn't a huge success,

0:34:380:34:40

was the price, because you could buy this as a kit car,

0:34:400:34:43

and you could also buy it fully made,

0:34:430:34:45

-and fully made, they were sort of £2,500.

-That's right.

0:34:450:34:48

And in the early '70s, that was a lot of money.

0:34:480:34:51

Yeah, you could buy a Jaguar XJ6 for the same price.

0:34:510:34:54

-You know, it's made by hand.

-Mm.

0:34:540:34:56

-What I love is the garden shed workshop...

-Oh, yes.

0:34:560:35:01

..image of building a car. I mean,

0:35:010:35:02

how many are there left, do you know?

0:35:020:35:04

There are 212 built.

0:35:040:35:07

Only the DVLA know how many are left,

0:35:070:35:09

but we, in the Gilbern Owners Club,

0:35:090:35:11

-we think there's probably about 100 left.

-Right.

0:35:110:35:13

I think they're a fantastic car. I think they're underrated.

0:35:130:35:16

And do you mind me asking what you paid for it?

0:35:160:35:18

I paid £3,600 for it in October of last year.

0:35:180:35:21

And do you think that was a good buy?

0:35:210:35:23

I thought it was an excellent buy.

0:35:230:35:25

I agree. I think it was an excellent buy.

0:35:250:35:27

I think easily, today, the markets for these are just...

0:35:270:35:30

Not so much these cars - all classic cars.

0:35:300:35:31

-Yeah, you're right.

-But something so rare, so pretty...

0:35:310:35:35

-It needs a bit of work, the bodywork needs a re-spray.

-Yes.

0:35:350:35:38

-But the bodywork is actually sound, being fibreglass.

-Absolutely.

0:35:380:35:41

-£8,000 to £10,000.

-Wow!

-Easily.

0:35:410:35:45

Wow, that's good news.

0:35:450:35:46

-It's such a beautiful car, and those prices are rising all the time.

-Yes.

0:35:460:35:50

But I'd never sell it.

0:35:500:35:51

I'm not surprised, I wouldn't either. Thank you.

0:35:510:35:53

You've created a bit of a stir here with your triplets,

0:35:570:36:00

and clearly, feeding them's a bit of a handful, isn't it?

0:36:000:36:02

-Yes, it does have its moments.

-My goodness me.

0:36:020:36:05

When people bring objects to the Roadshow,

0:36:050:36:07

often we look on the bottom to see if there's an identifying mark,

0:36:070:36:09

and I couldn't help but notice

0:36:090:36:11

you've done your job already for us - look.

0:36:110:36:12

Each one has got their initial on the bottom of their foot,

0:36:120:36:16

cos you really can't tell them apart!

0:36:160:36:18

At the moment, that's the only way we can tell them apart.

0:36:180:36:21

-So we've got F for...

-Ffion.

0:36:210:36:23

There's M for Madison, and we have P there for Paige.

0:36:230:36:27

-Gosh. Well, you've got your hands full.

-I'm outnumbered.

0:36:270:36:31

THEY LAUGH

0:36:310:36:33

-Well, it's lovely to meet you all.

-Thank you.

0:36:330:36:35

Well, I must say, these make a blooming eyeful, don't they?

0:36:400:36:42

Thank you. I've always thought so.

0:36:420:36:44

-So what's the story?

-Um, they came from my grandmother.

0:36:440:36:48

She bought them, I think, probably about 40, 45 years ago.

0:36:480:36:51

I do remember my mother didn't like them very much.

0:36:510:36:54

I'm sure that if we took a vote here,

0:36:540:36:56

50% of the people say they like them

0:36:560:36:58

and 50% of them would chuck them out of a high storey window

0:36:580:37:01

-at a passing skip.

-Yeah.

0:37:010:37:02

Subjective. What's the story?

0:37:020:37:04

I inherited them when my mother died.

0:37:040:37:06

And what have you done with them?

0:37:060:37:08

Um, three of them are in the bottom of the china cabinet, add weight,

0:37:080:37:11

and then that piece sits on a windowsill,

0:37:110:37:14

cos it catches the light on the landing.

0:37:140:37:16

Oh, give them light. I mean, this is the thing

0:37:160:37:18

that separates glass from everything else, really,

0:37:180:37:20

is if you put it in shade, it looks like nothing,

0:37:200:37:24

and you put it in the sun and it's suddenly, pow.

0:37:240:37:26

Yeah. The only problem is with that one being as heavy as it is,

0:37:260:37:29

then I've got nowhere really safe to put it

0:37:290:37:31

except at the bottom of the cabinet.

0:37:310:37:33

Well you're not making the best of it, and it's the best piece.

0:37:330:37:35

So you're hiding your light under a bushel, my girl.

0:37:350:37:39

It was designed by Licio Zanetti.

0:37:390:37:41

And he specialised in these forms - horses and birds.

0:37:410:37:45

And the thing that's truly extraordinary about them

0:37:450:37:48

is the colour.

0:37:480:37:49

Now, that is some colour.

0:37:490:37:51

This is a very unusual, rare set of elemental compounds

0:37:510:37:57

that are added to the glass to create these colours

0:37:570:38:00

and they're called dichroic

0:38:000:38:02

because if you have them in fluorescent light

0:38:020:38:05

-they appear one colour...

-Oh.

0:38:050:38:07

..and if you put them in incandescent light,

0:38:070:38:10

then they turn another colour.

0:38:100:38:12

And they're quite fun.

0:38:120:38:13

They were made in the '60s to the '80s by Zanetti,

0:38:130:38:16

whose father was a glass maker.

0:38:160:38:17

-He had the works, and the price is quite good.

-Oh.

0:38:170:38:20

I mean, a small one's going to be 100 quid.

0:38:200:38:26

The larger one is about 150.

0:38:260:38:31

-Oh, heck.

-And the horse -

0:38:310:38:33

-200, 250.

-Oh!

0:38:330:38:36

So here, there's...

0:38:360:38:39

-Well, there's £500 on this table.

-Oh, crumbs...

0:38:390:38:43

Thank you, Grandma!

0:38:430:38:45

I honestly didn't have the faintest idea.

0:38:450:38:47

Well, the sun is going down now,

0:38:500:38:52

but is it going down on the wearing of this sort of jewellery?

0:38:520:38:55

Tell me what it really means to you.

0:38:550:38:56

Well, a much-loved grandmother, a very generous lady,

0:38:560:39:00

and it reminds me of the Highland balls

0:39:000:39:03

that we used to have in little village halls in Aboyne.

0:39:030:39:07

And it was called the Aboyne Ball,

0:39:070:39:09

and all the mothers were sitting around wearing tiaras.

0:39:090:39:12

-SHE LAUGHS

-Amazing, amazing.

0:39:120:39:14

And there is a misconception in a funny way

0:39:140:39:17

-that it implied nobility, and it's quite wrong, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:39:170:39:20

-It was the occasion that demanded the wearing of them.

-Absolutely.

0:39:200:39:23

And it was what we might call white tie,

0:39:230:39:25

-but it was full evening dress, wasn't it?

-Oh, yes.

0:39:250:39:27

And then that was the starting gun

0:39:270:39:29

for the ladies to wear absolutely everything.

0:39:290:39:31

-Everything they could lay their hands on.

-Yes.

0:39:310:39:34

Well, the advantage of your particular tiara

0:39:340:39:36

is that it's not fixed as one.

0:39:360:39:38

You can actually take it off the frame...

0:39:380:39:40

-..and wear it as a necklace.

-As a necklace.

0:39:400:39:42

And so it joins at the back here with this piece,

0:39:420:39:46

and it's entirely flexible.

0:39:460:39:47

It's hard to believe it when it's on what we call the frame,

0:39:470:39:50

which is like a sort of garden fence to support the diamond work.

0:39:500:39:54

Was it your mother's one?

0:39:540:39:56

It was my grandmother's,

0:39:560:39:57

and there's quite a romantic story about that.

0:39:570:40:00

She was Australian,

0:40:000:40:02

and I didn't know till after she'd died that she was.

0:40:020:40:05

I thought she was Scottish Granny.

0:40:050:40:07

and she came over on a sailing clipper

0:40:070:40:10

and got a job as a governess

0:40:100:40:12

to the youngest child of this Scottish family,

0:40:120:40:17

and the eldest child fell in love with her and married her.

0:40:170:40:20

How marvellous. Well, that's pretty good, isn't it?

0:40:200:40:22

That's wonderful. And with this wonderful husband,

0:40:220:40:24

she got a marvellous tiara to go with it.

0:40:240:40:26

Very flattering, I'm sure, to wear, but this one is rather interesting.

0:40:260:40:29

It's an amethyst heart surrounded by diamonds.

0:40:290:40:31

There's something in the handwriting of this which is rather interesting,

0:40:310:40:35

that tells me that the heart existed on its own

0:40:350:40:38

in all its simplicity, and then later on,

0:40:380:40:40

-this diamond work was added.

-Oh, right.

0:40:400:40:43

When it was sold later. But how did this one come into the family?

0:40:430:40:47

It was given to my daughter for her 18th birthday.

0:40:470:40:50

I should think that's a pretty marvellous present, isn't it?

0:40:500:40:53

And the amethyst always stands for devotion,

0:40:530:40:55

but in this particular instance, it's devoted love,

0:40:550:40:58

because it's heart-shaped, surrounded by diamonds,

0:40:580:41:00

so forever devoted love,

0:41:000:41:02

and that's rather a good message, isn't it, I think?

0:41:020:41:04

A really good one.

0:41:040:41:05

-And the craftsmanship is absolutely superb.

-Yeah.

0:41:050:41:08

Most marvellous jewel, I must say.

0:41:080:41:10

And here, tell me about this one.

0:41:100:41:12

Well, I was just given it by my grandmother

0:41:120:41:17

and we don't know, but we think it may be

0:41:170:41:20

something to do with Queen Victoria.

0:41:200:41:22

Well, I think there's absolutely no doubt about it,

0:41:220:41:25

because I had a little sneak look earlier and engraved on the back,

0:41:250:41:28

it says, "Dear Goddaughter,

0:41:280:41:31

"Victoria Marguereta Louisa Howard,

0:41:310:41:34

"from her affectionate Godmother, Victoria, March 1846."

0:41:340:41:39

And I haven't a shadow of doubt

0:41:390:41:40

that this is actually a gift from the Queen,

0:41:400:41:43

and there's a little diamond jewel and a blue heart.

0:41:430:41:45

And inside the heart is a single lock of hair,

0:41:450:41:49

which I've every confidence is actually Queen Victoria's hair.

0:41:490:41:52

-Really?

-Yes. And I find that extraordinarily moving, I must say.

0:41:520:41:56

So three extraordinary pieces of jewellery -

0:41:560:41:59

that's the only word for them - singing three very separate songs.

0:41:590:42:03

How to value these jewels?

0:42:030:42:06

I think that this would be cheaply found and cheaply bought

0:42:060:42:09

at £2,500.

0:42:090:42:11

It's not a great sum of money, frankly,

0:42:110:42:13

because the Queen gave an enormous number of gifts

0:42:130:42:16

and this isn't an immediate member of her family,

0:42:160:42:19

but nonetheless, what an extraordinary survival.

0:42:190:42:22

And the amethyst heart with the foliage above,

0:42:220:42:26

made in 1900, looking very sleepy and exotic

0:42:260:42:30

in this light and very enviable,

0:42:300:42:32

I think maybe...

0:42:320:42:34

£5,000.

0:42:340:42:36

And then the tiara that turns into a necklace,

0:42:360:42:40

about 1900 in date as well, and very speculative,

0:42:400:42:44

but £35,000.

0:42:440:42:46

CROWD GASPS

0:42:460:42:48

And I think that - if I can add anything up at all -

0:42:480:42:51

is £42,500 for a marvellous collection of jewellery.

0:42:510:42:55

What an extraordinary item and what an extraordinary value,

0:42:580:43:01

and it rather typifies the grand days of Tredegar House,

0:43:010:43:04

when it would have been full of people

0:43:040:43:07

with extravagant parties, inside and out.

0:43:070:43:10

And I think today with the Antiques Roadshow,

0:43:100:43:13

we've recaptured a bit of a sense of those days.

0:43:130:43:15

Some 5,000 people have come along today

0:43:150:43:17

and brought Tredegar back to life.

0:43:170:43:20

From the Roadshow team, until next time, bye-bye.

0:43:200:43:23

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