0:00:33 > 0:00:39This week, the Antiques Roadshow has left Britain's crowded motorways
0:00:39 > 0:00:45and travelled 3,000 miles to the capital of the second largest country on Earth,
0:00:45 > 0:00:50a country that spans six time zones and is bordered by three oceans.
0:00:50 > 0:00:57Born of conflict between England and France, it is now an independent, affluent and cosmopolitan nation.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I'm in Canada and this is Ottawa.
0:01:15 > 0:01:21Canada has a federal system of government, with many powers devolved to the provinces,
0:01:21 > 0:01:26but the big decisions are made here, on Parliament Hill.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32Queen Victoria declared Ottawa the capital - Toronto and Montreal might not have been amused.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39Our present Queen remains the official head of state and, judging by the familiar pageantry,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41the British heritage elicits pride.
0:01:41 > 0:01:48The name Ottawa comes from an Algonquin Indian tribe who hunted and traded furs in this area
0:01:48 > 0:01:51long before any Europeans arrived.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53The River Ottawa is one of three,
0:01:53 > 0:01:59but the city prospered from a fourth waterway built by the British.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04The Rideau Canal was built from 1826 to 1832 by the Royal Engineers,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John By,
0:02:07 > 0:02:12who gave his name to the settlement of Bytown, his headquarters.
0:02:12 > 0:02:20Bytown became Ottawa, and the canal constructed for trade and defence is now used for leisure and pleasure.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24In winter, it turns into the world's longest skating rink.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Around the time of World War One,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36a number of artists who shared a love for the Canadian outdoors
0:02:36 > 0:02:39became known as the Group of Seven.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Together, they created a distinctive Canadian look.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46This is "Guide's Home In Algonquin."
0:02:46 > 0:02:51The National Gallery of Canada has kindly agreed to host our Roadshow.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Our usual team is joined by five local experts,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59who'll cast an eye over treasures revealed on this Canadian visit.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- Silver.- Silver.- Porcelain.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06- Yeah.- Porcelain, glass.- Yeah.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Have you got that safely?
0:03:08 > 0:03:14- A journal by Alexander Mackenzie. - Right. You HAVE got a mixture!
0:03:14 > 0:03:17You're going to be very busy.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22- I bought it from a dealer in London, Ontario.- When?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24A year ago.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- And what did he sell it to you as? - He didn't know.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And what did you think it was...is?
0:03:32 > 0:03:38- Er...well, I knew it was a trembleuse because it's obvious.- Right, a trembleuse being a cup which...
0:03:38 > 0:03:43- Is for a lady with shaky hands. - Which trembles.- Yes.- Right, OK.
0:03:43 > 0:03:51And so that's there for walking down the long dark corridors. Now, did he give you any idea of how old it was?
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Oh, he...he didn't say. If he had an idea, he didn't say.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I was on my own as far as that goes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03- What would you like it to be? - I'd like it to be Chelsea.- Why?
0:04:03 > 0:04:10Well, because I'm very interested in that particular period of English porcelain
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and I had seen a picture like that in a book.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- Yeah, OK.- And it was Chelsea.
0:04:17 > 0:04:25To be Chelsea, it would have to be 1745-1755, in that very early period when they produced the white wares.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- But I'm going to disappoint you. - OK.
0:04:28 > 0:04:34- It's not. What else can it be? - Well, my second guess was French.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Can I ask how much you paid for it? - I paid 100.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- 100 would in English be £40.- Mm-hm.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43To put you out of your misery...
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- SHE LAUGHS - ..it IS French.- Yes.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- It's St Cloud...- Yes.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56..a highly desirable factory, which has this greenish hue.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I love that handle, gorgeous handle.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02- Yes.- With the curly bit at the end, lovely thing.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07- Well, 100 is not too bad, is it? - Well, I liked the cup.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10I think if you sold that in England,
0:05:10 > 0:05:17- you would get somewhere in the region of £1,500 for it. - Thank you. Thank you very much.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22Today, you'll hear valuations given in Canadian dollars and/or sterling.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28It might help you to know that at the time of this recording, there are 2.25 to £1.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Well, we've had it about 35 years.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37We bought it from an old lady who was selling up all her things,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40and, er...we understand
0:05:40 > 0:05:47it was in an Eaton's catalogue - I'm not quite sure when, probably 1915-1920.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52Right. Despite first appearances, we're not looking at a Tiffany one.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- No, no.- Because...I live in hope.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59But it's still a splendid-looking lamp, OK?
0:05:59 > 0:06:04It gives the appearance of being in gilt-bronze, but that is deceptive.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09If you were to scratch through this, it would come up a silver colour.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14- White metal.- It's a white metal.- Yes. - The shade, in fact,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16is like a streaked butterscotch.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18but this type of glass is...
0:06:18 > 0:06:26again, it tends to be identified with Tiffany, however there were lots of manufacturers,
0:06:26 > 0:06:32in North America, making this type of lamp - Pairpoint is one name, Handel's another,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and there were plenty of others,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40- because the demand was, you know, virtually insatiable.- Yes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Everybody who was anybody in the early 20th century wanted this lamp.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49It showed they were modern, because this lamp used electricity,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54and that was still relatively novel around 1915. You mentioned Eaton's -
0:06:54 > 0:07:01- that was the Canadian equivalent of, let's say, Harrods.- Or Selfridges. - Or Selfridges, in Britain.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06- They had the largest mail-order business in Canada.- Did they really?
0:07:06 > 0:07:11The catalogues were coast to coast. All the farmers bought through them,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- people on the prairies.- I understand.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19At the moment, it doesn't benefit from the fact that it's not lit.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24- Because I'm sure you know that it looks fabulous when it's lit.- Yes.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Its current value at the moment is about, um...
0:07:29 > 0:07:32about 3,000 Canadian as it is,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34£1,500,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37but I think when it's lit,
0:07:37 > 0:07:44it's probably worth nearer 4,000 Canadian, because it looks better! That's about £2,000.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- 1,000 for a bulb? - Just for flicking on that switch!
0:07:47 > 0:07:54My dad got them from somebody for a pound of coffee in Berlin after the Second World War had ended,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58during the American occupancy of Germany.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Right. I wonder how much a pound of coffee was in Germany at that time.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- I don't know.- It would be his ration.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Was it a good trade, do you think?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12I think so, yeah. We've had them on the wall ever since, so...
0:08:12 > 0:08:16These are made of porcelain, almost certainly in Berlin.
0:08:16 > 0:08:24A number of factories in Berlin produced wonderful quality porcelain plaques and these are good subjects,
0:08:24 > 0:08:31and I would have thought the pair of plaques are worth about 700 to 900,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- £200 to £300 for the pair. - Excellent.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39But they're not really what I wanted to look at. This boy is marvellous.
0:08:39 > 0:08:46It's been by my parents' fireplace ever since I can remember and we've always called him our whistling boy.
0:08:46 > 0:08:54Well, in fact, he's a well-known bronze called the mousse siffleur, or the whistling ship's boy.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58And conveniently for me, it's...
0:08:58 > 0:09:02I can see here that it's signed, Szczeblewski,
0:09:02 > 0:09:09- and dated 1889 and it's cast in Hamburg and it's a wonderful quality bronze, isn't it?- Yes.
0:09:09 > 0:09:15Um, you've got such characterisation in it, haven't you?
0:09:15 > 0:09:20You know, normally they can be a bit stiff and rather formal,
0:09:20 > 0:09:25- but here it captures the spirit of the boy so well, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30- His trousers are torn, but he's strutting his stuff, isn't he?- Yeah.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The colour on it is very nice, too.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36It's been patinated to look like this.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Obviously, when it's cast, it comes out a fairly plain colour
0:09:41 > 0:09:46and it's been coloured to look this nice, nutty brown colour.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51- Be very careful not to polish it. - Yes, it's hard to tell my mother.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55People DO like polishing things. You should avoid it.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00At best a duster, maybe a paintbrush to get in the nooks and crannies.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05- Have you ever wondered how much it might be worth?- Not really.
0:10:05 > 0:10:12I wasn't going to bring it. I was at my parents' yesterday and I decided to sneak it out of the house,
0:10:12 > 0:10:17- so they don't know that it's missing yet.- Oh, really? Gosh.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22But I always liked it and I thought maybe it had a value, I wasn't sure.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25It does. There are plenty of copies,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28but this is a particularly nice one, a very nice cast.
0:10:28 > 0:10:34- I think this would make somewhere in the region of 4,000 to 6,000. - Fantastic.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- Which is £2,000 to £3,000.- Yes.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- So...- My dad will be delighted. - A very good pound of coffee.- Yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44- Thank you.- Thanks for bringing it.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52This really is such a very, very pretty box.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57I particularly love this painted bouquet of flowers in the centre,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01and this is surrounded by bird's-eye maple,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and then brass inlay round the edge,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09so whatever's inside, I've got a feeling, ought to be pretty good.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Wow! Isn't that absolutely glorious?
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I think it's lovely.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21The detail of the back here, with these lovely cut-steel studs on silk and blue velvet,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and the colours are just perfect,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29and it's so nice to see them in such wonderful vibrant colour.
0:11:29 > 0:11:36We've got everything here, from what I can see, that a lady would need for...for sewing.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Did you inherit it?
0:11:39 > 0:11:44- Yes.- What, recently?- I inherited it from my mother-in-law...- Yes.
0:11:44 > 0:11:50..who inherited it from her old maiden aunts, who lived in Halstead, in Essex,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54in an old Georgian house called Moonshiney Hall,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- which I'm afraid now is demolished. - Oh...
0:11:58 > 0:12:03- They lived to a really ripe old age, about 98 or so, both of them.- Yes?
0:12:03 > 0:12:08Well, judging by the condition, this hasn't been used very much,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and we've got things like a little vinaigrette...
0:12:12 > 0:12:17which... I'll just see if it is marked.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Yeah, that's got the maker's mark of Edward Smith,
0:12:21 > 0:12:28- and that dates from 1860, so we've got a pretty good idea that that's what this box dates from.- 1860.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Because I can't see any other marks.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35I particularly like little details like this -
0:12:35 > 0:12:40an absolutely wonderful little miniature sampler there,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and what have we got here?
0:12:42 > 0:12:50Oh - a Chinese thread-winder in mother-of-pearl, just, you know, beautifully engraved,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and all the rest of the things here
0:12:53 > 0:12:59are bobbins and wool threads and a complete manicure set,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04so there's a wonderfully complete set.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09The collectors of sewing implements really go for this sort of thing,
0:13:09 > 0:13:14so I've got a... a pretty good idea...
0:13:14 > 0:13:19that this is probably worth in the region of 7,000 -
0:13:19 > 0:13:22a little over £3,000.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26That's very nice. Very nice.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31I'm going to send you to see Eric on Miscellaneous.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36We need as many hands to this as we can get - there we go.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42The style and colours indicate to me it could have been made in France.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46- Do you know what it's made of? - Human hair.- Right.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50When I took it home, I took the back off
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and it was loaded with dead bugs.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- Are they still there?- No, no, no!
0:13:56 > 0:14:01I hung it up and took an air gun and I blew it from both directions,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06- and they just...- Blew away. It's a vision of 19th-century decoration.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I've seen this before.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16- Indeed, you have. I think it's quite remarkable that you remember my pots but don't remember my face.- Oh!
0:14:16 > 0:14:21- I'm afraid I look at pots, not faces! It's a long time ago.- It is.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24I brought it to you 20 years ago at least.
0:14:24 > 0:14:30This is, of course, one of Grainger's beautiful miniature jugs, absolutely beautiful -
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Worcester Cathedral over the river,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36a beautiful little miniature jug.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41The artist is Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith. He was a British artist.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46- He's the son of John Bell-Smith who was also a British portrait...- Son?
0:14:46 > 0:14:50- Oh, I thought they were brothers. - No, no, he was the son.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Bell-Smith travelled back and forth between England and Canada.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59He's known for two subject matters - British subject matter,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02like this - "Wet Day, Westminster."
0:15:02 > 0:15:06He also is known as one of what we call the CPR Painters -
0:15:06 > 0:15:14upon the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway he was hired, along with a lot of other artists,
0:15:14 > 0:15:21to travel west to paint western Canadian scenery for the eastern market, who had never seen it.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25So two subject matters of his come on the market regularly.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30Interestingly enough, one sells pretty much as well as the other.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It's a typical British painting.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Nice element here, with the two figures in prominence.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41It has all the features you'd want in a Bell-Smith watercolour.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45You could probably expect this to be worth...
0:15:45 > 0:15:50oh, I should think, maybe, in the 5,000 range - 4,000-5,000.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55It's an early French-Canadian armchair,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58called an Os de Mouton armchair,
0:15:58 > 0:16:04and os de mouton is translated as sheep horn.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10That's where the name is derived from, that shape of the stretcher.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14It's a crossover Louis XIII to Louis XIV influence,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Louis XIV having more flowing lines.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23The Louis XIII style was a simpler rectilinear form, very simple style.
0:16:23 > 0:16:30Louis XIV got into more flowing lines, and a little more carving and that kind of thing,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and that's what this chair is.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39The low back and the arms coming out fully to the end date it earlier.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42This is probably mid-18th century,
0:16:42 > 0:16:49and because it has some original finish left, some old crackled varnish, it pushes it up in value.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54If it were stripped and refinished it would be probably half the value.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59This chair on the current market place in an antique shop in Quebec
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- would probably be around 30,000 to 35,000.- Thanks.
0:17:03 > 0:17:11- It's a great chair, and I hope it passes on to more generations in your family.- Oh, we hope so.
0:17:11 > 0:17:18These are not porcelain, they're enamel. I like enamel, and these are charming examples.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Do you know where they came from?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- I believe they're Viennese.- Indeed.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28And when I first got them, I was able to, er...discover
0:17:28 > 0:17:31that the mark on the bottom dated it to about 1872,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35- This piece.- OK. That makes sense.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39There was a vogue, particularly in England,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42but also in Germany, Austria and France,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- called historismus.- Historismus?
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Historismus, which was looking back to earlier periods.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55The Victorians were great ones for studying works of art of the past
0:17:55 > 0:17:58in a way they'd never been studied.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02And they were particularly taken, in Vienna,
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- by the enamels of Limoges from the Renaissance period.- Oh, yes.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10And they used those techniques,
0:18:10 > 0:18:16and indeed some of the designs, on pieces which were characteristically 19th century
0:18:16 > 0:18:21and could never have been made in the earlier period.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26What's extraordinary is that the collectors in the 1870s and 1880s -
0:18:26 > 0:18:30in fact, right up until the '40s -
0:18:30 > 0:18:34were buying these pieces, thinking they were old.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- Oh, really?- Yeah, they were fooled,
0:18:37 > 0:18:44and it's only recently that we've been able to sort out the copies from the real thing.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48This is a rather curious shaped object.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52- It's almost like a hip bath, isn't it?- I never knew what it was.- No.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57I thought maybe sugar, and I've come to think of it as a sugar boat...
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- No, this is a bonbon dish.- Oh, OK.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04This would be in the middle of a dining table,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and it would have been pushed from guest to guest
0:19:08 > 0:19:13- and they would help themselves. - Right.- So that's what this was for.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17It's been decorated on the inside with classical subjects,
0:19:17 > 0:19:22and a typical Renaissance scroll border.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26On the underside we've got a landscape,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29which runs all the way round,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34you've got the three wheels mounted on this silver you talked about,
0:19:34 > 0:19:39and although that's now tarnished and black, it would polish up.
0:19:39 > 0:19:45The other one is slightly more bizarre. We have a grand piano,
0:19:45 > 0:19:50which we can lift up and find the keys,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52and then here, we...
0:19:52 > 0:19:55This is actually the key to it.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59This is the key to it, it opens up like that,
0:19:59 > 0:20:05and in here we have a musical movement. Does the movement work?
0:20:05 > 0:20:10It used to work. I haven't tried it for about five or six years, though.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Somebody's done a bit of jiggery-pokery round here.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19- That's not the original stop on there.- Oh, really? OK.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25- It's wound up, just... Can I try something?- Yes.- This may not work.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- It's working! It's playing a tune. - Oh, I can hear it.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44- It's having a tinkle. Well, there we go.- Oh, good.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49What's nice is that all the pins are in place and those are all there.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Often they're broken - some child's gone in and mashed it.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56So it's in perfect working order.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00I would get that stop worked out, because what should happen
0:21:00 > 0:21:04- is that when you raise that, this stud comes up and it plays.- Right.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09This, I think, is later. I'd put this into the 1890s.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Now, what did you pay for it? Can I ask?
0:21:13 > 0:21:18Well, I got it about ten or so years ago and I paid 3,000 for it.
0:21:18 > 0:21:203,000.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25- That's what?- £1,500. - £1,500 - that was fine.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29That was a perfectly sensible retail price.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34- What about this one?- This one I paid 600 for, so...- That's £300.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- 300 or less. - Less, isn't it? It's £280.
0:21:37 > 0:21:44That was really very good, you've done well. I mean, that would make...what would that make?
0:21:44 > 0:21:50- That would make £1,500, which is 3,000, so very nice.- Yes.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- Thank you for letting me see them. - Thank you for the information.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Earlier I mentioned the Canadian artists, the Group of Seven.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04This is a painting by Tom Thomson, one of the founders of the group.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Charlie Hill, curator of Canadian art - is this priceless?
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Well, Tom Thomson was a key figure in the early history of the movement,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16but, regrettably, that is a fake.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20During the late '50s, there was a group of people in Toronto
0:22:20 > 0:22:26who faked works by Tom Thomson and others and got them to auction houses
0:22:26 > 0:22:32and it all blew up in '63, when two of the figures were arrested and charged and put in prison.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37- So it was a scandal, not someone doing homage?- Not homage at all,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42though I think this painting was painted by an artist innocently,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47then handed over for an exhibition organised by these two people,
0:22:47 > 0:22:52and then they put a fake estate stamp on the back, so if you look,
0:22:52 > 0:22:58we have a good estate stamp, designed after Thomson's death,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01by JH MacDonald, a fellow painter.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05On this stamp, the 7 doesn't go down as far,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08the curve at the base is flatter,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11and the top part is not as clearly defined.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16What about the differences in the actual painting? What are the clues?
0:23:16 > 0:23:20The impasto and the texture of this is much broader,
0:23:20 > 0:23:25the contrast of colour is less subtle, less sophisticated,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28the forms aren't as sharply defined.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30However, not all Thomsons look alike.
0:23:30 > 0:23:38In fact, one finds Thomsons with the name misspelt, because somebody has put the name on later, yet it's good.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43There are complications in defining the authenticity of a Thomson sketch.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48So the crude imitation I'm holding is presumably not worth very much.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53- It has antiquarian interest. - And what about the genuine one?
0:23:53 > 0:24:00Thomson sketches of this quality go for between 150,000-225,000 Canadian.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05- Well, I've seen some strange pieces, but this takes the biscuit!- Oh?
0:24:05 > 0:24:11It's fascinating. It's like a late version of a Carlton House desk -
0:24:11 > 0:24:14the sort of horseshoe part here, the space,
0:24:14 > 0:24:19and all these little compartments. What's the family history?
0:24:19 > 0:24:24- My mother bought it about 40 years ago in Montreal.- Right.
0:24:24 > 0:24:31- She moved into a retirement residence three years ago and handed it down to me.- Wonderful.- And that's...
0:24:31 > 0:24:37- You use it as a desk?- Yeah, every day.- Excellent. These compartments slide backwards and forwards,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and the drawers pull out,
0:24:40 > 0:24:46- and there is a clue that perhaps the drawers aren't quite as old as they should be.- OK.
0:24:46 > 0:24:54- The construction, with little pins in here, you see?- Right.- And we have some plywood...- Bits on the bottom.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58On the bottom, and um, really...
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- I think...rather nearer the 1920s... - OK.
0:25:02 > 0:25:09..than earlier. However, if we look back at this thing, this is rosewood,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14and it has this typical French moulding of the 1840s.
0:25:14 > 0:25:201830, 1840, 1850, this was very popular. Now, the legs - I mean...
0:25:20 > 0:25:24- they're something else, aren't they? - Aren't they?!
0:25:24 > 0:25:30- Aren't they wonderful? - They're fabulous.- Wouldn't they probably look better on a piano?
0:25:30 > 0:25:35I was wondering if they're original to the desk or if they've been added.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40I think they are the original for what this desk was originally.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- Oh!- If you look here,
0:25:43 > 0:25:49we have a cut, and a cut, and another one there,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53and a cut in the moulding just there,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55and it's been shortened.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02- Oh!- And it WAS a piano. - It was a piano?!
0:26:02 > 0:26:07It was a piano, yes - an 1840s piano.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I don't...
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- That is...- And there's the piano.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17You're right.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Oh, my goodness! I can't believe it.
0:26:21 > 0:26:27I would have never, ever, guessed a piano. Wait till I tell everyone!
0:26:27 > 0:26:31THEY LAUGH
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Now, value-wise, it's slightly difficult, isn't it?
0:26:37 > 0:26:42- Shall we value it as a very good-looking desk?- Oh, I think so.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46- I think we should.- Right, cos that's what it is today.- Right.
0:26:46 > 0:26:53- And in Britain it would cost the best part of £800, which is probably the best part of 2,000.- Right.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56- Well!- Yes.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01That is surprising. I mean, it is so surprising, I can't believe it.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06- These are just fantastic whirligigs. - As far as we know,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11they were made in Athens, Ontario, a village here in Eastern Ontario,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15about in the 1890s, the way we figured it.
0:27:15 > 0:27:22We're retired historians, so we're very concerned about the history of these beasts,
0:27:22 > 0:27:29and...they stood out in front of a...a blacksmith's shop near the village, until about 1930,
0:27:29 > 0:27:35and then when the blacksmith's shop closed,
0:27:35 > 0:27:41they were shunted off to the farm of the brother of the man who made them,
0:27:41 > 0:27:48and they just stayed there in a chicken coop, till we purchased them in the 1980s.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53Well, they both appear to be made of Ontario cedar.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58The paddles on this one - yeah, that looks like cedar, too,
0:27:58 > 0:28:03which is part of the reason they've lasted this long.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07They were purely whimsical, made to mount on a post,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10possibly even the top of a house,
0:28:10 > 0:28:15and they would flail their arms in the wind, one paddle being this way,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19which would turn in the direction of the wind,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24and then the wind would catch this paddle and make the arms go around.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29Might tell the farmer what direction the wind was that day,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33but purely just straight, pure folk art and whimsies.
0:28:33 > 0:28:41I suspect that they may be a rendition of a Hessian soldier - the hat,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43the red coat with the buttons.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Just wonderful Canadian folk art.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52We even invest them with imaginary personalities!
0:28:52 > 0:28:57We think of this fellow as Charlie who went to Toronto and lived it up,
0:28:57 > 0:29:03and lost part of his hat, and this fellow is more uptight, you see,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06- and he's more or less whole.- Yes.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09That's just playfulness on our part, I guess.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I would estimate these to be worth
0:29:12 > 0:29:1620,000 to 25,000 Canadian...
0:29:16 > 0:29:20£10,000-£11,000 in Britain.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24- Well, that's terrific. Thank you very much.- You're welcome.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28- We'd better be more respectful!- Yes. - Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35Well, the response of the antiquers of Ottawa has been truly astounding.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38The queues formed here at 7am,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43the doors opened at 9, it's 3.30pm and still people are turning up.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48The experts will be here until at least midnight!
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Nice little box, squeeze action like most of them are, like that.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55- I wondered...- It's quite fun.
0:29:55 > 0:30:01- Hello.- Now, what have we got? What categories have we got here?
0:30:01 > 0:30:07- What's the story?- Well, she turned up at an auction sale here in Ottawa
0:30:07 > 0:30:14- of things belonging to the late Nicholas Monsarrat.- The author? - The author of The Cruel Sea.- Yes.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17The auction was advertised on a stormy winter day
0:30:17 > 0:30:24and hardly anybody turned up, and my father and I happened to go together and we got some lovely treasures,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28including this doll, for which I paid 25.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31I never would have had her otherwise.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Yes. And she is a lady! I mean, you look at her face,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37and you think more than anything
0:30:37 > 0:30:42- of those wonderful cartoons of the Gibson girls...- I see.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47..with the very delicate features and the big, bouffant hair.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49I think she's absolutely charming.
0:30:49 > 0:30:55- Underneath here... Her dress really doesn't show off her figure.- No.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Under here I can feel a wonderful, curvaceous, hour-glass figure,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03- and her legs...- Are wooden.- Wooden.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07and her body is made of, um...sawdust,
0:31:07 > 0:31:13- filled... I think it's just cotton.- Cotton, yeah.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18- She's dressed in, probably, her original costume.- Yes.
0:31:18 > 0:31:24Let's see if there's anything... Oh, there is a mark, let's have a look.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29- Somebody's filled this in.- I did that.- You went over it in pencil?- Mm.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32So the mark tells us a lot.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37First of all, it tells us the number of this particular face.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41It also gives a good indication of the maker.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46- I'm almost certain that the maker was a company called Heubach.- I see.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51Gebruder Heubach, who were based in Thuringia, in southern Germany,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55where a lot of the doll-makers set up their companies.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00And the Heubach company, in fact, was operating from about 1820.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05- She would be dating, probably, from about 1900.- Mm-hm.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09- And I think she's absolutely charming...- Oh!
0:32:09 > 0:32:15- ..I have to say. She cost you 25 on that dark, stormy, winter night. - Right.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20- Have you wondered about her value? - Oh, very much so, yeah.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24I think that was really a good buy. You probably knew it was.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27But the value now -
0:32:27 > 0:32:32that 25 is now going to be 2,250 to maybe 2,800,
0:32:32 > 0:32:38- which is sort of £1,000 to maybe £1,500.- That's lovely to know.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40She's a real treasure.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45- And I think also, here in Ottawa, the story adds...- Yes, I'm sure.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48- ..to the value.- You've made my day.
0:32:48 > 0:32:55- This is the most magnificent watercolour, and it is, to me, the age of innocence.- Absolutely.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00It's by one of the great English illustrators of the 20th century...
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- Yes.- ..Arthur Rackham.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07It's clearly signed - "Arthur Rackham, 1910."
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Just before the First World War, so an age of innocence,
0:33:11 > 0:33:16- before the century changed.- Yes. - Can you tell me about...?
0:33:16 > 0:33:21Yes. My great-grandmother, who was Australian, was an art collector,
0:33:21 > 0:33:28and she bought it as a wedding present for my grandmother, who was married at the end of 1910,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32- so they must have been the first... - Really?- ..um, owners.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35It always sat in the drawing room in the London house,
0:33:35 > 0:33:40according to my uncle, who's now 89 and remembers it as a child, um...
0:33:40 > 0:33:45and then I was given it on my 18th birthday and I've had it ever since.
0:33:45 > 0:33:51- Did your family know Rackham?- I think my grandmother knew him, yes,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55because there is another one that isn't as clear as this. I think so.
0:33:55 > 0:34:01- He illustrated some great books - Peter Pan and so on.- Absolutely.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06This specific subject doesn't seem to be an illustration for a book.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11- I wonder if it's a picture of his children or...- Well, I don't know,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15except it does figure in this book about Arthur Rackham.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20- There is a picture of it here, but of a different...- A later version?
0:34:20 > 0:34:24- 1913, for his book of illustrations. - And where is that?
0:34:24 > 0:34:29- I know that the V&A...- The Victoria and Albert.- ..have the copyright,
0:34:29 > 0:34:35because somebody came to visit us here in Canada and saw the picture
0:34:35 > 0:34:40and when she was in the V&A, she sent me a card from the gift shop.
0:34:40 > 0:34:46How lovely. I think it's absolutely wonderful, and Rackham's work is highly sought after.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51And if we just look on the back, we can see, with his own handwriting...
0:34:51 > 0:34:57"Children By The Sea, Arthur Rackham", and his address, "Chalcot Gardens".
0:34:57 > 0:35:02- Oh, yes, in Primrose Hill.- Exactly. So that in itself is wonderful.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05- Is that his signature?- I'd say yes.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Well, I mean Rackham's prices are...
0:35:07 > 0:35:14I mean he's so sought after, and therefore prices are extremely high for his work,
0:35:14 > 0:35:20and to see this wonderful, sort of fresh... I mean, this girl here is so beautiful.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25- Yes, I like this one.- I know, it's wonderful.- With the pantaloons.
0:35:25 > 0:35:32- It conjures up Swallows And Amazons, and family holidays on the beach, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37- It's one of the most desirable Rackhams you'll see.- Really? Gosh.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40It's just such a beautiful subject.
0:35:40 > 0:35:47- Something like this, if it came up on the market, would make between £30,000 and £40,000 minimum.- My God!
0:35:47 > 0:35:51- I'd say 70,000 to 100,000 Canadian.- Wow!
0:35:51 > 0:35:56- It's an absolute peach.- I had no idea, absolutely no idea. Wow!
0:35:56 > 0:36:01You know, logistically, these are extraordinarily difficult to make,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03because there's no glue used at all.
0:36:03 > 0:36:09They are coopered traditionally and held together by these brass bands.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12- This is Dutch.- Yes. - A cracking good example.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17- It's got a typical half-size liner - they cut it off halfway down...- Mm.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21..so you could get more bottles in.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26- What was it used for?- Wine bottles. - Wine?- Yes. It's a bottle carrier.
0:36:26 > 0:36:32- What do you use it for?- Well, at one point I held my son's Lego in it - it was a toy bucket.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37- I didn't know it was valuable.- Well, we haven't said it's valuable yet!
0:36:37 > 0:36:42- Now I'll keep wine in it.- I should keep wine in it, if I were you, yes.
0:36:42 > 0:36:49- You've been using - and I must say it IS quite valuable - the most expensive toy bucket.- Really?
0:36:49 > 0:36:56- Yes, it's worth, certainly in the English market, about £2,000. - £2,000? That's amazing!
0:36:56 > 0:37:01- So this has just been consigned to the back of the sewing basket?- Yes.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06- So you've never really given it a second look?- No, I haven't.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11- OK. When- I- look at this object, I want to give it about 20 looks,
0:37:11 > 0:37:16because there's so much to see when you start looking closely at it.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21You use it for sewing needles. Do you know what it was for originally?
0:37:21 > 0:37:23I'm assuming maybe a snuff box.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29I think you're on the right track. It probably started as a snuff box.
0:37:29 > 0:37:35But what strikes you when you pick up something like this is just that it's sheer perfection.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39It's beautifully decorated, the top.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44This wonderful star decoration here with this entire elliptical field,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48and then when you cast your eye into the borders,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52you notice that this actual top's beautifully chiselled,
0:37:52 > 0:37:59and enamelled with semi-translucent enamels in what appears to be an aubergine and an emerald green,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02so it's a snuff box of quality.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07Turn it on its side and you get more - wonderful little pilasters,
0:38:07 > 0:38:10again using scroll motifs.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14and it begs to be opened and when you open it,
0:38:14 > 0:38:18you'll find that you've got several marks here,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21which tell me that this is French,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25which tell me that was made probably in around about 1780.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30Now the person who owned this would have been well-to-do.
0:38:30 > 0:38:36The chances are that the original owner probably lost his head to Madame Guillotine.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41- But- I- don't want to lose my head when it comes to valuation!
0:38:41 > 0:38:46If I was to recommend a valuation on this particular box,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50it would be for somewhere in the region of £2,000,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54which is about 4,000 Canadian,
0:38:54 > 0:39:02so this has got to be, probably, the most expensive needle box I'll probably handle today.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06- And it probably won't handle many more needles!- No.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09- Thank you.- A pleasure.
0:39:09 > 0:39:16My grandfather left it to me a pile of years ago, about 30 years ago, but I don't know where HE got it.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19No story attached when you got it?
0:39:19 > 0:39:24No, I wish I had one. He was a big shot in the internal affairs.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29He travelled all over the world and he passed away when I was young.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Well, there's a bit of a government connection here.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37This cane has been carved as we say, in the round.
0:39:37 > 0:39:45It's sort of telling a story, and it says, "Sir John Douglass Sutherland Campbell",
0:39:45 > 0:39:50and it says, "The Marquis of Lorne" here...
0:39:51 > 0:39:54..and we see the initials "GG of C",
0:39:54 > 0:39:59and we believe that stands for the Governor General of Canada.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04He wasn't Governor General for long - a year or so, but I could be wrong.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09Do you expect that he made this, do you think, or had it made for him?
0:40:09 > 0:40:13I believe he had it made, but I'm just going by rumours.
0:40:13 > 0:40:20It could have been made as a commemorative piece for his time, or perhaps made as a walking stick.
0:40:20 > 0:40:28This would have historical value, but its real value here in Canada is as a piece of Canadian folk art.
0:40:28 > 0:40:35And it has just a fantastic surface. One of the things we look for in folk art is the old painted surface.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38There's this terrific imagery on it.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42We've got the great Canadian symbol, the beaver,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46we've got diamonds and hearts and this curious thing here.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48The thing's carved out of one piece,
0:40:48 > 0:40:53and you see the carver's virtuosity in carving this ball - remarkable.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58And the colour is just...the preservation, the different colours,
0:40:58 > 0:41:03I think it's a delightful object. You've never had it priced?
0:41:03 > 0:41:06I've no idea. Not even a small clue.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12- Wouldn't even hazard a guess? - No, I'd be too afraid to guess. - Well, you might be surprised.
0:41:12 > 0:41:19- I think we're looking at about £2,500 British, 4,000 to 6,000 Canadian.- Wow! Well...
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- A wonderful thing. - Thank you very much.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27- My mother was very fond of it and used it a great deal.- Right.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32- Well, it's a very pretty chain and it's actually Swiss.- Well!
0:41:32 > 0:41:36This enamelling is very typical...
0:41:36 > 0:41:38and the little gold links, as well,
0:41:38 > 0:41:43- and I think this would date from about 1830.- Really?- Mm.
0:41:43 > 0:41:50And for insurance purposes, I would estimate this at somewhere around £5,000 or 10,000.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Good heavens! Incredible!
0:41:53 > 0:41:56But now we come to the real star of the show.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01I bought this in New York 30 or more years ago,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and, um...
0:42:04 > 0:42:12- it was purported to have been made in Prague in about 1560. - Well, I think that's, you know,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15that is absolutely likely,
0:42:15 > 0:42:20- because the form of it and the way these emeralds have been cut...- Yes.
0:42:20 > 0:42:27..is typical of the 16th century, as is this beautiful enamelling on the sides and on the back.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33It's really in immaculate condition, I must say. It's really survived beautifully.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38Jewellery of this period is rare today, seldom comes on the market.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43- I would estimate the value of this between £20,000 and £25,000.- Gosh.
0:42:43 > 0:42:49- Which would be about 50,000. - How much?- About 50,000.- 50,000?
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Incredible.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56It's a really spectacular piece and I'm delighted to have seen it.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Well, thank you very much indeed.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01It's been a busy, busy day,
0:43:01 > 0:43:08and I have to hand it to the folk here for their enthusiasm, patience and their unfailing good humour.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13So from Ottawa and our first Canadian Roadshow, goodbye.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18Subtitles by Judith Russell BBC - 2002