0:00:34 > 0:00:38Today we're in the Biddulph Valley in the Staffordshire Moorlands,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41a few miles north of the Potteries.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46Behind me lies Biddulph Moor and the headwaters of the River Trent.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51The river flows south to Stoke, then east to Nottingham and beyond.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55The name "Biddulph" in Old English means "by diggings".
0:00:55 > 0:01:00The valley's mineral riches were discovered a very long time ago.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05In Biddulph in the Industrial Revolution, coal mines went down,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09iron foundries went up and railway lines ran across the valley.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14James Bateman used the fortune he inherited from coal and engineering
0:01:14 > 0:01:18to develop an extraordinary garden at Biddulph Grange.
0:01:18 > 0:01:24Bateman and his wife, Maria, gardened with great enthusiasm and even greater imagination.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29The result was a mixture of formal layouts and unique areas,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33each with a different national character. It's glorious.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44All this splendour cost large amounts of money and commitment.
0:01:44 > 0:01:51Eventually, it became too much for the Batemans. In 1871, they sold the estate. Years later, in the 1920s,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55the Grange was converted into a hospital.
0:01:55 > 0:02:02Much of the area went into economic decline, but eventually, tourism came to the rescue,
0:02:02 > 0:02:08and North Staffordshire has been rejuvenated. In 1980, the National Trust took over the gardens,
0:02:08 > 0:02:14and what they've done in the past 20 years would make James Bateman look down and smile.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20The much-loved willow pattern was a favourite of Bateman's too,
0:02:20 > 0:02:27and he created a Chinese garden, tracing the features of a typical piece of porcelain.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32It would be just the thing if we came across a few examples today.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35We're at the new Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39where the doors are open to welcome this week's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44- So what's his name, then?- Fred. - Fred?- We call him Fred.- Yes.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48And the children would run up the stairs.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53We used to say, "Don't go up the stairs because of Fred."
0:02:53 > 0:02:59- He was the bogeyman?- He was the bogeyman at the bottom of the stairs. But a recent great-grandson...
0:02:59 > 0:03:05- Yes?- He was running down the hall, and I said, "Zak, don't go down the hall because of Fred."
0:03:05 > 0:03:08He looked at me and said,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10"Grandad,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13"it's only an orminant!"
0:03:14 > 0:03:21- So he wasn't going to be frightened by no orminant?- No, he wasn't frightened by orminants!
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- I hate to disappoint you - he's not called Fred.- No.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31- Do you know what his real name is? - We haven't a clue.- This is Homer. You've got your own home Homer.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- Homer?- Not the Simpson variety - the original.- Yes.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Well, I hate to tell you this - it's a copy.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45- A copy?- Yes.- Yes.- Now... I immediately noticed this coming in.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- Yes.- I have known this fellow for rather a long time.- Yes.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53The original is in a museum in Copenhagen.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59- Yes.- But the original - this is one of the ways you can tell it's not original - hasn't got a nose.- No.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I see.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06But our Homer - your Homer - has a nose. This is a Victorian copy.
0:04:06 > 0:04:13- Yes.- Of a very well-known bust. But the funny thing is, the original in Copenhagen - even that is a copy.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18- Oh.- It's done in the style of a Greek sculptor.- Yes.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24As with so many Roman statues, copies of Greek originals, we don't have the Greek original,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- so this is a copy...- Yes.
0:04:27 > 0:04:34..of the Classical copy of a hitherto undiscovered Greek original going back to the 2nd century BC.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40I think today, if you sold this magnificent marble bust of Homer,
0:04:40 > 0:04:45a superb Victorian copy, you would probably get
0:04:45 > 0:04:50- £3,000 to £5,000 at the very least. - Oh! Thank you. Thank you.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55This is... It's not a panorama, but it's a view of...
0:04:56 > 0:05:00..the Great Exhibition, and it comes out of its box like that,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and each piece is hand-coloured -
0:05:03 > 0:05:10beautifully hand-coloured, jewel-like hand-coloured - showing the inside of the Great Exhibition.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15The wonderful Joseph Paxton building in Hyde Park - the Crystal Palace.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19There's a Christmas tree or an English oak at the bottom.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- Yes.- Absolutely wonderful. And so this dates from 1851.
0:05:23 > 0:05:30Now, remarkably... Very often these are quite torn and have been repaired quite often,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34but obviously the odd one is...guarded like that.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39For the most part, it seems to be in remarkably original condition.
0:05:39 > 0:05:411851, hand-coloured...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Value today, I suppose somewhere in the region of...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- £800 something like that. - Really? Good grief!
0:05:48 > 0:05:55- Is this an old family treasure? - Well, it was me grandfather's, originally. It was inherited by me -
0:05:55 > 0:05:58by my mother - then me mother died
0:05:58 > 0:06:03- and I inherited it.- So you don't know where it came from?- Not a clue.
0:06:03 > 0:06:10- Haven't got the original bill? - I presume me grandfather bought it, but I don't know.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Right. What about nationality?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- Don't know that.- Right.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20My mother said to us was that it was Queen Anne or something, but...
0:06:20 > 0:06:26- It's not that old.- No.- Let's get the date out of the way first. The shape and size of this display cabinet
0:06:26 > 0:06:34- are typical of, in fact, the late 19th century, early 20th century. - Right.- 1890-1910, that sort of date.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38That's indisputable. It's certainly not English.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Many things tell me this is French. The most obvious one...
0:06:42 > 0:06:44See this long lock here?
0:06:44 > 0:06:51Imagine French windows. It's hard to get out of French windows - they've a long bar locking the whole door.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Very secure. And you turn it once, like this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59You still can't get out or lock it properly, so you turn it again.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02And that double lock is French.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Exclusively French. - It's funny, that.
0:07:05 > 0:07:12Me grandad also had a huge monstrosity, like a Louis cabinet, with a big bow front and everything.
0:07:12 > 0:07:19A horrible thing! I presume that was French as well, but, I mean, nobody wanted that.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25It sounds like he was a collector of good quality French furniture. This is a Louis cabinet,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29influenced by Louis XVI of the 1780s.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32It's influenced by that 100 years later.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38This quarter veneering here is French, going down and then across,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43so that everything points to the middle. What's really interesting is that here...
0:07:43 > 0:07:51- Can you see these little flecks in here?- Yeah.- All these little flecks, that's known as Ois de Vermay,
0:07:51 > 0:07:57which is... The tiny little flecks are rather like a silver gilding colour.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02It's a particular type of wood used in France in the late 19th century,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07into the early 20th century. Only the very best makers made it.
0:08:07 > 0:08:14I have a feeling I know who this is made by - Francois Link, who was Czechoslovakian
0:08:14 > 0:08:21and he went to Paris in 1881. Until he became famous, about 1900, he wasn't signing his furniture.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26The way this is made, the type of wood - the very best quality wood -
0:08:26 > 0:08:32this rather nice sort of garland of flowers and husks here and laurel, in fact.
0:08:34 > 0:08:41There's some gilding, but there's a lot of coppery colour in it. He favoured that type of gilding.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45All the mounts are the type he used continually throughout his career,
0:08:45 > 0:08:53which lasted from 1880 until he died in 1946, so he went well on into the 20th century.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It's quite a rare early piece by Link. Have you got a value in mind?
0:08:57 > 0:09:01A couple of thousand, something like that.
0:09:01 > 0:09:08That's conservative. If you insure it for £2,000, you'd expect it to make £1,000, £1,500 at auction.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12I think you'd get easily £2,000 or £3,000 at auction,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16so, even with my hesitant attribution to Francois Link,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- I would put £5,000 for insurance. - Good heavens!
0:09:22 > 0:09:27This is the dish I was holding at Biddulph Grange. David?
0:09:27 > 0:09:33This is a Spode one. It's a pearlware body - a creamware with a blue glaze -
0:09:33 > 0:09:40and it's been transfer printed, in underglaze blue with a willow pattern.
0:09:40 > 0:09:47There are hundreds of willow patterns - every manufacturer did one. The basics are the same.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52We've got two birds - the love birds - the figures on the bridge,
0:09:52 > 0:09:57a pagoda, and the willow tree. It of course comes from the Chinese.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Thomas Minton was the first to probably engrave it.
0:10:01 > 0:10:08We don't know. This is a Spode one of the late 18th century and it's a very nice dessert dish,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13- part of a set.- Did they start making them because the originals dried up?
0:10:13 > 0:10:19No, it was purely cost. It was hoped the Staffordshire manufacturers
0:10:19 > 0:10:22could undercut the Chinese original.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Now, when you think that a Chinese original plate - the Chinese plate -
0:10:26 > 0:10:33landed in London and sold for one shilling... They had to undercut that price. And they did!
0:10:33 > 0:10:37When did they become treasured pieces?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Well, the idea of collecting old pottery
0:10:40 > 0:10:47doesn't actually go much further back than the second half of the 19th century.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53But this sort of thing would not have been taken seriously as a collectible item
0:10:53 > 0:10:56the 1970s, 1980s.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02Since then, the prices have been moving up very strongly, particularly for pearlware.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Pearlware is a cult thing at the moment, so prices are very strong.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Well, I'll keep hold of it. Thanks!
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Stoke City Football Club, as it was in 1892,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15and as it was in 1938
0:11:15 > 0:11:22with perhaps its most famous son - there we go - sitting in there somewhere...
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Stanley Matthews.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27You're a collecting nut!
0:11:27 > 0:11:33Yes. I've collected ever since I went to Stoke in 1960 with me Dad.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38Since then, I've just done solid collecting, but purely only Stoke City.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41You've also got this...
0:11:41 > 0:11:46which is the results book for Stoke City from...
0:11:46 > 0:11:53the 20th August 1949 all the way through. Now, where do you get something like this?
0:11:53 > 0:12:00This particular item came up for auction at the local Stoke City Fair some years ago.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04There wasn't an awful great deal of interest at the time,
0:12:04 > 0:12:09and hence the price I paid for it some years ago was only £40.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15Well, I think that's a gift! But it also... It's amazing to me. We've got here the Stoke City Crockery.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19This was when the Victoria Ground was to be demolished.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22An auction was held.
0:12:22 > 0:12:30There was approximately 36 to 39 sets of these cups, and myself and two friends bought all the lot.
0:12:30 > 0:12:36Having looked at the selection that you've brought here, there's no question that in my mind -
0:12:36 > 0:12:38this is the best part.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42We've got two gold medals - one for the Swifts...
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Stoke Swifts. That was what they were known as
0:12:45 > 0:12:52- before they became Stoke FC...- Yes. - ..before they became Stoke City. - And the date of this one is 1888.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Now football medals,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59particularly gold ones, just don't turn up.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03They turn up very seldom and when they do,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07there is a terrific amount of competition for them.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11It's lovely you've got the photograph too.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17In the right auction, this little frame might fetch perhaps as much as £1,000
0:13:17 > 0:13:22I wish you luck with filling any gaps you might still have. Thanks!
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Thank you!- OK.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27It's a good-looking English watch.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- Do you know what date it is? - Er...1920.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36- My husband's grandfather's had it as long as that, so... - As long as that? Right.- Yes.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Well, let's look at it a bit closer.
0:13:39 > 0:13:45It's got this strange pendant, which tells me that it's a repeater.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49So, do you ever make it repeat or not?
0:13:49 > 0:13:55- We've tried, but...- With no luck?- No. - There's a little slide here,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59which you move to allow the plunger to go down. Very stiff indeed.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03SERIES OF CHIMES
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Did you hear that?
0:14:08 > 0:14:15- Yes.- It's very quiet, but it gave you the hours, "ding-dong, ding-dongs" for the quarters,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19then a single ding - so it is what we call a half-quarter repeater.
0:14:19 > 0:14:26That gives you the time to the nearest 7½ minutes, when you were in a dark room or something like that.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31- Yes.- Now, it's what we call a consular case...
0:14:32 > 0:14:40..so it's got this big chunky outer case and a beautiful gold dial, a lovely machine-turned centre,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42beautiful raised gold numerals,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and looks to me to be the original hands.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Have you ever seen inside it?
0:14:48 > 0:14:50- No.- OK.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55At the six o'clock position, there's a nib where you put your finger...
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Wow!
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Not only is it half-quarter repeating...
0:15:01 > 0:15:05but it is signed "John Roger Arnold".
0:15:05 > 0:15:07It has a spring detant escapement,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and, looking down here, you can see
0:15:11 > 0:15:15a blued steel helical spring to set it running
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- and his typical "z" balance. - Right.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22This is a really very, very interesting find.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And the case...
0:15:25 > 0:15:28a full set of London hallmarks,
0:15:29 > 0:15:3218-carat gold...1811.
0:15:32 > 0:15:38- Oh, right. - 110 years before you remember it in your grandfather's possession.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47And a lovely heavy watch in the hand. At auction now,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- it would fetch towards £15,000. - Gosh!
0:15:51 > 0:15:56- And you MUST insure it for a minimum of £20,000.- Right. That's wonderful!
0:15:58 > 0:16:05Interesting bit of ceramic history. It's the first Dressler tunnel kiln built in England in 1915.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10- Art Nouveau design - looking back, isn't it?- Yeah.- Majolica glazes,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Art Nouveau, so...
0:16:12 > 0:16:15but up-to-date in kiln technology.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- How many do you think were made? - Very few, I should think.
0:16:19 > 0:16:26So it's been a rare piece, but probably not a huge value, £100 to a tile collector, something like that.
0:16:26 > 0:16:33Well, I think definitely not Thomas Somerscales. It's definitely, as you rightly suspect,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38a later copy in the manner of. I think you'd have to call it a fake,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- cos it's got the monogram.- Yeah.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44This is a sweet Bing table-top train set.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46- This was an auction purchase?- Yes.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Did you buy it recently?
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Four or five years ago.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56- How much did you pay for it?- £50. - You did very well.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01These have become very desirable. This is in very nice condition.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07It's got a very nice little station with it, which is in superb condition, and, believe it or not,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10it's probably going to be worth
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- maybe as much as £200 or so at auction.- That's nice.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19These have the look of somebody with a good eye. You clearly have got it,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23because all these things have got something about them
0:17:23 > 0:17:30which is appealing. If we go back in time, you've got a Wedgwood transfer-printed tile.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Yes.- These were put round fireplaces.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Um...this one is "September",
0:17:36 > 0:17:39so it's obviously one of the seasons,
0:17:39 > 0:17:46- and there would originally have been a whole set.- I have the whole set. - Oh, very nice. Oh, very nice.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51- I didn't bring them all for fear of damaging them.- That's sensible.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56- Have we got a mark on? Yes, we have. - They are all Wedgwood actually.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00The Wedgwood mark across there, dating from the 1870s.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Um, a set of those are going to be worth around...
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- £250 to £350.- I see.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12- I love this.- I've had that for a long time.- Do you know what it is?
0:18:12 > 0:18:18Er, well, it's creamware, obviously, isn't it? And I don't know what factory,
0:18:18 > 0:18:25- as so many factories did creamware, didn't they?- Absolutely. It's a later development of creamware.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29It's creamware with a slight blue tinge on it.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35You can see that very clearly here on the foot rim. And this is pearlware.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39This one dates from about 1795.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43What's joyous about it are these completely mad birds -
0:18:43 > 0:18:47I suppose they're doing a sort of love dance.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51- Yes.- Very charming. That's going to be worth around
0:18:51 > 0:18:55£250 to £350, maybe even a bit more.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01My first question is how did you come by this marvellous collection of beautiful ladies?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The two bronzes were family pieces.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08We've had them a long time. I'm not sure of their origin.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The other piece...
0:19:11 > 0:19:18my father bought a company from a 90-year-old gentleman in Bradford who was going into a nursing home,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23so he persuaded my father to buy the reclining lady plus two others.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28- I- wouldn't have taken much persuading! We'll come to her later.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- Right. - Perhaps if we start with this one...
0:19:31 > 0:19:35This is Austrian, almost certainly by a company called Bergmann.
0:19:35 > 0:19:42Annoyingly, I couldn't see any mark, but it's such wonderful quality that it's almost certainly by Bergmann,
0:19:42 > 0:19:48who produced cold-painted bronzes - bronzes with decoration that's painted on
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- rather than fired.- Right.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57You've got a Moorish girl here, helping the lady out of the bath.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01We see the wonderful naked body beneath.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- Yes.- It's very sexy. It's an absolutely marvellous piece.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08It dates from around about 1910.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11At auction today, it's worth £2,000 or £3,000.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- Yes.- Maybe even a little bit more.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- It's very, very nice.- Yes.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22- This one is double-walled.- Yes. - We've got an inner vessel,
0:20:22 > 0:20:27which contains the tea, and an outer vessel which has been pierced
0:20:27 > 0:20:29with this honeycomb pattern.
0:20:29 > 0:20:35This idea has been pinched straight from China of the 17th century.
0:20:35 > 0:20:42This is particularly common coming from Te-hua, Fukien province, in Southern China,
0:20:42 > 0:20:50on their blanc de Chine wares. From the 1650s onwards they did this, what was called Lin-lung work -
0:20:50 > 0:20:55devil's work - and it's been copied 100 years later in Staffordshire.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58A very nice and uncommon object,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01in basically good condition.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Um, that's going to be worth...
0:21:03 > 0:21:07around...£600 to £1,000.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- Really?- Very nice thing.
0:21:11 > 0:21:17- A slight problem with these. If you took that to San Francisco today without the right licences...- Yes.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20..they'd destroy it in front of you,
0:21:20 > 0:21:25- because the ivory...- Oh, yes!- There are problems with import and export.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27If you ever did decide to sell it
0:21:27 > 0:21:32in the American markets, you'd have to get the right licences.
0:21:32 > 0:21:39- Right.- She's suffered, sadly, in a way that these things do. She's lost the tip of a finger.- Yes.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43- The ivory has dried out slightly - there's a crack there.- Yes.
0:21:43 > 0:21:49- It COULD be cleaned. My inclination is to leave it alone. - Really?- I have to say.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53It's by a man called Philippe, who's signed it on the base.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59She's probably worth much the same - perhaps £2,000 or £3,000. Maybe a bit more.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- Right, yes.- Very popular, these theatrical figures.- Yes.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09- That is a rare item.- Yes. - Do you know what it is? - Yes, I know what it is.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- Not many people would know what this is.- No.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18- Shall I tell you a story about how I came to get that?- Do. - It was a church fair.
0:22:18 > 0:22:25They were raising money, and an auctioneer brought that in for people to guess what make it was,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- what year it was and what its purpose was.- Right.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33And...you paid to have a guess.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- Yes.- And I guessed right.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39You break an egg into there, put the lid on,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43shake it and, suddenly, you've got scrambled eggs!
0:22:43 > 0:22:48It's a very clever idea, and they were made by Wedgwood
0:22:48 > 0:22:51in the 18th century and early 19th century.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56- They're not common at all. - I haven't tried it!- You haven't?
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- I think £250, £350, no trouble at all.- Right!
0:23:00 > 0:23:05It's wonderful! You've a great eye. Thank you very much for bringing it in.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10Sexy ladies reclining on a couch, are very often found in art -
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Velazquez, Manet...
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and obviously, the most famous of all the carvings
0:23:16 > 0:23:21is the Canova of Madame Recamier reclining.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27And you know, one's mind immediately goes to those. You commented that you've noticed
0:23:27 > 0:23:32- people touching her.- Yes.- It is wonderfully tactile, and I think
0:23:32 > 0:23:35that's really the clue to the value of this.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41- We don't know who it's by, sadly. - No.- It's almost certainly Italian. - Yes.
0:23:41 > 0:23:48I would suspect she dates almost exactly the same as your chryselephantine figure...
0:23:48 > 0:23:50- Yes.- From the 1930s.- Right.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56Cold-painted decoration - this decoration here - which has survived pretty well,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and you've got a mixture of stones.
0:23:59 > 0:24:05and the textures and the forms are just so beautifully observed. It's absolutely marvellous.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10- I'd imagine she would make somewhere in excess of £10,000.- Really?
0:24:10 > 0:24:15- Which one are you taking home? - I like this lady.- Yeah.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- I know which one you're taking! - I'll take her.- Right!
0:24:18 > 0:24:23This is a complicated thing. Is that typical of what people bring?
0:24:23 > 0:24:30It is. It's what I HOPE they're going to bring. This is a lovely 19th-century microscope and, yes,
0:24:30 > 0:24:37- one of the best things I've seen so far.- "Miscellaneous" is the most difficult of all disciplines here,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- because it's everything, isn't it? - True. It's the most exciting.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46You never know if something like this will come out of a bag,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50or a postcard or a bit of broken tin. It's great!
0:24:50 > 0:24:57- What makes you sort of groan inwardly when it's brought up?- Bits of things.
0:24:57 > 0:25:03People who have part of an object and want to know what this handle actually wound,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05what this lid came from.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10- It doesn't happen that often.- You could, in fact, start a new trend.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14You could say, "This is worth collecting" and the word goes round.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18- That's an excellent idea! Why didn't- I- think of that?
0:25:18 > 0:25:23Oh, it's "Laying the foundation stone of the armoury at Burslem,
0:25:23 > 0:25:28"in commemoration of the coronation of Edward VIII."
0:25:28 > 0:25:35and it's got the badge of the First Volunteer Battalion of the Prince of Wales North Staffordshire Regiment.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40It's a very handsome trowel with a lovely carved ivory handle,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and I see it's got a further inscription on the back.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49"Owing to the King's illness, the presentation was postponed
0:25:49 > 0:25:51"to August the 5th
0:25:51 > 0:25:58"and the foundation stone of the armoury was laid on the 16th October 1902."
0:25:58 > 0:26:05That's rather nice. It was actually made by a silversmith, John Round, and that's his maker's mark there.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Right.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Made in Sheffield in 1899.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15These are not terribly saleable unless they've particularly interesting inscriptions.
0:26:15 > 0:26:23- This one HAS got one. What normally happens is, the inscriptions are erased and used as cake servers.- Yes.
0:26:23 > 0:26:29- Normally, these aren't valuable. - No.- But this one, because it is interesting, is worth £400 to £500.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- Oh, that's lovely!- Thank you.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36So, this mysterious YLVA... It's not a youth club or anything.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41- It's actually SYLVAC - Sylvac. - Yes, Sylvac.
0:26:41 > 0:26:48- Sylvac, which is collectable. Do you collect other pieces of Sylvac? - Yes I do.- What have you got?
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Um, I've got plaques, vases, jugs.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56- Dogs?- Um, corgi dogs.- Corgi dogs. - I've got four corgi dogs.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00I love this chap with the teapot head. He's completely flat!
0:27:00 > 0:27:05- Have you ever seen another one?- No. I've been Portobello Road in London,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- all the auctions... - How much would I have to offer you?
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- Go on, tell me. - I don't want to sell.- You don't?- No.
0:27:12 > 0:27:18- What's the most you've ever paid for a piece of Sylvac?- Um...- Ever?- £56.
0:27:18 > 0:27:25- I think this is worth £500, £600, £700.- Ah, you're joking!- No. - Oh!- I've never seen another one.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Oh, lovely. I'm not going to touch it again. I daren't take it home now.
0:27:32 > 0:27:38I've seen many ships' accounts and copy letter books. Mostly, they're terribly boring but here...
0:27:38 > 0:27:42What a gruesome tale unfolds when you read these!
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Gruesome, and at the same time, rather fascinating.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51These are slaves that were sold, and the people who bought them,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54down on this side here. This is incredible.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59"The sale of 234 slaves imported in the ship Dalrymple -
0:27:59 > 0:28:03"Pat Fairweather, master - out of Africa."
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Here they all are and the prices they all made.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11He bought two men there at £40 each - £80.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14So it goes on. The accounts go on,
0:28:14 > 0:28:21and on to the following page. This is 1778, don't forget, and the price here, the sum total, is £6,906.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25- That's a hell of a lot of money, isn't it?- It is, in those days.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Quite remarkable.
0:28:27 > 0:28:35Anyway, yes, absolutely - this is a great story and really needs cataloguing up incredibly well.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39We have "to be sold by auction". This is unusual in itself.
0:28:39 > 0:28:46This is an auction catalogue of the bounty, a prize to the Essex. Now, the Essex,
0:28:46 > 0:28:53obviously a private ship of war, and they stole from this ship from Amsterdam all these bits -
0:28:53 > 0:28:5829 hogsheads of clay'd sugar and so on, muscovado sugar, coffee, tobacco.
0:28:58 > 0:29:04The nice thing about this - because normally, these were thrown away afterwards -
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- you've got what everything made. - At the end of the sale.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12You very rarely ever see sale catalogues like that.
0:29:12 > 0:29:19You've compounded this. I mean, you've got all this material here. This here, the Essex -
0:29:19 > 0:29:25which was mentioned in that particular sale catalogue - you've got the wages book of the Essex.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29- Yes.- 1784. You notice very interesting things.
0:29:29 > 0:29:35Here, these ship's seamen... These are their wages, and it says here,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38"Run away in the West Indies". Remarkable.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42The other thing very evocative of its period...
0:29:42 > 0:29:46A lot of these seamen couldn't write, and you see here,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48James Hodgson, then "his mark".
0:29:48 > 0:29:53- He scratched it in there.- His mark, yes.- That's quite...- For his wages.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Tell me the history of them.
0:29:56 > 0:30:03They were going to be destroyed, and my father, approximately 50 years ago, rescued them, really.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07- Where were they before...? - They were in an old farm building.
0:30:07 > 0:30:14- Yes.- And I think they was clearing it out and someone was told just to burn them all
0:30:14 > 0:30:16and Father rescued a few of them.
0:30:16 > 0:30:23- Just these few? Because you've got receipts.- There was a lot more - big chests full.
0:30:23 > 0:30:31One dreams of finding this - Liverpool merchants dealing in slaves, sugar, and all the rest.
0:30:31 > 0:30:38- it is absolutely incredible. Now, it needs cataloguing.- Yes. - It needs going through very fully,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42but my feeling is it's probably a very valuable collection.
0:30:42 > 0:30:48- You'd have to pay in the region of £5,000.- You think so? - For this collection, yes.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52- Your father did a wonderful thing in rescuing these.- Thank you very much.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56Rupert, the owner of this has been told it's a fake.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02- How do you know?- Well, there's been a bit of publicity about this man.
0:31:02 > 0:31:09He's a bus driver and fakes them in his kitchen. I was warned I might see a Picabia drawing at a Roadshow.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14Now, why else? Well, because, if you look at this face,
0:31:14 > 0:31:20there's something curiously modern about it. It's like a shopkeeper's dummy.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23That sort of gives it away.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27- Picabia wouldn't have done that. - Is the discoloration to age it?
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Yes. That's clever. He's made some very strong tea
0:31:31 > 0:31:33and he's painted the paper
0:31:33 > 0:31:39to make it look as though it's been damaged by age and light.
0:31:39 > 0:31:46- Is this intrinsically worthless? - Good question. I think so. I think fakes are worthless, full stop,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50but some people disagree and like to see fakers fool the "experts".
0:31:51 > 0:31:57At a casual glance this does pass for a Picabia. There's a lesson to be learned here.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02You have to look very, very carefully and question everything.
0:32:02 > 0:32:08I used to go in the drawer, take it out and pretend she was my little sister.
0:32:08 > 0:32:14- Well, you've treated her very well because...- She's lovely. - ..she's in superb condition.
0:32:14 > 0:32:21This is poured wax, as opposed to having a composition underneath it, and a little thin layer of wax.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25So this was literally poured into a mould,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29then the eyes would be put up through this shoulder plate.
0:32:29 > 0:32:36In the middle of the 19th century, in England, we were really good at making wax dolls.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42And the famous makers of the time were Montanari, Meach and Marsh.
0:32:44 > 0:32:50I think this is probably by Montanari. Now, this actual whole dress is silk taffeta
0:32:50 > 0:32:54and it is SO fragile, yet it's in wonderful condition.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57So this real hair...
0:32:57 > 0:33:00is individually inserted into the wax,
0:33:00 > 0:33:02wonderful, real human hair.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Glass eyes... Quite a petulant face.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09- Beautiful. - Lovely little face.- She's beautiful.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12So, a Montanari doll in the original clothes.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16I'd say an auction value of between £700 and £900.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Lovely!
0:33:20 > 0:33:24It's most unusual to find, on the bottom of a piece of Shelley,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27a name and a date. Who was GM Hitchen?
0:33:27 > 0:33:33That's my maiden name, and I was allowed to paint this tea set for my own wedding present in 1934.
0:33:33 > 0:33:40- Really? So were you working for Shelley at the time?- I didn't work for Shelley. I didn't work.
0:33:40 > 0:33:47We purchased the tea set so that we could paint it for a client in red carnations,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50but we couldn't find the right red.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53The client got fed up and said, "Don't bother."
0:33:53 > 0:33:57So the boss of the works at the pottery said,
0:33:57 > 0:34:03"You can paint that to your own design for your wedding present." So that's a one-off -
0:34:03 > 0:34:06So I painted it myself,
0:34:06 > 0:34:12did all the banding, lining, painting, and he let me have it
0:34:12 > 0:34:14for me wedding present.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18- Did you do the gilding too? - Yes - real burnished gold.- Right.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21NOT the, er...
0:34:21 > 0:34:29the cheap gold. And if you upset a pot of gold on your overall, your overall's taken off you
0:34:29 > 0:34:35- and burned to recover the gold. - Really?- Yes.- Not many people make their own wedding present.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40- No.- It's all still there - six cups and saucers.- All complete.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45- All complete and in lovely condition too.- Yes, yes. - I'd have thought, commercially,
0:34:45 > 0:34:51- with such a lovely story, it's worth about £300 to £400 for the set.- Yes.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54But, of course, you'll never sell it. No.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59This VR cipher denotes this handkerchief as belonging to Queen Victoria.
0:34:59 > 0:35:05- Yes.- How did you come to have one of Queen Victoria's handkerchiefs? - Well,
0:35:05 > 0:35:11my great-aunt used to string the pearls for Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16And when she retired, Queen Alexandra gave her this box,
0:35:16 > 0:35:21- which is Victoria's handkerchief box. - Right.- And all the things inside it.
0:35:21 > 0:35:27So the box was reputedly Queen Victoria's, and this is one of her handkerchiefs?
0:35:27 > 0:35:31- That's right. Yes.- Obviously, with that family provenance,
0:35:31 > 0:35:37- I think it's obviously indisputable. - Yes.- Um...now, um, I mean, my feeling is
0:35:37 > 0:35:43- that this handkerchief and this boullework box are probably worth £200.- Oh!
0:35:43 > 0:35:49- Well, who do you think this little drawing's by?- Well, I'm hoping you're going to say John Constable.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53So many people come into the Antiques Roadshow saying,
0:35:53 > 0:35:59"I've got this Constable" and so many people one has to disappoint.
0:35:59 > 0:36:05- but I do think this stands a good chance of being by Constable. - Hope so.- It's fascinating,
0:36:05 > 0:36:12because it's Constable at the very, very beginning of his life, probably in the sort of late 1790s.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16His life was difficult at the beginning as an artist,
0:36:16 > 0:36:22- because his father wanted him to join him in his watermill business in Suffolk.- Right.
0:36:22 > 0:36:30And he really wanted to be an artist and he studied with the watercolourist John Thomas Smith,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32who was known as "Antiquity Smith".
0:36:32 > 0:36:37You can certainly see influences of his style in this.
0:36:37 > 0:36:43you can see the outline of the pen and the nice wash shadings...
0:36:43 > 0:36:49- and of course, at the same time, what is very typical of Constable - this Dutch influence.- Yes.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54He was a product of the Norwich School, the East Anglian School.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59- So would he be getting a training? - He would have been training.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03That's why you see the influence of John Thomas Smith's style.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06But, um, where did you get this, actually?
0:37:08 > 0:37:13- They were bought as a pair in 1971 at an auction in Suffolk.- In Suffolk?
0:37:13 > 0:37:18- That's fascinating. Obviously, Constable came from Suffolk.- Indeed.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23- That ties in neatly.- They were bought as being from his sketchbook.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29Yes, and I think that in order definitely to establish this little drawing, which is so fascinating -
0:37:29 > 0:37:35such a wonderful piece of history and such a wonderful indication of his origins -
0:37:35 > 0:37:39- you would need now for it to be seen by the Tate Gallery.- Right.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43If they gave it the OK, then you've got a real Constable.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45- Right.- And I think you probably have.
0:37:45 > 0:37:51- You're probably now expecting me to say it's worth £300,000.- No.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56- Knowing if it's by him, that would make the value for me. - I'm glad you take that view,
0:37:56 > 0:38:03because as an early almost curiosity by the artist, it's not worth an enormous amount of money.
0:38:03 > 0:38:09- Yes.- Perhaps you should insure it for £1,200 or £1,500 - something like that.- Yes.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14- At last, an almost genuine Constable on the Roadshow! - It's still "almost"! Thank you.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18My grandfather actually bought it.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23This is the lady who, um... had the collection,
0:38:23 > 0:38:29and you notice she's wearing these pearl earrings and that ring in the picture.
0:38:29 > 0:38:35It's so good to have a photograph of someone actually wearing them. The pearls -
0:38:35 > 0:38:38let's just have a look at those first,
0:38:38 > 0:38:44because these are very classic design. So wearable - just drop pearls at the end of diamond bars.
0:38:44 > 0:38:51It's interesting because, if you have a look at the pearls, they're not actually very well matched.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55- No.- On the ears, you can't tell the difference,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57but close-up,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01one of them is more pointed than the other.
0:39:01 > 0:39:06- Yes, right.- I think, looking at the surface nacre of these pearls,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10their sort of quality and style, and particularly their period,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14they would be natural pearls rather than cultured pearls.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18- Being natural pearls, they're pretty big.- Yes.
0:39:18 > 0:39:24And you've got these lovely, simple collet-set stones in between.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Those, I would think, by themselves...
0:39:29 > 0:39:34are going to be worth something in the region of maybe £4,000,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38- just by themselves.- Oh, my God! - But may we move on a bit?
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- Yes!- Um, you mentioned that,
0:39:41 > 0:39:48in the photograph, she was wearing this solitaire diamond ring. When you get close up to it with a lens,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52you see that it's got quite a lot of carbon spots in it.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56- Oh.- The more marks inside a diamond, the more the value goes down.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59If I have a look at that one,
0:39:59 > 0:40:04the centre diamond is relatively clean and it's a pretty setting -
0:40:04 > 0:40:09in platinum with smaller diamonds going around the stone itself.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13- Sapphire and diamond bar brooch. - I remember her wearing that.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17- Did she wear it high up on the neck? - On her lapel,
0:40:17 > 0:40:22- if she was wearing a jacket.- Did she wear it at a rakish slant?- Yes.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28These are Burmese sapphires and diamonds - the old cushion-shape diamonds.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32That's a classic brooch from around about 1910 or 1915.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34This is a pendant necklace,
0:40:34 > 0:40:38with pale blue aquamarines in pearl frames.
0:40:39 > 0:40:45That was my great-grandmother bought that for my grandmother's 21st,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48or round about her 21st birthday.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52It was given to my mother on her 21st and then to me.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56- Will YOU pass it on? - I haven't any girls, so...!
0:40:58 > 0:41:02My favourite piece - the diamond heart-shaped locket.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07Super, great big, fat heart with a star, but what I like about it...
0:41:07 > 0:41:09If we turn it over,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12you see that, inside, there is a rock crystal cover
0:41:12 > 0:41:18and then you can put inside there a photograph or a lock of hair
0:41:18 > 0:41:25The Victorians were such practical people. You have a pendant, but you could put something inside it too.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- How does it open?- Let's have a look.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34You've got a very, very fine little ridge going round the outside. If we pull that back...
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Oh, right, quite easy.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40There we are. The diamond ear studs...
0:41:40 > 0:41:44They really match in with the period of this.
0:41:44 > 0:41:51These are made in around about 1915, something like that. Very simple set, platinum mounted.
0:41:51 > 0:41:57Each of the diamonds weighs about a carat and a half. Nice, clean stones - well made, brilliant.
0:41:57 > 0:42:04But you've got a PAIR of stones, so those, you see, by themselves are extremely commercial.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Now, prices. Gem-set pendant -
0:42:07 > 0:42:09maybe around about £600.
0:42:10 > 0:42:18The sapphire and diamond bar brooch, with chunky diamonds and sapphires - that's probably worth £2,500-£3,000.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- Adding up, isn't it?- Yes, I'll say!
0:42:22 > 0:42:28Um, diamond heart-shaped locket - hearts are incredibly popular. The break value of the diamonds
0:42:28 > 0:42:31is at least around about £2,500,
0:42:31 > 0:42:36so we're looking, just for that one, at about £3,000 to £4,000.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Then your diamond earrings.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43They are something of a piece de resistance here.
0:42:44 > 0:42:50The diamond ring - that's going to be worth in the region of £3,000 to £4,000 for that
0:42:50 > 0:42:56and then those in with it mean those are worth about £5,000 to £6,000.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01That with the flawed stone is not as valuable.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05We're looking at a total saleroom value, for the whole collection,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09of maybe something in the region of £20,000 to £25,000.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Right, don't wear them when we go down the pub!
0:43:16 > 0:43:21This has been one of the busiest days our experts have known,
0:43:21 > 0:43:27with an extraordinary range of items from Queen Victoria's hankie to the ship's accounts from a slave trader,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31and the first Constable that I've ever seen outside a museum.
0:43:31 > 0:43:37AND I think I've met most of the people of Biddulph! Until next week, goodbye.
0:43:50 > 0:43:55Subtitles by Valery Tough BBC Scotland 2000
0:43:55 > 0:43:58E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk