0:00:28 > 0:00:32Welcome back to County Down in Northern Ireland
0:00:32 > 0:00:36for the second part of our visit to Mount Stewart,
0:00:36 > 0:00:42the magnificent home of the Londonderry family, now managed by the National Trust.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Before we rejoin our experts in the Italian garden,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49there are one or two intriguing things elsewhere in the grounds.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03These statues are meant to represent members of the Ark Club,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07a top-dog social club formed in 1915 by Edith, Lady Londonderry.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Edith played the part of Circe the Sorceress
0:01:13 > 0:01:17and she gave each member an animal nickname. Stone me!
0:01:20 > 0:01:26The Ark became a refuge for such people as Ramsay MacDonald, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31Nancy Astor, Sean O'Casey, the Duke of...
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Another part of the grounds and another statue.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42The white stag points to the family burial ground known as Tir Nan Og,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46taken from an Irish legend in which a stag carried people to a place
0:01:46 > 0:01:49where they remained forever young.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53An enchanting example of perpetual youth is this statue of Lady Mairi,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57who still lives and farms here at Mount Stewart.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It's on a fountain which marks the spot
0:02:01 > 0:02:04where she was brought as a baby for her daily nap.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09There are botanical delights throughout the nine formal gardens
0:02:09 > 0:02:13and 97 acres of the Mount Stewart estate that are open to visitors.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Plants, trees and shrubs from every continent seem to flourish here,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22earning the gardens a World Heritage site nomination.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Among the exotics - possibly the world's most northerly banana tree.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31The outline of the Shamrock Garden resembles a giant ace of clubs
0:02:31 > 0:02:37and here some powerful local symbols a topiary in the shape of an Irish harp
0:02:37 > 0:02:42and a bed of begonias forming the Red Hand of Ulster.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Now it's time to see whether the gardeners among our experts
0:02:46 > 0:02:49have scrubbed their fingernails.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- So tell me about your stove. - Well, it's a family thing.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58My mother lived with my great aunt, and her grandmother
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and we don't know whether it was there then,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05- but it's certainly been there in our lifetime.- OK.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- Which is a fair number of years. - OK.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- Have you ever seen it up and running?- No, we haven't.- No.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17- It just sat, as an ornament, in the porch.- Well, it IS very ornamental...- Yes.- Yes.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19..just to look at it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24The first thing you've got to say, it's made of pottery.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30It is to a certain extent copying the sort of thing that you would have expected in metal.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32If this stove could speak,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37- it would talk to you in a very broad Yorkshire accent.- Oh?- Oh?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40That's very interesting.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42This is the pride of Leeds.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45It shouts, "I was made at Burmantofts."
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Now, Burmantofts is an area of south Leeds,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53and that's where you would have found the Leeds Fireclay Company,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56This is a heat-resistant clay.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- Oh.- Let's look at the construction because I think it's fantastic.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05The first thing that hits you is this lovely warm, tomato-red glaze
0:04:05 > 0:04:09which runs over yellow. And what's clever about it is the piercing,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14because you've got this almost Japanese feel to the actual cover.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18So there's a lot of, you know, man-hours gone into making it,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and then you look at the handles
0:04:21 > 0:04:26which are typical Victorian naturalistic motifs with shells,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and then more of a Japanese feel about this pierced tracery
0:04:29 > 0:04:33takes you down to this sort of chevron design,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and then these almost Norman arches.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39So it's borrowing all sorts.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43And then looking at the working parts,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- you've still got the original burner in there.- Yes.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50And I can't help but think that it wouldn't give off that much heat,
0:04:50 > 0:04:57- because it originally would have taken a chimney in there, so there would be illumination.- Right.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01This would be quite magical in an evening, in an alcove or whatever,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06and it would just get that glimmer of light through the tracery.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- Right.- So it's a decorative object, it's a useful object,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- it's just classic Victoriana. - Right.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18I wouldn't be surprised, if it was estimated at auction,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22- at between sort of £500 and £800. - Gosh!
0:05:22 > 0:05:26So I suppose the big question is can you get it working again?
0:05:26 > 0:05:30If we have any more of those winters of discontent
0:05:30 > 0:05:34we're old enough to remember those -
0:05:34 > 0:05:36this is perfect to bring out.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42Well, I was given it, a present from my mother over 20 years ago.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47She was given it by Lord Younger's daughter as a present to her
0:05:47 > 0:05:52and we wondered if it had anything to do with Mary Queen of Scots -
0:05:52 > 0:05:55it says "Mary Stewart" on the back with number "2".
0:05:55 > 0:06:00So my daughter has encouraged me to come today
0:06:00 > 0:06:04because she's hoping to get a cruise and a new house out of this!
0:06:04 > 0:06:09I don't think so, but it is very, very interesting. It may not be as old you think.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15You might think this is a 16th-century jewel, but it isn't,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19it's 19th-century, when the Mary Queen of Scots cult was popular.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22She almost turned into a saint.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26There's a man who used to carve these in Paris called Bissinger,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and it's typical of his work. Do you wear it?
0:06:29 > 0:06:35- No.- Not at all.- Because I'm just missing two little stones from it.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Well, absolutely no trouble in doing that.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43Anyway, we have a pristine piece of 19th-century jewellery
0:06:43 > 0:06:47in homage to Mary Queen of Scots, and it'd be rather sought after.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51It won't take us round the world, but it will take us a small way.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55- Um, what shall I say? £2,000. - Wow!
0:06:55 > 0:06:58That's wonderful.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03I'm famous, if not notorious,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- for hating Clarice Cliff.- Oh!
0:07:07 > 0:07:10But it's not entirely true.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Um...I think the truth of the matter is that Clarice Cliff had
0:07:15 > 0:07:20a number of really amazing design ideas,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25but she also produced rafts of unmitigated awfulness,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28of no merit whatsoever.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31But there are things that one likes,
0:07:31 > 0:07:36and that work as a ceramic object, and this is one of them.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Good.- You knew it was Clarice Cliff
0:07:39 > 0:07:42because we've got the standard mark -
0:07:42 > 0:07:49- "Bizarre by Clarice Cliff..."- Yes. - "Fantasque" - which is the range.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52One has to be extremely careful
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- because there are a lot of duds of these coming on the market.- Right.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00And some are very deceptive. How long have you had this one?
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Well, I know that it was a wedding present to my mother and father,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08before their wedding, and they were married in 1939.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Right. So this was about 1938.
0:08:10 > 0:08:17Yes. And I think at the time, it was regarded as one of the lesser presents given to her, perhaps,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22by a friend who was in the Guides with her, or something like that.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25It may even not have been new when she got it.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27I'm not sure about the date...
0:08:27 > 0:08:31- '20s, '30s is certainly when it dates from.- Yes.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34This is a pattern called "Secrets"
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and it's a really nice object.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41- It's obviously a sugar caster, you realise that?- Sugar shaker, yes.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Do you use it?- It was used by my mother and father.
0:08:44 > 0:08:50Now they're in an nursing home. It came out of the sideboard and everybody else said, "Ugh,"
0:08:50 > 0:08:53and I always liked this as a child.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57I remember it in my home and being used,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00and for various reasons we haven't used it -
0:09:00 > 0:09:05- sugar shakers seem to have slightly gone out of fashion.- They have.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10- I suppose it's because...- Teeth. I've got a sister-in-law who's a dentist.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- And stomachs.- Yes!
0:09:12 > 0:09:18- Well, I wouldn't recommend using it, it's too good.- Oh, right.- Yes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- To chip it would be a tragedy.- Yes.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23We're looking at around...
0:09:23 > 0:09:25£800 to £1,200.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Oh, that's lovely, that really is. I'll tell my mother.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33I must have had perhaps 50 or even 100 fakes
0:09:33 > 0:09:38by this artist on the Roadshow, but at last, I've got a real one.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41I'm talking about Birket Foster.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46Here's the dreaded monogram which is imitated so frequently,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49but this time it's the real thing,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54and how nice it is to see how good Birket Foster can really be.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59It's just a watercolour of astounding quality, isn't it?
0:09:59 > 0:10:04- Everywhere you look. Is he an artist you've always liked?- Yes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10- The detail is fantastic and I've always admired him as an artist. It's the only one I have.- It is?
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Well, it's a beauty.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Well, of course he was enormously popular in his own lifetime
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and particularly admired, I suppose,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23firstly for his technique
0:10:23 > 0:10:29which was incredibly minute, and he must have used very small brushes.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34His technique was to build up the watercolour almost in dots.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36If you look closely,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41it's a series of tiny little touches built up in watercolour,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and he used body colour as well to get this strength of colour,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49but also to get the fantastic detail.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53He was born in North Shields. He started life as wood engraver -
0:10:53 > 0:10:57and worked in the engraving trade
0:10:57 > 0:11:02and I think that gave him this extraordinary eye for minute detail
0:11:02 > 0:11:05which he was so brilliantly good at.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09And I think the other thing about Birket Foster that...
0:11:09 > 0:11:12makes him so extraordinary and so special
0:11:12 > 0:11:16is the image he projects of the English countryside -
0:11:16 > 0:11:22- it's, of course...it's idyllic. - Yes.- Everything's perfect.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Perhaps it's slightly too perfect,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28a sanitised view of the Victorian countryside,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31but that's what the Victorians liked.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33And so there's children playing,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37there's this sort of rick, big hay-rick there,
0:11:37 > 0:11:42the sheep look fat and healthy - there they are, all in the fold.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Everything looks perfect. The sun shines and the sky is blue
0:11:47 > 0:11:53and this is England as we'd all like to think it perpetually is, and always will be.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57- When did you buy the picture? - About 15 years ago.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- I purchased it privately.- Privately? - Yes.- Here in Ireland?- Yes.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03And what did you pay for it?
0:12:03 > 0:12:06It cost me £10,000, yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Yes, well, you see, that's not surprising,
0:12:10 > 0:12:17- Birket Foster certainly would have cost that sort of amount 15 years ago, but he has gone up.- Yes.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Birket Foster's always going up, so I would say -
0:12:20 > 0:12:24value now £20,000, £25,000.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- Insurance - you must think £30,000. - Thank you very much.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30So it was a wonderful buy,
0:12:30 > 0:12:36and one of the nicest and finest Birket Fosters you could ever see.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Nearly every grand country house from ancient times
0:12:44 > 0:12:47had one of these narwhal tusks.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52It was probably brought back as a part of the spoils of the whaling fleet.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56But years and years and years ago, in Tudor times,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00country houses had them, for they thought they came from a unicorn.
0:13:00 > 0:13:06They couldn't understand that they came from a whale. The unicorn doesn't exist,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11but they thought they came from unicorns and they thought they had magical properties,
0:13:11 > 0:13:16and all old country houses just had to have one of these narwhal tusks.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22It's on a very smart rosewood base which dates from about 1820 or 1830
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and smart gilt-wood claw feet
0:13:26 > 0:13:32and it all goes together nicely. Lovely. Do you love it to bits?
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Definitely, definitely.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38You're shaking your head there. Anyway, no, it's a great object,
0:13:38 > 0:13:43useless but decorative, with a good bit of history behind it.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47If you wanted to sell it, I guess it would probably bring at auction
0:13:47 > 0:13:50between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Is that a lot of money?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55What have you got here?
0:13:55 > 0:14:00Well, my understanding is that is a potato ring in Irish silver.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05I have always known of it as a potato ring and it is 100 years old.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09My grandfather won it playing golf in Greenore, as you can see.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15- Ah, an inscription there. - It's got a date on it - 1903,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19but I think it has a Chinese design on it, which, um...
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- seems strange, I think, for an Irish silver potato ring.- Right.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28This is actually a copy of a mid-18th century example.
0:14:28 > 0:14:36Now the original of this would have been about 1760-1770...
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- Yes.- ..When there was a fashion for Chinese decoration.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44- Now the next thing is - it's not a potato ring.- Ah, really?- Really.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Everybody CALLS them potato rings.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- My goodness! - It's actually a dish ring.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56- Yes.- The term potato ring is actually one of those things
0:14:56 > 0:14:59that developed in the late-Victorian period
0:14:59 > 0:15:04and ever since, everybody has referred to them as potato rings.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Their original function
0:15:06 > 0:15:11was actually to literally to protect the table tops.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Once you got into the age of walnut, mahogany,
0:15:14 > 0:15:19putting a hot thing on top of those surfaces would damage it,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22and throughout the British Isles,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- they developed this idea of little rings to protect the table.- Yes.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Now in England, what happened was
0:15:29 > 0:15:33that these fell out of fashion in the mid-18th century
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and you get things known as dish crosses then.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41But in Ireland, they continued to develop and became much taller.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46- Yes.- And all references to these in the 18th century are to dish rings.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50There's no 18th-century reference to a potato ring.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- The dish sitting on top may have had potatoes in it.- Right!
0:15:53 > 0:15:57- It was basically whatever you wanted to go inside.- Yes.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02And that, today, is going to be worth -
0:16:02 > 0:16:08- £1,000, £1,500.- Really?- Yes. - Oh, I thought it might be worth a couple of hundred.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14In date, around about 1815-1820
0:16:14 > 0:16:18pushing towards 200 years ago. And very, very lovely.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- Have you any idea what the value is?- I've no idea.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25£1,000 - which is very nice.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30I'd like to show this to John. ..Lovely piece of Wedgwood.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34- Three coloured jasper, isn't it? - Nice quality.- Beautiful.- Super.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- What have you got?- Unusual thing.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Looks nothing that way, but put a light behind and it's transformed.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- Good Lord, yes.- A lithophane. Terribly difficult things to make.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Very few factories produced them, and this one is a Belleek one.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52It's nice to see a Belleek one. They did make lithophanes...
0:16:52 > 0:16:55So when did you get this one?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I bought it about eight years ago, at a private auction.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01And what date was it given then?
0:17:01 > 0:17:05It was given here... It's a Madonna and Child.
0:17:05 > 0:17:071865 - when these were produced.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Lithophanes, of course, are very rare in early Belleek
0:17:11 > 0:17:16- and do fetch considerable amounts of money. What did it cost?- £125.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Well, that wasn't bad for an 1865 lithophane.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Should be worth more. But we have one problem.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27One has the Belleek factory mark, but next to the Belleek,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32there is a letter "r" in a circle. That mark came in the 1950s.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37This is a reissued one. A modern version of the Victorian original.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42So an early lithophane - you're talking £2,000 - would have been a great buy.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Instead you've got a modern one, worth what you paid.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49But you can display it like this,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53with a nice light behind. What super quality.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56What a lovely Viennese wall clock.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00We've got a lovely one-piece white enamel dial
0:18:00 > 0:18:02with beautiful blue numerals.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Now I have to be quite honest and Mr F Dietze -
0:18:06 > 0:18:10I don't know him or this town either. But the great thing is
0:18:10 > 0:18:16you've got the three weights, so we know it's grande-sonnerie striking,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19so it does not only the quarter,
0:18:19 > 0:18:26- but at each quarter it does the preceding hour as well. Does that drive you mad?- No, I enjoy it.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30You've got a lovely steel-rodded pendulum.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34It is so much better quality than the average ebonised wooden rod
0:18:34 > 0:18:37that you'd get on a lesser clock.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42It has six-light construction - the front glass and the sides
0:18:42 > 0:18:47have a small panel on the top and then a full panel below.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I rather like these capitals...
0:18:51 > 0:18:54..this serpentine moulding is nice,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57and you've got some more moulding here
0:18:57 > 0:19:03and a rather nice gilt brass bit of frieze around there, rather rather nice altogether.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08The case is rosewood, and again you've got satinwood inlay here -
0:19:08 > 0:19:12very, very nice little bit of bevelled satinwood in there
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and double satinwood lines here.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17It's a great quality thing.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Here you have a repeat button...
0:19:20 > 0:19:23repeat knob, I should say,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and this is the noise that you'll get out of it for the whole time.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- GENTLE CHIMING - The quarters and the hours.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Very pleasing. What did you pay for it?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39- Er, £4,200.- £4,200?
0:19:39 > 0:19:43You did very well, you did very well indeed,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47because I think you'd have no hesitation
0:19:47 > 0:19:51to see that on a clock dealer's stand at a good fair
0:19:51 > 0:19:55for anything between about £9,000 and £12,000.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00- Thank you very much.- So you've doubled your money in a year.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04- Yeah, although it's a keeper.- Oh, absolutely, you've got to keep it -
0:20:04 > 0:20:07you won't find another in a hurry.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Lieutenant William Hannah
0:20:10 > 0:20:14was on the ship Mars in the Battle of Trafalgar.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20The captain was decapitated, and he obviously took over the ship
0:20:20 > 0:20:24and this was what he got at the end of the battle.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30And this was presented by the other officers and men out of respect.
0:20:30 > 0:20:36- Now, the silver itself is hallmarked for 1805-1806.- Yes.
0:20:36 > 0:20:42The Battle of Trafalgar was that year. It doesn't mean to say that it was immediately presented.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45It could have been a few years old,
0:20:45 > 0:20:51but it was made at that time of the Battle of Trafalgar and then presented afterwards.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Because this engraving here -
0:20:53 > 0:20:58- he is THEN a captain, but he was a lieutenant on the Mars.- Yes.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Right. Well, of course, you see,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06we're entering now a wonderful phase for the anniversary again
0:21:06 > 0:21:10of the Battle of Trafalgar, and in 2005,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14you're going to hear a lot about Nelson and his battle.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19And if you were to part with it, that would be the year to do so,
0:21:19 > 0:21:26- because there will be all sorts of things happening in 2005, I know this for a fact.- Yes.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Now, as a silver tea service, without any inscriptions,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35you're looking at something possibly not worth £1,000.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38But because it is what it is,
0:21:38 > 0:21:43then we're talking about a few thousand pounds
0:21:43 > 0:21:47because Nelson and the Nelson period was magical.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- So you like them? - I love them.- Do you clean them?
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- Never cleaned, only dusted.- Good!
0:21:55 > 0:21:59I'm all for washing porcelain, because you'd be surprised
0:21:59 > 0:22:03at the condition of some of the objects that come on the Roadshow.
0:22:03 > 0:22:10- Bacon and egg and custard.- Right. - Um, but bronzes like this...
0:22:10 > 0:22:13on the whole are best left. Dusting - fine,
0:22:13 > 0:22:19but otherwise you can do so much damage to them. These are Japanese
0:22:19 > 0:22:25and they're absolutely typical of the late-19th century.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29They're bronze, patinated
0:22:29 > 0:22:33and then they've been inlaid and onlaid
0:22:33 > 0:22:36in gold and silver and shibuichi
0:22:36 > 0:22:39with various birds.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41This is leading on...
0:22:41 > 0:22:48These designs lead through to Art Nouveau.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53This is where Europe got Art Nouveau from - looking at Japanese objects like this.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58These were imported from Japan...
0:23:00 > 0:23:06..one would say in huge quantities in the 1870s and 1880s.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Most of them were of no great merit
0:23:09 > 0:23:13but some - they absolutely pushed the boat out.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- Japanese - enormously skilled at metalwork.- Right.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Great swordsmen,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24and when they did the hilts of the swords and the scabbards,
0:23:24 > 0:23:29they put little bits of metal bronze, inlaid in gold and silver.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32When the swords were given up in the 1870s,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37those metalworkers turned to making these vases for the Western market.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41We've got geese coming in here,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44flying in over a stream,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48grasses, chrysanthemums...
0:23:48 > 0:23:50more geese on here.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56On the neck, we've got a very unusual feature
0:23:56 > 0:24:00which is silver against green enamel
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and that's a really nice touch - unusual.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Their condition is unspoiled.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12It is all too easy to ruin these. We see them coming in -
0:24:12 > 0:24:15people look at that and say, "dirty".
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Out with the polish and they wreck them.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I think they're really very nice.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27What are that pair going to make? They're going to make around, er...
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- £1,800 to £2,500. - Oh, goodness gracious!
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- Good Lord.- It's broken on the end. - Is it medical?- Could be.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- What do you mean "could be"? - Well, sort of.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45OK, do you put it in your ear?
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- Is it for washing out your ear?- No.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Is it for something down round the nether regions?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54No, but you're getting warmer.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59- OK, tell me what it is. - It's a breast reliever.- A what?
0:24:59 > 0:25:02A breast reliever.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Unfortunately, the box is just a bit... It's very very old.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- You've got the original box?- Yes.
0:25:08 > 0:25:15- A "reliever"? So it's for expressing milk?- Yes. - For pregnant ladies?- Yes.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Fascinating dish ring, this one.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23Decoration there is sort of based on early-18th century,
0:25:23 > 0:25:28but we've got Dublin marks for the latter part of the 18th century.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33- What's the history behind it? - It was my aunt's. An old family...
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- So it's not one you've bought?- No.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Because what's happened here
0:25:38 > 0:25:42is that somebody has actually made this -
0:25:42 > 0:25:44not in the 18th century,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- but in the late 19th century... - Right.- ..early 20th.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54They've taken marks which were probably on a gravy spoon, right,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and they've set those marks in. In fact, if you look just there,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02- there's the solder line.- Ah, yes.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And just there is the other solder line.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10That's where the strip of metal's been let in.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- It's an illegal piece.- Oh, right.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18It's about ten years' imprisonment for transposition of hallmarks.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- Thank you!- Not for you. - That's OK, it wasn't me.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25It wasn't you, no, no, this was done some time ago.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31But what you should do with this is send it to the Assay Office,
0:26:31 > 0:26:36which could be done in London, then it can be legally sold
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- and then it'll be worth £1,000, or so.- Oh, nice.- OK?
0:26:40 > 0:26:42For an illegal object, great!
0:26:42 > 0:26:47It's a Newton's celestial globe - 1860.
0:26:47 > 0:26:53Now, the thing is that these globes from the 17th and 18th century
0:26:53 > 0:26:55were brought up to date
0:26:55 > 0:27:00when they discovered more about the world, the globe, the hemispheres,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and they repapered them.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06So while this is dated 1860,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10the globe inside is actually much earlier than that,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14because this little globe started life round about the 1770s...
0:27:14 > 0:27:18- almost 100 years earlier than the paper on here.- Yes.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24- It's one of a pair, so there would have been the terrestrial and the celestial.- Yes.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29There should be a compass under it, which is no longer there...
0:27:29 > 0:27:32we're just going to check. There you are -
0:27:32 > 0:27:38three little places where the three little struts went to hold the round compass in the centre.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40And this base is mahogany -
0:27:40 > 0:27:47it's a colour to die for, this is as good as it ever gets.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52And the little spine down here and that little tiny shaped foot,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55then to this spiral lobing, we call that,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00little vase there... is 1770-1790 at the latest.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04So this was one of a pair, treasured,
0:28:04 > 0:28:09and by someone who was very interested in study, they've brought it up to date -
0:28:09 > 0:28:15it's probably had five or six different papers on here, until 1860.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- I wonder where the other one is? - I wish we knew.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23- My wife bought this as a one-off. - Did you?- Yes.- How much did you pay?
0:28:23 > 0:28:27- £60 about 28 years ago. - Did you really?
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Today, um...a celestial
0:28:30 > 0:28:34is obviously less valuable commercially than a terrestrial one
0:28:34 > 0:28:40but nevertheless as a piece of furniture, an object of interest,
0:28:40 > 0:28:46- today's value - £3,500 to £4,000. - You should be proud of me!- Not bad!
0:28:46 > 0:28:51- Not bad!- Next time we're having a party, we'll remove it from the room!- I would indeed.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54It's a very fragile thing.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56..Who or what is this?
0:28:56 > 0:29:01- Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars.- Was he in Star Wars?- Yes.- Don't remember.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05But what is more important is what Binksie is hiding.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Tell me about this.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10It's for cigarettes, cigars,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13and at the bottom there's a pipe holder.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- The pipe holder goes here?- Yes.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20- Cigarettes go in there?- Yes. - And cigars in there. Very clever.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24- But you don't smoke a lot, do you? - No.- So how did you get it?
0:29:24 > 0:29:27My nanny and papa had it years ago...
0:29:27 > 0:29:32Well, kind of for a long time, cos my great-grandad got it.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36- Your great-grandfather? - Yes.- How did he get it?
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Some Jewish prisoners gave it to him
0:29:40 > 0:29:43for giving them food for the children.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- So this was in the Second World War?- Yeah.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51- In one of the concentration camps? - Yes.- You've heard of those?
0:29:51 > 0:29:55So your great-grandfather gave food to Jewish children
0:29:55 > 0:30:01- in a concentration camp and they were so grateful...- They gave him this.- ..they made that.
0:30:01 > 0:30:07- And now you've got it.- Yeah.- How many years later is that?- 60.- 60.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11That's fantastic. That is an historic piece of work
0:30:11 > 0:30:14- and that's yours now.- Yes.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18"English, French, Turks and Russians. One dozen.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22"William Pigit," I think. "Victoria Avenue, 1857".
0:30:22 > 0:30:25That's enough to whet anyone's appetite.
0:30:25 > 0:30:281857 - Crimean War.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Look at that, absolutely superb.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33I'll be quite frank with you,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37I have never seen such a superb set of soldiers from that period.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42Most people expect 19th-century figures to be lead...
0:30:42 > 0:30:45these are, in fact, wooden figures,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49although they do, obviously, have some lead elements.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Their firearms are, in fact, lead.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57You've got a mixture of all the sides that were in the campaign in this box,
0:30:57 > 0:31:03which is completely original, with its original packing, and to me that is absolutely incredible.
0:31:03 > 0:31:09- How do you happen to have them? - I was left them by my great-uncle.
0:31:09 > 0:31:15- And I know very little else about them other than his father, grandfather maybe, had them.- Right.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Never opened them, really.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22It was one of the first wars to have correspondents on site
0:31:22 > 0:31:25that relayed everything back to the masses.
0:31:25 > 0:31:31People went on a tour - you could anchor offshore and watch the battle in progress.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35I feel, in all honesty, that it's going to be worth between
0:31:35 > 0:31:40- £1,000 and £1,500.- Yes. - And, frankly, it's so nice,
0:31:40 > 0:31:45it wouldn't surprise me if it bettered that at auction.
0:31:45 > 0:31:51This lady had this box of drawings and sketches and just basically knick-knacks,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- and I bought the box for a few punts.- Right.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57And amongst the drawings was this picture.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00It's by George Weatherill.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04He was an artist who is best known for his views of Whitby area,
0:32:04 > 0:32:10and on the back of the watercolour we have an inscription for "Robin Hood's Bay",
0:32:10 > 0:32:13which is just south of Whitby.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19- I think it's a quite valuable watercolour.- Do you?- Worth more than the few punts you paid.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23At auction - probably worth nearly £2,000 to £3,000.
0:32:23 > 0:32:29- Really? Goodness, a surprise. - So that was a wise investment. - It was, very!
0:32:29 > 0:32:32My grandmother was very interested in porcelain
0:32:32 > 0:32:36and she must have read about the existence of these eggs
0:32:36 > 0:32:41and wrote off and got three of them, in fact.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Two of this size and a larger one as well,
0:32:45 > 0:32:50so I suppose in the 1920s, sometime, she wrote off and bought three.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Well, in 1920 it wasn't terribly old.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57We know that because this is the cypher of the Empress of Russia,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Alexandra Theodorovna, the last Empress of Russia.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05Easter was a terribly important part of Russian life,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08more important than even Christmas is to us.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11It was the greatest religious festival,
0:33:11 > 0:33:16and they exchanged chickens' eggs, or perhaps wooden eggs.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20As one moved up in society, they turned into porcelain, then gold.
0:33:20 > 0:33:25This is a porcelain Easter egg made by the Imperial Porcelain Factory
0:33:25 > 0:33:30for the last Tsarina to give as a presentation piece.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32We, actually, until very recently,
0:33:32 > 0:33:38thought that they were made in very large quantities and weren't terribly personal objects.
0:33:38 > 0:33:44But a biography of Grand Duchess Olga tells us that actually they WERE very personal
0:33:44 > 0:33:49and the Empress and the Dowager Empress would hand these out.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54So we're almost certain that this is a souvenir of Alexandra, the last Tsarina of Russia
0:33:54 > 0:33:57a terribly romantic object.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01The Russians are coming over to England to buy back their heritage,
0:34:01 > 0:34:05so you should try and value this object. And it IS valuable.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10Beautifully made by the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14I think we can confidently say this would go between £800 and £1,200.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19Oh, my goodness! I hadn't expected it to be as valuable as that!
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Well, it was my father's.
0:34:22 > 0:34:28My mother and he were married in 1927 and he actually had it at that time,
0:34:28 > 0:34:34- and my mother didn't know how long he had had it. So it has been in the family for years.- How interesting.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38- You've no idea where he might have got it from?- No.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42- We know he worked in France as well as in Northern Ireland.- Really?
0:34:42 > 0:34:46That's extremely interesting that he worked in France,
0:34:46 > 0:34:53because you've only got to look at this, to know immediately where it came from,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- and that is from Nancy in France. - Right.
0:34:56 > 0:35:02Nancy is one of the centres of Art Nouveau, French Art Nouveau.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06And all the curves and interest in nature that you've got here
0:35:06 > 0:35:10really suggest that period - around 1900,
0:35:10 > 0:35:16and particularly Nancy where you find that the designers were very interested in nature,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20and being inspired by plant forms.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25And apart from the little pictorial scene there, you've got this spray,
0:35:25 > 0:35:30a sort of asymmetrical spray of flowers and leaves
0:35:30 > 0:35:33on the flat part of this little desk or table.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38I like the way it's, in some ways, taken its inspiration from Japan.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43And you have these tendrils which go all the way down into this little curlicue down here.
0:35:43 > 0:35:50- Now, have you ever looked at this closely?- Well, I've looked at it, but I didn't realise...
0:35:50 > 0:35:55- Well, it actually says "Galle". - Oh, right.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57And Galle, of course,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01was one of the masters of French Art Nouveau who lived in Nancy,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03and he is known for his glass,
0:36:03 > 0:36:07but also for this wonderful, inlaid furniture.
0:36:07 > 0:36:13Galle had a factory which made glass, and a factory which made furniture,
0:36:13 > 0:36:18and he supplied very, very high-quality furniture to big exhibitions.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22But he also had quite a substantial workshop
0:36:22 > 0:36:27which made commercial furniture, if you like, using this amazing inlay.
0:36:27 > 0:36:33Now you've had it in your family for a long time, so I don't know if you have any idea of its value?
0:36:33 > 0:36:38Not in the slightest. My mother never really liked it - we were the ones that loved it.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Mother would have parted with it, only we wouldn't let her.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45I haven't the slightest idea.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50It's not going to be worth as much as one of the very high-quality exhibition pieces,
0:36:50 > 0:36:55but nevertheless it would be, I think, in auction around...
0:36:55 > 0:36:58- £1,200 - £1,500.- Right.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03- So I'm very glad you didn't let your mother get rid of it.- So am I!
0:37:03 > 0:37:08For more about Emile Galle and his influence on French art-glass makers,
0:37:08 > 0:37:14watch Inside Antiques on BBC4 immediately after this programme.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18I've seen a lot of Royal Worcester, but I've never seen
0:37:18 > 0:37:22a complete set of the Indian figures by Fred Gertner.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24They're incredible - four of them.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- This is a spare one?- Yes.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30- How did you get them? - They really belong to my mum,
0:37:30 > 0:37:35- but I'm looking after them.- Ah, so they're going to descend to you
0:37:35 > 0:37:43and to the boys - if they're very, very good, and tidy their bedrooms -
0:37:43 > 0:37:47I know what boys are like! But it's wonderful.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52The modeller was Fred Gertner. It's well named on the back there -
0:37:52 > 0:37:56"Gertner", and the set are Red Indians...
0:37:56 > 0:37:59or should we call them Native Americans now?
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Used to be Red Indians when Fred modelled these.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07They're made in the 1930 period,
0:38:07 > 0:38:11and they're wonderful colours of the Art-Deco period.
0:38:11 > 0:38:17The reds and the blacks, wonderful colours indeed, and the modelling is splendid.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22They turn up very, very rarely - in singles. They're superbly modelled
0:38:22 > 0:38:26and irrespective of the value, they're wonderful.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Especially to see this Indian with his feather on the back.
0:38:31 > 0:38:36I've never seen one with the feather intact, and this is perfect, isn't it?
0:38:36 > 0:38:41How has that survived? You've looked after it very carefully.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Been told not to touch them!
0:38:45 > 0:38:49I should think so! Don't play football around them!
0:38:49 > 0:38:52But it's incredible that they have survived.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57And the ladies have papooses on - little babies on their backs.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00That is the Indian Chief
0:39:00 > 0:39:05and these are their squaws and this is the brave. And that's the set of four.
0:39:05 > 0:39:12- Have you any idea of their value? - No. I just know they're interesting and they're Royal Worcester.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15- Yes, never had them valued?- No.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20No, if a dealer bought them at auction, he'd probably have to pay,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24for the set of four, irrespective of the single one,
0:39:24 > 0:39:29- something like about £2,000. - Oooh!
0:39:30 > 0:39:35They would be in his shop at about £3,000 or something like that.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39So I think you should insure them for £3,000, at any rate.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Oh, thank you very much.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47- He hasn't been out of the bag for 40 years at least.- In a bag?!
0:39:47 > 0:39:51I haven't been keeping him, my daughter has kept him in a bag.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57When she was a baby... she got it as a present
0:39:57 > 0:40:01and her grandmother done a very foolish thing -
0:40:01 > 0:40:05- she took the little Steiff badge out of the ear...- Ohh.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08She was scared of the baby swallowing it.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Of course, then, she didn't think about value...
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Of course not. - She was thinking more of safety.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21I've actually been to the Steiff factory in Germany where they put these buttons in,
0:40:21 > 0:40:27- and it is put in with a machine and it's jolly difficult to take out. - She had it out!
0:40:27 > 0:40:33- But having said that, he's known as a teddy clown, obviously.- Yes.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38They were produced on 28th February 1926,
0:40:38 > 0:40:44- they were introduced at the Leipzig Trade Fair...- Yes.- ..as the Joker.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Now, 30,000 of them were made
0:40:47 > 0:40:52and very few remain, particularly in good condition.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57His pads are remarkably good, they haven't even been moth-eaten,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59which so often is the case,
0:40:59 > 0:41:04so your daughter must have put it in a moth-proof bag or something.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06The colour is an unusual colour.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Usually, they're either pink and yellow, or red and blue,
0:41:11 > 0:41:16and this is a lovely, what some people call mauve, I call purple...
0:41:16 > 0:41:20- I would call it mauve. - Right, good, mauve.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24His ruff would have been the same colour,
0:41:24 > 0:41:30and, for some reason, because it's different material, it's faded a bit more.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34- Now, have you got any idea of his worth?- Well, we...
0:41:34 > 0:41:39- Some months ago I had an approximate valuation.- How long ago?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41- Oh, January.- This January?
0:41:41 > 0:41:44This January. Off a dealer.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48- A dealer?- Well, an antique dealer. - He offered you some money?
0:41:48 > 0:41:54- He didn't. Oh, no. He thought it was worth between £2,000 and £3,000.- Did he?- Yes.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56And he didn't offer you that?
0:41:56 > 0:42:02No. He wanted to take it to London and have a valuation done there
0:42:02 > 0:42:04and put it in an auction there,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08and he said that I would have to pay his expenses to London
0:42:08 > 0:42:13and he wanted 10%, and then the auctioneers would be in London.
0:42:13 > 0:42:19So I told my daughter and she says "Well, I've done without for many years and I'm not going to part".
0:42:19 > 0:42:23Well... I would put a nought on that.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Is there a wheelchair to take me out of here?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36So, what I'm saying is, if you were to buy him,
0:42:36 > 0:42:41you'd have to pay £20,000 at least, at least.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Now, if he went into auction, obviously it would be less,
0:42:45 > 0:42:51not a great deal less - we could be talking about £15,000, even at auction and going up.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55That's the other thing - going up, so good investment.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00It's well worth the journey here, well worth the wait.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04Well, there's no doubt about it, Mount Stewart is a magical place,
0:43:04 > 0:43:10it makes you feel small and insignificant. We've had a wonderful time in Northern Ireland.
0:43:10 > 0:43:15Thanks to Lady Mairi Bury and the National Trust for making us so welcome.
0:43:15 > 0:43:21With apologies to Ronnie Corbett, it's goodnight from me, as I close the book of another show.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23'Goodbye!'
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Subtitles by Gillian Frazer BBC Broadcast 2003
0:43:34 > 0:43:38E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk