0:00:33 > 0:00:37This year is a special one for the Antiques Roadshow
0:00:37 > 0:00:39because it is 30 years old.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42That means we're celebrating our Pearl Anniversary,
0:00:42 > 0:00:47and we shall be casting around for pearls, diamond tiaras, nice pieces of pottery, bits of furniture,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51in fact everything we've had a look at over the past three decades.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56And for this season, we've found some spectacular locations.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59In Scotland, we shall visit the most northerly chateau on the
0:00:59 > 0:01:04British mainland, the castle of May, much-loved by the Queen Mother.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07We shall travel to Wales to film the glorious Powys Castle,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10setting up camp in its world-famous gardens.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15There are a couple of cathedrals on our list - Coventry and Rochester.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18And we tread some new territory. For the first time,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21the Roadshow visits the banqueting house in Westminster,
0:01:21 > 0:01:23a working pottery at Middleport,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and a former World War II airfield,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29time-capsuled in rural Lincolnshire.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32But that's all miles and months ahead.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35We start our 30th series in Hereford, which is
0:01:35 > 0:01:38a good choice because this is where it all began.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40SYNTHESIZER VERSION OF THEME TUNE PLAYS
0:01:51 > 0:01:55That very first show was filmed here at Hereford Town Hall
0:01:55 > 0:01:58on May 17th, 1977.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03It was introduced to an unsuspecting world by Bruce Parker.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09Hello again. We're in Hereford today, the city that gives its name to white-faced cattle and cider,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12a beautiful cathedral city on the River Wye.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15There are people with all sorts of packages, large, small,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20some objects carefully packed up, others in supermarket carrier bags
0:02:20 > 0:02:23and the people here all have the one idea of finding out more
0:02:23 > 0:02:26about that particular item they've had at home,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27perhaps through generations,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31but they've never had the opportunity to ask anybody.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34No-one really thought that the show would set the world on fire,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36but it immediately became a roaring success.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40That old British stand-by, the queue, had suddenly found a new expression.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44And as affection for the Roadshow grew, so did the crowds.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47The BBC had to look for larger venues.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Today we're at Hereford's Courtyard Centre for the Arts,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53one of the first projects to receive lottery funding,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and because we're expecting long queues,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59we've taken over not only the theatre, but the foyer as well.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Like the Roadshow itself,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05the Courtyard goes from strength to strength with each passing year.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Happy birthday, everyone. Welcome to the party.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15I, um...havered about this object.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I bet you did.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- I've been havering about it for 76 years so...- Have you really?
0:03:20 > 0:03:22- Yes.- So you've known it from since childhood?
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Oh, yes, it's been in the family... My...my grandfather
0:03:26 > 0:03:28acquired it in China.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32And the legend has been about this question about India and China.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- And I don't... - Where does the India come from?
0:03:35 > 0:03:39- The idea of India? - Well, the idea was that at one time China paid tribute to India,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44I don't know whether it's true or not, this is going way back into history.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Or, later, India paid tribute to China, I don't know which. And the story of this
0:03:48 > 0:03:52is that this is supposed to be one of the Chinese elephants
0:03:52 > 0:03:55proceeding in the direction of India, but I don't know,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I mean, I simply don't know, and I'm here for you to tell me.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- I'm going to squash the Indian bit completely.- OK, fine.
0:04:01 > 0:04:07This technique of inlaying hard stones, stained ivory,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10mother-of-pearl into a lacquer ground,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15- is known in Japan as shibayama and we see it quite a lot.- Yes, OK.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20And my first impression was, shibayama.
0:04:20 > 0:04:26This is far better technique than the Chinese could do.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- Really? Oh.- Not really...
0:04:29 > 0:04:31That's what I THOUGHT.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36- Yes.- But I'm now convinced that this is Chinese.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39The thing that convinced me that we were looking at
0:04:39 > 0:04:43a Chinese object was this saddle cloth.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- Yes.- That technique of simply incising lozenges as...
0:04:47 > 0:04:51with little flicks is characteristically
0:04:51 > 0:04:53- Chinese and not Japanese.- Oh.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57But if you look at this man's face.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- Yes.- That is a Chinese face.- Yes.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03The Japanese would... Even if they were trying to do a Chinese face,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- it wouldn't look like that.- No, no.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- It would be much more characteristically Japanese.- Yes.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Because they can't escape from that.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- Mm.- Then you start looking at it and you think,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17that detail, that would never be Japanese,
0:05:17 > 0:05:23and suddenly the whole thing implodes and becomes something different.
0:05:23 > 0:05:29And I love that, you know, let's prove ourselves wrong.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33And it's a very rare plaque indeed.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38- It is?- Which would have stood on a scholar's table.- Oh?
0:05:38 > 0:05:43There is a very fair chance that this is 18th century and I think
0:05:43 > 0:05:47we're looking at a price of somewhere around
0:05:47 > 0:05:49£8,000 to £10,000.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Insurance?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Well, 15 for insurance, if you insist.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57HE LAUGHS
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Thank you so much.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- I went to visit my aunt about 20-odd years ago.- Yes.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06And she'd got it in a display cabinet.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08- What, closed?- Yes.- Yes.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11And she said, "What do you think that is?"
0:06:11 > 0:06:18And I thought, "Well it's a cricket ball from when my grandfather used to play cricket above W G Grace."
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- And...- Oh, no!- Yes!
0:06:20 > 0:06:24And he would have liked to have been professional but, erm,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27my grandmother said she'd divorce him.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- So...- She wasn't going to become a cricketer's widow!- No!
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- No, very good. - So my aunt said, "Go and get it out of the display cabinet
0:06:33 > 0:06:34"and give it to me."
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I couldn't believe it when she opened it up, it was,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- you know, magic. - Do you love it?- Yes, yes.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42And it IS magic, because you open it
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and there on one side are the heavens
0:06:45 > 0:06:50with all the signs of the zodiac and the heavenly bodies depicted.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- Yes.- And then you have the terrestrial globe
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and I'm going to put the other glove on
0:06:56 > 0:07:01because the varnish on these globes really is such
0:07:01 > 0:07:04that you shouldn't really touch the varnish ungloved.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I presume you handle it always at home with gloves. Do say yes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09I'm sorry. No!
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- I think from now on, just do be a little bit careful with it.- OK.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15The first thing to do is to see if there are clues to the date
0:07:15 > 0:07:20and what's lovely here is that you do have a clue with the name
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Captain Cook and the details of his particular journey.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Then twisting it round, I also like to look at some of the places
0:07:29 > 0:07:34to see what they had discovered, and if we look at Australia
0:07:34 > 0:07:38for instance, we can see that it's called New Holland,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41but also we can see that Tasmania is still attached,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44they haven't quite worked out that Tasmania is an island,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47so that's a little clue.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52And going round, let's see what else we have that might be interesting.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Early on, you often find that California
0:07:56 > 0:07:57is indicated as an island
0:07:57 > 0:08:00because again they hadn't worked out that it was a peninsula,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and here they HAVE done that exploration
0:08:04 > 0:08:08and worked out that it's attached to America.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12And then finally we have the detail of the maker,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15"New Globe of the Earth".
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Now, as far as date is concerned, I would have said
0:08:20 > 0:08:24that we're right at the end of the 18th century,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27perhaps the beginning of the 19th century,
0:08:27 > 0:08:33so 1780 through to 1810, perhaps, and that was a time when really
0:08:33 > 0:08:39the coffee houses were the centre of intellectual exchanges.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43New inventions, new discoveries were discussed at the coffee houses
0:08:43 > 0:08:47and you can imagine some swell in the latter part of the 18th century
0:08:47 > 0:08:51would come in, and they'd compare their globes.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Somebody might have Captain Cook's second expedition,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59whereas somebody else may only have his first expedition.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's a bit like having an internet search engine in your pocket
0:09:02 > 0:09:03in the 18th century!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- You love it, you say.- Yes. - Well, you're in good company,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11there are lots of people out there who also love it
0:09:11 > 0:09:16and I would have said at auction we'd be talking about...
0:09:16 > 0:09:20certainly £3,000 and perhaps a little bit more than that
0:09:20 > 0:09:21and the reason that I say that
0:09:21 > 0:09:27is actually last week I tried to buy one and I was outbid,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32so I know that the market is really, really buoyant at the moment.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36It's a little treasure and I'm so pleased that you brought it in.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Have you ever really stood back and looked at this?
0:09:39 > 0:09:41No, I don't think I have.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46This is timeless, this shape, it could be modern Japanese,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50it could be very early Oriental,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54it could be anything. It's an organic shape, it could be a bronze,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- it could be... It's just classic.- Oh, really?
0:09:57 > 0:10:00And there is Granny, Great-Granny...
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- Yes, my great-grandmother, yes. - ..sitting in the chair, in the sunshine,
0:10:04 > 0:10:09- 1931-1937.- Yes.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14- She was already sitting in a chair 400 years old.- Really? Gosh.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19This chair is 16th century, round about the time of Henry VIII
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- or his daughter, Elizabeth I.- Gosh.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25But look at the way it's constructed. A, the shape,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27these great boards coming out each side.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33- Mm-hm.- A strut underneath all tenoned and pegged
0:10:33 > 0:10:36so there is a mortise and a tenon. The tenon is the bit that lives in,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- as in tenant.- Yes.- These are pegged through with willow pegs,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42but just look at that,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46the man who formed that just got that shape right
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and just took a simple scraping off each side to make that
0:10:50 > 0:10:53really very smart, very smart.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56- Yes.- And then to think that they were bending
0:10:56 > 0:10:59large sheets of thin-cut timber. The precision with which
0:10:59 > 0:11:03they had to cut that to that thickness, or that thinness, really,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- is amazing.- Yes.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08And then he didn't just join these two top pieces, he overlapped them,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12so he cut that piece under there and that piece over there.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But over the years that sort of wore loose, that's why you've got
0:11:15 > 0:11:17so many nails and pegs in there.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The first time you would have only had two.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- So very sophisticated for this period.- Yes.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And it's made of oak which was extremely expensive timber,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29this came from the Baltic rather than English oak.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- Right.- It was imported, and so it would have come from
0:11:32 > 0:11:34a house of some considerable importance
0:11:34 > 0:11:39to have that much thought and skill go into making the chair.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44Then we look at this basic shape, now this type of arm you find
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- from the 16th century...- Right.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51..in one form or another in areas of the UK for the rest of time,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- I mean, we still make it today. - Oh, right.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58But in the 16th century, you find it on the east coast of Scotland,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and all the way down, you find this arm. Why?
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Because it looks French, it was a French form, that arm.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07It got smaller, sometimes fatter.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09- Yes.- But it's still there.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Most of the English form was always...
0:12:11 > 0:12:13- The arm went that way, right? - Of course.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16And then this developed into stick-back chairs
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and all types of what we call Windsor chairs,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22was from primitive design like this.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It's absolutely fabulous,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27it's like a bit of old iron, it's just wonderful.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I have actually taken a sit and it's not too bad, it's quite comfortable.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- No, it's fairly strong still! - So now where do you keep it?
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Well, it's just kept in my mother's house, just tucked away in a corner
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and nobody actually sits on it any more.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Too bad.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Why don't you sit in it?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- Well... - Come on, come and sit in it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48And tell me if that's...
0:12:49 > 0:12:53- Yes.- You see? - It is quite comfortable really, yes.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- You could watch the Roadshow sitting in it.- I could do, yeah!
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- Well, I hope you do. - That's a good idea.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02If it should ever leave your possession for any reason,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- and I'm sure it won't...- No.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- ..its next rightful place would be in a museum.- Oh, right, OK.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12This is of sufficient importance - not value, but historic importance -
0:13:12 > 0:13:14to be in a museum.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18We have to talk values, out of interest.
0:13:18 > 0:13:24- Mm-hm.- And it's very, very difficult for something which is not unique
0:13:24 > 0:13:26- but extremely rare.- Right. OK.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31In a commercial market today, I would value this between
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- £6,000 and £8,000.- Really? Gosh!
0:13:35 > 0:13:39I never thought it was going to be anywhere near that.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44I was lucky enough to come up here a couple of days ago
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and walking through Hereford Cathedral close
0:13:47 > 0:13:51on a fairly typical tour of the city, I came across what is obviously
0:13:51 > 0:13:54a larger version of this, a remarkable statue, I thought.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56What is the connection?
0:13:56 > 0:14:00This is the maquette of the statue of Elgar with his bicycle...
0:14:00 > 0:14:05- Right.- ..unveiled about two years ago to commemorate the 100th anniversary
0:14:05 > 0:14:07of Elgar coming to live and work in Hereford.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10So he was a son of the city, almost.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11His mother was a Herefordian.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17So he was a son of Herefordshire by both descent and residence.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And cycling was a great source of inspiration and relaxation.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26And can you imagine what it was like cycling round here 100 years ago, roughly?
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- Well...- No cars, just the odd farm wagon...
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Total silence, peace, bliss, no danger, it must have been wonderful.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36We can't ignore this either, can we?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38- No.- Tell me about it.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43It's a Royal Sunbeam bicycle of the period and make
0:14:43 > 0:14:49which Elgar would have cycled round Herefordshire and Worcestershire on.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Right, this not his clearly, or I presume not.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- No, it's of the period and make of his bicycle.- Right.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00This was a Rolls-Royce bicycle in its day, it was very expensive
0:15:00 > 0:15:04and it had features that most other bicycles wouldn't have had.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09It had gears, it had brakes - very effective brakes on both wheels -
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and it had this totally enclosed chain so there were no problems
0:15:13 > 0:15:15with maintenance. The dust of the road
0:15:15 > 0:15:19would wear out chains very, very quickly and this is a wonderful...
0:15:19 > 0:15:23It's actually a very good example, and you paid how much for it?
0:15:23 > 0:15:25£150.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29I think that's very good value, and he had a nickname for his bicycle, didn't he?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Yes, Mr Phoebus, after the god Apollo,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37the God of light, enlightenment and appropriately, poetry and music.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42And in fact the inscription round the statue, and the maquette,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46is one of Elgar's. "This is what I hear all day,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49"the trees are singing my music or have I sung theirs?"
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Isn't that beautiful?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54FLOWING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Now, I believe this is something of a family affair
0:16:07 > 0:16:09- because I know you two are sisters.- Yes.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13But you've brought along a couple of your relatives, is that right?
0:16:13 > 0:16:18- That is correct.- OK, so just introduce me to the elder of the two.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Well, yes, now this is Marguerite and her maiden name was Heathfield
0:16:23 > 0:16:29and she married a very wealthy German and they lived in Leipzig,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32- and he was a minor poet and a bookbinder.- Right.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- But, anyway, that is the daughter. - And this is the daughter?
0:16:35 > 0:16:38- Lilian, she's known as Aunt Daisy in the family.- That's Aunt Daisy.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- Yes, and...- And did you ever get to meet her?- Oh, yes.- You did.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43She lived to over 100.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Oh, did she? - I went to her 100th birthday party.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48That's a pretty good innings!
0:16:48 > 0:16:52And Lilian lived until 1993.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55So she could have actually turned up 30 years ago
0:16:55 > 0:16:59to the very first programme that we made in Hereford?
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Yes, but I think she lived in India at that time.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- That would have been a bit of a trek!- Quite right.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Well, it's interesting that you said Leipzig
0:17:07 > 0:17:09because it's all in a name, isn't it?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13- It is.- And I can see the sculptor's name on here is, er...- Pfeifer.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16And Pfeifer himself was born in Leipzig
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- then he went on to Berlin... - Right.- And he IS a great sculptor.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21That's very interesting...
0:17:21 > 0:17:26I always thought they were beautiful and when we were moving house when I was first married,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29there were these two shrouded things outside the house
0:17:29 > 0:17:31and I said to my husband, "What are those?"
0:17:31 > 0:17:33and he said, "Those are the busts",
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and I said, "They're too beautiful to be shrouded in sacking!"
0:17:36 > 0:17:40But if I can just look... Can we just start with...
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Her, yes, Aunt Daisy. - I can call her Daisy, can't I?
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Oh, yes, absolutely. She doesn't mind!
0:17:45 > 0:17:46- She doesn't mind!- Yes.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Because this is marble, white Carrara marble,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I mean, you're looking at the time of the Great War...
0:17:52 > 0:17:58- Yes, about 1919.- 1919 and here's a costume which is so typical
0:17:58 > 0:18:01of the age and the beads. Now, the beads...
0:18:01 > 0:18:03- I've got those here. - You've got them there.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Can I be so bold...? I don't know if they'll fit over her.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09I did try, actually.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Can we give it a try? Because I think it's only right.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17- Oh, well!- Well, there you go, but the actual material is what?
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- White coral.- They certainly look the part.- I feel very honoured,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25I was given this after I was given the bust and I didn't know for some time
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- that this was the necklace. - Well, there you go.- She told me.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Can we just look at. .
0:18:30 > 0:18:36- No, she's Lilian and...- I want to give Lilian a bit of a turn if I may.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- Right, OK.- And the reason I want to turn her round is...
0:18:39 > 0:18:41She's got the hairstyle.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43It's wonderful, isn't it?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47And she lived, as I say, she was 87, I think, when she died,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and she spoke about seven languages.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- Did she?- All with a strong Germanic accent.- Really?
0:18:53 > 0:18:56What is important is that in my business
0:18:56 > 0:19:00- I see so many busts of quality... - Yes, right.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04..but they're never inscribed with whoever the sitter is.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- Really?- It's so frustrating but with something like this
0:19:07 > 0:19:10it's very important that you make a record -
0:19:10 > 0:19:12I'm not going to say chisel it in -
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- but a record of exactly who they are. - Yes.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Cos it means so much more. So after that,
0:19:17 > 0:19:22if this turned up in an auction, I would expect her to be estimated
0:19:22 > 0:19:26at somewhere around about maybe £800 to £1,200,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and size isn't everything,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34- and I think youth could push this girl to £1,000 plus.- Yes.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36That's very nice to know. Thank you.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39- Not at all, it's nice for the introduction.- Thank you.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- I got it from a house clearance... - Oh, right.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47..in about 1981 and it was obviously smashed
0:19:47 > 0:19:51so I paid very little for it, but I love the painting
0:19:51 > 0:19:54and I've always been interested in Greek myths.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Right, do you remember what you paid for it then?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59- £4.50.- Oh, right.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Which I thought was quite a lot for a very cracked plate.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04It's broken, of course,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08but the clue to the story is here written on the back,
0:20:08 > 0:20:13you've got the inscription there, "Andromeda et Persio, 1545",
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and that's the date it was made.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I wondered if it was a forgery, you see,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22I thought it could have been made to look old for the tourist trade,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25that was my thought, but I've always wondered if it was genuine.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Yes, 1545, it was made in that year
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and that's the reign of Henry VIII we're going back to.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Yes, that's tremendous.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- But English pottery was pretty crude at that time.- Yes.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39But this is from Italy where it was the Renaissance
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and of course what we have here is a Renaissance masterpiece.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44SHE GASPS
0:20:44 > 0:20:48It is a great thing, it was known as an istoriato piece
0:20:48 > 0:20:52and istoriato plates literally are story-telling plates.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56You'd learn your Bible stories and your myths from these pieces.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00And the best of these painted plates were made at the town of Urbino
0:21:00 > 0:21:05and that's where this was made in 1545 and it tells the story
0:21:05 > 0:21:09of Perseus and Andromeda and there is Andromeda bound to the tree...
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- Yes.- ..and being terrorised by this extraordinary sea monster
0:21:13 > 0:21:17which is really quite ferocious, isn't he, there?
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- So there's Perseus.- Yes. - And he's fighting an enemy
0:21:20 > 0:21:24presumably off at the side there and the nice thing about maiolica -
0:21:24 > 0:21:26the name for the early Italian pottery -
0:21:26 > 0:21:29is the colours are sealed within the glaze. When this was made
0:21:29 > 0:21:33it was painted straight onto the melted glass of the glaze
0:21:33 > 0:21:35and fired in the kiln, and when it came out,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39these were the colours you saw, so it hasn't changed.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41And this isn't just ordinary painting either,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45there were many painters working at Urbino, but I feel
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- this is really quite a good hand.- Ah.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50It's going to be one of the masters, I think it might be
0:21:50 > 0:21:55a painter named Orazio Fontana but they are hard to pin down.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Even broken to pieces, it's still a special piece,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00it's still quite a valuable piece,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03certainly worth a bit more than £4.50!
0:22:03 > 0:22:08I mean, as it stands I would think we're probably looking at, broken,
0:22:08 > 0:22:09£4,000.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Good heavens!
0:22:12 > 0:22:15My grandfather gave it to my mother.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Really? What a lovely present.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21And it was... I would think that he bought it at auction.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- When about?- Erm, between the wars.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27And what kind of man was your grandfather?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Yes, my grandfather... Erm...
0:22:29 > 0:22:34A very interesting man and very much into art and music.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Well, he obviously knew his pictures because this is an absolute beauty.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- Yes.- It's by John Lavery, as I'm sure you know.- Yes, absolutely.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45I mean, he's just this consummate artist, everything he touched
0:22:45 > 0:22:48just had this extraordinary confidence and bravura...
0:22:48 > 0:22:51There seemed to be nothing he couldn't do with a brush,
0:22:51 > 0:22:52it seems to me.
0:22:52 > 0:22:59He was born in Belfast and he worked for most of his life in Glasgow, actually,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03so, you know, you've got this Irish-Scottish thing,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07but in between and after having been to art school in London,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11he ended up in Paris and that's when it starts to get interesting.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13He was lucky enough to get to Paris
0:23:13 > 0:23:15in a rather unusual way, actually.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17His studio in London burned down.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21- Oh, no!- It did, razed to the ground and with the insurance money
0:23:21 > 0:23:24it was enough to get him to Paris and to the Academie Julien
0:23:24 > 0:23:29where he studied, but whilst there... This is a very exciting time,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33in the 1880s, to be in Paris, everyone was there. You know,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37the influence of Degas, Manet... In fact he painted a picture
0:23:37 > 0:23:41called The Fishers... The Fishermen, which was hung
0:23:41 > 0:23:44right next to Manet's Bar At The Folies-Bergere
0:23:44 > 0:23:48in the salon of that year, which is just to give you some idea
0:23:48 > 0:23:50of what this picture comes out of. And when you look at it,
0:23:50 > 0:23:55you can see the influences of people like Degas, this black -
0:23:55 > 0:23:59I mean, nobody used black like Degas used black and Manet as well -
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and I think you can see that in this picture.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05But don't you think he painted it very quickly outside?
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Yes, probably, yes, yes.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- Has that feel...- Yes, yes, hm.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12..with dappled sunlight coming through with the slightest touch
0:24:12 > 0:24:16and it's quite thinly painted in areas, I mean if you look up here,
0:24:16 > 0:24:17that's just the background really,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19this darker area here, and then you've got
0:24:19 > 0:24:23these really thick slabs of paint to suggest where the light
0:24:23 > 0:24:26is at its strongest, like these leaves above her head
0:24:26 > 0:24:32and the side of her face there, that's just one single brush stroke.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36- Mm.- And the child's head is sort of limned in gold by the sun
0:24:36 > 0:24:40but seen through that parasol which is very brilliantly highlighted
0:24:40 > 0:24:42with just a few confident strokes,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45you know, he just wants to get to that lovely light.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49But what's fascinating is how well the picture comes together
0:24:49 > 0:24:50just with a few strokes.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52- It's a shorthand, isn't it? - Yes.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Which, clumsily done, you would never be able to understand
0:24:55 > 0:24:59the structure of the painting, but in the hands of a master
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- like Lavery... - It just comes together.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Well, now, I suppose he didn't pay too much for it in 1920-whenever,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- did he? Do you know? - No idea.- No idea.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13I think this picture is going to be something in the region of
0:25:13 > 0:25:15£200,000, £250,000, that sort of thing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- Oh, really?- Oh. How nice! - At its very best.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Yes, my mother always rated it.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24- Oh, thank you very much. - Thank you.- Yes, thank you very much.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36For some people, it's hard to imagine a Sunday tea-time without the Antiques Roadshow.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41I mean, what did we do? Stare into space, vaguely aware that something was missing from our lives?
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Well, that gap was filled exactly 30 years ago here in Hereford
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and the man who introduced us to the Roadshow habit -
0:25:49 > 0:25:52he was the host of the show that first day - is Bruce Parker.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Bruce, you have a very great deal to answer for! How did it all start?
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Well, the big auction houses were doing their own roadshows in towns
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and cities all over Britain where people were invited to have their antiques valued.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07A BBC producer, Robin Drake, thought it would make good TV
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and he came to see me in my Hampshire house,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14discussed it with me and said, "Will you join me?" you know, and that was it.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15Were you nervous?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Yes, because we didn't know what was going to happen.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20I think the BBC put some adverts in local papers
0:26:20 > 0:26:22but we didn't know if anybody would turn up.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26- But they did.- They did indeed.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29The doors opened, and in they flooded and by the middle of the day
0:26:29 > 0:26:33we realised that we were going to have some problems here with crowd control
0:26:33 > 0:26:37because there were great queues. They were behaving themselves -
0:26:37 > 0:26:39people who collect antiques are civilised -
0:26:39 > 0:26:41and so everything went off all right,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45but subsequently we had to have security people and crowd control.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Well, it's still, as you see, very well supported, lots of people.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Has the atmosphere changed at all?
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I think it was a bit formal in those days, and looking back at some of the recordings
0:26:57 > 0:27:02of the original Antiques Roadshows, I mean, we're all very plummy,
0:27:02 > 0:27:07not just me, but the experts as well. I mean, we had that, "How did you come by this?"
0:27:07 > 0:27:11And I think some of the experts too were a little bit hectoring
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and very formidable, actually.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Might be a good idea to have the enamel cleaned
0:27:20 > 0:27:23because it's very dusty inside and slightly discoloured.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Might have put some oil on it at one time.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29And people always leave them on top of the mantelpiece over the fire
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- which is really the worst place for them.- Yes.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34CLOCK CHIMES
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Yes, it was all rather frightfully-frightfully in those early days!
0:27:37 > 0:27:44- Ever so, ever so.- Rather. But then, as now, like everyone, you were looking for a good valuation,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47but a good story to go with it is what you wanted.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Exactly, always the story clinched it.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Mind you, it wasn't always all that smooth.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55I remember an argument between the expert and somebody who'd brought in a plate.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59She said, "How old's that?" and they said, "Well, it's 1910",
0:27:59 > 0:28:01and she said "Oh, no, no, it can't be 1910",
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and he said, "Well, it is, because the marks show it's 1910".
0:28:04 > 0:28:09She said, "No, no, no, my mother was 90 and she was given it
0:28:09 > 0:28:11"by her mother and she died when she was 90
0:28:11 > 0:28:13"so it's got to be 180 years old."
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Well, you could make a TV set an antique on that basis!
0:28:16 > 0:28:20And indeed people came in, they really didn't know what they'd brought in.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25The shape is what's known as a bourdaloue and it was used
0:28:25 > 0:28:30by ladies in church to relieve themselves during the long sermons.
0:28:30 > 0:28:36And originally it had a cover and the reason it's called a bourdaloue
0:28:36 > 0:28:41is because the man who preached very long sermons in France, Father Bourdaloue,
0:28:41 > 0:28:47went on for two or three hours sometimes and ladies had to relieve themselves during his sermons
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and this dates, I should think, from about 1750,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55possibly 1760 and, erm, the value of it...
0:28:55 > 0:28:58- You haven't got its cover have you, by any chance?- No.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Without its cover and with a damaged handle,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04it's probably in the order of £100 to £150.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08So you never know, you could be sitting on a fortune!
0:29:08 > 0:29:12During that first series you worked with the master storyteller, didn't you?
0:29:12 > 0:29:17The master, Arthur Negus, of course, yes, and he was absolutely masterly
0:29:17 > 0:29:20as well with the public and he really got on well with them.
0:29:20 > 0:29:25Mind you, some producers got really cross with him because he somehow shied away from the value of things
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and of course the thing we like about this show is very often the value,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33but he'd say to people, "You don't want to know the value, do you?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36"You just take that home and take good care of it,"
0:29:36 > 0:29:42and of course it wasn't quite what the audiences wanted, but he did know how to bring things to life.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- It's really a fortune-telling doll isn't it?- Yes.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Because there she is, all dressed as it were
0:29:47 > 0:29:50in a crinoline and you fiddled it and twiddled it about
0:29:50 > 0:29:55and lo and behold you could take any one you wish.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58You just pick one and let's see what luck we get between us.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03- "You will live free from want, and have...- wherewithal to do good."
0:30:03 > 0:30:07You couldn't have any better advice than that, could you?
0:30:07 > 0:30:12No fortune-teller could guess the show would still be going after 30 years. Are you amazed,
0:30:12 > 0:30:13and perhaps a bit proud?
0:30:13 > 0:30:20Very proud to have been part of, and the start of, what is now a national institution.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24It's been a winner, hasn't it? And it's obviously going to continue.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Well, this is a Jungle Book brooch, isn't it?
0:30:28 > 0:30:32It's the King of the Swingers... Have you worn it?
0:30:32 > 0:30:34I have, on an evening dress.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38And...and I think one couldn't hope for a piece of diamond jewellery
0:30:38 > 0:30:41to be more inspired in its composition, could you?
0:30:41 > 0:30:45- I mean, it's a fantastic thing, a monkey on a trapeze, isn't it?- Yes.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48And it's the sparkle of the diamonds and the little ruby eyes...
0:30:48 > 0:30:52- Ruby eyes, yes.- And then, pearls at the end of the trapeze.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55- Yes.- On pure gold. Well, it's a complete delight, isn't it?
0:30:55 > 0:30:59- I'm the King of the Swingers, Jungle VIP.- Yes!
0:30:59 > 0:31:02And he's certainly reached the top because in a way
0:31:02 > 0:31:06this is the absolute top of Edwardian jewellery, really,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10it's top in its composition, it's top in its craftsmanship
0:31:10 > 0:31:12and it's top for us now
0:31:12 > 0:31:14because it has a sort of theatricality about it
0:31:14 > 0:31:17that people would want very, very much.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Tell me about its history with you.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Well, I've had it for the last 20-odd years,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23it was bought for my grandmother
0:31:23 > 0:31:26about 100 years ago from a Hereford firm.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Oh, yes, we see it on the lid, so it's of local interest.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Yes. And it's a beautiful box, actually, lined with blue silk velvet
0:31:33 > 0:31:36with a white satin lid with the supplier's name on it.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39And I've got a funny feeling that these things are inspired by
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Japanese art. There's a sort of obsession with monkeys
0:31:43 > 0:31:44in Japanese folklore
0:31:44 > 0:31:48and I've got a funny feeling that the jeweller who decided to make
0:31:48 > 0:31:51this highly amusing brooch had seen Japanese examples,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53perhaps in pottery or in glass.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55I haven't a shadow of doubt that this little brooch
0:31:55 > 0:32:00comes from the early 20th century, I think somewhere about 1902-1910,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03perhaps, does that fit in with your family history?
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Yes, it would, my grandmother would have been married around 1900.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10And do you have any photographs of her wearing that?
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Yes, because she was a lady from a wealthy background
0:32:14 > 0:32:17- and it would have been worn in the afternoon.- Oh, yes!
0:32:17 > 0:32:21A little tea-brooch, how marvellous, wow.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23- And did you know her?- Yes, very well.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26And what kind of a person was she?
0:32:26 > 0:32:31Very quiet, gentle, pleasant, typical Edwardian lady, really.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- Yes, reserved. - Yes, yes, but very kind.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Ah, so in a way that means a lot, the value of this object
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- lies in that memory of her really for you, doesn't it?- Oh, yes, yes.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44And then to return to something rather more sort of intrinsic,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46I suppose. Have you ever had it valued?
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Yes, I have, about 20 years ago when it was given to me when she died,
0:32:51 > 0:32:56cos she lived to be 100, and I was told then about £400.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00We can safely add a nought to that and we might take it even a little bit further.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04If this turned up at a specialist sale and two people wanted it very badly,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07- it might fetch £6,000, something like that.- Oh, gosh!
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Because it IS diamonds, it IS diamonds,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12and it's monkey business,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15it's a complete delight and I was so thrilled to find it.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Well, we don't really know where they came from,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22I inherited them from my grandfather.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24In fact, my wife loved them so much,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27she said to my mother, "Please, eventually, can I have them?"
0:33:27 > 0:33:33and my mother said, "Well, why not have them now before I move on?"
0:33:33 > 0:33:38So my wife actually has had them for the last 15 years but before that
0:33:38 > 0:33:41my grandfather lived in Europe, before that Hong Kong,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44so we don't actually know where he got them.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47He obviously had, you know, a quirky eye because these are not
0:33:47 > 0:33:50the sort of thing that would appeal to everybody,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52but let's just have a look...
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Now, that's interesting, cos in here, it's got a fitting,
0:33:56 > 0:33:57so do you put a lamp in it?
0:33:57 > 0:34:01Yes, you can actually put a lamp in and they look great
0:34:01 > 0:34:04on the mantelpiece lit up, there are lights for these two.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07This one I think, we can't, we can't do that,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09but these two look absolutely beautiful
0:34:09 > 0:34:11at Christmas with the lights on.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Now, look, if we turn it upside down even further,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17it says "Made in Italy",
0:34:17 > 0:34:21so would he have been in Europe in about 1920?
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Well, yes, he actually retired from the Indian Army,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27he was invalided out and he retired to Switzerland
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- late '20s, early '30s. - Right.- So he probably got it...
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Well, that ties up quite well cos I think they date from
0:34:34 > 0:34:37the late '20s early '30s. And of course the art of glass
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- and glass beads is very much an Italian thing.- Right.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45It has a long tradition, we had beadwork in England
0:34:45 > 0:34:46in the 16th century,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49bead work as ornamentation, and we think of it as being
0:34:49 > 0:34:52very Victorian but these are pretty modern in our terms.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54- Right. - They're sort of new antiques.
0:34:54 > 0:34:581920, 1930. But they are so decorative,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02the colour is just so vibrant and of course with a light inside it,
0:35:02 > 0:35:07- I mean, I should think this parrot just sort of...- Yeah, well, actually,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10although I didn't bring the lights, I brought a torch and...
0:35:10 > 0:35:12I don't know if it will show up, but...
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Oh, fantastic! The colour is just fantastic.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17So on your mantelpiece with the lights dimmed,
0:35:17 > 0:35:18they look really great
0:35:18 > 0:35:21and we've never seen any others like it before.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24I've never seen... I mean, for my money
0:35:24 > 0:35:28this is my favourite, I think he's completely wonderful,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30all the different colours and variations,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- brilliant for Christmas Day. - They're great, yeah.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37My wife's favourite, actually, is the parrot, she loves that one.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Well, that's quite interesting, cos actually I think
0:35:40 > 0:35:43it's going to reflect on the values that I'm going to put on them.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46The cockerel here, I'm going to put a value of
0:35:46 > 0:35:48- somewhere between £500 and £600.- OK.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Moving on to the pheasant,
0:35:51 > 0:35:57£800 to £1,000, and my favourite, the parrot,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I think it could be worth as much as
0:35:59 > 0:36:03- £1,500.- Wow, gosh.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06When I was a kid I'd go to the pictures and sometimes
0:36:06 > 0:36:10a slide would flash up saying "Would Mr Thompson of Copthorne Avenue return home at once."
0:36:10 > 0:36:13- But you've got a more romantic story than that.- Yes,
0:36:13 > 0:36:18this is a slide for a request for a tune to be played on the organ
0:36:18 > 0:36:22from my father for my mother and myself.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- So your father was obviously away at the time?- Yes.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27This was 1945 so he was in the 1st Battalion,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30the Cheshire Regiment at the time.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Well, here's the letter that came with the slide.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36"Dear Mrs Strangward, I intend to play your husband's request item
0:36:36 > 0:36:39"on Monday and during the week except Friday."
0:36:39 > 0:36:40Sounds like Family Favourites!
0:36:40 > 0:36:42"If you would like to possess the slide
0:36:42 > 0:36:44"used for this announcement,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47"kindly call at the Manager's office at any convenient time
0:36:47 > 0:36:50"during the following week. Yours faithfully, Frank Slater."
0:36:50 > 0:36:53- So what does the slide say? - It says, "Private Sidney Strangward,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56"1st Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58"desires me to play When Day Is Done
0:36:58 > 0:37:01"as an offering to his wife and Sandra,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04"at 16 Maylord Street."
0:37:04 > 0:37:08- What did your mum think? - She must have been very pleased
0:37:08 > 0:37:10to have gone and collected the slide.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14It was something my godmother grabbed
0:37:14 > 0:37:19to take into the prisoner of war camp, Changi, in Singapore.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21We believe it was a rubber-tapper's bowl
0:37:21 > 0:37:23and there were plenty of those around.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28Absolutely, in Peninsular Malaya this rubber-tapper's bowl
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- would have been...- A common thing.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Absolutely, lying around everywhere, so Changi was the prison
0:37:34 > 0:37:37that the British had built in Singapore and became
0:37:37 > 0:37:43the prisoner of war camp for 3,500, 5,000...
0:37:43 > 0:37:46I don't know how many people ended up in Changi prison...
0:37:46 > 0:37:51- Many thousands.- ..after the British surrendered to the Japanese in 1942.
0:37:51 > 0:37:57- The conditions were...- Starvation. - So, this little bowl
0:37:57 > 0:38:02- were your godmother's rations for the day?- Indeed. Yes.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07And everything, and her water and everything was in that for the day.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09It's extraordinary.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13And she never talked of it.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15Tell me about the book you've brought in.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20The book was written by one of her co-prisoners of war
0:38:20 > 0:38:23and it tells of their time in there.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27One of the plates that I found particularly interesting
0:38:27 > 0:38:29is this one here,
0:38:29 > 0:38:34the view of the interior of one of the areas in Changi
0:38:34 > 0:38:37where the author of this book lived, and presumably
0:38:37 > 0:38:41- your godmother's conditions must have been very, very similar.- Yes.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Tell me about her as a person,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47how is that she survived when so many others didn't?
0:38:47 > 0:38:50She had a wonderful spirit and that was with her always,
0:38:50 > 0:38:57it was a strong inner core and she was a generous, spirited person,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00a wonderful Scot, she was a Scot through and through
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- and I mean she was alive... - Indomitable spirit.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07Indeed, and if she was alive today and she could see Scotland getting its independence,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- she'd be there at the front. - She'd be waving the flag!
0:39:10 > 0:39:15- Absolutely, yes.- So it's a little bowl that has nothing to say,
0:39:15 > 0:39:17yet it says everything.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21It has no value but actually...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- Everything.- Everything.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24It is magical.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29We store it in one of our most precious parts of our cabinet
0:39:29 > 0:39:33with everything that's precious... and it's hers.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36- Thank you very much for bringing it in.- You're welcome, thank you.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Well, when I first saw these two pieces of jewellery,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43my eyes nearly came out on organ stops because I recognised in them,
0:39:43 > 0:39:47a sort of handwriting and there was absolutely not a shadow of doubt
0:39:47 > 0:39:52in my mind that they were made by a very particular Victorian jeweller.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54You tell me what you know about them.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I actually know nothing about them.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58- That's why you brought them.- Yes.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01And tell me, how did they come to you?
0:40:01 > 0:40:03- From my mother-in-law.- Yes.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Who got them from her mum, they came out to Africa
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and I brought them all the way back, that's all I know really.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13- Fantastic, and you enjoy wearing them?- I love it, yes.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15I can tell you quite a lot about their history.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19- Oh.- Because rather conveniently, never mind the "handwriting" of them,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21they're signed on the back.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- Have you ever wondered about these funny little tabs here?- No.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26It says "C & A G" on the back.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Mm.- That's a little trademark almost of,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32I have to say, THE most famous jeweller
0:40:32 > 0:40:35- working in the 19th century in London.- Gosh.
0:40:35 > 0:40:41And this business was founded in 1860 by a man called Carlo Giuliano
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and it became very successful. It moved to Piccadilly in 1874
0:40:45 > 0:40:48and then it was very frequently visited
0:40:48 > 0:40:54by a very interesting clientele indeed, certainly Queen Victoria,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58later Queen Alexandra, Ellen Terry, Heinrich Schliemann...
0:40:58 > 0:41:02the man that discovered Troy - took the jewellery that he found
0:41:02 > 0:41:06at Troy and he had assumed had been made for Helen of Troy,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10to Giuliano's to be assayed. His opinion was very highly regarded
0:41:10 > 0:41:13about antique jewellery and he made modern jewellery
0:41:13 > 0:41:17to reflect that, in the Greek, Roman and Renaissance tastes.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Very happily his sons, Carlo and Arthur took over the business
0:41:20 > 0:41:24and it's by Carlo and Arthur Giuliano that these two pieces are made,
0:41:24 > 0:41:29so we can date them very confidently to within 1895 and 1914.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32And this particular jewel here is in the Renaissance manner
0:41:32 > 0:41:36- and it's decorated with, as you've probably guessed, enamel on gold.- Mm.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40And it makes a reference to English Renaissance jewellery
0:41:40 > 0:41:43in the sort of rather subdued palette, the black and white enamel.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Do you like that subdued palette? Do you wear that one?
0:41:46 > 0:41:47I do, yeah, I do.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Wear it what, on a chain literally round your neck and...?
0:41:50 > 0:41:54- On pearls.- That's very good because there's a little natural pearl there.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56- Yes.- That picks up nicely,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58- Sapphires and rubies and diamonds. - Mm.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00This one, I think in a way he's relying more
0:42:00 > 0:42:03on the power of the gem stones for its charm.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Put that on your wrist there,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07it looks very slinky-malinky, isn't it?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11- Gorgeous, isn't it?- It is, and the stones are interesting too
0:42:11 > 0:42:14because they're cabochon stones, they're not faceted,
0:42:14 > 0:42:15they're in the round.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19Cabochon sapphires, moonstones, cabochon chrysoberyls
0:42:19 > 0:42:20and very pale rubies.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24So here are two, I think, absolutely marvellous examples
0:42:24 > 0:42:25of Giuliano's work.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27The output's very rare
0:42:27 > 0:42:30because it was a very small organisation. And it may have been
0:42:30 > 0:42:33a small output but it's eagerly sought after
0:42:33 > 0:42:37by a band of collectors today and I haven't the slightest hesitation
0:42:37 > 0:42:40in suggesting to you that that would fetch
0:42:40 > 0:42:43- £7,000 or £8,000 alone.- God, no!
0:42:45 > 0:42:48And, well, frankly, what's wrong with
0:42:48 > 0:42:51about another £7,000 or £8,000 for that one?
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- No!- Yes, absolutely.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Oh, thank you.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58- INDISTINCT:- £7,000 or £8,000!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01- Each?!- Each.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04- No.- Yes, I promise you.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Time to wring out our hankies after our sentimental return to Hereford,
0:43:08 > 0:43:13scene of the very first ever Roadshow, and after 30 years still a very nice place to be.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17The countryside is like something from a Rupert Bear manual...
0:43:17 > 0:43:20the River Wye and the cathedral and, I'm told, some very nice cider.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25Altogether perfection, so, many thanks to the people of Hereford, the Herefordians,
0:43:25 > 0:43:30for having us back, and from the Courtyard Centre for the Arts, goodbye.