0:00:31 > 0:00:38For this week, we've abandoned the open road and climbed aboard the South Devon Railway
0:00:38 > 0:00:42which runs between Buckfastleigh and Totnes.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47We have an Art Deco carriage, plus a view of the River Dart
0:00:47 > 0:00:50as we steam our way
0:00:50 > 0:00:55towards the largest medieval house in the West of England - Dartington Hall.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02The house was built in the 1400s.
0:01:03 > 0:01:10In 1925, it became the focus of a cultural revolution and was born again.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19It was discovered by a young couple with vision, a sense of adventure
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and enough money to put their radical ideas into practice -
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Leonard and Dorothy Elmhurst.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32The son of a parson and the American daughter of a powerful politician,
0:01:32 > 0:01:38they wanted to regenerate the estate and to create a school.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43The school was to be progressive and anti-authoritarian
0:01:43 > 0:01:47with a minimum of class work and a strong bias towards the arts.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53The headmaster's accommodation, High Cross House, was an example
0:01:53 > 0:01:56of the Elmhursts' radical vision.
0:01:56 > 0:02:03A model of early modernism, it was the start of a new type of domestic design...
0:02:04 > 0:02:07..where inside and outside merged.
0:02:07 > 0:02:14Four terraces offered the head every chance to soak up the sun and fresh air,
0:02:14 > 0:02:21and, if he was so inclined, to sleep under the stars - popular with 1930s naturists.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23The Elmhursts didn't stop there.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29They gathered creative people around them by the armful.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Michael Chekhov, who taught Marilyn Monroe, had a theatre studio here.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41Jacqueline du Pre gave her first concert at Dartington. Simon Rattle taught here.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50Henry Moore chose this spot in the garden for his reclining figure.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Today we're all here courtesy of the Dartington Hall Trust.
0:02:55 > 0:03:02And the Antiques Roadshow is ready to receive all-comers in the medieval courtyard.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05This is your bust, sir? Or...
0:03:05 > 0:03:08This is my wife's bust.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14- It's your wife's bust. - I'm very proud of it.- I'm sure. I mustn't get into that territory.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19We're looking at a Victorian worthy of some kind.
0:03:19 > 0:03:26It was very characteristic of that period to present the heroes of the time as though they were Romans.
0:03:26 > 0:03:33A number of sculptors worked that way. It goes back to the 18th century, Neo-Classicism.
0:03:33 > 0:03:39You were not shown in contemporary dress, you were shown as if toga'd.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Do you know who this is?
0:03:41 > 0:03:48- No, er, we thought for a long time that it was Sir Charles Bell. - Right.- Bell's Palsy.- Yes.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53But we had a recent discovery of an oil painting of Sir Charles.
0:03:53 > 0:04:01- I don't think it is him.- I don't think there's any parallel at all. - No.- So let's go down another route.
0:04:01 > 0:04:08Who is it by? Well, I'll look on the back and it's William Theed, or, "W. Theed, London 1851."
0:04:08 > 0:04:12- We know the sculptor. So that's important.- Yes, yes.
0:04:12 > 0:04:19Theed was a very interesting figure, 1804-1891, a typical... not journeyman sculptor,
0:04:19 > 0:04:25but a very busy sculptor through the 19th century, worked for the royal family from 1844...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Queen Victoria later,
0:04:27 > 0:04:33constantly doing busts of either classical figures or worthies of the time.
0:04:33 > 0:04:41- Now, where did it come from? - He was bought in an auction in the 1940s, middle 1940s.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44- Where?- We think probably in Exeter.
0:04:44 > 0:04:50- So he has a local background.- Yes. - So, wait a minute, by a relative?
0:04:50 > 0:04:57- Yes, my father bought him. - To buy something like this in the 1940's was an extraordinary thing.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I think he bought it for a specific position.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07- We had a large hallway...- He wanted a bust.- He just looked right there.
0:05:07 > 0:05:13As to who it is, there are two routes to go down. Have you been to the National Portrait Gallery?
0:05:13 > 0:05:20- No.- Right, take a photograph and go in, or send it up, and say, "Who is this?"
0:05:20 > 0:05:27- Yes.- If they know, they'll tell you. They may have paintings, they may have other versions of the bust.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Give the Theed details and all you know.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34This is clearly a portrait of someone.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39The other route is many sculptors produced or had work reproduced
0:05:39 > 0:05:46in porcelain material called Parian, and they were made small scale, so you could get a book on that.
0:05:46 > 0:05:52Look up Theed and see what Theed's works are illustrated,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- I bet one of those routes will produce a conclusion.- Yes.
0:05:56 > 0:06:03I suggest, which might be slightly out of court, but there is a certain resem... Come down a bit.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- I'm getting quite like him. - I think...
0:06:07 > 0:06:13- A couple of years and you'll be there. Perhaps that's what it was. - Great classical man.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Exactly. Obviously you've no idea what your father paid for it, no?
0:06:18 > 0:06:23- No.- 20 years ago these were knocked out in sales for £2-300.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Really garden, stairwell ornaments.
0:06:26 > 0:06:33Theed is a pretty good name and I would expect this now to fetch somewhere between
0:06:33 > 0:06:38£4-6,000 but that's dependent very much on the identity.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42If you can say, "It's so and so," that makes it much more appealing.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48That's lovely, very pleasing. Thank you, that's very kind of you.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51A neighbour got my father's newspaper,
0:06:51 > 0:06:57and she came on hard times and her husband was a military man,
0:06:57 > 0:07:03from military background, and she asked him to lend her some money, which in those days was £10.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08- An awful lot of money.- "Those days"? How long ago are we talking about?
0:07:08 > 0:07:14- 60 years.- Right, OK.- I know that it was two weeks of my father's wages.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18- Right.- He kept them in lieu of this £10.
0:07:18 > 0:07:25And then she come over one day and said, "I can't pay you the money back, will you keep the cufflinks?"
0:07:25 > 0:07:32"No, they're a family heirloom, you should have them back." But she was just too proud.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36So, that was how it come in the family.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42First of all, let's just talk about what we've got.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47We've got a blue sort of enamel border going round the outside.
0:07:47 > 0:07:54In the centre surround, you've got mother of pearl. Diamonds form a tiny little letter G.
0:07:54 > 0:08:02And a diamond fleur de lys, that's the clue, the fleur de lys motif, and then almost
0:08:02 > 0:08:10to sort of ram the point home here, about the potential with the Prince of Wales feathers is that you've got
0:08:10 > 0:08:16little crowns, surmounts, above, so you know you look at these things, you think, "well, just a minute...
0:08:16 > 0:08:24"Prince of Wales feathers, the monogram letter G - this has to be connected with royalty."
0:08:24 > 0:08:31That's why I'm interested to know whether the person, the source of these,
0:08:31 > 0:08:37was connected with the house, the royal household, or was there any...?
0:08:37 > 0:08:43- He was in the Coldstream Guards. - Well, that's all we know about him? - Yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Well, I think if it's G,
0:08:46 > 0:08:50it's George, and with the Prince of Wales plumes,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55you're looking at George before he became king.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59So when he was Prince of Wales, so the year is
0:08:59 > 0:09:03probably around about, say, 1905-1910.
0:09:03 > 0:09:09Often, um, well-respected people who've done a particular service
0:09:09 > 0:09:12for a member of the royalty,
0:09:12 > 0:09:18would be given a gift, and I think that these were a personal gift
0:09:18 > 0:09:23from George, when he was still Prince of Wales, to this gentleman.
0:09:23 > 0:09:30They're extremely well made - you've got one little tiny diamond missing just there - apart from that
0:09:30 > 0:09:35they're absolutely pristine, and they're mounted in high-carat gold.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Look at the bright yellow gold,
0:09:38 > 0:09:46look at the quality there, super gold frames with individual little sort of hand links between.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51So we can date them accurately, we know what they're set with.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56We look at how collectable they are because there are people
0:09:56 > 0:10:01that collect cufflinks, and people that collect royal memorabilia.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06- Right.- They're not easy to value because they're a one-off pair.
0:10:06 > 0:10:14- So I wouldn't be surprised that they might be as much as £3,500 in the retail shop market.- Very nice.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- I inherited it.- You inherited it?
0:10:17 > 0:10:25That's all I can tell you - I don't know. My parents had it for many years, I don't know more than that.
0:10:25 > 0:10:32Well, as you can see, it's signed here by a German artist called Rudolph Gustav Muller.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37- Yes.- And it's dated 1886 - Muller was born in 1858 and died
0:10:37 > 0:10:4130 years later in 1888 so it's a late work.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46- Wow.- We know he travelled to Tunisia and to Algeria.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51- Yes.- So I guess this is probably something painted from that area.
0:10:51 > 0:10:58- Right.- But because it's dated 1886, it's almost certainly painted back in his studio in Munich.- Right.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04And so it's a sort of perhaps make-believe at the same time,
0:11:04 > 0:11:10but this whole market is fascinating because after September 11th
0:11:10 > 0:11:16and the horrors of the attack on the Twin Towers, the whole of this market,
0:11:16 > 0:11:23the Orientalist market, collapsed - no-one was interested in this subject matter.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27But after 18 months, the market recovered
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and people started buying, again, this wonderful subject matter.
0:11:31 > 0:11:38I love these artists - although they're not that well-known, we have fantastic detail here.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42- Look at the tiling on this gateway. - Incredible.
0:11:42 > 0:11:49- And again on the dome here.- Yeah. - I mean, the quality cannot be faulted and also it's topped off
0:11:49 > 0:11:55with this beautiful frame which is an arabesque frame.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- Yes.- So beautiful and works with the picture so well.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I think it's wonderful, yeah.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08I like the wood panel which gives it a sort of nice slick feeling.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- Yes.- Um, and again I just...
0:12:11 > 0:12:16I often feel that people don't look at pictures properly.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20- Yeah, so much detail. - There is. I love this man.
0:12:20 > 0:12:26- Is he looking at his belt?- Yes, yes. - Are they trading? It's lovely.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30And the carpet, it's a real eye-opener.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Something like this is always going to be desirable.
0:12:34 > 0:12:41There have been extremely high prices for the artist, but on a bigger format.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- I'd say about £15,000.- Blimey!
0:12:44 > 0:12:47That's weird, isn't it?
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Amazing.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53It's very, very nice. Thank you so much.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59This is an extraordinary Doulton Lambeth pot, decorated by Eliza Simmance.
0:12:59 > 0:13:05I've been puzzling what the Dickens you do with it.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11It's got all these holes around here, but what do you do with the pot?
0:13:11 > 0:13:17- I imagine you use it for canes. - And sticks and parasols or something like that.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- What else could you use it for? - Any ideas, anybody?
0:13:22 > 0:13:26- Umbrella stand? Possibly. Made in 1883.- Yes.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31Wonderful. I think the stand is marvellous, made for the pot.
0:13:31 > 0:13:37- And you've had this a long time? - I've had it in the attic nigh on 40 years.
0:13:37 > 0:13:43- In the attic?- In the attic. It belonged to my wife's grandfather.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49- Yes.- Who came from Hertfordshire and he bought it in the market in London.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54Yes, these things were found in London markets you know.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59You got up early and you went with a torch and you found these things.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Wonderful. Oh, I think it's great. So that's Eliza Simmance, 1883.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- Yes.- This big pot here. - The big one.- Marvellous.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Hannah Barlow did this wonderful incised work.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16She had a marvellous skill depicting animals,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20carved out of wet clay with little incised tooling.
0:14:20 > 0:14:26She drew animals, all sorts - she had a great love of animals.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29She had a zoo with strange animals.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And all the other work... Beautifully done, isn't it?
0:14:33 > 0:14:361884 and absolutely marvellous.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Hannah Barlow's work is tremendously valuable nowadays.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45That's going to be about £1,000, so it's jolly nice.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- I don't know what grandfather paid for it.- Not much.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54- Not much, no, and there's been a little pup, a little baby.- Yes.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Which one's going first? Well, that's sweet, isn't it?
0:14:58 > 0:15:05That's dated 1884, 1884, similar body to this one, so perhaps that's had
0:15:05 > 0:15:10a little baby and it's going to be worth around about £60-£70.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Right.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17But the big chap, we've got to be looking here again, at £1,000,
0:15:17 > 0:15:22and perhaps even more for the stand - the stand is fantastic.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Obviously made to fit the pot. Keep them together.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31- Yes.- And put your canes in it with great care.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- Thank you.- Wonderful thing.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39This is a long case clock. Richard Lear, Pinhey and Plymouth Dock.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Are you a Plymouth man or not?
0:15:42 > 0:15:48I come from about 15 miles away. It's always been within the area.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Today is the furthest it's been from where it was made.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55It is a terribly pretty dial.
0:15:55 > 0:16:03Overall, the thing's in what I call a fairly rough condition, but I mean, let's just have a look at this.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07We've got the wonderful dial centre here,
0:16:07 > 0:16:13a little smoking chimney and we've got the sea and sunset there,
0:16:13 > 0:16:20And then we've got the calendar sector at the bottom, and then just underneath the 12, the seconds dial.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24If that was all silvered, as originally,
0:16:24 > 0:16:32it would look absolutely stonking good, and if you left it brass and re-silvered the chaptering,
0:16:32 > 0:16:38that would be lovely and then up here, we've got Richard Lear's signature from Plymouth Dock.
0:16:38 > 0:16:46From memory and just looking at the clock, we're talking about sort of 1775-1780 - that sort of date.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48I'll look at the movement.
0:16:48 > 0:16:54Gosh, it's a heavy old hood, I have to say. Have a look at that.
0:16:54 > 0:17:01The immediate thing that comes to mind here is that the seat board has been replaced.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05It's a very new bit of wood. Did you do that?
0:17:05 > 0:17:10It was done by my uncle who owned it before us. I think it was 1977.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14That's a sort of slightly sloppy repair.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19A very thin bit of seat board and the dial is sitting too low
0:17:19 > 0:17:26within the aperture of the hood, so it could do with a bigger seat board to just bring it up.
0:17:26 > 0:17:33- And this thing really has been working, has it? - It has. Not continually.
0:17:33 > 0:17:39- Special occasions.- Well, look at all these cobwebs.- Oh, yes.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44There's three dead spiders. I don't think that's been cleaned for years.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- No.- you mentioned the 1970's...
0:17:47 > 0:17:51That was the last time anybody's even looked at it.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57I'll just simulate if the pendulum was on... That lovely moving ship.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03It's a very pretty dial, very pretty clock, and let's look at the trunk.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07You've got a nice, very accentuated arched door,
0:18:07 > 0:18:13this dentil cornice here and rather nice fluted canted corners.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Be honest with me - what have you done to this case?
0:18:17 > 0:18:24Nothing. I've had it 15 years and prior to that it was my uncle's, and prior to that my great aunt's.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29- You didn't put this horrible varnish on it?- No, no, no.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33What a shame because if that was all stripped off,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37you'd get down to the lovely original mahogany.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It would look so much better.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44I think it's got a lot of potential.
0:18:44 > 0:18:50- What would you pay to replace that? An absolute minimum of £6,500. - Really?
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- Thanks.- Thank you very much.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00A question that's always being asked is - does television affect the behaviour of young people?
0:19:00 > 0:19:04This lady was so impressed by what she saw
0:19:04 > 0:19:09that she became a fanatical collector - Lynsey Kent.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12What was the magic moment for you?
0:19:12 > 0:19:19Arthur Negus, Going For A Song. I was watching it with my grandmother who was a mad fan.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25Once he had a doll, just like this little one, on the programme.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30He said you could find out who made them and where they came from.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35- How many have you got now? - There's about 900 catalogued.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40So you're a collector and you're a doll doctor as well, aren't you?
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Well, if you'd seen this one about six weeks ago.
0:19:44 > 0:19:50She came home from an auction in 12 pieces.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56- I put her back together again.- Who makes the most dolls in the world?
0:19:56 > 0:20:01The Germans were the most prolific, the French made the best quality.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06French dolls are the most expensive and the most beautiful.
0:20:06 > 0:20:12- What's the most you've ever spent on a French doll?- Um, about £800.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16For a long time this one was my most expensive doll.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I had to get a bank loan for her.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24- That's handy - you work in a bank. - I had to ask my boss!
0:20:24 > 0:20:30He's used to people borrowing money for cars, but not for buying dolls!
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- It was worth it.- She's beautiful.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37She's German, made by the firm of Simon & Halbig.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Bunny, what about this lot? What do you think?
0:20:41 > 0:20:46I love your story, what a great collection, and you've got 900.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49What do you find the most exciting?
0:20:49 > 0:20:55Well, I love Betty Oxo. Tell us the story about Betty Oxo.
0:20:55 > 0:21:02Betty Oxo was sold by the Oxo company and to get her, you had to save up Oxo coupons.
0:21:02 > 0:21:09You had to save 480 and according to the Little Children's Newspaper
0:21:09 > 0:21:16that they produced in 1925, you saved them between January and April, so I reckon
0:21:16 > 0:21:22they'd eat Oxo cubes every meal to get enough coupons for a free doll.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27But she is very sweet. She's got such a cute face.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- She's lovely. - But it's a very expensive hobby?
0:21:31 > 0:21:36It is and I think you've done it at the right time.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42It's a very expensive field, so if you are going to start,
0:21:42 > 0:21:48go to an auction, get an idea and... Don't you agree with me?
0:21:48 > 0:21:55I do. Or if you're prepared to take one that's a bit less than perfect and give it a little bit of TLC.
0:21:55 > 0:22:01- You have something to be proud of. - Right.- Well, congratulations.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05- Thank you very much. - Yes, congratulations.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11If you bring furniture outside, it shows up things you don't want to see.
0:22:11 > 0:22:17But with this, you can see what a beautiful cut of mahogany you've got.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Lovely figuring, a very good colour, a little bit dry.
0:22:21 > 0:22:28Beeswax would warm it up a bit, but it's really in a very lovely natural and unspoilt state.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33Now, is this something that you've owned for a long time?
0:22:33 > 0:22:39It was given to me when I came back from boarding school, already...
0:22:39 > 0:22:431957, I think it was. I've lived with it ever since.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48It dates from the first part of the 19th century, probably the 1830s.
0:22:48 > 0:22:55Stylistically, it's what's known as Biedermeier,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58a term invented mid-19th century
0:22:58 > 0:23:04by a man called Eichrodt, and he invented this character Biedermeier
0:23:04 > 0:23:10who really summed up the bourgeois European, and it's a style of furniture
0:23:10 > 0:23:13that derives from Empire furniture,
0:23:13 > 0:23:19the sort of courtly furniture in Paris, in Vienna, in Berlin
0:23:19 > 0:23:22in the 1805, 1810, 1815 period.
0:23:22 > 0:23:29Then later in the 19th century, you get this more simplified version.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34And there really are two features which give it particular character.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37One is the beautiful timber,
0:23:37 > 0:23:44this really lovely shape here, and this arcade underneath here.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Do you have any idea where it might have come from?
0:23:48 > 0:23:56- Its country of origin? - None, I've had lots of opinions but nothing that I would rely on.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01I think stylistically, German rather than French or Austrian,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and let's just look and see what it looks like inside.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It's got a lovely counterbalanced weight
0:24:09 > 0:24:15so this supports itself - I imagine it's got some sort of weight system.
0:24:15 > 0:24:21At one time, I was told, because I was worried about the leverage...
0:24:21 > 0:24:26- Yes.- That in fact it's agricultural engineering at the back.- Absolutely! No, that's absolutely right.- Right.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31- Sadly - and this often happens - it's cracked here.- Yes.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36From the structure underneath, and that can be restored. I mean, it so often happens.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41and what's lovely... When we open it, it's got this beautiful, again, very architectural interior,
0:24:41 > 0:24:47but quite simple. It's a "schreibschrank", a writing desk. Um...
0:24:47 > 0:24:51You've got a replacement handle here, but the original ivory knobs there
0:24:51 > 0:24:55I would also think that these handles here have been replaced.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01These escutcheons are probably original. And it's nice the way that the little mask covers the keyhole.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So a very handsome bit of 1830s furniture.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Something that I think appeals as much to contemporary taste as it did at the time.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13very good in a simple interior, in a small apartment or small house,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18and would work very well with contemporary things as well as with older things.
0:25:18 > 0:25:24- Well, I think today it's something that one should certainly think of insuring for £4,500.- Right.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28It's a very beautiful piece of furniture and in a lovely state.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34All I would simply want to do is just put a little bit of beeswax on that, just to bring a bit more lustre up.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- Yes.- Thank you for bringing it. Beautiful- Thank you!
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- AMERICAN WOMAN: - When I moved here 40 years ago,
0:25:42 > 0:25:47my mother gradually thought it would be awfully nice if some of these pieces were here,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50so she stuck one in her purse each time she flew over.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54And brought them. Well, from your accent I can tell you're American,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57so it seems appropriate you should bring in some American art glass.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- Well, as you know, obviously, they're from the Tiffany studios.- Yes.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05And Louis Comfort Tiffany, the founder of the company,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10patented the idea of making iridescent glass in about 1880.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16And these goldy colours - I think they used gold chloride as the main sort of chemical, if you will,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21- to give this golden iridescence... - Didn't know that.- So...
0:26:21 > 0:26:27the golden colour is probably the most common because it was the most popular, probably, at the time,
0:26:27 > 0:26:32and consequently lots was made. This is, on the surface, quite a standard-looking bowl,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34but what's quite nice about this,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36and makes it slightly different,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39is that, instead of just the iridescence,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43there's added decoration engraved into that surface.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47So it removes the iridescence, but it gives this leaf detail
0:26:47 > 0:26:51which stands out in sort of visual relief against the shiny surface.
0:26:51 > 0:26:57- I mean, sadly, having been used... I don't know whether a plant pot was ever inside this.- I hope not.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03But it's taken all the iridescence away on the inside, so that will reduce its value, unfortunately,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07but it's still a nice, interesting piece. This piece in the front is...
0:27:07 > 0:27:10it's a lovely little piece.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14It's amazing to think it was just a salt...a utilitarian little piece.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18There's a sort of bluey tint to this one which...
0:27:18 > 0:27:22which adds another sort of dimension to its appeal.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27But this piece, while being just golden iridescence again,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31and a very common colour, this piece is really enhanced beautifully.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35I mean this transcends being just a simple vase
0:27:35 > 0:27:37to a little gem, quite honestly,
0:27:37 > 0:27:42And you've got these little leaves inlaid into it. So these...
0:27:42 > 0:27:48These take up the iridescent colour as well. They're like a creeper,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52And these little stems all extend down over the base,
0:27:52 > 0:27:53and some extend up the neck.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55So a lot more work's gone into this
0:27:55 > 0:28:03and it makes it that much more desirable than perhaps a relatively ordinary golden iridescent piece.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09You've got "LC Tiffany", Louis Comfort Tiffany, "Inc"
0:28:09 > 0:28:11and then "favrile", that's a name...
0:28:11 > 0:28:14a name that he used, implies that it was hand-made.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19And then the numbers around the top, they'd indicate,
0:28:19 > 0:28:26with a suffix at the end, a date that it was manufactured. I'd have thought it would be about 1900 or so.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Price-wise, that is obviously going to be the most valuable,
0:28:30 > 0:28:36This is a nice piece, but with the damage or wear on the inside I'd have thought, no,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41it might be somewhere broadly between about £100 and £200 because of that.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45This little salt - while only being a simple object -
0:28:45 > 0:28:49I would have thought perhaps it might be £200 or £300.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54But I'd have thought this piece, the gem of the crop, so to speak,
0:28:54 > 0:28:59would be perhaps £1,000, £1,500, something of that order.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03- How wonderful.- It's a lovely piece. And I'm really pleased to see it.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05- Thank you so much.- Thank you. - Really enjoyed it.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10- Can you read that for me? - "Do all the good you can, in every way you can..."
0:29:10 > 0:29:15- Now, you can't read that?- No, because that's not how it's writ,
0:29:15 > 0:29:20It's, "Do all tha gude you cann in every wey."
0:29:20 > 0:29:25- The spelling is... I think spellcheck on your computer wouldn't like that would it?- No.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28- No, I mean, way spelled W-E-Y, yeah. - That's right.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33- My husband was given a print when he left as captain of his old cricket club.- Right.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38And that started off a collection which, um...grew.
0:29:38 > 0:29:43- and we started to buy things like this lovely urn. - But he's not here today?
0:29:43 > 0:29:50- No. I'm afraid the Test Match won over Antiques Roadshow.- So he's gone to watch the Test Match?- Yes, he has.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55Excellent. And I see you're wearing a cricketing medallion. That's part of your collection, is it?
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Well, it is. In fact...
0:29:57 > 0:30:01the cricket bat I added. But that is nice because it's got a picture
0:30:01 > 0:30:04of, I think, somebody who was a cricketer.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08I don't know who they are, but I bought it cos I liked it.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Excellent, well let's have a look at this lead planter or jardiniere.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17Obviously, as you say, you bought it because of the cricket association. If we start with the base,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21we see here a little medallion with crossed cricket bats and a ball.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24And similarly, above, larger crossed cricket bats
0:30:24 > 0:30:30and then if we go up to the jardiniere itself, a batsman with the wicket keeper behind
0:30:31 > 0:30:36And on either side are the pieces de resistance...
0:30:36 > 0:30:38two medallions of WG Grace.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42In his day, he was reckoned to be one of the two most famous Englishmen,
0:30:42 > 0:30:47him and another "WG", William Gladstone, four times Prime Minister,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51And certainly he's the only cricketer who is known by his initials alone.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55So you bought it how long ago, this planter?
0:30:55 > 0:30:57I think it was about mid-80s.
0:30:57 > 0:31:04- Right.- I bought it at a sale. I saw it right at the end of the auction and I thought, "That's for me".
0:31:04 > 0:31:11- Can I ask what you paid for it 20 years ago?- I think it's about £75, I can't really remember.
0:31:11 > 0:31:18Yes. Well, I would think that was a very good buy, because the interest in cricketana has grown enormously
0:31:18 > 0:31:23over the past quarter of a century, and I would think, if this came up at auction today,
0:31:23 > 0:31:29- I would probably expect it to fetch between £1,000 and £1,500. - Really? I am surprised.- Yes.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35Here you are, Henry, extract from a letter to Leonard and Dorothy Elmhurst dated 1942...
0:31:35 > 0:31:40"The tier pot I hope you may use for butter, marmalade, jam
0:31:40 > 0:31:46"by your bedside some lazy - if you ever have such - or cheerless morning." signed Bernard Leach.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51Yes, this is the pot! It's a wonderful little pot, very much in the Japanese style.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55Bernard Leach of St Ives came here to Dartington on a number of occasions.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01he intended to start his pottery here, but didn't - chickened out and went to St. Ives instead.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05But made these pots in the style of Japanese...
0:32:05 > 0:32:08It's like a Japanese set of pots.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12A little cover, take off. Single one, middle one and big one at the bottom.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Decorated with little tiny fish,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18little fish swimming round like mad.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22- I think it's a fascinating little piece.- Lovely colour too.- Lovely. Signed under the bottom. "BL"
0:32:22 > 0:32:26for Bernard Leach. And the St Ives mark, there it is,
0:32:26 > 0:32:31It's all authentic, and a super little pot by the grandfather of English pottery.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35- I mean, all his family pot. And they're wonderful. - Historic piece.- Historic piece.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40- Would you put a value on that?- Yes. Well, if it wasn't provenanced,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44if it was just a Bernard Leach piece, it would still be important -
0:32:44 > 0:32:51Perhaps £1,250 to £1,500. But being provenanced as coming directly from Bernard to the Elmhursts
0:32:51 > 0:32:55and from the Elmhursts now to a friend...
0:32:55 > 0:32:57I think it's...well, not priceless,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01but it's got to be around about £2,000.
0:33:02 > 0:33:03I always have this little quote
0:33:03 > 0:33:08that "a pretty little box", in the clock and watch trade, means something very sweet inside,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and we are not wrong with this, are we?
0:33:11 > 0:33:16Isn't that charming? What do you know about this? How long have you had it?
0:33:16 > 0:33:20When my mother was moving house from a bigger house to a smaller house,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24she asked me if there was anything I would like, and I happened to remember the little clock.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29- That's what I chose.- If I can say so, madam, that was very generous.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31This is very, very sweet.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- You probably know that it's solid silver.- Yes.- There we go.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39And here we are, we've got a full set of marks on the bottom. "Sterling".
0:33:39 > 0:33:44And it also says "argent", and it also has a Swiss mark for 935.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46So - solid silver
0:33:46 > 0:33:51and lovely enamel over this machined background.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56You've got that sort of translucent enamel over the guilloche back.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58And let's have a look indoors!
0:33:58 > 0:34:03Isn't that pretty? And we've got it going now, but do you ever have it going at home?
0:34:03 > 0:34:05I did have it going originally,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09and we actually had it mended at one stage for one reason or another.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14And then, when it stopped I went to wind it, and turned the key,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18and it appeared to me as though it wouldn't move, it was over-wound,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23so I put it back in the cupboard quickly and hid it before I did any more damage.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Well, listen with all these little boxes, as you know, the keys are usually kept in the back...like that.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33- We remove that panel, and look at that, the original key sitting there. That's the one you used?- It was.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36So why couldn't you get it to work?
0:34:36 > 0:34:41- Because...I bet you were trying to wind it clockwise, weren't you? - I was, being logical...
0:34:41 > 0:34:45- Yup. Anti-clockwise...- It works! - Goes like a little dream.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48It's very, very sweet.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Dating from around about the 1920s.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55have you noticed this name on the case?
0:34:55 > 0:34:57- Cartier.- Cartier...
0:34:57 > 0:35:01There's a possibility it was retailed by Cartier,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03- but it wasn't actually MADE by Cartier.- No.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07- So it's been sitting in the drawer at home not working?- I'm afraid so.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11- But still a little bit loved.- Very loved!- You'll love it a lot more
0:35:11 > 0:35:13when I tell you that really it's worth between £900 and £1,200.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16- Ooh.- Right, sounds wonderful.
0:35:16 > 0:35:23Now, many years ago, in another life, I taught briefly at St Martins School of Art, in the 1960s.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27And amongst my students were two very strange men
0:35:27 > 0:35:33called Gilbert and George. They are a phenomenon of the British art market,
0:35:33 > 0:35:38the British art scene, in the last 30 years. Why do you have a Gilbert and George item?
0:35:38 > 0:35:42This belongs to my partner. And he thinks it was sent to him
0:35:42 > 0:35:46when he was studying A-level art at the local school.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51He thinks his cousin, who'd probably been to this exhibition, had sent him this as an item of interest
0:35:51 > 0:35:54which might help him in his studies.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59Gilbert and George are an important component in the development of conceptual art,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02in the development of, particularly, performance art. This is 1970...
0:36:02 > 0:36:07They invented a form of art where they said, in a way,
0:36:07 > 0:36:14"We are the artists. We sing, we dance, we perform. And everything we do is a work of art. Art for all."
0:36:14 > 0:36:20At this point they were doing singing, dancing, performing sculpture,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24so they're taking the object away from the artist and saying,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27"Actually, it's the artist himself who is the work of art." Since then,
0:36:27 > 0:36:33- they've become international superstars.- Mmm.- What we have here is a wonderful, riveting document,
0:36:33 > 0:36:39"A message from the sculptors Gilbert and George," Inside, we find a set of little photographs
0:36:39 > 0:36:44and a statement. "Gilbert and George, the sculptors, are walking along a new road.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49They left their little studio with all the tools and brushes, taking with them only some music,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53"gentle smiles on their faces and the most serious intentions in the world".
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Now, this is a little kit of photographs...
0:36:56 > 0:37:02And everything they did, whether it was eating, walking... All aspects of their life, become art.
0:37:02 > 0:37:08We move on, and a sculpture sample entitled Sculpture Samples.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10"G&G's make-up."
0:37:10 > 0:37:13"G&G's tobacco and ash."
0:37:13 > 0:37:16"G&G's hair." "G&G's coat and shirt."
0:37:16 > 0:37:18"G&G's breakfast."
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And in a way, this is advertising their work,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25They are saying, "Look, this is what we do. We can do sculpture for YOU.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30"We can be like a party piece," You know, "We can come to your house and perform." In this day, of course,
0:37:30 > 0:37:35they were still very eccentric, little known, except by the real sort of art fringe.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40Their whole career as really sort of important pictorial artists
0:37:40 > 0:37:44and performance artists was ahead of them. Now, one of them is local, isn't he?
0:37:44 > 0:37:49I believe George Passmore... He did live in Totnes in his early years.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53- Yes.- I think he was born in Totnes, but...- So he's a Devon lad.
0:37:53 > 0:38:00The other one, Gilbert, is Italian. Now...I'm sure many people think "Well, THAT'S a load of rubbish."
0:38:00 > 0:38:03You know, "why are they wasting time looking at something like this?"
0:38:03 > 0:38:08Is this a great work of art? Well, who knows? At the moment, it's very, very collectable.
0:38:08 > 0:38:15- think the right sort of collector is going to pay a lot of money for this, I'm going to say £2,000.- No!
0:38:15 > 0:38:19- I've said it. - Well, that's incredible.
0:38:20 > 0:38:26This is a very exciting collection of silver, obviously put together by your family over hundreds of years.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30- It's not family at all, it's church silver.- Oh, really?- Yes.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32And, um, how did you come by it?
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Well, we were having a Parochial Church Council meeting,
0:38:36 > 0:38:42and because we've got a number of large bills at the moment, we were looking at what our assets were.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45One of the things that came up was...
0:38:45 > 0:38:51a churchwarden said he'd been talking to a previous churchwarden who said we have got some silver...
0:38:51 > 0:38:53in a safe under the stairs!
0:38:53 > 0:38:58- What was your reaction when you opened the safe and these treasures fell out?- Well,
0:38:58 > 0:39:04I think the reaction was at the meeting the night before, when they said that we HAD the silver...
0:39:04 > 0:39:10- But you didn't know what?- ..and read out a list of things.- Oh, right.- And there was...were gasps all round.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14- So you were mentally prepared. - So we were mentally prepared
0:39:14 > 0:39:19but when I actually took the things out of the safe, I was just staggered really. Amazed.
0:39:19 > 0:39:25- I can quite understand that.- Yes. - Several pieces have an inscription from the Bampfylde family.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30- Are they local people?- They would have been lord of the local manor.
0:39:30 > 0:39:37And the local manor-house owned not only the church, but a lot of the land and properties around.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42Well, it's a very exciting collection. I must say that church silver is...
0:39:42 > 0:39:48you often find particularly early pieces which have usually escaped destruction.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53and there really are some exceptionally interesting things here, notably...
0:39:53 > 0:39:55this tazza here,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58which was made in 1710
0:39:58 > 0:40:03by a well known Exeter silversmith - so it's local interest - John Elston.
0:40:03 > 0:40:09A particularly nice piece, and also with a quite interesting inscription
0:40:09 > 0:40:15from the Bampfylde family, "Doctor of Divinity" - that's a gift of his,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18beautifully hallmarked,
0:40:18 > 0:40:23and with this chased gadroon border which is very typical of the period.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25And similarly on the foot.
0:40:25 > 0:40:31For you silver collectors, I should point out the foot is also marked, which is quite an important thing.
0:40:31 > 0:40:37- And that's a paten?- That's a paten. Or "tazza", we tend to call them.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42And then we have, again, you could say another member of the family,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45this rather spectacular George I flagon
0:40:45 > 0:40:48which was made in 1715 -
0:40:48 > 0:40:51but this is a London made piece.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Interestingly, this had a Victorian spout added at a later date.
0:40:55 > 0:41:01And they've actually done the right thing, which they often didn't do, of having it hallmarked as an addition.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05- Interesting.- So it's got a little Victorian hallmark for the 1880s. - Oh, right!
0:41:05 > 0:41:10To me, although it isn't hallmarked, the most interesting piece,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15because I really like its rather rustic character,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17is this chalice and paten.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Now, this is Elizabethan,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24and it would date from about 1570.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27When Elizabeth I came to the throne,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31she succeeded Mary who, of course, was a good Catholic.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35And this is not the Catholic form of chalice.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37So somewhat into Elizabeth's reign,
0:41:37 > 0:41:42an edict went out that all churches had to have the more Protestant type of chalice,
0:41:42 > 0:41:48so you find that that a very large number of these chalices were made over a few years in the 1570s.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Although this has no marks at all,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54it was undoubtedly made by a local silversmith.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58it's absolutely typical of the period with this beautiful banded engraving.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- Lovely.- Partially gilt, and gilded inside.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Very elegant. And the paten is very similarly decorated.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11It's quite surprising that it has absolutely no hallmarks at all.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13Well, to run through...
0:42:13 > 0:42:17I would estimate the tazza at...
0:42:17 > 0:42:19£4,000 to £6,000.
0:42:19 > 0:42:25The flagon, which again has been altered, which does alter the value somewhat,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29- I should think in the £10,000 to £12,000 range.- Goodness me!
0:42:29 > 0:42:35This is very difficult to put a price on. If it were fully hallmarked, it'd undoubtedly be a lot more valuable
0:42:35 > 0:42:42but, I would say, this is probably £6,000 to £10,000.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44- ..My!- So that should set the church bells ringing a bit.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52And that's it for today - there's only so much Devonshire cream a person can take!
0:42:52 > 0:42:57But we've all fallen for Dartington Hall. Only one thing for it - we'll have to come back.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I'm sure the people of South Devon have more to offer.
0:42:59 > 0:43:05If you'd like a preview of what'll be coming our way, log on and play the valuation game.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07But for now, goodbye.