0:00:35 > 0:00:39Arnold Bennett once wrote that you couldn't drink from a teacup
0:00:39 > 0:00:42without the aid of Staffordshire pottery towns.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Well, it's tea time. Today we're in Burslem,
0:00:45 > 0:00:51the Mother Town of the six that form the city of Stoke-on-Trent.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Then its proud claim has been put to the test in the years between
0:00:55 > 0:00:58with competition flooding in from the other side of the world.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02But the flag still flies and with all the imports from the Far East,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06it's nice to raise a pinkie at a tea set that's only had to cross a
0:01:06 > 0:01:08few metres of water to get here.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17By the Trent and Mersey Canal you'll find the Victorian
0:01:17 > 0:01:20pottery of Middleport the home of Burleigh ware.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Built in 1888 by William Burgess and his partner Frederick Leigh
0:01:24 > 0:01:29it was recognised in its day as the model pottery - efficient, profitable
0:01:29 > 0:01:31and good to its workforce.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Generation after generation have
0:01:34 > 0:01:37helped produce fine quality earthenware here, and with the
0:01:37 > 0:01:41passing of the years very little has changed in the production process.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Pottery from here has been shipped all over the world.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58When you walk through the pottery's main gates you half expect to
0:01:58 > 0:02:03come across young William and Frederick planning their next line.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07An entry in Leigh's day book gives a hint of his philosophy.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12"Be frugal, that which will not make a pot will make a pot lid."
0:02:15 > 0:02:20There are literally thousands of dusty old moulds here
0:02:20 > 0:02:22waiting to be rediscovered.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Some of them were eagerly snapped up by Middleport
0:02:25 > 0:02:28after other potteries closed nearby.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Burleigh's speciality is something called underglaze transfer printing.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40It's a skill that's been practised for over 200 years.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46It was once an everyday technique but Burleigh is the last pottery
0:02:46 > 0:02:48in the world still using it.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Sadly after all the years of glory
0:02:52 > 0:02:55the company very nearly came to a disastrous end.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Five generations of the Leigh family had run the business but by 1999
0:02:59 > 0:03:05they were in financial difficulties and the receivers were called in.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08At the eleventh hour a couple from
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Hampshire with only £400 in their current
0:03:10 > 0:03:15bank account stepped into the breach and mounted an audacious rescue bid.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18More of that later.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26It would be nice to think that some ancient items of Burleigh ware
0:03:26 > 0:03:28will find their way home today.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Our ceramics team are licking their lips, they're also crossing their
0:03:32 > 0:03:37fingers, the weather forecast isn't good but when did that ever stop us?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40They all originally belonged to my grandfather who worked
0:03:40 > 0:03:44at Middleport pottery for over 50 years, so they were all his.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And he left them to me
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and they're just a little collection of things.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Was he a potter here, what was his job?
0:03:51 > 0:03:53He was a warehouse master. Cross-warehouse.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58- And these things I suppose he just acquired while he was working here.- Basically.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I mean these really in a way show the variety of wares that
0:04:01 > 0:04:07were produced here in its greatest period during the 1930s, '40s, when they really understood glazes.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Let's look at the colours here. This jug is a bit of an oddity in a way
0:04:12 > 0:04:15because it shouldn't be in these colours.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Here we've got a jug that was modelled in the 1850s, 1860s
0:04:19 > 0:04:23in a very tame colour, but here it's been brought up-to-date.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26When did he join the factory?
0:04:26 > 0:04:281928.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Because here we've got the colours of the early '30s
0:04:31 > 0:04:34that's when he was there, but it's actually on the bottom there
0:04:34 > 0:04:36there's a little maker's mark,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40that's the registration lozenge for the Victorian period,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44that mark says it was made in the 1860s, but it wasn't.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48The old moulds, they stayed in the factory, that long tradition,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and they reused the old moulds
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and here they produced a Victorian jug in the 1930s colours.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57I mean, this sense of modelling they produced, did your grandfather
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- know the modellers and work with them?- He knew Earnest Bailey.
0:05:01 > 0:05:08Oh, Earnest Bailey of course was perhaps the epitome of the modellers here, just a superb work, isn't he?
0:05:08 > 0:05:10This is one of his designs, isn't it?
0:05:10 > 0:05:13How much more decoration can you get in one jug?
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Just look at it, church interior, there's the - what's it -
0:05:17 > 0:05:22bell ringers, Oh, I see. The bells ringers Jack of Lincoln.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23And signed on the bottom by...
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Bailey sculpt it.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Yes, of course.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30He produced the original model from which these were moulded
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and cast here, what 1948.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I mean, not an awful lot was being done at that time
0:05:37 > 0:05:40and especially locally. These were of course wartime restrictions,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44were still export only, they couldn't really be sold locally.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- That's another one of Bailey's work, isn't it?- Uh-huh.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51It's a marvellous idea of a jug, isn't it?
0:05:51 > 0:05:55There one sees all around it - that's not just a vessel, it's the
0:05:55 > 0:05:59bottle kiln, the big kiln we're sitting underneath the shadow of
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and there is Edmund Leigh the first chairman of Burgess and Leigh.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Made as a very proud piece. So these came down to you of course
0:06:08 > 0:06:10in the family. What do you think of them?
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I'm not particularly keen on these two but I love this one.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18I think this is fun and, that's a beautiful piece of pottery and I really enjoy that piece.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21This is really a very different design altogether, this is...
0:06:21 > 0:06:26it's tube-lining, isn't it, drawing the patterns out in colours.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Very different but equally great workman from the factory here,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34or work lady because there we have the mark of Charlotte Rhead.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38You don't see much of the Rhead pieces on the Burleigh ware.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41It's sort of something which... It's again, is this a
0:06:41 > 0:06:44prototype that stayed in, was given in the family, I presume.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It was presented to him when he retired.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48What a lovely piece to be given.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52One knows that these factory, the Burleigh wares are becoming
0:06:52 > 0:06:56more and more appreciated but it's still relatively new to collectors
0:06:56 > 0:06:59compared to other factories but it's growing steadily in market.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02A simple moulded jug like this, you're looking at what, sort of
0:07:02 > 0:07:06£150 for an unusual jug like that.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09They are affordable I think.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Even the great eccentric jugs like this,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14They're going to be £200, £300.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Lovely bits of pottery for that, aren't they? They're great.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23That's a rare prototype jug, not many were made of those pieces,
0:07:23 > 0:07:28today what are we gonna be - £400 rising.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30But they're going up, they're going up.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35These are scarce things. People are looking at them in a new way because they've got the quality.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40And here, Charlotte Rhead's work is popular anywhere,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42and a rare piece in Burleigh,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45so I mean that's going to be again, I suppose £500.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47OK, brilliant. Excellent.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54I bought it from a church fete in Cheshire last year
0:07:54 > 0:07:56and it was among some costume jewellery and it
0:07:56 > 0:08:03sort of stuck out and I asked how much it was and it was 25 pence.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- So not an outrageous sum of money. - No, no.- No.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Let me tell you a little bit about it, it's gold,
0:08:09 > 0:08:14and the gold wreath border is set throughout with little pearls,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and there's a little tiny monogram here, a letter, with pearls
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and tiny diamond chips in the letter here.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24And then you have a blue enamelled
0:08:24 > 0:08:27field, it's got a circular gold back, and did you wonder
0:08:27 > 0:08:30at what this little mechanism was at the back there?
0:08:30 > 0:08:35- Yes.- You've got two little pin holes and the idea would be that you would
0:08:35 > 0:08:39take a screwdriver and you would put this little peg-like screwdriver
0:08:39 > 0:08:42into the back and you would twiddle it,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46you'd unscrew it, and the front would fall out and you
0:08:46 > 0:08:51- could replace that blue plaque with a different colour plaque.- OK, OK.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56So what this is, is a gold pendant that was probably made in let's say
0:08:56 > 0:09:001900, 1905 - so it's the start of the 20th century.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06Gold, pearls, blue enamel and diamonds and you paid 25 pence.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- That's correct. - In a fete for it.- That's correct.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Well, if it happened to be by one of the great craftsmen Faberge,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Cartier, believe me that would be one of the ultimate finds, it's not.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- OK.- There are no makers marks on it at all that I can see.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Because of that I think we have
0:09:23 > 0:09:25to be a little bit careful not to go too high with it.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30But nevertheless I think if someone had that letter if their name began
0:09:30 > 0:09:33with that particular A letter, I should think that someone would
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- be delighted to pay something in the region of £500 for it.- God.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41So your 25 pence was a very good investment.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Certainly gave me a good profit then. - Yes, well done you.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Have you noticed how accurate our weather forecasters have been getting,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52they've been promising us rain for days and here it is on the dot.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54What we do on these occasions is
0:09:54 > 0:09:58onwards and inwards, as it happens it is a weekend
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and the workers are away from their pottery benches which means that
0:10:01 > 0:10:05there is space in there for us to move in, so let's do it.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Isn't that gorgeous? I love that beautiful sweep
0:10:09 > 0:10:12round with, with the object but where did you get it from?
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Well, it's actually my mother's and I think it came from her mother -
0:10:16 > 0:10:19she was very, very keen on, on sort of country house
0:10:19 > 0:10:23sales and that sort of thing. Mother says it's something like £12.50.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Right.- So.- Yes, not bad.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27It's actually very exciting.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Cos what we've got here is the mark of C R Ashbee.
0:10:33 > 0:10:39Now, C R Ashbee was the chap who bought William Morris' idea
0:10:39 > 0:10:44of a guild work, the Arts and Crafts movement into effect,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46from a point of view of silver.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51Look at the handles, the way those - there's actually two wires joined together,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and then, splitting at the top,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and then just that little plate.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00And right at the end of the wire, how it just spreads.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Now that actually is quite an early feature,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05other thing to particularly notice,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07can you see as I turned in the light,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10that slightly rippley effect on the surface?
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Now that is what's known as the final planishing.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- It's hand-done? - Everything's hand-made.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Because in fact, this was really a revolution against industrialisation
0:11:22 > 0:11:25so you had a small group of men working together.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Each using their own particular skills to create the object.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34The marks are fascinating because what standard London marks there,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38with the date for 1900 but that mark is jolly rare,
0:11:38 > 0:11:44it's the CRA mark, the C R Ashbee as opposed to G of H limited mark
0:11:44 > 0:11:47for the guild of handicraft. Any thoughts on its worth?
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Probably a bit more than £12.50, I would think. It's a beautiful piece.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Right, certainly more than £12.50, at least £13.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- OK.- No, no seriously.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02At auction if it was Guild Handicraft normal mark I would
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- be thinking 3,000, 4,000 quite easily.- Gosh.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09That mark is going to push it up cos it is so rare.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13And I think we're looking more around the 5,000 mark.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Right, OK, that's, that's very, very nice.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18- Good old granny.- Yes, well done.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23At the beginning of the show I mentioned the brave act of
0:12:23 > 0:12:28a couple from Hampshire who came to the rescue of the company when they got into trouble back in 1999.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30And they are Rosemary and Will Dorling.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Now you lived in 200 miles away from here
0:12:33 > 0:12:37down in Hampshire, what was your connection with Burgess and Leigh?
0:12:37 > 0:12:42We had a china shop in Winchester near the cathedral and we specialised
0:12:42 > 0:12:45in Staffordshire ceramics, so we didn't buy anything from Italy or
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Portugal or the Far East, we just had a passion for English ceramics.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Hence Burgess and Leigh.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57- And is this jug part of the output? - That's right, this jug was made 100 years ago at this factory,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59fired in a bottle oven and given to us as a wedding present
0:12:59 > 0:13:01before we even knew about Burgess and Leigh.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04So you knew the product, you wanted to help
0:13:04 > 0:13:06but how were you able to help?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09In 1999 we heard that the pottery had gone into liquidation
0:13:09 > 0:13:13and it got to 11 hours before the deadline the receiver wanted
0:13:13 > 0:13:16all his offers in, but we decided we'd go and see our bank manager and
0:13:16 > 0:13:18put an offer in for the business.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22We decided we'd take the business to a modern unit and we would start
0:13:22 > 0:13:26again and this poor old factory would be left behind to the developers.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31But after we saw our bank manager who said he'd loan us against our house
0:13:31 > 0:13:34for the business, we walked out into the street in Winchester
0:13:34 > 0:13:38and met our old neighbour who said you've got to keep the two together,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42you must keep that fantastic Victorian building and the business together
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and I'll arrange a commercial mortgage for you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Had we not met Peter in the street, we wouldn't today be in this wonderful factory.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53we thought this has to be the last tribute to the people of Stoke-on-Trent,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56who gave their lives in horrendous conditions to make art.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59So, an intriguing box.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And is this something from your family?
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Yes, it is. My grandmother's brother -
0:14:05 > 0:14:10they're originally from Poland - was caught by the German soldiers
0:14:10 > 0:14:14and put in a prisoner of war camp, and what he used to do is,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18as you can see he's very artistic, he used to make little figurines of
0:14:18 > 0:14:22fairytales for the German soldiers to send back to their family.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25And in turn they used to give him a little bit extra food
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and he used to keep some of the materials aside and what he did
0:14:29 > 0:14:39was he made this little set of a Polish fairytale called Maria the Orphan, for his niece.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42To send back to...she was only three at the time, and then the soldiers
0:14:42 > 0:14:48sent it back to her after the camp was closed.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52That's amazing. I mean, these are so beautiful, I particularly love
0:14:52 > 0:14:54this little dog.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- It's beautiful.- It's just gorgeous.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I remember this is giving a lot away, I remember having a
0:14:59 > 0:15:05- set of these little very similar farmyard set in the 1950s.- Oh, OK.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08So they were obviously very popular then.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10- They're incredibly well done. - So detailed.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14I think my set in the '50s was slightly more rustic than this.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18I think it's had a lot, a lot of talent. And it's just
0:15:18 > 0:15:22so wonderful having all these, the geese, what was the story?
0:15:22 > 0:15:27It was about Maria The Orphan, it's similar to the English fairytale of Red Riding Hood.
0:15:27 > 0:15:34- If it was to sell, I could see it going for you know, £150, £200. - Yeah.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36But its value is ten times that.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- Definitely. - It's just an amazing story
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and amazing set and it's fabulous that it's stayed in the family.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Thank you, thank you.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It's a family picture.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Was in my grandparents' house and certainly I remember -
0:15:53 > 0:15:58I've been told - as a small child in my family used to holiday in Iona,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02most years with my mum, when my grandfather was growing up.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06And this is by Cadell, one of the Glasgow artists
0:16:06 > 0:16:15and painted in the 1920s perhaps, when did they have it, do you suppose?
0:16:15 > 0:16:20I know that my grandfather was in India, there was three generations of
0:16:20 > 0:16:24the family in India and he came back in the early 1930s.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25- Right.- So that's as clearly as
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- I could date it.- And he'll have bought it new.- I think he'll have bought it then.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Cadell was apparently a very jolly
0:16:32 > 0:16:36man and I think his light-hearted character comes out in the
0:16:36 > 0:16:39picture, lovely bright colours, very quick paintwork and so on.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43It's a man who's really enjoying life I think, don't you?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- I love the colours. - Cadell studied in Paris at
0:16:46 > 0:16:51the end of the 19th century, 1899 to about 1905, something like that.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55And at that time there was a great movement for painting
0:16:55 > 0:17:00outside and "plein air" painting and the Scots really picked up on this.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05And through the 1920s and '30s - he dies I think in 1933 -
0:17:05 > 0:17:10he went to Iona every year for his holidays and
0:17:10 > 0:17:13so on, do you recognise this particular view?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16No I don't, no I suspect my father might have been able,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19but he's no longer with us but I don't know that particular one.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25I just love this use of this bright splashes of colour which draw your eye into the picture.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It's just absolutely full of life - it sings, doesn't it?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30It's a wonderful picture.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Well, I mean he's really one of the most desirable of all the
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Scottish colourists really and a picture like this today would make
0:17:39 > 0:17:42somewhere between £30,000 and £40,000.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44SHE LAUGHS
0:17:47 > 0:17:48I had no idea!
0:17:59 > 0:18:02When we took the show to Toronto in Canada a few years ago
0:18:02 > 0:18:07a queue formed separately and quite spontaneously and consisted of
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Henry Sandon fans who simply wanted to kiss the great man.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Well, he has been oozing charm and his great knowledge of ceramics for 29 of the show's 30 years.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Henry we're always celebrating big valuations and huge reactions
0:18:20 > 0:18:22but some of the things that have
0:18:22 > 0:18:25landed on the ceramics table have really changed people's lives.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Yes, the biggest one I suppose came in Northampton.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29A lovely lady brought
0:18:29 > 0:18:32a slipware model of an owl made in Staffordshire.
0:18:32 > 0:18:33It's a remarkable
0:18:33 > 0:18:39example of a rare class of things, so rare that I
0:18:39 > 0:18:43for many, many years I've never had the privilege of handling one.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46So it's a joy to have it.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51- I don't know what you or your father think it's worth. Any ideas? - We don't, no.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Do you know what I think its value is?- No.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Are you comfortably sitting there?
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Yes, I'm OK.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04Something between about £20,000 and £30,000.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- Good gracious, never! - £20,000 and £30,000.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Oh, my word.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13She subsequently sold it at auction and the auction house didn't make a
0:19:13 > 0:19:18commission charge at all - very kind of them - and she used
0:19:18 > 0:19:23a large chunk of the money to help the Salvation Army
0:19:23 > 0:19:28use for adopting children in Sao Paulo and the rest of it she used to
0:19:28 > 0:19:34bring up her own adopted children - six adopted children, and...
0:19:34 > 0:19:38I have Christmas cards from these, they call themselves the Owlets
0:19:38 > 0:19:42because it all came from the owl, these are some Christmas cards I've had which says,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45"Happy Christmas from the Owlets", which is nice and,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and they even sent me a calendar which I've taken the calendar off
0:19:49 > 0:19:52but there's Ozzie the owl and on the back of it said,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56"He came out of his nest and is now roosting in Stoke-on-Trent.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59"From Mrs Owl and the Owlets", it's lovely.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05I can almost cap that but not quite the goods back in 2002
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I gave you a slight surprise when I crept up to you one day and said,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Henry Sandon, This Is Your Life, do you remember that by any chance?
0:20:12 > 0:20:16It was a dreadful shock I nearly died.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And now I have this wonderful book with them all, my history inside it.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- That was a happy day wasn't it? - It was a very, very happy day, I've never forgotten it.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Well, one final surprise for you Henry, you first met this person
0:20:28 > 0:20:33in 1987, and like you, he's become extremely popular but I know you
0:20:33 > 0:20:40have a very special relationship all the way from the Potteries Museum himself. Ozzie the Owl.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Ozzie the Owl, Ozzie the Owl! Oh, bless his little boots,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- thank you, thank you very much. - Together at last.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Oh.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54"Be all right with the freak and funky Jimi Hendrix", classic.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59What a classic line, and what can I say, Jimi Hendrix's autograph
0:20:59 > 0:21:07it's fantastic and, it's in an autograph book with bits of Mitch Mitchell's drumsticks as well,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Jimi Hendrix's drummer. How d'you happen to have these?
0:21:10 > 0:21:17Well, we just went to see Jimi - it was April 1967 and we were just waiting
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- outside on the stage door, me and my friend.- Where was he playing?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Hanley, the Gaumont.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27The Gaumont at Hanley and this was the bill that he was on with the Walker Brothers.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33- Cat Stevens, Engelbert Humperdinck. - Yeah.- Bit of a strange mixture actually but actually I must admit
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I like Scott Walker as a musician and this was an interesting tour
0:21:36 > 0:21:40because I don't know whether you know, Jimi worked his way up the bill
0:21:40 > 0:21:44becoming more infamous at every gig that he played.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47So, what was he like then, to watch?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50What was he like? Well, we didn't actually see him play.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- Right.- We were schoolgirls
0:21:52 > 0:21:56we couldn't afford to go in. So we just waited at the stage door.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- Terrible thing to ask a lady, how old were you? - I was 15. My friend was 14.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05- Right, OK. And obviously he came out and you got his...- Yeah, came out
0:22:05 > 0:22:09and he was really friendly, he was chatting to us and we had the autographs,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13but then, a bit of drama occurred because, someone
0:22:13 > 0:22:17actually stole his guitar as it was being loaded onto the bus
0:22:17 > 0:22:20for them to go home, this person ran up the street, we ran up
0:22:20 > 0:22:22following Jimi and his entourage.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You gave pursuit after Jimi Hendrix's guitar?
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Yeah, anyway, he managed to stop the
0:22:27 > 0:22:30person and actually got the guitar back.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33It's a fascinating tale I have to say, and this,
0:22:33 > 0:22:34what's this, this bit of Beano?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38He actually got on the bus after this and he was reading it
0:22:38 > 0:22:43and then, the engine started and he was going to back
0:22:43 > 0:22:46to home or whatever and then he pushed that through the window
0:22:46 > 0:22:49as a souvenir and also
0:22:49 > 0:22:52the ring, he took the ring off his finger.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54- That's Jimi Hendrix's ring?- Yes.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- So he gave you that?- Yeah.- As well.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01- Yeah.- Looks like something out of a Christmas cracker.- I know. - Can I have a look at it?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04It is something out of a Christmas cracker, isn't it? But I suppose
0:23:04 > 0:23:08at the time that was not important. Hold on a sec, I've got to wear it.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10It's just like him, he was flamboyant.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Well, I'm quite flamboyant as well. Do you think it suits me?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16It's a little bit small for me, it fits on my little finger.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It is a Christmas cracker ring, but at the end of the day,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24it's not quality that's important here - that's Hendrix's ring.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Had you ever thought about what a little thing like this is worth?
0:23:28 > 0:23:29No.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Given there's a little bit more to it than an average autograph page,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and this particularly, even though in real terms is worth tuppence,
0:23:38 > 0:23:44I think the whole lot is going to make £500 to £700 at auction.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45Yeah.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47So it's a great little thing.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51And I have to say, the story makes it. Thank you very much.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52OK, thank you.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59I went to a market and I saw it on a stall and I liked it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07I thought it had no particular value but it was aesthetically pleasing.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- And you purchased it for how much? - About £10 I think.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11About £10, OK. >
0:24:11 > 0:24:14It was the enamel that appealed as well and the signature.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Ah, the signature.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Signature. I thought the signature was slightly familiar to me.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22I was going to say, you've obviously noticed the signature
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Rhead - it's there, something's in the conscience?
0:24:26 > 0:24:30The name Rhead within this region is actually quite an important dynasty,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34we have 3 generations of important artists, designers who were working
0:24:34 > 0:24:38around this area from George, the, let's call him the grandfather,
0:24:38 > 0:24:43who actually established the Fenton School of Art, to Frederick F Rhead
0:24:43 > 0:24:48who worked for a number of important pottery manufacturers in this area,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and let's call her the granddaughter, Charlotte Rhead,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54who of course is one of those names just synonymous
0:24:54 > 0:24:57with the 1920s and '30s and the Art Deco period.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01And Charlotte actually spent an important part of her early career
0:25:01 > 0:25:03working here at Burgess and Leigh.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08Your plaque, though, is clearly signed F Rhead, and I'm happy to say
0:25:08 > 0:25:14that we've got a Frederick Rhead, we're middle generation,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18and we're on a tile panel and in terms of date,
0:25:18 > 0:25:23we're looking at a date fairly specifically between 1908 and 1910.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Now around those years Frederick actually went into business with
0:25:27 > 0:25:31a gentleman called F H Barker, and they established a tile company
0:25:31 > 0:25:33at the Atlas Tile works.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36It was a fairly short-lived exercise, actually,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and the company dissolved after two years, and what we're looking at
0:25:40 > 0:25:44here is a piece that is obviously hand-executed by Frederick who was
0:25:44 > 0:25:49actually a very accomplished artist who trained under a name
0:25:49 > 0:25:52you'll also probably have heard of, Louis Solon, at Minton.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57The heritage is there, it's all starting to fall into place,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and I think it's safe to say that your £10 purchase was actually
0:26:00 > 0:26:05quite modest and a very good acquisition on the day, because
0:26:05 > 0:26:09I feel if this were to come up in a saleroom, I'd be quite confident
0:26:09 > 0:26:13in putting a pre-sale estimate of £500 to £800 on it,
0:26:13 > 0:26:14it's a wonderful piece,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and I'm so glad you brought it along today.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Thank you.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Someone I didn't expect to see at the Roadshow today is Nick Hancock.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Surely you've got better things to do than come and see us.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- You'd have thought so.- I would.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33But it is Stoke On Trent on Sunday afternoon, it was either you or the launderette,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35- and the laundrette's shut. - And we won.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Only cos it's shut, yeah.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41- So why are you here.- Well, I was desperate to bring along a few things
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that were relevant to the city and relevant to Stoke City Football Club,
0:26:44 > 0:26:49the team I support, so I'd be interested to know what you think.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52You've been a Stoke City man and boy, all your life, haven't you?
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Yes, I have I had no real choice, my grandfather used to take me and,
0:26:55 > 0:26:57and my father, so yes.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00In Roadshow terms, a very high point in my life
0:27:00 > 0:27:03was many years ago, we did a show in Trentham.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06And Stanley Matthews came as a guest and I met him,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and it was absolute magic.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12The great thing about Sir Stan was that he was a hero,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16a local hero, but he was probably the first global sporting superstar,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20as big as Beckham in a time when there wasn't the television about,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23there wasn't the satellite channels and that sort of thing,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26but he was a massive name, and he was from Stoke on Trent.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28OK, so, are these to do with him?
0:27:28 > 0:27:29Some of them are, yes.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34I mean, I think probably the most important piece is this medal here,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37which is the FA Cup winners medal which Stanley won in 1953,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41because the whole of the nation had been willing Stanley to win.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43He had to do it. He'd never done it.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45He'd never won anything up till then.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48It's, it's fantastic history.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I probably cherish this one more,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- because this is a medal he won when he was at Stoke City.- Right.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56When they got promotion in 1963.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Stanley'd come back, Stan must have been 48 years of age,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02the crowds came back with him and we finally won promotion,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06then he scored the winning goal against Luton Town, and so that
0:28:06 > 0:28:09is probably slightly more important to me because that as a Stoke fan.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11- And that's real Roy of the Rovers stuff.- Yeah.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Scoring a winning goal.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Oh yes, the old chap comes back,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17and the younger players'd give him the ball cos he could hold onto it
0:28:17 > 0:28:20while they had a breather, it was a fantastic story.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22So you collect memorabilia football stuff?
0:28:22 > 0:28:26I do and if you're gonna ask me why, I'm not really sure,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30and I suppose in some ways, it's just you have a connection with a team,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32and you have a feeling for a player,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35but it just makes it slightly more tangible to have something there.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39I think things that have been part of someone famous are just magic.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40What about the cap?
0:28:40 > 0:28:43The cap, it has a sort of a link with Stanley Matthews,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45it's a Gordon Banks cap.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48when Stoke finally parted company with Sir Stanley and Sir Stanley
0:28:48 > 0:28:51had been fantastic for them bringing money into the club,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54we used to go on tours round the world, because Stanley was playing.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The first thing they did immediately was that they bought
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Gordon Banks, another iconic player.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01This cap is for the 1970 World Cup,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05and I suppose, apart from winning the World Cup in 1966...
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Yes, it wasn't a great World Cup.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09It wasn't great for us and if, but, but of course Gordon was ill,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11for the game we lost.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14But he did make what was commonly considered...
0:29:14 > 0:29:16- The greatest save. - The greatest save of all time.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20- OK, so you collect these things, you buy them.- Yep.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22And they're expensive, aren't they?
0:29:22 > 0:29:24They can be very expensive, I tend to...
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Like a lot of Stoke on Trent people I'm quite nosey, I'll go to the sale with no intention at all of bidding.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32As we all do, but suddenly your hand creeps up.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34"That should be staying in the city."
0:29:34 > 0:29:37Yeah, OK. Can we ask?
0:29:37 > 0:29:40The cap is in the thousands rather than the hundreds.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Yes.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Now, just below 10,000 I would have said.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47This medal much, much more reasonable
0:29:47 > 0:29:50- and yet strangely, the thing I cherish most.- Exactly, yes.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- That medal... - That's an expensive medal.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Yes, that's a very expensive medal that, tens of thousands probably.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58- Well, 20.- 20.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59- Let's be precise.- 20,000.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04I think these are good investments, whatever you pay doesn't matter,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06they're important things, they're important to you.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09I think iconic things like that will hold their price.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Now I'm gonna say to you, you thought it was all over, but, stop.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15- Well.- Hang on a minute. I've got a present for you.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16Oh, right.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Stoke City, I think it's 1961, versus Liverpool.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24How fantastic, thank you very much, that's wonderful.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27- Well, it's better in your collection than in mine.- Thank you very much.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29I suppose it's not a huge coincidence
0:30:29 > 0:30:33that we've got a portrait of William Gladstone, cos he didn't live that far from here.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35About 30-ish miles, I think.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37- All right. - Just inside the Welsh border.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39And, and where did you find him?
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Antiques fair in Chester, Chester racecourse.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45- Oh, really and you just came across this.- Yeah, just lying on the floor.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49What did it look like when you first encountered the man.
0:30:49 > 0:30:55He looked a mess really, there was a big hole and we had it restored
0:30:55 > 0:30:59and we're just delighted with it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02So have you attempted to find anything out about it?
0:31:02 > 0:31:06- Yes. Obviously, that's fairly prominent.- Which looks like a cipher.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11Yes, and we have no idea, we looked on the internet, couldn't find it.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14So we wrote to the National Portrait Gallery, just in case
0:31:14 > 0:31:17they had a reference and they wrote back and said they
0:31:17 > 0:31:20thought it was Henry Weigall,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24and that they knew of the existence of a similar painting,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26but that was it, we drew a blank.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Perhaps I can put you out of your misery and tell you
0:31:29 > 0:31:30a little bit more about it. OK.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35Well, the W at the bottom, the H W is indeed Henry Weigall,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38who is an extremely interesting artist.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42He married into aristocracy, and I suspect a little bit of wealth
0:31:42 > 0:31:47as well, he married the daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland,
0:31:47 > 0:31:52and through that I suspect he got a whole raft of great commissions,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55got to the Royal Family, got to people like William Gladstone.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00He painted predominantly for clubs and for regiments,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04very Victorian style institutions, but he had a particular way about
0:32:04 > 0:32:06him, he had a good solidity,
0:32:06 > 0:32:11he in a sense epitomises the grand Victorian face.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15The subject, William Gladstone, of course, is a subject
0:32:15 > 0:32:17that many people will instantly recognise
0:32:17 > 0:32:22but that's not surprising because he was really into his face.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26In fact, at this time in politics people like Gladstone, people like
0:32:26 > 0:32:31Disraeli understood the power of personality, the personality cult.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33And through carte de visites and
0:32:33 > 0:32:36portraits like this, they managed to get their image around.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Now Gladstone was a difficult man to paint, he's one of these people who
0:32:40 > 0:32:42loved adversity, he loved to confront.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Queen Victoria loathed him, I gather, and said something like,
0:32:46 > 0:32:50being addressed by him was as if being addressed to the public rally,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54you know, he didn't talk gently, he just sort of lectured you.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Now, what we're dealing with here is something where we can
0:32:58 > 0:33:00tick a few boxes.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04It represents one of the most significant figures
0:33:04 > 0:33:07in Victorian England, together with Disraeli.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Politically, they reigned supreme for a bit, one way and another.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15It's painted at a time when he is prime minister,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18it's an emotive period in his life.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Political portraiture, particularly for the collectors out there who want these things,
0:33:22 > 0:33:26they like the idea of them being painted when the career is peaking,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29when something exciting is happening.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Weigall is an artist who is rated.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36I've actually had works by him, not of Gladstone but of Disraeli,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39so I'm reasonably familiar with the artist.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Can I ask you what you paid for it?
0:33:41 > 0:33:43£350.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47And then we had it restored and reframed,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51so we spent a total of about £700 altogether.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Well, I think you, you paid a rather good price,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00because I would comfortably value this picture
0:34:00 > 0:34:03at anywhere up to £20,000.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04God!
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Glad I'm sitting down.
0:34:10 > 0:34:11Can't believe that.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15What we have here is quite a spectacular looking thing, obviously
0:34:15 > 0:34:19and it's quite strange, and in fact when we look at it,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23we don't really know what it is, but it's what we call a street piano.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Now, this is the kind of thing that was originally made for a parlour,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31it's really a piece for entertainment,
0:34:31 > 0:34:36and you can imagine people in a parlour circa 1900, sitting there with this piece playing.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39What's the story behind it, where did you acquire it?
0:34:39 > 0:34:42It was acquired from my grandmother and it was left to me son.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Right, OK.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47And it won't fit in my house so it's stored in the workshop.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50- Right, OK.- It's the first time it's been out in 3 years.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52So it's your responsibility, but it belongs to you.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54It belongs to him.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Right, OK. And what do you think of this, do you like it?
0:34:57 > 0:35:01I love it, it's really... I like the panels.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04The panels are spectacular, aren't they?
0:35:04 > 0:35:06And we've got back engraved mirrors here,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09we've got coloured glasses, very much in the style of Tiffany,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12some of these pieces, but all of those things are put together
0:35:12 > 0:35:14to give the impression it's spectacular,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18when in fact, actually, it was a fairly cheaply made thing.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Look at the quality of the case, I mean, most of this is oak,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25in fact, there's an inscription across the top there which says,
0:35:25 > 0:35:32"Jules Moisse Rue Jerusalem Vingt Cinq Schaerblek",
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I can only just make that out.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37What's interesting about that is it suggests to me that that might be
0:35:37 > 0:35:41the maker, but what I've noticed here is that you've got a coin slot
0:35:41 > 0:35:46up the top. That is not original to this piece of furniture.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49That has been added afterwards, and that suggests to me that it
0:35:49 > 0:35:54was then obviously later put perhaps into a cafe or something like that.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59And now's the point at which we should open it because we can look at those sort of things.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03What I'm going to do is have a look at this very carefully.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Let's lift out this central panel
0:36:07 > 0:36:09and put it to one side.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13And that reveals the mechanism to us and of course we have this barrel
0:36:13 > 0:36:17here with the pins which as it spins are powered by a big clockwork
0:36:17 > 0:36:20motor in the back, obviously operate the hammers as the pins pass.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Obviously on here on the frame we can see the name
0:36:23 > 0:36:27well actually it says Brussels, so we know that it's Belgian,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Place de la Reine trois which
0:36:29 > 0:36:33obviously is the place of which the frame was made, essentially.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36I have to say I don't know how many tunes...
0:36:36 > 0:36:40- Do you know how many tunes it plays?- Not sure.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42Think it's eight, but I can't be sure on that.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Often these machines do have what we call eight airs or eight tunes.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Because obviously these rows of pins are in fact different tunes.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54I mean you've been given a very interesting thing, that's one thing,
0:36:54 > 0:36:59but in of course it does have value, and to someone who collects
0:36:59 > 0:37:03these kind of pieces, who's interested in mechanical music,
0:37:03 > 0:37:09I think if it had a little bit more work, a little bit more restoration done on it to bring it up to speed,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13I think 2,000 to 3,000 at auction would be a nice estimate for it.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Having said that, I think we should run it.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18I have no idea how to get it going.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19Do you know how to get it going?
0:37:19 > 0:37:23- Think so.- Right, OK, you're gonna have to show me, where do we start?
0:37:23 > 0:37:26I think you have to turn the handle down here.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29Right, OK, do you want to wind up the handle for me.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31That's the clockwork handle, is it?
0:37:31 > 0:37:35METALLIC PIANO TUNE PLAYS
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Try it again. Bit more.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40CACOPHONIC PIANO SOUND
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Excellent.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54PIANO TUNE EMERGES
0:38:00 > 0:38:02TUNE CONTINUES
0:38:06 > 0:38:11These are a curious pair of bowls, were did they come from?
0:38:11 > 0:38:14I don't really know,
0:38:14 > 0:38:21my father bought them in '47 in London,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23I think he just saw them in the shop,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26and thought they were nice, he liked them.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28- The shop being...- Moss, Sydney Moss.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- Moss. Is that the receipt? - It is the original receipt.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Yes, Moss.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Well, we love bits of paper because they're always wrong!
0:38:37 > 0:38:40But sometimes they're right.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45Sydney Moss, well respected dealer, and here we've got a pair of
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Chinese black glazed Famille Noire rice bowls and covers,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54K'ang Hsi Period 1662 to 1722.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Well, that's what they said.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58We don't know whether that's right yet.
0:39:00 > 0:39:06And he paid in 1947, £105.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09- Quite a bit then.- He could buy a house in London for that.
0:39:09 > 0:39:10Could you?
0:39:10 > 0:39:12You could, you could.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14What do you like about them?
0:39:14 > 0:39:18I like the red lining contrasting with the black.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22OK, you say red lining, let's have a look.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Well, we would call that coral.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28- Would you?- Yes, it is a coral colour.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32And the Chinese developed it in the 17th century,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35so that's quite feasible.
0:39:35 > 0:39:41The combination of black and coral is actually quite rare.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46- Is it?- You see this on porcelain extremely rarely. Extremely rarely.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50They are made of porcelain, hard paste porcelain.
0:39:50 > 0:39:56Fired at about 1,250 degrees centigrade and the colour,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00the coral and the black are in fact enamels,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04put on top and then fired again at a slight lower temperature.
0:40:04 > 0:40:11I think probably, the reference in the colour scheme is to blacker,
0:40:11 > 0:40:15which is often in red and black, I think it's probably that.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17And they sit
0:40:17 > 0:40:23on these lotus carved ivory stands.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25I've never seen stands like that.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29- Haven't you?- Never, they are absolutely fantastic.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Bit fallen off the bottom there,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35which is
0:40:35 > 0:40:39engraved with four Chinese characters.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44And they read Woo Xian Cong Zeng,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47which, excusing my appalling Chinese, means
0:40:47 > 0:40:51"precious pavilion of the calm studies".
0:40:51 > 0:40:54It's obviously a reference to your house.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00That honestly should be stuck back and I'd be quite happy for
0:41:00 > 0:41:02you to stick it back with anything,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06rather than it getting lost, that would be a great tragedy.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09And that's ones lost it. I mean, that's what happens.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- Lost when we had it.- I'm quite happy with the dating of K'ang Hsi.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16- Are you?- I would think they dated,
0:41:16 > 0:41:23very late 17th, early 18th century, right on the cusp of that period.
0:41:23 > 0:41:29I think these are spectacular,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33they are exactly the sort of thing which the Chinese,
0:41:33 > 0:41:39now centre of the ceramics industry in the world...
0:41:39 > 0:41:45whereas if you go back to the 19th century,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48here was the centre of the ceramic world,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50and where is all the stuff gone,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54all the work that's gone from here, where's it gone, it's gone to China.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57It's quite extraordinary, they seem to go round and round in circles,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00cos we knocked the Chinese out of it in the 19th century,
0:42:00 > 0:42:02they were the leaders in the 18th.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06So, it all goes round in circles. This is exactly what they'd like.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Do you have them insured?
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Only on household.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16Only on the household. They're such unusual things that it is,
0:42:16 > 0:42:21quite honestly, difficult coming up with a justifiable estimate.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26But I think I would be justified
0:42:26 > 0:42:30in coming up with an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.
0:42:30 > 0:42:31Oh, gosh.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- If I had the money, I'd buy them, I think they're...- Would you?
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I would, I think they're wonderful.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41You'll never see another pair.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Today's weather makes you appreciate strength of character
0:42:45 > 0:42:48and the Potteries have always produced plenty of that.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Apart from the great Stanley Matthews,
0:42:50 > 0:42:54Reginald Mitchell, the man who designed the Spitfire was born here,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57Oliver Lodge, who invented the spark plug, he was a local man.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01So is Robbie Williams, and so, this weather reminds us,
0:43:01 > 0:43:06was E J Smith who went down in history as the captain of the Titanic.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Well, thanks to today's heroes who've been with us,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11and from Middleport pottery, goodbye.