Caernarfon Antiques Roadshow

Welcome to Caernarfon in north-west Wales,

probably best known as the setting for the investiture of the present Prince of Wales.

It lies on the Menai Straits

which separate Anglesey from the mainland.

In 1969, 21-year-old Prince Charles stood within the walls of this magnificent and mediaeval castle,

while television cameras sent pictures around the world.

The ceremony dates back to the 13th century.

Edward I's English armies had defeated what was to be the last Welsh Prince of Wales.

From then on, the title was bestowed upon heirs to the English throne.

Edward went on to build a whole series of castles

to mark out the perimeter of his conquests.

Caernarfon Castle houses the museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

The Fusiliers have distinguished themselves in many crucial episodes in British history -

the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars,

the Boer War and, of course, all the major conflicts of the 20th century.

In the Great War, nearly 10,000 Fusiliers gave their lives.

Among those who survived were Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves.

It was Sassoon who penned these bitter lines -

"You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye who cheer when soldier lads march by.

"Sneak home and pray you'll never know the hell where youth and laughter go."

Caernarfon, a small town with a long history,

attracts half a million visitors every year,

and today we welcome one and all to the Arfon Leisure Centre for this week's Antiques Roadshow.

Well, my late husband and I used to go a lot to London, to go round the galleries and different shops

that sold paintings and he saw this, and liked it and he knew the area,

-so he bought it.

-Because it's Caernarfonshire.

-Yes.

It's not far from where we live - Penygroes.

-This is a drawing by Cornelius Varley.

-Oh, yes?

He first came to Wales in 1802, and then again in 1803, and this one's 1805.

But recorded in a sketchbook, on his first trip to Wales,

is a recipe for dealing with the bites from poisonous animals, a cure for St Vitus's Dance...

Good heavens! It must have been wild Wales!

This was wild Wales! Because of his interest in scientific instruments,

he developed Cornelius Varley's patent graphic telescope.

It wasn't used in this drawing, but sometimes on his large landscapes,

he was able to take an image from miles away and bring it in closer,

then take up the drawing afterwards.

That's why you could see the scale of the rocks because of this cow.

My husband - he wrote at the back of this painting that Varley did it,

-but I've lost the backing of it...

-He wouldn't be too pleased with you.

-No, no, but I'll find it.

-Now, what is a cow doing on a beach?

Well, it was wild Wales, wasn't it?

-There were farms all round there.

-But the cow must have fallen down...

-No, you could walk round the peninsula...

-You know this?

-I've been there with my late husband.

-We went through a field there and, as I said, it's like this hidden cove.

-I think it's a rock, not a cow.

-That's what he said.

-You'd like to have it as a cow?

-Yes.

-All right.

-I believed my husband, you see.

-Isn't that nice? Well, we'll beg to differ.

-We won't quarrel about it.

-No.

-That's very kind of you.

Well, a little bit more technical information -

at the top is an inscription. I think he actually was sitting here drawing these particular rocks.

This inscription here, in pen and ink, I believe he put on afterwards,

-when he went through all his material later in life.

-Ah, yes.

Now, to be honest, it's not particularly valuable.

But I think he's a fascinating artist.

-And very important because he was an artist who developed naturalistic landscape.

-Yes, yes.

-Probably no more than £1,000.

-I thought that meself.

-Oh, right(!)

-Yes, well, I just... Because you're the expert.

-Even though I don't know a cow or a rock?

-I came across it in an antique shop in the north-west...

-Yes.

..and I just fancied it. I didn't realise how early it was.

This is a particularly fine example of a lantern clock - an early one.

-Was it in this condition when you got it?

-Yes, it was.

There are some holes deep within the clock, which suggests that it has been converted at a later date,

The date of this clock could be 1630, maybe 1650,

but it had a balance wheel on the top,

converted at a later date to a pendulum control,

-which now comes off the back here with a long pendulum.

-Yes.

One nice thing about this is that the conversion work was done pretty early on in the life of the clock,

so there's no point in going back now,

and putting a balance wheel back on.

This is a very early conversion, possibly done in the 1670s,

-roughly that sort of date, to turn it into a more accurate sort of clock.

-Yes.

Have you done any research on it yourself?

-I went to the British Museum...

-Yes.

..and they had a William Bowyer clock of about 1620 there,

and they let me handle it -

and I drew the pattern of the holes

in this top horizontal plate and these are exactly the same.

-Right. So it could be by that maker.

-Yes.

It's possible that the alarm disc - now missing - had his name on it.

There have been one or two other alterations.

The finial at the top is a different colour to the rest of the brass,

so that has been replaced. I think it's a really stunning piece and a very early lantern clock.

-Can you tell me what you paid for it?

-I paid £100.

-£100?

-Yes.

-Um...

if it was in its original condition, with the original balance wheel,

I mean, you'd be talking of, what, £5,000 - £7,000?

As it is, with the alterations that have taken place,

certainly £4,000 for a clock like this.

Thank you very much.

People have commented that it might be a piano...

but here we have, quite clearly, a desk.

But this is nice to see on any piece of furniture "Brew and Claris",

and, I think, it's 54 Finsbury Park.

Well, I tried to look up on the internet about them,

but I couldn't find anything that related to the manufacturers.

It's extraordinary that there isn't much written about these people -

there are few books published with their work.

A typical Victorian writing desk. I love the way that all this works.

-These original... What would you call that?

-The leather, yes...

Original leather writing surface,

and the attention to detail in here with these chamfered panels is wonderful. It's really nicely made.

Talk about a piano - I wasn't far off. Look, that's a piano hinge

-for a piano flap.

-Oh...

-And they've actually cut it and altered these

to be a lot more like a normal hinge on the top part.

So a bit of piano influence.

I like the general influence about this period.

-You've found out nothing about the period and when it was made?

-No.

It's part of this quite difficult group of furniture - sort of Gothic Reform, Arts and Crafts

and just before the Aesthetic Movement.

So it would be around 1865-1870. Interestingly enough,

in 1870, Brew and Claris made a lot of furniture for an exhibition at the South Kensington Museum,

called the Colonial and India Exhibition. Is it an inherited piece?

It's from my husband's auntie. It was in her husband's family before that.

I like it very much. This sunflower you see repeated

in the Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic Movement furniture - very typical.

-You see it often painted on that black furniture.

-Yes.

That's a bit more mechanical, but look at the colour of it.

-Do you know what wood it is?

-We thought it might be walnut.

-It looks like it, but it's oak.

-Oak?

It's been cut in a way to look like walnut,

and the colour is like walnut, it's almost got a satinwood colour.

It's a nice adaptation of this ordinary country English wood,

and I think that's very nice. Difficult one to value -

it's not everybody's taste, but it's such a well-made piece of furniture.

-I think - insure it for £3,000.

-Fine. That's nice.

We were clearing out, about a year ago,

the attic of my parents who had died and this is just one of the items

that we found in the attic. We thought it was rather nice,

-so we kept it.

-Well, I'm pleased you didn't throw it away.

Inside, we find a rather interesting perfume bottle.

The box tells us that we're dealing with a perfume called Cigalia.

Made for Roger et Gallet of Paris, but what makes it special

are these four cicadas that are on each of the four corners,

nicely moulded and nicely stained.

The one name I think of is Rene Lalique,

so a very pleasing symmetrical design.

If I turn it upside down, that's the place I'd be looking for a mark,

but they always have this flat, frosted base.

You've got the original label on there. Lalique designed thousands of perfume bottles.

-Really?

-This one is for Roger et Gallet. He started with Coty,

he went on to Worth, he did Molinard,

Houbigant, Lucien Lelong, you name it.

Lalique was the man to design your bottles, because it worked for Coty, it's going to work for the others.

Um, now, I suppose it brings me to the question of, you know,

what is an empty perfume bottle in a rather distressed box

-going to be worth? You've had no thoughts on that?

-I'd be wrong if I told you I hadn't.

I thought it would be... It's a very nice thing

-and I thought perhaps...

-£30 or £40?

-Something like that.

-To somebody who liked collecting pretty...

-Yes.

Well, I'm here to tell it like it is and to tell you

that this bottle, with its original box, in this condition...

is worth about £1,500.

Oh, lovely.

"Made in England."

Well, people didn't start writing "Made in England" on the bottom of things until around 1900.

A schoolboy and a schoolgirl - he with his satchel and his black cape,

and she with her slate.

They are very late for Staffordshire figures, circa 1900 - 1910.

They're very unusual. So I'm going to put a value somewhere between...

-£300 and £500 on them.

-Thank you.

-Not bad, is it?

-Yes. No.

What I particularly like about it is the crude form of workmanship down here.

Here you see this section comes down to here,

there's a pin through the main piece of timber here,

but it's simply held in by this very crude piece of wood,

which is simply held together with one or two clout nails.

It shouldn't have lasted 50 years in theory, let alone 300, but they seem to have done.

Well, it's a very fine little gate-leg table,

and if we just open the gate like so...

-My main memory is from this angle.

-You like it from that angle?

-It's a very, complicated table.

-Yeah.

-Value-wise,

-somewhere around about £2,000 - £2,500.

-That's great.

This is exciting because we have another reminder

of the Great War poet Siegfried Sassoon. Tell us about it.

Well, this is the Browning pistol that Sassoon purchased privately

and he carried this with him throughout the First World War.

-Why did he not have the standard big service revolver?

-He did have one,

but we know from his memoirs that although he wasn't afraid of being killed in action,

he WAS afraid of a lingering death from a fatal wound,

and he thought that a big service revolver would be too clumsy a weapon to end his life with,

-so he bought this for that emergency.

-He didn't use it for that purpose, but was it ever fired in anger?

I don't think it was. In his diaries he refers to it,

and when he was on patrol,

he liked to clutch this Browning pistol to make him feel braver,

but no, I don't think he ever fired this weapon.

What about value? I mean, this is a museum piece, obviously, but are you aware of its worth?

As a museum, we're not interested in the value of the weapon,

but there's a lot of interest in Sassoon items.

-I bought it because I liked it...

-Well, you had a good eye.

That was the only reason.

It is a beautiful thing.

It's painted in the best possible taste

and it would appeal to people who collect serious Chinese 17th-century K'ang-Hsi blue and white.

This is, as you may well know, a brush pot.

What's so marvellous is the design.

Here you have a painting of a scholar with a boy attendant.

The boy attendant is carrying his scrolls in a bag,

and in front of the scholar here is a crane, which he's looking at.

It's a beautiful thing and I think you should value that

-at around £1,500 to £2,000.

-Never!

-Did these belong to the same person?

-I think so - my grandfather.

-And he was a sailor?

-Yes. A master mariner.

We know this is a marine barometer because just at the collar here

is a gimbal mount, so that when it was on board ship, whatever the ship did, it would stay upright.

Made by Gebbie and Co of Greenock - one of the great ports of Scotland,

and you can just also see the level of the mercury up there.

That would give some indication of the pressure, and therefore what the weather was likely to be.

In the centre of the barometer, you have a mercury thermometer

and something called an improved sympiesometer,

which, instead of using mercury, used oil. There's oil in there.

A wonderful instrument, lovely rosewood, in good working order.

-What would you date it at?

-Date probably around about 1870.

Um, can I ask you to hold that one?

So the other instrument that he had is this sextant -

probably got a signature on it somewhere...

-Ah, it says "Jones". It would be, in Wales!

-I couldn't make it out.

I think it says "Jones, London". I assume it's the same sort of date.

But very nice that they've been kept together.

-Yes.

-But as far as values are concerned, the barometer is an important piece

because marine barometers are much rarer,

and I would expect it, at auction, to fetch

between £2,000 and £3,000.

Right!

-And the sextant - it is complete, it has its box...

-Yes.

..I would suggest maybe around about £600 to £700.

-So very nice that you've got both of them.

-Thank you very much.

-And keep on enjoying them.

-You know, your show's a very big programme in Canada.

-Thank you!

-You've brought these from Canada to show me?

-Yes, and I'm glad it's you!

-Oh, thank you!

This is a charming little ring - it's a type that we've seen before,

but I've seldom seen one in such pristine condition. It's as new.

-Where did you find that?

-It was a present from my husband.

-Really?

-Did he understand the message?

-Yes.

-The stones spell out the word "regard".

-They do. And "regard" sounds cool in 20th-century terms.

-Not from him, it doesn't!

-Well, in the 18th or early 19th century, it was anything but cool,

it meant love. The stones are laid out asymmetrically

because they're in the form of a pansy flower,

and so there's more to the message. It's regard, with a diamond forever,

but also, the pansy flower, which in French is "pensee", which means "think of me", think of the giver.

So what a fabulous gift. Were you surprised and thrilled?

No, because I helped him pick it.

Oh, I see, right! And where did you pick it?

It was from an antique dealer friend, it was from her personal collection.

-Marvellous.

-It wasn't very expensive.

-No?

When we turn it over, we can see this little cup compartment for what we call a souvenir.

It's a souvenir in that it has plaited hair in the back -

the hair of the person that was much loved in the early 19th century, and so, absolutely beautiful,

-perfect condition.

-I love it.

-And English - that's nice, too.

This may or may not be English - it's quite tricky to tell

-because this is a beautiful piece of Edwardian jewellery.

-I love it.

-Quite. What do you think this material is, in the middle?

-I thought it might be machine work?

It is. It's guioche enamel,

which means that the enamelled ground has been turned against an engine turning device

to give an engraving pattern that simulates silk,

and we can see that the settings are very fine millegrain settings

containing diamonds in the form of shamrock leaves, for luck.

-Have you thought about that?

-No.

-The whole point about jewellery - I've been accused of banging on about it...

-That's why I like it.

-You do?

-Yes!

-Well, go tell them.

So if it's diamonds set in clover leaves or shamrocks - it's forever luck...

-Oh!

-..and forever good fortune, so this also has a message.

-I never realised that.

-How much was this ring?

-That was 100 Canadian dollars,

-so about £50.

-I find that absolutely incredible, to be perfectly honest.

If you wanted to buy that today, in any antique shop in London, they'd ask you over £1,000 for it.

-Oh, my!

-Very widely collected, very, very appealing in every possible sense of the word,

in pristine condition, rings are rarely found like that.

And this one here - tell me about that.

I paid 12 dollars and 50 cents, so that would be probably £5.

Well, from £5 to...£1,200.

-Wow! Oh, that's lovely!

-But you earned it, you did it.

It's not to do with value, it's taste and keeping your eyes open.

-Thank you.

-Oh, thank you, sir.

I wish I had a top hat. It's a terrifying looking instrument,

but you can imagine someone in early Victorian times taking his hat off,

-and just putting it over there. I understand all this came together, right?

-Yes.

It was purchased when the Caernarfon Harbour Trust went to their new harbour office in 1840-1841,

and the trustees decided that they needed an armchair for the chairman

-and 24 chairs for the trustees.

-What a set!

-Yes.

-And so you know the precise date?

-Yes. 1841.

-Do you have the bill or anything like that?

-No,

but the decision of the trust was that there was a budget of no more than one guinea for each chair.

-One guinea for each chair? That's almost inconceivable today.

-It's totally inconceivable today!

So on the first Tuesday of every month, when we meet as trustees, we all sit in these chairs...

It's nice when we can tie up a date like 1840-41 with what we feel,

because I think any expert would say, yes, those are typical early Victorian chairs of circa 1840.

And we've got the proof of the date.

You've got this late Grecian style -

-it's known as a Klismos chair.

-Why?

-It's from an ancient Greek design,

this comfortable C-shape back,

the stuffed seat and these legs, they're a bit heavy, those legs...

I wonder if they're all numbered the same. Are there any numbers on?

-They're not numbered 1 to 24, there are two sets - 1 to 12.

-Ah, right.

-So that's 12, I presume?

-Yes, yes...

-So two sets of 12.

-Yes.

-That's interesting because if they had a fixed budget,

-it suggests that they hadn't been ordered, made specially.

-Well...

-Somebody's gone into a shop or a warehouse and bought two identical sets of 12.

-Possibly.

-If somebody made a set of 24, they'd be numbered 1 to 24.

-Yes.

-Interesting.

Well, we've got a hat stand which today would retail for £4,500.

-Gosh!

-Something like that.

-And a set of 25 chairs - you've got to insure them for £1,000 each.

-Right.

-So we're talking about nearly £30,000.

-Well, that's very nice.

Thank you very much.

It's very unusual to find a watch of this age in such mint condition.

It's hardly ever been used by the look of it. Very pretty watch, very beautiful, white dial - uncracked.

Turn it over and look on the inside, it's signed by a man called Merrier.

It's written in French

that he was watchmaker to "Her Britannic Majesty", but that was said by a lot of watchmakers.

-The movement, too, is in lovely condition.

-Yes.

But what really makes this watch is the...

on the back... the really lovely enamel,

a masterpiece of Swiss enamel makers. It's dated around the 1860s.

-Yes.

-But it's more than just enamel -

the scene is obviously of a lake, some houses, some mountains in the background, typical Swiss scene.

But very cleverly, what the Swiss have done, is "engine turn" -

that is, create a wavy pattern in the gold, underneath the enamel,

which just in one corner, roughly where the tree is there,

shines through and looks like the sun rays behind the mountain, as the sun sets.

-You actually need a magnifying glass to look at that. Have you noticed it before?

-No, it sits in the safe.

-Well, that's a great shame. So you never wear it?

-No. How could you wear it? On a chain?

-Yes.

But then you might knock it against something.

That's why it's pristine. It's never been worn.

It's a shame it's kept in a safe, but I understand. Its value is...

-around about £1,200.

-Oh.

Is it in the original frame? Or...?

-It's the Boots frame, it's got a Boots label on the back...

-Yes.

-..as so many pictures have,

so possibly not. I think it could have been reframed. What can you tell me about the picture?

It belonged to some friends of my parents, and I used to go to their house and look at this picture

-and say, "Oh, I do like that picture."

-Yes.

And then when one of the ladies died, some of the effects were sold off

-and I paid her £50 for it.

-You gave her £50?

-I gave her £50 for it.

-Well, you made a good investment there. Do you know anything about EH Rigg?

No, nothing.

Well, he's a Yorkshireman, Ernest Higgins Rigg - his full name.

He belonged to this group of artists called "The Staithes Group",

so called because they painted in Staithes, on the Yorkshire coast,

just north of Whitby.

And in the 19th century, it was a great artists' colony in the summer,

rather like the Newlyn School in Cornwall. A lesser Newlyn School. Being late 19th-century artists,

they painted in a rather Impressionistic style,

kind of flickering sunlight and flickering brush strokes, you know,

and they also painted sort of country life and fisher folk - the normal life of people

-around the village of Staithes.

-Yes.

-In other words, they tried to paint honestly,

what they saw around them.

So I would say now that this picture

-would make £2,000 to £3,000 in an auction.

-Good heavens!

-And I would suggest insuring it for £4,000.

-Oh, goodness!

It was left to me by a second cousin, and he got it from his mother,

who was left it by my great-grandmother, and she in turn received it from her great-aunt.

-So it's very well provenanced.

-Yes.

-This is an absolutely exquisite and very grand rosewood tea caddy.

You're immediately struck by the quality, the interior fittings...

Now I would have thought this caddy dated from around about 1820,

certainly by the decoration and the brass inlay - that's the sort of date it appears to have on it.

The bowl is missing here -

this bowl is often called a sugar bowl.

It would have been a cut-glass bowl, but it was actually a mixing bowl for tea,

but I don't think it detracts enormously from it.

I feel that this might make £700 to £1,000 at auction.

-And I would jolly well hope so, because it really is a lovely thing.

-Right, thanks.

-Could this could be re-done?

-Yes. There are several doll hospitals in the country. If you look on the net

under "dolls' hospital", you'll come up with various names and addresses.

And it would look so much nicer put back together,

rather than all these grisly bits and pieces.

I know nothing about it, so I brought it to you.

There are a couple of things about it which give me a clue as to where it might have been made,

particularly the armorials in the centre, which are original,

not of British style or origin, they are Continental.

And we can see there a variety of marks on the back.

-The first two are the town mark for Utrecht, so it was actually made in Holland.

-Oh.

The other nice thing about it is that this mark here is the date letter for 1738,

so you've actually got a lovely early piece of Dutch silver.

-You are joking?

-I am not.

Dutch silver is very, very sought-after,

but has anybody ever given you an indication of what it's worth?

-No, it's not been regarded as an item that's even...

-So you've not had it insured?

No, no, no, no, no!

Well, we've established that it's Dutch, 1738.

-Wouldn't know anything about it.

-You should have it insured for about £3,500 to £4,000.

I'm sorry, I have to laugh at that. £3,000 to £4,000?

-£3,500 to £4,000.

-£3,500 to £4,000.

Right, thank you very much.

-1911?

-Yes.

And how did you get it?

Well, the boss asked me to clear some warehouse and I came across these on the top shelf.

He told me to throw them away, so I says, "I'll have them".

That's how I got them, like, and I've had them about 20 years now.

-Well, it's in wonderful condition, isn't it?

-It's not bad, is it?

"Long Live the Prince of Wales."

'I'd love to know where you got it from.'

At an auction. It was in a box with other items.

And what did you think when you saw this?

-We've seen pictures of something similar in an antique book...

-Right.

They started out in Staffordshire in the 18th century,

and they're usually in salt-glazed stoneware,

and what it is - it's bear baiting.

The dog was set on the bear and it was a form of entertainment -

not what we would describe as very appealing entertainment -

Here, the bear's got his own back, he's grasped the dog and he's going to kill it.

One like this would date to the beginning of the 19th century.

-But...

-It's a copy.

-It's a copy.

-I'm afraid you've guessed.

-I thought it was.

-These are coming out from Taiwan, believe it or not.

-Ah.

They're made in Taiwan.

They are in antique shops and antiques fairs and antiques auctions

in the country in large numbers and... I don't know how much you paid for it?

-Well, about £20.

-Well, that is insane -

nobody in England can make something for that amount of money -

that would cost a Staffordshire potter £200, £300, £400 to make,

yet you can get it from Taiwan, buy a whole box full of stuff including this for 20 quid.

Weird, isn't it? I think it's a very good 20 quid's worth.

It's a decorative object, but it is a warning -

-people do need to look out for these because they're coming over in vast numbers.

-I thought it would be.

When I saw you walking past earlier with this box, I nearly snatched it out of your hand.

These boxes promise great things.

Very chic. Calf. Absolutely bang on. Wow, marvellous!

Fabulous jade bead necklace,

heightened with diamond work here. Have you worn this?

-Only once.

-What occasion was that?

It was a special dinner.

-An anniversary?

-Yes, something like that.

-Lovely.

-And was it your mother's?

-It was my mother's.

-I think it's been in the family about 45-50 years.

-That's about right.

Well, it's a most interesting piece of jewellery, sort of back to front,

because the jade is predominant, but it's the diamond mounts that are of particular interest to me

because it makes this a Western jewel. It looks positively Chinese.

That's what I was going to ask you. The jade - would that be from China?

Yes. It's carved in the front with a little bird and prunus flowers.

I don't think the carving's what's important, but a strong oriental accent has been struck here.

-Yes.

-This is an absolutely European jewel in the Chinese taste -

jade beads punctuated with real pearls.

And the maker is rather an exciting and relevant one...

When we open the lid of the box,

it says, "Lacloche Freres" and then, "Rue de la Paix, Paris".

Lacloche is a firm that no longer exists, but when it did, it was one of towering reputation.

It was a close second to Cartier and De Boucheron,

and the very best jewellery buyers went there.

So a jeweller of reputation, making something in the Chinese taste.

And there is a Chinese influence on it which is desperately important and instantly recognisable.

It's the sort of jewellery that people want because it is valuable,

but it's not conspicuously valuable, and so they can wear it

with a sort of modesty and quietness which people want,

-but it actually is an enormously valuable necklace.

-Ah. What were you saying about the diamond clasps?

They're set with baguette diamonds, which are rectangular cut diamonds,

perfectly in tune with the jade.

It's in the oriental taste.

I love the way the pendant hangs within the other one.

I think most designers would put the pendant down here and make it banal,

so this is another way in which we recognise that this is a masterpiece of Art Deco jewellery.

I think it's absolutely wonderful, with its original box.

I think you've got to ring up the insurance company and tell them something close to £10,000.

-What?!

-Yes.

-Good heavens! I can't believe that!

-I can.

-Well...!

Oh, heavens, I had no idea! I mean, I thought it was beautiful, but I'd no idea.

-That's what you came to us for. That's why it's exciting.

-Thank you.

They consider racing today as a dangerous sport, but nothing to what it was in its early history.

You can see in these watercolours

that the river here and the brick wall there are formidable obstacles.

Now, they're drawn by Henry Alken,

who is one of the best-loved and liked, and also most well-known 19th-century sporting artists,

very prolific in his paintings and drawings,

and also his work was particularly popular

because so much of his work was engraved. He had sons and relations who also painted,

but Henry Alken was the best of all.

Now, if we look at the top of these two drawings

and compare the three horses and the figures.

I particularly like this chap in the front here -

the beautifully modelled waistcoat and the careful drawing of a horse,

and then this figure - beautifully balanced, and then the horizon -

delicately drawn, beautiful washes.

There's a lot of interest in the picture. Why do you like them?

I don't know... The horses seem just like horses ought to be, you know,

I'm not an expert on horses, but they seem to be drawn perfectly.

Yes, and I think it's interesting to note that Alken has actually given expressions to the jockeys,

and this chap seems to be aware that there's some great danger here,

and he seems to be pulling up.

What IS consistent is the fear of the horses.

This one is looking at the water and thinking, "My goodness!"

This one's looking ahead, hoping he will get across - not looking down.

Look at the consternation and kind of pure fear of what is ahead.

And talking about the detail in the background,

have you noticed just how well drawn these figures are here, and also the landscape?

-Yes, I have, in fact, some time back. Can't see so well now...

-Yes, yes.

Steeplechasing - the early history - it was literally a race between various steeples,

and in the bottom drawing you can see just one here.

And people are collecting to see the contestants ride over quite some distance between various churches.

I suppose now we come on to the question of their value.

-Have you had these two drawings a long time?

-Er, some years now...

-About eight - ten years.

-About ten years.

-About ten?

-Roughly.

Well, value-wise, I would have thought they're worth

£2,000 each, so probably £4,000 to £5,000 for the pair.

Thank you.

-I bought it in a junk stall... about two years ago.

-Right.

Why?

I was just fascinated by the fact that it had one little handle,

and I thought I'd try and find out more about it.

I thought it was a rather fancy soap dish, really, and just wondered why it only had one handle.

-Are you a soap-dish collector?

-No, it's just that I fancied it and...

-Did it cost you a lot of money?

-25p.

-25p.

Have you done any research on it since then?

Um, I've looked in various books and had great difficulty in finding anything that was at all like it,

but, um...I believe it might be a bleeding bowl.

Right. Well, let's just have a look at the material.

We've got an earthenware bowl, and we can see the colour of it there.

The earthenware is this dull, sandy colour,

and to make it sparkling white, you cover it in a tin glaze,

so this is tin-glazed earthenware.

Once that white surface is on, you can use cobalt blue to paint on it,

just as you would do on porcelain,

but there is this skin of tin-glazed earthenware.

It's an ancient technique. It comes from the Middle East to Africa,

to Spain and Italy, where it's called maiolica,

to Northern Europe where it's called faience,

it's called Delftware when it gets to Holland - Delft is where a lot of the tin-glazed earthenware was made.

Then a whole group of Dutch potters come to England in the 17th century and the tradition starts here,

so, confusingly, we call tin-glazed earthenware from England - and this is English - Delftware.

That's what it is.

You're right, it's not a soap dish.

And this one handle, with its hole in,

is quite possibly a point, not only where you would hold it,

-but also where you would hang it up on the wall.

-Oh.

-Now, date...

Any idea of date?

I think it's old.

It IS old. This is 18th century.

It's a bleeding bowl, and it comes into the English repertoire in Delftware

some time towards the end of the 17th century, and this piece -

which I'll date on the basis of the decoration - is more 18th century.

Blood-letting was done to patients when you thought you could ease their rheum or choleric or whatever.

You thought there was something wrong with their blood, so you lanced a vein

and you put the bleeding bowl on it like this.

You probably wouldn't do it in your own home, you'd go to the barber's.

The barber would shave you and bleed you,

so the barber's pole - with that red and white stripe - represents the bandage and blood of his profession.

-I see.

-This is a bleeding bowl such as he might have used. You paid, what, 15p?

-25.

-25p. Well, it WAS chipped after all, so that was quite nice.

Well, she gave me a rather pitying look, I thought, that I needed to buy something that was chipped.

-She gave YOU a pitying look?

-Yes.

-The tables are going to be turned. Do you know what it's worth?

-No.

Well, do you think it's more or...?

Well, I know my husband tells me, "Don't buy any more rubbish."

Well, don't listen to your husband at all - you've done very well.

This is probably worth somewhere in the region of £5,000 to £6,000.

No!

Really?!

I'll just move it to one side.

I can't believe that!

You did very well. ..Are you all right?

-I didn't want to shock you.

-Are you sure?

-I am, yes.

I'll go and get you a cup of tea.

Well, our visit to North Wales has been a great pleasure,

and we've seen again that things can be beautiful as well as practical.

So to the people of Caernarfon - diolch yn fawr - which I'm assured means "thank you very much".

Until next week, goodbye.

Subtitles by Gillian Frazer BBC Scotland 2001