0:00:30 > 0:00:32Any director of period drama
0:00:32 > 0:00:36worth his salt will inevitably find his way to where we've come today.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40This part of Somerset is Oscar-winning territory.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Roadshow Productions proudly presents Montacute House.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57The Oscar was a result of a visit here in the summer of 1995
0:00:57 > 0:01:04of a distinguished cast and crew to shoot some of the final scenes for Jane Austen's Sense And Sensibility.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09OK, here's the storyline - the disillusioned Dashwood sisters have just arrived from London.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Their lack of fortune has sealed their fate, rather like the original residents here, the Phelips family,
0:01:14 > 0:01:21who down on their luck sold all the family silver before leaving for ever in 1911, but I digress.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The Dashwoods have arrived from London.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Marianne immediately goes in search of her beloved Willoughby.
0:01:27 > 0:01:35She crosses the east court into the open countryside which surrounds Montacute's 25 acres of grounds.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Cue Eleanor, played by Emma Thompson, to observe anxiously from the library.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45This was the ideal vantage point for the director to film Marianne's progress.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49When Marianne doesn't return, there's a great deal of floor pacing,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53mostly here in the Great Hall, which it has to be said is perfect for pacing,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55as our sound man will agree.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00It all ends with a collective sigh of relief when Colonel Brandon bursts through the door
0:02:00 > 0:02:02with a dripping Marianne in his arms.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Tissues all round, roll the credits.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12Even Montacute village got in on the Sense And Sensibility action, stealing a scene or two.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Today, another epic drama of treasures lost and found.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Lights, camera, cue the experts.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24What are the marks? Did you nick it from the library?!
0:02:24 > 0:02:27That's a very good question, I think we'll start there.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30They're beacons of horror. Where did they come from?
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- It's obviously a library. - It's from Czech Republic.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35- Czech Republic? - Czech Republic Library.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38What was it doing in the Czech Public Library?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- It belongs to my sister, she got it like a gift from my mum's friend.- Yes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And he was a teacher in a college and they had a, you know, library or whatever.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- I think he got it from there. - That's a jolly nice gift.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Here we are, it's Observations On The Theory And Practice Of Landscape Gardening by Humphrey Repton.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Now this book, I mean, the Landscape Gardening is a fabulous book,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02but it has to be one of the biggest pieces of advertising,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07most expensive pieces of advertising that anybody in 1803 could possibly do.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09- Oh, wow.- It's just quite incredible.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Humphrey Repton was a man who designed parklands for the rich and famous,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and he used to do things called Red Books,
0:03:18 > 0:03:23which he actually wrote out what he was going to do, a sort of a proposal,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27and they were all full of watercolours and all that sort of thing,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30but then, because he was so popular, he decided to publish this,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34and this is very exciting, it's a wonderful book because...
0:03:34 > 0:03:40Let's have a look at Plate One, and what we've got here is Wentworth in Yorkshire.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Here is a view of a little quarry and people quarrying things out there.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50There's a rather nice tower there, and this is how he proposes that he's going to make it.
0:03:50 > 0:03:56We take that off there, he's made the quarry into a rather nice sort of open parkland.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Here are the deer, and there are the coach and horses going along there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03They're absolutely wonderful, glorious plates.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Here we are, West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08What I'd have thought was a perfectly nice lake...
0:04:08 > 0:04:11but Humphrey can do much better than that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Make a way so that you can actually see to the house there,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19which means cutting all that down
0:04:19 > 0:04:21and I assume making the lake a little bit bigger.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24It's wonderful. Put that back.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Last but by no means least, we come to this magnificent beast.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32A general view of Bayham.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36- Now that's a perfectly ordinary view really, isn't it?- It is.- It is?
0:04:36 > 0:04:41But it is absolutely remarkable, the way he transforms Bayham.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43- There we are.- Lovely, isn't it?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Lake, castle...
0:04:46 > 0:04:48He did everything and, of course, this is all...
0:04:48 > 0:04:52They didn't have diggers apart from hand diggers. There were no machines.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56- You say it's not yours, that it's your sister's.- It's my sister's.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Let's have a look at the binding.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Binding, the binding's certainly not contemporary.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08I would have thought late 19th century, and it is coming out of its binding, too.
0:05:08 > 0:05:14- Yeah, it is.- So it's got quite a lot of repair that needs to happen to it.- All right.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18It's such a funny thing to find on the continent, really. It's a very English book.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- It is very English. - Very English book.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25If it was in fabulous condition, let's go for that one first,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27that's the good news, or rather it's the bad news,
0:05:27 > 0:05:34- because I would say that in really super condition this would be worth £5,000.- Right.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40The bad news is that I suspect that in the condition it's in, probably £2,500 would be more like it.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41That's good, anyway!
0:05:41 > 0:05:47Well, a tremendous glaze, a wonderful glaze on a straightforward jug,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51but there's something special about the jug.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And it's the handle.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Now you tell me about this.
0:05:56 > 0:06:03It spent many years in an Antwerp flat of my husband's grandparents.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09- Yes.- And all I know is that whenever Grandpa came down the stairs and passed it,
0:06:09 > 0:06:10he couldn't resist stroking it.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14He couldn't resist stroking it. Well, you can see that, can't you?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17It is a beautifully-sculpted figure.
0:06:17 > 0:06:24- It's unusual to see something as well-sculpted like this on a straightforward jug after all.- Yes.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- Now you can date this piece actually by the figure.- Oh.
0:06:28 > 0:06:36Because our notions of beauty change over time, so what is the perfect female ideal in the 1960s, Twiggy,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40- is not the perfect female ideal around the year 1900.- Yes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44When in fact the fuller figure was thought to be more fetching
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and not only that, but her hair-do, this classic chignon,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52the way her hair is sort of brought up at the back into the chignon,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57That is absolutely typical of the Art Nouveau period.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01The Art Nouveau basically is a fantastic movement.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It emerges through the late 19th century,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07it's essentially inspired by Japanese design.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13But at its heart is sex, organic growth.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19I think you feel all of these things at work in this jug. You can see...
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Are these butterfly wings or are they petals?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- Flower, leaves. - Leaves, leaves coming out.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30So the whole notion of growth, and she's looking into it, tip-toe.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Even her toes have been picked out
0:07:32 > 0:07:36- with a tiny, tiny bit of colour there.- Yes, yes.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42Now this is the mark of a Hungarian factory in Budapest called Zsolnay,
0:07:42 > 0:07:48one of the best potteries producing Art Nouveau pottery in that period.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Absolutely stunning, beautiful thing.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Well, you're going to have to insure it. I guess
0:07:53 > 0:07:57if you insure that for somewhere in the region of...
0:07:57 > 0:08:00let's say, £2,500.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01Really? Gosh!
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Better not drop it, had we?
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Four and 20 ponies trotting through the dark
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Brandy for the parson Baccy for the clerk
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Laces for a lady Letters for a spy...
0:08:13 > 0:08:18And lace! Here we are in the centre of the lace-making industry.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Honiton is very close by, and we're surrounded by Honiton lace.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26And Honiton lace, as well as all other sorts of lace
0:08:26 > 0:08:30- in the 18th and 19th centuries was incredibly desirable, wasn't it? - It was, yes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- Much more valuable than jewellery. - And that was because of the time?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37The time, yes. Approximately 10 hours for a square inch.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42- For example, we have a wedding veil at the museum which cost £84 in 1868.- My goodness.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46And that was an average man's annual salary then.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50So the question is, would you pay an average man's annual salary now for a wedding veil?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- I don't think so. - Unlikely, I have to say.
0:08:53 > 0:08:59The thing that I suppose most people will know is that Queen Victoria used Honiton...
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- Yes, she did.- ..to make the lace for her wedding veil.- Yes, she did.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07But up until then, was Honiton really looked at as a prize lace-making area?
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Yes, it was, but maybe not quite as much as Brussels, but yes, it was,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and the motifs that we make are much more realistic to nature.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Yes, if one looks at some of these wonderful motifs, there are roses...
0:09:21 > 0:09:26On this piece here, we've got a lovely horse chestnut leaf
0:09:26 > 0:09:28which fits so beautifully into the corners.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34On the lappet over here, we've got a little mermaid down at the end and so on.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37The actual way that the lace is made...
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- It was made in a cottage-industry system.- Yes, it was.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45You'd have somebody who was a specialist in horse chestnut leaves
0:09:45 > 0:09:46who'd do nothing but those.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- That's right. - And then what happened?
0:09:48 > 0:09:51The chief lady, she would gather it all together
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and you would go in and say, "I would like a handkerchief."
0:09:54 > 0:09:58She would look at her motifs and you'd say, "I like those on the corner,"
0:09:58 > 0:10:00and it would be assembled for you.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- It was the putting together that was the real skill?- Yes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07And when one looks at something like this,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11- which is obviously a hand-made net. - Yes, it is.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13At some point that was mechanised, wasn't it?
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Yes. In about 1820, Heathcoat came to Tiverton,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22and he came and watched the lace-makers and he soon had a net-making machine.
0:10:22 > 0:10:28Of course the industry went right down from practically everybody having hand-made net,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31£5 maybe a square yard,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34to 5p - I mean, it was, like, nothing.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38So, that must have absolutely collapsed the industry.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42It did. It was the end of earning your living, be it a poor living,
0:10:42 > 0:10:49but it carried on and carried on and of course it's a hobby today, and I've been teaching for 32 years.
0:10:49 > 0:10:50Amazing. And the future of lace?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Do you think there is a future?
0:10:52 > 0:10:56I hope there is, but we've got to work hard at making sure.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00It's been made in Honiton for over 400 years and we're not about to let it stop.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06Well, it came from a friend who, um, I've known for many years.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07- OK.- I didn't know he had it.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Yeah, does he know what it is?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12- No, he hadn't the faintest idea and none of his friends have.- Right.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16- None whatsoever.- So he sent you down as his ambassador.- Yeah.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19We love quirky and unusually-shaped objects on the Roadshow.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22In a sense, you know, there's a connection between this
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and this very magnificent wristwatch you've got.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- Oh.- This is a time-keeping device.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32I'm keeping a bit hush because my colleague on the clock section of the Roadshow saw this
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and came rushing over, and I said, "No, I'm doing that."
0:11:35 > 0:11:40- Ah.- It's basically a whale oil lamp, spout lamp.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47It was almost certainly made in the Low Countries, probably Dutch, circa 1800.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52It all happened at the top here in this wonderful glass cistern.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57So this is where you would put your whale oil, possibly a fish oil,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and of course you had to know how quickly the oil was going to burn
0:12:01 > 0:12:05because down the side of the reservoir,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08in a strip of pewter, is marked the hours.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12And of course you would have a wick protruding,
0:12:12 > 0:12:13and the wick would burn away,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16so it gave you light and time-keeping at the same time.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Oh, I understand, yeah.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21So, where did your friend get it from? It's an unusual thing...
0:12:21 > 0:12:26Well, between him and his wife and relations and all that,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28they moved all house and things,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- and some of the stuff all got put into the loft where he is now.- OK.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37And then some years ago they started sorting through it, and found that.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42Yeah. Believe it or not, these are quite rare because obviously a lot did get thrown away.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I'm sure they weren't very good time keepers.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49They probably made a hell of a stink as far as the actual lamp was concerned.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51- Probably did.- Fish oil.- Yeah!
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- And because of that, they're quite scarce.- Yeah.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Well, you know you'll have to sort of
0:12:57 > 0:13:01go back to your friend rather sort of steadily
0:13:01 > 0:13:04because it's worth at auction between £600 and £1,000.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- I'm sure he'll be very pleased. - Excellent.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17What appears to be two fabulous bits of very early furniture, right?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20One of them is 1920.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The other one is earlier. Now which do you think it is?!
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- I would think this must be the 1920 one, then.- Yeah.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Why do you think that?
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Because the drawers inside were glued, they weren't dove-tailed.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40- OK.- It didn't look like it was properly made by a carpenter.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- OK, the drawers in this one?- Yes.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49A-ha! This looks very fresh, doesn't it?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- Yeah.- Very fresh.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Quite right. This is glued, this is glued.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- That looks like quite an old thing. - OK.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Well, we'd better start telling you what to look for.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10We'll start with this one.
0:14:10 > 0:14:18It's an inlaid front with geometric style in the continental manner.
0:14:18 > 0:14:25Here you've got a panel which shows architecture with different-coloured stained woods,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and as early as the 16th century they were staining sycamore
0:14:28 > 0:14:30with oxide of iron to make it bright green.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35This would have been the most wonderful colours, and time has mellowed it.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37But the thing about old furniture -
0:14:37 > 0:14:41GOOD old furniture was made very precisely.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46It was made with great finesse, it was never ever crudely made,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49otherwise it wouldn't have lasted this long.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Let's come back to where we were and now we look again inside.
0:14:52 > 0:14:59Here you've got the most wonderful clean look, as I said earlier, but why shouldn't it be?
0:14:59 > 0:15:00It's a candle box.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03This was done with extreme care.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I mean, this is actually chipped out of this oak,
0:15:06 > 0:15:11which is very hard and geometrically inlaid - very difficult.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13So in fact,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16the newer it looks,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20- the more old it's likely to be. OK? - Very perverse.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Yes, it is. Irrespective of the drawers which are glued together,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28they were using animal glues, they didn't have to be joined.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34Let's look at this one. This one, we will take it, maybe 1580.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39Here we imported more work, more style, more design from the continent,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41in this case mostly Holland.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46- Split-turn columns, inlays of mother-of-pearl and ivory now.- Yep.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49But this is quite crude,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53this is quite crude... And it has signs of wear where you wouldn't expect it.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Let's have a look at the bottom here. We open one of these,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01and that one... Now look here, for example.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02See all these scratches?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- Mm-hmm.- Why would you have those scratches there?
0:16:05 > 0:16:10If you wouldn't scratch the inside of a candle box, or the outside, why would you scratch here?
0:16:10 > 0:16:17This was made in 1920, between 1900 and 1920, in the style of the 1640s.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21For final proof, if you can give me a hand just to pull that drawer,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I want to look at the inside of the drawer.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Now look at all this white wood here.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Yes. New.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Now there's enough patination there for 100 years,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36so it's 1905 or 19-whatever.
0:16:36 > 0:16:42The point is, that there is not enough age in it to have oxidised, or the timber to become oxidised.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46So this one is the copy - I won't say it's a fake.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48It's a copy.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54In its own right, it's an interesting thing, but it's just not an antique,
0:16:54 > 0:16:59whereas that one, 1580s, the genuine article, on a new base,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03but otherwise wonderful and very rare.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09- So this one today for insurance purposes, oh, between £800 and £1,000.- Right.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12This one, er...
0:17:12 > 0:17:19restored with feet replaced, and in what we call concourse condition,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22would cost somewhere in the region of £5,000.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24As it is, probably £2,000 on the open market.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- Excellent. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- What made you bring it? - It's such a tiddly little thing,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35I thought I'd bring it along and see what the comments were.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Very... Yes, and very portable, this tiddly little thing, isn't it?
0:17:38 > 0:17:41And tell me what you know about it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I purchased it at a boot fair in a box
0:17:44 > 0:17:48with small doll's house pieces in.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53Then I realised what the mark was on the bottom.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57I've met the lady who I purchased it from, at a later date.
0:17:57 > 0:18:04We believe it was probably given as a gift after a Russian ship had come into Gosport in 1912.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06That's interesting. Then the mark underneath...
0:18:06 > 0:18:10What were you referring to about the mark underneath? What did you find?
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Well, is the first word, "Elena", a ship?
0:18:14 > 0:18:21The second word, we understand it to be the northern port of Russia.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Yes, well, it's certainly written in Cyrillic and it's certainly dated.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26That's a marvellous story
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and it's difficult for me to substantiate it at the moment.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I don't think that something that
0:18:31 > 0:18:35came from a ship would have such an intensely personal inscription on it,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38because this is not only an engraving,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40but it's a facsimile of somebody's handwriting.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42What we can be absolutely sure of
0:18:42 > 0:18:46- is that it says Elena, and that it's 1912.- Yes.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47That's convenient because it is
0:18:47 > 0:18:50pre-Revolutionary Russian. What about the mark there?
0:18:50 > 0:18:53That furry mark above - did you ever think about that one?
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Well, I have been told what it could be.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Yes, and what did they tell you that it could be?
0:19:00 > 0:19:01They said it could be Faberge.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Well, it absolutely is Faberge.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06And it's Faberge written in Cyrillic
0:19:06 > 0:19:10underneath the imperial arms of Nicholas and Alexandra.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- And you bought it at a boot fair for how much?- £5.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- £5. Do you think you overdid it?- Yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Do you?!
0:19:18 > 0:19:21I don't share that opinion actually, because it's perfect.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It says everything about Faberge in this particular mood,
0:19:25 > 0:19:30and I think one should put it down for £2,500.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- Goodness me!- >
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Gracious. Well, the best investment I've made recently!
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Certainly better than any investment I'VE ever made, I must say!
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Absolutely magnificent view of Mont Blanc.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Yes, it is lovely, isn't it?
0:19:49 > 0:19:53- That's not just lovely, it's grand, isn't it?- Yes.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56I don't know it at all, I've been to Switzerland, I don't know that area,
0:19:56 > 0:20:03but friends of mine who do know it say that this valley is exactly the same now.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07I don't think it's changed except it has lots of chalets dotted around on the hill.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Oh, has it? Oh, yes.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14For rich people to ski from. But what we're standing on, as it were, is the Col de Balme,
0:20:14 > 0:20:21which is at the head of the Chamonix Valley looking west up the valley to Mont Blanc here.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It's signed and dated down here by William Collingwood Smith.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- Yes, that's right, yes. - And it's dated 1860.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32I knew it was quite early, yes.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- Yes, early.- Because it belonged to a
0:20:35 > 0:20:39great aunt of mine and her husband, and I've known it all my life.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I remember it in her house first,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and then it was in my mother's before it came to me.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Right, so you've grown up with it as well?
0:20:47 > 0:20:49I've grown up with it, yes, I know it well.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It must have been a tremendously romantic thing to grow up with.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53Well, it is rather.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Well, it's a big subject and it needs a big scale, and it really works.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- I just love this romantic cloud coming in here.- Yes.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Because that kind of sits on a temperature differential, doesn't it, the cloud?
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- It really does look like that, as if it's on mirror glass...- Yes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10cutting the valley in half that way,
0:21:10 > 0:21:15- and gives a fantastic impression of scale down there. - Yes, it does, doesn't it?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- And then whoosh up to the mountain at the end.- Up to the distance, yes.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I've seen few pictures by him, but never anything so big,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- nor in such good condition.- Really?
0:21:23 > 0:21:29At any rate, the mountain itself was climbed in the 18th century.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35- Yes.- So in 1780, some 80 years before this was painted,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38but what's amusing is that 1860
0:21:38 > 0:21:42was the heyday of the British public's fascination
0:21:42 > 0:21:46- with the Alps and everything to do with them.- Yes.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49So I must just tell you about Collingwood Smith's namesake.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51- Yes.- He was called Albert Smith,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55who, about eight years earlier than the painting was painted,
0:21:55 > 0:22:01climbed Mont Blanc. But Albert Smith was an absolutely appalling climber.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Well, he was jolly brave to go up there.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05He was very brave, but he was also very drunk.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Oh, dear, that's probably why.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11He had a glass of champagne every mile or so, going up the mountain.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15And in the end he was so completely insensible with cold and alcohol
0:22:15 > 0:22:18because they didn't wear proper mountaineering clothes,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- they wore ordinary clothes.- Yes.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24He sort of passed out, and his guides had to chip steps in the ice
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and pull him up on a rope, because he was almost unconscious,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and when he finally got to the top,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31he only spent half an hour there,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- enough time to drink quite a lot more champagne...- More champagne.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36..and passed out again, had to be
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- carried back down the mountain. - Good gracious.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- But Albert Smith kept a journal about it.- Yes.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45And Albert Smith found that the English were completely captivated
0:22:45 > 0:22:47by the romance of the mountains,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- and this picture is really painted on the back of that.- Yes.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Anyway, it's completely splendid, a very difficult to value.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59- Have you ever even thought about it properly?- Not at all, haven't thought about it.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04I think I'd be crazy not to put eight, possibly more,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06thousand pounds on this picture.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08- Really?- Yes.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I had had no idea of what it was valued at.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14As I say, it was just a painting I'm very fond of.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23but for this week's collector,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26anything goes, because Rosemary Hawthorn
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- is known officially as The Knicker Lady.- I am.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I must ask you, how did you get into knickers?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- Professionally speaking?- Yes.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Well, Michael, the short answer is
0:23:37 > 0:23:40that I was interested in fashion and costume -
0:23:40 > 0:23:43very interested in it -
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and...but I was particularly interested in underwear.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51I started to collect all sorts of underwear, and then kind of majored in knickers.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54But when did women start wearing knickers?
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Well, surprisingly, it's really about a couple of hundred years ago.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Up till then they didn't wear anything at all, they didn't bother.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03What is the oldest pair you have?
0:24:03 > 0:24:09The oldest pair I have, really, are pantalets, like these.
0:24:09 > 0:24:15- Two separate legs blowing in the wind here.- All for one person?
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Yes! And the danger was the strings might become untied
0:24:19 > 0:24:22and your could lose one of your leg ends.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25But they were made all of this sort of pure cotton?
0:24:25 > 0:24:30Lovely cotton or linen, and then they go on a few more years and we get to where -
0:24:30 > 0:24:33that's sort of about 1800 or so -
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and then we go onto the time of sort of Victoria's on the throne,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and now they've had a rush of modesty,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and they've joined up the waistband.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47These had braces, and they were known as "free-traders"
0:24:47 > 0:24:49and "ever-readys".
0:24:49 > 0:24:52I've just heard of "Alan Whickers", that's as far as it goes.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Oh, yeah, "Alan Whickers".
0:24:54 > 0:25:00Now, these belonged to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05- Herself?- Herself. This pair have sat upon the English throne.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- She was a small woman, I thought... - Well, I think
0:25:09 > 0:25:15they are actually 45-and-a-half inches around the waistband,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19but there is a small cipher at the back, the royal...
0:25:19 > 0:25:23- Very discreet, on the waistband at the back.- It says VR.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Yes, VR and a set number.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Victoria Regina rules the waves.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Look at that.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34- Bless her heart.- But how on earth do you get these things?
0:25:34 > 0:25:37I mean, people don't bequeath their drawers, do they?
0:25:37 > 0:25:38Well, no, there are one or two
0:25:38 > 0:25:40people who have donated to collections.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45I've been collecting for more years than I care to remember,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and as a clergy wife, you see, I have the pick of the jumble.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52So your husband is a vicar?
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Well, he's now retired, but yes, he was a vicar.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Known as the...?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- The Knicker Vicar.- Of course.- Yes.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04And besides that, on one occasion John found a bra,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08and it had been left in the holy water stoup in the church porch.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13So people are really eager to cast off their underclothes.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Sounds almost biblical, doesn't it? - It does.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23I have to say, it's quite extraordinary to see four 1966 World Cup tickets, including the final,
0:26:23 > 0:26:30all signed by what would appear to be the entire England team.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32How on earth do you have that?
0:26:32 > 0:26:38Well, I was fortunate that in September '91
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I took a team out to Singapore to play for a charity match.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Right, so this is this handsome bunch here.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Yes, this is me in the front here.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- Oh, right.- I managed to get Kevin Keegan to come from Spain
0:26:50 > 0:26:54before he started his manager upward career.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- Right.- This is Tony Woodcock.- Ah-ha.
0:26:56 > 0:27:02This is Roger Hunt, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst,
0:27:02 > 0:27:08Gordon Banks, Pat Jennings, Mike England and Martin Peters.
0:27:08 > 0:27:15We played against an international Far East team for charity for the Children's Society of Singapore.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20From then, just before that,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24my elder brother died in Canada.
0:27:24 > 0:27:31My sister-in-law passed me five tickets. She said, "I think Tony would like you to have these,"
0:27:31 > 0:27:34so they all very kindly signed them for me.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38These were old ticket stubs that your brother had kept.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Yes, he went to see them, I was working in Nigeria at the time,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45- and then I was based in Singapore for a long time.- Right.- And I was...
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- Hence this.- Hence this.- Right.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52I mean, it is probably, certainly for English football,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56the defining moment in recent history, really.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Any football collector, whether you're English or German,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02would absolutely love to have one of these.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Obviously the final is worth much more than the others signed,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10but it's difficult because it is quirky that they weren't signed at the time,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13they were signed later, but you do have all of them on it
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- and of course that's not possible to do again now.- No.
0:28:16 > 0:28:22I think they're probably worth somewhere around £15,000 to £20,000.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Oh, my God!
0:28:24 > 0:28:25For the frame.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30Really? Well, I wouldn't sell them, I just come here to get the insurance value.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- Yes.- Because I'm going to pass them on to my son.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38The exciting thing for me about the Roadshow is you never know what's coming out of the bags.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43And when you started to unwrap this from a plastic bag, my heart jumped
0:28:43 > 0:28:47- because I think it's such a wonderful object.- Really?- Yeah, absolutely.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Has it been in your family a long time, or have you just bought it?
0:28:51 > 0:28:57- Well, I think it was probably my mother-in-law's grandparents'.- Right.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01And when my mother-in-law died, I inherited it.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04OK. Were they a farming family?
0:29:04 > 0:29:05Yes, in Devon.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- In Devon.- Yes.- Which part of Devon?
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- Not far from Bideford, I think.- Not far from Bideford.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Well, this jug then has probably been in your family since it was made,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17because it was made very near Bideford.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19We can see it says E Fishley,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and that's for a chap called Edwin Beer Fishley,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24who worked at Fremington in North Devon,
0:29:24 > 0:29:29and it's dated 1851 - so they're a North Devon farming family,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31and they've got this jug
0:29:31 > 0:29:34which has these absolutely super farming motifs.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39It's done in a very naive sgraffito style, so it's been glazed
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and then scratched through, just with the end of a piece of wood.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- Really?- Or a pointed tool. And so you've got this prize bull,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49huge great chest,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51tiny little short legs.
0:29:51 > 0:29:56Then turning it round, the farming motifs continue.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01We've got, "Success to the farmer The plough and the flail
0:30:01 > 0:30:04"Likewise to our commerce
0:30:04 > 0:30:06"With peace in our Isles."
0:30:06 > 0:30:12It's got everything, he's thrown the kitchen sink at this jug, fantastic.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15- They're pretty scarce.- Yes.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19And if this appeared at auction, I would be there trying to buy it,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and £3,000 wouldn't be enough.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- Really?- Really.- Goodness.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29You'll need to insure the jug for £5,000.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Well, chairs that have got this amount of repair
0:30:33 > 0:30:35must have some sort of extraordinary history.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Why is all this like this? What's happened to these?
0:30:38 > 0:30:42It's mainly because they've been through the Battle of Trafalgar.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44- What? Literally?- Literally, yes.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48These were the chairs in the Captain's cabin of the HMS Africa,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51which was one of the ships of line in Trafalgar.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53When was the ship built?
0:30:53 > 0:30:57I think it was built about seven to 10 years before.
0:30:57 > 0:30:581798 or something like that?
0:30:58 > 0:31:02- Yes.- So how many do you have? How many have survived?
0:31:02 > 0:31:09It's a set of 12, and two of them are armchairs and 10 of them are chairs without arms.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Right, you can see all this repair.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15This is certainly very early repair here, all this.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19- That's probably the ship's blacksmith, I should think.- Yes.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Clearly it must have been on the ship
0:31:21 > 0:31:27and they'd have access to this sort of foundry work, fairly light, fairly basic blacksmith's work.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30This repair is clearly 20th century which doesn't matter at all,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32it's just to replace that rail,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35but what's interesting, you say they are a set of 12,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38and we wonder how many have survived, but can you see just down there?
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- Ah, yes.- 14 in Roman numerals.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43- 14.- Clearly there were more than 12.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- More than 12, yeah. - A couple have disappeared.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48We'll have a look around the house at home.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50So you've got 12 of these at home?
0:31:50 > 0:31:53That's absolutely amazing, it's...
0:31:53 > 0:31:56I just can't get over the historical significance about these.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00So this has been inherited, been passed down over generations?
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- Yes, it has, yes.- So what do you know about them as chairs?
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Well, I really don't know anything specific about them as chairs
0:32:07 > 0:32:10except the one burning question that we've always had is
0:32:10 > 0:32:13whether in fact they came from his ship -
0:32:13 > 0:32:15the Africa itself - when it was built.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18In other words they were actually made for the ship,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22or whether in fact they came from a Spanish ship or a French ship.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- How about neither? - Or neither, or Dutch.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- Well, you've got it. They're Dutch.- Is that right?
0:32:27 > 0:32:29- They're Dutch.- Oh, amazing!
0:32:29 > 0:32:32That's why I was so interested to know when the ship was made.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- I've dated these to 1790-1800... - Right.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39..regardless of any history that you know about them, which is fantastic.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41I'd be interested to see if there are
0:32:41 > 0:32:43Admiralty records of that besides.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Was this ship commissioned with Dutch furniture?
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Was there a particular Dutch dealer who was rather active at the time in 1790-1798?
0:32:51 > 0:32:53So how do we value something so historic?
0:32:53 > 0:32:56I take the view that the value is really in the history
0:32:56 > 0:32:58and the personal belongings side of it,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02so it seems to me it's not really something that you could put a value on.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05- OK, well, as a historian, I'm happy with that.- Yeah.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Thank you very much, absolutely amazing.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Have you ever had this looked at?
0:33:10 > 0:33:11I took it into a shop once
0:33:11 > 0:33:16and they said that they thought it was probably worth perhaps £100,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20but I ought to get it looked at by such as yourself, to get a value.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22You would like to know the value?
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Well, I think it is for me something that really appeals.
0:33:26 > 0:33:32This reminds me of when I wake up in the morning, I have a big fig tree in my garden full of birds,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35but I don't see little things like these parakeets
0:33:35 > 0:33:39which are absolutely beautifully done, with their little pink cheeks.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42What's so nice about this is you've got all the shading in the leaf,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46which is extraordinary when you think this is actually made of bronze.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51It's bronze, bronze birds, bronze leaves, cold painted.
0:33:51 > 0:33:57One factory comes to mind when you look at something like this, which is the Bergman factory.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01Now, normally things like this - you'd expect it to be marked.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06If you turn it upside down, there is a mark, and many people fall into the trap here.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10- All this says is, "Patent applied for."- Oh, right.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12So that's not the mark.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16And Bergman things are very collectable.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21- Yes.- This has got all that appeal, it's got real sex appeal in my view.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Well, I think there are many people who would like something like this,
0:34:24 > 0:34:28the vibrancy, the sheer delight of it.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33And a conservative estimate for this would be somewhere in the region of £1,200 to £1,500.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36- Really? Gosh, that's a bit more than £100, isn't it?- Yes.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Now this is a great moment for me because I love postcards.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43I'm not a collector, but I find them irresistible
0:34:43 > 0:34:46because they are moments of time captured for ever.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Now, are you the postcard collector?
0:34:48 > 0:34:51No, they're not mine, they were my brother's.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54When he died, he passed them on to my daughter.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- So she owns them? - Yes, she does.- Lucky girl.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58What was his interest?
0:34:58 > 0:35:01He collected postcards for many, many years
0:35:01 > 0:35:05and he just liked to have any subject within local history,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08- or Burnham and Highbridge. - What started him?
0:35:08 > 0:35:12I think it was just purely he was a great historian, he loved history.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16- Right.- Postcards were one of the easiest and cheapest things to buy.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Well, they are wonderful moments of history,
0:35:18 > 0:35:24- so we've got here obviously albums containing, I presume, local views. - Yes.- How many did he collect?
0:35:24 > 0:35:28Um, it must be nearly 10,000, I should think.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Gosh. Where are they all now?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32All in albums at the moment.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37Right. I love them because, as I say, they are absolutely history as it was lived.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40This pile out of the album, let's look at these.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Most postcards are worth very little money, they're local views,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46they're interesting to people who live there,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49but they don't say anything to the world as a whole.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54Once you get early delivery vans with those boys posing,
0:35:54 > 0:36:00suddenly that moment, in whenever it was, 1910, suddenly comes to life.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05Now there we've got a mining one, the Somerset coalfield,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07but there we see the simplicity,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10the basic-ness of that sort of style of mining,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12again early in the 20th century.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Early flying, Martock, 1911.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Pioneer aviation, and again with a local reference.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23This is what I like, we're really absolutely here and now.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25Now, isn't that great?!
0:36:25 > 0:36:28"Captain Milles' educated dogs, almost human."
0:36:28 > 0:36:30"The Italian Circ. Burnham on Sea".
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Those sort of cards are just great, they're never to be repeated.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Um, he's got thousands like that.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42- Very much so.- Very much so. Now you must be aware that some of these cost quite a lot of money.
0:36:42 > 0:36:43I'm aware some of them are, yes.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46There are cards here that will be worth £100.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51There are cards that will be worth £50, there are lots of cards worth £10 and £20.
0:36:51 > 0:36:58If you've got 10,000 local history cards like this, if you take an average of £10 a card,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02- you know, that's...£100,000.- Yeah.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09Well, we have an alcove each and three crackers between us.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Where did you get these wonderful nutcrackers from?
0:37:11 > 0:37:13These were acquired by my father.
0:37:13 > 0:37:19He was an avid collector of antiques and this would have been in the late '40s and early '50s, after the war.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Did he have a thing about nuts?
0:37:21 > 0:37:26- He did indeed.- He must have had a sense of humour as well. - I think so, yes, yes.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31- He mostly collected Oriental antiques but these obviously appealed to him.- Absolutely.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Now this one's made of walnut.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38- Yes.- And it's a wonderfully carved ape's head wearing a mob cap.- Right.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41- It's almost certainly German.- Is it?
0:37:41 > 0:37:42The eyes are real glass,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46and they've been sort of inset into the well-carved features.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- Yes.- And it might interest you to know that at auction,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53I would put an estimate of between £300 and £500 on that one.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Really? That surprises me, I wouldn't have thought...
0:37:56 > 0:37:59- That's a pleasant surprise. - Absolutely, well, let's move on,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01because this one is even finer quality than that one.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04- Yes, indeed.- This is carved from cherry wood,
0:38:04 > 0:38:10and this gentleman has the most wonderful walrus moustache.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13All things considered, he's from the 1880s.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17- Right.- He would be worth at auction between £400 and £600.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21- Really?- Oh, yes, but it's this one that really took my heart.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26- Yes.- This lovely Bavarian carved example is a rabbit's head.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I love it, it's got little sideburns.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Look at those eyes, really magical.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35People go mad for these, and I would have no hesitation
0:38:35 > 0:38:38- of putting this in at £600 to £800.- Really?
0:38:38 > 0:38:42- So you've got a lot of value in just three nutcrackers.- Indeed.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44- Quite amazing, isn't it? - You're very lucky.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Well, we're sitting in a garden, and in a way this is a little
0:38:49 > 0:38:53celestial garden that you've brought to me today, isn't it?
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Where did these wonderful jewels come from?
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Well, that was left to me by my mother.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03Through my mother from her mother, so I know where that came from.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07- But when our mother died... This is my sister here.- Mm-hmm.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10..we went through various little boxes
0:39:10 > 0:39:13and things of nothing in particular,
0:39:13 > 0:39:18and we each had a choice, and this was my choice.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20I don't even know if it's real.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23We never saw it, my mother never wore it,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26and my father didn't know where it came from, never seen it before.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29My goodness! Well, it certainly is real. It's a most fascinating jewel.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31There was a huge revival for
0:39:31 > 0:39:33everything 18th century in the 19th century,
0:39:33 > 0:39:35and to all intents and purposes
0:39:35 > 0:39:39the use of the enamel, the use of the gem setting,
0:39:39 > 0:39:42the whole composition, is inspired by 18th-century France.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45But we can say with absolute confidence
0:39:45 > 0:39:47that this ISN'T an 18th-century jewel,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49it's an 18th-century revival one,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53and blue enamel, diamonds, a little ruby in the front...
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Turn it over and there's tightly-fitting locket at the back,
0:39:56 > 0:40:01but one would be able to remove that and put a photograph or a lock of hair in there.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02Have you worn it?
0:40:02 > 0:40:05I do, I do wear it, and I love it.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Good, that's marvellous.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09So you love your jewellery - what do
0:40:09 > 0:40:11you feel when you wear the jewellery?
0:40:11 > 0:40:17- I think a sort of regal, I think... Yes.- Do you think it makes you...?
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Yes, well, that's fantastic, it's
0:40:19 > 0:40:22a sort of shot in the arm, or a shot somewhere anyway - with jewellery.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Now tell me about this one, this is a most extraordinary bug, isn't it?
0:40:26 > 0:40:28It's almost a bug that's been living
0:40:28 > 0:40:32too close to Sizewell B, he's gone all blue and shiny, hasn't he?
0:40:32 > 0:40:36He's wonderful. I've always thought
0:40:36 > 0:40:39it was actually bought for my grandmother.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44- And what date would that might have been?- Er, 18...?
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- 1890s.- Yes. - Well, that's absolutely perfect
0:40:47 > 0:40:50because one CAN look at jewellery,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53and it IS dated, and dated by design,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55and that's what we really look for, actually.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59This is a superb gem-set bumble-bee brooch,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02or at least a bee brooch - and a Victorian one.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04But actually, thanks to the box,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06which has been rather carefully preserved,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08we know perfectly well that it was
0:41:08 > 0:41:10made by a firm called LaCloche Freres.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12- It's difficult to decipher. - Isn't it?
0:41:12 > 0:41:15But it's absolutely there and a very distinguished firm
0:41:15 > 0:41:20running in competition with Cartier,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23so there's a maker
0:41:23 > 0:41:25for a superb gem-set bumble bee.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30The thing about the bumble bees is that they are a message, in a way -
0:41:30 > 0:41:32it's a bee, and with the pin,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35it's "bee sure".
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I know, it's rather sort of corny, in a way,
0:41:38 > 0:41:39but it's even more corny when
0:41:39 > 0:41:41the thing's rather conspicuously valuable,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43because the body is made up of rather
0:41:43 > 0:41:45silky-looking Ceylon sapphire, isn't it?
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Although not the most intense colour,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51it's a very, very pleasing colour,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54and very nice bright diamonds
0:41:54 > 0:41:58and rather menacing little ruby eyes.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03And furry feet and antennae and things. Any ideas of value?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Well, I know that Pa had that valued at about £4,000.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10And that, well, we didn't even know it was real so...
0:42:10 > 0:42:13No, no, so that's up for grabs, isn't it?
0:42:13 > 0:42:17My goodness. Well, £4,000, that's a little while ago, because
0:42:17 > 0:42:19I think that's a very desirable thing,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21it's very concentrated, it's very animated,
0:42:21 > 0:42:26it's by a superb maker, and everybody wants this thing.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Honestly they do. And value is to do with
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- measured want - that's all that value is.- Yes.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And I'm going to tell you that in measured want,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38that that's £10,000.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39Good God!
0:42:39 > 0:42:44And measured want again here - not off the hook quite yet.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Not quite the same gasp-making figure,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50but quite enough at, erm, say, £4,500, £5,000.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53That's very gasp,
0:42:53 > 0:42:58if you think that it was sort of loose, and Ma never wore it.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01- Well, superb, thank you very much. - Thank you, lovely.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Well, I think we all agree that went with a bang, which is quite apt,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07as the man who built Montacute House
0:43:07 > 0:43:10opened for the prosecution in the trial of Guy Fawkes.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12There are more interesting facts where that came from, and I shall
0:43:12 > 0:43:16let you have them on our return trip to Montacute House,
0:43:16 > 0:43:17which will be very soon.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Until then, from Somerset, goodbye.