0:00:33 > 0:00:39This week, we returned, as we said we would, to Egham and Runnymede,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41birthplace of the Magna Carta
0:00:41 > 0:00:44and home to Holloway's College for Women.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50The wherewithal for this vast and lavish project came from the application of this.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Thomas Holloway was one of many notable Victorians
0:00:54 > 0:00:58deeply committed to social and economic change.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Although not from a rich family, he showed enterprise and determination.
0:01:05 > 0:01:12His product was a "good for what ails you" ointment, made from a secret recipe.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Actually, it was beeswax, resin, lanolin and olive oil.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22With this and other potions he was going to cure and conquer the world.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24He set about the hard sell -
0:01:24 > 0:01:30boards carrying his advertisements went up from the Pyramids to Niagara Falls.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33The Holloway technique was quite audacious.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37He paid a theatre company £1,000 to mention his product in a pantomime.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40"Look behind you! It's the ointment!"
0:01:40 > 0:01:47He even asked Charles Dickens to give him a plug in Dombey And Son. The great writer declined.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Having made his millions, Holloway's first contribution was this -
0:01:51 > 0:01:53a sanatorium in Virginia Water.
0:01:53 > 0:02:00It was ornately decorated in the hope the inmates would be cured, in part, by distraction.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04At about that time, American beer baron, Matthew Vassar,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07built a college for women.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13Holloway was not to be outdone. He built his own women's college - the Royal Holloway.
0:02:13 > 0:02:19Each student had two rooms, plus a common room for tea parties.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Vassar's college had an art gallery;
0:02:21 > 0:02:26the Englishman responded by with a BIGGER collection of Victorian art,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30including this one - The Marriage Market, Babylon, by Edwin Long.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Interesting choice for a women's college.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41Thomas Holloway's gift to English womanhood has gone to a sort of emancipation in reverse -
0:02:41 > 0:02:46it's now Royal Holloway, University of London.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50And the Antiques Roadshow experts are here for another term.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53They're painted, actually, on glass.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59- Yeah. You have two of these? - No, I have this one and this one.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05- Whenever I look at it, it makes me smile.- How do you use her?
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Well, I use her as a torchere. I put some flowers in a vase on top.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Well, that's what she is.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16It would have been a candlestick or flowers.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19A torchere is the word for this.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23To me, it's a mermaid and her baby, and I think it's lovely.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Do you know anything about it?
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- No. I would imagine it's Italian, but that's only a guess.- That's...
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Otherwise I know nothing.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Yes, you're right. Venice is the most likely source.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Venice has always been a centre of wood carvers,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43of makers of decorative works of art for hundreds of years.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47And Venice still has workshops and all sorts of elaborate things.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52This was probably made in 1900-1910, difficult to be precise,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55but sort of Art Nouveau-ish period.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01It's a mixture of styles. You've got Modernism, which is Art Nouveau
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and all these flowing lines.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09If you look at her hair, this flowing hair, almost like seaweed,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12is the way Art-Nouveau women were drawn.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17At the same time, you've got the Rococo, the Beaux Arts -
0:04:17 > 0:04:20styles of the 18th and 19th centuries.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25And the workshops in Venice were selling the old and the new,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and this brings it all together.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33- You know it's all made of wood? - Yes.- And then gessoed with plaster.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38- Yes.- Do you have other things like this? How does she live at home?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42She lives, um... I mean, I've got nothing the same as this,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46but I do have other things that are carved
0:04:46 > 0:04:52- and slightly, you know...- That are decorative in that sense?- Yes, yes. - But nothing like her?
0:04:52 > 0:04:57- No.- You'd never find another one, would you?- I don't think so.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Because she's so desirable, I think a collector would pay around...
0:05:02 > 0:05:06£1,000 to £1,500 for her, because she's fun and decorative.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- 'This is your favourite piece?- Yes.'
0:05:12 > 0:05:17- Why?- It just looks like a family bundle of rats.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- And the detail, especially their eyes.- I love this character.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26And there's the signature of the man who carved it.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32- This is from a group. Here are four. How many are there altogether? - Originally, there were 40.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38- And where did they come from?- My husband's grandfather was a Dutchman,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and he studied in Delft University around 1920, I think.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45He made friends with Hirohito,
0:05:45 > 0:05:50and in the '60s, he went on a trip to Japan and contacted him,
0:05:50 > 0:05:56and Hirohito presented him with this box and told him that he shouldn't open it until he got home,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58and inside there were 40 netsuke.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02What an extraordinary story. This is not a netsuke.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Some people think that anything small and ivory is a netsuke,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11but netsuke carvers were out of business when, in the late 19th C,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15the Japanese court decided to abandon traditional Japanese dress,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19so all the people who'd been making netsuke
0:06:19 > 0:06:23started to make these little decorative objects called okimono.
0:06:23 > 0:06:30Carving netsuke started in the 18th century and you've got a splendid 18th-century example here.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33This is cut off a triangular sliver,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- an outside sliver of elephant ivory. - Yes.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40They've used the outside section - beautiful thing.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44There he is - this long, bearded sage,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47looking slightly morose, deep in thought.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50My favourite's this boxwood carving,
0:06:50 > 0:06:57there he is, little Ratty, crawling out of his box. He's beautiful.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02- Very cheeky.- Ivory, bone, boxwood... this is the odd one out.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Now this, unlike the other pieces, was carved in China,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and is made of jade.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14It's 18th century, it's a beautiful piece of quality jade. Lovely.
0:07:14 > 0:07:21In terms of value - I haven't seen the whole collection, but these four may give you some guide.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27Your 19th-century rats are probably worth between £300 and £500.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Your early 18th-century netsuke
0:07:29 > 0:07:33is worth between £300 and £400.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Your 19th-century rat coming out of a box -
0:07:36 > 0:07:40again, £300 or £400. And your Chinese jade,
0:07:40 > 0:07:47- well, I think that's 18th century and it's got to be of the order of £400 to £600.- Mmm.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54- These dolls, made by Pierotti, belong to you?- Yes.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58I'm the great, great, great-grandson of the original Pierotti
0:07:58 > 0:08:00who moved over from Italy to England.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Absolutely. Domenico, his son, was sent to England
0:08:04 > 0:08:09because he fell out of a tree and he was sent to England to recover
0:08:09 > 0:08:11and his aunt taught him modelling.
0:08:11 > 0:08:17She made small dolls out of papier mache and then coated them in wax.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And that is how it all started.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25In 1849, he started modelling Queen Victoria's children,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30and he won a prize at the Bazaar at the Pantheon in Paris
0:08:30 > 0:08:32for his babies.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I think he was probably the king of wax-doll makers, Domenico,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and then Henry, his son, took over.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Very often, in the beginning, they used beeswax,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48then it was a mixture of beeswax, candlewax and turps.
0:08:48 > 0:08:54But to get the colour, they used carmine and white lead.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Well, white lead - as we all know - is poisonous
0:08:58 > 0:09:05and poor Charles, who was Henry's son, died of lead poisoning in 1892,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09and his poor mother and sisters took over the business,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and that's how it progressed. So your mother was one of...?
0:09:13 > 0:09:20She was the daughter of Enrico Walter, who was the last one making dolls with his brother.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- Right up to the 1930s. - Yes. My understanding is
0:09:24 > 0:09:29that this was made for a nativity play for my mother's school.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33We estimate that must have been round about 1920.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39It has inserted little eyelashes - incredible insertion with a little needle -
0:09:39 > 0:09:41and all round the line of the scalp
0:09:41 > 0:09:46you will have needle insertions of single human hair,
0:09:46 > 0:09:53and tufts of hair would be inserted in the rest of the head to make it look realistic.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58What fascinates me is you've got two heads here...
0:09:58 > 0:10:03This one is a man. It's so unusual to find a wax doll of a man,
0:10:03 > 0:10:09although Pierotti did go into making famous people.
0:10:09 > 0:10:15- This is all you've got?- We've got more limbs in another box, but we just brought those.- Headless limbs?
0:10:15 > 0:10:20- Those are all the heads we've got. - With about five times as many limbs.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26- Lots and lots of limbs.- Well, I can only imagine they made, obviously, many more limbs than they did heads!
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Your baby there...
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Very often Pierotti signed with the whole name at the back of the head,
0:10:32 > 0:10:40but that isn't signed and because it is religious, it doesn't make as much money as if it were a doll.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Having said that, coming with your provenance,
0:10:44 > 0:10:50- I can see a museum certainly paying as much as £1,000 for it.- Yes.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54And even the limbs are probably worth something to a wax maker!
0:10:56 > 0:11:00..The wine cooler is clearly mahogany, from the Regency period,
0:11:00 > 0:11:06but what is interesting about these books, is that the books stop before the Regency period.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09The age of satinwood was up until about 1800,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and the Regency wine cooler's from 1810-1820.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17So when this was written - here we are, 1904 -
0:11:17 > 0:11:21nobody had considered the Regency period at all.
0:11:21 > 0:11:27So here's a major book, one of the first serious dictionaries of English furniture,
0:11:27 > 0:11:33written by Percy Macquoid in 1904 - I think the last volume was 1908 -
0:11:33 > 0:11:37not talking about Regency furniture at all. 1800 was the cut-off date.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Macquoid was a decorator and advisor to wealthy people.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46He left part of his collection to this museum in Brighton.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Here you have an oak chair, probably Flemish, circa 1500,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55but we now know that, in fact, it's a fake,
0:11:55 > 0:12:01- made in the back streets of London about 1850-1880.- Extraordinary.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05And this is one of the problems with this book,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09and also fascinating, that a lot of pieces were actually fakes.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13And in this one, we've got the Age Of Mahogany,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18- and here we have a piece of... - Walnut.- ..walnut. A walnut cabinet.
0:12:18 > 0:12:25But a cabinet like this, with these oyster veneers, which is typical of the William and Mary period,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28wouldn't have cabriole legs like that.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34It'd probably have an extra drawer and on low bun feet or a low stand.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38So here is a major colour plate in the book and it's clearly not right.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43- So the people who are named in the book wouldn't have known this, would they?- No, not at all.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Here we have two pieces by William Kent from Houghton Hall in Norfolk,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52and they were perfectly right, they weren't fakes at all.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56The books are really rather a descending investment,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00whereas the Regency pieces are ascending, so it compensates a bit.
0:13:00 > 0:13:06And these were reprinted in the last decade and the value has gone down.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11A set like this probably between... £400 and £500 in a shop.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17- But the Regency piece of furniture here, which looks like it's been in the family for a long time...- Yes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19..that's going up in value.
0:13:19 > 0:13:26You can expect an auction value of £2,000 to £3,000, and if you wanted to insure it, and cleaned up a bit,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31- slightly more than £4,000 today. - Well, that's wonderful. Thank you.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- Wonderful. Now we know. - Yes, now we know.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40Are there many of the founder's possessions known to have survived?
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Very few. This is probably the most important one, from the founder himself.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51- There's lots of pot lids and ointment jars, but his own possessions - very few.- Bearing the name.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57- Bearing his name, yeah. - Right, this is actually his watch.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01We've got a date on it. It seems to be just the hallmarks for 1814.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Presumably that will be before.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Holloway was born 1800, so he'd only be 14 when that watch was hallmarked.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13- Then it obviously wasn't something that he acquired new.- Yes.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18- Whether this was given to him as a bad debt... - It's actually got a signature on it,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and the signature is "McMaster of Dublin".
0:14:22 > 0:14:26It's a peculiar watch - it's got a rack-lever escapement,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29which means it has a lever, but uses a rack.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33The balance cock of the watch has actually got the harp,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37which is significant of Ireland,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and it has a Dublin maker's name and the hallmark's Chester.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Liverpool is where the rack lever was invented
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and Chester was a suitable hallmarking office,
0:14:48 > 0:14:54and obviously it was made for this Dublin maker, so maybe he was a travelling man.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57We've got no record of him going to Ireland.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03I think your idea that he might have taken it as a bad debt is a good one.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09I think so, because he was a stickler for people paying their way and he may well have accepted a watch.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13He might not have known how valuable it was,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17but he would have said, "Yes, that looks a nice watch, worth so much."
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Well, as something that belongs to the college, it's priceless,
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- but for the benefit of anybody who might own the same watch...- Yeah.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32- it's probably worth something around about £700 or £800.- I see.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36- Is that because of its age?- Because of the unusual escapement, its age
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- and the gold case. - Yeah. Thank you very much indeed.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Now, how long have you been the proud owner of this glorious pot?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- About 30 years. It was a gift from my wife.- Oh, very nice.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52It is a glorious pot because it's got so much going on -
0:15:52 > 0:15:58thick dripping glazes and also, it's been beautifully veined,
0:15:58 > 0:16:04it's got flashes of oxblood red and this lovely cobalt coming through.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09It looks ancient. It looks like when you take the top off,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13- you'd expect a genie to appear.- Yes. - You're using it as a tobacco jar,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- which is what it's been designed for.- Mmm.
0:16:16 > 0:16:23- But when you look at that, the name Royal Doulton is not one that would normally come to mind.- No.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25But when we turn it over,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28you've got all this information.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31You've got "Chang" - the type of glaze,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35"Noke" - he was the head of the art department,
0:16:35 > 0:16:42"HN" is for Harry Nixon. This was made during the late 1920s,
0:16:42 > 0:16:48and they used to be locked away in a room in Nile Street in Burslem
0:16:48 > 0:16:55and none of the other Royal Doulton workers were ever allowed into that inner sanctum.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00They were very much the A-Team as far as Royal Doulton were concerned.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Now, when it comes to value,
0:17:03 > 0:17:08if your wife wanted to buy you another one for your next birthday,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13she'd have to pay somewhere in the region of £1,200 to £1,500.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- It's not bad, is it?- Not bad at all.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22I inherited it from my aunt, whose husband gave it to my aunt,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26but I don't know the history of it, apart from that.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30It's an interesting cluster ring. When I first saw it,
0:17:30 > 0:17:36- I thought to myself it's going to be something like a topaz or one of these brown sapphires.- Yes.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39It's a diamond in the centre
0:17:39 > 0:17:44and on this side, we have another one in white,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48but the most interesting one is this one
0:17:48 > 0:17:51because this is a bluey-green one.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57All diamond-set, but all different colours and, from my point of view,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00seeing coloured diamonds, it always is very exciting
0:18:00 > 0:18:05because coloured diamonds are extremely rare.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09This one is almost a sort of yellowish-brown colour,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13but this one is the one that's quite exciting
0:18:13 > 0:18:17because one of the rarest colours you can find are blue
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and even rarer is the colour green.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25The surrounding line of diamonds around the three principal stones
0:18:25 > 0:18:30- is a different period from the three centre stones.- Oh.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I think it's Victorian, this cluster,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36with this nipped-in silver setting.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40But when we look at the three principal diamonds,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43we see that they're claw-set stones.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47The diamonds themselves are cushion shaped, Victorian cut stones,
0:18:47 > 0:18:52and I think they were probably cut in maybe around about 1900 to 1905.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59Valuing fancy diamonds is very, very difficult.
0:18:59 > 0:19:05There are so many subtle nuances of colour - greyish-blue, bluish-grey, greenish-blue, bluish-green,
0:19:05 > 0:19:11and what you have to do with them is send them off to a laboratory,
0:19:11 > 0:19:17where they will actually issue a certificate stating exactly what the colour is.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Let's suppose that it comes back
0:19:19 > 0:19:24as being a natural fancy green-blue diamond, or blue-green diamond,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and they can say it with certainty,
0:19:27 > 0:19:32in which case I'm going to be very broad with my pricing here and say,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35hopefully, at least £2,500 to £3,000,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40but it could very well be worth £5,000 with all the right gradings.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43That's very good news. Thank you.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48This is quite a find. Now, what we have here is a waist-belt clasp.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52On the back is stamped "Earls Court Exhibition".
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Right, on the front we have
0:19:55 > 0:19:58"1887 Jubilee".
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Now, that's Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee,
0:20:02 > 0:20:08- and this was the very first time that Buffalo Bill came to England with his Wild West Show.- Uh-huh.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11And he brought Annie Oakley with him,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15and there's Annie Oakley firing away, laying back on a horse.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20She was introduced to Queen Victoria and Queen Victoria said to her,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- "You're a clever little lady". Where did you get it?- Car boot.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- How much did you pay for it?- £30.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32- I think you could certainly put one nought on the end of that.- Lovely.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- Possibly £300 to £400.- Really?- Yes. Annie Oakley is really collectable.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Oh, brilliant. Thank you.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Ackerman published dozens and dozens of books,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47but seldom did he produce something quite as exotic as this.
0:20:47 > 0:20:53And, in this place, I think we get a taste of the style of the book.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58He commissioned some of the leading illustrators of the day to do these plates -
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Rowlandson and Pugin -
0:21:01 > 0:21:06that's not Pugin the architect, this is Pugin's father.
0:21:06 > 0:21:12Here we have a wonderful view of the hall at Carlton House, which was the Prince Regent's house.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16The Prince Regent spent masses of money doing up this building.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18In fact, in the end, it fell down.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23So this is a snapshot in 1808 of Carlton House.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27The type of illustration is an aquatint,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and it's been hand-coloured and, because it's never been opened,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35you've got this dazzling colour. Where do you keep these at home?
0:21:35 > 0:21:40- They've been on a shelf for years. - Sitting, collecting dust?- Exactly.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45They are in lovely condition, but here you have this weird shadow -
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- this is the offsetting of the colour.- Oh.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- So that has gone onto that page? - That's right.
0:21:51 > 0:21:57It's a sort of burning of the acids in the colour and you've got this shadow, which is a slight pity,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01but is very typical for Ackermans of this period.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05In this other volume, there's an absolute wonderful illustration
0:22:05 > 0:22:09of the Exhibition Hall at the Royal Watercolour Exhibition.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14All the elegant figures of the day going through, and a description -
0:22:14 > 0:22:18"Art in Britain today". And this chap, Abbe Winkelmann,
0:22:18 > 0:22:23says that a country with an awful climate can't produce good artists.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29"Owing to the absence of good weather, the English have never yet had a single painter of eminence,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33"the French however have had two, one of whom is Poussin."
0:22:33 > 0:22:38- So you've got to have nice weather to produce decent artists(!)- Right.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44Actually, Ackerman has got some wonderful artists here. The whole thing is absolutely packed with...
0:22:44 > 0:22:50There are about 104 plates, all of this dazzling quality.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54There's a lovely little note in volume one at the beginning,
0:22:54 > 0:23:00which says something about how much it's worth, which I think is quite amusing.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05Here it says, "A copy sold at Christie's in 1946 for £260."
0:23:05 > 0:23:09It would have been a pretty good investment to have bought it then,
0:23:09 > 0:23:14and this set now, at auction, would make
0:23:14 > 0:23:18somewhere between £3,500 and £4,000.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22And you ought to insure them for £5,500 or £6,000.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27- So £260 in 1946 and nearly £5,000 today. Wonderful set.- Thank you.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32- ..But you've got to have a very big room to display, haven't you?- Yes.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- ..Tell me how you got it.- My mum gave it to me when I was this size,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- so that's 21 years ago.- But you didn't play with it?- Occasionally,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46but it lived in a cupboard most of the time.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52- Well, quite right, because you know it's by Steiff.- We saw the button in the ear, so we thought maybe it was.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Got a button in the ear, but the interesting thing about this button
0:23:56 > 0:23:59is that it's a blank,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01which shows that it's really early,
0:24:01 > 0:24:07because the first buttons Steiff made had an embossed elephant on it,
0:24:07 > 0:24:12which was the first animal that she ever made, which was a pincushion.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16And this is probably the interim between
0:24:16 > 0:24:21putting their name - embossed "Steiff" - on it, and the elephant,
0:24:21 > 0:24:27so this is somewhere around 1903, 1904, so a very early one.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Plus the fact he's a white one -
0:24:29 > 0:24:33it's a very collectable colour
0:24:33 > 0:24:37because they didn't make as many white ones as they did the beige.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Right.- He's a lovely size, he's in wonderful condition.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46- Did you get him with this outfit? - Yeah, and the box.
0:24:46 > 0:24:51Whether it was made by Steiff or by your grandmother or whatever,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55it's beautiful. It looks completely right with the cap. Wonderful.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00Got the original eyes, little boot button eyes - shoe buttons, really,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03because boot buttons are bigger.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07And I would put an insurance value on him of somewhere around
0:25:07 > 0:25:11£1,000 to £1,500.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Ooh, goodness!
0:25:14 > 0:25:19- Be a while before she's playing with him!- So don't let her play with it.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24- Isn't that marvellous?- Mmm, have to look after him now.- Wonderful.- Wow!
0:25:24 > 0:25:26..Which is your favourite?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Oh, I... Well...
0:25:29 > 0:25:33that I really like because it's Art Nouveau.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Exactly. This is typically Art Nouveau.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40The colours of the enamelled areas here, this lovely blue-green colour
0:25:40 > 0:25:46- is typical of the period between about 1890 and 1910.- Right.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Now, the hallmarks are very clear.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51The London hallmarks are 1905,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55then the maker's mark of William Hutton and Sons.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Their chief designer at this time was somebody called Kate Harris
0:25:59 > 0:26:04and I'm sure this would have been designed by her.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07This is a tortoiseshell photo frame,
0:26:07 > 0:26:14silver mounted in tortoiseshell and if we turn it over, we should find some hallmarks. There they are,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- on the side there. - Yeah.- 1898.- Right.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21So it's a late-Victorian silver-mounted tortoiseshell frame.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26Now, tortoiseshell actually comes from the hawksbill turtle.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30It's an endangered species, so it's illegal to import it these days.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35Tortoiseshell is - especially with silver - very, very popular.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40This one dates from a bit later than the tortoiseshell one - 1906.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44The hallmarks are clear. It's very pretty with this pierced band
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and then blue enamel behind.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Um, photograph frames don't really date before about 1870-1880,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56even though photographs had been made for long before that.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01I think photographs weren't mass produced until that sort of time,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06then it became a status symbol. Once you had made some money
0:27:06 > 0:27:11then you would have silver frames of your family, of your ancestors.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17If I was to suggest the best investments in antique silver over the last 20 years,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21it wouldn't be Georgian silver necessarily,
0:27:21 > 0:27:26- it would probably be silver frames like these.- Would it?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Enamel and silver combined together is always popular.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35- Even a small frame like that would be worth about £600 to £700.- Right.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40A frame like that - you wouldn't buy that in a shop for under £1,000.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44- Right.- Um, I think probably the most valuable is the tortoiseshell.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49Silver-mounted tortoiseshell is fashionable, so are photo frames.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54I think, probably, that's going to be worth well in excess of £2,500.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55Right.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04Well, we've heard all about Holloway's potions and pills doing people good for whatever ails them,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- but this is a book of advice.- Yes.
0:28:06 > 0:28:12It was published after his death in 1900 and it's got all kinds of crazy information.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Apart from having an almanac for 1900,
0:28:15 > 0:28:23it tells you about a Patagonian funeral, quaint South American customs and Australian girls.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26"The Australian girl is tall and slender.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32"She lacks somewhat in complexion, but generally, she is pretty." Well, that's fair enough.
0:28:32 > 0:28:39"Advice on cranial covering. Few ladies know they carry 40 or 50 miles of hair on their heads.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45"The fair haired may even have to dress 70 miles of threads of gold every morning." What a prospect.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49- Amazing, isn't it?- And people took notice of this as well.- Yes.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54- Nowadays politically incorrect, some of it.- Oh, yes, I'm afraid so!
0:28:54 > 0:28:56But this is 1900.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59..These are the real gems.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03- Really?- What did you pay for those? - A couple of pound each or something.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06- Do you know where they were made? - No.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10- Well, they were made in Sunderland. - Right.- This is a really nice one,
0:29:10 > 0:29:15with a hen. "Saviour of mankind adopts the figure of the hen,
0:29:15 > 0:29:21- "To show the strength of his regard for the lost sons of men." A nice, religious verse.- Yes.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26This one is the mariner's compass - again, you know, a shipping thing.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30- As I said, Sunderland about 1820. And you paid?- A pound each.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35- Not much more than that.- Well, I think the pair at an antique fair...
0:29:35 > 0:29:40- probably £250-£300.- Oh, my gosh! - Easily.- You're joking.- No.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Thank you.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46- When did you start collecting dog collars?- About six years ago.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50I went to Portobello and I fell in love with one of these dog collars.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54Since then I've been looking out for them all the time.
0:29:54 > 0:30:00- From £50 to £200 I've paid for them. - The prices have rocketed up in the last two or three years.- They have.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04And hard to get hold of. I hardly ever see them these days.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09- And are you a dog lover?- Oh, yes. - How many have you got?- One - Katie.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14- But lots of collars!- Lots of everything on dogs, not just collars.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19I like this big mastiff one with the owner's name on - W Reid, Lymington.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23You can imagine a huge guard dog chained up, and if he escapes,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Mr Reid would have expected him to be returned.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29And this sweet little chap
0:30:29 > 0:30:34- which would have gone on a little poodle or chihuahua.- Yes.
0:30:34 > 0:30:40And somebody who lived in Tyldesley, Mr Crompton, wanted his pooch back. That one's made of nickel.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45In imitation silver and bright cut with a leather liner to it,
0:30:45 > 0:30:50so that little poochy's neck didn't get too strained, which is sweet.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Here's another one with a leather liner, but for a butch dog.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59Studs on the outer rim so that when he was trotting around,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03all the neighbours knew he was a big, brave, fierce dog.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07- This one's rather precious, isn't she?- Yes.
0:31:07 > 0:31:12Has a little padlock, as if she's trying to preserve her chastity.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14So you'd lock her and unlock her.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19Deliciously engraved. I guess this is probably German or French,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22but with a red leather interior,
0:31:22 > 0:31:28which is good fun. And this is another nickel...example,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31but with a fake hallmark on it.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35- I see, yes.- When nickel is polished very brightly, it looks like silver.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38It's supposed to be a lion,
0:31:38 > 0:31:43like a sterling-silver stamped lion. Cheaper than a solid silver type...
0:31:43 > 0:31:47..but still very effective and with red leather inside. Delightful.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Do you know what age they would be?
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Would it be turn of the century or later?
0:31:54 > 0:31:59- Late 19th or early 20th century, but there are earlier ones.- Yes.
0:31:59 > 0:32:0416th-century iron-bound... extraordinary collars.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08- I think we're going to focus on a few values here.- Yes.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13I guess that the mastiff one from Lymington is probably worth about...
0:32:13 > 0:32:16- £200 to £250 now.- Gosh!
0:32:16 > 0:32:21The pooch from Tyldesley - very collectable -
0:32:21 > 0:32:23maybe £120 to £150.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27- Thank you. - And the precious, lockable
0:32:27 > 0:32:31padlocked neck variety - unusual really -
0:32:31 > 0:32:36- about £150 to £250 for that one. - Yes.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41The butch, studded fellow - around £150 to £200 for that.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43And, altogether,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46you know, a very interesting group.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52My mother bought the whole drawing room, in auction, in 1927
0:32:52 > 0:32:59from a lady who'd been out in the Far East and she bought the carpets and the chairs...
0:32:59 > 0:33:03and sofas... and she bought the drawing room.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09- She bought the entire drawing room? - Yes. In Halifax, in auction. - That was very extravagant.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13- Well, she was getting married.- I see, so it was part of the dowry?- Yes.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18- She brought a little bit of Japan into Yorkshire.- Yes.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23- Well, this was made in Japan, in the mid 1890s, the cabinet.- Mmm.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28Um, the actual carcass of the cabinet, the actual wood of it,
0:33:28 > 0:33:34was made by a different worker to the specialist who did the lacquer panels.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36We have sliding doors on top,
0:33:36 > 0:33:42we have hidden within the niches, differently shaped pieces of gold lacquer
0:33:42 > 0:33:46with inlay of ivory, bone, mother of pearl.
0:33:47 > 0:33:54I love the asymmetry of these things - that's what really gripped the English imagination
0:33:54 > 0:33:59because they were so used to boring, conventional Victorian furniture,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02all heavily symmetric, but here,
0:34:02 > 0:34:07they were going for something asymmetric. It's great to see it
0:34:07 > 0:34:09with these pieces of Satsuma.
0:34:09 > 0:34:16The end of the 19th century was the age of amassing things from over the world - the age of colonialism.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20Everything that people encountered was brought back home.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23There is a problem with the panels up here.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Various bits of the wisteria and the bird have dropped off.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32You've got to watch that your humidity level is nice and wet.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38- I don't know if you have a soggy drawing room? - It's very damp, my house.- Is it?
0:34:38 > 0:34:44But it has moved around lots of houses and it's always been used
0:34:44 > 0:34:50- by the children and grandchildren. It's been around and not museumed. - Yes.
0:34:50 > 0:34:56- It's a living piece.- So every time it's moved, its atmosphere changes and a leaf will drop off.- Yes.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00I would want to get these pieces recarved.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06- Now tell me about the Satsuma-ware. Do you have a favourite piece? - I like this one,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- with the wisteria.- Yeah.- But there are 12 plates altogether.- Right.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15Right, I always look at the backs first... Oh, dear,
0:35:15 > 0:35:20- we have an accident.- Yes.- Do you allow cats on the cabinet?- Not cats,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24- just children and dogs. - Even more dangerous!
0:35:24 > 0:35:28The overall effect is stunning with these drooping wisteria,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33- which echo the wisteria we've got in the cabinet.- Yes.- So, well found,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37well placed and well positioned. But I'd think twice
0:35:37 > 0:35:43- about moving it around too much. - Well, I can't leave it behind when I move house, can I?!
0:35:43 > 0:35:47- Well, somebody did. That's why it came to you in the first place.- Yes,
0:35:47 > 0:35:51- that was in 1927, not in MY lifetime, it's not going to happen.- Yeah.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Now, I'll put an overall value on the Satsuma-ware.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59For each perfect plate we're looking at a valuation somewhere between
0:35:59 > 0:36:05£150 to £200 per plate. But that rules your favourite out because it's damaged. The cabinet -
0:36:05 > 0:36:08in spite of all of this damage,
0:36:08 > 0:36:13you could buy something like this today at auction for around...
0:36:13 > 0:36:18- £5,000.- Well, she did buy it, actually, for £25. I know that.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- You can't complain, can you?- No.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26- So how long have you had this? - I think I bought it in 1969.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30It's beautiful. It's Adam and Eve. Do you know who the sculptor is?
0:36:30 > 0:36:32- Sykes?- Charles Sykes.- Charles Sykes.
0:36:32 > 0:36:39- I realise that the woman is the same one as on the Rolls Royce cars.- Absolutely.- Eleanor something?
0:36:39 > 0:36:44It is the same model they used for the Rolls Royce mascot, yes.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47She was flimsily clad, wasn't she?
0:36:47 > 0:36:52Now she's here in her Eve state. But it's wonderful, the detail,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56the way she's just standing on his foot, reaching up to him.
0:36:56 > 0:37:02- Charles Sykes loved his slightly erotic or bacchanalian groups.- Mmm.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07We have a tender, lovely looking subject, beautifully sculpted,
0:37:07 > 0:37:14- part of what's called the English New School.- Mmm. - It's a really marvellous thing.
0:37:14 > 0:37:20- You can read the signature. You bought it in 1969?- Yes.- How much?
0:37:20 > 0:37:22£28.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Right, I mean, today,
0:37:25 > 0:37:31- something like that has got to be insured for a minimum of £3,000. - Oh, that's nice news! Lovely!
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Thank you. I'm so glad I brought it.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38At Holloway College we have to think about Mr Holloway.
0:37:38 > 0:37:45- Well, he was such a remarkable man. He was one of the great Victorian philanthropists. Rags to riches.- Yes.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49And with the profit from making all these Holloway's pills and ointments,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52he produced this fantastic college.
0:37:52 > 0:37:59I'm interested in the fact that also there is the standard Victorian pot and its pot lid.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04- Yes.- You obviously know the history of these. They're part of our culture...- Yes.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08Not just for patent medicines, but for toothpaste, all sorts things.
0:38:08 > 0:38:14Bear's grease for your hair - not that it would do ME much good - is one of them.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18And these were a huge, huge massive production,
0:38:18 > 0:38:24mostly by the Staffordshire industry, and what people collect today is the lid.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29- Yes.- This is a style that emerges in the 1840s then goes right through,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32- so they're very hard to date.- Yes.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37These pot lids indicate that it was very expensive.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39- Yes.- This is 2/9d,
0:38:39 > 0:38:44and you could buy a 33-shilling or a 22-shilling jar, couldn't you?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46- Must have been mountains of it!- Yes.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51I must say, I love this one. "Inveterate ulcers, sore breasts,
0:38:51 > 0:38:56"sore heads, bad legs, etc, etc." Anything you want in the etcetera!
0:38:56 > 0:39:02- So what did you pay for these? - Oh, something like £5, £10.
0:39:02 > 0:39:08I think that's about right. They're the sort of thing you could get in a charity shop for 50p,
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- and in a smart antique fair, they could be £20.- Yes.- Very collectable.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Well, thank you.
0:39:16 > 0:39:21I think one of the most interesting points about 18th-century watches
0:39:21 > 0:39:25is there's more that you DON'T see than you actually do.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30The decoration of the case is what they call baroque repousse works.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35Repousse work is the fact that the case has been stamped up in gold,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40started as a smooth case and they've embossed it from the back,
0:39:40 > 0:39:44then chased it from the front to give you all the decoration.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48We have a mythological scene on the back -
0:39:48 > 0:39:52they always use a Biblical or mythological scene.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57- On the sides we have the four seasons. Did you spot those?- No.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02You've actually got - need to wear my bins to see it -
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- spring, I guess here, OK?- Yes.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07You turn around to the edge...
0:40:07 > 0:40:11that's the reaper, so that's summer.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15And then...what have we got there?
0:40:15 > 0:40:19The grapes, which is autumn and, finally,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23the old man with a sack, which is winter.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26So the four seasons - a common representation.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29How long would it have taken to make that case?
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Well, time was one thing they had plenty of.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38My guess is it that would have taken a guy weeks to complete the job,
0:40:38 > 0:40:43but they did nothing else, they spent 40 years working as repousse worker.
0:40:43 > 0:40:50One man would do the repousse, another the chasing, another the piercing. Lots of men were involved.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54- Not just one person?- Oh, no. Anyway, let's go on. This is fantastic.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58You always have, at the bottom, the grotesque mask -
0:40:58 > 0:41:03a sort of gargoyle-type figure on the base,
0:41:03 > 0:41:09and the rest of it's pierced out with these birds, scrolls, done from pattern books.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12So you find many watches the same - similar pattern work.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17Now again, open it up, inside... Well, he's not finished yet.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Signature on what is known as the dust cap.
0:41:24 > 0:41:30More work inside, beautiful, all the balance cock pierced, a miniature diamond in the end there.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34This has not been opened - look at the colour of the barrel.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37- This has not been opened for decades.- No, it hasn't.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41You can see it's got a sort of bloom - wonderful condition.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44It's signed by Andrew Dunlop, London.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48He was working up until about 1730, 1730-odd,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52so this would date from about 1725, and it's a very rare watch.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58If you don't mind me asking - how did you come to be the owner of it?
0:41:58 > 0:42:02It's my husband's. He inherited it from his uncle 30 years ago,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07who was a boat-builder and a fisherman in Cornwall.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11And, apparently, he restored it, but I don't know how true that is.
0:42:11 > 0:42:17- Well, he didn't do much.- He didn't? - He might have just cleaned it. - Maybe that's the case, then.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Because it's in mint condition.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24The value in my opinion is probably a minimum of...
0:42:24 > 0:42:31- £3,000 and up to £5,000.- Really? Oh, wow!- There are so few of them in such fine condition.- OK.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34It's also a repeater...
0:42:36 > 0:42:39We'll be here till Christmas!
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- Thank you very much.- Thank YOU.
0:42:49 > 0:42:56A fine way to end our programme. To Royal Holloway College, London, thank you for being our host,
0:42:56 > 0:43:01and to all the students here, good luck. And now from Egham, goodbye.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Subtitles by Gillian Frazer BBC - 2001