0:00:28 > 0:00:32We've taken the "high road" about as far north as you can go -
0:00:32 > 0:00:36County Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands,
0:00:36 > 0:00:42where the heather comes up with a flourish, and the whisky goes down the same way.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44I said we're taking the high road,
0:00:44 > 0:00:50but we're taking the RAILROAD, as our venue has its own station.
0:00:50 > 0:00:56In the mid-19th century the company building this stretch went bust,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01so the third Duke of Sutherland took over the project himself.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06If you'd your own railway, wouldn't you put the station near your home?
0:01:06 > 0:01:11That's what's happened here, and it's very useful for visitors.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16The castle is over the trees. Those old railway engines were noisy,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and one wouldn't want them pulling up to one's front porch, would one?
0:01:20 > 0:01:27Dunrobin has been the home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since the 13th century,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and it's now open to the public.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32It's a majestic building,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35with gardens inspired by those of Versailles.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Fitting for a powerful family once the largest landowner in Europe,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42with 1.3 million acres to its name.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46High above the castle, a statue of the first Duke of Sutherland
0:01:46 > 0:01:50surveys a thinly-populated landscape.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Here, in the early 19th century,
0:01:52 > 0:02:00some 5,000 tenants were evicted, to bring about what were called "agricultural improvements".
0:02:00 > 0:02:05The scheme went disastrously wrong, the Clearances were resented,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07so the inscription on the statue,
0:02:07 > 0:02:13which was built a year after his death in 1834, has a certain irony.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18"Of loved, revered and cherished memory,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22"erected by his tenantry and friends".
0:02:22 > 0:02:27The Countess of Sutherland has been kind enough to invite the Roadshow
0:02:27 > 0:02:32to set up camp in the delightful gardens of her ancestral home.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36The weather's threatening, but our clans have gathered,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38so let our Highland fling commence.
0:02:38 > 0:02:46It came from the attic of a retired nurse, and she discovered it in her attic, and here it is today.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Right, OK. Well, it's a typical World War II nurse's cape,
0:02:51 > 0:02:57but I think... Ah, a cape with a difference - look at that!
0:02:59 > 0:03:06Now, I do know something about this, because, being in the Army for five years myself and being in hospital,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08this is what the lads used to do.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12You see, they all fall in love with the nurses and sisters,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and say, "Have my divisional sign."
0:03:15 > 0:03:20And the nurses and the sisters take them and then sew them in.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25You can imagine the people they must have nursed through that period.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29I mean, this is the Guards Division, with the eye.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34I think I did see... Highland Division, wonderful!
0:03:34 > 0:03:38And these, of course, are all the County Regiments -
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Norfolk...Bucks...
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Somerset Light Infantry, Durham Light Infantry.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49- And the lady was a sister or nurse? - A sister, in Normandy itself.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55- Really?- During the war, yes. - Marvellous! It's a treasure, it really is.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01Now, in auction, a cape like that would be around about £150.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06- I'm judging it on other capes I've seen.- Yes.- But it's the old story -
0:04:06 > 0:04:11if two people take a shine to it, collecting nursing memorabilia...
0:04:11 > 0:04:15of course it takes off, and there would be more money.
0:04:15 > 0:04:22I think it's at times like this that I realise that my first love in horology is actually watches.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26So, I'm not going to spend long up here. ..Hold on, please.
0:04:26 > 0:04:33What is interesting about this is presumably Halkirk is not the name of the maker but the name of a town.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35A village.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37And from up here,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42written over many of the actual gilded numerals are the names
0:04:42 > 0:04:46- of various people. - No, never noticed that, no.
0:04:46 > 0:04:53Whether they're the names of the clockwinders, or whether it is 19th-century graffiti, I don't know.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Well, I suppose I could say it's a classic Scottish clock,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02and it is, to an extent, except for its height,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07which is quite enormous. I don't know... I'm verging on six foot.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11There must be eight or nine feet up there.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Now, it looks, to all intents and purposes, as if it's mahogany.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18In fact, it's actually pine.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24- Yes.- It's pine - soft wood - and the whole clock has been painted
0:05:24 > 0:05:27to look like a flame mahogany.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Over the years that's faded, and it's been kept in a dry situation
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- because the joints have opened up. - Yes.
0:05:35 > 0:05:43New, the painting would've been bright and very clear, and you would not have seen any cracks or joins
0:05:43 > 0:05:44No.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48The movement is a straightforward timepiece.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I'm not going to take the hood off. I have visions of falling backwards.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56But I'm sure the movement is Scottish.
0:05:56 > 0:06:04- So would it have been made in Halkirk?- Not the movement.- Oh. - But possibly the case, yes.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10- It is such an extraordinary size that it would undoubtedly have been a special commission.- Yes.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15I suppose you'd say if you really wanted it and had a place for it -
0:06:15 > 0:06:20- which obviously you have...- Yes. - ..it could be worth a lot of money,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25but if you lived in a small flat in London, I don't think you'd...
0:06:25 > 0:06:32- You'd have to cut it in half!- Yes. - Difficult to value, but it's got to be insured for four figures or more.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- Has it?- Yeah.- Thank you very much.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41I can remember this table when I was just a wee small lad, probably four or five year old,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46at my grandparent's house, in Watford in Hertfordshire.
0:06:46 > 0:06:53I know what it's made of but, apart from that, I don't really know what period it is or what its value is.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57I'm going to test you now - what's the wood, then?
0:06:57 > 0:07:02I suspect that's, er... I don't think it's burr oak,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06- cos I see no medullary rays in it. - No.- But I suspect it's burr elm.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11I didn't say that to trick you, and it's not a bad guess.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15I like the way you've gone through the process with medullary rays,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20and you're right, it's not oak and you can't see medullary rays.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24- It's not an indigenous wood at all. - Thuya?- Well done!
0:07:24 > 0:07:31- It is thuya wood. Do you know where it's from, the thuya wood? - Er, West Indies, isn't it?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33No, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And it came into this country,
0:07:35 > 0:07:41or into the British Isles, into use, really, through France
0:07:41 > 0:07:45and because northern Morocco was a French colony,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and first used it in about the 1840s and '50s, in regular quantity.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55The whole thing has a very French look and feel - French/Italian.
0:07:55 > 0:08:02Certainly not English. That's not an English piece, design and style-wise, I wouldn't have said.
0:08:02 > 0:08:10I'm going to push you now. You've got your own thought process going, so why isn't it English, then?
0:08:10 > 0:08:17Probably, it's English construction because of the high quality of construction - the dovetailing.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23The drawer slip in here tells me it's very, very English - in terms of construction -
0:08:23 > 0:08:27but the style of it is just not English.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29You're doing very well on your own.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35English drawer construction, lovely cord-and-beaded moulding, mahogany.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Typical of what you expect of an English drawer,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42but it's not Italian, more French.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48Those columnar supports is typical of what's called Louis XVI style.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52That style became very popular about the 1850s onwards.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58With the French political troubles, French craftsmen came to England.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01French designers were sought after in England
0:09:01 > 0:09:06and paid well to bring in this very sophisticated French design.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11And the ormolu here is typical. "Ormolu" is an English word
0:09:11 > 0:09:15- for bronze "d'or moulu".- Yeah. - So it's simply gilt bronze,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19or brass, but we call it bronze - it sounds better.
0:09:19 > 0:09:26But the colour is more typical of English metalwork. It's a good piece of furniture.
0:09:26 > 0:09:33If it was in a showroom, done up, in London or a showroom where they like high-quality, Victorian furniture,
0:09:33 > 0:09:40- I can see it being... £6,500...£7,000, retail price.- Mmm.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44A gift from my husband 20 years ago. He has a fetish for salerooms
0:09:44 > 0:09:49and he was lucky enough to acquire this at one of the sales.
0:09:49 > 0:09:55He's got a discriminating eye! This is one part, made of moulded glass,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59and glass and jewellery have got a lot to do with one another -
0:09:59 > 0:10:06since antiquity, people have seen glass as an attractive material. Have you thought about the colour?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- Where it comes from behind? - No, I wondered about that.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14I think it's a near-colourless glass but, behind, there's some green foil
0:10:14 > 0:10:19- that's actually giving this strange luminosity to it.- Oh, I see.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- I think you know who it's by.- I do. - Tell us.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Rene Lalique.- Rene Lalique.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30He was trained as a jeweller, before moving into the world of glass,
0:10:30 > 0:10:35and he's really the towering genius of the Art Nouveau movement.
0:10:35 > 0:10:42The jewellery that he made broke all conventions. It had nothing to do with what had gone before -
0:10:42 > 0:10:46it wasn't Neo-Classical, but Art Nouveau.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48But this is a haunting example.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53Have you wondered also about how it was worn?
0:10:53 > 0:10:59I did, and I also wondered about how it was so beautifully ornamented, the back.
0:10:59 > 0:11:06I think it's just a very clever stratagem to echo the design of the foliage that you see on the front.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11The only thing missing is this sort of deer, antelope figure, really.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16But when you turn it over, the pattern is shown blind at the back.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19It's in three sections,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22because it's what we would call a "stomacher" -
0:11:22 > 0:11:26to be worn on the front of quite a stiff bodice.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31I'm thrilled to see a piece of Lalique here. Never seen it before.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Very, very exciting.
0:11:33 > 0:11:39I'm a devoted fan of his. A figure of £3,000 would be good today.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42- Oh, no! Never!- Absolutely.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Gosh, that's wonderful.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49"My dear Uncle Isaac, we're back again in our castle home.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55"Only two professional gents live in castles - me and Hall Caine. Here is a picture of me and Hall Caine."
0:11:55 > 0:12:00If we turn over this wonderful green ink and curious illustrations,
0:12:00 > 0:12:06more illustrations, but it's signed with the magical name Jack B Yeats,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09the brother of the poet WB Yeats.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11So, tell me, who is Uncle Isaac?
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Uncle Isaac was their father's brother.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20Their father, of course, was John Butler Yeats.
0:12:20 > 0:12:27And they were obviously very fond of Uncle Isaac who, I believe, was very good to the family,
0:12:27 > 0:12:32and bought their paintings and WB's books, and so on and so forth,
0:12:32 > 0:12:38because, obviously, when - especially WB, I think - was pretty poor...
0:12:38 > 0:12:42But Jack always made a living from his paintings.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48- And what is your relationship to Uncle Isaac? - Um, Uncle Isaac was the -
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and John -
0:12:50 > 0:12:55were the brothers of my husband's grandmother, Fanny Yeats.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- Right. And so that's how they've come down to you?- Yes.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04They are wonderful letters. I mean, we've got four letters here,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08all beautifully illustrated with little cartoons,
0:13:08 > 0:13:13- but Jack Yeats, as a painter, is absolutely top notch at the moment, isn't he?- Absolutely.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18- I mean his paintings go for...- Yes. - ..oodles of money, don't they?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Have you got any?- I'm afraid not.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- Why not?- They were lost during a house move.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I don't believe it. I think that's horrible!
0:13:29 > 0:13:34But here he is again - "This is an idea for a pleasant communication".
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Giving a dog a bone. They're all signed Jack B Yeats.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43He's asking Uncle Isaac to send the dog a bone when he writes next.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44Lovely!
0:13:44 > 0:13:48I rather like this one. This is "How to avoid catching flies."
0:13:48 > 0:13:52And there's the fisherman at the top there...
0:13:52 > 0:13:55That's my favourite illustration.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58They're tremendous! Full of news, full of family,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02and gossip, and all sorts of things like that.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05I think they're worth about £4,000.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Surprise you?- No.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- This is not the morning tea service? - No, some are old, some modern.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- You've been collecting miniatures? - I have 60 of them.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- 60?- I haven't brought the lot. - Right.- Far too many.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27How long have you been collecting?
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Since my teens - about 30 years.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36And what drives the collection? Do you go for a pattern? Do you go for a factory?
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Factory names, good English china names, so I've got Coalport...
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Yeah, 1760 or thereabouts.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48It's a good pattern - Chinese family by a table.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59"Printado a mano, Espana" - tells you it's modern Spanish.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Somebody got that on their holidays.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06And this is a plate made for the American market.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08"Johnson Brothers..."
0:15:08 > 0:15:11How much did you pay for this mug?
0:15:11 > 0:15:18- Gosh, it was so long ago! It was Auchterarder, wasn't it? Can you remember how much?- I think, £40.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22- Some years ago?- Yes, some years ago.
0:15:22 > 0:15:29Today, if you saw those in an auction, I'd expect this to fetch in the region of £120, £180.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35- Right.- It's a good factory, it's well painted, and very unusual having that coffee can.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40I'm looking at a very fine portrait of a ship,
0:15:40 > 0:15:46and, from a glance, you think, "It's done in oil on canvas, or on board."
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Part of it is, of course, but the rest of it is all textile.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55Here we have the Napier, and it says "The Napier of Liverpool" there,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and "JBP Campbell. Commander."
0:15:58 > 0:16:03- Are you a Mr Campbell? - No. He's my great grandfather.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04Very good.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08We believe that this was done by the ship's cook,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13a Chinese gentleman, when becalmed and, apart from the painting,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17he made the bits up out of pieces of uniform. That's shirt material.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22It does look very much like shirting material and this is...
0:16:22 > 0:16:25either black or very dark navy, so, yes.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Yes, that's velvet, and the sails are made of linen.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33And they're beautifully, beautifully embellished and embroidered
0:16:33 > 0:16:38because it would be one thing just to have a crude piece of embroidery,
0:16:38 > 0:16:45but this has been done with such dexterity, so it's a very good-quality ship's portrait
0:16:45 > 0:16:47of a type that is unusual
0:16:47 > 0:16:51because, usually, they are merely painted.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57And here we've got lists of all the various members of the crew,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01dated "New York, 19th September 1890".
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I'd like to look at the wages, here.
0:17:05 > 0:17:12- The carpenter got 60 dollars - £6. Interesting to look at the exchange rate then.- That's a month's wages.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15They were actually not badly paid.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20And then it goes all the way down through the various different jobs,
0:17:20 > 0:17:28down to "the boy" down here, who got £2 - £2 a month. Not so great being a "boy"!
0:17:28 > 0:17:30This really brings it to life.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35It's fantastic when you think they went round the world in that there.
0:17:35 > 0:17:42And these are trips that you'd fear in a serious boat now, and they're just wandering round the world,
0:17:42 > 0:17:471,400 tons of manganese in the hold to be swapped for beef and pork.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- Yes.- Amazing, the lifestyle.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55And so we come to the inevitable question of value.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59This is an incredibly commercially popular piece.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04It's something that will never go out of the family, I'm sure,
0:18:04 > 0:18:10hopefully it won't, but it's the sort of work
0:18:10 > 0:18:17which, in the last two or three years, has got into a whole different price range.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23Three years ago, I'd have stuck my neck out to say it was worth £1,200.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Now I think we can safely say
0:18:26 > 0:18:32that's worth £5,000 to £6,000. The market has changed dramatically.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41I had a great-grandfather in the south of England,
0:18:41 > 0:18:48and he used to go over to the Continent - probably Holland and Belgium -
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and buy paintings from the poor starving artists,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57brought them back to the UK, then shipped them to America and Canada
0:18:57 > 0:19:03- and sold them to our cousins over there for large amounts of money. - Quite an enterprising character.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08I'm afraid. Yes, yes, he was a Scotsman, same as myself.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Those that he liked an awful lot he kept over in Britain
0:19:12 > 0:19:16and I've inherited them, through the family, from there.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Very interesting.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Well, I think these two watercolours
0:19:22 > 0:19:25are by an artist called Bernardus Johannes Blommers,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28one of the principal members
0:19:28 > 0:19:34of the Hague School of artists working around the ports of Scheveningen and the Dutch coast,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37during the mid 19th century.
0:19:37 > 0:19:43- Does that tie in with when your grandfather was active? - Yes, 1850 or so.
0:19:43 > 0:19:50It's interesting what you're saying about him bringing all these artists over to Europe and further afield,
0:19:50 > 0:19:55because Blommers didn't find tremendous favour at home.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00His subject matter didn't appeal to the local market of Holland,
0:20:00 > 0:20:08and there were a number of galleries and dealers in Scotland who were very fond of this subject matter,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12and many customers for the works of Blommers.
0:20:12 > 0:20:18They're just very beautiful, and a pair of drawings such as this, I think, would be quite desirable.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23I would have thought that if they were being sold at auction together,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26they could make £7,000 to £10,000.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- For the pair?- For the pair. - Goodness gracious!
0:20:30 > 0:20:35It's a very popular market, and obviously the market is now at home,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39whereas it wasn't 100 years ago, but it's now very much home-based.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43They were my grandmother's, then her daughter's
0:20:43 > 0:20:48and, when she died, my father got them and he handed them down to me.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53- What d'you feel about them? - I wouldn't part with them.- Right.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Do you know anything about them?
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- Absolutely nothing.- You've heard of Staffordshire dogs?- Yes.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03- Here we've got Staffordshire rabbits.- Oh, right.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08These were made by an anonymous pottery in the 19th century.
0:21:08 > 0:21:15They date from about 1850, 1860, and what I like about them, apart from the fact they're rabbits,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19is that they follow exactly the style of the dogs.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Imagine them on their haunches - it would be a Staffordshire dog.
0:21:24 > 0:21:30Originally, there would have been made a pair, and you've got two of a kind,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32which doesn't matter,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36but a left and a right is how they were sold.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40It's a strange thing but, for some reason, the rabbit -
0:21:40 > 0:21:44although made by many potteries - is very rare
0:21:44 > 0:21:49and collectors are desperate to get them.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54They can get dogs by the ton in every size, they can get cats...
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Come rabbits, they're hard to find,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01so to find two sitting on my table is really quite exceptional.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05- So, you wouldn't part with them for the world?- No.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10- How much is the world?- I don't know, but I wouldn't part with them.- OK.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13If I tell you they are worth...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- £2,000 each?- You're joking!- I'm not.
0:22:18 > 0:22:25- An antique dealer offered us £50 for the pair.- Well, I'm glad you didn't take it.- No, I wouldn't.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28These are astonishingly rare - I don't know why.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31They're just extremely desirable.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Well, this little teapot looks
0:22:34 > 0:22:38as though it's come straight out of the Arabian Nights -
0:22:38 > 0:22:41what sort of adventure did you have getting it?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Well, it was quite an adventure.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49It was a castle in Perthshire in the '50s, I would think,
0:22:49 > 0:22:55and they were selling everything within the castle, and my eye lit on that.
0:22:55 > 0:23:01And instead of that, I got THREE ornaments, all for a pound.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06- All three ornaments in the same lot? - In the same lot, for a pound.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- How far would you have gone...? - I couldn't have gone far,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13because I was fairly young and I couldn't afford any more.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- What were the other two ornaments? - One was a scent bottle
0:23:18 > 0:23:20of that same - Royal Rosenberg.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23The other was a - just a sort of dish, really,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27tan-coloured, with gilt round the outside edge.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- I don't know anything about it.- OK.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But the scent bottle fell off a mantelpiece once.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Oh, dear! So this is the sole survivor?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- This is the sole survivor.- For £1.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43People ask, "What is porcelain?"
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Porcelain is white and you can see light through it.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50This is white and you can see light through it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:58But the extraordinary thing about Rosenberg "porcelain" is, the actual clay body that this is made of
0:23:58 > 0:24:04- is not technically porcelain, it's not the classic combination of china clay and china stone.- Oh!
0:24:04 > 0:24:07It is technically an earthenware.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13And it's low-fired, much lower-fired than standard porcelain,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16yet you can see light through it.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19It is paper-thin -
0:24:19 > 0:24:21it's like holding a piece of paper.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26And it is incredibly delicate so I'm not surprised that your scent bottle
0:24:26 > 0:24:30shattered to smithereens when it hit the deck.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Now, date of manufacture - you've found out
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- what the date is?- No, I only know that it's Royal Rosenberg.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Well, you know it's Royal Rosenberg because it has the crown,
0:24:42 > 0:24:47the name Rosenberg and there's the stork biting a snake
0:24:47 > 0:24:50and this is a factory in the Hague,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- in the Low Countries.- Goodness!
0:24:53 > 0:24:55There is the artist's cipher,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58the "SS" cipher.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Dating it is straightforward.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04This swirly design is an echo of the whole swirly design
0:25:04 > 0:25:06of the vessel itself.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11It's beautifully done in different colours, wonderful outlines
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and then it's filled in with ever-decreasing circles of whorls.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Beautiful little long-tailed bird,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21sitting in the tree,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23but predominantly foliage -
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- the swirls of the Art Nouveau.- Yes.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31And of course it is Art Nouveau. It has survived since around 1900.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36- It is teapot-shaped. Have you ever been tempted?- Oh, no, no, never.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40- Good.- It has pride of place. - I think it would shatter...
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- if you put a hot liquid in it.- Yes.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Now, how much did your pound earn you?
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Well, I think today a collector of Rosenberg
0:25:51 > 0:25:54would probably pay you somewhere in the region of £2,000.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Would you like this little dish?
0:26:00 > 0:26:05I don't have £2,000 on me but plenty of people would be interested.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It's a lovely, lovely example.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11A five-shot Adams revolver.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Now, what background
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- can you tell me about it? - Um, I took these two weapons
0:26:18 > 0:26:22in payment for a garage bill - I run the local garage.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26And this was given in payment for an outstanding bill.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- Over 20 years ago.- Really?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31I have an interest in firearms...
0:26:31 > 0:26:35and I was offered these in payment, which I was happy to take.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Well, I don't know what the bill was, but I think you've done well...
0:26:38 > 0:26:41- Around £400 then.- Really?- Yes.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45In auction, this would fetch £2,000 today.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Mm-hm?
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- But this is the one I'm intrigued with.- Yeah.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Now, isn't that nice?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57So we have a gentleman's pair of pocket pistols.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02Um, no doubt they're Continental, they're not English.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Ah!
0:27:06 > 0:27:10- The Liege, Belgium proof-mark. So, made in Belgium.- Yeah.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Hidden triggers -
0:27:12 > 0:27:16as you cock it, so the trigger comes down.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20And, when you ease it off, up goes the trigger.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Sometimes the trigger is on a return spring and it takes it up itself
0:27:24 > 0:27:26but in this instance, no.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Ivory grips...
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Often you find
0:27:31 > 0:27:36that when ivory is in boxes like this and you turn it over,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40the other side is quite yellow because ivory likes to be exposed.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45- And sometimes I've had pistols where it's perfectly white one side...- Yes.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48..and absolutely yellow the other,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51but this one has kept its colour quite good.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Now, what have we got here?
0:27:54 > 0:27:57We've got a combination bullet mould.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59The idea of the block there
0:27:59 > 0:28:03is to put it into the entrance of the barrel to turn the barrel off
0:28:03 > 0:28:07because when you turn the barrel off...
0:28:10 > 0:28:12..you put your powder in there,
0:28:12 > 0:28:17you put the ball on the top and then screw it back on.
0:28:17 > 0:28:24- And the idea of that is because, once you fire the pistol, all the gases are behind the ball.- Yeah.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28In older pistols, you rammed the ball down
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and then it came out again and the gases would escape.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35And here we have
0:28:35 > 0:28:40your little percussion explosive caps that go onto the nipples.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Yes.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Yes, it's a very nice set piece, this.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49I've been describing them as muff pistols. Is that correct?
0:28:49 > 0:28:53- No, muff pistols are smaller than this.- Oh, right.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- They're gentleman's pocket pistols. - Right.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Now, for a pair of pistols like that today,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03you'd have to pay all of £2,000.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06- Aye? - Because they're nice quality.- Good.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- Something to be desired.- Yes.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13- A good investment, then? - I think so, yes. You've done well.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- Good.- Thank you for bringing them today.- Thank YOU.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Here is a most voluptuous drawing.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27How did you come by it?
0:29:27 > 0:29:34The drawing was in my brother-in-law's house - David Shanks Ewart, a Glasgow artist -
0:29:34 > 0:29:38and he apparently got it as a gift from...
0:29:38 > 0:29:41- Straight from Strang? - ..straight from Strang,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45- I think, but I'm not certain. - I see.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48I think it's the most wonderful life-drawing.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53It illustrates the sheer ability as a draughtsman of William Strang.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Now, there are anatomical faults about this drawing
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and, in a sense, I don't care about them,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03but I'll talk about them first to discount them, really,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06and look at the larger picture, as it were.
0:30:06 > 0:30:13First, he's miscalculated the size of the sheet and missed off the feet
0:30:13 > 0:30:16so he's done them up here,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21as if to show what he would have done if it was the right size.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26He was more interested in getting something down quickly in line,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28than thinking about the end product.
0:30:28 > 0:30:34Further up her body, you can see that the hip is not quite right, it's slightly in the wrong place.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39You could argue that her shoulders are just a tiny bit too narrow.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45You could argue that the angle of her head, and the neck set upon those shoulders,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48is not quite right.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53You could argue that the left arm is lost up round underneath her head
0:30:53 > 0:30:57and doesn't articulate with the rest of the body.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00You could really take it to pieces.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03And then again you think, "No, this is a beautiful drawing."
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- Beautiful.- Absolutely beautiful.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08And the sureness of his line
0:31:08 > 0:31:13as he sketches out forms and models the flesh
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and as he manages to communicate to you
0:31:16 > 0:31:21something of the texture of, and the volumes of, her body.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- She really lives.- She really lives.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27I think it's absolutely lovely.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Strang IS an uneven artist - we've discussed the faults here -
0:31:31 > 0:31:39but I've rarely seen a more attractive drawing by him, in general terms. Absolutely delicious.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43And I've no hesitation in putting at least £3,000 on it.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- (Thousand?)- Absolutely.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Oh, golly!
0:31:48 > 0:31:50I never thought that at all.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53You have a professional interest in that.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56- You're not a publican, are you?- No.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00- I HAD a professional interest, till recently.- Which was?- Dentistry.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03So what IS that?
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Eh, it's a forceps for extracting teeth.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11Probably, almost certainly, that one for a lower left molar tooth.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17The hook would go in between the root on the inside of the tooth
0:32:17 > 0:32:21- and the tooth would be rotated out in that way.- Ah.
0:32:21 > 0:32:26And this is the opposite side - this would be on the right side.
0:32:26 > 0:32:32Yes, what happy memories(!) And how old is this instrument of torture?
0:32:32 > 0:32:37These are probably late 1800s - that's a guess, to be honest.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42- So the teeth were twisted out, not pulled out?- Rotated out, yes.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47So "I pull 'em", the old joke of the comic should be "I rotate 'em"?
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Yes, that would be more correct.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I know this box is a treasure of yours as well...
0:32:54 > 0:33:00Well, it's obviously false teeth... but from where, and how?
0:33:00 > 0:33:05Either bone or ivory, and I haven't investigated as to which it is.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07When...?
0:33:07 > 0:33:10It could be over several centuries,
0:33:10 > 0:33:14possibly around Elizabeth I's time, or even earlier.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Male or female?
0:33:16 > 0:33:20From the size of the tooth, it could well be female,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25but it would depend on the shape of bone and the size of the mouth
0:33:25 > 0:33:30- as to how they carved it. - I wonder if it has any value?
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Probably just sentimental.- Oh, yes!
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Now, one of the reasons I like and am interested in
0:33:37 > 0:33:40the end of the 19th century, early 20th century,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42is so many ideas come together -
0:33:42 > 0:33:47Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, William Morris, Modernism, they all sort of come together.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52And this clock I particularly like because it represents all of that.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53Do you like it?
0:33:53 > 0:33:59- Not particularly! ..My husband likes it.- That's a good start.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01- So it belongs to your husband.- Yes.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04He just turned up with this clock?
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- Yes.- What did you say? - "What did you buy that for?"
0:34:09 > 0:34:14- So, where do you have it in the house?- In a corner!
0:34:14 > 0:34:20- It's actually sitting behind the television.- BEHIND the television?- Yes. In the corner.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25I like it because, for a start, it's architecture and this was a period
0:34:25 > 0:34:28when there was a very adventurous approach to domestic architecture.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32We've got lots of symbols and decorations which again represent
0:34:32 > 0:34:34the idea of William Morris and Arts and Crafts.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40We've got flowers, we've got pretty sort of Pre-Raphaelite girls,
0:34:40 > 0:34:46we've got a girl there representing day, another one representing night.
0:34:46 > 0:34:52So many elements that take us into that period, so much going on.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57And I like that we have something that is architectural, but made of pottery.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Do you know who made it or anything?
0:35:00 > 0:35:05- Not at all.- It's made by a company called Foley, in Staffordshire,
0:35:05 > 0:35:10and they produced a range in the early 1900s, called intarsio ware.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15Intarsio means nothing - it's one of those sort of made-up trade terms
0:35:15 > 0:35:18that represents that period.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22The designer was Frederick Reid, who worked for several companies,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and the quality of intarsio...
0:35:25 > 0:35:32It's always this very exuberant, very colourful sort of Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau decoration.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Intarsio ware has become very collectable -
0:35:36 > 0:35:41it's a named designer, a well-known representative of its period,
0:35:41 > 0:35:46so we're looking at a clock that is going to be quite a lot of money.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51- What did he pay - £200 or £300? - About that, yeah.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56- Do you think that was too much?- Yes. - You'd be horrified.- Horrified, yes.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01Well, it's actually worth about... Between £1,000 and £1,500...
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- What does that mean? - I'll have to start liking it!- Good.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Your husband has immaculate taste.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Well, it's a pretty spectacular box.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Lovely. A piece of furniture, really.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Do you know what this is called?
0:36:19 > 0:36:21- Handle?- It's a coffin-mount handle
0:36:21 > 0:36:27with wonderful Gothic crucifixes - it's straight out of Dracula.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31- The mounts are stunning. Let's open it up, shall we?- Yeah.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35There it is, the contents.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Tell me about this.
0:36:38 > 0:36:44Um, it's a violin which my mother's friend used to play with my mother in an orchestra, just for fun,
0:36:44 > 0:36:49and when she died my mother was left the violin with the case.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54- The lady didn't like the case - she said it looked like a coffin.- Yes.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57She used an everyday case for it.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02When Mum got the violin, she was given this case, not the other one.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07Well, it was mainly the case that attracted me when you brought it in,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11and it is a spectacular thing - beautifully lined.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15And this violin was actually made and fitted up for this case...
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- It was tailor-made? - It fits perfectly the profile.- Ah.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23You have beautiful little boxes - you keep your rosin in there,
0:37:23 > 0:37:28and you probably keep a spare set of strings and then your chin pad.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30The bows tuck into the top here.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35So it's a very high-class box.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38But, rather like a book, you know,
0:37:38 > 0:37:44- the cover isn't always an indication of the quality of the contents. - Oh, I appreciate that.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47And the bow is very bad news indeed.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51It's not very straight, it's nickel mounted, nothing special about it.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54So let's get to the instrument.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57Quite a pale varnish...
0:37:58 > 0:38:00..and...
0:38:02 > 0:38:07..rather a striking back. I'm going to look inside
0:38:07 > 0:38:10and read out the label - there's a paper label in here.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14Now, we see hundreds of violins on these Roadshows over the years
0:38:14 > 0:38:20- and they always say "Stradivarius", but this one doesn't.- No.- It says -
0:38:20 > 0:38:26excuse my French - it says, "Medaille d'or et d'argent aux expositions de 1844 & 1849."
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Then it gives the name, "Bernardel, luthier, eleve de Lupot".
0:38:31 > 0:38:35In other words a luthier, a violin maker, the pupil of Lupot.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39And then there's an actual ink signature that says,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43"Bernardel, a Paris...1853."
0:38:44 > 0:38:50Well, I'm not a violin expert, that's the first thing to tell you,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53but I can say this is a very well-made violin.
0:38:53 > 0:38:59And something else is rather fun - if you rock this violin you'll see a little fluff ball rolling about.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03They develop over the years, and it's known as a mouse.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07I've got one in my cello. I would never get rid of it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11So never get rid of that little ball of hair.
0:39:11 > 0:39:17Bernardel is a well-known maker, not as expensive as his master Lupot -
0:39:17 > 0:39:22in fact, it's a family of makers - and I would just point out to you
0:39:22 > 0:39:26that the going rate for a Bernardel fiddle
0:39:26 > 0:39:28is between £10,000 and £15,000.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31..You're joking!
0:39:31 > 0:39:38So I think it would be in your interest to go and find...
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Oh!
0:39:44 > 0:39:49..to go and find a real violin expert, but I'm sure he'll tell you
0:39:49 > 0:39:56it's a perfectly genuine piece, made...to fit in this beautiful box.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58And it's a shame you don't play it.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03- Perhaps somebody in the family will be tempted.- My daughter's learning.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07- Well, she's got a lovely fiddle to grow into.- Heavens!
0:40:09 > 0:40:11I'm gobsmacked!
0:40:11 > 0:40:16- You should insure it for £25,000. - Ooh!
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- Gee! - Shall we cover it up?- Yes, please.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Oh!
0:40:26 > 0:40:30MUSIC BOX TINKLES
0:40:30 > 0:40:34So, did you play with her when you were a child?
0:40:34 > 0:40:40We did, yes. We used to go through to see our aunt in Glasgow,
0:40:40 > 0:40:44and always wanted to see the doll, and see her working.
0:40:44 > 0:40:52- And we ran through to the room where she was kept, and watched her smelling the flowers.- Wonderful!
0:40:52 > 0:40:57Your aunt, did she tell you anything about this?
0:40:57 > 0:41:04- Well, we don't know an awful lot about her, but...- No, we don't know very much about her history at all,
0:41:04 > 0:41:08except that my father's brother
0:41:08 > 0:41:11took her home from France
0:41:11 > 0:41:16after the end of the First World War,
0:41:16 > 0:41:21and he gave her to his younger sister.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25- Your aunt.- Yes.- Our aunt, yes. - How lovely!
0:41:25 > 0:41:32She has a very special head, by the firm of Jumeau, in Paris,
0:41:32 > 0:41:37and I didn't really have to look at the back of the head,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41because I could recognise the look of this Jumeau face.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46But under this lovely mohair wig, she's got a mark which says...
0:41:48 > 0:41:52.."Tete Jumeau, BTE SGDG",
0:41:52 > 0:41:59which stands for sans garantie de gouvernement - without guarantee of the government.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02So it's before they get to the register,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07so that tells me immediately that she is a serious automaton.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13These heads were made for the firm of Leopold Lambert.
0:42:13 > 0:42:19Now, Leopold Lambert actually was working in Switzerland,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21it has a Swiss movement,
0:42:21 > 0:42:27and her movement's very good, considering she goes back to about 1890.
0:42:27 > 0:42:33And they then dressed her, in Paris, in this wonderful silk-and-satin dress,
0:42:33 > 0:42:39and these buttons, to me, are just exquisite, aren't they?
0:42:39 > 0:42:45These little satin buttons at the end, just that little finish is so typically French.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49She is so pleasing to the eye, she is so pretty,
0:42:49 > 0:42:56that the automata collectors would pay probably as much as £4,000 at auction for her.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04A blustery day, but full of bright and beautiful things.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09If you'd like to see those things again, they're on our website.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12From the Scottish Highlands, goodbye.