0:00:33 > 0:00:37Our venue this week has been looming over this spot for a very long time.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42It was founded, to be precise, on Christmas Day, 1067.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52At a Christmas court at Gloucester, the year after the Battle of Hastings,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55King William I held a prizegiving to thank
0:00:55 > 0:00:59his most loyal supporters for their help with the conquest of Britain.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10The King's cousin Roger de Montgomery had provided 60 ships,
0:01:10 > 0:01:16so William sliced him off one third of the County of Sussex together with the title of Earl.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22There were strings attached to this gift. The new earl had to build
0:01:22 > 0:01:25a castle to protect this part of Sussex from foreign invaders.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29William, having been one himself, knew what the dangers were.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37A year later, in 1068, cousin Roger assigned a large contingent
0:01:37 > 0:01:42of feudal slaves to start work on building this huge mound of earth...
0:01:42 > 0:01:45the foundation for a motte-and-bailey castle.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53900 years later, the castle's promise to keep out invaders was tested when the Royal Observer Corps
0:01:53 > 0:01:58had a look-out post up here, scanning the valley and the south coast during World War II.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03By that time, Arundel Castle had been completely transformed.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13The awesome building we see today is down to Henry, 15th Duke of Norfolk,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16whose restoration project in Victorian times turned Arundel
0:02:16 > 0:02:21into the largest inhabited Gothic Revival house in England.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31In the premier league of lived-in castles, only Windsor is bigger.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Arundel's interior is predictably sumptuous.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Today Arundel Castle is letting the invaders in,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53but it's all in a good cause.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We're holding our Roadshow in the Baron's Hall.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01133 feet long and 50 feet high, it's the largest room in the castle -
0:03:01 > 0:03:04a bit like home, really.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Well, it's nice to come to a location like this and see something
0:03:07 > 0:03:10that's even older than the castle. Where did it come from?
0:03:10 > 0:03:15Well, we'd just moved to Wimbledon, 1968, the garden was a bit of a mess,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- so I decided to do a bit of digging to plant some bulbs.- Oh.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And I came across this clod of earth that just
0:03:20 > 0:03:22didn't seem to want to break up...
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I didn't hit it with my spade.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I put it in a bucket of water and forgot about it, and then later,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31went back and realised that it wasn't a clod of earth. It was this.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- So how old was the house that you were living in?- Well, it was a Victorian house, so,
0:03:36 > 0:03:42- I don't know, that's about 1800s, I think.- She goes...dates back far older to the Roman Empire.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- She was made in marble in the 1st or 2nd century.- Really?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48So we're looking at a very old lady indeed.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Gosh, how exciting.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56There remains part of the carving here of the ringlets of her hair
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and, rather interestingly, she's pierced for little earrings
0:04:00 > 0:04:04which is really an unusual feature on a Roman head of this kind.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07So what was it doing in the garden in Wimbledon?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Well, the only bit of information I got was from a local historian,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14who thought that a foreign traveller had brought it back and maybe left it
0:04:14 > 0:04:19in the garden and then during the wars it had fallen into the flower bed and got covered up.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Well, some of these pieces
0:04:21 > 0:04:25were brought to Britain by Romans, but most came in exactly that way.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28It's actually quite appropriate to see this here,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32because the 14th Earl of Arundel, known as "the Collector Earl",
0:04:32 > 0:04:35was indeed a great collector of Roman and Greek statues.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39He formed a marvellous collection which are now the basis of, I think,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41of the Ashmolean Museum collection,
0:04:41 > 0:04:47so collecting has been a popular thing and so I guess this was brought back, maybe 300 years ago,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50by someone collecting it. What a thing to lose!
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Amazing to think they'd forgotten about it and it's just laid in the flower beds for all those years.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58The condition is pretty good. It's had a bit of damage,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03the nose was knocked off and that certainly happened in antiquity, a long time ago.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06But the good thing is it's been left as it is.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11Quite often, when the grand tourists brought these back in the 17th century, they recarved them,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15they added a new nose and restored her face, and that would have spoiled it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:21Instead she's here in her original state as she would have been 1,900, 2,000 years ago.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24A piece like this would probably sell today for
0:05:24 > 0:05:26£4,000 or £5,000.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Good gracious me!
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Well, I'm rather glad I did that bit of gardening then.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Well, a lucky find indeed and really great to see her still here now.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Thank you very much indeed.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45This is a delicious cabinet of curiosities.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49When you look at it, what memories does it stir in you?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Oh, from way, way back.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57We came back from South Africa after the war, my parents had split up
0:05:57 > 0:06:02and my mother was terribly ill all the way over, and it was pretty grim.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06South Africa hadn't been touched by the war, England of course was post-war.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09It was a fearful shock to an eight year old.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14My grandmother had this cabinet, and we used to go round for tea
0:06:14 > 0:06:18on a Sunday afternoon, and it was the first time I really began to think,
0:06:18 > 0:06:23"Well, maybe this country's got something anyway", when she allowed me to open the post box.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- The post box.- You know...- Is this the post box?- Yes, that's it.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- OK, so here you are.- You take the lid off... I can still remember.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- So off comes the lid, oh, and there's something inside.- Yes.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Not something, there's somebody inside... It's the postman!
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- Isn't he gorgeous? - Isn't that wonderful?
0:06:42 > 0:06:46- That's fantastic.- And that was my special treat. After that,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50every time I went round, we were allowed to look at the cabinet.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56In those days it was look, not touch, and now I have six grandchildren,
0:06:56 > 0:07:01and they know that they can touch, but under supervision.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Very good. Now I'm going to pick one of these up.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- Now that's my step-grandmother. - This is a little fox, isn't it?
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- Yes, I believe it's bronze. - Do you know where it came from?
0:07:11 > 0:07:15No, I don't know those, and there's a monkey beside it.
0:07:15 > 0:07:22There's a little group of bronzes here, we've got the monkey, we've got a little pug dog and two cats.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27- Yes.- And they are almost certainly from Vienna, Viennese bronzes.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- And what is... This looks like a little scarab beetle.- Yes.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- Is there a surprise inside? - Er, it's not, it's not, open it up...
0:07:34 > 0:07:35it's Moses in his basket.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38No!
0:07:38 > 0:07:40There's Moses. Now we once dropped Moses
0:07:40 > 0:07:46on a patterned carpet, so Moses now is only ever allowed to be exposed.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48On a plain surface.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- On a plain surface.- How long did it take Moses to be rediscovered?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Well, with great difficulty, because everybody had to stand still.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57Like finding a contact lens.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59- Yes, exactly.- That's wonderful.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Well, let's just run through this, so going down onto the next shelf,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07I can see you've got some of Upton's figures, the peg doll.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12- Pig-wig and the wig.- Yes, and were those favourites of Grandma's?
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Granny used to read us the book,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and she had these figures - I just like them.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Yes, because they're beautifully done, again they're little bronzes
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and they will almost certainly again be from Vienna.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26And then you've got a little series of books.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- There's a photograph album. - Oh, is there?
0:08:29 > 0:08:31I believe these are all family,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34but I don't know exactly who.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38No doubt forebears of the Granny who actually collected.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Yes, yes, yes, yeah.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Well, I think it's fascinating.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46I think what I'd like to do is just go into a corner with you and it,
0:08:46 > 0:08:51and spend the rest of the day exploring all its possibilities - I think it's wonderful.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52I'd be happy... Yes, I love it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57The value is going to be obviously very mixed with these things.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Some little pieces are going to be worth
0:09:00 > 0:09:03just a pound or two, and others are going to be much more valuable.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Some of those are going to be £75 or £100...
0:09:07 > 0:09:09that's the sort of price you'd have
0:09:09 > 0:09:12- to pay in a shop if you wanted to replace them.- To go and buy them.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17So, if you went through and added every single thing up,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20you'd actually find that it's not just a cabinet of curiosities
0:09:20 > 0:09:24but it's actually a little treasure chest, and I'm very pleased
0:09:24 > 0:09:26that you wanted to share it with us, it's been a real treat.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31- Well, thank you, thank you very much, I've really enjoyed going through it with you.- Good.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35An exquisite little watercolour on the front by Martineau
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and on the back a letter from Edward VII when Prince of Wales.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40- Yes. - There's more to this, isn't there?
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Well, the picture belonged to my uncle and his grandmother was given
0:09:44 > 0:09:50this picture as a New Year's present for January 1901, and amazingly,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54later that year, he bestowed upon her the use, for her life, of White Lodge
0:09:54 > 0:09:58in Richmond Park which was a Royal Hunting Lodge and nobody to this day
0:09:58 > 0:10:02knows why she had this honour, but she lived there eight years.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- So the king to be...- Yes.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07..has given her this little present,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11bestowed this house upon her and we don't know why he did it.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12No, it's a mystery to this day.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14But we can probably guess, can't we?
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Because didn't have quite a prodigious appetite for mistresses?
0:10:18 > 0:10:23Well, she was a widow and she was 66 at the time, so I don't know whether she came into that category.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Oh, well, that's of course a possibility, but how about when he was younger?
0:10:27 > 0:10:32I think she was a long-term friend actually, of the family, apparently
0:10:32 > 0:10:38of irresistible charm, and she had to entertain him when he came to White Lodge with a vast entourage
0:10:38 > 0:10:41of friends and servants and so on, and it cost a lot of money, I think,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44but she lived there for eight years in great style.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49And then, as you probably know, it's now the home of the Royal Ballet School, the junior section,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53and they've been there since 1956, so I've got that picture.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56So a wonderful house and an exquisite little picture,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00- worth, I suspect, £700 or £800. - Oh, thank you. Well, I won't sell it.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It's going to a very special home where it will be much treasured.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09- And I suspect there's a story here we need to know more about.- I think so. Thank you so much.- Pleasure.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14And last, but not least,
0:11:14 > 0:11:15we've got this character.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17That's right.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Now, looking at that profile
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and looking at your profile, there is a similarity there...
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- Yes?- I think there should be, yes.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31- Well, tell me why.- Well, I did a biography of William K Harper
0:11:31 > 0:11:33who was a modeller for Royal Doulton.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- Yes.- And afterwards, he said to me, "have you got any suggestions for
0:11:37 > 0:11:40"figures that Royal Doulton could manufacture?"
0:11:40 > 0:11:45and I suggested a busker figure or a one-man band, and so he said,
0:11:45 > 0:11:52"Well, if you'd like to give me one or two of your photographs, I'll make his face look like you."
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- And so...- So there you are. - That's exactly what happened.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- That's immortality for you, isn't it?- Well, it is rather, isn't it?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- Yes.- And you've got some information regarding all that, have you?- Yes.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04What have you here? Just show me what we've got, what's this?
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Well, that's... when I suggested making that figure,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10he was sitting in the hotel with me.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15- Yes.- And while we were talking he literally sketched that little figure
0:12:15 > 0:12:16as to what it might look like.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Really?- And it's amazing actually,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23the similarity between his first undertaking and the final figure.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Amazing, absolutely amazing.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28I mean I've not seen that figure turn up on the market, is it a one-off?
0:12:28 > 0:12:33No, it may have been rather expensive to produce.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- Yes.- They did it as a pilot figure. - Yeah.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- And fully painted it and everything, but then decided not to put it into production.- Well, that makes it
0:12:40 > 0:12:45- that little bit special, doesn't it? - I think it's the only one, I think. - You know, as a professional value
0:12:45 > 0:12:49- I'll say a few hundred quid, how about that?- OK.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51- Well, let's go back in time.- Yes.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Because I love early Doulton, especially the early stuff
0:12:55 > 0:12:58that was made down at Lambeth, and I love that little mug.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00It must have been made for a child.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05I think it was made for a child, and I understand it's by Hannah Barlow.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09You're right. I mean the decoration itself is sort of incised,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- the technical term is sgraffito.- Right.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15But it's a technique that goes back to sort of pre-history really, where
0:13:15 > 0:13:19you incise the clay while it's still leather hard and you actually,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23you're able then to sort of paint in a pigment, which sort of raises
0:13:23 > 0:13:28- the relief and gives high definition.- Oh, yes. - There's a signature underneath.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- Right.- This is quite early - this is the early 1880s.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35A little pot like that, it's going to have probably
0:13:35 > 0:13:38around a £300, maybe a £350 price tag on it.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- Oh, right, OK. - Let's get topical, let's get local,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45because I love this little mouse group, and it's inscribed, isn't it?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It says "Cockneys at Brighton".
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- Exactly.- Only down the road, isn't it?- That's right, yes, it is.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- Only down the road.- There's a bit of humour there somewhere, isn't there?
0:13:53 > 0:13:58- There's a lot of humour in there and it is by the great man.- Absolutely. - The great man... You know who it is.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- Well, it's George Tinworth. - It is George Tinworth.- Who was a wonderful sculptor.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04He excels at these little groups.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- Oh, yes.- If it ain't mice, it's frogs.- Exactly, yes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Here they are having a jolly time, somewhere off one of the piers.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12I love this at the other side, look at that.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14- Oh, yeah.- I love that little fish.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19- Yeah.- I say "the fish", it looks like the Loch Ness monster from here, doesn't it?- Well, it does, yes, yes.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24One thing I like is the little fellow there being sick over the side.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27He does look queasy, doesn't he?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- He does a bit.- Yes, bless him. - Absolutely true.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31So date-wise, well,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- again I think we're in the sort of 1880s, late 1880s.- Oh, right.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Maybe 1890.
0:14:38 > 0:14:44A few weeks ago I saw a very similar group sell for close on £5,000.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46My goodness, as much as that?
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Price of Cockneys for you, you see.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Well, well, they're well worth collecting then, aren't they?
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Well, that's a treasure in every sense of the word, isn't it?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Yes, it is indeed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01When I heard there was a warming cupboard here, I thought
0:15:01 > 0:15:05it might be some kind of punishment, you know like "If you do that again,
0:15:05 > 0:15:06"you'll go in the warming cupboard".
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- But it's not, is it?- No, it's not.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11It's a functional warming cupboard.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15You pick it up and take it and put it in front of the fire
0:15:15 > 0:15:19to warm your plate, warm your food, whatever else you want to warm.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- So it had no back on it?- No, no back, this cloth wouldn't be there,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27um, it would just be an open back so that when it was taken
0:15:27 > 0:15:31and put near the fire, it would warm the contents.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33So it's in the right place now, we've got this massive fireplace
0:15:33 > 0:15:36in the Baron's Hall, this is its natural home.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Yes, it is, yes.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41It's a kind of early hostess trolley, isn't it?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43I suppose you could say that, yes.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49- How does it operate?- Well, inside here we have it all lined with tin.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- To keep the heat in. - To keep the heat in.- Gosh.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55It's been in my family, well ever since I can remember,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58where it came from I've no idea
0:15:58 > 0:16:03but my parents never used it to warm anything when I was a child.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06- I've never seen one like it, have you?- No, never.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Well, you saw it first on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Yes, that's right.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Are these things that have come down to you or have you bought them?
0:16:14 > 0:16:18No, no, these, we go round the country, you know, we like driving
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and we call in obscure boot sales, not the big ones.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27- Oh, yes, yes.- You know, we pass a field and there might be half a dozen, so these were picked up at...
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- At boot sales.- Yeah, various ones.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31May I ask what you paid for them?
0:16:31 > 0:16:37Um, that one I think I paid £5, and that one, I think, £10.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42I looked up the two jars on the internet, it said "bellamine"
0:16:42 > 0:16:44but I don't know.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Well, a bellamine is a stoneware jug which is characterised
0:16:49 > 0:16:52by having this face
0:16:52 > 0:16:56of a bearded man, named after Count Bellamine.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Basically they're German,
0:16:58 > 0:17:05they came over to England in quite large quantities with wine in them,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07and they were also used on the table for wine.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12These are actually called tigerware, but they're more like a leopard, but anyway...
0:17:12 > 0:17:15see that appearance there?
0:17:15 > 0:17:17- Yes.- It's been painted.
0:17:17 > 0:17:23- I see.- The handle's been off, the spout's been off, it's been broken into several pieces.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- That is restoration.- Right, yes.
0:17:26 > 0:17:33Um, this is an early jug dating from the 17th century,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37- but it's been restored.- Right.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41This one...is brand new.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Brand new, as opposed to new. Right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47We won't quibble, it's new.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- It's new, right.- It's kind of gone
0:17:50 > 0:17:55"urgh" and this is too small in proportion to that, and this
0:17:55 > 0:17:59doesn't meet up at the right place and it's too big,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03these are very badly formed, the colour's not quite right,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06they're all little things,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09but enough for one to fault it.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- What about that?- That was a boot sale again, and my wife
0:18:14 > 0:18:19keeps her trinkets, bits and odds and ends of jewellery in it, so...
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Saw the date there, 1636?- Saw the date, that's why I bought it, yes.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Yeah, well that would be very nice if that object were 1636.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28It's not?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31It's brand new. Let's not quibble, it's new.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33It's new. I'm not very lucky, am I?
0:18:35 > 0:18:39- What about the horse?- Um, she wanted
0:18:39 > 0:18:45£50 for it and I said no and we quibbled and I got it for £30, so...
0:18:45 > 0:18:49I bought it because it's a lovely object so, you know...
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It is, I'm afraid also...
0:18:52 > 0:18:54New.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00It's pretending to be a Han or T'ang horse from about
0:19:00 > 0:19:03the 5th to the 10th century AD,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06in China, and the record price
0:19:06 > 0:19:09for one is, I think, £3m.
0:19:09 > 0:19:10Right, so it is new!
0:19:10 > 0:19:14It's a slightly better one than this one, I have to say,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19but of that ilk. The Chinese started to make them again
0:19:19 > 0:19:21about 30 years ago.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23That is not the real thing.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- No.- But you know, I would be happy to pay £30
0:19:26 > 0:19:28for that, I think that's a good buy.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- It is, as you say, a very decorative object.- Yes.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37And I'm very happy with you pulling into a field and buying these
0:19:37 > 0:19:40- sort of things, as long as you don't pay too much money for them. - Well, no, this is...
0:19:40 > 0:19:44- I wouldn't pay because I wouldn't know what I was buying.- Very good,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47- enjoy, thank you.- Thank you.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52My father took that in 1931 and he meticulously dated it on the back.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Those were all my soft toys at the time so I was a very lucky.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- All of them? How many are there? - All of them.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I don't know but we've still got 35 of them out of that picture.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03Really? Now...
0:20:03 > 0:20:05so how did it all begin?
0:20:05 > 0:20:11Well, it was, you know, I collected those as a child and then,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14in June 1939, our father went back in the army
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and everything was put in store and forgotten for 40 years,
0:20:17 > 0:20:22and were discovered again in the late 1970s with the picture with them.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Really? Oh, what a wonderful surprise it must have been,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28and you collected the same thing or...?
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Well, some of those were mine, the monkey was mine and one or two
0:20:32 > 0:20:36of them were, but she was the one that loved the little animals.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Which is your favourite? Because they all look such characters.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Well, I think they're all...
0:20:42 > 0:20:44I mean, when I was little,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Flip and this one here, Lop,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49used to be with me constantly.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53- That dog there, we wonder what make he is.- That is a difficult one.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58- Yes.- Because he, with these extraordinary eyes,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03looks very much like the Chloe Preston for Farnell toys -
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Chloe Preston being the designer.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07- Yes.- For me,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11these two, they're known as Bosco...
0:21:11 > 0:21:15and Honey, and they were a comic strip for Warner Brothers,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18and they started off being, well,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21it was designed by someone called Hugh Harman in the States.
0:21:21 > 0:21:27His, being Bosco, was a black ink blob, he then became
0:21:27 > 0:21:32an animated child, but Bosco had a girlfriend,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and that was Honey,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37and so this was called Looney Film Productions and you can
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- imagine why, because they do look a bit looney, don't they?- Yes.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44- I think always one of my favourites is Dismal Desmond.- Yes.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47He was dismal because his owner...
0:21:47 > 0:21:52who was called Daisy Doo Dah, died.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55And so your doll is this one?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- Yes, this is my doll, and this doll...- Tell me about this one.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Well, this is my Kathe Kruse doll.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- Yes.- When I was three years old, I was bridesmaid at my aunt's wedding
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and he was my bridesmaid present.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09This is his original pinny.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- Yes.- I'm afraid he lost his original rompers, and his original rompers
0:22:13 > 0:22:17were bright red and so I called him Reggie.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19- Very original.- I love it.
0:22:19 > 0:22:27He is a serious doll, a cloth-headed doll, and beautifully painted eyes.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32- Even with the damage, I'd say around £1,000.- That's what I thought.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- Lovely.- Oh, you did?
0:22:34 > 0:22:39- But I couldn't bring myself to sell him after all these years.- Oh, no, that would be sacrilege!
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- But going back to your collection. - Yes.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- I mean I have to say that these are the two rarest.- Yes.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50And on a good day, I would think that they are almost as much.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52- Really?- As the Kathe Kruse. - Oh, how wonderful.
0:22:52 > 0:22:59- Ooh, yes.- I mean, they are incredibly in demand, when you can find them, and the others...
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Bonzo... You have Bonzo collectors, and Bonzo collectors
0:23:03 > 0:23:08will pay probably somewhere around £300 to £400 for him.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12- Right.- Dismal Desmond, possibly about the same.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Schuco teddy and, well, the teddy's worth more than the monkey.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20They are probably £200 to £300 each.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24- Oh, gosh.- So if you've got, if this is just part of your collection.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29- Yes, it is, I mean. - 36 of them, I dread to think how much they're all worth.
0:23:29 > 0:23:3136 from there, yes. Well, that's wonderful to know.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- And how lovely, I'm so glad you came in with them.- And thank you so much.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- Thank you so much.- Made my day.- Made ours, thank you very much.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46- I have a feeling you're not about to offer me a cigar so what's hidden inside the box?- Well, I hope
0:23:46 > 0:23:51it's going to be a big a surprise to you, as it was to me, the first time I opened it.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- Wow, it's a tiny little dinner service.- It is.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It's so beautifully packed, I'm wondering if I can...
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- Well, that is the trouble you see. - take them out.- Yes, when I moved
0:23:59 > 0:24:04to Worthing, we wanted somewhere to park my car and my husband found
0:24:04 > 0:24:09this old house with five parking lots and he knocked and said, could we...
0:24:09 > 0:24:15- "Could I park the car?"- That's right, and then over the years,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19we became friends. She was an elderly lady when I first met her,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22and then she started losing her sight,
0:24:22 > 0:24:27and so I started typing her business letters and taking her to the hospital,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32but she had bees, and she used to pay me with jars of honey, which was great.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37- Lovely.- But then she said she would like me to have one of her antiques.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Well, I can see why you were delighted,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44because what could be more charming than a little doll's dinner service?
0:24:44 > 0:24:49It fits into this box and the box is contemporary with it,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53this is a set of around 1800 - 1810.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58I could imagine some very proud young lady of the mid, um,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Regency period would have been delighted with it.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- It's very like a pattern by Spode called the Cameronian series.- Right.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09But there's something about it which I don't think is by Spode.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- No.- If we look at the quality of the print, Spode were so well known
0:25:12 > 0:25:15for their blue and white printing, and if you look round here,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19it's a bit out of line and there's a bit of a line and a smudge here,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22so it's not by Spode, but that doesn't really matter.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28The pattern is lovely, the object is lovely and any collector of things
0:25:28 > 0:25:30to do with childhood or blue and white would be delighted to have it.
0:25:30 > 0:25:36- Yes.- And they would be very happy to pay anything between £1,500 and £2,000 for it.- Really?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Absolutely really, yes, honestly.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40Gosh.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45So here we have a first edition, The Diamond Smugglers
0:25:45 > 0:25:49by Ian Fleming, author of Diamonds are Forever,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and From Russia with Love, etc,
0:25:52 > 0:25:57and turn to the front free endpaper, and there's a fabulous inscription,
0:25:57 > 0:26:03it says - "to Una who worked like a slave, from Ian Fleming, 1957".
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Now who is Una?
0:26:05 > 0:26:06- That's me.- That's you?- Yes.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12- And "who worked like a slave" for him?- Well, I worked for him as a secretary.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15What was his job at the time?
0:26:15 > 0:26:19- He was foreign manager of the Sunday Times at the time.- Yes.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23But he also, you know, it was agreed,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25that I could type his books and personal things as well.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28So you had to do that on top?
0:26:28 > 0:26:31But I tried to make a point
0:26:31 > 0:26:34of not reading ahead of the typing,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36otherwise it got boring,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39but I typed quicker if I waited.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41And here's another one.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Doctor No by Ian Fleming again.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- Yes.- "To Una with apologies for her sudden death..."
0:26:49 > 0:26:54- So what is that all about? - Well, right at the beginning,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58he did call the victim Mary Trueblood.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- Right.- And so it was named after me.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Right, but to have a sudden death right at the beginning...
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- Yes, shot at the beginning. - She was shot at the beginning?
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- Dear, oh, dear.- Bit much!
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And here's another one, this is Goldfinger this time.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21- Yes.- Ian Fleming and again another wonderful inscription - "To Una,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"who again wrote the whole thing, from Ian Fleming". That's brilliant...
0:27:24 > 0:27:30- Just a way of saying thank you. - And they've all got their original dust wrappers on,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34which is most important in the first edition market for them all
0:27:34 > 0:27:39- to have their original dust wrappers, and you have ten signed copies.- Yes.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Ten signed copies, which is quite, quite incredible.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48I don't think I've seen such an assemblage of signed Flemings.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52- No.- Well, ten signed Ian Flemings, I reckon,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55must be somewhere in the region...
0:27:57 > 0:27:58..of...
0:28:00 > 0:28:05You're waiting for it, yes, I know,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09well, I reckon that something like £6,000 a copy.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Ooh, 6,000 each?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Yes.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Oh.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Now you be careful as you go home!
0:28:25 > 0:28:27This came into our...
0:28:27 > 0:28:32possession about 40 odd years ago and we've got three questions for it.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Age, origin and manufacture.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Right, OK, age... Any ideas at all?
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Well, when it was restored,
0:28:41 > 0:28:46the restorer said they were all hand-cut veneers, so that would put it back
0:28:46 > 0:28:50- before machine veneers somewhere but we've no, no real idea.- Well, that...
0:28:50 > 0:28:56hand-cut veneers takes us between 1650 and about, let's say 1900 so...
0:28:56 > 0:29:00but the decoration is about 1830-40,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04possibly as late as 1850, but no later than that.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06- Yeah.- What was the next one? Origin.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- Origin.- It's totally English. The next question is the one
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I can't answer, manufacturer, if you mean who made it?
0:29:12 > 0:29:13- Mm.- I don't think we'll ever know.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16It's clearly not a top-grade cabinet maker,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19it's more like it's a box maker - you know what this reminds me of?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- No.- Is the Tunbridge Wells work, in Tunbridge.- Right.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27- They made little boxes of parquetry. - Oh, right, yes.- The geometric shapes were put together for boxes,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31often cube parquetry, often with tiny little micro-mosaic scenes.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35And I think this is one stage further, about the 1840s or '50s.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39You talk about veneers - this is called rosewood, it's Brazilian rosewood from South America.
0:29:39 > 0:29:46- Yes, yeah.- This is maple, which could be American at this date, could be English maple.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- That's amboyna. - Amboyna? Never heard...
0:29:49 > 0:29:52- Yes, so that's an exotic wood imported into this country.- Yes.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55And this cube here is very like the French cube parquetry
0:29:55 > 0:29:58- of the 18th century which is kingwood, known as kingwood.- Right.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01But it's just such a visual treat, I just love...
0:30:01 > 0:30:04and this extraordinary shape to the frieze with these cut outs here.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06- Yes.- I've never seen anything quite like it.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10But what is so amazing about it
0:30:10 > 0:30:13is...wow.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15There's no discolouration on it, I don't think it's...
0:30:15 > 0:30:18It's hardly ever been used or exposed to the air,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and it's just fabulous to see that
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and what, I mean this wonderful decoration, these colours,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26contrasting colours on what's sort of like brown paper.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30- Mm.- This partridge... It's almost to look like partridge feathers.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34This wonderful stencil of red with this sort of Elizabethan-type scrollwork here,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37- and blue, vivid flowers.- It is.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42But then these just fascinate me, these holes. I mean, clearly made to cover the little buttons.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46- That's right.- And what have we got in here? Just more of the same,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49compartments, that's wonderful. Such an unusual thing. I mean...
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Of course, people don't use these today for sewing.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56But if we close it and it fits nicely over those buttons...
0:30:56 > 0:30:59I suspect that these have been put in later because I don't know why,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01just for decoration, somebody was playing with it.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06- Well, could have been, yes. - It seems such an odd position to have the key but it's offset.- Yeah.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08It's just a great visual treat, I mean,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11I think I'm going to put,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14for retail price or insurance price,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17£3,500...£3,800, something like that.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Fantastic.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Well, worth the restoration project.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Well, I must say this is a very unprepossessing blob of icing sugar you've brought me.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Where on earth did it come from?
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Um, it was in a button box.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36And where did you get the box of buttons from?
0:31:36 > 0:31:40I bought the box of buttons in an auction about 35 years ago
0:31:40 > 0:31:44because my grandmother told me when I was little, if you've got
0:31:44 > 0:31:51- a box of buttons you'll never be broke, you'll always have some, you know, some wealth so...- How funny.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- So you bought the box of buttons. - Yes.- And what did it cost you?
0:31:54 > 0:31:56I think £1 then, about 30 years ago.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01Thirty years ago, and have you ever wondered what this was?
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Um, it looks like a cameo,
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and it looks as if it ought...
0:32:06 > 0:32:12- it's been uncut, as if it hasn't been finished. - Well, you're well on the way.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Quite impressive, actually.
0:32:14 > 0:32:20- Um, what we have is a cameo in the sense that it's in relief.- Right.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25Of a lady in a mob cap and bodice.
0:32:25 > 0:32:32The clue to what it is, is here, it says "Jane Grey died February 1792",
0:32:32 > 0:32:34and then the word "Tassie".
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- Right, right. - Do you know who "Tassie" was?- No.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Well, James Tassie was a very interesting man.
0:32:41 > 0:32:49He was born in Glasgow and he started out life as a stonemason.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53- Oh...- And then he went to Dublin and there he developed a technique
0:32:53 > 0:33:00of modelling in glass, and what he did was to model this in wax,
0:33:00 > 0:33:06- in relief.- Yes. - Cast it, cast another one from that,
0:33:06 > 0:33:13cast another one from that and then cast from that and in that one,
0:33:13 > 0:33:18the last one, made of plaster of Paris, he put it in a kiln
0:33:18 > 0:33:23and he put a sheet of glass on top of it and then heated the kiln up
0:33:23 > 0:33:26and the sheet of glass went "blmmm" into the mould.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30- Into the mould!- Oh, right.- Now normally when one sees them,
0:33:30 > 0:33:35one doesn't have this, um, scarf edge round here.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39- And what I think's happened, you see it's slightly discoloured here?- Yes.
0:33:39 > 0:33:44He's looked at it and said "No, it's a second" and chucked it out.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46- Oh, not finished it off. - Not finished it off.
0:33:46 > 0:33:52- Oh.- However, although it's got that slight problem to it,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56I still think that the market would like it very much.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58It's a big example,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02it's got the added interest of never having been trimmed.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07I think you could certainly see somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500 for it.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09- Really? As much as that?- Mm.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11Goodness me!
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Wow, really?
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Oh, thank you - that's lovely.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22I think it's entirely fitting that here we are in one
0:34:22 > 0:34:25of the most historic settings that the Roadshow's been to,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29and laid out in front of us is some of the most historic silver
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I've ever had the pleasure to see.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37- It presumably is the Corporation plate of Arundel.- Yes.
0:34:37 > 0:34:44And the first thing that intrigues me is this, looks like a very early medieval seal...
0:34:44 > 0:34:47What is the significance of the bird?
0:34:47 > 0:34:54Well, one of the theories is that after the Norman Conquest of 1066
0:34:54 > 0:34:58and the first fortification of Arundel,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01that the area was full of swallows
0:35:01 > 0:35:04and the French for swallow is "hirondelle"
0:35:04 > 0:35:07and hence people think that "hirondelle"
0:35:07 > 0:35:10became "Arundel", so that's one of the theories.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Well, that sounds entirely plausible to me. I mean looking at the...
0:35:14 > 0:35:20script round the edge, this looks like quite an early piece,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22early 16th century, possibly.
0:35:22 > 0:35:29- Now I can see the significance of the...- Right.- The swallow and the piece and your mayoral chain.- Yes.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33- This piece is somewhat special.- Yes.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Because not only
0:35:35 > 0:35:39is it double the size of most drinking vessels of the period,
0:35:39 > 0:35:42and we're talking of something made in the reign of Charles II.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48- Right.- But it has a lovely inscription around the side, all spelt in rather funny English.
0:35:48 > 0:35:55"The gift of Thomas Ballard, sometimes Mayor of Arundel, 1677".
0:35:55 > 0:35:59- Now you're not sometimes mayor are you?- No I've been Mayor for two years
0:35:59 > 0:36:02and it's a delightful town to be Mayor of.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05- Yeah, but again, we've got the swallow.- Yes.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08- Which is presumably the town crest? - Yes, it is.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Perhaps the most interesting of all
0:36:11 > 0:36:15are these group of maces here.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20Maces evolved from the original clubs that knights used to use
0:36:20 > 0:36:22when they went into battle.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24- Right.- They used to ride into battle
0:36:24 > 0:36:29- holding the club like that - this was the business end.- Right.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33This is what gave the headache, and...
0:36:33 > 0:36:39at the late 15th century they became somewhat obsolete as arms
0:36:39 > 0:36:45- and armour developed so they then became used that way up.- Right.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49And on the top here we've got the lovely royal arms to show
0:36:49 > 0:36:53that you were a true follower of the king or queen,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55incredibly rare.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Gradually as the centuries evolved,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05- we got to the grand maces of the 17th century.- Right.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10And here we have a fabulous Charles II one made in silver gilt,
0:37:10 > 0:37:15and this is really the full development of the mace,
0:37:15 > 0:37:19with the big crown at the top and the business end
0:37:19 > 0:37:24now is quite different, it's become purely ceremonial.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Now is any of this stuff ever used?
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I'm not saying you ride into battle clubbing people, but, um...
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Well, this mace is used at every council meeting...
0:37:33 > 0:37:38- Yeah.- ..and every civic procession, and not too many years ago there
0:37:38 > 0:37:41were protestors lining the street
0:37:41 > 0:37:47and the mace bearer had to wield that to disperse a few of the protestors.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Well, I hope these are kept under safe lock and key.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Yes, they are.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Because we do have some pretty valuable pieces on this table.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Yes, I'm sure, I'm sure.
0:37:57 > 0:38:03I think we are actually looking at a value, something probably
0:38:03 > 0:38:05in excess of £300,000.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08Wow! Seriously?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- It is.- We have to increase our insurance very quickly.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15It is pretty rare stuff, this.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Well, thank you very much and we'll continue to look after them.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24Ooh, nice and easy does it...
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Now, I don't know why it is that all the sort of naked women
0:38:33 > 0:38:36that appear in this programme gravitate towards me.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Well, they especially said it should come to you.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41- Oh, did they?- Definitely.- I've got a reputation on this programme.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44- Definitely, definitely.- Well, it's nice to have a reputation, isn't it?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Um, what can I say?
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Um, I can say that she's Italiano,
0:38:49 > 0:38:56that I can say, and she's obviously from the 1930s but I can't give you
0:38:56 > 0:38:58an exact date, I think maybe about 1935, something like that.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03Well, actually she was a wedding present from my father to my mother
0:39:03 > 0:39:05and that is the original receipt.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10- Goodness me, two pounds and fifteen shillings in 1938.- Yeah.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Three years out, not doing too badly.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- No.- It's not the sort of normal wedding present you'd normally get.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20- You obviously had a very broadminded mother.- I think I probably did. - I'm sure this went in a drawer
0:39:20 > 0:39:23- when the vicar came round on a Sunday.- Definitely not.- No?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25- It was always pride of place. - Was it really?
0:39:25 > 0:39:27- Yes.- Well, I think she's fabulous.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30When it comes to the maker, we've actually got a choice of two.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Could be Lenci or it could be Essevi, but it's almost certainly
0:39:34 > 0:39:38modelled by Sandro Vacchetti, and he worked at both factories.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40They were actually based in Turin.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- Yes.- So we can narrow it down and I love the idea of a Scottie dog, so 1930s...
0:39:44 > 0:39:48why was it that Scottie dogs were big in the '30s,
0:39:48 > 0:39:53and Borzois big in the '20s? Anyway, I do know that she's desirable, OK, because...
0:39:53 > 0:39:55No, you can't have her.
0:39:55 > 0:40:03I can't afford her, because to be frank, I just don't have the £4,000 to £5,000 necessary to buy her!
0:40:03 > 0:40:07- That much? - Yes, £4,000 to £5,000,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09and I mean I've got to tell you, if she had her clothes on, she'd
0:40:09 > 0:40:11only be worth half as much.
0:40:13 > 0:40:19It was found when my partner's mother died, put out for the dustbin man.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22The dustbin man, gosh, he'd have been a lucky dustbin man!
0:40:22 > 0:40:28And it took me about three hours to polish it up and get it sorted out
0:40:28 > 0:40:32and that's when I recognised the little inscription on the side.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37- Which reads?- Lalique. - Lalique, there's something a little bit Gothic about this, isn't there?
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Um, yes, it's, I thought it was like Robin Hood actually with its...
0:40:40 > 0:40:44It is, it's a sort of almost a sort of wood nymph,
0:40:44 > 0:40:45a wood god as well, because
0:40:45 > 0:40:48it's burgeoning out of a sort of silver bud, isn't it?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52His head is bursting out and in a way that's a complete signature
0:40:52 > 0:40:56tune for Lalique because he's obsessed with the natural world,
0:40:56 > 0:41:02he looked at it in a new way and I'm very fortunate really that he made not only jewellery,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06but also silversmith's work and goldsmith's work and so he comes into my orbit.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10- Right.- But he is a genius and this is a piece of genius,
0:41:10 > 0:41:12really, as far as I'm concerned.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16It's a practical object, the design is perfectly resolved and it works,
0:41:16 > 0:41:21but every time it's used, one is conscious of the fact that it is sculpture. What does it mean to you?
0:41:21 > 0:41:23What do you feel about it?
0:41:23 > 0:41:28It means a lot, because my partner, whose mother it was, has now died,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31so it's not for sale,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34but basically it's a memento of him and his mother so...
0:41:34 > 0:41:39Yes, and we have to try and imagine the lady that would have carried it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I think it is probably a lady's cane, it's quite light.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44We're going to try and take it back into the era in which it was
0:41:44 > 0:41:46made which is about 1900 in Paris,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50and I think in the 1930s this thing would have been scorned, it was...
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Everybody wanted geometrical things
0:41:52 > 0:41:54and here you have a very sort of organic shape really,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57and curiously enough Lalique's great patron, Calouste Gulbenkian,
0:41:57 > 0:42:04wrote to Lalique's widow in 1930 saying that, "Your husband's work,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07"which I have always treasured has now fallen into disrepute"
0:42:07 > 0:42:12but she said, "There will be a time when this is the obsession of the contemporary elite",
0:42:12 > 0:42:15- and this is where we find it now. - Oh.- And I think it's very valuable today.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17There is some issues of condition.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20- Right.- It's been dropped and rubbed and this, that and the other.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22It doesn't stop it being the most marvellous thing...
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Had it been perfect and went into a specialist sale of Art Nouveau,
0:42:26 > 0:42:31- it might have fetched something like £8,000 to £10,000.- God!
0:42:31 > 0:42:36But I have no hesitation in valuing it for £4,000 today.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Oh, my God!
0:42:38 > 0:42:44I thought maybe £100 or £200 maximum.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Well, that's what you came here for.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49- Well, that's it.- That is it.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55And now to end with a moving little tale.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00We were filming earlier in the castle grounds and I was staring at the battlements in awe,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04when, from a great height, a bird left a message on my shoulder.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07"That's lucky" said our guide...
0:43:07 > 0:43:09"Lucky it didn't hit the rest of us."
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Well, it's a souvenir and one I shall wear with pride.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Thanks to everyone who brought us more welcome items, and special thanks
0:43:16 > 0:43:20to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk for the use of the Baron's Hall.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25But for now, from Arundel Castle in West Sussex, goodbye.