0:00:34 > 0:00:38The famous owner of this fine house in the Buckinghamshire countryside
0:00:38 > 0:00:42once declared, "There are three kinds of lies - there are lies,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45"damned lies and statistics."
0:00:45 > 0:00:47He was, of course, a politician,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51three times Chancellor of the Exchequer, twice Prime Minister.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58The house is Hughenden Manor on the outskirts of High Wycombe.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Today it's owned by the National Trust, but from
0:01:00 > 0:01:01the middle of the 19th century,
0:01:01 > 0:01:06it was the home of Conservative leader Benjamin Disraeli.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Disraeli would have quite enjoyed the modern age
0:01:08 > 0:01:10of spin and the soundbyte.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14He once dismissed his main Liberal opponent with this one...
0:01:14 > 0:01:18"If Gladstone fell into the Thames, that would be a misfortune,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23"and if anybody pulled him out, that, I suppose, would be a calamity."
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Away from the hectic atmosphere of Westminster, Disraeli found
0:01:29 > 0:01:33the calm that he needed at Hughenden to devote himself to a whole raft
0:01:33 > 0:01:34of social policies.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37He brought in laws to encourage slum clearance
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and to find housing for the poor, and legislation to stop children
0:01:41 > 0:01:44being used as chimney sweeps.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54It wasn't all social reform and political put-down. Disraeli was
0:01:54 > 0:01:59also an enthusiastic host, the cream of Victorian high society were
0:01:59 > 0:02:03invited here, and when Queen Victoria herself came to dine,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05her chair was especially shortened
0:02:05 > 0:02:08so that her feet would touch the floor.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The Queen always said that Disraeli was her favourite Prime Minister,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18and when he died, his body was laid out beneath her portrait.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22And while the apple of the Queen's eye dealt with matters of state,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25his wife, the effervescent Mary Anne,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28busied herself with matters on the estate.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30She supervised the planting of hundreds of trees
0:02:30 > 0:02:35and the landscaping of a vivid and colourful garden, all nicely matured
0:02:35 > 0:02:37for today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Well, this looks very comfortable.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47- Yes.- Whoops. I'm sorry, I'll tighten up this multi-purpose chair.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- How long have you had it? - About five or six years.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- Right, and...- Just bought it at the local auction in Amersham
0:02:54 > 0:02:58where I work and near where I live. It's what I've been looking for.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I thought I'd buy another one, but I fell in love with this.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Have you had it recovered?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07I've had it reupholstered, again locally in Chesham, yes.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10- Well, he did a jolly good job. - Very traditional.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Oh, yes, quite interesting that
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- this idea developed over a period of 250 years.- Uh-huh.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20The first moveable chair, adjustable chair, was introduced
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- in the end of the 17th century, fairly simple compared to this.- Mm.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28But what I like about it is, it shows how the Industrial Revolution,
0:03:28 > 0:03:34the production of various metals and the absolutely unrestrainable
0:03:34 > 0:03:38imagination of the Victorians enabled this sort of thing
0:03:38 > 0:03:40to be created out of a simple idea.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43This chair does absolutely everything,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47and obviously, it slopes back, it rocks if I release that.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49- You don't want to rock, do you?- No.- OK!
0:03:49 > 0:03:52You've got a variety of foot-rest angles, you've got something
0:03:52 > 0:03:54to support your feet, if you can reach them,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57then you've got a little tray for your drink
0:03:57 > 0:04:07and this, which is the most fabulous universal-joint mechanical device, to enable you to read,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10and you just undo this, and the most amazing fitment
0:04:10 > 0:04:13on here and it swings round so you can have a book, a drink,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17- got the fire in front of you, marvellous.- Describes my life, eh?
0:04:17 > 0:04:18If you feel like easing
0:04:18 > 0:04:22your head forward a little, then there's an even better headrest.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26This was made by Foot, well, they were one of several firms
0:04:26 > 0:04:29who patented various different designs, so can you
0:04:29 > 0:04:31remember how much you paid for it?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Around £300, I think.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36OK, and you've spent quite a bit of money on it?
0:04:36 > 0:04:38About as much again, yes.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Even that's very good because if you go back in
0:04:41 > 0:04:45the auction records, and certainly the last one I remember being sold,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48because one does remember things like this, was last September
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- and it made £1,400.- Oh, very nice.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54- So that was good, you bought very well.- Sit back and enjoy it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Sit back and enjoy the show, the perfect antique.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Thank you very much.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02- Well, it's sort of "all aboard for the Antiques Roadshow".- Yes.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05It's a great train set, and it's lovely to be able to
0:05:05 > 0:05:09put it out on the track here. What are your first memories of it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:14My father used to keep it in the wardrobe and
0:05:14 > 0:05:17one day Mother said, "You should see your father's old train set,"
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and got it out and had a look at it, but I never played with it.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Now you never played with it
0:05:23 > 0:05:28because it was forbidden or because it was sort of old and fusty or...?
0:05:28 > 0:05:33No, I just felt that because it was so old, even then, that,
0:05:33 > 0:05:38I didn't want to take the chance of damaging it,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42particularly winding it up, and we never had a key in any case.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47I mean, I would put it around 1900/1902. Does that fit in with Dad?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Yeah, that would fit in exactly, because he was born in 1898.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Um, it's made by one of the great
0:05:54 > 0:05:59German manufacturers, a company called Gebruder Marklin.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02- Really?- Now, Marklin started the business in the 1850s
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and in fact it's one of very few German manufacturing companies
0:06:05 > 0:06:09that's still in existence today, still making trains.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And let's see if we can find a...
0:06:12 > 0:06:16let's see if we can find a trademark of the Marklin company.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19There's one on this little carriage here.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- There we go, can you see this shield?- Yes, yes.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25And in it, there is a letter "M"
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and we can see that that is the trademark
0:06:28 > 0:06:34of the Marklin company at that time, sort of 1900/1905 period.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36I mean, to me,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41what I love about this type of toy is that it's not an accurate model.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It's...it's...
0:06:43 > 0:06:46got a sort of element of whimsy about it.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49- Do you see what I mean? - Yeah, I do, yeah, yes.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Everything's not quite to scale,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54it's done by somebody with a free hand,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56the painting is pretty but not prissy,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59and I can understand
0:06:59 > 0:07:02why people love them,
0:07:02 > 0:07:03and people do love them
0:07:03 > 0:07:05and they're very collectable.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08So whilst this is not in perfect condition,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11one can't pretend that it is, I still think it is
0:07:11 > 0:07:15a desirable object and I would have thought we're talking about £1,500,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19certainly, and maybe a little bit more with the wind behind it.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- So have you ever seen it going? - No, I haven't,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25which is probably because I have no key for it.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Oh, shame, I wish I could magic a key up, but I can't.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Um, but at least let's have
0:07:30 > 0:07:32an illusion of it going along under clockwork.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37- Yes.- And just enjoy this survivor from the golden age of toys.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39What a good idea.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Absolute riot of colour,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47this picture, all this produce, groaning produce on this bench here,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50being sold in this market
0:07:50 > 0:07:52is an extraordinary riot of colour.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54- Was it always this colourful in your memory?- No.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55What happened is...
0:07:55 > 0:07:57We've had it in our family.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59It's my brother's picture, but he can't be here today.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02So I decided for a Christmas present for him, we'd get it cleaned
0:08:02 > 0:08:06- and this is the final result. - Did he know you were going to do it
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- or did you just display it on Christmas Day?- Oh, yes.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13We look after it, so it hangs up. He went, "Where's me picture gone?"
0:08:13 > 0:08:17I had to tell him, "I'll get it cleaned for you for Christmas."
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- Was it away a long time? - Four months.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21They did a good job.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25When I saw this picture at first, I mean, I knew who it was by
0:08:25 > 0:08:28because it's an artist who always paints this scene.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29He's called Henry Charles Bryant.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- Oh, right.- So I felt a bit smart saying "Henry Charles Bryant",
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and then, of course, it's signed down here so that was
0:08:36 > 0:08:42a useful endorsement, but you know, he always does these scenes,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46it makes you wonder how many he did, because you see them in sale rooms
0:08:46 > 0:08:48across the country and they come up quite regularly.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51They're not always exactly the same, there are little variations,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55but what's distinctive about him are, in the figures, for example,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59he often only does the full profile, do you see?
0:08:59 > 0:09:04He avoids doing any turn of the face except for full face,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07because actually, he's not very good at them.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10If you look at this fellow, he's in three-quarter profile
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and it doesn't quite work, but what he is good at,
0:09:12 > 0:09:18remarkably good at, is painting the lemons and the eggs and the oranges
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and the pineapples. Just look at them, and the radishes
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and the spring onions and the potatoes, that's lovely.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28That's what I like, the vegetables and how clear it is now.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Yeah, extraordinary, and then you get these chickens,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34which he's done extremely well. It's a bygone age.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37The EU won't let you buy any of this produce any more,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41not under these circumstances, and also I like his backdrops
0:09:41 > 0:09:43of these market towns, which are...
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I must say, there's very little known about this artist.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- Oh, right.- We know that he lived in London for much of his life
0:09:50 > 0:09:51then he moved to Portsea,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53near Portsmouth.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Those are the addresses he gave
0:09:54 > 0:09:59when he exhibited in the British Institution, in Suffolk Street,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03but these market towns, they don't seem to bear any resemblance...
0:10:03 > 0:10:05although they seem to be generic market towns.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07So when you actually got it cleaned,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10did you get it valued as well?
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Yes, we got it valued and it came back to say
0:10:12 > 0:10:14that two pictures had been sold in London
0:10:14 > 0:10:16in 1990 and 1991
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- and both of them went for about £40,000 each.- Phew!
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- It's a lot of money, isn't it?- Aye.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Well, since then, of course, those high prices have smoked out some
0:10:26 > 0:10:30more, and then we start to realise just how many of these he painted.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Once, of course, you've bought your H C Bryant,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37you don't really need another one, and I think
0:10:37 > 0:10:41the price has sort of fallen away from those heights to now.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43I think it'd be more accurate
0:10:43 > 0:10:48now to put something like £15,000 to £20,000 on this.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50The market has dipped.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52It'll probably come back, so we should hang on.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55For insurance purposes, what would you say, then?
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Well, that's a tricky one. Who's to say it might not creep up again?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02It's just a dip, you know, you don't really know,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04um, so I would probably put
0:11:04 > 0:11:09a sort of an in-betweeny figure of £30,000 on it for insurance.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12- Right.- But what a wonderful thing.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17It's a giant hand holding a huge pot. Oooh!
0:11:17 > 0:11:20And I suppose Italian-made, made in Italy.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- Is it? Yes.- Made in Italy, yes, and the diamonds are falling out of it.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- Yes.- Are they real diamonds?
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- I shouldn't think so.- No, they're cut glass, aren't they?
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- Yes, yes.- But they look jolly nice, this one has fallen out.- Yes.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Where does it live?
0:11:35 > 0:11:39- That side.- Somewhere in there, so you're going to stick that back?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- Back in, yes.- Very valuable(!)
0:11:41 > 0:11:43But it's mad, isn't it?
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Through the family?
0:11:45 > 0:11:49My mother bought it in about 1960 or '70, I think.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53- Yes.- Yes, and I've had it ever since, because she loved it.- Yes.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57It's the sort of thing that you either love or you hate.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- Yes, and what do you do? - Well, I quite like it, yes.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- It grows on you, doesn't it? - Well, I suppose so, yes.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- But what do you do with it? - I just have it on the side.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- I have it laid down, I don't have it...- Laid down, so...
0:12:10 > 0:12:11- like that?- Yes.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13And what do you do with it then?
0:12:13 > 0:12:18- Nothing, it's just an ornament on the side.- Do you put things in it or...?
0:12:18 > 0:12:19Sometimes.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23It's absolutely crazy, little handmade flowers.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- Yes.- It's quite impressive and I suppose made around about
0:12:26 > 0:12:30- the 1920s. I don't suppose it's worth a huge amount.- No.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34- I mean, Mother probably prized it and you prize it.- Yes, yes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Worth, I don't know, about £50-£80, something like that.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- As much as that? - It's good for a laugh, isn't it?
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- Yes, yes.- Marvellous, and put the diamond back.- I will.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48Now I recognise this young man here. It's Christopher Robin, isn't it?
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- It is indeed.- And his mother. I don't think I've seen
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- a photograph of her before. - We assume it's his mother.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57- Well, I don't think he'd get that close with any old woman.- No.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01I think that's lovely, and here we have a copy of Winnie The Pooh
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and it's signed "AA Milne".
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Now I notice it's not a first edition.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Who is Farmhouse School?
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Well, my grandmother's best friend was a teacher there,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16and she wrote apparently to AA Milne
0:13:16 > 0:13:20asking if he would be prepared to take an interest
0:13:20 > 0:13:24in them, so he sent the book
0:13:24 > 0:13:28presumably soon after that, and it wasn't a first edition,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and then that was...that was how it all started.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Well, it's the same year as the first edition, which I think
0:13:34 > 0:13:39is very nice, also the fact that it's got a slightly grubby but
0:13:39 > 0:13:42nevertheless very serviceable dust jacket, which means
0:13:42 > 0:13:47that the cloth underneath - let's have a look - is very good.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49And here he is again
0:13:49 > 0:13:53looking absolutely enchanting. But you've also got, I've noticed,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58this - the complete Winnie The Pooh. Now this is a lot later, obviously.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- Yes.- But it's got rather... It's by AA Milne, obviously.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05But it's got another rather interesting inscription,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10inscribed, "To Miss Jean Craig to remind her of our second meeting
0:14:10 > 0:14:11"after very many years
0:14:11 > 0:14:17"at Dartmouth on 11th February 1960, Christopher Robin Milne."
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Which suggests to me that he met her before, at the school.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24I presume so, I'm not sure about that, he mentions
0:14:24 > 0:14:28in his autobiography that there was this one school that they had contact
0:14:28 > 0:14:32with, because obviously they had a lot of people writing in to ask for things,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34but they felt that this little school in Birmingham
0:14:34 > 0:14:37was one that they could support, and then they sent the book
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and sent the pictures.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41It's absolutely lovely, and this,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44which is the piece of resistance, I have to say, is fantastic.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49It's a picture of a rather effeminate son, Christopher Robin, and AA Milne,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53his father, and it's signed here "Christopher Robin",
0:14:53 > 0:14:55childish handwriting, and "AA Milne"
0:14:55 > 0:15:00there on the other side, which I think is absolutely cracking.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05Well, anybody who's collecting Pooh would want that, wouldn't they?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07So, what about values?
0:15:07 > 0:15:09We've never had them valued, they're family pieces.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- They're family pieces now! - They are family pieces.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Right, right. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Um, the one with Mummy that's unsigned, I think we can probably
0:15:21 > 0:15:28say somewhere between £300 and £500 on that.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32The second edition of Winnie The Pooh, I should think we can say
0:15:32 > 0:15:37somewhere in the region of, what, £500 for that.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40This one, "The Complete Winnie The Pooh"
0:15:40 > 0:15:42with the lovely inscription by
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Christopher Robin Milne, I wouldn't put anything like that on it, simply
0:15:46 > 0:15:50because it's from a different era, it's not the Christopher Robin that
0:15:50 > 0:15:54we know and love, it's...it's a bookseller, antiquarian bookseller.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Yes, I think he was quite unhappy about his...his...
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- His childhood. - ..childhood experience.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Being dragged around in a pudding-basin haircut and all that,
0:16:02 > 0:16:07but for this one, which is what any Pooh collector would want...
0:16:09 > 0:16:11..I can see that going for...
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- £2,000.- Goodness me, amazing.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Isn't that the most wonderful photograph, though?
0:16:17 > 0:16:19- It's excellent, isn't it? - It's got everything going for it.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- Lovely.- Lovely to see them, and thank you for bringing them.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Well, thank you very much.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Well, this mass of colour and pattern says only thing to me,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and I think you know as well as I that we're looking
0:16:30 > 0:16:32at a wonderful piece of Poole pottery.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35How does it come to be in your possession?
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Well, I saw it on the wall of a house which had been emptied and the
0:16:40 > 0:16:43people who'd inherited the house had taken out what I was told they wanted
0:16:43 > 0:16:47to keep, and this was on the wall, and I understood that everything was
0:16:47 > 0:16:51going to house clearance, so I took it home and peeled off the sticker
0:16:51 > 0:16:55that was on the back, the hanger, and saw that it was Poole,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57which I really didn't know anything about at the time.
0:16:57 > 0:17:03I phoned the Poole Collectors Club and I spoke to the gentleman who was
0:17:03 > 0:17:08the secretary at the time - this is some years ago - and he said,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12"Oh, yes, describe it to me... Yes, I think I know the sort of plate it is."
0:17:12 > 0:17:14He said, "Can you tell me what's on the back?"
0:17:14 > 0:17:17So I told him there was a pin man
0:17:17 > 0:17:20doing the splits and juggling with one ball
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and he said could I turn it up the other way!
0:17:22 > 0:17:26The detective work's got you quite a long way down the line,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29but hopefully there's a little bit more I can clear up for you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33If we look at the back to start, we quite clearly have two very
0:17:33 > 0:17:34- important marks here.- Yes.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38The first of these is this sort of monogram,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- your juggling man doing the splits.- Yes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Well, I think you decided that it might be a "T" and an "M".
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- Yes.- Absolutely spot on, and actually it relates to a very
0:17:48 > 0:17:52important gentleman at the Poole pottery works called Tony Morris.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- Right.- The second mark that is very important and makes it something
0:17:55 > 0:17:59slightly different for Poole is this one here, which is the Poole
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- Studio mark.- I see.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Now if we go back to 1963,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07we've got Poole pottery working
0:18:07 > 0:18:12in conjunction with Heal's of London, and they're launching a new range.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Ah.- And it was called Poole Studio.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20Now something that I love about this which once sort of told becomes all
0:18:20 > 0:18:25so obvious is the inspiration for this pattern, and actually it is a
0:18:25 > 0:18:28vertical aerial view of a town plan.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32- No!- With its streets and its towns and its cities and its buildings.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34That's not what I see at all.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37No? Well, I'm not going to say you're wrong either,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40but that was his inspiration, it was all about town planning.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- Really?- And that's what he drew, and you think about the '60s,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45it was all about town planning and rejuvenating.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48One thing with this type of pottery was, it basically didn't
0:18:48 > 0:18:52survive that long, it wasn't made in great quantities because it was
0:18:52 > 0:18:53just so expensive.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58- Really?- They used the most expensive glazes, they used the most expensive
0:18:58 > 0:19:00time-consuming methods of decoration,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- and as a result you don't see as much of this around on the market.- Mm.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09And I think an auction price today, if this were to go into a saleroom,
0:19:09 > 0:19:10this would carry quite comfortably
0:19:10 > 0:19:15- a pre-sale estimate of £800 to £1,200.- Wow.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18And I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't top out over
0:19:18 > 0:19:20the upper estimate of that.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26- Gracious.- Commercially it is everything a Poole Studio collector
0:19:26 > 0:19:28would want to see.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I've had a quick look in the books that I've got here today,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I can't find William Ball of High Wycombe offhand,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38but it's great to find a Wycombe clock anyway when we're here. Can you give me any background on him?
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Right, now, William Ball lived in Crendon Lane, which is now
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Crendon Street in High Wycombe, and he made clocks at number eight.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50He assembled the kit from Birmingham and then the cases were made by local cabinet makers.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54My great great great great great great grandfather was a local cabinet maker
0:19:54 > 0:19:59and he at that time was living up at the White Lion which is just up in Crendon Lane,
0:19:59 > 0:20:06he was the licensee, and they made chairs and clocks and suite cabinets and all that sort of stuff.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Well, I was going to say that the case is slightly unusual.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14It's obviously the style, the broken arch top and that sort of thing
0:20:14 > 0:20:18is typical for the very end of the 18th century, 1790, with the
0:20:18 > 0:20:22parquetry, but what is a bit more unusual is the parquetry stringing
0:20:22 > 0:20:24and the way it's been inlaid,
0:20:24 > 0:20:29- it's I suppose what you'd call an up-market country clock case.- Yes.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33We're not that far from London so in a sense some of the techniques that
0:20:33 > 0:20:35would have been used in London...
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- He's probably trying to flog them there!- Yeah.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39..have crept out to here whereas if you go...
0:20:39 > 0:20:44the further you go out into the country, usually the simpler they are.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- Mm. Mm.- One point I would
0:20:46 > 0:20:50like to bring up is the base. I am not convinced
0:20:50 > 0:20:54that this bit here is original, I reckon that that is replaced.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56OK.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Probably end of the 19th century.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Yeah, woodworm, probably.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04More likely actually is washing the stone floors.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Oh, right, rotting the... - Chucking down buckets of water,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10washing it, and in fact somebody's made a nice stout base for that.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- Yeah.- Which you could effectively
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- wash about and you wouldn't damage the base.- Yeah.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17But they rotted out very easily.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19- Yeah, OK.- It seems to be running too.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Yes, great great great grandfather didn't want to pay the winders.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- Sorry? - Well, you see this gentleman here...
0:21:26 > 0:21:28We're talking about the lock being ripped off.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31This geyser, like lots of clockmakers, he had a winder,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- and the winder went round to wind people's clocks up.- Yeah, yeah.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Bought the clock and you had to pay the winder to come and wind it up.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40- You bought the clock... - He kept the key.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42And the man...Mr Ball kept...?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44- Yeah, he kept the key. - That is seriously smart.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46So he has an income, doesn't he?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Great great great grandfather said, "I'm not paying him a penny a week,"
0:21:49 > 0:21:51screwdriver,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53lock's gone...Blu-Tack...
0:21:53 > 0:21:55so whatever.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57The top of the second opening,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01there's a small catch, which if we pull it down...
0:22:01 > 0:22:04- Yes. There we go.- The theory was that you could not upset the clock,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08so whether it was the master of the house or the local clockmaker
0:22:08 > 0:22:13who came round and wound it, kids could not play with it.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17My brother and I did. We used to climb into the loft on it, hence the finial missing.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I was about to mention that, that you'd
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- forgotten to bring it with you. - It's a climbing frame.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26You see, one step, two steps, three steps, into the loft, loft access.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Well, it's a fascinating story, it is a fairly conventional
0:22:30 > 0:22:32clock of the period.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34The local interest will obviously affect the value,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38I mean, it's a family thing, but generally when you find a clock
0:22:38 > 0:22:39that is locally made,
0:22:39 > 0:22:44despite the fact that the movement will have been, as you say, made in Birmingham or somewhere like that,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48and signed and made for a local customer, it makes a difference.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And I would say this is now the sort of clock that's worth
0:22:52 > 0:22:54perhaps in the region of about £3,000 or so.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I've got it on my insurance at three, which is...
0:22:57 > 0:23:00You could put that up a bit. The purpose of insurance
0:23:00 > 0:23:03is that you don't have to become an antique dealer to replace it,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05so the insurance value is usually a bit higher.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I'd say four for insurance and about three for value.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13"James the mouler and David the butcher".
0:23:13 > 0:23:16- Any relation?- I don't think so.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19I believe my mother found this at an auction a long time ago, I'm not
0:23:19 > 0:23:22sure, but it's always been around, but I don't think they're family.
0:23:22 > 0:23:29- And she got it how many years ago? - I would say probably 40 to 50, I believe.- And where does it live?
0:23:29 > 0:23:33We keep it in the downstairs loo so the cats can't get at it and knock it over.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- Not because you're ashamed of it? - No, we love it, and we don't want the cats to obliterate it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39It's a bit of a mystery piece, this.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44It says underneath "Their bottle, June 1790..."
0:23:44 > 0:23:49- Is that Hadleigh, Essex?- Yes. - So I think we can presume it's a local Essex pottery.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54It's certainly that lovely native English red soil covered in a lead glaze.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Now if you put cider into a lead glaze, you get a nice little
0:23:58 > 0:24:01amount of lead poisoning every time you take a swig.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- Super(!)- And that's why they're a bit strange in those parts of Essex.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10So we will never know what brought James the mouler
0:24:10 > 0:24:15and David together, but whatever it was, it happened on 17th June 1790.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20I think it's a really gorgeous honest pot and I guess it's worth
0:24:20 > 0:24:23somewhere in the region of, let's say £500 to £800.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Oh, lovely, that's good.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32They do say, as you get older and older, you retire more and more
0:24:32 > 0:24:36into your childhood, and this reminds me of my childhood on the
0:24:36 > 0:24:41south coast and summer holidays, catching crabs and shrimps
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and prawns and eels
0:24:44 > 0:24:46on the south coast.
0:24:46 > 0:24:52On one glorious day I put down my net and a lobster walked backwards
0:24:52 > 0:24:58into it and I came back, age seven, with a live lobster and this was
0:24:58 > 0:25:02sort of post-war austerity and it was really very exciting
0:25:02 > 0:25:07and my mother cooked it, and I've never eaten lobster since.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Don't try these.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13This looks very much like the seashore down there at Bognor.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15These are in fact Japanese
0:25:15 > 0:25:21rather than Sussex, these are all late 19th century.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26- Right.- They're mostly made of bronze and they've been patinated.- Ah.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- You didn't know?- I thought they were bronze but then we saw brass,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33when we moved those segments on the crayfish there.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- Well, what you can see here is the base colour.- Yes.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It is actually effectively a brass.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- Yes.- And that has then been patinated to give it this
0:25:45 > 0:25:50coppery, browny, goldy whatever colour that they wanted on it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Um, and that is what you will find on any bronze
0:25:55 > 0:25:58where it stands, you'll find it rubs to that colour.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Do you have them at home crawling
0:26:01 > 0:26:03across the carpet, or on a table?
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Well, they belonged to my mother, and now they've come down to my
0:26:08 > 0:26:13sister and me, and before that they were my grandfather's,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- and he was something of a naturalist, loved creepy crawlies like this.- Ah.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- And so they've sort of always been there.- Right.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22On a shelf, in a row, actually.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- Really?- So first time we've had them in the round as it were.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28First time they've seen the light of day, like this anyway.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- They do look wonderful together, I think.- They do.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Most of them are just
0:26:32 > 0:26:35fixed...
0:26:35 > 0:26:42demonstrations of a particular crustacean, but two are articulated
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and the...
0:26:44 > 0:26:49arms and legs and the claws are all moveable,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53giving a very naturalistic...
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Yes, we were very intrigued as children, as you can imagine.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01I can imagine, and look at this one, absolutely fantastic.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03It's really...
0:27:03 > 0:27:04LAUGHTER
0:27:04 > 0:27:05..lovely.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And these come out like that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16Now value. I think that the majority of these are in the region
0:27:16 > 0:27:20of £100 to £150 each.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Once you come to something more amusing like that...
0:27:27 > 0:27:30..you're in the £250 to £300 region,
0:27:30 > 0:27:36and that one, we're looking at £300 to £500.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Overall we're looking somewhere at
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- £1,500 to £2,000. - That's very nice.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46- Very interesting.- So thank you very much indeed.- A pleasure, thank you. - Thank you.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57I'm sure Disraeli would be quite happy that we're doing the Antiques Roadshow on his south lawn.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Unfortunately, of course, he's been lying here since 1881.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03- Did he choose to be buried here, Jessie?- He did.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09When he died he was offered the chance of being buried in Westminster Abbey as he'd been a prime minister,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12but he chose to be buried here, at Hughenden, the place that he loved,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15just down the hill from the manor house and next to his wife.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18And next also, I see, to Sarah Brydges-Willyams.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21How did that come about?
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Yes, throughout his life Disraeli made a lot of relationships with
0:28:24 > 0:28:25older women who could look after him.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Mrs Brydges-Willyams was one of these.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32She promised to give him her legacy when she died,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36if he would let her be buried in the tomb next to him and his wife.
0:28:36 > 0:28:41He and Mary Anne agreed on this, and here she lies, and the £30,000
0:28:41 > 0:28:44that he inherited on her death enabled them to restore and remodel
0:28:44 > 0:28:47the house and the gardens in the way that they wanted.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51So the great statesman and reformer was actually short of a few bob?
0:28:51 > 0:28:54He was, yes, many times through his life.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57He lost all his money on South American mining shares
0:28:57 > 0:29:01very early on in his life, he launched a newspaper which failed,
0:29:01 > 0:29:06and he made his name for himself as a novelist, writing best-selling novels
0:29:06 > 0:29:09but they made him a lot of enemies because of the thinly veiled attacks
0:29:09 > 0:29:12on famous people that he put inside them, and throughout all
0:29:12 > 0:29:16his life, he struggled against debt, using Mary Anne's money, money he
0:29:16 > 0:29:20borrowed off friends, really to try and maintain the life he had here.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23So there was much more to Disraeli than met the public eye.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Absolutely, he tried to keep it very well under wraps.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33You know, I've probably said it before,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36but if objects could talk, I'd be out of a job!
0:29:36 > 0:29:39But I know you're going to do some talking about these plates.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- This is the focus of your attention today?- It is indeed, yes.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Because in these two straightforward dessert dishes
0:29:46 > 0:29:51lies a tale that connects these dishes with the house,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and Byron and Disraeli, yes?
0:29:54 > 0:29:58- Indeed, yes.- So just elaborate, just fill me in.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04OK, my great great great grandfather was a Venetian gondolier, that's a portrait of him there.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07The great man. He doesn't look very Venetian there, does he?
0:30:07 > 0:30:11No, Disraeli had this picture commissioned in 1836, and had him
0:30:11 > 0:30:15dressed up in a Turkish outfit for it, not quite the Italian look.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20OK, now this is a copy, the original is in the house behind us.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23- It hangs in Hughenden, yes.- OK. - It was commissioned by Disraeli
0:30:23 > 0:30:26because he was quite a character.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Um, he came to England in about 1832
0:30:29 > 0:30:32and went to work for Disraeli's father Isaac,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35- who lived about five minutes down the road at Bradenham Manor.- OK.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38They worked there for 19 years, he was the valet.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41When the house was broken up he went to work in London,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43but the story that comes back to the
0:30:43 > 0:30:47plates is that we were always told that they came from the house of
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Benjamin Disraeli.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54No-one had ever tried to verify it, but because we have Falcieri...
0:30:54 > 0:30:56This is Giovanni Batista Falcieri.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01..working in the house at the time, we have the perfect opportunity here
0:31:01 > 0:31:03- for them to have come across some of these plates.- Right.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05But they have to have certain dates.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09- They do?- Yes, because the house was closed up in 1848,
0:31:09 > 0:31:14so if the plates are later than 1848, I don't think the story works.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16- All right. - So this is the clincher really.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20I want to know a little bit more about this chap because he's known as Tita?
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Tita, he was nicknamed Tita, we're not too sure who nicknamed him,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26but Byron always called him Tita, so he may have given him that nickname.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- OK. So I'm looking backwards and forwards in here.- Yes.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31And you do have a definite Italianate look,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34you have a sort of a look of the Latin about you.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38If you look through the family tree pictures, everyone looks Italian.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- Yes.- It's a very, very strong look that's carried right down.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Now he is actually dressed in such a way, he looks more in the way
0:31:44 > 0:31:46of a Greek or a Turk, doesn't he?
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Which would work with a Byron connection.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Yes, well, he fought with Byron in the Greek War of Independence.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56- Oh, did he?- And when Byron died in Missolonghi in 1824, he was at
0:31:56 > 0:32:00his bedside and he actually brought the body back to England for burial.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Fascinating stuff.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06But Disraeli said, "Oh, yes, my father could do with a valet. Off you go to Bradenham."
0:32:06 > 0:32:10So they sent him up there and he caused absolute havoc because he
0:32:10 > 0:32:13was such an unusual character, for all these local people living
0:32:13 > 0:32:14in this tiny village in Bradenham,
0:32:14 > 0:32:16who'd never seen anything like it.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21- I bet.- He was... A lot of jealousy apparently between the staff over this character.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Was that the female staff, I wonder?
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Um, I would guess so. He did actually end up marrying the housekeeper.
0:32:27 > 0:32:28- Oh, did he?- Yes,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31So there must have been a relationship built up there.
0:32:31 > 0:32:32Well, there was obviously a relationship because
0:32:32 > 0:32:34- here you are today!- Yeah.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36You're living evidence of it, you know!
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Absolutely, so yes.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41So it all comes back to the plates, doesn't it?
0:32:41 > 0:32:42It's all down to the plates, yes.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Let's have a look at the plates, let's just turn one up.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Um, well we can see a little bit of the history of the piece,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51because it's been restored.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Now, getting to the point,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55you were looking for a maker's mark, there's nothing there.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00- No.- There is a pattern number, OK. That is indicative of
0:33:00 > 0:33:03quite a lot of pottery throughout the 19th century. You would have
0:33:03 > 0:33:07thought whoever made these would have been happy to say, you know,
0:33:07 > 0:33:09"I was proud to make that plate."
0:33:09 > 0:33:13But it was just the way it was between 1820 and 1840.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19- Right.- So your plates, um,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22are around about 1830 in date.
0:33:22 > 0:33:28- Fabulous.- Which I think works in well with your gondolier.- Yes.
0:33:28 > 0:33:33- With Byron, with Dizzy, as he was called in these parts. - Absolutely, yes.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35If you were to ask me what the plates are worth,
0:33:35 > 0:33:41to be frank, they're the sort of thing that you can go on a local car boot and pick up for a fiver.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43But we're not talking money here, we're talking treasure.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47- Absolutely. - And the treasure is in the story,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51and the treasure is in the connection with a character who's long gone.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54- Yes.- What a nice little bit of family history.- Thank you.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59They've been in the family as long as I remember, then I inherited them,
0:33:59 > 0:34:04and I believe my grandfather brought them home from the Far East
0:34:04 > 0:34:09because he was in sanitation, and he worked out there, and I think
0:34:09 > 0:34:13probably brought these home as a gift for my nan or family members.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17- He was laying pipes, was he, in the Far East?- Yes, yes.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Which countries in the Far East was he visiting?
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I think he was China, Japan and those sort of countries,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25back in 1900, 1910 sort of era.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28He probably popped in on India on the way back, I guess.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32- Quite probably.- That's where the box comes from, the box is Indian.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- Ah, right.- And they're all pretty much of a period. I'm going to put
0:34:35 > 0:34:40the period around the 1890s, early 1900s, does that square?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Yes, yes, a bit earlier than I thought, but yes.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47Yeah, OK, well, the figure we've got here is a Chinese Immortal.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51He's called Lui Hai, and he's depicted with a toad...
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- Can you see the toad peeping out of there?- Yes.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Do you see this lovely little plume of smoke,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00this is sort of auspicious vapour...
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- Right.- ..that's coming out of the toad and he's got...
0:35:03 > 0:35:05They've even inlaid the eyes.
0:35:05 > 0:35:06He's rather a nice character
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- and he's supposed to bring you good luck and good fortune.- Right.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14You can see the carver's actually followed the tip of the ivory,
0:35:14 > 0:35:16this is the bottom part of an elephant's tusk,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19the very last part of the tusk,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22and they've put it onto a separate piece of ivory.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Very often, you'll find ivory figures conform to the outline of
0:35:26 > 0:35:29the tusk because they don't want to waste any of the material.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- Right.- So he's Chinese. What about this lady here?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Oh, she's beautiful, the craftsmanship,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39- the exquisite...- This is your favourite?- Yes, I love her.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Well, I'm pretty sure I can say that today,
0:35:43 > 0:35:45whatever we see,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49however many thousands of pieces we're going to see today, and we see a lot of ivory,
0:35:49 > 0:35:50I would be very, very surprised
0:35:50 > 0:35:52if we see a piece as good as this.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59In terms of carving, this is as good as it gets.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02It's incredible, isn't it? And is this one Japanese or Chinese?
0:36:02 > 0:36:04- This is Japanese.- This is Japanese.
0:36:04 > 0:36:05Absolutely.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08There was an extraordinary
0:36:08 > 0:36:13meticulous interest in total detail, obsessional.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Right.- I mean, when you look at this, it's obsessional, isn't it?
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- Yes.- The fan...- The fan.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21The fan, if we actually look down the edge,
0:36:21 > 0:36:22you can see they've actually unfurled
0:36:22 > 0:36:24just a couple of leaves out of there
0:36:24 > 0:36:28and you can see the others folded back on themselves. The hairdo,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31the way it's bunched...
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Every time I look at it,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36- I marvel at it. - You get enjoyment out of this?
0:36:36 > 0:36:37- Yes, I do. - You're absolutely right, though,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39the flowers are the crowning glory,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41- aren't they?- Yes.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43That is absolutely amazing carving.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Now ivory's a very sensitive issue
0:36:46 > 0:36:49because people like elephants, I like elephants. At the time
0:36:49 > 0:36:53this was made, the elephant was not an endangered species.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57I have no problem in enjoying this piece.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59They were a farmed resource.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I know today it's a different matter,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04so I don't think you should have any qualms
0:37:04 > 0:37:08about owning something like this. Other people might disagree.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13Remarkably, the artist's signature is incredibly modest,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16in fact it's almost indecipherable, and it appears right down in the
0:37:16 > 0:37:21bottom, at the centre of the piece. I think that is absolutely superb.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26Right, your Indian box, not worth a huge amount of money, maybe £50.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29- Right.- Your Chinese Lui Hai,
0:37:29 > 0:37:34he's probably worth about £200 or so.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37Right, she's in good nick.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39- Good.- Any idea of value?
0:37:39 > 0:37:41- Well, if that's £200...- Yes.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45..um...that's...£800.
0:37:45 > 0:37:51Yes, I think you're right. I think if that came up for auction,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54I would have thought £2,000 would be about right.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Not £800. £2,000!
0:37:59 > 0:38:00Right.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Good gracious.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Do you mind if I'm a bit rude?
0:38:09 > 0:38:12We see a lot of jewellery like this brought in on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Do you know what they are?
0:38:14 > 0:38:18- I don't, no.- All right, well, what they are, are colourless glass
0:38:18 > 0:38:20clusters for the ears.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- Right.- And in fact there they are, mounted up in their pad.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26- Yes.- So they're white glass, known as paste.- Right.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30In colourless paste borders, mounted up in white metal and these were
0:38:30 > 0:38:35made in around about, what, 1900, 1910. They're copies of diamonds.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Now what do you know about these pieces
0:38:37 > 0:38:40here in the box all twisted up in this paper here?
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- Shall I take them out?- Yes. - What do you know about that one?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46All I know is that they all belonged to my great grandmother.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48- Mm.- She was from Buxton.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53That's all I know, and it was passed through the family...
0:38:53 > 0:38:56- So nothing was conveyed to you? - No, not at all, no.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00- This is just, this is the jewellery and it's yours.- That's right.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03So do you assume that that is the same as that,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05as far as the material is concerned?
0:39:05 > 0:39:08- I would have thought so, yes. - Do you? Right.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10- Well, those are diamonds.- Right.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12OK.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16So those are paste, worth around about £10 or £15.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19- OK.- Those are diamonds and it's worth more than that.- Yes.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24The brooch itself was probably made in around about 1925-1930
0:39:24 > 0:39:25and it's Art Deco.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29It follows the clear defined design for Art Deco,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33geometric, linear, mounted in platinum.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38Now if I get to grips with it, the diamonds themselves are,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40as I say, typically set,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43but the quality of the stones is incredible.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47- Mmm.- They're practically pure white diamonds.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50The centre stone would weigh around about 1.50 carat, 1.60 carat.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54These weigh about a carat apiece, and you've got this
0:39:54 > 0:39:57sprinkling of smaller stones within.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01In the twist of paper wrapping the box,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04- we've got this as well.- Yes.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07- What do you know about that? - I would have said diamonds.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Why?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12Just the way they're glistening.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16- But nothing was told to you about what these were?- No.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18All right.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20- Those are diamonds.- Yes.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23And they're big stones. Those are diamonds and they're huge stones.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25- Yes.- Hmm.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Let me try and tell you what sort of weight of diamonds we have here.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32If I place it on the back of my hand,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35- first of all let me tell you about the history of it.- Mm-hm.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37It was made in around about,
0:40:37 > 0:40:44I suppose what, 1910-1915, this sort of period of belle epoque jewellery.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48They sometimes called them negligee pendants and actually that means
0:40:48 > 0:40:51a diamond or a gem with a bar and a bigger gem at the bottom.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Mm-hm.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55But here, what they've done is
0:40:55 > 0:40:58they've mounted three specimen diamonds
0:40:58 > 0:41:04- and the top stone weighs around about 2 carats to 2.20 carats. - Right.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09And the bottom stones individually weigh, I suppose,
0:41:09 > 0:41:133.20 carat each.
0:41:13 > 0:41:14Wow.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19In other words, if you add up the total weight of diamonds here
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- in this piece, in this screw of paper that you've got.- Yes, yes.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- You've got the best part of ten carats...- Wow.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28..of diamonds in these three stones.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31That's incredible.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Now, the...
0:41:34 > 0:41:37So obviously you've never had them valued.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I think my mother had the necklace valued.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43- She did?- She did, yes.- OK, but never intimated to you what it might be?
0:41:43 > 0:41:45She mentioned it, yes.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47- What did she say?- £3,000.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52£3,000. Well, that's a good price for a diamond pendant,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56but you do not buy ten carats of diamonds for £3,000 today.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Wow.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01No, this diamond brooch is, by itself,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03in my opinion, worth, if you were selling it,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05something in the region of £7,000 or £8,000.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09- Gosh, wow.- Just for that one.
0:42:09 > 0:42:15Now you've got ten carats of diamonds, their cut is all matching
0:42:15 > 0:42:18and they're reasonable clarity.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Now if you were to say to me what does the market want at the moment?
0:42:22 > 0:42:24- They all want diamonds, they're crying out for diamonds.- Right.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Frankly, there's a shortage of diamonds on the market,
0:42:27 > 0:42:28and what's that doing?
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It's pressing the price up and up,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32so your £3,000...
0:42:32 > 0:42:37I'm going to probably say something like £18,000-£22,000.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Gosh, that's amazing.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47- It is really a very serious piece of diamond jewellery.- Right.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49What a spectacular thing to find,
0:42:49 > 0:42:54- I'm absolutely bowled over, fabulous. Thank you very much indeed, thank you.- Thank you.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Hughenden's owner, Disraeli, had the right phrase for every occasion,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03he even had one that would suit the Roadshow
0:43:03 > 0:43:07when he wrote, "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11"but to reveal to him his own." Very true.
0:43:11 > 0:43:17We plan to return to Hughenden when we shall reveal the story that the house kept a secret for 60 years.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Until then, goodbye.