Lochgilphead Antiques Roadshow

This week, the Antiques Roadshow comes to the shores of Loch Gilp,

on the west coast of Scotland, and the town of Lochgilphead, just north of the Mull of Kintyre.

Lochgilphead is only 50 miles from Glasgow as the crow flies,

but 85 by road because of the contours of the lochs.

In 1794, a surveyor remarked, "The convenience of water carriage exempts the people of Argyllshire

"from the absolute necessity of an expensive attention to roads."

In other words, round here, the boat is the only way to travel.

This is the entrance to the Crinan Canal, just south of Lochgilphead.

It was designed to save a long haul around the Mull.

Building it was a dour struggle. The hard rock and the remote site made it difficult to attract workers.

But the pioneer spirit won through.

Ironically, by the time it was up and running properly, it was no longer needed.

Ships had become more powerful and could easily sail around the Mull.

So the canal became the home of puffers, linking it with steamers.

Well, it's no good coming to Scotland unless you're prepared for some fresh air and some exercise.

Should have brought my stair lift.

Made it. This is the top of Dunadd Hill,

where, in the 5th century, Fergus of Antrim in Ireland was crowned the first king of Scotland.

Fergus came from the tribe of Scoti, and that is how the new country got its name.

This is the anointing bowl, and here the carved footprint

into which the heir apparent would have stepped whilst swearing a sacred oath.

It's said only the foot of a rightful king of Scotland

will fit the imprint.

Just as a matter of interest...

CHEERING

The reason the ancients picked this particular place?

Well, the sea followed the line of the river to the base of the hill,

so it was a symbolic location, and a useful lookout point in the event of attack.

Far below, the Mid Argyll Sports Centre is being invaded as the Antiques Roadshow gets under way.

"Mademoiselle, votre beaute adorable me fait un devoir."

-That's correct.

-Miss, your adorable beauty gives...me a duty.

A beautiful little French letter,

penned by this 18th-century beau.

-Right.

-He's not looking at what he's writing at all, is he?

-He's gazing into the beyond.

-Into the romantic distance.

-Yes.

It's a wonderful piece of modelling - to achieve that in a small piece of porcelain

that can wobble all over the place in the kiln firing.

Our gentleman has all the accoutrements of an 18th-century table.

-He has his...what we would call a turnip watch.

-Right.

He has the pounce pot - for dropping sand onto his letter -

the ink pot, his feather, which is slightly broken. Here...the seal.

-The seal, yes.

-And the sealing wax.

And the whole thing takes place on this beautiful marble table.

-Very, very good bit of modelling.

-A lot of detail in it.

-Is it a family piece?

Yes, it is. It came down through the family on my father's side.

Well, we turn it upside down and there we have...

I don't know the mark.

This is the most famous porcelain mark in the world.

-The mark of the Meissen factory! That's the good news.

-The bad news?

-You can see the bad news, can't you?

-Yes.

-What happened?

Did she have a fit of pique?

I wish I knew. It would make it much more interesting, wouldn't it?

-It is badly hairline cracked.

-Yes.

-These fractures may have come about

-by being thumped heavily onto the table.

-Yes.

-More likely, however, is that it was badly fired.

-Yes.

The Meissen factory was at the height of its powers in the 18th century.

It went through the doldrums in the late 18th century

and didn't really recover until the middle of the 19th century. So I suspect that this is poor materials

that have caused these hairline fractures to appear.

-It has a bearing on the value.

-Yes.

A figure of that quality, in good condition,

would normally fetch in the region of £700 to £1,000.

-Right.

-I'm afraid you're going to have to halve it, but it's still...

-It's still a lovely thing.

-A very fine piece of modelling.

-Yes, it is.

We bought a house a year-and-a-half ago, north of here,

-and this cradle was in the house.

-Well, it could be Dutch.

It could be Netherlands. But what I can tell you is

this floral marquetry decoration is very typical of the sort of decoration

that you get on Dutch chests of drawers.

This is a 19th-century piece of furniture, in an earlier style.

And it's basically a crib that you'd have in your main living room

in which to display the brand-new arrival.

I don't think they were meant

-to be used as a cot, as a sleeping cot.

-More of a christening...

-Absolutely.

When you're putting your baby out for the world to come and admire.

Obviously, the nice thing is that it rocks. So when the baby is screaming, it can be gently rocked.

This hook arrangement would have been to hang the drapes from

so you would have had a lovely canopy of drapes,

just like an old four-poster bed, to keep the draughts off the baby.

Very possibly, this would have had something woven through it, because it would be hard to knock against.

And then it would have had a lining and a mattress, probably a horsehair mattress, in the bottom.

It stands alone as a piece of furniture that you could have in a hall or in a main room

and that is where its value lies. And I think that it would cost

-at least £1,500 to buy, if not £2,500.

-Really?

Mm, I thought it was a few hundred.

My aunt gave them to me as a wedding present.

Very nice. It's not the usual thing that you give as a wedding present.

-No.

-Because, obviously, what we've got here

-is the back and the actual seat of a chair.

-Yes.

-Of a Victorian chair.

-Oh.

Because this was made to fit, with a chair, that should date at around about 1860, 1870.

So they were around for quite a bit of time before you were given them.

Let's concentrate on the back rest, because the back rest is just magic.

That vivid red - that red is often referred to as a Turkish red -

is so vibrant and alive, and the composition is typical

from that Victorian age when it became almost ornament for ornament's sake.

-Yes.

-You've got gros-point decoration and three flowers in cut chenille,

not only the flowers but, also, you've got some foliage as well.

Now, that's actually been stuffed underneath, like Carolean stumpwork.

It's the same sort of technique.

But the shape of the back... and the seat lends me to think

that this was made originally for a nursing chair. Probably a walnut frame.

The chances are it would have been on very short legs - a nursing chair is very close to the ground.

It probably also would have had white porcelain castors - worth remembering

-because white porcelain castors were very much the vogue around 1860.

-Yes.

Anyway, 20 years ago, I would have probably said £50-£60, but...

I'm a bit more optimistic. These are in such wonderful condition

that you would be hard-pressed to buy anything like this for less than £400-£500.

So it may be worth speculating on buying

-a battered old nursing...chair...

-Yes.

-..and making a happy marriage.

-Thank you very much for bringing them in.

-Thank you very much.

Well, about 35-40 years ago, I found this

-in the back of a bric-a-brac shop in Vancouver, British Columbia.

-Ah, right.

These clocks were made in the United States, in Connecticut.

It is actually by Eli Terry and Sons in Plymouth, Connecticut.

He made a particular type of clock that was unique to that part of the world.

He was about the first clockmaker to commercially manufacture clocks on...

-Yes.

-..a production line basis.

-This was Eli Terry's great achievement.

The movement is almost entirely made of wood - the only material that the Americans had in absolute abundance.

He converted it in his factory to make these extraordinary clocks.

-The reason for this was that they couldn't make normal materials. They could not make brass.

-No.

So he confined the brass of this clock to just one wheel.

All the rest is wood. Incidentally, it actually says down here that it was patented by Terry.

Most people stole the patent and he never got much money for it.

-Do you know what the name of this particular type of clock is?

-No.

It's called the half-column and splat clock.

These being the half columns, which are stencilled. The splat's up here.

It also stands on claw and pineapple feet.

The claws are at the front and the pineapple's at the back.

-I've never noticed that. When would it have been made?

-Er, it was made probably about 1825.

-Yes.

The production of these clocks stopped by the middle 1830s

because of great economic depression. Did you have to pay a lot for it?

-Less than 100. I can't remember exactly.

-Yes.

-Canadian dollars.

It was some considerable time ago. But they're very, very rare in this country and if you bought one today,

you'd certainly be paying £1,200 - maybe £1,500. It's delightful to see one.

Wow! Goldilocks And The Three Bears. "Who's been tasting my porridge?" said Father Bear.

"Who's been tasting my porridge?" said Mother Bear. It's lovely.

-Did you have it as a child?

-I did, yes.

The important thing about this is just the lovely round format,

which is in a long history of peepshow books with moveable parts.

-It was done, I think, in the 1950s, which would tie in with you.

-Yes.

Which means it's somewhere down the line a bit in terms of history,

but, because it is a pop-up book, I think, probably, on the open market

-it would be worth something like £50 to £100 now.

-Good heavens!

-Because it's in lovely condition.

-Yes.

Well, the majority of them are 19th or 20th century.

This is the most interesting group here. These are Italian

and these are aventurine. These are flecks of gold or copper in there.

These date from the middle of the 19th century and they're very collectable.

-One like that is worth around £150 to £200.

-Right.

These are around £50-£60 a time.

This one I particularly like -

really nice quality, ruby glass, silver lid to it. And that's worth around £200 to £300.

It's a good little collection and all I can say is, keep at it.

I'll get my husband to buy me some more for my birthday.

Well, I don't know. Perfume glass, inkwell,

miniature scotch bottle? I've no idea. What is it?

It's a target ball that was used before the invention of clay pigeons.

They would be filled with feathers, someone would throw them off the top of a small hill

and the shooters would stand at the bottom of the hill and shoot them.

-That's before the days of safety awareness. I mean, a lot of flying glass...

-Lot of flying glass, yeah.

-They used to pay small boys to collect the missed ones.

-When was this?

It must have been about the end of the 1800s, because I've got a medal

that my great-grandfather won for shooting these and it's dated 1890.

-What a wonderful championship.

-Yes.

I can't read this inscription, but I can tell you it's by Copeland.

-I think Russian.

-Absolutely right.

This is a kovsh and, in the 17th century, they were given by the Tzar to his officers after a battle

for having a drink out of. By the time this was made,

which would be the late 19th century or early 20th century, they're largely for presentation purposes.

It has beautifully painted enamel

round the sides in shaded colours, which is the nicest form of enamel.

This is hand painted on here.

On the bottom we've got two marks.

The one on the right is the maker's mark, and the other on the left is a kokoshnik mark,

meaning it was made around 1900. Because the enamel is so good,

-that's about £1,000.

-Good grief!

Well, it was given to my parents when they were married

and my mother eventually offered it to my two sisters -

my older sister and then my younger sister - and neither wanted it.

-I think my older sister thought it was ugly. So I had it.

-A piece of Wemyss from over in Fife.

-Yes.

-But we're a long way from Fife.

-Oh, we are.

It's quite boisterous. Wemyss pottery has got a lot of character to it. It's not beautifully done,

but it's very strong and boldly done.

It was popular in the late-Victorian period and into the 20th century. It was all the rage at one stage.

The Queen Mother is said to be the biggest possessor of Wemyss in the country, has a great love of it -

probably because it's Scottish. I like it very much. Is it a jam pot...?

-We used it as a biscuit barrel.

-Yes, so the family acquired it about...?

-About 1910, I think.

-Not long after this was actually made.

-Oh.

-It comes from around about 1900.

-And lovely. I'm glad you like it.

-Yes, I do, I like it very much.

A great piece. Not of enormous value. Something like £200 to £300.

-Oh, well, that's...

-But great fun. I'm sure your sisters are kicking themselves now.

-Yes, that's very nice, yes.

-Well, I'm glad you like it.

-Yes.

Having one hedge-carpenter's stickback chair suggests a little bit of luck, but having two

-gives me the feeling that you've got the eye of a collector.

-I am.

I came to Inveraray about 43 years ago

-and I was always interested in local history.

-Mm-hm.

-At an auction, that one came up for sale.

-How long ago?

-Oh, 42 years ago.

-And for the record,

-what did you pay for that one?

-£4. I then became the district nurse for the area, and one old lady,

when she died, the family gave me this one.

-That's incredible luck.

-Yes.

And having put paint on the one,

my husband said to me, "Don't touch that one, that's as it was." So I've really only taken a cloth over it.

Well, the sad thing is that,

of course, many chairs of this sort -

and they date back from between 100 and 200 years - many of them ended up, literally, as morning sticks.

-Yes.

-Broken up for kindling when they had a particular problem.

As people became wealthier and could buy manufactured chairs, they became ashamed of their humble origins.

-That's right.

-Chairs like this would have been found in crofters' cottages in this area,

made by the hedge-carpenters with available materials.

This one has almost entirely been made out of little bits and pieces.

The front legs...almost certainly, have been made from slightly shaped,

but not steam-bent, single pieces of wood,

-as they'd have been picked out of a hedge.

-Yes.

The top bow here, the same thing. These sticks have been whittled straight from branches.

While the other one... the other one is rather fascinating.

The seat suggests that it might have come from somewhere else, maybe even part of an old barrel head,

because it is almost precisely a semicircle and has been finished.

-And it has the marks both of a pitsaw and a circular saw on the base.

-Oh.

-But having said all that,

-we have to put some sort of a value on them, don't we?

-Yes.

To acquire one of these from a specialist dealer in country furniture, something between...

-£300 and £500 each.

-..No!

This design of chest of drawers, with this lovely serpentine front, came into fashion in England

in about 1770 and went on through until the 1800s.

It's a very good, solid mahogany chest of drawers.

-Was it given to you?

-Given to me by my mother-in-law.

She just said, "Would you like it?" I nearly burst into tears on the spot,

-I was just so thrilled.

-You've always loved it?

-I've always loved it.

What's particularly nice is that it's got this fitted...

dressing drawer. If we pull it out a little bit further...

-This was excellent, basically, for a gentleman.

-Yes.

You've got a baize-lined writing surface

which you also put your jacket on and used as a brushing...

-Oh, that's clever.

-..a brushing surface.

Pop this back and in here are all the little fitted compartments for your dressing accoutrements

-and this lovely little...

-This mirror, I think, is just magic. It makes me feel quite funny

because it's so old, isn't it?

A little easel mirror which you can adjust by sliding it up and then putting it back,

with its lovely original glass.

-That's such a nice thing to see.

-Isn't it?

If we slide that back again and shut it up...

-If you look here, there's signs that a pair of handles has been there.

-They're sort of round, aren't they?

And then, underneath this handle,

there's also been another handle, which I think were the originals.

I think, originally, it would have just had little round handles,

little pull handles with a brass back plate. It's a big problem

having these marks that have been left behind, though the restoration has been done reasonably well.

-Do you see they've just been plugged in?

-Yes.

-Which is a pity,

because it really does hit you that you've got all these marks where the handles have been previously.

-Yes.

-Nevertheless, a chest like this is extremely popular in the market today.

It's become one of the most sought-after designs.

I think you should have this insured for at least £10,000, if not more.

These are very powerful things, these. It seems to me that this is something to do with Nazi Germany.

-Is that right?

-Yes, it has. Well, we assume it has.

-Yes.

They came from my father

who was German and escaped from Germany - we're Jewish -

he escaped from Germany in 1939, very last minute.

-I see.

-Once the war started, he was interned.

-How did he come by these?

I don't know. He wasn't an artist,

but he was very interested in art and he befriended a lot of painters.

-I imagine that he got...

-He met them in the internment camp, quite possibly.

-Some of them.

He may well have brought those from Germany with him, I just don't know.

-And this is your father?

-Yes.

-He was 41 and that was done while he was in internment.

-What interested me

was some of these next things here, because this is signed,

or inscribed, on the back with the artist's name - Kurt Schwitters.

Yes.

-Now, he was part of an artistic movement, which was called Dadaism, in the...

-Oh, really?

..in the 1920s and through the First War. And from that,

he started his own movement called Merz - M-E-R-Z. The name comes from commerce,

which in German ends with a z. And he laid something over that

and left the letters M-E-R-Z. From that, you got the name of this art movement called The Merz Movement.

This is a straight drawing, and powerful and confident it is too.

I think it's worth about £1,000.

The next thing which I found interesting was this little thing,

which is marked Kurt Schwitters on the back again.

-It's on a bit of old asbestos, which he must have just found around the camp or something.

-Yes.

I'm not sure whether it's done with oils or watercolours, but it's very complex, straight from his mind.

It might have been suggested to him by all sorts of things.

And to me it has quite an elemental power. ..You don't agree at all!

-Well, it's very subjective, isn't it?

-In the eye of the beholder.

-Yes, in the eye of the beholder.

I suppose it is. At any rate, his collages can sell for very large sums of money - £20,000 to £30,000.

-Of course, we're not talking about that here.

-No.

None the less, the provenance is good, the image is powerful.

I think it could easily be worth £2,000 to £3,000.

-Incredible, incredible.

-Yes?

-Yeah, quite incredible.

My mother bought them for me on my birthday in...1934,

-and I've had them ever since.

-Were you pleased?

I thought they were rather nice, but I wasn't overly excited. I think I'd rather have had something else.

But they've been a great joy to me.

They're not very naturalistically modelled. If you turn them round,

there's barely any attempt at detail at the back. They are flat backs. Do they live on the mantelpiece?

Yes. Well, I use them as bookends.

I've seen a lot of dog ones like this, but I've never seen these sort...

-The dogs have a special name up here, don't they?

-Yes, wally dugs. Wally dugs.

-Wolly dogs?

-Wally. Wally.

-What does wally mean?

Well... Porcelain or china.

So these are wally zebras. Let me tell you a bit about them.

They were made, almost certainly, in Staffordshire,

between the 1860s and the 1880s.

They were intended, really, to go on a mantelpiece.

You've got these vases, these trunks, which form part of the structure

so that the spindly legs of the zebra - which wouldn't take the weight of the animal in the firing -

the whole animal is supported on this integral column at the back,

so it serves two purposes. It's really just reinforcement.

I like the way that little river...

runs off at the front. It's nice. And the little babies as well.

When I first joined the business, these pottery figures weren't particularly highly thought of.

-Have you had any chance to get them updated?

-No, I've never bothered. I just put them up on a shelf.

-£3,000 to £5,000.

-Really. Really?

My daughter said, "Don't go and say, 'Oh, yeah!' "

That's amazing, actually, isn't it?

-Will you put them back on the bookshelves?

-I might for a little while, but I wouldn't mind a holiday.

It was my cousin's. He played with it as a child and when he grew out of it, I got it and played with it.

-It's been in the attic ever since.

-OK.

-It's pretty bashed, as you can see.

-Yes, but I think that's nice - it's been used and well raced.

It's an American model of the Golden Arrow, which was a land-speed race car. Do you know who the driver was?

I think it was Seagrave. I believe he won a world speed record in the '30s.

Henry Seagrave broke the world land-speed record in 1926 and 1927 in a Sunbeam

and then in 1929 in this, the Golden Arrow,

with a record speed of 231mph. It's a really nice model.

It was made in the 1930s - this sort of fantastic tapering body up to the winged fin here at the back.

It looks quite comfy in there,

though I bet you it's like a rocket with wheels. It's an American car,

made by the Kingsbury Company and it's motor driven.

-At auction, it should fetch between £400 to £600.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Oh, I think I'll hold on to it.

-Now this serene family picture has, in fact, been mutilated, hasn't it?

-It has.

-What's the story?

Well, this girl Eliza, who was 15 at the time,

she didn't have a very good relationship either with her elder sister or with her mother,

so when she inherited this picture, she solved the problem

by taking her scissors and cutting out her uncle and her father

and framing them separately.

-Were these other people still alive at the time? Did they know what she'd done?

-I don't think so, no.

This was not brought to light until after she died

and her niece found that these two pictures fitted into this

-which had been pushed away into the attic.

-The jigsaw.

-The jigsaw, yes.

-Very high emotions, weren't they?

They were, yes. It shows something of the family relationships, I suppose.

Who knows what was going on behind that gentle face?

-How long has it been in your family?

-Since 1933.

That was my parents' wedding, the year they got married.

Well, I think it was made a little bit earlier.

It could have been made probably about 1910. I've got to pick it up.

I'm desperate to pick it up because what you've brought along is...

When you turn it over and look very carefully,

you find the name L C Tiffany, Louis Comfort Tiffany.

This is Tiffany Studios. It's not to be confused with Tiffany & Co who are still going today.

But what fascinates me is this wonderful use of iridescence.

-And look at the intensity of that blue! It's mesmerising, isn't it?

-It's marvellous.

It's just magic, absolute magic. But when it comes to value, the blue and the size

-will tip this towards the £800, possibly £1,000 mark.

-Mm.

-So, um, lovely.

I was given it by my parents when we got married. My husband's a falconer

and he has pointers and collects grouse - they fetch grouse.

They thought it would be very appropriate.

It's by one of the many artists working in France in the 19th century

known as animalier artists. This one is signed at the bottom J Moigniez, who was probably one of the best

of the animalier sculptors. Jules was his Christian name and he worked mainly in Paris.

He was very talented and he exhibited at the Salon from a very early age, from his 20s.

He had a lot of gifts in this particular area

and his work was much sought after, particularly in Scotland. You find a lot of animalier bronzes here.

The condition of this one is very good - typical of Moigniez' work.

You've got a very naturalistic feel to the pointer, the quality of the bronze is very strong.

Often, the tail has been snapped off in the ensuing 150 years.

It's nice to see one with the tail original.

-But it rather looks, looking round here, as though it's been cleaned.

-Well, I suspect we polished it,

-just so that the signatures could be seen.

-You polished it yourself or...?

-Um...

-Come on, confess! Confess!

-Probably.

-Oh, dear.

That has affected the value of the piece, and also the colour.

It should all be the deep patina that it is on the pointer.

Really, bronzes should be just cleaned with a light duster.

At auction, it would probably fetch - good size - perhaps £1,500-£2,000.

Does that surprise you?

-What do you think that's made out of?

-I assumed it was ivory, probably wrongly.

Yeah, the clue to this

is this very open granular appearance we've got here.

This is stag antler, which is what people call stag horn.

-Deer have antlers, not horn.

-Right.

-Stag antler is actually very difficult to carve.

This is very hard material, it's effectively a bone, really.

He's a senin. A senin is a sort of holy man.

He dates from probably the middle of the 19th century.

-He's really rather sweet, but he's not of enormous value.

-No.

Worth around £100 to £150. The ball is great fun.

I don't think I've ever seen one with such nicely engraved insects.

We've got cicadas, we've got crickets,

we've got beetles, we've got moths. We've even got a crab,

which doesn't really quite fit, but it's a charming one.

There's a popular myth that these were carved out of billiard balls.

It's a wonderful idea, that the Japanese were playing billiards,

got bored and went home and carved one of these. Not so.

That's absolutely splendid. And this one,

I mean, really displays

Japanese ivory carving at its best.

Here we've got a festival cart. It's got wheels and was pushed along.

This one has a figure of Daikoku, one of the seven gods of good fortune.

He has a mallet in one hand and he is the god of food production.

-His familiar is a rat.

-Right.

-And that's why we've got all these rats carved all the way round.

-Yes.

-And it's a wonderful bit of humour.

We're rather precious about our God, but the Japanese,

-you're allowed to sort of play fun with them.

-Yes.

-Where did these come from?

-From my grandmother.

They were part of - I understand - part of a collection that was divided between the grandchildren.

Really? They're wonderful. The ball is worth around £250-£350.

And the okimono - which is what this is, a standing group -

-he's going to be worth around £400 to £500.

-Right.

-So a very nice inheritance.

-Yes, indeed.

-Thanks, Granny.

My mother actually wore it as a utility piece.

-Did she?

-She didn't wear a watch and that was what she wore instead.

But it came from much earlier, it came from my great-great-grandmother.

-It would date from about 1880, I should think.

-Yes.

The movement is very ordinary. They put anything of value into the case, which is beautifully enamelled.

It's 18-carat gold, it's Swiss, it's set with all these lovely little rose diamonds all around.

But this is the piece that intrigues me. I love that case.

-Obviously something missing from it.

-There are earrings,

a matching set of earrings.

They went to my sister-in-law

-and I received the brooch.

-Right.

The earrings - did they have anything missing from them?

I think there were pendants on them. There were some little holes.

Well, you do realise you've got part of the earrings.

Ah. No, I didn't realise.

Well, these actually detach and they would have gone on the earrings.

-Good heavens!

-If we open it up,

which I'm sure you've done, little screwdriver inside.

I've always wondered what it was for.

If we just move the pin out of the way,

you can see where that screwdriver fits. Can you see those round...?

Well, the prongs on the screwdriver

fit onto those, and it unscrews. So the whole of that front comes off.

If you look underneath here,

these tassels are actually on rings. If you take that front off,

they will slide off and fit onto the earrings.

-Ah.

-So you've got half the earrings.

-I've got half the earrings.

You've got a mixture of diamonds - brilliant cut diamonds, nouvette cut diamonds and a nice central diamond.

It's lovely, but there's another piece missing,

-which would be a bracelet that goes there.

-That I've never seen.

-That piece would be the central part of the bracelet.

-It clips together.

That could be taken off, fitted onto the bracelet, which may have been plain Milanese gold.

-Does it date from the period that it was given?

-Absolutely right.

It's dated here 1913. This is termed as millegrain setting,

all these little tiny beads. Very, very popular from 1910 up to about 1930 and then it sort of died out.

So, it's absolutely bang right for the inscription on the case.

You should insure the watch for about £1,200,

because that's what it would cost you to replace it today,

and about £6,000 for the brooch. So it's going to up your insurance...

A fairly hefty premium. I think it's worth it, I do wear them.

That's the main thing with jewellery. It's made to be worn.

My younger sister was the one chosen to be painted.

We always spent our holidays down on the Solway Firth. For years, we always went to the same place,

to the same landlady, who, for some reason, was quite pleased to see us, because there were 7 of us children.

-Do you know who the painter is?

-Yes, Hamilton Mackenzie.

-James Hamilton Mackenzie, that's correct.

-A Glasgow-born artist.

-He was a friend of my parents.

-Really?

-I have one or two other pictures of his.

-My parents just commissioned it from him, you see.

-That's interesting.

This is an unusual picture for him. Most of his work tends to be landscape work.

It's a very charming portrait. It's beautifully painted - nice and bright and lively

and captures that wonderful light around the Solway Firth, that almost translucent water there.

-Yes. I like the way the light is.

-It's quite bold in its execution.

There's a stone under my sister's feet because she was a bit impatient and kept shuffling in the sand,

so Mother had to find a flat stone and put it under her feet to stop it.

She always said her toes looked very rebellious.

It would be in the early part of the year because the bluebells were out.

-Lovely. So this must remind you of fond holidays on the Solway Firth, then?

-Yes, indeed.

It's a very beautiful picture. It's quite a commercial picture

in that it's the sort of picture that everybody would like as an image.

It's nicely constructed. He met a tragic ending - Hamilton Mackenzie.

Yes, he was only about 45, I think, not much older, when he was killed in an accident. He fell out of a train.

He was asleep, and the train stopped.

He woke up, opened the door and stepped out, thinking he must have arrived, and fell on the track.

It was very sad because I'm sure he would have gone on and done...

That's probably why we don't see some of his more accomplished works.

I think it's a lovely picture and I think the story is very beautiful.

It has all the ingredients of a nice, modern, British-type picture.

-A picture like this should fetch around £3,000 to £4,000 at auction.

-That's quite interesting.

We moved up here eight years ago from down in the south. It had been in my father's family up until then.

-I have never seen it out of its case before.

-Oh, is that so?

-You got it out of its glass case.

-Exactly, it has this glass cover

which has kept it in very good condition.

-And you can see all the detail now.

-It's fantastic.

-It's staggering, isn't it?

-Yes.

In the southern part of England during the Napoleonic Wars,

there were a number of prison hulks and prisons, full of French prisoners of war.

And the French prisoners of war got into a nice little niche market

in that they produced wares out of straw which they coloured,

out of wood from their beds and out of the things that they ate.

What we're looking at here is a ship made either out of beef bone or mutton bone.

The way to really gauge the quality of a ship model is to look at things like the deck detail.

We can see the hatch covers, the bell at the front, the ship's wheel, the little cannon sticking through.

Then the second deck, another row of cannon.

These brown layers on the side are made of horn.

-Of what?

-Horn. Cow horn probably. It's very tempting

for somebody to take a bit of polish to that, but it hasn't happened.

It's in its original condition.

Lovely detail up at the front with the figurehead, the anchors...

The thing that surprises me, I suppose,

is that the rigging is in such good condition.

I know that that was replaced at some stage by an expert. I don't know who.

Certainly, it's been expertly done.

Because it's been cased, that has kept it in very good condition.

The thing which also adds interest to me is the plinth it stands on,

because that's beautifully finished too and it's rather naively carved.

-The market for these ships is very buoyant at the moment.

-Yes.

So I would have said, at auction,

we're talking about, perhaps, £7,000 to £10,000.

Wow. Much too beautiful to sell.

I couldn't agree with you more, but it's not too beautiful to insure.

We've seen some rare and imaginative things today.

Speaking of imagination, I've been told about the director of the local museum who, in order to raise funds,

took himself into the woods and was sponsored for the number of midge bites he received.

Thank you to the people of Argyll and, from Lochgilphead, goodbye.

Subtitles by BBC