Victoria and Albert Museum

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0:40:12 > 0:40:19.

0:40:54 > 0:40:59Welcome to a special Roadshow from London's Victoria and Albert Museum,

0:40:59 > 0:41:04one of the finest museums in the world, full of treasures.

0:41:04 > 0:41:12There are magnificent pieces of silver, ancient glass, delicate ivories, beautiful pottery

0:41:12 > 0:41:18and delicious sculptures. The Museum was founded after the Great Exhibition of 1851.

0:41:18 > 0:41:25Many items were purchased from the Exhibition to start this collection and in 150 years,

0:41:25 > 0:41:32the V&A has grown to around four million objects, housed in seven miles of galleries.

0:41:32 > 0:41:36The place, it seems, is full of faces watching you.

0:41:36 > 0:41:40But this isn't just a museum of the old.

0:41:42 > 0:41:49It also houses modern design from costume like Vivienne Westwood's famous shoe

0:41:49 > 0:41:53to the hanging chandelier in the entrance hall,

0:41:53 > 0:41:57made of many pieces of blown glass, erected here in 1999.

0:41:57 > 0:42:02So let's see what our experts have found to interest them today.

0:42:02 > 0:42:09They're my mother's, but were previously my grandmother's, given to her by a titled lady

0:42:09 > 0:42:17who she worked for and I understand that they were in their family for a very long time before that.

0:42:17 > 0:42:20Other than that, I know nothing.

0:42:20 > 0:42:27I come across a lot of things that have been given by titled ladies to people in their employ.

0:42:27 > 0:42:32In most cases, what titled ladies give away are not of great value,

0:42:32 > 0:42:39but in this case, I think your relative was given quite a nice little present.

0:42:39 > 0:42:45A descriptive term for these two objects would be tazzas or comports.

0:42:45 > 0:42:53If you prefer more plain English, footed fruit stands, as they went on the Victorian dining-room table

0:42:53 > 0:42:59and they would be festooned with all different types of fruit.

0:43:00 > 0:43:07Today, we are fascinated with dolphins and the Victorians had the same fascination.

0:43:07 > 0:43:14If you think you've seen something like that before, if you walk along the Embankment here in London,

0:43:14 > 0:43:19you'll see lampposts with twin dolphins supporting them.

0:43:19 > 0:43:24Date-wise, this one has everything I need to know under there.

0:43:24 > 0:43:30There are lots of marks to go for. The important one is Minton.

0:43:30 > 0:43:35This propeller-like device is the year symbol for 1861.

0:43:35 > 0:43:42Ten years later, Minton added an "s". Consequently, anything that's marked "Mintons",

0:43:42 > 0:43:45is after 1871.

0:43:45 > 0:43:53So here we are in the middle of what you might call the height of Victoriana.

0:43:53 > 0:43:55Majolica, very, very popular, these glazes.

0:43:55 > 0:44:01Nothing to do with maiolica that came out of Renaissance Italy

0:44:01 > 0:44:07in the 15th century. These are lead-glazed. They're not tin-glazed

0:44:07 > 0:44:12as the Renaissance examples, but do you like these objects?

0:44:12 > 0:44:17- I do, but my mother who owns them doesn't.- She doesn't?- No.

0:44:17 > 0:44:22I'm tempted to whisper the valuation to you in case she's watching!

0:44:22 > 0:44:26If I was to insure these today,

0:44:26 > 0:44:32- it would be for the princely sum of £4,000.- Really?- I don't mince words

0:44:32 > 0:44:35when I'm talking money!

0:44:35 > 0:44:43- They would find a lot of favour, if not on this side of the Atlantic, then the other.- Oh, my goodness!

0:44:43 > 0:44:50They belonged to my great-grandmother and she was a very stylish and elegant lady.

0:44:52 > 0:44:58She grew up in Paris and it came through my grandmother to me.

0:44:58 > 0:45:04The finest Art Deco jewellery came from Paris and this is Art Deco.

0:45:04 > 0:45:12It's a word that's over-used in the jewellery world. Anything with an angular style is called Art Deco.

0:45:12 > 0:45:17Very often it misses the point and it's much later than people think.

0:45:17 > 0:45:23This is a very exciting discovery because of the beauty of the design

0:45:23 > 0:45:29and the materials which were great favourites - black onyx and coral,

0:45:29 > 0:45:33and heightened with diamond work in the form

0:45:33 > 0:45:38of neo-Egyptian feathered sceptres or something like that.

0:45:38 > 0:45:44The top makers for these sorts of jewels are Cartier, Boucheron and Fouquet.

0:45:44 > 0:45:48We don't know who has made this example,

0:45:48 > 0:45:55but I think I can see on the tongue that there is a mark where we'd expect to find it.

0:45:55 > 0:45:58It is a maker's mark. It reads "DL".

0:45:58 > 0:46:03That doesn't correspond with any great retailer's initials.

0:46:03 > 0:46:08That's not surprising because they did use outworkers at the time

0:46:08 > 0:46:14and the absence of an impressed signature for a jewel is not worrying.

0:46:14 > 0:46:20With a bit of research, and in this museum such research should go on,

0:46:20 > 0:46:27- it may be possible to fix a name on it. Did you know it was a very valuable object?- No.

0:46:27 > 0:46:33It's almost sad to hear that! Because it's coral and black onyx

0:46:33 > 0:46:38which are worthless materials and the diamonds are not enormous,

0:46:38 > 0:46:43but it's the style that people really search for.

0:46:43 > 0:46:47It's like an Odeon cinema, a Chrysler building

0:46:47 > 0:46:55that you can wear on your wrist and anybody with any sensitivity to beauty would want that very much,

0:46:55 > 0:46:59so it would smoke them out to the degree of £5,000.

0:46:59 > 0:47:06- Worth every penny, but not the point at all.- No. - It's great for you, very beautiful.

0:47:08 > 0:47:14- It's exciting when something like this comes in.- It could be anything.

0:47:15 > 0:47:21I think that's fine, actually. It gives us a very good indication.

0:47:21 > 0:47:25It appears to be painted on linoleum.

0:47:25 > 0:47:31Or very... Or some sort of plasticky substance, isn't it?

0:47:31 > 0:47:35- Not seen one of those? - I've never seen one.

0:47:35 > 0:47:38And this is yours? This lovely lady?

0:47:38 > 0:47:41- This is Mummy's.- Mummy's?

0:47:41 > 0:47:43Has she got a name?

0:47:43 > 0:47:49- Matilda.- Matilda? What a lovely name! Isn't she a lovely girl?

0:47:49 > 0:47:53A lovely smiling face and she's made in Austria.

0:47:53 > 0:47:59She's been living in Australia for about the past 50 years.

0:47:59 > 0:48:03- That's why she's called Matilda. - Waltzing Matilda?

0:48:03 > 0:48:08- I understand why. She's very, very beautiful.- She's very sentimental.

0:48:08 > 0:48:11Made about 1895, 1900.

0:48:12 > 0:48:16And now made - pieces like this

0:48:16 > 0:48:21are getting very collectable - by a firm that's called Amphora.

0:48:21 > 0:48:26- Have you got any idea of the value? - No idea whatsoever.

0:48:26 > 0:48:29It's my grandmother's bust.

0:48:29 > 0:48:34Would you be surprised at a value of £1,000 to £1,200?

0:48:34 > 0:48:36For Matilda?

0:48:36 > 0:48:41- She'll waltz...- She'll waltz home with me now!- She's very beautiful.

0:48:41 > 0:48:47I got it at a boot sale about a year ago in Highgate.

0:48:47 > 0:48:52I was just looking around. I saw this and I thought it was beautiful.

0:48:52 > 0:48:57- It is beautiful. Did you give a lot for it?- I paid £1.50.

0:48:57 > 0:49:01It's a muffin dish. That's its function.

0:49:01 > 0:49:06It's designed by CR Ashby who is a very well-known designer

0:49:06 > 0:49:12who was one of the most important figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

0:49:12 > 0:49:18Their philosophy was hand-making things and you see this hammered effect.

0:49:18 > 0:49:26You can't reproduce that on a machine. You have to do that with a hammer and go all the way round.

0:49:26 > 0:49:32It's silver-plated and this particular one has an amethyst.

0:49:32 > 0:49:37Sometimes they have a green stone, but they always have these scrolls.

0:49:37 > 0:49:44- Have you ever given a thought as to what it might be worth? - I honestly have no clue.

0:49:44 > 0:49:47For £1.50, you've done pretty well

0:49:47 > 0:49:53- because I estimate the value of this at somewhere between £800 and £1,000.- Wow!

0:49:53 > 0:49:56In about 1952,

0:49:56 > 0:50:00I went to a little old antiques shop in Holborn.

0:50:00 > 0:50:07It had a few Japanese things and people hated the Japanese, so everything was cheap.

0:50:07 > 0:50:14I found this lovely comb and bought that, then did nothing much until I went back to Japan in about '58.

0:50:14 > 0:50:20I started collecting very seriously in the mid '70s

0:50:20 > 0:50:24through maybe to the mid '90s when I left Japan.

0:50:24 > 0:50:32- Shall we start with this one which intrigues me? I believe it is a marriage...- It is a wedding one.

0:50:32 > 0:50:38It is worn on the front of the head and it is coral with silver and gold.

0:50:38 > 0:50:42- It has turtle...- Longevity. - Cherry blossom and pine

0:50:42 > 0:50:44which are good luck and longevity.

0:50:44 > 0:50:51- That is splendid. Did you get that in Japan? - Yes, everything except that comb.

0:50:51 > 0:50:58I've seen a good many papier-mache trays and I'm criticised for saying, "This is the best I've ever seen,"

0:50:58 > 0:51:01but it is as good as I've ever seen.

0:51:01 > 0:51:06It's a lovely early example and is rare as it's in perfect condition.

0:51:06 > 0:51:10This material is very fragile and it's immaculate.

0:51:10 > 0:51:14It's got the original decoration in the centre.

0:51:14 > 0:51:19It's never been used as a tray, so it has its original decoration

0:51:19 > 0:51:24with these little raised figures and they've never been rubbed at all.

0:51:24 > 0:51:28I've just found hanging at the back two little hooks.

0:51:28 > 0:51:35- It always hung on a wall in my parents' house. There it is.- Excellent.

0:51:35 > 0:51:40Well, well, well! I say, what a lovely room! That's marvellous.

0:51:40 > 0:51:46- I have to ask you. Do you have it separately valued?- No, I don't.

0:51:46 > 0:51:49Today it would cost about £3,500.

0:51:49 > 0:51:55- Would it really?- So make sure the wire is very strong, won't you?- Yes.

0:51:55 > 0:52:02This is a comb by Mitsukoshi, the most famous... the Harrods of Japan.

0:52:02 > 0:52:06It's gold and silver and pearls on tortoiseshell.

0:52:06 > 0:52:11- That was very expensive. - Even when you bought it?

0:52:11 > 0:52:13Even when I bought it,

0:52:13 > 0:52:19but in the very late '20s to mid '30s, it would have been expensive.

0:52:19 > 0:52:27- So that is one of your modern, most expensive ones.- That is the most modern one.- I love these.

0:52:27 > 0:52:30- Kanoko.- I didn't know how to pronounce it.

0:52:30 > 0:52:35This is the finest tie-dye you've ever seen anywhere.

0:52:35 > 0:52:39- This is the most incredible work. - Yes.

0:52:39 > 0:52:46This is worn tied around at the back. Then they wore the hairpins here and the comb in the front.

0:52:50 > 0:52:53Speedy rider, isn't he?

0:52:53 > 0:52:56A toy, obviously. Made in tin plate,

0:52:56 > 0:53:03probably in the late '20s and this is based on a German manufactured toy called Lehmann.

0:53:03 > 0:53:06The toy was a Halloh tin plate toy.

0:53:06 > 0:53:10But who made this one? It's got no marks on it.

0:53:10 > 0:53:15- What do you know?- It was bought at an auction in Brussels.

0:53:15 > 0:53:17They didn't give a make for it.

0:53:17 > 0:53:23It's in fine condition, but it's a Japanese copy of a German toy.

0:53:23 > 0:53:29- What makes you think it's Japanese? - The style of the face and the hair.

0:53:29 > 0:53:33You would never see that in a European manufacturer.

0:53:33 > 0:53:39And this extraordinary spray paint. You'd never see that in a German manufacturer

0:53:39 > 0:53:46which makes it much rarer than the German one. How much did you pay for it?

0:53:46 > 0:53:52- I think about £600. - To a collector, this is exquisite, extraordinary rarity.

0:53:52 > 0:54:00- A Japanese manufacturer made it and today it's probably worth about £4,000 or £5,000.- Ooh!

0:54:02 > 0:54:09This is for a very old lady. Most of her hair has gone, so she only needs a very small one.

0:54:09 > 0:54:12Probably I'll have to use it.

0:54:12 > 0:54:17Oh, my goodness! The interesting thing to me about your collection

0:54:17 > 0:54:25and I could go on looking at all these things... The more you look at it, the more detail you see.

0:54:25 > 0:54:32- What I love about it is it spans from here which is 200 to 300 years ago...- 300, yeah.

0:54:32 > 0:54:40..almost to the present day and it is a history... It really is domestic history of Japan.

0:54:40 > 0:54:44That is what's clever and you have here alone...

0:54:44 > 0:54:49We're talking about this as not more than £100 for the pair.

0:54:49 > 0:54:54So they're not of great value. This certainly would be more.

0:54:54 > 0:55:02But if you add it all up, you have got several thousand pounds' worth of ornamental hairpins.

0:55:02 > 0:55:09- I've hardly space to display them. - You'll have to buy another house! - Yes.- Thank you

0:55:09 > 0:55:12- for bringing them in.- My pleasure.

0:55:12 > 0:55:17His name is Jabez Hughes, the photographer to Queen Victoria

0:55:17 > 0:55:21and he photographed her when she went to Osborne.

0:55:21 > 0:55:29When I took the picture out of the frame, I found some scraps of loose paper talking about the Crimean War.

0:55:29 > 0:55:35- I think that's 1854.- Cornelius Jabez Hughes then went on to write

0:55:35 > 0:55:42a very useful book called The Principles And Practice Of Photography in 1859

0:55:42 > 0:55:48which went to 14 editions, so he was a man who was much respected in photography.

0:55:48 > 0:55:51- You'll have to get a copy.- I will.

0:55:51 > 0:55:56Here we have a portrait of him about the time he wrote the book.

0:55:56 > 0:56:02- The case is from Scotland. Was he living there?- Yes, he had a practice

0:56:02 > 0:56:08- in Buchanan Street in Glasgow for five years.- The next year, in 1860,

0:56:08 > 0:56:11he went to Ryde to set up his studio at Regina Studios.

0:56:11 > 0:56:16This is an absolutely delightful letter

0:56:16 > 0:56:18written on Osborne paper.

0:56:18 > 0:56:22"The Queen wishes you to come to Osborne Cottage

0:56:22 > 0:56:27"to photograph the children of the Crown Princess of Prussia."

0:56:27 > 0:56:34- He's picked up a lot of mementos. Do you have any particular favourite?- The ballet shoes

0:56:34 > 0:56:39of Princess Alice. I think they're Princess Alice's ballet shoes.

0:56:39 > 0:56:45Yes, scored on the bottom to stop her slipping. A lovely little touch.

0:56:45 > 0:56:501st of May, 1864. They're very sweet.

0:56:50 > 0:56:54The piece of carpet is an extraordinary thing.

0:56:54 > 0:57:02Apparently, it's an off-cut from the carpet of the bridal suite of the Prince of Wales, Edward VII.

0:57:02 > 0:57:08This was cut off at some point by Hughes on the quiet.

0:57:08 > 0:57:15It's a piece of Brussels carpet and what's really nice is this orange blossom on it.

0:57:15 > 0:57:21Prince Albert gave Victoria a nice brooch of orange blossom made in precious jewels.

0:57:21 > 0:57:27Brides very often wore orange blossom in their headdresses.

0:57:27 > 0:57:31The significance of orange blossom on the carpet is lovely.

0:57:31 > 0:57:37The colours are still as they were. You've kept them out of sunlight.

0:57:37 > 0:57:45These things are terribly difficult to value because individually they're not of enormous value.

0:57:45 > 0:57:50A little pair of ballet shoes worn by a Royal princess,

0:57:50 > 0:57:55one's talking of probably no more than £50, £60, I suppose.

0:57:55 > 0:58:00Put the whole lot together, maybe £1,000, £1,500.

0:58:00 > 0:58:05So a really lovely lot. Thank you so much for bringing it along.

0:58:05 > 0:58:10It came from Spain. It actually belonged to my mother

0:58:10 > 0:58:14who in about 1930 or 1931

0:58:14 > 0:58:17went down to Spain

0:58:17 > 0:58:24and I'm sure was given that with the understanding that it was used

0:58:24 > 0:58:30- to frighten poachers in orange orchards.- It would be ideal for that.

0:58:30 > 0:58:36Blunderbusses are close-range, anti-personnel weapons, normally loaded

0:58:36 > 0:58:42with a big handful of lead pellets and this could only have come from Spain.

0:58:42 > 0:58:50The lock is a flint lock and it's very distinctive to the Iberian Peninsula. It's a Miquelet lock.

0:58:50 > 0:58:55The main spring is on the outside of the lock plate, not the inside.

0:58:55 > 0:59:02And the top jaw of the cock which holds the flint has this lovely oval ring in it.

0:59:02 > 0:59:09That meant you didn't have to have a screwdriver and you could just stick the ramrod through it.

0:59:09 > 0:59:17If we go down towards the back end of the gun, to the butt, that again is a very distinctive Spanish shape,

0:59:17 > 0:59:24a Madrid style of butt. And then on the top of the barrel, there is a little inscription

0:59:24 > 0:59:27in Spanish. My Spanish isn't good.

0:59:27 > 0:59:32It says something like, "Soy defensora de mi dueno,"

0:59:32 > 0:59:37which I think means, "I will defend my owner."

0:59:37 > 0:59:44Often with English blunderbusses you get, "Happy is he that escapes my breath."

0:59:44 > 0:59:48- That is a Spanish equivalent. - What is that?

0:59:48 > 0:59:53That is what is known as a belt hook

0:59:53 > 1:00:00and if you were perhaps on horseback with a broad leather belt, you would drop it into there

1:00:00 > 1:00:07- and it would sit quite nicely as... - Pulled you off your horse!- A lot of Spanish firearms have those hooks.

1:00:07 > 1:00:12They're very distinctive. It's in good condition,

1:00:12 > 1:00:18just slightly dirty. It could do with a very gentle clean to take the dirt off it,

1:00:18 > 1:00:23but it's a very nice original, completely untouched.

1:00:23 > 1:00:29An early 19th century piece like this in very good condition

1:00:29 > 1:00:33with all the romance of the Iberian Peninsula, made about the time

1:00:33 > 1:00:38of the Napoleonic Wars, is going to make between £1,500 and £2,000.

1:00:38 > 1:00:45That's very good. That's worth several crates of oranges!

1:00:45 > 1:00:53I inherited it when my mother died last year. She was given it for looking after an elderly neighbour.

1:00:53 > 1:00:57It's beautiful. It's signed by the artist,

1:00:57 > 1:01:03William Barlow. He's not a painter known to me, I must admit,

1:01:03 > 1:01:11but he's obviously a professionally trained artist, presumably in the Potteries, in Stoke-on-Trent.

1:01:11 > 1:01:17It's got the skill of a china painter and the flowers are exquisitely done.

1:01:17 > 1:01:22I love these petals wriggling off like that. They're tremendous.

1:01:22 > 1:01:27As such, in its original frame, of about 1830,

1:01:27 > 1:01:31I think the painting has a fair value.

1:01:31 > 1:01:35I suppose this will be something like £1,000.

1:01:35 > 1:01:40- Gosh!- So a very nice gift. - It certainly was.

1:01:40 > 1:01:45Every picture tells a story. There is a story attached to this one.

1:01:45 > 1:01:49Not so much as regards the subject of the painting

1:01:49 > 1:01:57which, as we can see, is cupids playing or disporting, as they might have said in old catalogues.

1:01:57 > 1:02:02What kind of painting is that? That very pale, colourless...?

1:02:02 > 1:02:10It's what's called a grisaille, a French word which means painting in these grey and white tones.

1:02:10 > 1:02:17It was popular in the 18th century, particularly for decorative use. It might have been painted

1:02:17 > 1:02:22to fit in a panel of a room, on a staircase, over a door.

1:02:22 > 1:02:27- What is the story about this painting?- There is another version

1:02:27 > 1:02:31of this painting in the museum which you found.

1:02:31 > 1:02:37I came one day to look at the Jones exhibition which is part of the V&A.

1:02:37 > 1:02:42In about the third room, I saw it hanging on the wall.

1:02:42 > 1:02:47I thought, "That's extraordinary. I've got that painting."

1:02:47 > 1:02:54It is a coincidence, though it does happen in art history that there are second versions, copies.

1:02:54 > 1:03:03It keeps art historians occupied and the V&A picture is attributed to a French 18th century artist, Sauvage.

1:03:03 > 1:03:10It's not signed, nor is this one, so we can't be sure that either picture is by Sauvage.

1:03:10 > 1:03:17What I feel is that looking at the technique of this and the canvas and the quality of it,

1:03:17 > 1:03:23it is probably a later copy, maybe done at the end of the 18th century.

1:03:23 > 1:03:26Sauvage was early 18th century.

1:03:26 > 1:03:29Are they worth identical money?

1:03:29 > 1:03:36I think as this is a later version, it is probably worth less than the one in the Jones collection.

1:03:36 > 1:03:43- Can you tell me where you acquired this?- We bought it at a sale in the mid 1960s.

1:03:43 > 1:03:49- Do you remember what you paid? - We paid £120 for it. - I think you did well.

1:03:49 > 1:03:56- Now, in a sale, you'd get £2,000 to £3,000 for it. - I wouldn't sell it, but thank you.

1:03:56 > 1:03:59Thank you for bringing it.

1:03:59 > 1:04:04The most important feature here is that particular scroll,

1:04:04 > 1:04:10first drawn by a man called George Smith in a book published in the early 1800s.

1:04:10 > 1:04:14He published another in 1826 with an acanthus leaf

1:04:14 > 1:04:22like that, so the combination of those two gives us a date for the table of 1826 to 1830.

1:04:22 > 1:04:28It's got this lovely rosewood in such good condition, nice and untouched.

1:04:28 > 1:04:33These wonderful scrolls come down here, all complementing that date.

1:04:33 > 1:04:37- Is it a family table?- Yes. - It has the feel of it.

1:04:37 > 1:04:43I remember as a small child sitting round the table at Christmas playing cards.

1:04:43 > 1:04:48Wonderful. It's a tilt-top table. The type is known as a loo table

1:04:48 > 1:04:53because it was invented for playing the card game of loo,

1:04:53 > 1:04:57but it became synonymous with any large round table.

1:04:57 > 1:05:04I'm going to lower this down and you've got these marvellous panels

1:05:04 > 1:05:07of inlaid marquetry brass.

1:05:07 > 1:05:14This was a feature which began in the 18th century and then was revived after 1815 in London.

1:05:14 > 1:05:20This has been stripped down which is a great shame. What happened?

1:05:20 > 1:05:26- They had a fire in the house before I got it. It didn't get burnt, but... - Smoke damage,

1:05:26 > 1:05:30smoke damage. Yes, that is a shame

1:05:30 > 1:05:34because the base is in virtually untouched condition.

1:05:34 > 1:05:38Stripping it off like that is a pity,

1:05:38 > 1:05:45but nevertheless, it is still a most interesting table and quite a valuable table.

1:05:45 > 1:05:50- A table like this would cost you about £15,000 to replace.- Would it?

1:05:50 > 1:05:56Yes, it does look nice when you see it down, looking at it like this. Hmm.

1:05:56 > 1:06:02What is this dreadful electric thing doing sticking out of your vase?

1:06:02 > 1:06:05Well, I bought this at Nairobi

1:06:05 > 1:06:09- at an antiques sale.- Uh-huh.

1:06:09 > 1:06:14Well, I won't tell you what I paid for it,

1:06:14 > 1:06:17but I thought it was a lovely vase

1:06:17 > 1:06:20and, er, then...

1:06:20 > 1:06:25when I came to...live in London

1:06:25 > 1:06:28in 1983,

1:06:28 > 1:06:30I brought it with me.

1:06:30 > 1:06:36I thought it would make a nice lamp, so I took it to a lamp place

1:06:36 > 1:06:44and they put this on and a lovely big shade and it makes a lovely lamp for my drawing room.

1:06:44 > 1:06:50Sitting here next to it, it should be Chinese. It really does look Chinese.

1:06:50 > 1:06:53- But it's not.- No, it isn't.

1:06:53 > 1:06:58I thought it was Persian when I first bought it.

1:06:58 > 1:07:03I can understand that from these designs. You've got patterns,

1:07:03 > 1:07:08a pattern called Kashmir pattern influenced from the Middle East,

1:07:08 > 1:07:16but the clue to the origin are all these chips at the bottom. Underneath it is what we call delft.

1:07:16 > 1:07:23It is fake Chinese porcelain and on the bottom should be the clue to who produced it.

1:07:23 > 1:07:25It's heavy, isn't it?

1:07:25 > 1:07:28What a weight!

1:07:28 > 1:07:33There's the mark. It's upside down. "VE" or "LVE".

1:07:33 > 1:07:40That's the mark of Lambertus van Eenhoorn, one of the great Dutch potters,

1:07:40 > 1:07:45the monogram there telling proudly that this isn't Chinese,

1:07:45 > 1:07:49but a Dutch copy of the Chinese porcelain

1:07:49 > 1:07:55that was precious in the homes. We're going back to around 1700, 1710.

1:07:55 > 1:08:02Chinese vases were in the big palaces and were worth a lot of money, so they wanted imitations

1:08:02 > 1:08:06that looked as good, but were a bit cheaper.

1:08:06 > 1:08:10It does look Chinese. These antiques are unusual on delft.

1:08:10 > 1:08:13And it wasn't Persian

1:08:13 > 1:08:19- because there are figures, faces on it.- This is a little angel's head.

1:08:19 > 1:08:22That's a lovely European touch.

1:08:22 > 1:08:27They've taken a Chinese shape. These are pure Chinese, but that isn't.

1:08:27 > 1:08:34A little winged cherub's head. He's a little Dutch boy. Goodness knows what these creatures are!

1:08:34 > 1:08:42- Some horned devil or dragon. There's a lot of work in there. It's beautifully painted.- Yes, it is.

1:08:42 > 1:08:47The Eenhoorn family produced some of the best Dutch delft.

1:08:47 > 1:08:54This would have been for a palace, probably a pair, either side of a great fireplace.

1:08:54 > 1:08:59- Today it's probably worth £2,500 to £3,000.- Really?

1:09:00 > 1:09:03I thought it might be that much.

1:09:03 > 1:09:08Tell me about this rather nice pair of candlesticks you've brought in.

1:09:08 > 1:09:12My husband's brother bought them in Oxford,

1:09:12 > 1:09:20somewhere around 45 years ago or longer because I've been married for 45 years.

1:09:20 > 1:09:23He bought them for £75 each.

1:09:23 > 1:09:26That sounds like a good investment.

1:09:26 > 1:09:28How many of them were there?

1:09:28 > 1:09:35There were four. He gave us a pair for a wedding present and kept a pair for himself.

1:09:35 > 1:09:43They're a very nice pair of Georgian candlesticks, called the six-shell design for obvious reasons.

1:09:43 > 1:09:48They were made in 1750. That's the date letter "P" for 1750.

1:09:48 > 1:09:53Leopard's head for London, lion for sterling, maker's mark of John Cafe.

1:09:53 > 1:09:59- John Cafe?- Cafe. C-A-F-E. He was a very prolific candlestick maker.

1:09:59 > 1:10:03He doesn't seem to have made anything else much.

1:10:03 > 1:10:08- He made rather beautiful ones. - He had a lot of practice.

1:10:08 > 1:10:15They've got very nice original coats of arms in this rococo cartouche of the period.

1:10:15 > 1:10:20And all the matching nozzles that go with them...

1:10:21 > 1:10:26..one of which I think has a mark on. Anyway, a jolly nice pair.

1:10:26 > 1:10:32A pair of candlesticks like this should be insured for about £3,500.

1:10:33 > 1:10:39As a set of four, they'd be worth considerably more than twice two.

1:10:39 > 1:10:43Probably £8,000-£9,000 for a set of four.

1:10:43 > 1:10:47What can you tell me about your salon suite?

1:10:47 > 1:10:50- Is that what it is?- Yes.

1:10:50 > 1:10:55- We bought it a year ago in Suffolk, - so it hasn't been in the family.

1:10:55 > 1:11:03- It's very new to us. We don't know much about it, except we think it's French Art Nouveau.- OK.

1:11:03 > 1:11:08You're on the right track because the wood in question is pear wood.

1:11:08 > 1:11:16The great thing about Art Nouveau design is that it tends to use organic forms.

1:11:16 > 1:11:21Look at the way this top rail gives almost a whiplash effect.

1:11:21 > 1:11:26Then look at this. The cabinet maker has actually contorted that arm rest

1:11:26 > 1:11:31because the inspiration here is obviously organic.

1:11:31 > 1:11:35Look at the way that this foot runs down there.

1:11:35 > 1:11:39It's almost like it's growing out of the floor.

1:11:39 > 1:11:44Then these little details of trailing ivy.

1:11:44 > 1:11:48When it comes to the designer, tricky.

1:11:48 > 1:11:53You're right to say it's Art Nouveau, but I should point out

1:11:53 > 1:11:59that there are lots of different interpretations of Art Nouveau. In France,

1:11:59 > 1:12:06there were two schools - the Paris School and the Nancy School. I think this is the Nancy School

1:12:06 > 1:12:13because if there was a name to say it's in the style of, it would be Louis Majorelle.

1:12:13 > 1:12:16It's got a Majorelle feel to it.

1:12:16 > 1:12:21Where it really falls apart is in the quality of the carving.

1:12:21 > 1:12:26It's not quite up to Monsieur Majorelle's standard.

1:12:26 > 1:12:31I need to ask you a question. Have you had it upholstered yourselves?

1:12:31 > 1:12:39No, it was like that when we bought it and I assumed that it had been re-upholstered totally wrongly.

1:12:39 > 1:12:41You're correct in your assumption.

1:12:41 > 1:12:46It's an interesting Regency stripe. It's nice, it's relatively tasteful,

1:12:46 > 1:12:51had it been put on a chair that dated from 1800

1:12:51 > 1:12:58- and not 1900.- Wrong for this.- I'm afraid it's totally wrong. You'll have a lot of fun putting it right.

1:12:58 > 1:13:06If I was to go out and buy this today, I would expect to pay around £2,500.

1:13:06 > 1:13:09- I hope that comes within the parameters of acceptability.- Yes.

1:13:09 > 1:13:14Since you only bought it a year ago!

1:13:14 > 1:13:16Well, there are 12 dishes.

1:13:16 > 1:13:20About six of these,

1:13:20 > 1:13:25two sort of cake stands on pillars

1:13:25 > 1:13:29and an enormous 18-inch sort of fruit tureen, I suppose.

1:13:29 > 1:13:34This is wonderful. It's John Ridgway, potter to Queen Victoria.

1:13:34 > 1:13:39This was made probably for the 1851 Exhibition.

1:13:39 > 1:13:46- The quality of the painting is superb. Each piece has a different composition.- No two are the same.

1:13:46 > 1:13:52The common denominator is the pattern number. We have no factory mark,

1:13:52 > 1:13:57but we've got a fractional pattern number.

1:13:57 > 1:14:03- They all have the same number? - Yes, that is the Ridgway pattern number for that.

1:14:03 > 1:14:07It would've been a very expensive service,

1:14:07 > 1:14:14- £20, £30, something like that, but today...- In those days.- What would it be today?- I have no idea.

1:14:14 > 1:14:19Each plate is going to be worth £200 or £300. Nearer £300, actually.

1:14:19 > 1:14:25The dishes, we're talking about £400, the comports £500.

1:14:25 > 1:14:30We've mentioned a big centre piece. We're into several thousand pounds.

1:14:30 > 1:14:35Probably £10,000. It's absolutely tremendous.

1:14:35 > 1:14:42In the 1930s, there were attempts made to say, "Let's get modern design into tableware."

1:14:42 > 1:14:47One or two manufacturers said, "Well, let's go to modern artists.

1:14:47 > 1:14:53"He or she must know about design, so they can design tableware."

1:14:53 > 1:14:59This design was by Duncan Grant, the Bloomsbury artist, friend of Vanessa Bell.

1:14:59 > 1:15:06In a sense, it's confusing because it's Bizarre Ware by Clarice Cliff.

1:15:06 > 1:15:12This tureen is about £150, £200. I don't think it works. You do?

1:15:12 > 1:15:16- Yes.- It's all about taste.- Thanks.

1:15:16 > 1:15:22This belonged to my great-aunt who's been dead some 30 years now.

1:15:22 > 1:15:25And she said it was a tea caddy.

1:15:25 > 1:15:30Boulle, I think. Brass and tortoiseshell.

1:15:31 > 1:15:34And I don't know its earlier history.

1:15:34 > 1:15:42I think she may have been given it possibly at a time when it was completely out of fashion.

1:15:42 > 1:15:47It's no use for keeping tea in as the metal lining has corroded.

1:15:47 > 1:15:54It's interesting you say that these things go in and out of fashion. Boullework did just that.

1:15:54 > 1:16:01It first appeared in France and is named after the original designer of this decorative work,

1:16:01 > 1:16:09Andre Charles Boulle, in the 17th century, and it's been through various phases of fashion.

1:16:09 > 1:16:14- This is from around 1840.- Can you tell from the pattern, the design?

1:16:14 > 1:16:21A combination of both. The size of the tea caddy, if it was 18th century, would be much smaller.

1:16:21 > 1:16:27Later on in the 19th century, they tended to be larger than this, too.

1:16:27 > 1:16:34It's in excellent condition and something of this quality of this sort of date

1:16:34 > 1:16:39- would fetch something in the region of £1,500 to £2,000.- Gracious!

1:16:39 > 1:16:42I had no idea it was worth that.

1:16:42 > 1:16:49My mother was fond of antiques, right back from the war years when people were burning things

1:16:49 > 1:16:54and she just loved them and learned a lot about them.

1:16:54 > 1:17:02I can always remember her having this stool as her dressing table stool, so I remember her...

1:17:02 > 1:17:06Where it came from, you have no idea?

1:17:06 > 1:17:13I imagine either an antiques shop or an auction sale. She loved auction sales.

1:17:13 > 1:17:16- Well, she had a good eye.- She did.

1:17:16 > 1:17:20Now...its date is 1775.

1:17:20 > 1:17:25- Good Lord! Really?- Yeah. And it's not difficult to tell

1:17:25 > 1:17:33because certain features came into fashionable furniture quickly and went out again and evolved.

1:17:33 > 1:17:37It's that extraordinary shape, great, elegant shape,

1:17:37 > 1:17:42taken off of the ancient, classic decorations and artefacts

1:17:42 > 1:17:48that we discovered in the 1750s and '60s. This is an astragal moulding

1:17:48 > 1:17:54with two flat planes on each side of the half circle. It makes the difference.

1:17:54 > 1:17:58It finishes like the braid on a coat or a chair trim.

1:17:58 > 1:18:05That makes it special. Then at each corner, you have a tapered leg and this curious collar.

1:18:05 > 1:18:13If you designed a leg today, you wouldn't put that on, but it works. It's taken from an ancient design.

1:18:13 > 1:18:20So you have a stool which is very fashionable. This period of furniture is much in demand.

1:18:20 > 1:18:27It has a wonderful colour, but it has these curious "C" scrolls put together

1:18:27 > 1:18:34which create a handle. Most of these stools just had a hole in that you put your hand through to lift it.

1:18:34 > 1:18:38Let's have a look underneath.

1:18:38 > 1:18:40Absolutely wonderful.

1:18:40 > 1:18:47See how the colour here is created by people just holding it like this, like a polish of its own.

1:18:47 > 1:18:51That's a sort of patina you can't fake.

1:18:51 > 1:18:58These are the original wooden fillets which cover the peg holes which join this.

1:18:58 > 1:19:01- It almost looks organic.- Doesn't it?

1:19:01 > 1:19:07Then this has a dry surface to it, typical of what you'd expect to see,

1:19:07 > 1:19:13plus these pine blocks - this is all mahogany - in the corner.

1:19:13 > 1:19:181775, little saddle stool, but if you wanted to buy this again,

1:19:18 > 1:19:21it would cost you about £4,000.

1:19:21 > 1:19:23- No?- Yes, yes.

1:19:23 > 1:19:30- Golly! I know it's nice. - You know it's nice, but now you know why, I hope!

1:19:30 > 1:19:35- It's got all those special features. - You can take it anywhere.

1:19:35 > 1:19:41- I'd love to. Can I?- Please don't! - Thank you very much.- Thank you.

1:19:41 > 1:19:45- How old do you think it is? - I don't know at all.

1:19:45 > 1:19:51- Would it surprise you to find out it was 100 years old?- Very much so.

1:19:51 > 1:19:56If we divided it from the necklace, would it surprise you to know

1:19:56 > 1:20:00that these faience beads are 4,000 years old?

1:20:00 > 1:20:04They were used to decorate Egyptian mummies.

1:20:04 > 1:20:11They would be stitched onto the linen bands in which the mummy was wrapped.

1:20:11 > 1:20:17They must have been found in the 19th century and mounted up in gold.

1:20:17 > 1:20:22They're threaded onto loop-in-loop chainwork, decorated with filigree,

1:20:22 > 1:20:26and it makes a fantastically modern, yet ancient object.

1:20:26 > 1:20:33- Where is it from?- It's a 19th century English necklace in the archaeological taste

1:20:33 > 1:20:38and very fashionable with the Victorians who loved everything old.

1:20:38 > 1:20:46- If you didn't know that it was old, that it was seriously old, you don't know what it's worth?- Not at all.

1:20:46 > 1:20:48Well, £1,500 to £2,000.

1:20:48 > 1:20:51Great. Wonderful.

1:20:51 > 1:20:58There are many wonderful mirrors that I can try this looking-glass writing out on.

1:20:58 > 1:21:05This is Lewis Carroll, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He has written it in French.

1:21:05 > 1:21:11The only words I can read clearly are "pour l'ete" - "for the summer",

1:21:11 > 1:21:18so I don't know what he was writing about. This is to Miss EM Miller. Who was she?

1:21:18 > 1:21:22Miss Miller was a first cousin of my grandmother.

1:21:22 > 1:21:27When the correspondence started, she appears to have been in her teens,

1:21:27 > 1:21:34but most of these letters and so on date from the 1890s when she was in her 20s.

1:21:34 > 1:21:39That's unusual because he was not known for writing to older ladies.

1:21:39 > 1:21:42He liked to write to younger ladies.

1:21:42 > 1:21:45You have a wonderful collection.

1:21:45 > 1:21:51Lovely books, signed copies. Not first editions, but they are signed

1:21:51 > 1:21:55by the author. You have wonderful mathematical equations

1:21:55 > 1:21:59all sent to Miss Edith Miller of Eastbourne.

1:21:59 > 1:22:02This letter here is extraordinary.

1:22:02 > 1:22:07This is another game or the answers to one of his equations.

1:22:07 > 1:22:12Four pages of it. It's absolutely staggering!

1:22:12 > 1:22:17There, "Your ever loving friend, CLD." Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

1:22:17 > 1:22:24And I've hardly ever seen this particular title, A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll.

1:22:24 > 1:22:27That one doesn't come up often.

1:22:27 > 1:22:33Again beautifully inscribed from the author. It is amazing.

1:22:33 > 1:22:38- You've got how many letters? - About 13 letters.

1:22:38 > 1:22:45And you've got one, two, three, four, five, six of his own books, one of one other.

1:22:45 > 1:22:51And you've also got this "in memoriam" card for Lutwidge Dodgson

1:22:51 > 1:22:54who "fell asleep January 14, 1898".

1:22:54 > 1:22:59- Do you have these insured?- No. - Any idea of their value?

1:22:59 > 1:23:04- No.- It is a remarkable collection. A four-page letter by Lewis Carroll

1:23:04 > 1:23:08would nowadays make somewhere in the region of £3,000.

1:23:08 > 1:23:13A single card like this possibly £1,500, £2,000.

1:23:13 > 1:23:20A signed book, not a first edition, would make the best part of £1,000. And you've got 13 letters,

1:23:20 > 1:23:27- these six books and another signed by him. We're talking about £50,000. - Good heavens!

1:23:27 > 1:23:33And to find it here right in the centre of London is delightful!

1:23:33 > 1:23:40I hope you've enjoyed our visit to the Victoria And Albert Museum. You could browse here for a week.

1:23:40 > 1:23:44In fact, I think I will! Until next time, goodbye.

1:24:09 > 1:24:14Subtitles by BBC Subtitling