0:00:43 > 0:00:47This week we return to Padstow in Cornwall.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Since its founding, pilgrims have flocked here
0:00:51 > 0:00:54along the ancient pathway known as the Saints Way.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03Today, holidaymakers are still drawn here, but like us, they've arrived by a more direct route.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08We've set up camp at the Elizabethan manor house, Prideaux Place.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12The Prideaux family have lived here for 14 generations,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and a very hospitable clan they are, too.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18So, let's not wear out our welcome. On with Padstow, show two.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24- And what have you got? - Well, it's this, rather unusual.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Oh, yes, do you know what it is?
0:01:29 > 0:01:31I know what it is, yes.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32Go on, tell me.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33It's a cricket cage.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Is that the same as cricket box?
0:01:35 > 0:01:38No, it's not.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39So what do you do with it?
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Chinese Mandarins in the 18th century
0:01:41 > 0:01:44used to carry their pet crickets in it.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47They liked to walk, take them for walks on summer evenings
0:01:47 > 0:01:53and the crickets sang and it's one of those esoteric Chinese pleasures, you know?
0:01:53 > 0:01:54Well, it's an early iPod,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56if you know what an iPod is.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58- Yes.- I don't, I have to say,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- but I gather it's something that zizzes in your ear.- Exactly.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Well, that's what this is.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05As the insect stridulates,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08which is the correct technical term...
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Yeah, yeah, with its legs, yeah.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12This vibrates, and it's a sound box.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Oh, it's a sound box, I see.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14It's very clever.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19The Chinese and indeed, the Japanese, loved to have crickets playing.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21No radio, no television,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24so they had these gourds,
0:02:24 > 0:02:30and they were made from a clay mould
0:02:30 > 0:02:35which was fired and they then grew the gourd inside
0:02:35 > 0:02:39and it took up the decoration that was on the inside of the mould
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and here we've got immortals and rocks
0:02:43 > 0:02:50and with this collar round here, and then of course, the top is ivory.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56And it's been pierced with this beautiful lotus and foliate decoration.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02This actually dates from the Qianlong period which was 1736 to 1795.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- Yes. I thought that, yes. - Mid 18th century.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Very nice.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12The sort of thing which the Chinese market is now quite strong for.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17- It would fetch a good £600 to £900, possibly even £1,000.- Yeah.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Jolly nice, find yourself a...
0:03:19 > 0:03:23- A cricket!- Thank you very much. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Well, she's not exactly an oil painting, is she?
0:03:27 > 0:03:31- No, she's not lovely at all.- Did she used to frighten the children?
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Not really, no, but they just knew that they couldn't touch her.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37- Well, am I allowed to?- Yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Thank you very much. We have here,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I'm pleased to say, a rather unusual doll
0:03:43 > 0:03:48because I'm used to seeing dolls, carved wooden dolls, smiley faces,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51pink cheeks and all the rest of it, but they're usually white,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and to have a black doll is a bit unusual.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59What I'd like to do is to take her down through the layers, if I may.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Yes.- Is that allowed?- There's a lot.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04There are a lot of layers, aren't there?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I have a feeling this might take some time,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09so talk amongst yourselves for a moment
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and we'll get back to this when it's a layer or two down.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14What, what do you do with him?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Well, he just stands as an ornament, really.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20I don't... when you say, "What do I do?"
0:04:20 > 0:04:23What does he do in so far as ringing or belling or whatever?
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Well, that's it, exactly. Inside, we've got this mechanism...
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- Yeah. - ..which is actually a bell.- Yes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33So the idea would be, you're having dinner or something,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37- and mostly they work actually by, say, pressing the tail.- I see, yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41And that then releases the bell mechanism
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and obviously, then your servant comes along and does whatever.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47So, they really are great fun.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51This one almost looks as though the nose should do something as well.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Well, I thought the same actually, but it's never worked since I've had it, so...
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- No, it is all a bit jammed up in there.- It is, yes.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- Could that be put right?- Yes.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06I mean, it really needs somebody like a clock maker, I think,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08or a clock restorer to work on it,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10because they have the necessary skills.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- But to get that working, it needs a little winder on there.- Yeah.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And it'd be great fun, the next dinner party.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- Yeah, brilliant.- Yes.- Absolutely.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- Do you know when it was made? - No idea, and I'd like to ask you.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- Made in London...- Yeah.- ..in 1902. - Right.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28By a chap called William Hornby...
0:05:28 > 0:05:29William Hornby.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33..who actually specialised in quite a lot of these novelty items.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- Oh, right. That's very interesting. - Value?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38No idea.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Well, pigs are popular. Table bells are very sought-after.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43Yes, oh, good, yeah.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48Auction estimate, I should think £1,000, £1,500.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50- Really?- Really.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Well, I'm pleased I came.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58For modesty's sake, shall I keep her drawers on?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00- No, take them off.- Shall I?
0:06:00 > 0:06:03And what are your thoughts about the doll's age?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05I really don't know.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I know she's... I'm about the third generation
0:06:08 > 0:06:10that she's been passed down to and for a certainty,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14she was passed before that, she's always been in the family.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17There are lots of clues, here, about the age of the doll
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and I have to say, that the body is not one of them.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22The body I think has been added later.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Certainly, the lower body has.- Yes.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28The doll herself looks a little bit like a skittle.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Can you see?- She's flat at the back.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34She is, she has this flat area on the back here.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37She wouldn't... She's almost certain to be English.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41She is carved of a soft wood.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The eyes are enamelled and inset.
0:06:44 > 0:06:52And her whole form, the size of her head, the sort of short neck, the sloping shoulders,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56I think that she's dating from the last part of the 18th Century,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59so between 1790 and perhaps 1800.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- That's my feeling.- Gosh.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07She's missing, obviously, the point of her nose there.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09She doesn't have a chin and she has this rather...
0:07:09 > 0:07:12I mean, they look like sort of piranha teeth.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15She looks a bit like a voodoo doll.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Don't say that! I was feeling rather warm and sensitive towards her.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20But she's not lovely.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Her hair, which is nailed onto the head,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27is made of...
0:07:27 > 0:07:32It looks as though it's made of dyed flax? Look, I don't think it's wool.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35I think it's actually fibres, flax fibres that have been dyed.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Yes, I didn't know what it was.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And her whole body has been covered
0:07:40 > 0:07:45with a kind of whiting called "gesso" and then painted black.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51And originally, I would have said her lower legs would have been very similar to her arms.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57- Yes.- This is, this is spurious - that's been done later.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00I find her, actually, rather appealing,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02- don't you?- Mm, I do, I love her.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05- Does she have a name?- Topsy.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Topsy! I like a doll that has a name.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10I didn't call her that. She's always been known as that.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- And do you remember her as a child yourself?- I do.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17I was allowed to look at her and touch her, but never play with her,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and my mother was the same before that.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Which is why she's in reasonably good condition. It's hard to put a price on family.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27I mean some members of one's family are priceless and others actually
0:08:27 > 0:08:30- you'd be happy to give away for a couple of pounds.- True.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34And she's... Topsy has got good things and bad things.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36On the down side, it's her condition -
0:08:36 > 0:08:40the fact that she has new, additional lower legs, but on the up side,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44she's black, and that that sort of balances it out,
0:08:44 > 0:08:49- so I'd say that we'd be talking about between £1,000 and £1,500.- Really?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Oh.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Well, she's not, she's not leaving home.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57So even though she's been seen naked in public,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- she's not allowed to leave home. - No, she's not leaving home.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07So, can you tell me what it felt like when you saw what was apparently
0:09:07 > 0:09:10your bracelet in this newspaper article
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- about Princess Margaret's sale?- Wow!
0:09:12 > 0:09:14LAUGHTER
0:09:14 > 0:09:18I was just absolutely stunned, really, and amazed.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Yeah, I mean, it's a piece of jewellery
0:09:20 > 0:09:24that I don't actually wear very often. In fact, not at all any more.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28- It lives in my underwear drawer. - That sounds like a very nice place!
0:09:28 > 0:09:30There was enormous press coverage
0:09:30 > 0:09:35for what was a very high-profile sale, for obvious reasons.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39And here we see it with this price ticket of £54,000,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42so that must have been a bit of a thrombi-making session!
0:09:42 > 0:09:43- Yes, mm.- Yes, I bet it was.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Well, and here we have two
0:09:46 > 0:09:48gorgeous jewels, one in the form of
0:09:48 > 0:09:53an articulated tiger skin, isn't it?
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Abutting tigers one to another,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59and a brooch en-suite and made of enamelled gold,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03set with diamonds, and tiny little emerald eyes.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Tell us about the history of this for you. Where did it come from?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09It came from Kutchinsky in Bond Street.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It was a gift from my ex-husband.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I also had the ring, but unfortunately, that was stolen
0:10:14 > 0:10:18many years ago. I don't wear the bracelet any more,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20but I do wear the brooch.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Let's see what it looks like when we put it on you, because this is...
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- There's something of the sort of femme fatale in all of this.- Yes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It's a type of jewellery made in 1920s and set with sapphires
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and they were invented by Cartier
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and I feel that Kutchinsky is making tribute to those.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40- And the date of this brooch, of this bangle?- It would be '68, '69.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43So exactly contemporary with Princess Margaret,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45and really, a wonderful thing.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- What do you feel like when you wear it?- Fantastic.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Very good, excellent! Well, I'm not surprised really.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54It suits you very well, I must say. And are there opportunities...
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Do you ever take it out from your underwear drawer?
0:10:56 > 0:10:58No, not really, no. In fact, I sort of...
0:10:58 > 0:11:03I know it sounds awful, but I almost forgot I had it, until last week.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- And then it was a jolt, wasn't it? - It actually fell off my arm once,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and I think that's probably why I don't wear it,
0:11:09 > 0:11:10because I'm afraid of losing it.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13I think that's a risk well worth taking
0:11:13 > 0:11:16because it does look absolutely fantastic there
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and I suppose for a second, we've got to try to consider
0:11:19 > 0:11:26what's the difference between the £54,000 for a royal bangle at auction
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and one that's owned privately,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31that's here in Cornwall.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Unfortunately, it's an absolute gulf of difference.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38I think people wanted to go to the Princess Margaret sale
0:11:38 > 0:11:41to carry something away from her, and she was so glamorous,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46to be in the public eye, in her youth, and so beautiful.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49So it's strange that lightening should strike twice -
0:11:49 > 0:11:53a princess, but also one of the most beautiful women in the world,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57and she had a great sense of style in her clothing and in her jewellery.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Evidently, you have exactly the same sense of style
0:12:00 > 0:12:03which is very, very good news, indeed.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06But, um, but there is a huge gulf of difference and in that sale,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09there was a set of three plastic umbrellas
0:12:09 > 0:12:14that fetched £2,600 and I suppose if we had to take that down,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18or amplify it up, rather, to look at your jewellery,
0:12:18 > 0:12:25the difference between Princess Margaret's bangle at £54,000 and your own with its brooch,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28is that yours is probably worth about £8,000
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and the brooch something like £2,000, but it's just...
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I think value's a complete red herring, really.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38It's simply not relevant and curiously enough,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41that shows that that's true, if nothing else.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- Thank you. - Thank you for bringing it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46It's brilliant where it is. Thank you.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Now, when I first saw this picture,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I noticed on the back, an auction number from a sale in the 1940s.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- That's right. - You're not going to tell me
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- you bought it in the 1940s. - No, I didn't no.- Far too young.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Yes, my mother-in-law bought it at a local auction room.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05She was very interested in art
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and she probably didn't pay very much for it,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11because just being ordinary working class people,
0:13:11 > 0:13:16she had a perchance for art and bought quite a lot, and it's been in the house ever since.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21Have you begun to think who it might be and what it is and what it represents?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Well, it is signed "A Cuyp".
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- "A Cuyp" in the bottom left hand corner. Good and bold.- Yes, it is.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30But we believe, well I don't know,
0:13:30 > 0:13:35but apparently the old masters, when they were young masters,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38they used to just get their students to paint most of their work for them
0:13:38 > 0:13:41and then they finish them off and sign them.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44That's the story that I've got and apart from that,
0:13:44 > 0:13:45I know nothing about it at all.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51Well, Albert Cuyp was one of the most prominent old master painters
0:13:51 > 0:13:54of the 17th century. He died in about 1691.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58And following his death, he just got more and more and more famous.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01So much so, that by the middle of the 18th Century,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04people were scrabbling to get his work.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08There was one collector, an iron master,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11who had over 40 of his paintings.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- Really?- And towards the end of the 18th Century,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17the collecting became so voracious that, believe it or not,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22although this man was born in the Netherlands, there were no Cuyps left in the Netherlands.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- Everyone wanted them. - Yes.- Particularly in England.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30Now when that great collection was sold, many of these paintings made their way to English stately homes
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- and now a lot of them can be found in America.- Yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34So Cuyp was zeitgeist.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Cuyp just hit a nerve with 18th Century taste and sensibility.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- Yes.- And looking at this picture,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42which does represent a Cuyp composition,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and as you point out, has a Cuyp signature,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48looking at it, it's quite interesting to ask the question -
0:14:48 > 0:14:52what was it that did it for 18th Century man?
0:14:52 > 0:14:56What was it about this type of paint, this type of approach,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59that just hit that nerve of exquisite sensitivity?
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Well, I think the answers actually lie in this picture because,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07if you look at the reading and theory on art in the 18th century,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10particularly the work of Joshua Reynolds and his discourses,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12they were a bit frightened of nature.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Man, then, in England, was a little bit scared.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Yes.- But somehow, artists who were able to tame nature,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22make it look less wild, simplify it,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25were those who were the flavour of the month.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28And Cuyp was one of those people who could do that.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Nature being sometimes a little bit rough,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32we've all seen cows in the field.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35They can look a bit soiled and dirty and spooky sometimes.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39He knew exactly how to make them look sedate and gentle,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- almost like great classical rocks.- Yes.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47Now, if this were by Cuyp, it would be worth an awful lot of money,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52and you're already beginning to work out that he had assistants
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- and that it may not be by the big master.- No.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Well, I have to tell you, because of his fame, because this man
0:15:58 > 0:16:02pushed all the buttons, there were a huge amount of copies.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Obviously, yes.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08- So you're pretty well getting to the thought that this might be a follower.- Yes.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13- I'm afraid it's more than a follower. It's a 19th century copyist.- Really?
0:16:13 > 0:16:18If this were by Cuyp, it would be worth many, many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23- Yes.- If it were a studio of Cuyp, or even an assistant of Cuyp,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- it might be, perhaps, 50, 60, £100,000.- Yes.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But I'm really sorry to have to come right down for you on this.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Prepare yourself - it's worth about £1,000.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Oh, well, that's better than nothing, isn't it?
0:16:35 > 0:16:38It was the interest to know, you know, we were just interested.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The value of the painting is...
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Well, it would have been relevant if it had been a real one,
0:16:43 > 0:16:48but it was just the interest of finding out a bit of the history of it and what it was all about.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Well, that's a great attitude.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52- Yes, well, thank you very much. - Pleasure.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56These are the sweetest little pair of pocket pistols
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I've seen for a long time.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01But tell me - what's a girl doing with a pair of pistols?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I was given them by a friend, quite a long time ago.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I'm not quite sure why he gave them to me. I don't know.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08He was a very good friend
0:17:08 > 0:17:12and I don't really know anything about them either, nothing.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15I didn't enquire about them. I was just a little bit shocked.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20They've just been in a drawer, they've travelled all over the country with us and today
0:17:20 > 0:17:23just seemed the perfect chance to find out about them.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- So here I am! - OK, well what you've got here
0:17:26 > 0:17:29are a pair of early 19th century pocket pistols.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Now the fact they're contained in a case, really,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35is because that's the way they were presented.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37That's the way they were bought -
0:17:37 > 0:17:39- a complete kit, if you like to call it that.- OK, yes.
0:17:39 > 0:17:45The pistols have got octagonal turned off barrels, brass box top mounts.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50They're percussion pistols, made in the first half of the 19th Century.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51Beautiful little things.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55And to cock them, you pull back on the hammer and at the same time,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58this little folding trigger flips out.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59If you're worried by a footpad
0:17:59 > 0:18:03or someone who you think is going to do you some danger,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05you simply fire, pull the trigger.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11- Would you keep it in your pocket like that?- Yes, but you would keep them with the trigger folded,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15so nothing catches when you're pulling them out of your pocket.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17What I really like about this cased set
0:18:17 > 0:18:22is this teeny-weeny, absolutely tiny little powder flask.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- It's a real sweetie, isn't it?- It is.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And this is what you would have kept your powder in, your gunpowder.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33You probably kept that in your coat pocket and you could...
0:18:33 > 0:18:35You could keep your balls in the other pocket
0:18:35 > 0:18:40and the whole thing would allow you to load and fire again and again if you wanted to.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And you'd probably get ten or 15 shots out of this.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46The black powder would last you ten or 15 shots.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49You wouldn't actually need an awful lot of powder
0:18:49 > 0:18:51to fire the very small bullet.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- Have you ever thought about value? - I haven't.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- My husband and I actually thought they were duelling pistols... - HE LAUGHS
0:18:58 > 0:19:02- I know...- I shouldn't laugh. No, that's not fair.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- No idea at all, none.- OK. Obviously, it does have a value.
0:19:05 > 0:19:11I think if it came up for auction today, you'd probably get something in the region of £600-£800 for it.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13It's amazing really, isn't it?
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I mean, just for something so little. Golly.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25"Mother Hubbard Deluxe, The Times Furnishing Ltd, London."
0:19:25 > 0:19:29What a cupboard!
0:19:29 > 0:19:36Yes, it's it's a real period piece of, I imagine, 60 or 70 years ago.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38The sort of piece a lot of kitchens had,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41but which a lot of people threw out when they became modern.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Well, you see, that is the whole point, because something like this
0:19:44 > 0:19:51would have been the ultimate, the ultimate thing for the modern woman. Remember we're talking about...
0:19:51 > 0:19:57About 1920, so after the First War, and this is for the sort of professional middle classes.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02The kitchens have got smaller, so here you have this fabulous thing,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06all singing, all dancing, and I'm dying to have a look inside and see
0:20:06 > 0:20:14- what it does, but what I can see from here is you've got this lovely drawer slide enamel work surface.- Yes.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Cutting.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17- Rolling.- Pastry.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22All those things, just at the right height. Is this something you've had or have you acquired it?
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- I bought it at a household auction in Truro about ten years ago.- Right.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Along with, you know, the usual household junk.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31And it just stood out.
0:20:31 > 0:20:37- I think we need a trip round.- A tour round the cabinet.- You take me round your cupboard.- I will indeed.
0:20:37 > 0:20:45The first thing I think you... Is the most interesting is the household wants indicator.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49- Oh, look at that! Isn't that fantastic?- Yeah.- Look what we've got.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53We've got everything that you could possibly want for your shopping list.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57So we've got "bulbs, electric".
0:20:57 > 0:20:59That's very helpful.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02We've got "fruit - dried, fresh and glace".
0:21:02 > 0:21:05- Isn't it fantastic? And look - olives!- I know, surprisingly.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08We think of olives as the really modern thing but here they are.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13So there you've got the storage cupboard. Now what about here?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Yeah, do you want me to open this? This is a...
0:21:16 > 0:21:20tambour-fronted cupboard...
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- with a sprung shelf.- A wobbly shelf.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Now that's interesting.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30You see here, you've got indentations so I would think this must have been
0:21:30 > 0:21:36for somewhere for putting jars of things that needed perhaps being compressed or pressure put on them.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- Yeah.- How extraordinary!
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And then the ventilating hole at the back to keep everything fresh.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- Yes.- So this is acting as a cupboard and a larder.- Yes, it is, yes.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49You've got the mesh there, which a lot of larders have, too.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I'm going to have a look in here. Oh, look! Isn't this fantastic?
0:21:52 > 0:21:56It's a flour sifter.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58- So you put your flour in here... - Yeah.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00- Out it comes here. - There's the sifter there.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03So does this... And out comes the flour here.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Ready to be made into the pastry and rolled here.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08Yup, all in one.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10- Eggs at the back. - Eggs, yup, absolutely.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13What do you think these were for?
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Jars of perhaps spice or sugar or something like that.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17- Yes, sugar, yeah. - Possibly, yeah, I should think so.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21And more cupboard space down here.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26- And there you've got a rolling pin, the original rolling pin there. - Oh, look at that!
0:22:26 > 0:22:32It really is what all, all ladies would have absolutely given their eye teeth to own something like this.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36- Yeah, yup.- And of course what you've got at the bottom is...
0:22:36 > 0:22:38- it's on castors.- That's right.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So you could move it round in the kitchen to get
0:22:41 > 0:22:43exactly the place that you needed it.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Actually made in quite a simple wood.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48I think the wood is probably ash or something like that.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49Is it? Right, yes, I, yeah...
0:22:49 > 0:22:52And I notice that you've been polishing it, which is fine.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58- But what you just need to remember is the more you polish it, the darker the wood will get.- Right.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01So if you like the colour, all you need to do
0:23:01 > 0:23:04from now on, is to give it a good old buff up with the duster.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Right. Not the polishing, yeah.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11But you know, you've made my day and I have to tell you, if you and I had been at the auction together,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I would have competed very, very seriously.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Well, I'm very glad you weren't.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18So what did you pay for it?
0:23:18 > 0:23:23- About £250.- How long? - About ten years ago. Well, that was a lot of money.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25- It was. - You really must have wanted it.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I did want it a lot, and it's given me an enormous amount of pleasure.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34- OK, so £250 ten years ago, and I'd say £600 today.- Right.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38And I think if we went round the group here, there are lots of ladies
0:23:38 > 0:23:42who'd like to own this and I'm, I'm counting myself as one of them.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46So do you love clocks, or is it a hobby, or what is it?
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Yes, it is a hobby, yeah. Got quite a number, yes.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Is this one of your nicest or just something you've pulled out to bring me today?
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It's one of the most interesting, I think.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58That's why I thought I'd like to let you have a look.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- Well, you made a pretty good decision, to be honest.- Yes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- You obviously know it's a lantern clock.- Yeah.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07And do you know this maker at all?
0:24:07 > 0:24:11- Thomas Bradford of London - are you familiar with him? - Not, not really, no.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Well, I have to say that there were two working around just before and just after 1700 and then
0:24:16 > 0:24:20another one recorded from sort of 1700 through to about 1760,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23so I'm not going to try and pretend to you which one it is,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27but I'm going to say to you, this is in my opinion just after 1700.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Yeah.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34And the joy is that at the moment, as I'm looking at it, it's absolutely untouched.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37We'll take off the doors which you know...on all lantern clock doors
0:24:37 > 0:24:40you just lift up, slip the other one off as well...
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Just look at the wheel work in there.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48There is no wear on it. When did you last see this thing running?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Well, I've had it about 15 years.
0:24:51 > 0:24:58My grandfather died in 1947 and to my knowledge it hasn't run since 1947.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01So as a young lad, you never recall seeing it going at all?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04No, no. I never saw this one going.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07I think that's why it's in such fantastic condition.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13I would imagine this rope hasn't been replaced for well in excess of 100 years.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17So often these things have been respiked there,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21so that they accept chains, but this has never been touched.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25I can see under here that it's got a lovely verge escapement.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30- The Victorians messed these things around so badly and this hasn't been got at.- No.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35And that's the joy. This is as honest as you can come across
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and it's miniature, it's so scarce, so I'm probably going to give you...
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Hopefully a rather nice surprise.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Are you?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49As a collector of clocks, and you said you had a few.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- Yeah.- You must have thoughts of what this is worth.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Yes, roughly.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56- Give me a rough thought. - Well, a thousand or so.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59"A thousand or so." Gosh.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Well, I am going to excite you
0:26:03 > 0:26:08because this, at auction today, would make between £6,000 and £8,000.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09It's absolutely stunning.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Now word has reached me you've brought in some local specialities.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- Is that right?- Yes, that is correct.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19What have you got hidden in there?
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Right, well now, this should have something on the bottom, does it?
0:26:22 > 0:26:26- Yup.- Yes, it does, it's Newlyn, so do you know what that means?
0:26:26 > 0:26:27It originates from Newlyn?
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Bang on, yes! It's from the Newlyn Industrial School, which made
0:26:31 > 0:26:35these sort of hand-crafted copper wares in late 19... Oh, God!
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- We've got another one!- Yup, yup.
0:26:38 > 0:26:44- Yeah.- Right. And that's also Newlyn as well and, well, this wonderful because we've got...
0:26:44 > 0:26:48- Do you know what this is?- Troika. - Troika.- And where was that made? - Newlyn.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51I don't need to do my job any more, do I?
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So shall we just hand it back to you and then you can, you can tell me what they are?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- Thank you. - What do you think they are?
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Well, this one we think...
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- Well, an inkwell.- Mm.- Yeah?
0:27:01 > 0:27:02- Right.- Does it need a pot?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Yes, it would have had a glass liner inside but it's a really
0:27:06 > 0:27:12nice example, these sort of octopus decorations are very typical, as indeed are the fish.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14You get sort of ships and little views of St Michael's Mount,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18octopuses, spiky fish and things like that.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24And the Newlyn Industrial School was established in the 1890s, in 1890 in fact.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30It was part of that movement, the Arts and Crafts Movement we call it, where people were interested in
0:27:30 > 0:27:35making industrial crafts and also passing on their skills to local people.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39There's a similar school in Keswick, the Keswick School of Industrial Arts,
0:27:39 > 0:27:44who made very similar products and these were made by local people and it's a very typical example.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Um, this one, if I give that back to you and look at yours, this is typical, as I say,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51particularly sort of fish with nice sort of spiky fins and things.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- What do you think this is?- Letters.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Exactly, a little letter rack, and again there's the mark on the back.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02The great thing about these is the mark, because there's a lot of very similar pieces around, which people
0:28:02 > 0:28:04often say are Newlyn because that makes it more interesting.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07- Right, yes.- But these are definitely marked - that's no problem.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Let's have a look at this bit of Troika.
0:28:09 > 0:28:16Erm, these date, as I say, to the late 19th, early 20th century, circa 1900, give or take ten years.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20- When do you think this one dates to? - No idea.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21- This one dates to the 1970s.- Right.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26So for all it was made in Newlyn just the same, it's a generation later.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30The Troika factory was actually established in 1963 in St Ives
0:28:30 > 0:28:33by two people, Benny Sirota and Leslie Illsley,
0:28:33 > 0:28:38and they started off making quite fine sculptural wares which they found didn't sell.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43So in the '70s they started making this sort of rough textured ware which has become very popular.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45It's really a phenomenon of the internet age.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Pieces like this were in people's homes.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52They became collectible and people started selling them on the internet.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55I haven't asked - are these your pieces or something you've collected...
0:28:55 > 0:28:58- They're our Nan's.- Nan's, yes. - Right, and why can't Nan be here today?
0:28:58 > 0:29:01She's just had an ear infection so she's at home.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04- So she's sent her proxies today. - Yup.- Right. Do you actually like them?
0:29:04 > 0:29:08They're lovely. It's funny because we've all actually got things that we like.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11- Yup, yup.- Was that planned? That seems..
0:29:11 > 0:29:13No, it wasn't! I really like them.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17And have you grown to like them today, or have you always admired them?
0:29:17 > 0:29:20No, no, no, we've always liked them. I've always said to my Nan, I want that in your will.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Well, I think we've got some good news for Nan.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Your piece on the end - £80-£120.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28It's not yours yet, of course!
0:29:28 > 0:29:30Your piece...
0:29:30 > 0:29:34- Um, it's a nice piece, about £150-£180.- Yup. Brilliant.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37And your piece here, about £250-£300.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41- Excellent.- Does that make you love them any more?- Yes.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43That's so shallow, but never mind.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45It's nice you love them.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48A rather angry cat here, I think. Don't you agree?
0:29:48 > 0:29:49I do agree.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54He looks as though he's just kicked that teapot to pieces and of course the one artist
0:29:54 > 0:30:01that one knows who does cats and dogs and humorous pictures, is Louis Wain.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06And, er, you've got... Almost like a page from an album here.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10- And you've had these quite a long time?- Yes, nearly 50 years. - Round about.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13- Have you?- Yes.- I see there's a label on the back that says "Tuck".
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Raphael Tuck and Sons. They were fine art publishers.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19And did they publish these pictures?
0:30:19 > 0:30:24Yes, they published those, yes. Published them either as a whole piece or as little individual cards.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27- Well, I'm glad you kept them after you working for Tucks and you kept them.- Yes.
0:30:27 > 0:30:33Because Louis Wain's very interesting because he was born in 1860 and he started doing work for
0:30:33 > 0:30:39the Illustrated London News in the early 20th century but of course then
0:30:39 > 0:30:46he went on to doing these humorous pictures of cats and he became so famous there was a Louis Wain Annual.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51- That's right.- And unfortunately he was incarcerated into a mental home in 1924.
0:30:51 > 0:30:5324.
0:30:53 > 0:31:00When he was there, he was forgotten about and somebody went into the mental home and saw this person
0:31:00 > 0:31:04drawing cats and dogs and said "Oh, you draw just like Louis Wain"
0:31:04 > 0:31:05and he said "Well, I AM Louis Wain"
0:31:05 > 0:31:13and this chap was very shocked and he was quite well to do and he got a subscription going to, erm,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16rescue him from this home, to put him into a nicer home.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19And he was moved. They raised enough money through famous people
0:31:19 > 0:31:26to take him out of this home, to go somewhere else in Hertfordshire where he spent his days.
0:31:26 > 0:31:32And, er, some years ago I had a phone call from somebody and I was actually asked to go to a mental home.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Not because I'd gone mad, but, to go and look at some Louis Wains
0:31:36 > 0:31:40and it was the home where he had been put inside.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Anyway, when I got there they showed me these Louis Wains and they had
0:31:43 > 0:31:48one right one and all the rest were wrong and I couldn't understand.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52And they said "Well, they were painted by the inmates, they used to copy his work."
0:31:52 > 0:31:54But it was an extraordinary experience.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59But these are fantastic and very, very good examples.
0:31:59 > 0:32:05Now I have seen many fakes of his work and how do you know about a right one and wrong one?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Well, I always look at the eyes and if they look mad, you know...
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- Oh, yes. - Stary, then they are, you know.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Well here we have, the one on the left here.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Not as pretty as some of his cats.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17He looks very angry.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19- But this one is wonderful.- Yes.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23He went through a psychedelic period and some of his pictures, I mean,
0:32:23 > 0:32:29they're like 1960s but were done much earlier, because he died in 1939.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33But they're like, like the hippy things of the 1960s - bright colours.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36This is very interesting because it tells four different stories.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40I love this one here because here, wonderfully mad stary
0:32:40 > 0:32:46eyes there which as I said, talking about how you know, his, I mean...
0:32:46 > 0:32:53You know, he wasn't insane but his sort of wonderful sort of spontaneity about painting these cats
0:32:53 > 0:32:57and the stary eyes come out and there's a really good example,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59and that's what you don't get in the fake ones.
0:32:59 > 0:33:07Absolutely fantastic. And then they turn around and leave the dog on its own down at the bottom there.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Wonderful. The one on the left here, it is certainly quite valuable because
0:33:10 > 0:33:18people like his work today and I think that would probably make about £2,000, certainly £1,500 to £2,000.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22- Yes.- This one, I think, is the more valuable and,
0:33:22 > 0:33:28would certainly make somewhere in the region of £2,000-£3,000 at auction.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30- Oh, well.- But very good examples.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Have to come out from under the bed then, won't they?- Yes.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Ever since I was a little boy, I have been fascinated by big guns.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41I remember sitting having a photograph of me taken
0:33:41 > 0:33:46when I was five years old, sitting astride a great cannon at Carisbrooke Castle.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49This is a great gun. Where did you find it?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Where did I find it?
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Well, funny you say when you were five years old, when I was about
0:33:54 > 0:34:00five years old, the cannon was discovered in the garden and it was up at the end of the Green Walk
0:34:00 > 0:34:04and during the war, the garden had become completely overgrown.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- This is here, is it?- This is here. The gun originally was on, was defending the estuary in Padstow.
0:34:08 > 0:34:14- Right.- Was moved here, latter half of the 19th century, I suppose, and
0:34:14 > 0:34:18um, rumour had it that there was a cannon in the garden.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22It was completely overgrown. It was my uncle, Tim Parr, armed with a compass, a machete
0:34:22 > 0:34:30and old garden plan, hacked his way through the jungle to find the mythical cannon, and... and he did.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35And aged five, finding Henry VIII's cannon was quite, was quite something.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39- Well, it's fascinating because we've been calling it a cannon. - Right.
0:34:39 > 0:34:45Now interestingly enough, at this period, and of course it is Henry VIII in period, at this period
0:34:45 > 0:34:51all guns had names and a cannon was a name for a specific size and type of gun.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55- And a saker was a particular type of gun, and this is a saker.- Right.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00Now, a saker is a gun that is very long for its bore.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06- And you can see how this is very long and narrow and has a relatively small bore.- Sure.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09But what's more interesting is that it's made not of bronze,
0:35:09 > 0:35:15as the majority of guns were at that time, but of cast iron.
0:35:15 > 0:35:21And the reason why that makes it quite rare is because the cast iron
0:35:21 > 0:35:27technology, the industry, was in its infancy at that time.
0:35:27 > 0:35:34Henry, of course, had limited funds, but he wanted to arm his country. Particularly the south coast.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38And so he wanted a huge number of guns and wanted to buy them cheaply.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43So in order to do that and to reassure himself of supply, he
0:35:43 > 0:35:49decided that he'd import gun founders from Europe, particularly Italy and France. I think this is quite early.
0:35:49 > 0:35:56Erm, I think probably this dates in the 1540s
0:35:56 > 0:36:00and actually, if it is, this makes this the
0:36:00 > 0:36:07earliest known gun, cast iron gun, still in existence in this country.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Have you ever thought about the value?
0:36:09 > 0:36:14No. I mean, for me it's just always been utterly priceless.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17It's quite difficult to put a value on a piece like this because it's incredibly rare.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20It's incredibly early.
0:36:21 > 0:36:27I think it's probably worth between £25,000 and £35,000.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Wow! Wow!
0:36:30 > 0:36:36So here's a little bee brooch and it's buzzing away in the sunlight, isn't it? Scintillating like mad.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Tell me about all about it.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43I worked here for 40 years and Mrs Prideaux-Brune died and she left me in her will.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48- Oh, isn't that marvellous?- Yes. - And what was your work here? - I was cook-housekeeper.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53- Mm, oh, that's very good.- I came for a week to try out, a big party up here, and I stopped for 40 years.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55So you were a sort of temp, really, then?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57Yes, I was, for a week.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58Fantastic, and you actually lived...
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Where did you, you lived on site?
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Yes, in the front, the front of the house, overlooking the deer park.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06- Lovely rooms.- Goodness, and so 40 spectacular years.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Did you see lots of wonderful jewellery worn when you were here?
0:37:09 > 0:37:10Oh, marvellous, marvellous, marvellous, yes.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12- Mm, I bet.- Marvellous, marvellous.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15And what a touching thing to receive, actually.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18I don't know whether you've thought about the fact that it was a bee.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- Have you thought about that? - No, no, no.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26Because it's actually a very interesting emblem of love, frankly, and that's what it was.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31And it's "bee" and then "sure of my love".
0:37:31 > 0:37:33And in diamonds, so it's forever. Now, and also it's decorated with
0:37:33 > 0:37:39black enamel, the wonderful sort of buzzy bee body there is, is black enamel.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41But the real key to what this is all about
0:37:41 > 0:37:45is this box which, curiously enough, when you're involved with jewellery,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48the boxes are a bit like picture frames and you can instantly tell where they're made.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51- Yes.- And just looking at that, I know it's a French box.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55- Yes.- And in the top of the lid I was completely amazed to see
0:37:55 > 0:37:58that it was made by a firm called Rouvenat and Lourdes.
0:37:58 > 0:38:05And they were an enormously important jewellery maker in the, in the 19th century in Paris.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09And Rouvenat's greatest claim to fame was that he showed at the L'Exposition Universelle
0:38:09 > 0:38:16in Paris in 1867 an enormous spray of lilacs and diamonds, a completely naturalistic one.
0:38:16 > 0:38:23And it was bought by Empress Eugenie who was the wife of Napoleon III, so at that level of patronage,
0:38:23 > 0:38:28it goes without saying that this is of the highest possible level of craftsmanship and inspiration.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33- Oh, I see.- The highest possible level of everything one could expect from a piece of jewellery.
0:38:33 > 0:38:38And curiously enough, perhaps not so much to do with the weight of the diamonds or anything, but for the
0:38:38 > 0:38:42fact that it's a little piece of history which almost would have been lost if the case had been lost.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46What do you feel like when you see it? What does it... What do you feel?
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I treasure it to think that Mrs Prideaux-Brune gave it to me.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54I really treasure it. I wore it a couple of times but I think it's marvellous.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Yes, a very exciting thing for me to find, I must say, a sizzling
0:38:56 > 0:39:01- piece of French jewellery with a wonderful, wonderful history.- Yes.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04And a rather startlingly desirable thing.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09- I mean that sort of measured value is to do with how much people really want things.- Yes.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11People really would want this very much.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15It's very compact, very wearable, it's full of history and context.
0:39:15 > 0:39:22And so, astonishingly, we have to value it today for, well, £9,000.
0:39:22 > 0:39:23Oh!
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Oh, no! Oh, dear!
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Marvellous, thank you very much.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33- It is marvellous news. - You've made my day.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38You've made mine, absolutely. Dreamboat stuff, really marvellous.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42This is a crackingly pretty little portrait of a girl. What do you know about it?
0:39:42 > 0:39:44She was left to my father in a will.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49And, it's a family ancestor called Harriet Cockburn.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Just wanted to find out the date.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56We think it's probably 1818 but we're not sure.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01Well, I'm sure it's one of your ancestors, but it's earlier than 1818.
0:40:01 > 0:40:08By the style of the dress and the handling of the head, this is a work of the 1780s.
0:40:08 > 0:40:15And there's one artist who this reminds me of very, very strongly, who was working in the 1780s.
0:40:15 > 0:40:23He was an artist who went on to become the greatest definer of the Regency face and Regency glamour.
0:40:23 > 0:40:30He's the artist through whom we know George IV, and many of the great figures of the early 19th century.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32And that artist's name is Sir Thomas Lawrence.
0:40:32 > 0:40:38Thomas Lawrence - young Tom, as he was known then - was a boy genius.
0:40:38 > 0:40:43His father was the owner of an inn, The Bear Inn, which was on the road from Bath to London.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46And he was one of those incredibly ambitious dads
0:40:46 > 0:40:50who forced his son to do all sorts of things to prove his cleverness.
0:40:50 > 0:40:56At the age of eight, he got him to stand on the tables of the inn and recite fluent Milton.
0:40:56 > 0:41:03And, er, he was also encouraged to draw people, and he showed early on a great skill of drawing.
0:41:03 > 0:41:09Now because this kid was amazing, his dad took him to Bath. And there, can you believe it?
0:41:09 > 0:41:14At the age of 14 years old, he was given his own portrait practice.
0:41:14 > 0:41:20Bath then of course was the great fashionable centre of Britain and high society
0:41:20 > 0:41:26flocked to his doors, flocked to the doors of this 14-year-old child, to be painted and drawn by him.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30But why do I think that it's by Lawrence?
0:41:30 > 0:41:33What are the characteristics of this picture that make it so compellingly
0:41:33 > 0:41:39like the greatest portrait painter of the age, at this tenderly young age?
0:41:39 > 0:41:45That hand pointing with the arm raised, in a most unusual and ambitious gesture for that date.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Now, if you're looking at your average pastel painter of this period, your provincial pastel
0:41:49 > 0:41:54painter, because pastel painting was quite a business in those days, you would never see something
0:41:54 > 0:41:59that was quite so theatrical and, if you want, avant garde, for a child.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02If you turn the picture over,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07I notice that there is a later label identifying her as Harriet.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10But underneath, you can see the remains of a label
0:42:10 > 0:42:19and this rather exciting-looking, probably oak, panel, on which the pastel is applied or laid.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21That would have had a message on it.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25The young Thomas put, on every one of the pictures that he did, a little
0:42:25 > 0:42:30message telling clients to keep it out of the damp and the light.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36Well, Thomas Lawrences are very desirable. They're very sought.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41The late works are the ones that the museums want and American
0:42:41 > 0:42:45and Continental collectors are particularly interested in acquiring.
0:42:45 > 0:42:51This is nonetheless a particularly fine and charming example of an early Lawrence.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54And I would have very little hesitation
0:42:54 > 0:42:58about putting a valuation of £12,000 to £13,000 on this.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Right! It's well loved anyway.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06It sits on my father's wall and will
0:43:06 > 0:43:08stay there for a while yet, I hope.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11I'm glad to hear it.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Now is the time to say goodbye and now is the time to heave a sigh
0:43:13 > 0:43:17and prepare for what, for some of us, is the long drive home.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Many thanks again to the people of Padstow for joining us.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23And from Prideaux Place, until the next time, goodbye.