0:00:33 > 0:00:39Welcome to a new series of Antiques Roadshow and my first programme.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44As a new boy, I'm looking forward very much to what lies ahead,
0:00:44 > 0:00:50as we take our caravan to castles, stately homes and local halls all over the country.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55Hopefully, there'll be much to see and interesting people to meet.
0:00:55 > 0:01:03We start in London, at the greatest treasure store in Britain - the Victoria & Albert Museum.
0:01:03 > 0:01:11The place is unmatched, with some of the best pieces of all periods, all styles, from all parts of the globe.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16There are ceramics from England and from China,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19paintings from France and from India,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24glass that's 3,000 years old and glass that was made yesterday.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29You'll find furniture that's ornate and furniture that's very simple.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32There are textiles, costumes,
0:01:32 > 0:01:39silver, old illustrated books, musical instruments, stained glass from Germany,
0:01:39 > 0:01:46and the museum houses every kind of sculpture, from delicate wooden figures to towering bronzes.
0:01:46 > 0:01:53There are seven miles of galleries and all in all, the V&A owns about four million objects.
0:01:53 > 0:02:00It's difficult to know where to start. It started in 1852, right after the Great Exhibition of 1851.
0:02:00 > 0:02:07Over six million people have been to the Crystal Palace to marvel at treasures from around the world.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Ticket sales were huge. The museum was founded on the proceeds.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Pieces were purchased from the Exhibition to start the collection.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20It was set up in an iron building - the Brompton Boilers,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23and over the next 50 years it grew,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27and visitors have got lost in its maze of galleries ever since.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Turning yet another corner, you come upon this.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36Your first thought is, "Michelangelo's David! It can't be here!"
0:02:36 > 0:02:41It is a copy, as are the other treasures of Italy in this room.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Plaster casts were taken from the originals, and they're here for students to study and draw.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Turn another corner, you find these.
0:02:50 > 0:02:57There are those who will say this is not art, this is something else, but it is very much part of the V&A.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03It's not just a museum for antiques, it's for anything that will help designers of the future.
0:03:03 > 0:03:09And this, the V&A hope, IS the future - a new building for the V&A for the 21st century.
0:03:09 > 0:03:17The model is of the design by Daniel Libeskind, to be fitted into the remaining plot of land on the site,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22and it's entirely different from the Victorian buildings which will surround it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27Naturally, some people love it, and a lot of people loathe it.
0:03:27 > 0:03:34It is true to the founding principle of this astonishing institution, to educate and to surprise.
0:03:34 > 0:03:41The Roadshow has been set up in the grand entrance hall, and also in the sculpture galleries.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Let's see what our experts find.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47My wife had it for five or six years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50It's probably come down through the family.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- She was wearing it as costume jewellery.- What did she wear it on?
0:03:55 > 0:04:01Denim jackets, anything that she thought... Nice, sparkly thing.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05We took it to a jeweller's to get the clasp repaired.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11- He said, "You do realise it's the real thing?"- The real thing.- She's not worn it since, more's the pity.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17- Diamonds and denim!- Yes. - Thought about the design?
0:04:17 > 0:04:21- I did notice that the two ends unscrewed, but...- They unscrew
0:04:21 > 0:04:26because there is probably not only this brooch but a cascade of them
0:04:26 > 0:04:31running down the front of a corseted dress in about 1900.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37You think your wife had problems. Think of Princess Youssoupova walking around with this.
0:04:37 > 0:04:44- Not bad.- No.- I say Princess Youssoupova as I can tell it's a Russian brooch by the safety clasp.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49It's a strange sort of twist like a question mark at the end,
0:04:49 > 0:04:55which stops the owner pricking her finger, or her lady's maid pricking her finger,
0:04:55 > 0:05:01as you'd never put this on yourself in pre-Revolutionary Russia.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06It's what we call a stomacher because it runs along the front of the stomach of such a lady.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I can't think how it could be more beautiful.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Underneath here, there's a break in the design
0:05:12 > 0:05:18which I think is where the second and however many more brooches went down to meet it -
0:05:18 > 0:05:20a tiny little groove here.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26And also observe the beauty of this gallery here, the pierced gallery,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and the fact that the back is made of gold
0:05:29 > 0:05:34and yet the front is of platinum, to give the whiteness of the effect.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37I think it's a late brooch - 20th Century.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The Russians - it's a curiously sort of feudal life they lived there -
0:05:41 > 0:05:46and in the early 20th Century, things couldn't be more sumptuous, bejewelled and exotic,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51so this is a fantastic context, really, isn't it?
0:05:51 > 0:05:57I'm going to look for hallmarks. Russian hallmarks usually appear on the clasp of the jewel,
0:05:57 > 0:06:02and along the pin, which is strange, and yet there are more here.
0:06:02 > 0:06:08It's good that I did check. There are the initials of the maker there.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Feodor Lorie - Art-Nouveau jeweller making things in the Lalique manner.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Serpents, butterflies and the like.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21A slightly conventional one for him, but very beautiful. What did the jeweller's say?
0:06:21 > 0:06:28- They must have admired it very much. - They did, yes.- Mm.- They said it was a lovely piece and...
0:06:28 > 0:06:34- and even said "I'll give you £5,000 scrap for it." I said no.- Wow! - I don't think so.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- Scrapping it's not the right word. - Exactly.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43- We've gone beyond scrap. - It's too beautiful to break down. - Fabulous context.
0:06:43 > 0:06:49- If he's going to offer you £5,000 scrap for it, double it for insurance. £10,000.- Ooh!
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- For insurance? Yeah.- Dear me.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Pembroke tables we've seen before -
0:06:55 > 0:07:00this is the nicest type which is an oval, which if we lift the flaps,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03that is just the greatest shape.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06A typical Classical period,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11just in that time between 1775 and 1790.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13A transition piece,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18- because you have an element of carving on the leg and this element of inlay.- Right.
0:07:18 > 0:07:25So that's how we date it, it's between purely carved and purely inlaid, for decoration.
0:07:25 > 0:07:32One of the tricks that they learned early on, was to make the top look very thin
0:07:32 > 0:07:39by putting a simple moulded edge... If you'd a half round moulding, it would look thick and clumsy.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45If you lessen it by just a sixteenth of an inch, the eye catches on and it's a thin, elegant top.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50And then the distance between the edge and this banding
0:07:50 > 0:07:55- is just perfect to make the proportion look good.- Right.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57This is boxwood and ebony.
0:07:57 > 0:08:04Each one of those little chevrons is created by dipping the point into hot sand and scorching it,
0:08:04 > 0:08:12- giving a 3-dimensional effect. What about family history?- My grandmother gave it to me when I was 21,
0:08:12 > 0:08:19- and I've said I'll give it to my eldest grand-daughter when she's 21.- Oh, wonderful.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24I'll show you why it's special. Turn it upside down, for a better look.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28OK, just rest it on its back. Now, first of all...
0:08:28 > 0:08:32You have an inlaid patterae at the top.
0:08:32 > 0:08:38- Ten years earlier, this would have been carved. Ten years later this would not have been carved.- Golly.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44That again confirms the date. Look at the top. What a wonderful way to finish moulding.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48A Cupid's bow at the top - not straight across - boring.
0:08:48 > 0:08:55It doesn't stop the eye following the line up. Now this is a lovely Cupid's bow in reverse, in section,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59all the way down, tapering down here,
0:08:59 > 0:09:04and then the most magic bit of all, that single punch hole,
0:09:04 > 0:09:09which gives the whole thing an architectural touch to it.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- See this wonderful little peg?- Yes.
0:09:11 > 0:09:18That's the hinge for the loper. It's a sign of authenticity when you see where it's rubbed on the side.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24Back to that peg - the original wooden peg, never ever been touched.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29- You've trouble with that leg.- Yes. - Somebody put a piece of brass on it.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32That is so easy to remedy.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37- You should have something done with that - it will spoil the carcase. - Right.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43There, the prettiest Pembroke table you could wish to see.
0:09:43 > 0:09:50For purposes of insurance you'd be thinking of probably £12,500 to £15,000.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- Ooh, good grief! - Well, for all the reasons I've said.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01- An ordinary one is £5,000 or £6,000. This is extraordinary.- Really? - It's lovely.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. - I love it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:12We're from New Zealand. Timaru in the South Island. We're in London for a week visiting then going to Europe.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17- Did you come to buy antiques, or to have a good look?- To have a look.
0:10:17 > 0:10:25Love your programme in New Zealand. About six weeks ago, you showed a programme of Blenheim Palace.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31And that prompted us - on Friday we're going to visit it.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37- So which one of you is the older sister?- I am.- By how much? - Half an hour.- Makes a difference.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Yes, she's half a size bigger in everything and I just lag behind.
0:10:43 > 0:10:50- We all like different things.- Yes. - So you like some of those. We happen to like, um, that.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53These three were acquired by my parents some time or other,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I don't know where.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02- This I bought in an auction.- Right. - But I believe that one to be a fake.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- Oh, right.- The rest I don't know about.- We give them the weight test,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and really feel the weight of them.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14This one does feel too light, it's too thick on the rim,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19it's got a yellow colour... It's well-made glass, but that is a fake.
0:11:19 > 0:11:26- So I was right.- Yeah. You've got nothing there. But this one, on the other hand, is just right.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Heavy, a beautiful brilliant colour.
0:11:29 > 0:11:36What super engraving! The rose, with one bud and two buds, the emblem of the Jacobites.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40You've got an oak leaf and "Fiat",
0:11:40 > 0:11:46the Jacobite motto which means "that is so", "my claim's real".
0:11:46 > 0:11:51The whole thing commemorates the supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:11:51 > 0:11:58- so a very collectable wine glass, lovely condition, and valuable, worth £1,200.- Blimey, that's good!
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Expected £200-£300, top whack.
0:12:01 > 0:12:07- I think it's a fake teapot.- A fake? - Yes.- You collect teapots?- I do. - And you think you've got a fake.
0:12:07 > 0:12:13- I think so.- It's quite a genuine... called a Cadogan teapot.- Really?
0:12:13 > 0:12:19Named after Lady Cadogan, who brought the shape back from China, but turned it into a teapot.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25- Made around about 1830. - How interesting!- 170 years old.- Yes.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30- And, of course, it pours in the most extraordinary way - it fills in an incredible way.- No...
0:12:30 > 0:12:35- How do you...? How do you think you fill it?- Maybe here?- Spout? No.
0:12:35 > 0:12:41- Oh, dear.- You pour hot, strained tea into there.- Oh?- Let's use this.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46- Let's actually... May I use it? - Yes, please, do. The first time.
0:12:46 > 0:12:54- Gosh. This is pretend hot tea - it's only cold water.- OK.- Right, you pour... You pour that into there,
0:12:54 > 0:12:59- like that...- Ooh, how strange. - And then what do you do?
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- I have got no idea.- Well, you simply turn it over like that.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12- It's like a magic teapot, really. - Then you pour it out like that.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- How interesting.- Absolutely genuine.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20A perfect one would be something like about £150.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25- A little bit damaged on the spout. - Yes.- So we're perhaps below £100.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30- What did you pay for it? - About £15, 30 years ago.- Very good.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- And absolutely genuine.- Oh, that's great - thank you very much.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- A Cadogan you can use.- I love it.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42I bought it in Tokyo in the mid-'70s. It was my first time in Tokyo.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47- I'd been reading Shogun...and thought he was a wonderful piece. - I think you're right,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- but do you actually know what he is? - No.
0:13:50 > 0:13:56- I assumed it was in the doll category and I collect tin toys.- Do you?
0:13:56 > 0:14:02He's a splendid character, but you're quite right, he is a doll, made for a boy on Boys' Day.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05The girls had dolls on Girls' Days.
0:14:05 > 0:14:12And he would've had a lot more armour. I think, obviously, it's gone missing over the years.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18- His head is made of what we call gofum - crushed shells.- Interesting.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22He would've had a head-dress which is known as a kabuto,
0:14:22 > 0:14:27a very high head-dress with an emblem on the top.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32What I love is the underside of his shoe, which... I'll turn it round.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37I mean, it just defies anything to do with armour, doesn't it?
0:14:37 > 0:14:45- This wonderful latticework of straw. - That's in reasonable condition. - And in very good condition.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51So, um... he has a very grand silk-covered...
0:14:51 > 0:14:59- This is all backed in paper.- Right. - And hard paper too, so that it sticks out. It's very grand.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04I would say he's probably around circa 1800 - not more than 1820.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08He's highly collectable, particularly to the Japanese.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14- He would be worth in the region of £1,500 to £2,000. - That's very good.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19I'm not a Doulton collector, I like them because they've got mermaids.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24I collect things with mermaids and fish and marine motifs on, and shells and things,
0:15:24 > 0:15:30and I saw these and I thought they were wonderful, so I bought them.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I think they're wonderful too.
0:15:32 > 0:15:39The Art Nouveau movement started on the continent, but these at the same time are so English, really.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41I think they're splendid decoration.
0:15:41 > 0:15:48We've got the initial of the painter there. Individual painter, of course, that's Margaret E Thompson.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54All these Doulton pieces were signed with initials, most are female.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00This is one of the great specialities of Sir Henry Doulton, that he was employing these ladies.
0:16:00 > 0:16:07Art school starting etc, being trained, not really anybody wanting to employ them.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12Doulton was one of the first to employ the talented female artists.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18- I think those are splendid. Did you go out and buy them or are they family pieces?- No, no.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21I bought them in an auction about 12 years ago.
0:16:21 > 0:16:28- I saw them and I liked them. - How far did you fall for them? What did they cost?- About £400.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- Did they?- 12 years ago. - Today, certainly, 12 years on,
0:16:32 > 0:16:39well over £1,000. I would have thought, £1,200 - £1,500.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43- You must have a lot of pleasure from that £400.- I'll never sell them.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51- An Archers tea towel.- Because I'm Charles Collingwood, but I play Brian Aldridge in the Archers.- Yes.
0:16:51 > 0:16:58- Just as important, I'm married to Judy Bennett who plays...- Shula. - - You're Shula!- Shula Hebdon Lloyd.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03- You must have difficulty remembering who you actually are. - Yes.- Sometimes.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09It's easier being on Radio - you don't lose your identity so easily.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- So in here...- Right.
0:17:12 > 0:17:20..is a very charming little plate with a monogram in the centre and a signature on the back - Mason 1876.
0:17:20 > 0:17:27- William Mason would have been my great-great-grandfather on my mother's side.- Mm, yes.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Very much a Londoner,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32obviously, a colourist,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35did illustrations,
0:17:35 > 0:17:42but he became best known by being the first person ever to be commissioned to colour Christmas cards -
0:17:42 > 0:17:46- apparently up till then they'd been in black and white.- Yes.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50- Commissioned to paint the first Xmas cards.- Paint over a print?- Exactly.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Yes, well, do you have any examples of his work? Of his Christmas cards?
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- No.- No, sadly we don't.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The plate is very charming, and obviously painted by him,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05just as a little amateur painting I think.
0:18:05 > 0:18:12- He wasn't at any china factory - he would have got a blank and painted it.- For his children?- Possibly.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15As a family thing, with the monogram on the centre.
0:18:15 > 0:18:22But the painting is very extraordinary, it's after James Hardy Junior.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28- Right.- There were two James Hardys and this is by W Mason, 1856,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33- painted from the life, but in the style of... - In the style of Hardy, as I believe.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Hardy was a fine painter and this is quite a good copy.
0:18:38 > 0:18:45I like it particularly for this stoneware jug there, which is the time of George I or George II -
0:18:45 > 0:18:51an import from Germany, in Rhenish stoneware.
0:18:51 > 0:18:58Anyway, that's fun, and the plate is not worth a great deal because it's a little personal family treasure,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00but the painting has a fair value.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05- One's looking at about £400 or £500. - Jolly nice!- But it's nice.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12Here's a charming letter written by Charles Dickens and he subscribes his name at the bottom here.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It's not written by him, but by a clerk or a secretary,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19but it's to Mrs Clarke and Mr Vellow.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23I dare think that these are people who played with him,
0:19:23 > 0:19:30when he took his touring company around the country doing Shakespeare plays and modern comedies.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Miss Cowden Clarke I think her name was.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Anyway, he says, "I the undersigned,
0:19:36 > 0:19:43"mindful in my heart... of your kind remembrance of me in your beautiful and careful to be pleased gift..."
0:19:43 > 0:19:46"..proffered with all love and friendship..."
0:19:48 > 0:19:55It's a charming letter. It's lacking its integral blank leaf which it should have,
0:19:55 > 0:20:01but nevertheless a letter like that, would be worth somewhere in the region of £400-£450.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05And delightfully... You can always tell George Bernard Shaw's writing -
0:20:05 > 0:20:09this lovely paragraph caught my...caught my eye.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15"May I suggest that you request the Duke of Westminster to resign his place on the General Committee
0:20:15 > 0:20:21"because of his campaign against pianofortes in Board Schools?
0:20:21 > 0:20:25"If you do that, and get it into the papers,
0:20:25 > 0:20:32"it will do the society better. George Bernard Shaw to Mrs Beavington Atkinson, Kyle Society."
0:20:32 > 0:20:34That's a wonderful letter.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39That would be somewhere in the region of £350, possibly £400.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Anyway, this is a remarkable collection. What is the core of it?
0:20:43 > 0:20:49The main part of the collection was left to me by my grandmother when I was 12.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56- An extraordinary thing to have given a child of 12.- I suppose she thought I would be interested in books.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02I was interested in painting and drawing, and I presume that's why she did leave them to me.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07The letters were written to a cousin of hers, Mrs Beavington Atkinson,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12and she was a member of the Fripp family of painters.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And her husband was the president of a literary society
0:21:15 > 0:21:20and I was always fascinated by them. I thought they were wonderful,
0:21:20 > 0:21:26- because holding these letters is as near as you'll ever get to the person who wrote them.- Right.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31You see every little ink spot. People say, "Oh, you could collect clothes."
0:21:31 > 0:21:36- But it's their thoughts at the time. - Absolutely.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40But you've got an incredible collection here.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Thomas Carlisle, Amelia Edwards...
0:21:43 > 0:21:50You've got a couple of Ruskin letters. It goes on and on... artists, writers, everybody there.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54But this is a very good collection,
0:21:54 > 0:22:01I'm thrilled to have seen it. You've a Yeats letter here. Yeats - incredibly highly collectable,
0:22:01 > 0:22:09and even though this doesn't say very much - it is still quite an important letter, worth £400-£500.
0:22:09 > 0:22:16But also in the collection - and I have to pull this out, because I think this is probably the star.
0:22:16 > 0:22:22To have a writer who actually pens a poem like this - and the Cradle Song -
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and this I assume is a draft of the Cradle Song...
0:22:25 > 0:22:30- It's not the same as the published one.- That's the most important thing.
0:22:30 > 0:22:36Terribly exciting. It's a wonderful poem, all in Yeats' hand - a Cradle Song - and the final verse reads:
0:22:36 > 0:22:42"I sigh that kiss you for I must own that I shall miss you when you have grown."
0:22:42 > 0:22:47- It's rather sad, but rather poignant and rather lovely.- Yes, very.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52- That is probably worth the best part of £4,000.- Oh, my goodness.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57So looking through the collection - have you any idea? I suppose not.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- Adding up...- No. Nobody has seen them until I've shown them to you.
0:23:01 > 0:23:09- I'm very privileged, but you've got, I suspect, the best part of £10,000 worth of autographs.- My goodness.
0:23:12 > 0:23:19- Your show has been running for how long?- I think it's 50 years on January 1st.- 1st January next year.
0:23:19 > 0:23:25- Well, that sounds like a cue for a very good meeting - the Roadshow comes to Ambridge.- That'd be fun.
0:23:25 > 0:23:32So good. I've got all the land for you to have it on. Brian's got 2,000 acres.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39To think that these silly cartoon men were painted 350 years ago.
0:23:39 > 0:23:46- They look very modern.- They do. Did you realise how old they were when you bought them?- We knew nothing.
0:23:46 > 0:23:54- So where do they come from?- We lived near the Kensington Church Street and liked looking in windows there.
0:23:54 > 0:24:01- I went into one shop and on the floor was a pile of big ones like this and little ones like that.- Right.
0:24:01 > 0:24:08They looked very decorative. The big ones were £1, the little ones 10/-.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14- How many did you buy? - Those two, we've been happy to have them ever since.
0:24:14 > 0:24:21- You left the rest in the pile?- Yes. I'd love to go back for more. - When was that?- The early '50s.
0:24:21 > 0:24:28Yes, here we're looking at dishes made in Tuscany. They're from the potteries in the region of Montelupo
0:24:28 > 0:24:34and they depict local characters, painted in a wonderful naive way.
0:24:34 > 0:24:41Looking at that character, I suppose he's a soldier of some sort. He's holding a flag, or something.
0:24:41 > 0:24:48- What a splendid hat he has on. - He's lovely.- And always painted in this funny pose, legs wide open.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54- Soldiers with guns or flags.- Yes. - Occasionally, young ladies. This one I think is unusual, being...
0:24:54 > 0:25:01- I suppose he's a harlequin.- He's got a mask on.- A carnival mask, a little pointed beard.- Yes.
0:25:01 > 0:25:09He has the soldier's uniform, but it's the Italian comedy character inherent in early Italian art.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15- Made to hang on a wall.- Yes. - When we turn them over, there'll be pierced holes.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20- They have a method of hanging them. - Yes, this has a chain in it. - D'you...?
0:25:20 > 0:25:23One is on the wall, one is standing up.
0:25:23 > 0:25:31- It hangs up from there on the wall. - Picture rail.- Perfectly safe, as long as you make sure wire's tight.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37Not being used, the colours are as fresh as when they were made in about 1650.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- As early as that?- As early as that, and they look so modern.
0:25:41 > 0:25:48Picasso was influenced by these dishes. He made modern ceramics and painted figures in this style.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54- You could almost believe that these were made by someone like Picasso. - That's wonderful.
0:25:54 > 0:26:01But these are the real picture dishes from that region of Italy, made in maiolica and lovely things.
0:26:01 > 0:26:10- Today your pound has become £1,000 there.- Really?- £500 for that one. - Oh, thank you very much.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12I came to the V&A Art Nouveau Exhibition
0:26:12 > 0:26:17and browsed through the shop afterwards. I saw one of these.
0:26:17 > 0:26:23- A reproduction. I thought maybe this is the real thing. - OK.- Can you tell me?
0:26:23 > 0:26:24We'll have a look at it.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28- What's the background to it? Is it a family object or...?- Yes.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34My father is French, my grandmother was French and so it came from her.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39- So you think the odds are it's going to be French?- That's my thinking.
0:26:39 > 0:26:46You're forgiven for saying that, because the French did dominate the Art Nouveau scene in 1900,
0:26:46 > 0:26:52but this girl, I can tell you, she's not a mademoiselle - she's a Fraulein because she's German,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56and if we turn her upside down, it's all there in the marks,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00because, get it the right way round,
0:27:00 > 0:27:06you've got a mark in the centre and the initials WMF and a little stork in a lozenge.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10That's for the Wurtemberg Metal Workshops
0:27:10 > 0:27:17and they produced a lot of this Art Nouveau art pewter.
0:27:17 > 0:27:24Datewise, about 1900-1905, and it was retailed in quite a few London shops.
0:27:24 > 0:27:31I think Mr Liberty in Regent Street was very big on retailing German art pewter.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36So much so that he actually started his own art pewter called Tudric.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40But anyway, this is so typical - commercial Art Nouveau,
0:27:40 > 0:27:48especially with the use of these whiplash curvilinear supports and the maiden with her hair en chignon.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54It's so typical but right as rain. It's not obviously a reproduction. You've got to be careful.
0:27:54 > 0:28:01The ones to look out for at the moment tend to use an angel within an oval, as a mark.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06So if you have one and it looks cheap, or you're about to buy one, be suspicious.
0:28:06 > 0:28:13Now I know for a fact that the reproductions were selling for around about £200-£250,
0:28:13 > 0:28:20- but when you've got the real thing, you're nearer £750, so not bad. - Right.- So, not...not bad.
0:28:21 > 0:28:27Wow! Well, frankly if I didn't know what this jewel was, I'd be happy to find the inscription in the lid
0:28:27 > 0:28:32which tells me its history. It says, "The Guild of Handicraft".
0:28:32 > 0:28:39That's the big key to the fascination of a jewel like this. Tell me what you know about it.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44It was a present from my grandmother when I was eight years old.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48- You've worn it since?- Yes. - And enjoyed it?- Yes I do.
0:28:48 > 0:28:54- These are most delicious-looking rubies.- Very pretty.- And enamelwork.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59- Have you been allowed to wear it? - No. Not yet.- You're queueing up.
0:28:59 > 0:29:05Well this is made by one of England's greatest Arts and Crafts jewellers, Charles Robert Ashbee.
0:29:05 > 0:29:12He was an architect and furniture maker and had a huge influence on the Arts and Crafts Movement,
0:29:12 > 0:29:20second only to William Morris. We know Ashbee opened this business in 1888 and it was finished in 1908.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23So we've a brilliant context to its date too.
0:29:23 > 0:29:29The enamelling work derives from the Renaissance - it's an English Renaissance type of jewel.
0:29:29 > 0:29:37Set with two rubies and the tiny pendant loop is a little miracle of filigree work here,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40and again there's an antique reference to the twisted gold work
0:29:40 > 0:29:44suspending the ruby and the pearl.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49It was felt they wanted to evoke ancient goldsmithing techniques,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53to look at Medieval and Renaissance forms with a modern interpretation.
0:29:53 > 0:29:59And having taken on board the value of the two rather beautiful little rubies,
0:29:59 > 0:30:04we have to think about a value of between £4,000 and £6,000 today.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Oh... I didn't expect that!
0:30:08 > 0:30:12I don't know a lot about it. It belonged to my mother-in-law,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16and I've had it since the '60s. Late '60s.
0:30:16 > 0:30:23- So it's a true family piece?- Yes.- It has that nice feel to it.- Well used. - And enjoyed and loved, right?
0:30:23 > 0:30:31What is nice about it is that it's a plain good Georgian piece. It has all the line in the world.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35This wonderful baluster stem, nice bit of turning in the middle,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39good shaped legs, nothing fancy about it,
0:30:39 > 0:30:41but the special part is this rim.
0:30:41 > 0:30:49Now many tables were just a thick plank top, so this is among the rarer type.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Later, to make the plain ones more fashionable, people dished them out.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57This is the original dishing.
0:30:57 > 0:31:03We used to use tables for different occasions in different ways. Our rooms weren't set as they are now.
0:31:03 > 0:31:10This would be used as a tea table, say, after dinner. We didn't have afternoon tea when this was made.
0:31:10 > 0:31:18During the day, when we'd have met and gathered for the equivalent of a cocktail party in the afternoon,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22this would've been stood against the wall, tipped up, like so.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27So that's the view you'd have seen of this table.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31One thing that is a problem to collectors, particularly nowadays,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35is whether the top belongs to the bottom.
0:31:35 > 0:31:43Where this top here has been in contact with the block, you can see signs of contact, here, and here,
0:31:43 > 0:31:49where it matches a little block which is the top of the tenon, coming through from the base,
0:31:49 > 0:31:55and in the corners, you can see a dry patch there which matches that patch there.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00There's no way anybody marrying the bits together could've done that,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04so all of those signs just lift it out of the ordinary,
0:32:04 > 0:32:11and the colour under here, where hundreds of hands have done exactly that, created their own patina here.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14You can't make that.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20It happens over 150 or 200 years - so that's really why I think it... you know, I love the table
0:32:20 > 0:32:26and of its type it's exceptional in this old and original dishing
0:32:26 > 0:32:32- and the colour and the feel of it, you know... You like it too? - I like it, yes.- Sure.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38- Good. I mean, I would insure it for £6,000.- Right.- All right?- Yes. - Very good, thank you.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41- What's the type of wood?- Mahogany.
0:32:41 > 0:32:48- Right.- And these three pieces were all made at the same date, the beginning of the 18th century,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53but what is interesting, of course, is this one was made in China,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56and these two were made in Europe,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59although they've got Chinese subjects in them.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02These little pots intrigue me a lot,
0:33:02 > 0:33:08one, because I've actually never seen two pots of the same size -
0:33:08 > 0:33:15both of milk jug size - with the same pattern on. That doesn't normally happen.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I have seen this pattern before
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and it's a pattern that occurs
0:33:20 > 0:33:26on porcelain made by Bottger, at Meissen, between 1715 and 1720.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31They're very early, or the porcelain is very early.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36There is an intriguing question that surrounds them
0:33:36 > 0:33:40and that is where this decoration was done,
0:33:40 > 0:33:45because they have traditionally been called "Dutch-decorated wares".
0:33:45 > 0:33:51- Because you get this... See this rather brittle blue enamel here? - Yes.- Slightly flaky.
0:33:51 > 0:33:59You get that not merely on Meissen pieces, but on Chinese and Japanese pieces decorated in Holland.
0:33:59 > 0:34:06They were originally bought, I think, just after the war, from a collector
0:34:06 > 0:34:10and what you've told me now ties up
0:34:10 > 0:34:15with what I've been told subsequently by a friend, some years ago.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18I mean, this is marvellous to see -
0:34:18 > 0:34:23what the early Meissen porcelain, early Bottger porcelain, looked like.
0:34:23 > 0:34:29It's absolutely classic. This creamy surface and this is a typical unglazed foot rim.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33That is a Meissen handle. Only Meissens made a handle like this.
0:34:33 > 0:34:41- From silver designs.- From silver designs made by Mr Erminger, who designed all their pieces.
0:34:42 > 0:34:49But they are slightly different. This is... This is...much a bigger body, this is much more waisted.
0:34:49 > 0:34:56I think that's just a question of the way they were made, the way they were potted.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59They are meant to be the same size.
0:34:59 > 0:35:06- ..No. No, the lids don't - the lids never do exchange on Meissen pieces. - No.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09So there they are, very good condition.
0:35:09 > 0:35:15You've got a bit of loss of gilding, but I mean that really doesn't matter,
0:35:15 > 0:35:22- and I think you should certainly insure them for £5,000. - As much as that?- Yes, I think so.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28If you wanted to buy them again, you'd have to pay that order of money.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31So, John, how do you define your job here?
0:35:31 > 0:35:37I have to look at a piece of furniture, and decide from the features that are decorative,
0:35:37 > 0:35:43or its construction, or its design, as to how old it could be, whether or not it's authentic,
0:35:43 > 0:35:47and then, hopefully, tell the surprised and delighted owner
0:35:47 > 0:35:53the benefits of something they've used for 40 years perhaps. That's basically it.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58You also have to break bad news to them - they might have a hybrid piece of furniture.
0:35:58 > 0:36:04Yes, I often think there's more interest in a hybrid than in the purest piece of furniture
0:36:04 > 0:36:10as it shows that through its history something's happened to it, which we may not know, but can surmise...
0:36:10 > 0:36:17History of furniture as a utility object is involving and interesting. It's a fascinating thing to do.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22What do you most look forward to? What are you hoping will come up?
0:36:22 > 0:36:28The thought of finding a piece of furniture which to the untutored eye looks quite ordinary,
0:36:28 > 0:36:33is enjoyed by the owner and they don't really know why,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37and to be able to say - this is why it's so wonderful,
0:36:37 > 0:36:42this is what went into making this piece which makes it stand out.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47I've been very lucky, I've had a piece like that today and it's wonderful, very exciting to do.
0:36:47 > 0:36:53The right owner - very keen, knowledgeable, but not a connoisseur in that way
0:36:53 > 0:36:58and a piece of furniture which looked - because of its condition - something you'd dismiss,
0:36:58 > 0:37:04- but with all those special features that just lifted it - great fun. - Make their day.- Made mine!
0:37:04 > 0:37:10"Lovynge hartes, dethe onlye partes". That's really rather sweet.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13- It sort of harks back to the Medieval period.- Yes.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Those things that they had with mottos inside.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21- Where did you find these?- I found it in a dustbin, in a paladin bin.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26- Do you make a habit of this? - Yes, I'm rather...
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- I've had some good finds.- Yes? Amazing what people throw away.- Mm.
0:37:30 > 0:37:38This is dated 1881. Not a terribly exciting thing but it's nice because of the Medieval revival motto.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44- This, however, I think is a lot more exciting and this you found in the same way?- Yes.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49- Amazing.- But they weren't like this. - No.- They were very black.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51They hadn't been cleaned for ages.
0:37:51 > 0:37:58This very attractive box, probably a tobacco box, was made by the well-known silversmith Omar Ramsden,
0:37:58 > 0:38:04and hallmarked on the back, "made in 1936",
0:38:04 > 0:38:09- and it's a very attractive box with these two little cupids.- Yes.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13This one's holding a pineapple - a symbol of hospitality.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17Yes, I quite like the way it gathers here, the silver.
0:38:17 > 0:38:24- D'you see? It's almost as though it's been pinched.- I think this is an example of the auricular style,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28- which is nothing to do with gold, but to do with ears.- Right.
0:38:28 > 0:38:36Developed in the 17th C by a Dutch designer, it's the shape of your ear lobes and the curves of your ears.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38It's really delightful.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42The bangle's not terribly valuable. I thought the inscription was fun.
0:38:42 > 0:38:49- But this is quite a different kettle of fish and whatever it's worth, it's all profit.- Of course.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Well, I think that for insurance purposes,
0:38:53 > 0:38:59- I'd value this today at £1,500 to £2,000.- That is a good find!
0:38:59 > 0:39:02- You did well.- I shall keep looking.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06It's wonderful to be here in the Victoria & Albert Museum
0:39:06 > 0:39:13- but I never expected that we'd get brought in a museum-quality picture, but that's what you've brought.- Wow.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19Look at the way he has handled the whole light in this market scene,
0:39:19 > 0:39:27the way the light comes off the candle and illuminates her face. It's a most brilliant piece of work.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- Lovely.- You have the source of light,
0:39:29 > 0:39:35then you've another candle light here and tremendously subtle lighting in...
0:39:35 > 0:39:40Look at the reflections on this copper jug - wonderfully handled -
0:39:40 > 0:39:46and the way these - this boy and this young man - are conversing.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50He's looking at him but he's looking across at her.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Wonderful little narrative details in this overall scene.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59- Has it been in your family for some time?- It was in my husband's family.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02- Right.- And I think his father bought it many years ago.
0:40:02 > 0:40:11Was there a particular significance to the subject for your father-in-law when he bought it?
0:40:11 > 0:40:18- He worked in the fish market as a young boy.- Did he?- And his father was in the fish market before him,
0:40:18 > 0:40:25and so I imagine that because it's a market scene, that's what appealed to him, but I don't know really.
0:40:25 > 0:40:32- Also the fact that it's on the quayside.- Yes.- There probably is fish being sold...- I would guess so.
0:40:32 > 0:40:39- And he'd have remembered the moonlit night-time markets. - He had a good eye for paintings.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42- Certainly did.- And I had a good eye,
0:40:42 > 0:40:49because when they split the house up when the parents-in-law died, this was the one thing I really loved.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54Very good choice you made. There's so much more when you get into it -
0:40:54 > 0:40:59there's this wonderful moonlight at the top of the picture,
0:40:59 > 0:41:04again sort of illuminating the silhouettes of the buildings
0:41:04 > 0:41:08and the rigging of the ships behind.
0:41:08 > 0:41:16- I didn't know what they were.- Rigging of sailing vessels.- Of course. - Incredibly beautifully handled.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Very subtle, and then to reveal all, at the bottom is the signature here.
0:41:20 > 0:41:29- Yes.- P Van Schendel.- Yes.- Petrus Van Schendel - a Dutch painter, but he worked in Belgium and Holland
0:41:29 > 0:41:34and he absolutely specialised in these moonlit/candlelit scenes.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39He was... It was his trademark, if you like, what he was absolutely brilliant at,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43and he was working in the middle of the 19th century.
0:41:43 > 0:41:49Between about 1830 and 1870, was when he was really in his prime.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54Painted in oil on this very nice bit of wood.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57Well, just quality is the word for it.
0:41:57 > 0:42:03It is by probably the leading, um, candlelight painter of the 19th Century.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09- That I didn't know. I did see some of Van Schendel's paintings in New York.- Yes.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Two, three years ago. Perhaps five years ago.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Yeah, well, his work does come up quite regularly at auction,
0:42:17 > 0:42:22so we know reasonably clearly what this probably would make.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26I think at auction now, he's very much in vogue.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31He's very much sought-after - a lot of people collect him.
0:42:31 > 0:42:38- Probably make between £70,000 and £90,000.- Oh!- So you should probably insure it for £100,000.- Wow!
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Thank you.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46Almost like winning the lottery. Almost. £100,000 for insurance.
0:42:48 > 0:42:55My first Roadshow. What luck to witness one of the great discoveries we make occasionally on this show.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58And in such perfect surroundings!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01We shall be back here later in the series,
0:43:01 > 0:43:07when Paul Atterbury, who's setting up a new exhibition on the Victorians, opening here in April,
0:43:07 > 0:43:13will tell me more about the history of this remarkable place. Until next week, goodbye.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Subtitles by BBC Scotland