Royal Holloway 2 Antiques Roadshow


Royal Holloway 2

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This week, we returned, as we said we would, to Egham and Runnymede,

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birthplace of the Magna Carta

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and home to Holloway's College for Women.

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The wherewithal for this vast and lavish project came from the application of this.

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Thomas Holloway was one of many notable Victorians

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deeply committed to social and economic change.

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Although not from a rich family, he showed enterprise and determination.

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His product was a "good for what ails you" ointment, made from a secret recipe.

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Actually, it was beeswax, resin, lanolin and olive oil.

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With this and other potions he was going to cure and conquer the world.

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He set about the hard sell -

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boards carrying his advertisements went up from the Pyramids to Niagara Falls.

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The Holloway technique was quite audacious.

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He paid a theatre company £1,000 to mention his product in a pantomime.

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"Look behind you! It's the ointment!"

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He even asked Charles Dickens to give him a plug in Dombey And Son. The great writer declined.

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Having made his millions, Holloway's first contribution was this -

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a sanatorium in Virginia Water.

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It was ornately decorated in the hope the inmates would be cured, in part, by distraction.

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At about that time, American beer baron, Matthew Vassar,

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built a college for women.

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Holloway was not to be outdone. He built his own women's college - the Royal Holloway.

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Each student had two rooms, plus a common room for tea parties.

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Vassar's college had an art gallery;

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the Englishman responded by with a BIGGER collection of Victorian art,

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including this one - The Marriage Market, Babylon, by Edwin Long.

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Interesting choice for a women's college.

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Thomas Holloway's gift to English womanhood has gone to a sort of emancipation in reverse -

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it's now Royal Holloway, University of London.

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And the Antiques Roadshow experts are here for another term.

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They're painted, actually, on glass.

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-Yeah. You have two of these?

-No, I have this one and this one.

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-Whenever I look at it, it makes me smile.

-How do you use her?

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Well, I use her as a torchere. I put some flowers in a vase on top.

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Well, that's what she is.

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It would have been a candlestick or flowers.

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A torchere is the word for this.

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To me, it's a mermaid and her baby, and I think it's lovely.

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Do you know anything about it?

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-No. I would imagine it's Italian, but that's only a guess.

-That's...

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Otherwise I know nothing.

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Yes, you're right. Venice is the most likely source.

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Venice has always been a centre of wood carvers,

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of makers of decorative works of art for hundreds of years.

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And Venice still has workshops and all sorts of elaborate things.

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This was probably made in 1900-1910, difficult to be precise,

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but sort of Art Nouveau-ish period.

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It's a mixture of styles. You've got Modernism, which is Art Nouveau

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and all these flowing lines.

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If you look at her hair, this flowing hair, almost like seaweed,

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is the way Art-Nouveau women were drawn.

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At the same time, you've got the Rococo, the Beaux Arts -

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styles of the 18th and 19th centuries.

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And the workshops in Venice were selling the old and the new,

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and this brings it all together.

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-You know it's all made of wood?

-Yes.

-And then gessoed with plaster.

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-Yes.

-Do you have other things like this? How does she live at home?

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She lives, um... I mean, I've got nothing the same as this,

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but I do have other things that are carved

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-and slightly, you know...

-That are decorative in that sense?

-Yes, yes.

-But nothing like her?

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-No.

-You'd never find another one, would you?

-I don't think so.

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Because she's so desirable, I think a collector would pay around...

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£1,000 to £1,500 for her, because she's fun and decorative.

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-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

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-'This is your favourite piece?

-Yes.'

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-Why?

-It just looks like a family bundle of rats.

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-And the detail, especially their eyes.

-I love this character.

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And there's the signature of the man who carved it.

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-This is from a group. Here are four. How many are there altogether?

-Originally, there were 40.

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-And where did they come from?

-My husband's grandfather was a Dutchman,

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and he studied in Delft University around 1920, I think.

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He made friends with Hirohito,

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and in the '60s, he went on a trip to Japan and contacted him,

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and Hirohito presented him with this box and told him that he shouldn't open it until he got home,

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and inside there were 40 netsuke.

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What an extraordinary story. This is not a netsuke.

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Some people think that anything small and ivory is a netsuke,

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but netsuke carvers were out of business when, in the late 19th C,

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the Japanese court decided to abandon traditional Japanese dress,

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so all the people who'd been making netsuke

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started to make these little decorative objects called okimono.

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Carving netsuke started in the 18th century and you've got a splendid 18th-century example here.

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This is cut off a triangular sliver,

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-an outside sliver of elephant ivory.

-Yes.

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They've used the outside section - beautiful thing.

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There he is - this long, bearded sage,

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looking slightly morose, deep in thought.

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My favourite's this boxwood carving,

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there he is, little Ratty, crawling out of his box. He's beautiful.

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-Very cheeky.

-Ivory, bone, boxwood... this is the odd one out.

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Now this, unlike the other pieces, was carved in China,

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and is made of jade.

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It's 18th century, it's a beautiful piece of quality jade. Lovely.

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In terms of value - I haven't seen the whole collection, but these four may give you some guide.

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Your 19th-century rats are probably worth between £300 and £500.

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Your early 18th-century netsuke

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is worth between £300 and £400.

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Your 19th-century rat coming out of a box -

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again, £300 or £400. And your Chinese jade,

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-well, I think that's 18th century and it's got to be of the order of £400 to £600.

-Mmm.

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-These dolls, made by Pierotti, belong to you?

-Yes.

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I'm the great, great, great-grandson of the original Pierotti

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who moved over from Italy to England.

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Absolutely. Domenico, his son, was sent to England

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because he fell out of a tree and he was sent to England to recover

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and his aunt taught him modelling.

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She made small dolls out of papier mache and then coated them in wax.

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And that is how it all started.

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In 1849, he started modelling Queen Victoria's children,

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and he won a prize at the Bazaar at the Pantheon in Paris

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for his babies.

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I think he was probably the king of wax-doll makers, Domenico,

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and then Henry, his son, took over.

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Very often, in the beginning, they used beeswax,

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then it was a mixture of beeswax, candlewax and turps.

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But to get the colour, they used carmine and white lead.

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Well, white lead - as we all know - is poisonous

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and poor Charles, who was Henry's son, died of lead poisoning in 1892,

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and his poor mother and sisters took over the business,

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and that's how it progressed. So your mother was one of...?

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She was the daughter of Enrico Walter, who was the last one making dolls with his brother.

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-Right up to the 1930s.

-Yes. My understanding is

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that this was made for a nativity play for my mother's school.

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We estimate that must have been round about 1920.

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It has inserted little eyelashes - incredible insertion with a little needle -

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and all round the line of the scalp

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you will have needle insertions of single human hair,

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and tufts of hair would be inserted in the rest of the head to make it look realistic.

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What fascinates me is you've got two heads here...

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This one is a man. It's so unusual to find a wax doll of a man,

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although Pierotti did go into making famous people.

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-This is all you've got?

-We've got more limbs in another box, but we just brought those.

-Headless limbs?

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-Those are all the heads we've got.

-With about five times as many limbs.

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-Lots and lots of limbs.

-Well, I can only imagine they made, obviously, many more limbs than they did heads!

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Your baby there...

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Very often Pierotti signed with the whole name at the back of the head,

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but that isn't signed and because it is religious, it doesn't make as much money as if it were a doll.

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Having said that, coming with your provenance,

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-I can see a museum certainly paying as much as £1,000 for it.

-Yes.

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And even the limbs are probably worth something to a wax maker!

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..The wine cooler is clearly mahogany, from the Regency period,

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but what is interesting about these books, is that the books stop before the Regency period.

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The age of satinwood was up until about 1800,

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and the Regency wine cooler's from 1810-1820.

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So when this was written - here we are, 1904 -

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nobody had considered the Regency period at all.

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So here's a major book, one of the first serious dictionaries of English furniture,

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written by Percy Macquoid in 1904 - I think the last volume was 1908 -

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not talking about Regency furniture at all. 1800 was the cut-off date.

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Macquoid was a decorator and advisor to wealthy people.

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He left part of his collection to this museum in Brighton.

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Here you have an oak chair, probably Flemish, circa 1500,

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but we now know that, in fact, it's a fake,

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-made in the back streets of London about 1850-1880.

-Extraordinary.

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And this is one of the problems with this book,

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and also fascinating, that a lot of pieces were actually fakes.

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And in this one, we've got the Age Of Mahogany,

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-and here we have a piece of...

-Walnut.

-..walnut. A walnut cabinet.

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But a cabinet like this, with these oyster veneers, which is typical of the William and Mary period,

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wouldn't have cabriole legs like that.

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It'd probably have an extra drawer and on low bun feet or a low stand.

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So here is a major colour plate in the book and it's clearly not right.

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-So the people who are named in the book wouldn't have known this, would they?

-No, not at all.

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Here we have two pieces by William Kent from Houghton Hall in Norfolk,

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and they were perfectly right, they weren't fakes at all.

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The books are really rather a descending investment,

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whereas the Regency pieces are ascending, so it compensates a bit.

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And these were reprinted in the last decade and the value has gone down.

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A set like this probably between... £400 and £500 in a shop.

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-But the Regency piece of furniture here, which looks like it's been in the family for a long time...

-Yes.

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..that's going up in value.

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You can expect an auction value of £2,000 to £3,000, and if you wanted to insure it, and cleaned up a bit,

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-slightly more than £4,000 today.

-Well, that's wonderful. Thank you.

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-Wonderful. Now we know.

-Yes, now we know.

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Are there many of the founder's possessions known to have survived?

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Very few. This is probably the most important one, from the founder himself.

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-There's lots of pot lids and ointment jars, but his own possessions - very few.

-Bearing the name.

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-Bearing his name, yeah.

-Right, this is actually his watch.

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We've got a date on it. It seems to be just the hallmarks for 1814.

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Presumably that will be before.

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Holloway was born 1800, so he'd only be 14 when that watch was hallmarked.

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-Then it obviously wasn't something that he acquired new.

-Yes.

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-Whether this was given to him as a bad debt...

-It's actually got a signature on it,

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and the signature is "McMaster of Dublin".

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It's a peculiar watch - it's got a rack-lever escapement,

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which means it has a lever, but uses a rack.

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The balance cock of the watch has actually got the harp,

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which is significant of Ireland,

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and it has a Dublin maker's name and the hallmark's Chester.

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Liverpool is where the rack lever was invented

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and Chester was a suitable hallmarking office,

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and obviously it was made for this Dublin maker, so maybe he was a travelling man.

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We've got no record of him going to Ireland.

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I think your idea that he might have taken it as a bad debt is a good one.

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I think so, because he was a stickler for people paying their way and he may well have accepted a watch.

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He might not have known how valuable it was,

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but he would have said, "Yes, that looks a nice watch, worth so much."

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Well, as something that belongs to the college, it's priceless,

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-but for the benefit of anybody who might own the same watch...

-Yeah.

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-it's probably worth something around about £700 or £800.

-I see.

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-Is that because of its age?

-Because of the unusual escapement, its age

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-and the gold case.

-Yeah. Thank you very much indeed.

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Now, how long have you been the proud owner of this glorious pot?

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-About 30 years. It was a gift from my wife.

-Oh, very nice.

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It is a glorious pot because it's got so much going on -

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thick dripping glazes and also, it's been beautifully veined,

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it's got flashes of oxblood red and this lovely cobalt coming through.

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It looks ancient. It looks like when you take the top off,

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-you'd expect a genie to appear.

-Yes.

-You're using it as a tobacco jar,

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-which is what it's been designed for.

-Mmm.

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-But when you look at that, the name Royal Doulton is not one that would normally come to mind.

-No.

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But when we turn it over,

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you've got all this information.

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You've got "Chang" - the type of glaze,

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"Noke" - he was the head of the art department,

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"HN" is for Harry Nixon. This was made during the late 1920s,

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and they used to be locked away in a room in Nile Street in Burslem

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and none of the other Royal Doulton workers were ever allowed into that inner sanctum.

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They were very much the A-Team as far as Royal Doulton were concerned.

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Now, when it comes to value,

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if your wife wanted to buy you another one for your next birthday,

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she'd have to pay somewhere in the region of £1,200 to £1,500.

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-It's not bad, is it?

-Not bad at all.

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I inherited it from my aunt, whose husband gave it to my aunt,

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but I don't know the history of it, apart from that.

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It's an interesting cluster ring. When I first saw it,

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-I thought to myself it's going to be something like a topaz or one of these brown sapphires.

-Yes.

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It's a diamond in the centre

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and on this side, we have another one in white,

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but the most interesting one is this one

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because this is a bluey-green one.

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All diamond-set, but all different colours and, from my point of view,

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seeing coloured diamonds, it always is very exciting

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because coloured diamonds are extremely rare.

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This one is almost a sort of yellowish-brown colour,

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but this one is the one that's quite exciting

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because one of the rarest colours you can find are blue

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and even rarer is the colour green.

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The surrounding line of diamonds around the three principal stones

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-is a different period from the three centre stones.

-Oh.

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I think it's Victorian, this cluster,

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with this nipped-in silver setting.

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But when we look at the three principal diamonds,

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we see that they're claw-set stones.

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The diamonds themselves are cushion shaped, Victorian cut stones,

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and I think they were probably cut in maybe around about 1900 to 1905.

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Valuing fancy diamonds is very, very difficult.

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There are so many subtle nuances of colour - greyish-blue, bluish-grey, greenish-blue, bluish-green,

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and what you have to do with them is send them off to a laboratory,

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where they will actually issue a certificate stating exactly what the colour is.

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Let's suppose that it comes back

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as being a natural fancy green-blue diamond, or blue-green diamond,

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and they can say it with certainty,

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in which case I'm going to be very broad with my pricing here and say,

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hopefully, at least £2,500 to £3,000,

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but it could very well be worth £5,000 with all the right gradings.

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That's very good news. Thank you.

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This is quite a find. Now, what we have here is a waist-belt clasp.

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On the back is stamped "Earls Court Exhibition".

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Right, on the front we have

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"1887 Jubilee".

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Now, that's Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee,

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-and this was the very first time that Buffalo Bill came to England with his Wild West Show.

-Uh-huh.

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And he brought Annie Oakley with him,

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and there's Annie Oakley firing away, laying back on a horse.

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She was introduced to Queen Victoria and Queen Victoria said to her,

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-"You're a clever little lady". Where did you get it?

-Car boot.

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-How much did you pay for it?

-£30.

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-I think you could certainly put one nought on the end of that.

-Lovely.

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-Possibly £300 to £400.

-Really?

-Yes. Annie Oakley is really collectable.

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Oh, brilliant. Thank you.

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Ackerman published dozens and dozens of books,

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but seldom did he produce something quite as exotic as this.

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And, in this place, I think we get a taste of the style of the book.

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He commissioned some of the leading illustrators of the day to do these plates -

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Rowlandson and Pugin -

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that's not Pugin the architect, this is Pugin's father.

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Here we have a wonderful view of the hall at Carlton House, which was the Prince Regent's house.

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The Prince Regent spent masses of money doing up this building.

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In fact, in the end, it fell down.

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So this is a snapshot in 1808 of Carlton House.

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The type of illustration is an aquatint,

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and it's been hand-coloured and, because it's never been opened,

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you've got this dazzling colour. Where do you keep these at home?

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-They've been on a shelf for years.

-Sitting, collecting dust?

-Exactly.

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They are in lovely condition, but here you have this weird shadow -

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-this is the offsetting of the colour.

-Oh.

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-So that has gone onto that page?

-That's right.

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It's a sort of burning of the acids in the colour and you've got this shadow, which is a slight pity,

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but is very typical for Ackermans of this period.

0:21:570:22:01

In this other volume, there's an absolute wonderful illustration

0:22:010:22:05

of the Exhibition Hall at the Royal Watercolour Exhibition.

0:22:050:22:09

All the elegant figures of the day going through, and a description -

0:22:090:22:14

"Art in Britain today". And this chap, Abbe Winkelmann,

0:22:140:22:18

says that a country with an awful climate can't produce good artists.

0:22:180:22:23

"Owing to the absence of good weather, the English have never yet had a single painter of eminence,

0:22:230:22:29

"the French however have had two, one of whom is Poussin."

0:22:290:22:33

-So you've got to have nice weather to produce decent artists(!)

-Right.

0:22:330:22:38

Actually, Ackerman has got some wonderful artists here. The whole thing is absolutely packed with...

0:22:380:22:44

There are about 104 plates, all of this dazzling quality.

0:22:440:22:50

There's a lovely little note in volume one at the beginning,

0:22:500:22:54

which says something about how much it's worth, which I think is quite amusing.

0:22:540:23:00

Here it says, "A copy sold at Christie's in 1946 for £260."

0:23:000:23:05

It would have been a pretty good investment to have bought it then,

0:23:050:23:09

and this set now, at auction, would make

0:23:090:23:14

somewhere between £3,500 and £4,000.

0:23:140:23:18

And you ought to insure them for £5,500 or £6,000.

0:23:180:23:22

-So £260 in 1946 and nearly £5,000 today. Wonderful set.

-Thank you.

0:23:220:23:27

-..But you've got to have a very big room to display, haven't you?

-Yes.

0:23:270:23:32

-..Tell me how you got it.

-My mum gave it to me when I was this size,

0:23:340:23:38

-so that's 21 years ago.

-But you didn't play with it?

-Occasionally,

0:23:380:23:42

but it lived in a cupboard most of the time.

0:23:420:23:46

-Well, quite right, because you know it's by Steiff.

-We saw the button in the ear, so we thought maybe it was.

0:23:460:23:52

Got a button in the ear, but the interesting thing about this button

0:23:520:23:56

is that it's a blank,

0:23:560:23:59

which shows that it's really early,

0:23:590:24:01

because the first buttons Steiff made had an embossed elephant on it,

0:24:010:24:07

which was the first animal that she ever made, which was a pincushion.

0:24:070:24:12

And this is probably the interim between

0:24:130:24:16

putting their name - embossed "Steiff" - on it, and the elephant,

0:24:160:24:21

so this is somewhere around 1903, 1904, so a very early one.

0:24:210:24:27

Plus the fact he's a white one -

0:24:270:24:29

it's a very collectable colour

0:24:290:24:33

because they didn't make as many white ones as they did the beige.

0:24:330:24:37

-Right.

-He's a lovely size, he's in wonderful condition.

0:24:370:24:41

-Did you get him with this outfit?

-Yeah, and the box.

0:24:410:24:46

Whether it was made by Steiff or by your grandmother or whatever,

0:24:460:24:51

it's beautiful. It looks completely right with the cap. Wonderful.

0:24:510:24:55

Got the original eyes, little boot button eyes - shoe buttons, really,

0:24:550:25:00

because boot buttons are bigger.

0:25:000:25:03

And I would put an insurance value on him of somewhere around

0:25:030:25:07

£1,000 to £1,500.

0:25:070:25:11

Ooh, goodness!

0:25:110:25:14

-Be a while before she's playing with him!

-So don't let her play with it.

0:25:140:25:19

-Isn't that marvellous?

-Mmm, have to look after him now.

-Wonderful.

-Wow!

0:25:190:25:24

..Which is your favourite?

0:25:240:25:26

Oh, I... Well...

0:25:260:25:29

that I really like because it's Art Nouveau.

0:25:290:25:33

Exactly. This is typically Art Nouveau.

0:25:330:25:36

The colours of the enamelled areas here, this lovely blue-green colour

0:25:360:25:40

-is typical of the period between about 1890 and 1910.

-Right.

0:25:400:25:46

Now, the hallmarks are very clear.

0:25:460:25:49

The London hallmarks are 1905,

0:25:490:25:51

then the maker's mark of William Hutton and Sons.

0:25:510:25:55

Their chief designer at this time was somebody called Kate Harris

0:25:550:25:59

and I'm sure this would have been designed by her.

0:25:590:26:04

This is a tortoiseshell photo frame,

0:26:040:26:07

silver mounted in tortoiseshell and if we turn it over, we should find some hallmarks. There they are,

0:26:070:26:14

-on the side there.

-Yeah.

-1898.

-Right.

0:26:140:26:17

So it's a late-Victorian silver-mounted tortoiseshell frame.

0:26:170:26:21

Now, tortoiseshell actually comes from the hawksbill turtle.

0:26:210:26:26

It's an endangered species, so it's illegal to import it these days.

0:26:260:26:30

Tortoiseshell is - especially with silver - very, very popular.

0:26:300:26:35

This one dates from a bit later than the tortoiseshell one - 1906.

0:26:360:26:40

The hallmarks are clear. It's very pretty with this pierced band

0:26:400:26:44

and then blue enamel behind.

0:26:440:26:47

Um, photograph frames don't really date before about 1870-1880,

0:26:470:26:51

even though photographs had been made for long before that.

0:26:510:26:56

I think photographs weren't mass produced until that sort of time,

0:26:560:27:01

then it became a status symbol. Once you had made some money

0:27:010:27:06

then you would have silver frames of your family, of your ancestors.

0:27:060:27:11

If I was to suggest the best investments in antique silver over the last 20 years,

0:27:110:27:17

it wouldn't be Georgian silver necessarily,

0:27:170:27:21

-it would probably be silver frames like these.

-Would it?

0:27:210:27:26

Enamel and silver combined together is always popular.

0:27:260:27:30

-Even a small frame like that would be worth about £600 to £700.

-Right.

0:27:300:27:35

A frame like that - you wouldn't buy that in a shop for under £1,000.

0:27:350:27:40

-Right.

-Um, I think probably the most valuable is the tortoiseshell.

0:27:400:27:44

Silver-mounted tortoiseshell is fashionable, so are photo frames.

0:27:440:27:49

I think, probably, that's going to be worth well in excess of £2,500.

0:27:490:27:54

Right.

0:27:540:27:55

Well, we've heard all about Holloway's potions and pills doing people good for whatever ails them,

0:27:590:28:04

-but this is a book of advice.

-Yes.

0:28:040:28:06

It was published after his death in 1900 and it's got all kinds of crazy information.

0:28:060:28:12

Apart from having an almanac for 1900,

0:28:120:28:15

it tells you about a Patagonian funeral, quaint South American customs and Australian girls.

0:28:150:28:23

"The Australian girl is tall and slender.

0:28:230:28:26

"She lacks somewhat in complexion, but generally, she is pretty." Well, that's fair enough.

0:28:260:28:32

"Advice on cranial covering. Few ladies know they carry 40 or 50 miles of hair on their heads.

0:28:320:28:39

"The fair haired may even have to dress 70 miles of threads of gold every morning." What a prospect.

0:28:390:28:45

-Amazing, isn't it?

-And people took notice of this as well.

-Yes.

0:28:450:28:49

-Nowadays politically incorrect, some of it.

-Oh, yes, I'm afraid so!

0:28:490:28:54

But this is 1900.

0:28:540:28:56

..These are the real gems.

0:28:560:28:59

-Really?

-What did you pay for those?

-A couple of pound each or something.

0:28:590:29:03

-Do you know where they were made?

-No.

0:29:030:29:06

-Well, they were made in Sunderland.

-Right.

-This is a really nice one,

0:29:060:29:10

with a hen. "Saviour of mankind adopts the figure of the hen,

0:29:100:29:15

-"To show the strength of his regard for the lost sons of men." A nice, religious verse.

-Yes.

0:29:150:29:21

This one is the mariner's compass - again, you know, a shipping thing.

0:29:210:29:26

-As I said, Sunderland about 1820. And you paid?

-A pound each.

0:29:260:29:30

-Not much more than that.

-Well, I think the pair at an antique fair...

0:29:300:29:35

-probably £250-£300.

-Oh, my gosh!

-Easily.

-You're joking.

-No.

0:29:350:29:40

Thank you.

0:29:400:29:42

-When did you start collecting dog collars?

-About six years ago.

0:29:420:29:46

I went to Portobello and I fell in love with one of these dog collars.

0:29:460:29:50

Since then I've been looking out for them all the time.

0:29:500:29:54

-From £50 to £200 I've paid for them.

-The prices have rocketed up in the last two or three years.

-They have.

0:29:540:30:00

And hard to get hold of. I hardly ever see them these days.

0:30:000:30:04

-And are you a dog lover?

-Oh, yes.

-How many have you got?

-One - Katie.

0:30:040:30:09

-But lots of collars!

-Lots of everything on dogs, not just collars.

0:30:090:30:14

I like this big mastiff one with the owner's name on - W Reid, Lymington.

0:30:140:30:19

You can imagine a huge guard dog chained up, and if he escapes,

0:30:190:30:23

Mr Reid would have expected him to be returned.

0:30:230:30:27

And this sweet little chap

0:30:270:30:29

-which would have gone on a little poodle or chihuahua.

-Yes.

0:30:290:30:34

And somebody who lived in Tyldesley, Mr Crompton, wanted his pooch back. That one's made of nickel.

0:30:340:30:40

In imitation silver and bright cut with a leather liner to it,

0:30:400:30:45

so that little poochy's neck didn't get too strained, which is sweet.

0:30:450:30:50

Here's another one with a leather liner, but for a butch dog.

0:30:500:30:54

Studs on the outer rim so that when he was trotting around,

0:30:540:30:59

all the neighbours knew he was a big, brave, fierce dog.

0:30:590:31:03

-This one's rather precious, isn't she?

-Yes.

0:31:030:31:07

Has a little padlock, as if she's trying to preserve her chastity.

0:31:070:31:12

So you'd lock her and unlock her.

0:31:120:31:14

Deliciously engraved. I guess this is probably German or French,

0:31:140:31:19

but with a red leather interior,

0:31:190:31:22

which is good fun. And this is another nickel...example,

0:31:220:31:28

but with a fake hallmark on it.

0:31:280:31:31

-I see, yes.

-When nickel is polished very brightly, it looks like silver.

0:31:310:31:35

It's supposed to be a lion,

0:31:350:31:38

like a sterling-silver stamped lion. Cheaper than a solid silver type...

0:31:380:31:43

..but still very effective and with red leather inside. Delightful.

0:31:430:31:47

Do you know what age they would be?

0:31:470:31:50

Would it be turn of the century or later?

0:31:500:31:54

-Late 19th or early 20th century, but there are earlier ones.

-Yes.

0:31:540:31:59

16th-century iron-bound... extraordinary collars.

0:31:590:32:04

-I think we're going to focus on a few values here.

-Yes.

0:32:040:32:08

I guess that the mastiff one from Lymington is probably worth about...

0:32:080:32:13

-£200 to £250 now.

-Gosh!

0:32:130:32:16

The pooch from Tyldesley - very collectable -

0:32:160:32:21

maybe £120 to £150.

0:32:210:32:23

-Thank you.

-And the precious, lockable

0:32:230:32:27

padlocked neck variety - unusual really -

0:32:270:32:31

-about £150 to £250 for that one.

-Yes.

0:32:310:32:36

The butch, studded fellow - around £150 to £200 for that.

0:32:360:32:41

And, altogether,

0:32:410:32:43

you know, a very interesting group.

0:32:430:32:46

My mother bought the whole drawing room, in auction, in 1927

0:32:470:32:52

from a lady who'd been out in the Far East and she bought the carpets and the chairs...

0:32:520:32:59

and sofas... and she bought the drawing room.

0:32:590:33:03

-She bought the entire drawing room?

-Yes. In Halifax, in auction.

-That was very extravagant.

0:33:030:33:09

-Well, she was getting married.

-I see, so it was part of the dowry?

-Yes.

0:33:090:33:13

-She brought a little bit of Japan into Yorkshire.

-Yes.

0:33:130:33:18

-Well, this was made in Japan, in the mid 1890s, the cabinet.

-Mmm.

0:33:180:33:23

Um, the actual carcass of the cabinet, the actual wood of it,

0:33:230:33:28

was made by a different worker to the specialist who did the lacquer panels.

0:33:280:33:34

We have sliding doors on top,

0:33:340:33:36

we have hidden within the niches, differently shaped pieces of gold lacquer

0:33:360:33:42

with inlay of ivory, bone, mother of pearl.

0:33:420:33:46

I love the asymmetry of these things - that's what really gripped the English imagination

0:33:470:33:54

because they were so used to boring, conventional Victorian furniture,

0:33:540:33:59

all heavily symmetric, but here,

0:33:590:34:02

they were going for something asymmetric. It's great to see it

0:34:020:34:07

with these pieces of Satsuma.

0:34:070:34:09

The end of the 19th century was the age of amassing things from over the world - the age of colonialism.

0:34:090:34:16

Everything that people encountered was brought back home.

0:34:160:34:20

There is a problem with the panels up here.

0:34:200:34:23

Various bits of the wisteria and the bird have dropped off.

0:34:230:34:28

You've got to watch that your humidity level is nice and wet.

0:34:280:34:32

-I don't know if you have a soggy drawing room?

-It's very damp, my house.

-Is it?

0:34:320:34:38

But it has moved around lots of houses and it's always been used

0:34:380:34:44

-by the children and grandchildren. It's been around and not museumed.

-Yes.

0:34:440:34:50

-It's a living piece.

-So every time it's moved, its atmosphere changes and a leaf will drop off.

-Yes.

0:34:500:34:56

I would want to get these pieces recarved.

0:34:560:35:00

-Now tell me about the Satsuma-ware. Do you have a favourite piece?

-I like this one,

0:35:000:35:06

-with the wisteria.

-Yeah.

-But there are 12 plates altogether.

-Right.

0:35:060:35:10

Right, I always look at the backs first... Oh, dear,

0:35:100:35:15

-we have an accident.

-Yes.

-Do you allow cats on the cabinet?

-Not cats,

0:35:150:35:20

-just children and dogs.

-Even more dangerous!

0:35:200:35:24

The overall effect is stunning with these drooping wisteria,

0:35:240:35:28

-which echo the wisteria we've got in the cabinet.

-Yes.

-So, well found,

0:35:280:35:33

well placed and well positioned. But I'd think twice

0:35:330:35:37

-about moving it around too much.

-Well, I can't leave it behind when I move house, can I?!

0:35:370:35:43

-Well, somebody did. That's why it came to you in the first place.

-Yes,

0:35:430:35:47

-that was in 1927, not in MY lifetime, it's not going to happen.

-Yeah.

0:35:470:35:51

Now, I'll put an overall value on the Satsuma-ware.

0:35:510:35:55

For each perfect plate we're looking at a valuation somewhere between

0:35:550:35:59

£150 to £200 per plate. But that rules your favourite out because it's damaged. The cabinet -

0:35:590:36:05

in spite of all of this damage,

0:36:050:36:08

you could buy something like this today at auction for around...

0:36:080:36:13

-£5,000.

-Well, she did buy it, actually, for £25. I know that.

0:36:130:36:18

-You can't complain, can you?

-No.

0:36:180:36:21

-So how long have you had this?

-I think I bought it in 1969.

0:36:210:36:26

It's beautiful. It's Adam and Eve. Do you know who the sculptor is?

0:36:260:36:30

-Sykes?

-Charles Sykes.

-Charles Sykes.

0:36:300:36:32

-I realise that the woman is the same one as on the Rolls Royce cars.

-Absolutely.

-Eleanor something?

0:36:320:36:39

It is the same model they used for the Rolls Royce mascot, yes.

0:36:390:36:44

She was flimsily clad, wasn't she?

0:36:440:36:47

Now she's here in her Eve state. But it's wonderful, the detail,

0:36:470:36:52

the way she's just standing on his foot, reaching up to him.

0:36:520:36:56

-Charles Sykes loved his slightly erotic or bacchanalian groups.

-Mmm.

0:36:560:37:02

We have a tender, lovely looking subject, beautifully sculpted,

0:37:020:37:07

-part of what's called the English New School.

-Mmm.

-It's a really marvellous thing.

0:37:070:37:14

-You can read the signature. You bought it in 1969?

-Yes.

-How much?

0:37:140:37:20

£28.

0:37:200:37:22

Right, I mean, today,

0:37:220:37:25

-something like that has got to be insured for a minimum of £3,000.

-Oh, that's nice news! Lovely!

0:37:250:37:31

Thank you. I'm so glad I brought it.

0:37:310:37:34

At Holloway College we have to think about Mr Holloway.

0:37:340:37:38

-Well, he was such a remarkable man. He was one of the great Victorian philanthropists. Rags to riches.

-Yes.

0:37:380:37:45

And with the profit from making all these Holloway's pills and ointments,

0:37:450:37:49

he produced this fantastic college.

0:37:490:37:52

I'm interested in the fact that also there is the standard Victorian pot and its pot lid.

0:37:520:37:59

-Yes.

-You obviously know the history of these. They're part of our culture...

-Yes.

0:37:590:38:04

Not just for patent medicines, but for toothpaste, all sorts things.

0:38:040:38:08

Bear's grease for your hair - not that it would do ME much good - is one of them.

0:38:080:38:14

And these were a huge, huge massive production,

0:38:140:38:18

mostly by the Staffordshire industry, and what people collect today is the lid.

0:38:180:38:24

-Yes.

-This is a style that emerges in the 1840s then goes right through,

0:38:240:38:29

-so they're very hard to date.

-Yes.

0:38:290:38:32

These pot lids indicate that it was very expensive.

0:38:320:38:37

-Yes.

-This is 2/9d,

0:38:370:38:39

and you could buy a 33-shilling or a 22-shilling jar, couldn't you?

0:38:390:38:44

-Must have been mountains of it!

-Yes.

0:38:440:38:46

I must say, I love this one. "Inveterate ulcers, sore breasts,

0:38:460:38:51

"sore heads, bad legs, etc, etc." Anything you want in the etcetera!

0:38:510:38:56

-So what did you pay for these?

-Oh, something like £5, £10.

0:38:560:39:02

I think that's about right. They're the sort of thing you could get in a charity shop for 50p,

0:39:020:39:08

-and in a smart antique fair, they could be £20.

-Yes.

-Very collectable.

0:39:080:39:13

Well, thank you.

0:39:130:39:16

I think one of the most interesting points about 18th-century watches

0:39:160:39:21

is there's more that you DON'T see than you actually do.

0:39:210:39:25

The decoration of the case is what they call baroque repousse works.

0:39:250:39:30

Repousse work is the fact that the case has been stamped up in gold,

0:39:300:39:35

started as a smooth case and they've embossed it from the back,

0:39:350:39:40

then chased it from the front to give you all the decoration.

0:39:400:39:44

We have a mythological scene on the back -

0:39:440:39:48

they always use a Biblical or mythological scene.

0:39:480:39:52

-On the sides we have the four seasons. Did you spot those?

-No.

0:39:530:39:57

You've actually got - need to wear my bins to see it -

0:39:570:40:02

-spring, I guess here, OK?

-Yes.

0:40:020:40:04

You turn around to the edge...

0:40:040:40:07

that's the reaper, so that's summer.

0:40:070:40:11

And then...what have we got there?

0:40:110:40:15

The grapes, which is autumn and, finally,

0:40:150:40:19

the old man with a sack, which is winter.

0:40:190:40:23

So the four seasons - a common representation.

0:40:230:40:26

How long would it have taken to make that case?

0:40:260:40:29

Well, time was one thing they had plenty of.

0:40:290:40:33

My guess is it that would have taken a guy weeks to complete the job,

0:40:330:40:38

but they did nothing else, they spent 40 years working as repousse worker.

0:40:380:40:43

One man would do the repousse, another the chasing, another the piercing. Lots of men were involved.

0:40:430:40:50

-Not just one person?

-Oh, no. Anyway, let's go on. This is fantastic.

0:40:500:40:54

You always have, at the bottom, the grotesque mask -

0:40:540:40:58

a sort of gargoyle-type figure on the base,

0:40:580:41:03

and the rest of it's pierced out with these birds, scrolls, done from pattern books.

0:41:030:41:09

So you find many watches the same - similar pattern work.

0:41:090:41:12

Now again, open it up, inside... Well, he's not finished yet.

0:41:120:41:17

Signature on what is known as the dust cap.

0:41:200:41:24

More work inside, beautiful, all the balance cock pierced, a miniature diamond in the end there.

0:41:240:41:30

This has not been opened - look at the colour of the barrel.

0:41:300:41:34

-This has not been opened for decades.

-No, it hasn't.

0:41:340:41:37

You can see it's got a sort of bloom - wonderful condition.

0:41:370:41:41

It's signed by Andrew Dunlop, London.

0:41:410:41:44

He was working up until about 1730, 1730-odd,

0:41:440:41:48

so this would date from about 1725, and it's a very rare watch.

0:41:480:41:52

If you don't mind me asking - how did you come to be the owner of it?

0:41:520:41:58

It's my husband's. He inherited it from his uncle 30 years ago,

0:41:580:42:02

who was a boat-builder and a fisherman in Cornwall.

0:42:020:42:07

And, apparently, he restored it, but I don't know how true that is.

0:42:070:42:11

-Well, he didn't do much.

-He didn't?

-He might have just cleaned it.

-Maybe that's the case, then.

0:42:110:42:17

Because it's in mint condition.

0:42:170:42:20

The value in my opinion is probably a minimum of...

0:42:200:42:24

-£3,000 and up to £5,000.

-Really? Oh, wow!

-There are so few of them in such fine condition.

-OK.

0:42:240:42:31

It's also a repeater...

0:42:310:42:34

We'll be here till Christmas!

0:42:360:42:39

-Thank you very much.

-Thank YOU.

0:42:410:42:43

A fine way to end our programme. To Royal Holloway College, London, thank you for being our host,

0:42:490:42:56

and to all the students here, good luck. And now from Egham, goodbye.

0:42:560:43:01

Subtitles by Gillian Frazer BBC - 2001

0:43:150:43:19

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