0:00:30 > 0:00:32Early morning in Devon.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Another gentle start to the day, except in one corner of the county.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Still two hours to go till the start of another Roadshow
0:00:45 > 0:00:47and already the queue is forming
0:00:47 > 0:00:49for our second visit to Dartington Hall.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52It looks as though the experts are in for a very busy day.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58A typical Roadshow means each and every expert will comb through
0:00:58 > 0:01:01thousands of items searching for treasures.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05For the team, a hearty breakfast is essential.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Can you open that for me?
0:01:07 > 0:01:08EXPERTS CHAT
0:01:08 > 0:01:09Thank you.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Oh! That's interesting.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18- Dishwasher proof, I'm afraid. - Oh, well.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- Very nice...- >
0:01:21 > 0:01:22- Good, what have you got, sir?- >
0:01:22 > 0:01:27Have you ever seen one with a fluted handle and the finger grips?
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Finger grips... it may be a musical instrument, you know. You never know.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Meanwhile, last minute checks are being made to our cameras,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39getting ready to roll on the action.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41The doors are open. Have a good day!
0:01:48 > 0:01:50- That's for the dolls.- Thank you.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54- He's always been chubby and happy.- I bet...
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- and he's a money box.- It's a money box, yes.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00My wife wanted a money box, she had a little one,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02you know, this size, but she wanted a bigger one.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05I don't think she dreamed of anything like this.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07I bet he held a lot of money.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Well, at one point we had enough money in him, that we went to America for a holiday.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16- Good heavens.- Yes, yes. He's a wonderful size, isn't he?
0:02:16 > 0:02:17He is, isn't he?
0:02:17 > 0:02:23He should be marked underneath the bottom, yes, there we are, it says, "Plichta, London, England."
0:02:23 > 0:02:28But not made in London, made locally here in Bovey Tracey.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- Yes.- Which is extraordinary.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34London was where Plichta had his sale room, his show room,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39he dealt in these, but made by Nekola, after he left Wemyss - up in Scotland,
0:02:39 > 0:02:44he came down to Bovey Tracey in the 1930s to make these wonderful porkers
0:02:44 > 0:02:47for, I suppose, the local market.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- You bought this locally?- Yes, in Torquay.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Because it's very unusual to have a Bovey Tracey money box.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56They're usually just happy pigs,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59but this one is terribly rare in being a money box.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Yes, and it's been so useful.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Yes, I always think it's silly
0:03:02 > 0:03:05to have roses painted on the sides of a pig,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08but it just makes him happy and jolly, doesn't it?
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Yeah, I paid seven pound ten shillings for him... that was in 1950, yes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- A lot of money then...- Quite a lot of money...- ..two weeks' wages.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Two weeks' wages, three weeks with me, but he's gone up a bit in value.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Nowadays, his price is going to be about...
0:03:22 > 0:03:26about £1200 - £1500...
0:03:26 > 0:03:31- 1750, something like that... 1500 - £1750.- You're kidding!
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Yes, so you've got to start collecting.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37I don't think I need to collect, I mean I've got him.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39< This is a very beautiful vase.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Is it something that you've owned for a long time?
0:03:42 > 0:03:46It's been in the family a long time, it's been in since about 1930.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51My grandfather bought it at a house sale back in...
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- up in Staffordshire, I believe. - In Staffordshire?- Yes.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57When he died, it was passed... well we've got two...
0:03:57 > 0:04:00it was passed to my mother and my aunt.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Do you know what it is, where it was made?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Not really, er, all we know - it's oriental, Japanese.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10- It is Japanese, but it's Japanese made for the European market.- Right.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13So you've got a Japanese blue and white vase
0:04:13 > 0:04:17that has been over-decorated, and the term for that is called clobbering.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22- Clobbering?- Clobbering...and so this is lacquer, done in Japan,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24but to meet European taste.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30And in the 1850s, when Japan opened to the West, there was a mania for all things Japanese,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and this vase absolutely falls squarely into that sort of taste.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Right.- The amount of decoration, if we just turn it round.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40The lacquer is almost more beautiful than the porcelain...
0:04:40 > 0:04:44The porcelain is standard, that wouldn't have appealed to Japanese taste,
0:04:44 > 0:04:49but this would have gone very well into aesthetic interiors in the 1870s and '80s in England.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Oh, right.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54What's also nice is that it's standing on its original base.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The proportion of the base to the vase
0:04:57 > 0:05:02makes me feel that the base was made in England when the vase came over.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- Yes.- I just want to, if I may... Can I take this off?
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- Yes, yes, feel free. - Let me just put this down.- Yeah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And let's just have a look at the...
0:05:12 > 0:05:15put that down as well... have a look under the base.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- The top does come off. - OK, we'll be very careful.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22This is ebonised with a yew wood panel here
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and Adamesque decoration.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28I want to see, sometimes they're labelled underneath.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Yes. Let's just do this very carefully.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37- Oh! Never looked underneath it before.- Underneath here...
0:05:37 > 0:05:45you've got the label of James Edgar, and interestingly he describes himself as "Art Cabinet Factory."
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And art furniture is the term that people used in the 1870s
0:05:48 > 0:05:50for artistic furniture.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Not just standard cabinet making, but things which were meant to have an artistic feel to them.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56And he was in Liverpool.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Now, Liverpool's exactly the sort of area
0:05:59 > 0:06:01where many houses were being built.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03There were people like Lloyd Raynor,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06like John Grant Morris, who had Allerton Priory,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and we know, from catalogues of sales of theirs,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12that not only did they buy contemporary paintings,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- but they also bought oriental pots, as well.- Yeah.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- So one can picture this as part of a classic interior at that period.- Yes.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Let me put the vase back on top.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Absolutely beautiful as a pair...
0:06:25 > 0:06:28As a vase, on its own, you're probably looking...
0:06:28 > 0:06:30As a single vase...
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- something at auction that might fetch £500, £800, for one vase.- Yeah.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38But assuming the other one is in more or less the same condition...
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Perhaps just a little bit more of the glaze missing where -
0:06:41 > 0:06:45my auntie had a grocer's shop, she used to keep the eggs on top of the vase.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- Probably not the best idea... - No, no, but never mind.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50As a pair of vases...
0:06:51 > 0:06:57- ..on stands, so really they become works of art in themselves, more than just individual vases.- Yes.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01I think that you would need to insure these today for something like
0:07:01 > 0:07:03£5,000 or £6,000 for the pair.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- Really? Gosh! - They're beautiful and very evocative of that particular period.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- Yes, yes.- Try and keep the two of them together in the family.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I'm sure you've heard it before...
0:07:12 > 0:07:17- I'm very pleasantly surprised by that.- Thank you for bringing it. - Thank you.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Well, in English Georgian silver, this is a very, very unusual object.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Do you know very much about its background or anything about it?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Very little, only that it belongs to a very good friend of mine
0:07:30 > 0:07:33who's a retired naval gentleman
0:07:33 > 0:07:34and it was actually left to him
0:07:34 > 0:07:38by his mother's sister who worked for a gentleman in Hampshire.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- Right, so that's about it. - That's about it.- OK.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Well, in that case it's up to me.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45As you can see, it's beautifully hallmarked
0:07:45 > 0:07:51and it was made in London in 1818, but this is such an unusual piece
0:07:51 > 0:07:55to be English that I imagine that it was specifically commissioned.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I mean, apart from the owl, which is a lovely thing,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00the base is all chased with animals,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04there's a tortoise there and lizards and a snail
0:08:04 > 0:08:09and it's all very nicely hallmarked
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- on the lid as well, on the top... - Yeah.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16..and on the base. Now these were originally drinking cups,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18although you might not want to drink out of it,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20because it's unhygienic.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23And the idea goes right back to the 16th century
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and usually they're continental
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and they used to just put them down on the table as decorations
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and so I would imagine that someone had seen a continental one
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and decided that he would like an English one.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- You obviously have no idea of its value?- No.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- Do you want to hazard a guess? - Yes, I would.- Go on then.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Um...a couple of thousand?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- It's probably more £8,000 - £10,000. - Really?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48- Because it is such a rare object. - Crikey.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51And it is charming and delightful and people love owls.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- Yes, I do, I love owls. - So I think it...it's great.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Thank you for bringing it.- Thank you.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- What do you know about this? > - Very little really,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02it's been in the family a long time and I use it as a desk.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05- So it's inherited through the family?- Yeah.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Um, no idea where it came from originally?
0:09:08 > 0:09:13It might have come from a house they bought in Torquay many years ago
0:09:13 > 0:09:15that belonged to Lord Lascelles
0:09:15 > 0:09:18who was, I think, somewhere in line to the royal family.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23- Right, so it might have some... - He was a traveller and soldier so he might have brought it back.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28Right, because it immediately speaks to me of something continental,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33but also somewhat medieval, it has this amazing hasp here,
0:09:33 > 0:09:39which is almost like a little castle on its own with all its turrets and pinnacles.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Extraordinary, and then ironwork, covered in ironwork,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46which had originally red velvet behind it,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49so it would really have shone out against the walnut,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51these big, big planks of walnut.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Er, on a stand, open stand and...
0:09:53 > 0:09:58Do you think was meant to go with this? Because we were never sure whether...
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Absolutely, I think this is a later stand, so I'm already suggesting
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- that this, this could be earlier, I think this is a 19th-century stand. - Right.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Which has been...has copied really a style that is earlier.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16And that style, to me, is Spanish,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and it's a form that goes back to the 16th century
0:10:20 > 0:10:25and the term that's used for this form is a vargueno.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The inside, I think, as you know, is extremely...
0:10:29 > 0:10:31surprising perhaps...
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Thank you very much.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39So the very, very heavy front
0:10:39 > 0:10:44drops down and reveals an absolutely delightful interior.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49Wonderful interior, lots of geometrical inlay of bone,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54lots of gilding, these little twisted columns that flank each of the drawers.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Now to me, what's exciting is that this kind of thing,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59this Spanish cabinet, this vargueno
0:10:59 > 0:11:02is one of the prototypes, one of the fore-runners
0:11:02 > 0:11:09of the English escritoire, the English fall-front writing desk and also the cabinet on stand.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14The influence and the decoration here is from North Africa, it's really coming from the Moors.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17This one, I think, is a 17th century one.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Now, of course, all these little drawers
0:11:20 > 0:11:26are fascinating and sometimes these pieces have little, not hidden drawers, but concealed drawers.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- Anything going on here that I don't know about?- A little one here.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- I didn't know about that one. Anything else?- One more below...
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Oh, right, so you've got this wonderful progression of drawers
0:11:40 > 0:11:44in the centre, coming out from this central architectural feature.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I think that's lovely and I can also see here that the drawer linings
0:11:47 > 0:11:51are all made of walnut, so the whole thing is made of walnut.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Well, it's not the kind of thing that everybody could give room to, so there's a slightly limited market.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Now probably...
0:11:58 > 0:12:03£3,500 - £4,500, which might seem not enough for such an elaborate...
0:12:03 > 0:12:06No, that's around about what we had thought.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08That's good - no disappointment there.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12- No. Oh, we love it. - We'll give it a polish.- Excellent.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Now, this is a very valuable dish.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Is it? - Did you know that?- No I didn't, no.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23And so when you have a large and valuable dish like this,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25you have to do what I do...
0:12:25 > 0:12:29hold it by both hands, otherwise you could have a disaster.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31- Yes.- So where did you get it from?
0:12:31 > 0:12:37It belongs to my mother and my grandfather bought it in a sale
0:12:37 > 0:12:44in 1940 from a large house in North Finchley in London.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47This dish was painted by W S Coleman,
0:12:47 > 0:12:53who was the leading light of the Minton's Pottery studios
0:12:53 > 0:12:57operating in London in the 1870s
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and he was quite closely connected with Whistler
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and various members of the Pre-Raphaelites.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05You get the sort of Whistler...
0:13:05 > 0:13:08these peacocks and...
0:13:08 > 0:13:11orientally inspired decoration on the surface.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15In many ways, of course, all we've got here
0:13:15 > 0:13:19is...the pottery dish
0:13:19 > 0:13:22as a support...for a painting
0:13:22 > 0:13:25and Coleman was really a painter,
0:13:25 > 0:13:30so this is unusual, to the extent that it's...
0:13:30 > 0:13:32firstly a painting on pottery.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36- Yeah. - But still, it's very collectable.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42The Minton studio is immensely admired and this is a very good one.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Coleman was much copied
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and people in the studio sometimes painted designs by him,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49but this is HIM.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54- This is him.- I told you at the beginning it was quite valuable.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- Yes.- I think if you wanted to buy one,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58you'd probably have to spend
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- about £4,000.- Blimey.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Do you know...
0:14:03 > 0:14:05I don't say this very frequently...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08it doesn't pay to get too enthusiastic about things,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13but what an emerald you have brought along here today.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16This is a fantastic looking gem.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Please tell me where it came from.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It belonged to my aunt, um, who died three years ago,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26she was born about 1915, I think.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31I know it's difficult because if you don't know very much about them,
0:14:31 > 0:14:36it's difficult to really sort of convey the sort of person that she might have been,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38but would she have been the kind of woman
0:14:38 > 0:14:41that would have worn a gem like this and shown the thing off?
0:14:41 > 0:14:43I think she, they would have worn it,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46all of them wore stuff like that in their social life.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52Now first of all, I think we can appreciate the intensity,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55what you might call, the saturation of colour,
0:14:55 > 0:14:56it's very deep green.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Now, you often find these where they're very pale,
0:15:00 > 0:15:02where they're very washed out,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and they can be quite large,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08but actually, they're ever so slightly, um, pastelly.
0:15:08 > 0:15:15- The valuable ones are the ones that have a great deal of dark blue-green colour.- Right.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16The quality of this stone
0:15:16 > 0:15:18is the kind of stone
0:15:18 > 0:15:23that would have been mined and cut in around about say 1910-1915.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30That was the zenith, if you like, of the pre-First World War period of jewellery design
0:15:30 > 0:15:33where firms like Cartier, firms like Tiffany,
0:15:33 > 0:15:41- were making jewellery like this, which is extremely pretty, easy to wear.- Yes.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45And also with the calibre of gem that is peerless.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49It's just what they did, that's how they made their reputation.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53The colour of the stone is also set off
0:15:53 > 0:15:56by the little diamonds around the square frame.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58That square shape works very well.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03So we know it's this Colombian stone, it comes from one of these two mines
0:16:03 > 0:16:10which were the Chivor or Muzo mines, in Columbia, which had this kind of terrific gem.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- Right.- They often have little fissures running through them.- Right.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16There we are, we've got some fissures
0:16:16 > 0:16:19going through the stone itself, um, it weighs...
0:16:19 > 0:16:23And looking at it, I would estimate the weight of the stone,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- maybe around about three and a half carats.- Right.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31It's not very deep, but it spreads very beautifully. It's a lovely ring.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I would suggest to you that if it was offered in an auction,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36it would be estimated at around
0:16:36 > 0:16:38£8,000 - £10,000.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41I think it's one of the loveliest stones of its type
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I've seen on the Antiques Roadshow, it's lovely.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- That's very nice. - Thank you for bringing it in.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I think everybody would agree,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54this is a very, very pretty picture, this lovely, young girl
0:16:54 > 0:16:58standing at the terrace looking somewhat reverential,
0:16:58 > 0:17:03eyes cast down, and I believe wearing a mantilla...
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Just over the terrace here, lightly touching there a white handkerchief.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Now, who is she?
0:17:10 > 0:17:14- She is the artist's sister. - Right, how do you know that?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17My mother had it from the actual lady who's in the picture
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- and it was her brother that painted it.- How wonderful.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- Well, the artist, the signature here...- Yes.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26..is William Bennett and it's dated 1901.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Now, he's not a very, very well known artist, in fact, he's a very little known artist.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36But occasionally, you know, you come up with great works by artists
0:17:36 > 0:17:38who perhaps very few people have heard of.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41It's in its original mount and original frame.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Where do you hang this picture?
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- It's been behind the wardrobe for several years.- Why was that?
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Because I had a picture painted for my husband, of his dog, and I put that up instead.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54So what...
0:17:54 > 0:17:55explain it a little bit more...
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I mean were you happy with that?
0:17:57 > 0:18:02There's lots of light in our house and I didn't want that to get the light on it too much.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Well, that's admirable to do that because...
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- if it had been hung for a long time...- Drains the colour...
0:18:07 > 0:18:10..it would have just faded and it wouldn't be as nice.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- That's right.- I think, looking at the technique,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16it's interesting, the variety of techniques...
0:18:16 > 0:18:20here with the railings and the bar there on the terrace
0:18:20 > 0:18:22and even the painting of the handkerchief...
0:18:22 > 0:18:25quite loosely painted, but when we look at the face,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29it is not just pedantically painted in miniature,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32but it's a different way of painting - much more detail, softer
0:18:32 > 0:18:36to give a contrast between the human portrait
0:18:36 > 0:18:41and the representation of a face, and also the drapery.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45What I am quite interested in is certainly the kind of iconography.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46I mean, why is she dressed like this?
0:18:46 > 0:18:52Her brother, the artist, seeing his sister in some really rather innocent way
0:18:52 > 0:18:57and the ivy has a kind of iconography with fidelity and so on,
0:18:57 > 0:19:04so I'm sure it's a kind of brother's idealised viewpoint of, of his sister.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Well, I believe he was accepted for the Academy in London
0:19:07 > 0:19:11and I think he might have took that and had it...
0:19:11 > 0:19:14- As a possible exhibited work, yes.- Yes.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Well, I think it's absolutely beautiful
0:19:17 > 0:19:19and I think most people would agree.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21It has a sweetness about it,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- but I don't think it's over-sentimental.- No.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But together, the frame, the original frame and the mount,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29we must come to think of its value...
0:19:29 > 0:19:30And I would have thought,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33because he's not a very well known artist,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- but a beautiful picture, somewhere between £3,000 and £5,000. - Oh, right.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Didn't realise as much as that.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- No, well it's a lovely thing, thank you very much indeed.- Thank you.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50Bunny, you've brought us your personal menagerie, isn't that wonderful?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Childhood memories - but before you tell us about them,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57remember in Northern Ireland, Mount Stewart, you came across that rare Steiff bear?
0:19:57 > 0:20:02- Never forget it. - It went on to be sold for £23,000.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Did they only make bears, Steiff?
0:20:04 > 0:20:10No they didn't, they, in fact, started off, um, with a little miniature elephant
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and then the bears were on wheels
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and then they started making teddy bears in 1903,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19but they make every animal in the book, and they still do.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25Any animal you think of, they make, including this lovely rooster here,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30who is not mine, I have to say, he came in today and I asked them if I could borrow him for...to show you.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34He's got lovely cut felt body and he would have had, in the comb,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37a little button which showed he was by Steiff.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40So it's very clever to have a label. But they also made...
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and I've got this here, they made pigs...
0:20:43 > 0:20:44I've got a pig here,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47but I've also got my personal weasel.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52He's got his button in his ear here, he's missing his tail
0:20:52 > 0:20:56and I've got to send him off to Steiff to see if they'll put another one on.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58But just to give you an idea of the range...
0:20:58 > 0:21:03But they made all those animals, but they're not the only people.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And we jumped on the bandwagon,
0:21:05 > 0:21:10the British, and Chad Valley and Farnell and various other makes.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16But what about everyone who's got old toys up in the attic or whatever, stuffed toys.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18What's the most valuable? What should they...
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Well, I think what they could have in the attic, which is more likely,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24is something like this, which is...
0:21:24 > 0:21:29This is a Merrythought, he's lost one eye, he's actually a rattle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35He's not particularly valuable, but he will go up in value if he's looked after.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39That's another thing we've got to worry about because a lot of these...
0:21:39 > 0:21:42the earlier ones are stuffed with this wood shavings and, of course,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44then you get woodworm.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Then you get the felt coats, they get moth-eaten.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50And you can see this one here, um,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53he's a very valuable Steiff, but look he's got moth-eaten,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56even while he's been sitting on my dressing table.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Even while we've been talking.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03That's very sad... So they're old and they get musty and dusty.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Do they get sort of infested with things?
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Um, quite often, mine don't, but if they did...
0:22:09 > 0:22:11I'd put them in the freezer
0:22:11 > 0:22:15for 72 hours and it kills the little blighters.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20Which is the most expensive one? The most valuable, rather?
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Um, one I was given,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24and that is a Steiff.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I'm afraid the Steiff are still the most valuable.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32Now, he's only particularly valuable because he's also made of lamb's wool,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35rather than anything else - very unusual, very rare.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Peter Rabbit, which Beatrix Potter commissioned Steiff,
0:22:39 > 0:22:45because she couldn't find anybody to make a soft toy like Peter Rabbit of her drawings.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46She commissioned Steiff
0:22:46 > 0:22:52and he's one of the first Peter Rabbits. He's got a black Steiff button in his ear...
0:22:52 > 0:22:58- Yeah.- ..um, which means he's 1905. He's very early and, I have to say,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01- I was offered £10,000 for him.- Gosh!
0:23:03 > 0:23:05- And I couldn't sell him, because I was given him.- Yes.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10This is a collection of Quentin Crisp.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Tell me what do you think of when you think of Quentin Crisp?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Well, he was my uncle, so I...
0:23:16 > 0:23:22you know, I have family recollections of him, but he was an amazing person because he always...
0:23:22 > 0:23:26stood up for his own principles, in spite of everything.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29And he was a very talented, clever man,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31he was an artist, he was a writer and a raconteur.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37To me, I associate him with the period in the '70s when he made...
0:23:37 > 0:23:40when a film was made of this book - The Naked Civil Servant -
0:23:40 > 0:23:41- for which he's very well known.- Yes.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And inside, he's inscribed it to you.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- Yeah.- And up here we've got this lovely etching of him,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51in a characteristic pose, I think.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- Something of a dandy, wasn't he? - Absolutely, yes.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57And very precise about the way he wanted to present himself.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- Oh, yes.- Lovely, lovely detail on this. And tell me about this one.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06Well, this one he did for my mother and it must have been in the 1930s
0:24:06 > 0:24:09and he gave it to her for a Christmas present, I think, one year.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13But the lovely thing to me, is that it's very 1930s...
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- Absolutely, isn't it? - ..in style, as is the dog.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19- That was my dog when I was little, he was called Walker.- Walker.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24He was a mongrel. He drew that for me for one Christmas, I think,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28in straight lines, and I always thought it was so lovely.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29To me, he also became a public figure
0:24:29 > 0:24:33because he was outspoken about his views about homosexuality
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and in a way he didn't fit into the normal mould, is that right?
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Oh, that's right and in New York he was completely accepted,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43but, I think, even if he'd stayed in London,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48- by that time, people of his type were more accepted.- Yes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50But when we walked with him in New York...
0:24:50 > 0:24:53he was revered, everyone said, "Good morning, Quentin. Morning.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55"How nice to see you," you know.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00You have a lovely pile of letters here and I can hear his voice, that acerbic tone.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04"And now, I suppose," he says "you're away sitting on the prom eating a box of chocs,"
0:25:04 > 0:25:06I can hear him say "chocs",
0:25:06 > 0:25:11"during the hols. I hope you have a jolly time and return fully refreshed."
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- So he sent you a lot of letters? - Yes, he was a great cor...
0:25:14 > 0:25:18He always answered letters. I was the bad correspondent,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22but if ever I wrote, I always got a letter by return of post.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I think it's a wonderful collection, it really is stunning
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and I get a very strong feeling of the man and his humour and his, his...
0:25:29 > 0:25:33In a way, his impishness... it's quite difficult to value
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- because it is an entirety and to put separate values on it wouldn't work.- No.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I think you're talking about £2,000 for the whole thing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Yes, well I've got a lot more sort of memorabilia and things at home.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- Have you?- Yes.- Well, it could be more because he had...
0:25:48 > 0:25:51he lived in America...there are lots of collectors.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Thank you so much for bringing them in, it's a great collection.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58They were made by my grandfather who was a sculptor,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Charles Sargeant Jagger and...
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Fantastic, I never knew he did jewellery.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Well, not many people did, I think.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Before the First World War,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11his work was quite soft and like this,
0:26:11 > 0:26:17and then he, through his experience in the war,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19his work changed completely and...
0:26:19 > 0:26:22You mention the war, because you know,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25now you've mentioned his name, Charles Sargeant Jagger,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I'm sure most people that have heard that name will be aware of
0:26:28 > 0:26:31his wonderful sculpture for war memorials.
0:26:31 > 0:26:38- This involvement in the war obviously gave him that sort of eye and passion to represent it in some way.- Yes.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42There's a wonderful memorial at Hyde Park Corner.
0:26:42 > 0:26:49Um, fantastically well known model of a soldier at Paddington Station
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and some people probably walk past that statue, rushing to get a train home
0:26:53 > 0:26:59without really appreciating how, how important it is. So with all that knowledge of his sculpture
0:26:59 > 0:27:03I'm absolutely, you know, amazed that these jewellery pieces are by him.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05These are just superb...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It's just this lovely delicate ring,
0:27:07 > 0:27:12- we have a little moonstone, little conical sort of moonstone...- Yes.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16with little leaves and typically - Arts and Crafts this would be called.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Did he used to have a little workshop somewhere?
0:27:19 > 0:27:20I don't know, all I know is
0:27:20 > 0:27:24that his wife gave up her career as a concert singer
0:27:24 > 0:27:25to also make jewellery.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28- I say.- And I believe that she made the other ring.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32- This might be by his wife? - I think so.- It's not as delicate as the other one.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37- No.- And this... I'm not entirely sure whether this is a stone of some sort like a jasper
0:27:37 > 0:27:39or it could almost be a piece of ceramic.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42- This piece would be by him as well, no doubt, wouldn't it?- Yes.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46- I mean this is just wonderful.- I guess that he made that for her.
0:27:46 > 0:27:47She was also a psychic
0:27:47 > 0:27:52and, and whether there's any connection with the crystal ball,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55because she had a crystal ball that she used to read.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- So this is a miniature crystal ball. - I'd like to think that.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01- Nice if she could see into the future with that.- Yes.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It's lovely the way this, this rose,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06this very simple rose with leaves and such on it,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10and then this lovely, lovely drop hanging from it.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12- Mm.- Wonderful!
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Have you ever thought about what value these would be?
0:28:15 > 0:28:16Well, I've wondered, I mean...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18I don't want to sell them, but...
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I certainly understand that.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Yes, but I'm interested to know, you know.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27- I mean this ring might be by his wife you said, didn't you?- Yes. Mm.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32I'd have thought that might be £300 - £500, something like that perhaps.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36- Gosh, mm.- This one, which is beautiful, and being by him,
0:28:36 > 0:28:42- I'd have thought that one might be £700 or £800 perhaps, that one.- Yes.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48And this piece, I'd have thought might be £1,500, £2,000...
0:28:48 > 0:28:50I'm pleased you brought them, thank you.
0:28:50 > 0:28:51Oh, thank you.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58It was loved at some time because it's all been mended with a lovely set of rivets, joining it together.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- Look at those rivets, John.- Yes.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03I love riveted things, I find them fascinating.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07It kept the pot together, otherwise it could have been thrown away...
0:29:07 > 0:29:09before they had fine glues they used to use rivets.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13I don't think we ever saw... you never saw a riveter at work,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15but he used to come up Grandpa's street.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19And Grandpa would bring out the pots and, um, and he had a treadle on his bicycle.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Treadled away and drilled little tiny holes either side of the crack,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27and then he had a hot box in front of him,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29took out metal wires,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33put them into the holes and pulled them together and as they cooled,
0:29:33 > 0:29:34they clamped the piece shut.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And there it is, as perfect as the day it was riveted...
0:29:38 > 0:29:41I...probably a hundred, two hundred years ago, those rivets.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43But would you leave those rivets alone?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47I mean modern restoration could hide that damage invisibly.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50I'd leave the rivets, they're part of its life.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54- You've always loved rivets, haven't you?- Some of my favourite pots are riveted.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56CROWD LAUGHS
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Underneath the damage, you've got a splendid bit of Chinese porcelain
0:30:00 > 0:30:05and quite a rare shape and displayed properly clean...
0:30:05 > 0:30:10- a couple of hundred pounds, isn't it?- The rivets cost about sixpence each.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12- They belonged to my father.- Right.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17And I believe that he inherited them from his father
0:30:17 > 0:30:21because my grandfather, in the early part of the 20th century,
0:30:21 > 0:30:22was an avid collector.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27- Right.- And went to auction sales almost weekly
0:30:27 > 0:30:30and after my grandfather died,
0:30:30 > 0:30:31which was 1966,
0:30:31 > 0:30:36my grandmother tried to dispense things that he had acquired...
0:30:36 > 0:30:39- Scattering it... - ..throughout the family.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Eventually, there was a load left that went to sale
0:30:42 > 0:30:44and I think this was something that my father took.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- So it came to your father? - It came to my father.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Right, there's a lot of sort of mythology about scrimshaw, I love it
0:30:51 > 0:30:55because I think there is this basis of accuracy about the stories,
0:30:55 > 0:31:00which is that pieces were made by sailors in their idle moments.
0:31:00 > 0:31:06Now, a lot of it is fake. Another mass of it has been decorated later.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11You can find an early tooth, there's nothing to stop you engraving a scene on now.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15And you get many pieces which have simply far too much going on,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19there's the name of the ship, there's a whale hunt, er, there's a date,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22there's flags and bells and the whole thing's over the top.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25These are fantastic because they're simple,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28there's no... you can see these have been done very early indeed.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30We're early in the 19th century
0:31:30 > 0:31:35and they have a primitiveness that I think has enormous appeal.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Many of the subjects, as you can see here on this piece,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43and here, are sort of from popular imagery.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46The sailor didn't sit thinking, "Oh, I'll do Britannia."
0:31:46 > 0:31:50- No.- He had something to copy, so this piece represents that tradition
0:31:50 > 0:31:54- and in fact there's a walrus about to be slaughtered there.- Yes.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Some of these come from the same popular imagery as a Staffordshire figure.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03That's the same date probably as a Staffordshire pottery figure, the 1840s,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07- and the popular imagery is from a similar printed source.- Right.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12So that in a sense is, is very nice, but what one would expect.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I mean this is the one that I find particularly exciting,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17those images I'm used to...
0:32:17 > 0:32:21This is quite different because you've got these primitive matchstick men...
0:32:21 > 0:32:23it's really very crude.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25You've got people in boats,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29you've got all sorts of things going on, these very, very crude ships.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31These could be earlier.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- We could be going back to the 1820s with this.- Really?
0:32:34 > 0:32:35The other thing is, what is it?
0:32:35 > 0:32:42Now this is probably a stay busk and this is what sailors gave their girls
0:32:42 > 0:32:47and it was inserted into their stays and so it had intimate contact.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49- Oh.- So it was like a love token.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53So you sat there out in the Arctic North carving away,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55then you rushed home and you gave it to your girl,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00- who immediately plunged it... - It would be near your sweetheart's heart.- Exactly.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04So that's what that is. They are expensive these things, there is no doubt.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07I mean a group like this is going to be...
0:33:07 > 0:33:09£2,000, something like that.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11That really is amazing.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16- Where did you dig this thing up? - In my back garden.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19I think it's extraordinary, and where is your back garden?
0:33:19 > 0:33:22It's in a farmhouse on the edge of Dartmoor.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25So this you found in Dartmoor?
0:33:25 > 0:33:27- On Dartmoor, yes.- On Dartmoor.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32- In the garden...- It's what's called a char dish for potted fish,
0:33:32 > 0:33:37- and they were made in Lancashire.- Oh!
0:33:37 > 0:33:42It was this, the char dish generally is made in the Liverpool area,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45either in delft or in this case,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49I think in pearlware which is a slightly blue glazed earthenware.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54- Yes.- But an exciting thing of discovering a 1790s dish like this,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56- in your garden, it's amazing.- Yes.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I think you should do some more digging.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04I mean I'm afraid the condition is poor, but you could have it tidied up
0:34:04 > 0:34:06and it would then be worth £200 or £300...
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- But you didn't dig this up? - No I didn't dig that up.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13That belonged to my grandfather and then passed down to my parents
0:34:13 > 0:34:15and eventually came to me.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It used to frighten me because of the face of the monkey.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21- I think he's quite benign. - Well, I didn't when I was four.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Oh, I see, yes, yes, yes.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Er, this was made in China in 1760-1770.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Oh, as early as that?
0:34:29 > 0:34:36Yes, for export to Europe, er, and they normally come in twos.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Yes, I've got another one.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41And what's the condition of the other one?
0:34:41 > 0:34:42The other one has a broken arm.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46The arm that is clasping in the front, the elbow's missing.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- Actually missing?- Yes. - That's a great pity.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52People love them because they're really quite zany animals, aren't they?
0:34:52 > 0:34:55- Yes.- They have a naive charm.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Slightly curious that they both face the same way.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00It would be better if they didn't,
0:35:00 > 0:35:06and if they both face different ways they will be worth more than they are now,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11- which is still about £3,000 - for the two of them.- Good grief!
0:35:12 > 0:35:16And now we come to the third element of this wonderful group.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19This is made of enamel,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21enamel on copper and, of course,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25the great centre for making these pieces was Limoges.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30- Yes. - And this is a 16th-century piece,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34down there it says, "Aoust" - August.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37It's lost, it's lost the "s" nowadays in French
0:35:37 > 0:35:40because they put a circumflex on the top, don't they?
0:35:40 > 0:35:44- Yes.- Er, its surface is a bit mucky
0:35:44 > 0:35:47and it's suffered a little bit round the edge,
0:35:47 > 0:35:51but it is basically in very nice condition.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56These were very much collector's pieces that they had in their cabinets.
0:35:56 > 0:36:03So we've got August with the harvest going on, these are very expensive.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06This one, as I say, is a bit nibbled round the edge,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09but I still think you're looking at...
0:36:09 > 0:36:13£2,000 or £3,000 for this as well.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Yes, well, well, well.- So...
0:36:16 > 0:36:19What an amazing gamut of things, I mean, brilliant!
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Is it something you've had a while or not?
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Um, about three and half years, since my grandfather died.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29- So he left it to you?- That's right.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32- And you've done nothing to it because...- No.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34..it's fairly... I won't use the word "rough"
0:36:34 > 0:36:37because that sounds rude, but it's in untouched condition.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Do you have it going at home?
0:36:39 > 0:36:41Er, no, no, we don't.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43So do you know what sort of date it is?
0:36:43 > 0:36:48Well, um, we have had it valued back in '91
0:36:48 > 0:36:53and my understanding was that it was approximately 1780.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57I think that's a pretty good guess, give or take five years.
0:36:57 > 0:37:03Here we are, signed by William Allam of London who was a very nice maker,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06made some superb watches and also good English bracket clocks.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11He started work in the 1740s right through until about the 1780s.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14We've got twin subsidiaries, one is fairly obviously strike
0:37:14 > 0:37:17and silent to switch off the strike.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19And do you know what this one here is?
0:37:19 > 0:37:22No, not really, no.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26It sort of goes from zero to 60, some people might be tempted to think it's seconds.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30It's not, it's actually, it's what we call a rise and fall
0:37:30 > 0:37:34that works on a cam that lifts the pendulum up and down.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39We've got the mock pendulum here and I'll show you how that works.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Literally like this, now... Oh, gosh, why have you...
0:37:42 > 0:37:44why have you got this paper in here?
0:37:44 > 0:37:48I put that wadding in to keep that pendulum from swinging about
0:37:48 > 0:37:50because it was knocking in the car.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53- Look, here's the pendulum lock, so you just pop it in there.- Oh, right.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57That's it, it's rigid and you can move the clock, it's locked there for ever.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00- Fantastic, yeah. - But if I release that,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03and then I can show you just by moving the pendulum
0:38:03 > 0:38:06how that mock pendulum is working now
0:38:06 > 0:38:11and do you see there it's just swinging within that aperture?
0:38:11 > 0:38:12Right, yeah.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14And that meant in the old days
0:38:14 > 0:38:17that if it was sitting on a table or a mantelpiece,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19you could see at a glance that it was running.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- Right.- So there we are...
0:38:21 > 0:38:24It's, I think, a very pretty clock,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28it has an anchor escapement and, in all honesty, with that mock,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32that mock pendulum, it is more likely that it was verge
0:38:32 > 0:38:34and it's been converted to anchor.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37The case is what we call an inverted bell top
0:38:37 > 0:38:40and it's ebony-veneered, it's not too big,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44- you know the joy of these bracket clocks is the small size.- Yeah.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48If it was significantly bigger, it would be less value.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52So what was the valuation that you mentioned in 1991?
0:38:52 > 0:38:54I believe it was just over £2,000.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Right, so what do you reckon it could be today?
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Um, possibly £2,500 maybe £3,000, tops, I would imagine.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Well, I think you'll be pretty pleased because in this state,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08at auction it would make between £5,000 and £6,000.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11- Right.- And in full retail condition,
0:39:11 > 0:39:16I could see it retailing for just over £10,000.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17Wow.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21This is a wonderful and very grand piece of furniture.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25It's a side cabinet of a form that's known in France as a meuble d'appui -
0:39:25 > 0:39:27- a side cabinet.- Oh, right.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30It looks as though it's fallen straight out of a French palace.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Can you tell me anything about it, how you came by it?
0:39:33 > 0:39:39Well, basically it was in the house when my father-in-law bought it, back in 1958.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And an antique collector had lived there for several years,
0:39:43 > 0:39:47he died and we just kept it and then my mother-in-law,
0:39:47 > 0:39:52back in 1980, brought down this copy
0:39:52 > 0:39:54and she said, "There, it looks identical,"
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and it was in the Palace of Monaco.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00So it did come out of a nearly French palace.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03But we really didn't know anything about it...
0:40:03 > 0:40:06other than we thought it's obviously a copy.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09But then a few years back, on Christmas Eve,
0:40:09 > 0:40:15um, I was taking some glasses out of it and the hinges were broken on this side
0:40:15 > 0:40:20and as I opened the door, the other side, this door fell out, there was a newspaper in French...
0:40:20 > 0:40:22- Yes.- ..behind the door.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26So we took it to someone and they translated it,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29we read a bit about it, but it appeared
0:40:29 > 0:40:34that there were two made for the French Exhibition in 1851.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Are you sure it's 1851 or is it 1855?
0:40:37 > 0:40:40It might have been 1855, I know it was the 1850s.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45There was an exhibition in Paris in 1855 and that's exactly the period of this piece.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47- Really.- So it's quite feasible.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52When I was working in France, South of France, I went to Monaco,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55to actually go and see the piece that was in the palace there
0:40:55 > 0:40:58and you can see it in the postcard there.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02- Fascinating, yes, absolutely. - And I asked them for some information about it...
0:41:02 > 0:41:04which they weren't very forthcoming with...
0:41:04 > 0:41:07but on the historical tour, on the headset,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10they talked about a Japanese piece with some semi-precious stones.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15So whether that one is Japanese and then this was a French copy
0:41:15 > 0:41:18made of it for the Exhibition, we don't know.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22- We're hoping you can tell us some more.- OK, not Japanese...
0:41:22 > 0:41:27I'm not sure where that came from. Um, it's, it is French.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It's in Napoleon III style.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35It very likely dates from precisely when you said, from the 1850s.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41In style, it owes to earlier French furniture,
0:41:41 > 0:41:47things from the late 17th century, made in the Gobelin factory in Paris.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53Designs by people like Andre Charles Boulle who was a cabinet maker to Louis Quatorze, to Louis XIV.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59And there are many features on this which you actually find on 17th and early 18th-century furniture.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03This, however, is made, as I said, in the mid-19th century
0:42:03 > 0:42:08and I think it is undoubtedly made by the same cabinet maker as this piece
0:42:08 > 0:42:10that's in Monte Carlo, um...
0:42:10 > 0:42:15That one's in a lot better condition, very shiny as against this one.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17With all the bits fallen off...
0:42:17 > 0:42:19We can come onto the condition questions with this,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23you obviously have lost quite a lot of the hard stones.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25We've got a few of them at home.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29Keep them and they can be re-applied. It can certainly be restored.
0:42:29 > 0:42:35The mounts here are absolutely comparable to the ones you find on 18th-century furniture.
0:42:35 > 0:42:41It's got a wooden top and one would expect this to have a marble top -
0:42:41 > 0:42:43a thick marble slab. And I notice...
0:42:43 > 0:42:49- I think that one did.- Looking at this one, it's got mottling on, that's missing, that can be replaced,
0:42:49 > 0:42:54but it would undoubtedly benefit from a considerable amount of tender loving care.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59It's just, it's looking a little sad and if you can imagine it just brought back.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04Er, the little bits of brass inlay that are lifting at the side, that I noticed,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07- the bits of veneer are missing, if those could be returned...- Yes.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12..you would have something that looked, you know, palatial as I guessed at the beginning.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16Um, once it's restored...
0:43:16 > 0:43:19I think it's something that really ought to be insured
0:43:19 > 0:43:21- for something like £15,000.- Really?
0:43:21 > 0:43:26- I think in its present state, it's probably worth about half of that. - Yes, right.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29- Thank you for bringing it in. - Thank you very much.- OK.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32And with that, I do believe we've come to the end of the road
0:43:32 > 0:43:34for this particular season.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36We all need a fresh set of tyres.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39But for now, from Dartington Hall in Devon, goodbye.