0:01:00 > 0:01:03The Antiques Roadshow has responded to the promise
0:01:03 > 0:01:05of a welcome in the hillside.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08We've come to Wales, to Bridgend,
0:01:08 > 0:01:14a thriving town in Mid Glamorgan halfway between Cardiff and Swansea.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19The Welsh version of the town's name is Penybont-ar-Ogwr.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The Ogwr being the river that flows under this 15th-century bridge.
0:01:23 > 0:01:30Above Bridgend is one of a trio of fortresses the Normans erected to protect their border from the Welsh.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34They underestimated Prince Owain Glyndwr
0:01:34 > 0:01:39who besieged all three river crossings and did particular damage to this one - Newcastle.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Famous sons of Bridgend have been a diverse band of achievers.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47There was Dr Richard Price, known as the father of life assurance.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52Then there was Dr William Morgan who stumbled across the marvel of X-rays
0:01:52 > 0:01:56many years before the official discovery in Germany.
0:01:56 > 0:02:02And there was John Thomas, harpist to Queen Victoria, and the star of many an eisteddfod,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06who, probably more than anyone, made the world aware of Welsh culture.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10In the late 1800s, there was yet another invasion...
0:02:10 > 0:02:15by people fleeing from deprivation and poverty in Northern Italy.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19The Italians came with nothing apart from a readiness to work,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23a spirit of enterprise and their cooking skills.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29Boys sold custard ice cream from handcarts and the newcomers set up cafes with a welcoming atmosphere.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36By the 1930s, there were more than 300 Italian cafes in Wales.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42Most of them are still here - an indispensable part of the community. Salute.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47Coffee from the old country is still imported to the Ogmore valley
0:02:47 > 0:02:53where it's roasted and delivered to the trattorias, bringing a taste of la dolce vita to the Land of Song.
0:02:53 > 0:03:01And it's time to say croeso, ben venuto, and a warm welcome to Bridgend Recreational Centre
0:03:01 > 0:03:03and today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It was given to my wife by an elderly neighbour
0:03:06 > 0:03:13she always said that she remembers playing with it as a child with her governess.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18- That explains some of the subsidence and structural damage.- Yes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22The whole house is slightly ropey. Let's turn it round.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27A fraction of the roof is missing and we've got cracks all the way round.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29What a shame.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35And some repairs. Well, I'm going to put that to one side.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Now, do you know the family names of the lady who originally owned this?
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Er, she was a Miss Jones, daughter of a Reverend Jones.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48What I really wanted you to say that she was "Miss Teapot"
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- or "Miss Kettle".- No.
0:03:50 > 0:03:57Because that presumably is what the original artist - when painting the model - was referring to.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00I think she must've been Miss Kettle.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02This was done in 1833.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05This is a pastille burner.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Around this time, people smoked heavily and they would have
0:04:09 > 0:04:14- special ways of making the atmosphere smell sweetly afterwards.- Right.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18And they'd have a pastille burner. Usually they are about this size.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23This is the biggest cottage pastille burner I've ever seen.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27There would have been something in the middle...?
0:04:27 > 0:04:31They put pastilles - little tablets...
0:04:31 > 0:04:37- They were burned?- They were burned and they would infuse the air through the open windows
0:04:37 > 0:04:39and usually through the chimneys.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43It was almost certainly made in Staffordshire.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46This is pearl ware, bluey glazed pearl ware.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Um...
0:04:48 > 0:04:53I suppose a pastille burner collector would want to own this,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57- simply to say, "Have you seen a bigger one?"- Yes.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I'm going to put a valuation on it for somewhere in the region of...
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- £2,000 to £3,000.- Goodness gracious.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Well, it is such a rare object.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09MUSICAL BOX TUNE PLAYS
0:05:14 > 0:05:19That was the unmistakable sound of a slightly distressed disc musical box.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Now, tell me your family relationship with it.
0:05:23 > 0:05:30It was given to me about five years ago by an elderly neighbour and it was his grandfather's before him.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36- Oh, lovely! So it had been something much treasured in his family.- Yes.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Well, let's have a look. It's a very simple box,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45probably pine which has been finished with a transfer print or a decoration
0:05:45 > 0:05:50to make it look like rosewood, it isn't actually rosewood.
0:05:50 > 0:05:57So it would have been quite a cheap thing to produce and made by a company called Symphonium,
0:05:57 > 0:06:04a German company that made a lot of these disc musical boxes and, in date, between about 1900 and 1910.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10But what that makes it special is the bit that I'm hiding here...this.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14When that goes on the top,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18it changes it from being a standard small disc musical box
0:06:18 > 0:06:22into something much more entertaining - an automaton.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Let's just get it going.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26TUNE PLAYS
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- Oh, it's great, isn't it?- Yes.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35If it just had its little disc, and didn't have this extra piece on the top,
0:06:35 > 0:06:40it's a box that might be worth perhaps a couple of hundred, £300,
0:06:40 > 0:06:45but this puts it into a completely different price category.
0:06:45 > 0:06:51Terribly popular in America and all over Europe people collect them,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56and it means that a box like this today is going to be worth
0:06:56 > 0:06:58between about £1,000 and £1,500.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03TUNE PLAYS
0:07:05 > 0:07:09My husband bought it for me in 1960 as a wedding anniversary present.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- I was moaning I didn't have a desk and he did.- Well, you have a desk!
0:07:13 > 0:07:18He said it was a travelling companion so that when we went away,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20I could do my thank-you letters,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25- then, when it's turned over, I could darn his socks.- Absolutely.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31Well, if you open it, I have no doubt that we have a sewing compartment inside.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Absolutely beautiful.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38These writing desks, are really little bit of English social history.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43They were first made around the beginning of the 19th century
0:07:43 > 0:07:49and they were really conceived for officers and their families when travelling abroad.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53This piece probably dates to around 1900,
0:07:53 > 0:08:00so it's at the further end of the history of this sort of campaign writing tables.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05- Campaign?- Yes.- Ah, right. - They were used when people were living under canvas.- Yes.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09They tried to have as many home comforts as they could.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14You've got a lovely original green morocco interior,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18pouches for envelopes, for letters, for stamps,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20a blotter,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25a little inkwell, something to probably hold quill pens.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31On the reverse, you have compartments for your sewing equipment.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And there were firms like Shawbreads,
0:08:33 > 0:08:38the Army and Navy Stores, Barker, who were in New Bond Street,
0:08:38 > 0:08:45and they specialised in this sort of furniture and this is going to be made by one of those makers.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50It's a very nice. Are we able to discuss prices if this was...?
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- It was bought in 1960 from an antique shop in Cardiff.- Yes.
0:08:54 > 0:09:01It wouldn't have cost an awful lot, I would have thought probably about £10 to £15. But it was 1960.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Well, I think today it's a very desirable piece
0:09:05 > 0:09:12that somebody with an interest in military history might well like to have in their collection,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- so I would put a valuation of nearer £1,000 on it.- Really? That's fine.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22It belonged to my great-great-great grandfather, who was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27He was with Wellington and he also fought at the Battle of New Orleans,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30where General Packenham was killed.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31Right.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34I believe it's about 1825
0:09:34 > 0:09:39and he was serving at the time in Corfu.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44Right. Oh, well, that's lovely to have all that background.
0:09:44 > 0:09:50The regiment itself is the 18th Regiment of Foot, which was the Royal Irish Regiment,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53so a very good regiment of the time,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57one of the lower numbers in the serial numbers of the British Army
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and this type of tunic, it's known as a long-tailed coatee.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06And here we... here we see the reason for it.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12In the period that you mentioned, when he was in the Peninsula War, he wouldn't have worn this tunic.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16- No.- He would have worn a short-tailed coatee,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21and then after the Napoleonic Wars, this type of tunic was adopted.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23In fact, it went on to 1855.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28The only thing that stopped this type of coatee being worn
0:10:28 > 0:10:34was the severe winter in the Crimea in 1854-55.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40They actually went to war in the Crimea, dressed like toy soldiers, all this splendour,
0:10:40 > 0:10:45and they were decimated through disease and a severe winter,
0:10:45 > 0:10:50so this coatee, as I say, had a life up until 1855.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55But I would place this... I believe you said, didn't you? 1825.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00Well, 1825-30, around that time. Has he got anything in his pocket?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- Did you know there was a pocket there?- No, I didn't know.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09No. You never know, I might have found a sovereign!
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Anyway, these coatees do not survive, there are so few about.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Regimental museums have got their own examples usually,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21but it's not often you see them
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and to be in the same family, this is wonderful.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Now, if this was put into auction,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33I feel that it would fetch something in the region of £1,500.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- Does that surprise you?- I thought it was a couple of hundred pounds.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- Really?- Yes. - Oh, well, then, that's good news.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47This is what we ought to see - Welsh Pottery, made by Dylan and Co.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49- Are you a collector?- Yes, yes.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53And are all the pieces coming out - are these all going to be Welsh?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56That's what I want to find out.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00This is marked Nantgarw which is nice to see, should be incredibly white.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04It is very white when you hold it up to the light.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09- It's also very heavily potted.- Very heavy, yes.- Very heavy for Nantgarw.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14- That's a nice one, I think. - So, you've got a complete mixture.
0:12:14 > 0:12:20You've got pottery from Swansea, porcelain from Swansea, Nantgarw.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Which of these is your favourite? - Um...
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- This one. - Yeah, I like this one, too.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33Probably made sometime around the 1830s with a ship that is somewhat older.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38It's probably 30 or 40 years out of date, but it's a lovely thing.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43In Wales, I can see that in a shop window with a price of £150 on it,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48- so at auction, you might be lucky to get as much as £100 for it.- I see.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53- We've had the magnifying glass on it.- On the signature?- Yes.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58And everybody thought, "We know about antiques..." Nobody knows.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00- It's David Woodlock.- David Woodlock.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03He's a Liverpool artist.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- That's right.- And I didn't have to look at the signature.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12- Well, I asked you to.- Because I knew exactly who it was by.- Right.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17Basically, he's a painter around the turn of the century and later.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Woodlock has...
0:13:19 > 0:13:22this wonderfully decorative style,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24a woven tapestry of colour in a way.
0:13:24 > 0:13:30That's right, which amazed me, it being so old, that it still has that richness of colour in.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35All the richness of the reds and the blues is there.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And it's a wonderful thing.
0:13:37 > 0:13:43- I think it's worth £2,500 to £3,500, maybe a bit more.- Lovely, lovely! - It's very, very pretty.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49- I think it could make more. It could make...- £2,500?! - ..on a good day, up to £5,000.
0:13:49 > 0:13:56- But I would say £2,500 to £3,500 seems like a reasonable valuation. - Excellent! Thank you very much.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01It was my grandmother's and it came down to me when she died.
0:14:01 > 0:14:07She used it every day in the days when the milk was delivered on a wagon
0:14:07 > 0:14:12and you went out with your jug and the milk poured in from a measure.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- Oh, yes, so this was the jug?- That was the jug.- So it was in daily use.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21There's a mark on the bottom which is a GB. Does that mean anything to you?
0:14:21 > 0:14:23No. Not a thing.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27This was painted by a lady called Grace Barnsley
0:14:27 > 0:14:34who was a member of the Barnsley furniture family in Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds, in that area...
0:14:34 > 0:14:39- You're looking worried.- No, it's just that I moved here from Cirencester
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- and Barnsley is just down the road. - Yes.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Well, in that case it must have been bought in that area.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51In the 1920s, Wedgwood was an avant-garde firm.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55They reintroduced hand decorating for their table wares,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and Grace, who knew Tom Wedgwood, was encouraged to do some decorating,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03so she got Wedgwood blanks and developed her own patterns,
0:15:03 > 0:15:10working under the guidance of artists like Millicent Taplin who were in charge of the hand-decorating girls.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16She made a range of things, which all have this lovely decorative quality, lovely colours,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20lovely soft brush work, and her things became quite collectable,
0:15:20 > 0:15:26- because of the Barnsley connection. Now, do you think it has any value? - No, I wouldn't think so.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32- Just a pretty thing? - Yeah, I would say an everyday... - Well, how about £150?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Very nice!
0:15:34 > 0:15:41I've often seen silk merchants' sample books with prices in, but this one is extremely strange.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47Not only is it entirely hand-written in French, "principes de fabrique" there,
0:15:47 > 0:15:54but it also has - which I think is unusual - all the instructions about how to make this stuff,
0:15:54 > 0:16:00so this is in fact the trade secrets which is quite incredible, and it is a most wonderful volume
0:16:00 > 0:16:04because it has not only - as I say - all the samples in,
0:16:04 > 0:16:09but actually notices here of all the things that you do to make it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15- Where did it come from?- I think my great-great grandfather was a silk merchant in Spital Square, London.
0:16:15 > 0:16:21I think it was probably about the 1840s or something like that. He probably started the business.
0:16:21 > 0:16:28I acquired it from my father when he died and it's been in the family as far as I know ever since.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34I love this. This is so bright. It's been in this book, this book dates from about 1850, I would have said.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40But it's so bright and so wonderful, and to see the big watercolour plan here of the silk,
0:16:40 > 0:16:45and then to see it actually made up into these tiny little samples.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51- It really is just wonderful, and they're so bright, I mean just... - They are.- ..lovely, very exciting.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56And, as I was saying, the unusual thing is he tells you how to make it.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01"Systeme de la mechanique a la Jacquard," and here it all is.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06- It's the famous loom, isn't it?- Yes. It's unusual to see how to do this.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Yes, late 19th century, everybody would have known how to make it,
0:17:10 > 0:17:17but I can't see that in the mid-19th century that everybody would have known how to make this sort of silk.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21I'm delighted that you brought it in. I'm going to put a value on it
0:17:21 > 0:17:26- of £2,000.- £2,000, you reckon. - And I think probably any museum
0:17:26 > 0:17:31would be fascinated to have it and to see what's going on in here.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- I've had it about 45 years.- Yes. - And I acquired it then.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- I used to use it in my younger days. - Yes.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43But haven't used it for years. I've just kept it in the drawer.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- But you never considered that it was unusual?- No, I didn't.
0:17:48 > 0:17:54Leica made a camera called the Leica One in 1931 and they produced very, very few
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and they were called the Luxus range.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Luxus meant that they were a very luxurious camera.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04They were finished with snakeskin.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10They were gilded and they had very ornate crocodile cases. Now, hold your breath,
0:18:10 > 0:18:15because one of those some years ago sold for £30,000 at auction.
0:18:15 > 0:18:22Now, what is very interesting about this is that it's got a pretty early serial number, 88840.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27Now, that to me, is a Leica Two. That is 1932 for this particular model.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- Right.- A standard Leica Two has a black body
0:18:31 > 0:18:39- and I have to be quite frank with you, I've never seen one with a gilded body like this.- Oh.
0:18:39 > 0:18:46That makes this a particularly interesting camera. These cameras are faked a great deal.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50I've seen some very good fakes in Eastern Europe.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Now, this one is not in very good condition
0:18:54 > 0:19:00and if someone was faking a camera, they wouldn't go to the trouble of producing all this wear on it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- Yes.- Now the other thing is
0:19:02 > 0:19:07if we detach the lens from the front of this camera, which unscrews,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09the copies have a sprocket inside
0:19:09 > 0:19:14which is generally square, but the real ones have a circular sprocket.
0:19:14 > 0:19:20And if I look inside it, it has a circular sprocket, we can see that.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26So there is no doubt in my mind that this camera is absolutely correct in every respect.
0:19:26 > 0:19:34It's difficult for me to put a price on this because Leica collectors, they're a law unto themselves.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38They look for things that are interesting and different.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44A black-body version of this camera is just worth a few hundred pounds,
0:19:44 > 0:19:50- but I think I can tentatively put an auction price of £3,000 to £5,000 on this camera.- Really? Gosh.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55- I would hope that it would do that and better.- That is a surprise.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57I didn't realise it was worth that.
0:19:57 > 0:20:04Well, if only these artefacts could talk. Is this something that's been in your family?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Yes, it's been passed down several generations.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12- It is a box of tricks when you open it up, isn't it?- And it's heavy.- Yes.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- It must have been all over the world, I suppose.- I think it has.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23This is something that every grand gentleman or lady would perhaps take around with them.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27- Look. I love that.- There's monogrammed envelopes in there...
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Isn't that terrific?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- ..from my gran's mum's brother. - Yeah.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39- Yes.- And even little silver mounts on the leather writing slide.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- Yes.- Really quite magnificent, the way it's put together.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47- I mean, it is a myriad of objects in here, isn't it?- Mm-mm.
0:20:47 > 0:20:54And they've got absolutely something for every occasion, but mostly for personal hygiene I suppose, isn't it?
0:20:54 > 0:21:00- Yes.- Um, wonderful glass and silver bottles, silver mounted.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03This one, in particular, is great
0:21:03 > 0:21:07because it has scent at one end and cologne at the other.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10You can unscrew the cap.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15And beautifully ridged swirled glass and it's very, very carefully made
0:21:15 > 0:21:19- so that everything is airtight. - Yes.- Wonderful.
0:21:19 > 0:21:26It's hallmarked. It's 1886 so getting on for 115 years old, aren't we?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Yes.- The little inkwell.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34- The travelling inkwell with some kind of...- Absolutely. - ..cork above it.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38- It needs obviously to be liquid tight.- Yes.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43Really terrific. They're quite difficult things to value
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- because there's so much amongst the objects.- Yes.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52And there are people who collect scent bottles in particular
0:21:52 > 0:21:55who might cry out just for that.
0:21:55 > 0:22:03- One would be expecting, I suppose, probably £300 somebody might pay for that.- Just for the one bottle?
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- They are particularly sought after. - Gracious me.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I think that we would, in an auction today,
0:22:10 > 0:22:15probably estimate something in the region of £1,500 - £2,000.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20- Gracious. Really?- Quite a... quite a grouping of things.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Well, these are by Allen Jones and you knew him?
0:22:24 > 0:22:31Absolutely, yes, I met him in London in 1959. I was a neighbour of Allen's and then we became friends.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Good, and this was done, I assume, when he was at Hornsea.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40- Yes.- Studying with Alan Braund. Do you like this print?
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Not really, no, I don't, actually, because when Allen completed this,
0:22:45 > 0:22:50I just couldn't see what he was painting and then he explained to me
0:22:50 > 0:22:57the window was open in his bedroom and there was white net curtains just fluttering in the breeze
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and that's how he could see his garden through his window.
0:23:01 > 0:23:08- Interesting, because I wouldn't look at it that way.- Yes.- I just feel this great vortex of wind.- Yes.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- The face is part of the garden in a way.- Yes.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17So, he goes from Hornsea School of Art, where this was painted, to the Royal College.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20- This is a Royal College picture?- Yes.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26And there's a reason why I assume that, because he then entered the revolution that was going on,
0:23:26 > 0:23:33which had been Peter Blake to start with, with Pop Art and when he was there it was David Hockney and Kitaj
0:23:33 > 0:23:37and there was a feeling of Hockney here in this face, and Kitaj,
0:23:37 > 0:23:42and he's grasping at new languages and trying to express himself,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46so I look at these both as seed pictures
0:23:46 > 0:23:50because his revolution was different,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54his revolution was the communication...
0:23:54 > 0:23:57the two-dimensional communication -
0:23:57 > 0:24:04the strongest and most popular form of communication, which in a way is the poster. What do you think of it?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Um...I just...
0:24:07 > 0:24:13I think it just jumps out at you, as you said. It's a poster, isn't it?
0:24:13 > 0:24:18It's so different, and I just think it's wonderful. I just love that.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21How do you translate this? Or you don't?
0:24:21 > 0:24:28- I've always assumed that was Allen's face.- Right. Could be anything, couldn't it?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32- I think it's Allen's face.- Do you? I think it's a rhythm of bodies.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- No, I think it's Allen's face. - Right.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38I've always thought that.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41So there you go. Anyway, it's wonderful.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46Now, the interesting thing about this - not from your point of view
0:24:46 > 0:24:52because these are personal possessions - but from the general public's point of view,
0:24:52 > 0:24:57here is a very important figure in the history of art since the war,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00and people say there's nothing to collect,
0:25:00 > 0:25:05but a poster like this is only worth £300 or £400.
0:25:05 > 0:25:12You can buy an Allen Jones, so I think it's a wonderful area to buy.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15A great Allen Jones, for instance, is only £4,000.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21- Mmm.- And I'm sure it's not going to last, but here is a wonderful area.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26I don't think one would necessarily find such early ones as this,
0:25:26 > 0:25:32but they would be just a few hundred pounds if you did. It's exciting.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40- What does it say on the top here? - I'm not very good at reading Welsh.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44"Tarian Goffa Iorwerth Glyndwr John."
0:25:44 > 0:25:48A shield in memory of Iorwerth Glyndwr John.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53- And who was that?- We don't know. - Where does it come from originally?
0:25:53 > 0:26:00This is the first copy of the original shield that was found in the Thames a long, long time ago.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04And they used it for the Eisteddfod prizegiving.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10The reason we have it is that my mother-in-law's father was a choirmaster back in the '20s,
0:26:10 > 0:26:16and the choir that he was with won the National Eisteddfod four times in six years.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Ah! And this is the arts we're talking about?- Oh, yes.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25About 20 years ago, my daughter knocked it and broke it,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29so I took it to Bristol and they repaired it
0:26:29 > 0:26:33and said that it was an interesting piece,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- so it's back hanging up again. - Good,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39because it deserves to be hanging.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41The maker is Berge of London,
0:26:41 > 0:26:46and it says "late Ramsden". Now, that is Matthew Berge,
0:26:46 > 0:26:52who took over Jesse Ramsden's business in 1800.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57Ramsden was one of the finest instrument makers in London,
0:26:57 > 0:27:02and the premises was in Piccadilly and this man died in 1819.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05From the style of the barometer,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09I would say it was from the first few years of the 19th century,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- just after 1800.- Hmm!
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Now, it is a silvered scale,
0:27:15 > 0:27:21it is the bow-fronted type of barometer with flame mahogany -
0:27:21 > 0:27:25you can see it here, you've got that lovely long thermometer tube
0:27:25 > 0:27:28in Fahrenheit and Reaumur,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and then down here, the cistern cover is an ebony urn,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37and, on these canted corners here, little ebony inlays.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40It is as good as you will find.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44So for a barometer just after 1800, what sort of figure do you reckon?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47- I don't know.- Right.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50This man is one of the finest makers
0:27:50 > 0:27:56and these bow-fronted stick barometers have zoomed over the last five years on the market.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59At auction now this would make at least...
0:27:59 > 0:28:02£7,000, at least,
0:28:02 > 0:28:07and would retail with a barometer specialist probably around £12,000.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- So...- Oh!
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Yes. Mmm. Right.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20When I was a little girl, if I was very good, I was allowed to wear this on St David's Day.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26- Very suitable.- It's been in my grandmother's family, I don't know how long for.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30- This is quite an early one, isn't it? Your grandmother's family?- Yes.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34- This is sealskin... - Sealskin, is it?- Yeah.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39It's a very traditional style and certainly like a Victorian one.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- Any idea about their value?- No, no.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Victorian ones are very collectable and very desirable,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49even in this condition. It could be as much as £600 or £800.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54- You're joking.- No, no. They're very rare things to find.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59I believe it's made of oak.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03It's come to me via my mother and aunt and uncle,
0:29:03 > 0:29:08- originally from the west of England. - The first thing I should tell you -
0:29:08 > 0:29:12- it's not oak.- Oh. - It is, in fact, true ebony.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16It's a very dense wood and that accounts for its weight.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19Have you any idea where it was made?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- None at all.- Well, for many years,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25particularly in the 19th century,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28they were believed to date from the period of Charles I
0:29:28 > 0:29:31and to be English.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36They were much admired by collectors in the 18th and 19th century,
0:29:36 > 0:29:43and, in particular, Eliza Ashmole, whose collection formed the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47owned these chairs which were published in the early 19th century
0:29:47 > 0:29:52as being from the time of Charles II. In fact, we now know differently.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55They're, in fact, made in Ceylon
0:29:55 > 0:30:01and date probably to the... 18th century
0:30:01 > 0:30:08and some of them date to the 19th century. This one, I am sure, is an 18th-century example.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11If you look at the carving on the back,
0:30:11 > 0:30:15it's actually very, very beautifully carved, low relief,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18but very much in an Oriental taste,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20it's got a very Eastern flavour -
0:30:20 > 0:30:24the way the flowers are done, the way the leaves are carved.
0:30:24 > 0:30:31And these heads - although they're trying to depict Western figures, they've got an Oriental feel to them.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37And so these are carved by people in the East trying to imitate the look of Western figures.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40And if we turn it round,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44it's also very, very beautifully carved on the back,
0:30:44 > 0:30:48these turned spindles, which again relate to early English furniture,
0:30:48 > 0:30:53so it's quite understandable why people believed them to be that.
0:30:53 > 0:31:00- Is it something you've had valued or given any thought to?- I've never had it valued. I've often thought...
0:31:00 > 0:31:04- I really should find out more about it.- Mmm.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09One's probably looking at a figure of something like £5,000 for one chair.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12It's a very, very good example.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17This is Welsh porcelain as good as it comes. Are you a collector?
0:31:17 > 0:31:21I am. My wife and I have been collecting for 20 years.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24And these are choice pieces indeed.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Two different Welsh factories - two pieces of Nantgarw,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31and this one here - Swansea. And this one...
0:31:31 > 0:31:36one feels the factory is struggling because it's got no gold edge.
0:31:36 > 0:31:42- I was attracted to that one purely for the decoration - very elegant. - Yes, it is elegant.
0:31:42 > 0:31:48I'm looking at these flowers here and see the hand of William Billingsley.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52- Had you thought about the artist? - I hadn't.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56- Not Billingsley, anyway.- But attributing the artists is tricky.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00What matters is the style which is so classic.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03This has the Swansea mark on the back,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06so decorated at the factory, but never finished off.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09It looks naked without the gold edge,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13- but that gives a lightness which is really wonderful.- Yes.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17And two pieces, though with very different decoration, from Nantgarw.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22Really superb porcelain made there - such difficult material to make -
0:32:22 > 0:32:27a lot of it so beautiful, they sent it to London for painting.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32And here we've got London decoration at its best. What is that?
0:32:32 > 0:32:35A Virginia quail, I believe.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Oh, it tells us there, "Virginian Quail",
0:32:39 > 0:32:43and one can just see the mark tucked in there - Nantgarw CW - China Works.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48And the decoration here - London work rather than decorated at Nantgarw,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51but stunning, isn't it?
0:32:51 > 0:32:55And this one - that looks good painting...
0:32:55 > 0:33:00- Incredible detail.- Fantastic. - Every inch of it smothered.- Yes.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- All those flowers - they're so real. - Yes. Many hours gone into that.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09- I think it's superb.- This is really magnificent London painting
0:33:09 > 0:33:13and that reminds me of the finest Derby or George Complan,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17a Derby painter of fruit. The detail is incredible
0:33:17 > 0:33:19and that gold is all done by hand.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24It looks so perfect. How on earth can anyone do that quality?
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Splendid pieces.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31So we know that they're good, quite expensive pieces too.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Yes, they were, yes.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38- Do you know much about their values? You bought them recently?- No.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42They were bought between 8 and 10 years ago from a dealer in Swansea.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45The market's been rising steadily
0:33:45 > 0:33:48because people do realise how good they are.
0:33:48 > 0:33:54- This is nice being Swansea decorated, although the lack of gold will reduce the value a little.- Right.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57A cracking plate...
0:33:57 > 0:34:00- £2,000 today.- Really? Oh, thank you.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Nantgarw plates are generally more expensive,
0:34:04 > 0:34:09and a London-decorated plate like this, with a named bird...
0:34:09 > 0:34:14- ooh, £3,200 - £3,500.- Wow! Yeah. - Hopefully, they're going up.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17- More than I expected.- Going up.
0:34:17 > 0:34:23And how do you value a plate that's so nice? Um, let's guess...
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- £5,000?- ..Really?
0:34:26 > 0:34:30- Where do you get a better one than that?- You won't.
0:34:30 > 0:34:36This red chalk drawing of what appears to be a military gentleman
0:34:36 > 0:34:41is inscribed - not signed, in my opinion, but inscribed - Lancret.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46Now, tell me what you feel about the drawing and a little bit about it.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Well, the...drawing has been in my possession for 40 years or so.
0:34:51 > 0:34:57It was given to me by my father, who took it from a portfolio given to him by his brother, an art dealer.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01- Right.- So that's the background.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06I believe that you're right that the signature doesn't match the drawing,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- but what I'd like to know is who actually did it.- Yes, well,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14I'm not absolutely convinced I'm going to be able to tell you.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18But it's interesting this question of whether it actually could be English
0:35:18 > 0:35:25or whether it could be French and I think that is one of the things that we must consider.
0:35:25 > 0:35:32Now, Lancret was a pupil of Gillot and a fellow pupil with Watteau,
0:35:32 > 0:35:41who was probably the greatest figure draughtsman in 18th-century France,
0:35:41 > 0:35:49but really...the style of Lancret is much more sophisticated.
0:35:49 > 0:35:55Um...sometimes there was a kind of ease and facility about his work
0:35:55 > 0:35:57which doesn't appear in this drawing.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01The hands, the foreshortening here, is a bit inadequate,
0:36:01 > 0:36:07so perhaps it's not, after all, by an absolutely top-flight artist.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12One of the people who I consider it might be by - and I'm saying MIGHT,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15because it's as far as I can get just now -
0:36:15 > 0:36:20is William Hoare who, funnily enough, went to Bath like Gainsborough,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25but he was a few years earlier, and he did numerous portrait drawings.
0:36:25 > 0:36:31Now, before we talk about the price, in an oblique light,
0:36:31 > 0:36:36there is a suspicion of a watermark - a shield.
0:36:36 > 0:36:43It would have been good if we'd got the whole watermark and seen whether it was a French or an English paper,
0:36:43 > 0:36:49but I suspect that it's a Dutch paper which both the French and the English would have used, anyway!
0:36:49 > 0:36:53So the only thing one could have been sure of is that it's a certain date,
0:36:53 > 0:36:57but probably wouldn't have indicated who did the drawing.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02If it's by somebody like Hoare of Bath - I'm not saying it is -
0:37:02 > 0:37:06the value, I'm afraid, will be much less than if it was by Lancret.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11If it was by Lancret, we'd be talking about tens of thousands of pounds,
0:37:11 > 0:37:16even though he was an imitator of Watteau. As Hoare of Bath,
0:37:16 > 0:37:21- around £1,500 to £2,000 would be a fair figure for it.- Thank you.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24- That's most helpful.- Good.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29This belongs to a club I'm a member of.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33- It's called Ye Pirates Club... - Ah.- ..in Porthcawl.
0:37:33 > 0:37:39I think it would have been given to the club - it was formed in 1928 -
0:37:39 > 0:37:43- I would think within ten years of its founding.- Oh, this is great.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46"On Chile's coast my death I found,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48"Killed by the Harriet's jovial crew.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53"My body is in the barrels bound, My teeth exposed to view.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58"My race 'tis true have often died And cherished many a sinner.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03"My flesh was partly boiled and fried And made a Christmas dinner."
0:38:03 > 0:38:08The last two lines are...appropriate to what's caught on Christmas Eve!
0:38:08 > 0:38:13- First of all, it's a sperm whale tooth, but you knew that.- Yes.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16It's got a lovely colour, and the thing about whalers
0:38:16 > 0:38:22and whaling ships is that it was a real entrepreneur's,
0:38:22 > 0:38:27a real sort of adventurer's type of ship.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32Incredible risks were taken and incredible fortunes could be made,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35because the actual, you know, whale oil, one has to remember,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40was the equivalent of petrol. It powered everything. It was heating, it was lighting,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44it was the prime energy source for the home.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Now, the ship Harriet - and this is very interesting - the ship Harriet
0:38:48 > 0:38:53was built in 1810 and was registered in New York.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57However, in the 19th century, round about this time,
0:38:57 > 0:39:04there was a nice little bit of trade embargo going on, with the Brits,
0:39:04 > 0:39:09and the Brits started putting, um... not exactly an embargo,
0:39:09 > 0:39:14but they put restrictions on whale oil coming from American whalers.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17So what did the American whalers do?
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Some of them came across the Atlantic
0:39:21 > 0:39:25and re-housed themselves in the British whaling ports,
0:39:25 > 0:39:32so you can see that these sort of circuitous routes to get past laws
0:39:32 > 0:39:36have been going on for ages. We've got here,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39"South Seaman" and the captain, James Jones.
0:39:39 > 0:39:46It's registered that the captain was a Mr Jones and the owner was a Mr Riley, so we know all about the boat,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49which is great.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54The other interesting thing here is the date - 1821.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59It's very, very early for a tooth to be dated 1821.
0:39:59 > 0:40:07There's a whole series of teeth produced by an American whaling ship called the ship Susan,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09dating from around 1827,
0:40:09 > 0:40:16- and it's very unusual to have anything dated from before that. - Is that so?
0:40:17 > 0:40:21So, all in all, I think you've got a very interesting -
0:40:21 > 0:40:27and, I have to say, historically important - piece of scrimshaw here.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30What's it going to be worth?
0:40:30 > 0:40:34Well, there's no documentary evidence to support the fact
0:40:34 > 0:40:40that this was off the coast of Chile in 1821, but why disbelieve it?
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Everything about the tooth feels right -
0:40:43 > 0:40:46the patina, the type of writing here,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51everything about it feels good, so I am not doubting it at all,
0:40:51 > 0:40:56and I think you should insure it, or Ye Pirates should insure it
0:40:56 > 0:40:58for about £10,000.
0:40:58 > 0:41:08- Goodness gracious! I know they all say that, but we thought £2,000. - No.- It's a lot more.- It's fantastic.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10- You looked it up? - Yeah.- Now, how did you look it up?
0:41:10 > 0:41:15- It's got a sign underneath that I thought was important.- Right.
0:41:15 > 0:41:21- So what did you find out? - That it was the Dutch India Company
0:41:21 > 0:41:26that used that insignia on their porcelain and that it was...
0:41:26 > 0:41:30- You've done your homework.- A bit.- I can't tell you anything about this.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35- OK, I'm going to ask you to pronounce what that stands for.- No idea.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37- It says VOC...- Right.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42..which you quite rightly say is the insignia of the Dutch East Company,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46which, if you'll forgive my Dutch, is Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50- Oh, right. - The United East India Company.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54And it is an insignia which a lot of people collect,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57whether it's on porcelain or on metalware,
0:41:57 > 0:42:02guns even carried the same insignia, it was a very important monogram.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07- How did it get to you?- I bought a box of china in an auction 10 years ago
0:42:07 > 0:42:12because I wanted a particular teapot - I collect Denby ware -
0:42:12 > 0:42:16and this was in the bottom, and I washed it and looked at it
0:42:16 > 0:42:20and I offered it to my niece, who refused it because it was chipped,
0:42:20 > 0:42:25and I said, "Fine, I'll keep it." It's sat on my bookcase ever since.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29- What's the maximum you've ever paid for a piece of Denby ware?- Oh, £10.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32- £10?- Yes.- So this is an also-ran.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36- Yes, yes.- This is a bonus? - It was £4 for the box, yeah.- £4.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40- So anything I tell you that this is worth will be...a plus?- Got to be.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Well, let me tell you about the shape - a wine-bottle shape,
0:42:44 > 0:42:50and then this decoration along the edge is called octopus scroll or caracusa scroll.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54- It is, sadly, damaged.- Yeah.- You've got all this chipping round the edge
0:42:54 > 0:42:58- and you've got chipping around the sides.- Yes.- You've dated it?- No.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00I couldn't - I'd no idea.
0:43:00 > 0:43:06- OK, well this dates to about 1680 or 1690.- Never!
0:43:06 > 0:43:08- Really?- Yeah.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Wow!
0:43:10 > 0:43:15And badly chipped, it's sadly only going to be worth somewhere around...
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- £1,500.- You're joking.
0:43:18 > 0:43:26- £1,500?- Yeah.- Wow! My grandsons will have their new surfboards!
0:43:26 > 0:43:29SHE CHUCKLES
0:43:29 > 0:43:35Pretty well the whole of Bridgend came to the Roadshow. It's been an astonishing turnout.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40Thanks to everyone for showing us their treasures and for letting us share their memories.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42From Wales, goodbye.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd