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For this week's instalment of the Antiques Roadshow, we thought we'd get some sea air into our lungs, | 0:00:36 | 0:00:42 | |
so today we've toddled along to Highcliffe on Sea near Christchurch, on the Dorset coast. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:49 | |
Is it Dorset, or is it Hampshire? | 0:00:49 | 0:00:50 | |
Well, it was Hampshire and then they moved the goalposts, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:55 | |
Anyway, you have a stunning view of The Needles and the Isle of Wight, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
which didn't go unnoticed by Lord Stuart de Rothesay when he built Highcliffe Castle | 0:00:58 | 0:01:03 | |
overlooking Christchurch Bay in 1830. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
Lord Stuart was a distinguished diplomat | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
and whilst he was ambassador to Paris, he acquired large quantities of carved medieval stonework. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:17 | |
Twelve barges were needed to carry the stonework from France, | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
it was unloaded at a place that is now known as Steamer Point. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
Most people think it was worth the effort. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:29 | |
The result was a unique building in the romantic picturesque style. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:43 | |
Highcliffe Castle remained in the Stuart Wortley family until 1950 but it's had an uneven ride since then. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:52 | |
When the family left, the contents and the furniture were all sold off, | 0:01:52 | 0:01:56 | |
you'll find some of it in the Victoria and Albert Museum, but most of it is in store. | 0:01:56 | 0:02:02 | |
Highcliffe became a children's home for a while and then it was turned into a seminary, | 0:02:02 | 0:02:07 | |
the Great Hall serving as the college chapel. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
When the Fathers left in the late '60s, two mysterious fires caused terrible damage to the Great Hall, | 0:02:09 | 0:02:16 | |
the dining room and the bedrooms, leaving the whole place vulnerable to vandals and the elements. | 0:02:16 | 0:02:23 | |
There were calls for Highcliffe to be pulled down and replaced by a housing development | 0:02:23 | 0:02:28 | |
but its Grade I heritage status foiled those plans. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
In 1977, Christchurch Borough Council, one of the smallest local authorities in the country, | 0:02:31 | 0:02:37 | |
compulsorily purchased the castle, the grounds were opened to the public | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
just in time to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
What was left of the castle stood behind a high security fence, while argument raged about its future. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:54 | |
In 1994, major restoration to the fabric of the building was assured | 0:02:54 | 0:02:58 | |
through a grant of over £2.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:03 | |
Your Lucky Dip may not have been so lucky for you, but it did Highcliffe a lot of good. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:08 | |
The Winter Garden is earning its keep as a venue for civil weddings. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:13 | |
No weddings today though - unless there's something the experts haven't told us - | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
but I'm sure there will be some lovely things to have and to hold. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:22 | |
This is a toy Crown Derby tea service. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:24 | |
Toy Crown Derby, oh, goodness me. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:26 | |
When you say "toy", do you think it was made as a toy? | 0:03:26 | 0:03:30 | |
Well, I don't know. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
There was an elderly lady lived at the bottom of our garden, | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
in the house there and, when she died, | 0:03:35 | 0:03:39 | |
-her two equally elderly maids... -Maids? -Yes. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
-Lovely. -Two maids, they were terrified of the telephone | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
and didn't know what to do, and my mother made all the arrangements. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:51 | |
-When would this have been? -Oh, in the early 1950s, I think. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:56 | |
-Good Lord. -Something around about then. | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
Wonderful, full of charm. Well, in a way, for me, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
that kind of confirms my thinking about the set like this | 0:04:03 | 0:04:08 | |
because I picture this set in a lovely Edwardian sitting room of a rather refined lady, | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
-perhaps in a Sheraton-style china cabinet, because this wasn't a toy. -No. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:19 | |
This was just something that was made to look pretty and sweet. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:24 | |
-You've got six cups and saucers. -Yes. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
Stand the cups on the saucers like that. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
-Yes. -This is so charming, it makes me just want to play. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
Toys for adults. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
-So you've got six cups and saucers. -And a sugar basin. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:39 | |
I don't think that's a sugar basin, | 0:04:39 | 0:04:42 | |
because that is what you put the sugar in, with a lid. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
If we were being a little bit pretentious and French, we'd say that's a sucrier | 0:04:45 | 0:04:51 | |
-or in English, a sugar bowl. That's actually the slop bowl. -Oh, the slop bowl, of course! | 0:04:51 | 0:04:56 | |
You've got a lovely teapot and a milk jug and also, the premier piece... | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
Look at that, isn't it beautiful? | 0:05:01 | 0:05:04 | |
-Yes. -You said it was Royal Crown Derby. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
Well, let's have a look on the mark. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
-Royal Crown Derby. -Yes, yes. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
This is the standard Royal Crown Derby mark there. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:19 | |
-Have you noticed these funny little squiggle marks here? -Yes. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:24 | |
There is a table that you can look at, produced by the factory, and you can date them using these marks. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:30 | |
-Yes. -And, er, the dates range between 1910 and 1913. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
-Oh, right. -So our vision of a sort of Edwardian gentility... | 0:05:34 | 0:05:40 | |
this wonderful Edwardian china cabinet is spot on. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
-Yes. -We're just out of the Edwardian period, but it is the same thing. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
This pattern has a rather strange name as well, rather impolite really. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:53 | |
It's called The Old Witches pattern. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:56 | |
-Oh, goodness! -But, um... | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
they're just luxury objects made for a high class china cabinet to delight and charm. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:05 | |
You know, a little cup and saucer like that is £80 or £100. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:11 | |
-No! -Yes. -..Good gracious! | 0:06:11 | 0:06:15 | |
And you've got six of those. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:17 | |
That's probably about £500 for the cups. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:21 | |
That's the best bit...going to be a couple of hundred pounds... 700... | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
There's £1,000 or more there. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
Oh, I can't believe it! | 0:06:28 | 0:06:31 | |
-Thank you very much for bringing them in. -Thank you. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:34 | |
"Dear Richard and Phillida. This is just to thank you so very much | 0:06:34 | 0:06:38 | |
"for thinking of me on my first night. All good wishes, Noel." | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
-And I assume that's Noel Coward. -It is. -It's his signature, so... | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
This is rather intriguing... | 0:06:46 | 0:06:48 | |
"Dear Blondie. Thank you both so very much for your welcome thought of me on my opening night." | 0:06:48 | 0:06:56 | |
-Who's Blondie? -Blondie was my dad. -This is your dad? | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
That's right, he was an actor and he sometimes worked for Noel Coward. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
-He doesn't look very blond. -No, I've never known him blond, but when he was a young RADA student... | 0:07:04 | 0:07:11 | |
He was obviously terribly fanciable. The master fancied him. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
Anyway, there's that one there, | 0:07:15 | 0:07:17 | |
and here's another very short one, "I'm so awfully pleased to hear from you." | 0:07:17 | 0:07:22 | |
But this one, which I think is a rather good letter, | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
Noel Coward probably writing in bed because he's using pencil, not ink. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:31 | |
-In his dressing gown. -In his dressing gown, yes, and looking absolutely wonderful. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:36 | |
"Dear Blondie. Yes, I am doing an operetta and you can certainly do an audition for me. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:42 | |
"You might be very useful, so let's hope you will be." | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
It's signed completely "Noel Coward". Noel Coward in full. And underneath, | 0:07:46 | 0:07:51 | |
a very nice vintage photograph of Noel Coward | 0:07:51 | 0:07:55 | |
signed on the cuff here "For Dick, | 0:07:55 | 0:07:58 | |
"(Blondie) Warner, from Noel Coward", | 0:07:58 | 0:08:01 | |
which is a very nice thing. So what value do you think they've got? | 0:08:01 | 0:08:06 | |
Not much really, they've just been in a chest for years... | 0:08:06 | 0:08:10 | |
Well, they're not in bad condition. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
These little ones here, these three little letters, | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
I would say are worth no more than about £150 each. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
-Really? That much? -Yes. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
Amazing. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
But I really like this letter here which just shows him sitting in bed, | 0:08:26 | 0:08:31 | |
or in his dressing gown or whatever it is, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
scribbling off a note. And it's full of character and signed in full "Noel Coward" | 0:08:34 | 0:08:40 | |
here at the bottom. I would put that at about £300 to £400. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
-Gosh. -But the lovely, lovely photograph here, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:50 | |
which needs a little TLC, but is nevertheless beautiful, | 0:08:50 | 0:08:55 | |
I would put £500 on that. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:57 | |
-Great, thanks very much. -You're very welcome. | 0:08:57 | 0:09:01 | |
It belonged to my auntie and we've had it at our house for about 25 years now | 0:09:03 | 0:09:10 | |
and I should think she had it about 1940, I would guess. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:14 | |
-I believe it comes from France. -Absolutely right, it's French. -Oh, good. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:20 | |
And these are typical French shape in the vaguely Louis XV style, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
with these wonderful gilt bronze mounts, these are mercurial gilded. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
-Right. -Typical writing desk, do you know what these are called? | 0:09:28 | 0:09:32 | |
-A bonheur du jour. -That's it, good time of the day... a good time of the day for writing. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:39 | |
-Have you ever played with this? -No. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
No, clearly you haven't! | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
Well, I wouldn't know what to clean it with, would I? | 0:09:46 | 0:09:52 | |
-Sorry about that. -That's all right. -It's original though. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:56 | |
Yes, definitely original. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
-I think we'll put that back. -Yes. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
Don't come round the rest of my house, will you? | 0:10:02 | 0:10:06 | |
It's very interesting - | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
these tiny little lozenges here are satinay - not satin wood but satinay - a wood used very much in France, | 0:10:08 | 0:10:16 | |
but the whole shape is very indicative of a particular period. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
-Have you any idea how old it is at all? -No, not the vaguest idea, no. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:24 | |
Well, the indication for this is very interesting because, obviously, | 0:10:24 | 0:10:29 | |
-these are wired for electricity. -Yes. -With light bulbs. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
And if you look, the wires are inside, | 0:10:32 | 0:10:37 | |
they're not sticking outside. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:38 | |
-Right. -So that suggests obviously then, the arms are hollow | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
so the electricity can be passed through. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:46 | |
If this were an 18th-century desk, | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
the arms would be solid and then you pin the wires on the outside if you want to put the electric light on it. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:56 | |
-So this has been made for electricity. -Right. -Now, electricity came in 1880-1890, | 0:10:56 | 0:11:01 | |
more commonly around 1900 and that's when I would date this. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:07 | |
It's not a reproduction of a French 18th-century piece, it's inspired by the French 18th century. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:12 | |
It is actually a totally innovative French bonheur du jour of circa 1900. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:18 | |
-Right. -We do need to worry about the condition of it, it's not in the best of states. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:23 | |
This is the most obvious one. Look how fresh the wood is underneath. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
-Yes. -Under this, this is tulip wood veneer | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
and you can see it's about a millimetre thick, I guess, here and it's just dropped away. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:36 | |
-Easy to repair. -Yes. -Have you ever had it valued? | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
-Well, we had it valued for insurance 20 odd years ago at 5,000. -£5,000. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:44 | |
Right. In good condition, retail, in a shop, let's say a London or smart Bournemouth shop or wherever... | 0:11:44 | 0:11:51 | |
-Sounds more like it. -..or Glasgow, cleaned up, with a few thousand pounds spent on it, | 0:11:51 | 0:11:58 | |
-it would certainly be insured for £25,000. -Right, thank you, yes. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:03 | |
I also have to think of the value in this condition. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
-I would say as it is, insure for about £12,000 or £13,000. -Right, thank you. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:13 | |
-But spend a few thousand pounds on it and you're up in the twenties. -A big difference. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:18 | |
Grace Darling was a young lighthouse keeper's daughter | 0:12:18 | 0:12:22 | |
who saw a ship in distress in Northumberland, rowed out on her own in ferocious seas | 0:12:22 | 0:12:28 | |
-and rescued these men in the water. -And wrote herself into the history books. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:32 | |
Along with Florence Nightingale, she became one of the great heroines of the Victorian age. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:38 | |
She became a sort of role model for how young ladies were supposed to be super-human people | 0:12:38 | 0:12:45 | |
and it became an absolute pain to her, the celebrity that she endured - | 0:12:45 | 0:12:50 | |
portrait painters queuing up to capture her image. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
But more broadly speaking, and what's interesting here, is of course that | 0:12:54 | 0:12:58 | |
Grace Darling's act led to the foundation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution | 0:12:58 | 0:13:04 | |
which is based just down the road in Poole. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:08 | |
This boat was made by a north eastern glassworks, pressed glassworks, | 0:13:08 | 0:13:14 | |
to raise money to buy lifeboats. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
It's an incredibly pertinent piece of glass, though not tremendous value. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:20 | |
It's...a little bit chippy and I suppose this one, with its original registration number, | 0:13:20 | 0:13:27 | |
which you know is in there, is probably worth about £50 or so, | 0:13:27 | 0:13:31 | |
but that pales into insignificance against the story that it evokes. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
It's all about kind of things that spin, isn't it? | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
Yes, well they're all Victorian or earlier, juggling toys. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:44 | |
Right, now what got you into this? | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
What's your particular interest in spinning and string related toys like this? | 0:13:47 | 0:13:53 | |
Well, I am a member of the Magic Circle and this is allied to magic. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:58 | |
These were tricks that were done in the Victorian days | 0:13:58 | 0:14:02 | |
along with pocket tricks that were performed by magicians and things | 0:14:02 | 0:14:07 | |
and children used to play with these. This little fellow here is spinning a top. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:13 | |
Well, this is an interesting figure as well because this is a French spelter figure. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:18 | |
-Yes. -This figure dates from around about 1910, something like that. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
Um, is this some kind of lost art form? | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
It is, yes. I mean, he's got that spinning on his...his hand. How did he get it on his hand? | 0:14:26 | 0:14:33 | |
-You can do that, can you? -I can. -OK. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:36 | |
And there is a special way of winding these tops up. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:40 | |
-Right. -And to throw them, they have to be upside down, | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
because it will land on my hand, hopefully, on that metal piece. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:48 | |
-Right. OK. -Right. -LAUGHTER | 0:14:48 | 0:14:50 | |
-Stand back. -Here we go, whoa. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:53 | |
-Yes, fantastic. -Very good. -Very good. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
What a wonderful round of applause. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
-That's excellent. -And there's several tricks you can do with this. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:03 | |
-Right. -Let me try and do another one. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:05 | |
Right, OK. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
We wrap that round again. As I say, you have to throw it upside down. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:13 | |
I'm going to make it spin on the table and then make it leap up in the air in this manner... | 0:15:13 | 0:15:21 | |
I hope this works. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:22 | |
Whoa, excellent, excellent. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
Well, as well as being obviously an avid collector of these things, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:32 | |
it's wonderful to actually see them being used in that way. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:36 | |
What sort of prices do you tend to pay for these things? | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
Well, I paid £200 for this. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:42 | |
Right. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:44 | |
And then these I've just come across in like boot sales and flea markets. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:49 | |
-OK. -I mean these are obviously games, similar to that. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
Yes, little ivory and bone spinners from the 19th century. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:56 | |
These are probably Indian or something I would think. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
That's right, things like this are of Indian manufacture. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
That's obviously a mass produced toy, about 1910 or something. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:07 | |
I mean overall my impression of what's on the table here, | 0:16:07 | 0:16:12 | |
is probably £500, £600, £700 worth perhaps. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:16 | |
Maybe a little bit more than that. | 0:16:16 | 0:16:18 | |
I have to say it's been a pleasure to look at these, | 0:16:18 | 0:16:22 | |
it's been wonderful to see that demonstration. Thank you for bringing them along. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:27 | |
Well, thanks very much for asking us. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
I don't often see Irish pictures on the Antiques Roadshow | 0:16:30 | 0:16:34 | |
so it's incredibly exciting to see such a wonderful picture. Do you know who this is by? | 0:16:34 | 0:16:40 | |
I don't know anything about it. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:42 | |
-It's been in our family for 50 years. -50? | 0:16:42 | 0:16:45 | |
Either on my parents' wall, or our wall and so I grew up with it from being very small. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:50 | |
Anyway you can see here the initials. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
-This is by someone called Letitia Hamilton. -Yes. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
On the back, there's a wonderful old label. It's called, | 0:16:55 | 0:17:00 | |
"Turf Cart in Achill", which is in Ireland. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:05 | |
I've seen that. It was pointed out to me today but I hadn't noticed it before. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:10 | |
When you live with something, one takes it for granted. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
-But look at the colouring in this picture. -It's lovely, isn't it? It draws you into it. -It draws you in. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:21 | |
There's a sort of wonderful peaceful feeling about it. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:25 | |
-It's not a very technical term this, but it's great globby paint on it. -I think that's a very good term. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:32 | |
Globby - we'll use it, shall we? | 0:17:32 | 0:17:34 | |
Yes, stay with that. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
And here we have the sea in the background here, the Atlantic, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
it's just a sort of scene of everyday life. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
Yes, it's lovely, really lovely. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:44 | |
Now the Irish market has been really in the doldrums for many, many years | 0:17:44 | 0:17:50 | |
until perhaps the last ten years when we've seen a huge sort of resurgence in the economy in Ireland. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:56 | |
-Yes, of course, yes. -And people want to buy things from their home, from their national artists, | 0:17:56 | 0:18:03 | |
it's as simple as that. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:05 | |
So something like this is to me just absolutely lovely. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:09 | |
She had a sister, that she used to paint with, called Eva and they often went to Venice, | 0:18:09 | 0:18:16 | |
and sometimes it's Venetian scenes that on the face of it would be more expensive in other artists, | 0:18:16 | 0:18:22 | |
but because it's Irish, the fact she's painting in Ireland, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:26 | |
and sort of advertising her roots, I think it's absolutely wonderful. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:32 | |
She was born I think in the 1870s and died in the 1960s so lived to a good old age. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:38 | |
-So what sort of age would this be? -Well, that's a good question. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
I guess it would be probably from the 1920s or '30s. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:45 | |
But it isn't dated as you can see. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
-Yes. -Now...well, I'm not sure if I'm going to shock you or amaze you, | 0:18:48 | 0:18:53 | |
-but I think this would be worth £15,000 to £20,000. -Good heavens! | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
Well, I brought it in a black bin liner! | 0:18:58 | 0:19:02 | |
Allow me to quote the words of a wise man. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
"The success of the Antiques Roadshow is that it's a conversation | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
"between two people with several million eavesdroppers." | 0:19:17 | 0:19:21 | |
The man who wrote that presented the show for nearly 20 years. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:26 | |
-Hugh Scully, how good to see you. -Thank you for having me back! | 0:19:26 | 0:19:31 | |
Now the show is 30 years old, do you notice many changes? | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
No changes at all. I mean the odd personnel changes, of course that's going to happen, | 0:19:35 | 0:19:40 | |
but essentially, the programme has remained exactly the same, and that I think is its magic. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
The format has remained the same for 30 years but every programme is different, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:50 | |
because the places, the people and the things they bring are different. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:54 | |
So no two shows are ever the same. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:56 | |
It's a far cry from those early days | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
when nobody thought that a programme about art and antiques could possibly last. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:06 | |
I remember people telling me, "Don't get too involved in antiques - | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
"very arcane, very elitist, won't last very long at all." They were so wrong. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:14 | |
So for you, 20 happy years, any nasty moments? | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
Never a nasty moment, not one, but there were some strange moments. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:21 | |
I remember I was in Dunfermline in Scotland and the producer said, | 0:20:21 | 0:20:26 | |
"Why don't you walk down the queue, chat to people and see what they've got in their bags?" | 0:20:26 | 0:20:31 | |
So I chatted to various people | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
and came to this woman in the queue and all I can say is she was extremely suspicious of me. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:40 | |
Now what would be in there? | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
-£5 gold piece of Queen Victoria. -Oh, really, can I see it? -Yes, yes. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:49 | |
-It's very well done up. -Yes. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
I'm frightened I lose it. I'm a well-to-do woman(!) | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
-Shall I try and undo it for you? -You try and do it. -Do you mind if I tear the paper? | 0:20:54 | 0:21:00 | |
You are genuinely with this, you're not just saying you're with this? | 0:21:00 | 0:21:04 | |
-You're with the company? -I am with the Antiques Roadshow. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
You took it quite well, Hugh. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
I had to. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:10 | |
A lot of the most exciting discoveries have come almost by accident. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:14 | |
Yes, that's again one of the great magic moments of the show we so often see. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:19 | |
I remember there was a couple in Barnstaple and they weren't going to bother to come to the show, | 0:21:19 | 0:21:24 | |
but the dog needed a walk and the dog's favourite walk | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
was past our front door, so as they came with the dog, they... | 0:21:27 | 0:21:31 | |
at the last moment, brought this painting from the sitting room which they didn't even like, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:36 | |
and they had no expectation of it, they didn't think it was worth a bean, and, er they didn't like it. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:41 | |
They brought it in to Peter Nahum who was the art expert on the day, | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
and Peter could not believe what he was looking at. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
This was a painting, it was a known painting, painted in the 1840s by a man called Richard Dadd. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:54 | |
Now he'd been employed as an artist on an expedition to the Holy Land | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
and he painted this picture as one of a series. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:01 | |
It's called Artist's Halt In The Desert and it was painted by the Red Sea, but it had disappeared. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:07 | |
A known painting from the 1840s hadn't been seen until it turned up at a Roadshow in Barnstaple! | 0:22:07 | 0:22:14 | |
It is an extraordinary painting. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:18 | |
Can you imagine the strange picnic in the 1840s on the banks of the Dead Sea with nothing around? | 0:22:18 | 0:22:25 | |
I don't know who this painting's by. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
I know it's a wonderful painting. I would hope that... | 0:22:27 | 0:22:32 | |
I mean, it would be too much to hope really that this was a lost painting by Richard Dadd. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:38 | |
I don't know, I honestly don't know. | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
I do know... | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
It's unusual in a Dadd watercolour to get such strong colour, so we won't raise our hopes at all. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:49 | |
Obviously, I've only had a few minutes to look at this | 0:22:49 | 0:22:54 | |
and it needs some investigation. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:56 | |
And that was just the beginning of an amazing story. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
Yes. It was one of those very rare, perhaps unique, occasions when the valuation was not given on the day. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:05 | |
Peter was still a little hesitant, because his reputation was at stake, | 0:23:05 | 0:23:10 | |
so he asked them for permission to take the picture to London, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:14 | |
to have it authenticated by the finest expert on the work of Richard Dadd. She gave it the all clear | 0:23:14 | 0:23:21 | |
and he went back to Barnstaple... | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
It is an international treasure and a lost picture | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
and I feel that it could possibly make somewhat over £100,000. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:33 | |
Oh! | 0:23:33 | 0:23:34 | |
Oh, my goodness. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:38 | |
-I hope it's safe. -It's not going to hang on the wall, I'm afraid. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:43 | |
Well, what a story. I've seen that in the British Museum and it's a mesmerising thing. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:49 | |
It was a wonderful story for all concerned because we restored a national treasure to the museum, | 0:23:49 | 0:23:56 | |
the Roadshow had a great story out of it and the couple concerned had £100,000 to ease their retirement | 0:23:56 | 0:24:02 | |
and that would be about a quarter of a million in today's money. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:07 | |
Hugh, it's been very good to see you again, and it's been a privilege as well to step into your size 13s. | 0:24:07 | 0:24:14 | |
You're very kind. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:16 | |
-You fit them very well, Michael. -Thank you. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:19 | |
I've been watching The Antiques Roadshow since I was knee high to a grasshopper | 0:24:21 | 0:24:26 | |
and I walked into a charity shop and caught this out of the corner of my eye. | 0:24:26 | 0:24:30 | |
And just for some instinct, I suddenly thought I should say to my wife, "Can we get this?" | 0:24:30 | 0:24:38 | |
I don't know why. I'm positive that when you watch the programme over a number of years, | 0:24:38 | 0:24:44 | |
a lot of things soak into your brain and for some reason it was calling to me. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:49 | |
So you think that your visual memory has been educated by the Antiques Roadshow and the result is this. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:57 | |
-Absolutely, Lars, yes. -And did you like it? | 0:24:57 | 0:24:59 | |
I did, yes, very much so. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
You have a strange two part pattern. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
You've got these spirals which rotate round the vase, | 0:25:04 | 0:25:09 | |
and in-between them, you have these glimpses of natural scenes. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
That's a prunus, here you've got bamboo and if we go a little bit further past some of the animals, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:19 | |
we have the third of what are known as the three friends of winter - the pine tree. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:25 | |
So nature mixed with textiles forming the basis of this pattern. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:31 | |
And you saw what I did - I rotated the bottle. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:35 | |
The design is actually asking you to rotate the bottle. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:40 | |
-It is covered in a design which makes you want to know what the whole thing looks like. -Yes. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:44 | |
It's not a flat object and this is the beauty of things like this | 0:25:44 | 0:25:48 | |
and this is why of course works of art like this are infinitely superior to paintings. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:54 | |
Just be careful what I say actually! | 0:25:54 | 0:25:56 | |
I agree with you. | 0:25:56 | 0:25:57 | |
Anyhow, so you think it's Japanese? | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
-When I looked at it, I thought it was possibly Japanese. -It is. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
-Oh. -And that sort of playing with nature, juxtaposed with fabrics is typically Japanese | 0:26:04 | 0:26:12 | |
and just to make the point absolutely, finally, | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
on the neck of this bottle you've got imitation ribbons tied around. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:20 | |
Of course a bottle in Japan would often be sealed with a cork | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
and have a piece of fabric over the top and you would tie ribbons... | 0:26:24 | 0:26:30 | |
Let's just look at the raw material. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:32 | |
You've got a wonderful great big mark on the bottom there. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:37 | |
I noticed on the bottom it had a mark that was, | 0:26:37 | 0:26:40 | |
from some of the pots I've seen, I've never seen one like that before and I thought it was quite unusual. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:46 | |
Well, it's a very bold mark and it is the mark of Kutani. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
It's a mark that was used in Japan mainly in the 19th century, | 0:26:50 | 0:26:55 | |
just occasionally you find older pieces with a Kutani mark on it, | 0:26:55 | 0:26:59 | |
but if you actually look at the porcelain itself, | 0:26:59 | 0:27:03 | |
you will see there are lots of little tears in the glaze. | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
-Can you see small tears? -Yeah. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
-And can you see how irregular that foot rim is? -Yes, it is. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
-Yes, yes. -It's rather amateurish and sloppy. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:17 | |
So this is actually slightly incompetent as a piece of potting. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:21 | |
When we put it down, it doesn't like standing still, it wobbles. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:26 | |
Is that good or is it bad, that it wobbles? | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
Well, it's bad really, I mean who wants a wobbly bottle? | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
-You paid how much for it? -I think we paid about £3.99. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
-That's three pounds ninety nine, not three hundred and...? -No. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:41 | |
I would date it to the early 18th century | 0:27:41 | 0:27:46 | |
and suggest that it's probably worth somewhere between £3,000 and £5,000. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:51 | |
Wow, that only goes to show that if you watch the Antiques Roadshow... | 0:27:53 | 0:27:59 | |
You're saying all the right things! | 0:27:59 | 0:28:01 | |
..instinctively you will pick things out. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
This is crammed full of absolutely amazing jewellery. I, I don't know where to start. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:12 | |
What made you bring this in? | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
Um, I just thought it would be fun to come and so I thought what a good idea it would be to bring it. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:23 | |
Well, I'm terribly grateful that you did. I really am. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
-Do you know what the blue is? -I think it's enamel, isn't it? | 0:28:27 | 0:28:31 | |
It's enamel with a diamond flower in a diamond roundel setting. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
I should think it was probably made what, around about 1890-1900. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:41 | |
-Yes. -Very typically for the period, they put a locket back compartment | 0:28:41 | 0:28:47 | |
for you to put a lock of hair or a photograph. | 0:28:47 | 0:28:51 | |
Now this matches, doesn't it? | 0:28:51 | 0:28:55 | |
But I'm a little bit concerned | 0:28:55 | 0:28:57 | |
because it almost looks like one earring. | 0:28:57 | 0:29:00 | |
Well, it is one earring. | 0:29:00 | 0:29:02 | |
-It is, is it? -There were two. -Well, what happened to the other then? | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
Well, I haven't got a long enough neck to wear earrings like that. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
So I had them made into pendants and I gave one to my daughter | 0:29:08 | 0:29:14 | |
because I thought it was such a shame to leave that doing nothing, | 0:29:14 | 0:29:18 | |
-and I couldn't do anything with it unless I made it into a pendant. -So do you wear it as a pendant now? -Yes. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:26 | |
It's exactly the same materials that are in this, are in this. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:30 | |
Diamonds, blue enamel and silver and gold, probably made at the end of the 19th century. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:35 | |
I can only imagine that the ladies who wore these were very smart ladies. Were they? | 0:29:35 | 0:29:41 | |
Well, my grandmother and my mother and my aunt | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
were extremely elegant ladies and my aunt, who I inherited these from, played the harp. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:51 | |
Oh, really? Did she play the harp wearing the earrings? | 0:29:51 | 0:29:55 | |
-Because at that time they were still the pair of earrings. -She did, yes, they were really dangly. | 0:29:55 | 0:30:00 | |
And she had a little Yorkshire terrier which she used to keep up her sleeve | 0:30:00 | 0:30:05 | |
-and play the harp. -Really? ..Shall we move on? -Yes, do. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:10 | |
What an opal. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:12 | |
I mean, spectacular opal plaque, | 0:30:12 | 0:30:16 | |
probably from Queensland, Australia. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:19 | |
The opal is a huge, great big sheet of colour in a border of brilliant cut diamonds going round the outside. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:26 | |
Where's this one from? Tell me where it's from. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:30 | |
I don't know where it originally came from but it was my grandmother's. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:34 | |
It picks up the colour of whatever you're wearing. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:38 | |
I bet you when you wear it at night time that it acquires a kind of red flash to the stone. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:43 | |
Yes, and it has a lot of emerald green in it as well. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
You've got a really large harlequin plaque, | 0:30:46 | 0:30:50 | |
"harlequin" being the word we use to describe a kind of rainbow effect of colour. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:56 | |
-I see. -Now we've got the inconsequential matter of a diamond ring as well. | 0:30:56 | 0:31:01 | |
Well, that was my mother's. | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
And I think it looks as though it was about 1930 era. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
Well, let me just have a look at it with my lens. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
And I would agree with you. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
It's a step cut diamond made in around about the 1930s period | 0:31:13 | 0:31:16 | |
with baguette diamond shoulders and very much of the sort of typical Deco design - | 0:31:16 | 0:31:24 | |
geometric, linear, strong, very bold. You've got some pretty nice pieces. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:30 | |
-Yes, I've been very lucky. -Have you always loved your jewellery, then? | 0:31:30 | 0:31:34 | |
Yes, I have, I love jewellery. | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
-Right, can I value them for you now? -Oh, yes, please. Do. | 0:31:37 | 0:31:41 | |
All right, so round about 1900, blue enamel, diamond flower spray, diamond hoop surround | 0:31:41 | 0:31:49 | |
-and I should say that one is probably worth about £2,500 today. -Really? My word! | 0:31:49 | 0:31:56 | |
As a pendant by itself it's probably worth maybe around £1,500 to £2,000. | 0:31:56 | 0:32:02 | |
Well, that's a nice little sum. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:04 | |
But, but as a pair of earrings, they're worth much more, in the region of £4,000 to £5,000 or more. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:11 | |
Oh, I must tell my daughter and then when I'm gone, she can... | 0:32:11 | 0:32:16 | |
-Put it together again, very wise, very prudent. -Yes. | 0:32:16 | 0:32:21 | |
This is a wonderful opal, in a diamond frame, absolutely classic design, | 0:32:21 | 0:32:27 | |
probably made in, I suppose something around about...1910. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:32 | |
I suppose, what am I thinking about here? | 0:32:32 | 0:32:34 | |
-£6,000 to £8,000 possibly, do you think? -Ooh. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
And now the minor matter of the diamond ring. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:43 | |
Looking at the stone, it must weigh three and half, three and three quarter carats, | 0:32:45 | 0:32:52 | |
-this step cut diamond. -Really? | 0:32:52 | 0:32:54 | |
On that size and the fact it's quite a clean stone, | 0:32:54 | 0:32:59 | |
I mean, I don't know, what are we thinking about here? | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
£10,000, do you think possibly? | 0:33:02 | 0:33:04 | |
Oh, my goodness me. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:07 | |
So if we do a little calculation here, what are we thinking about? | 0:33:07 | 0:33:11 | |
-£20,000 to £30,000. -A lot of money! -What can I say? | 0:33:11 | 0:33:15 | |
Well, what can I say? | 0:33:15 | 0:33:19 | |
I'm gob smacked. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
So we'll leave it on the basis that we're both utterly speechless | 0:33:21 | 0:33:25 | |
and I can tell you - boy! Great pieces... | 0:33:25 | 0:33:28 | |
-I'm extremely glad I came, Mr Butcher. -Benjamin. -Benjamin. -John Benjamin. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:35 | |
-But if you want, you can call me "Butcher", thank you very much indeed. -I did call you Mr. -You did. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:42 | |
I have to ask a question, what is a nice naval commander like you mixing in this kind of company? | 0:33:42 | 0:33:50 | |
Well, Lady Penelope is one of the slightly more unusual pieces in the Royal Navy Trophy Fund - | 0:33:50 | 0:33:56 | |
we look after all the Navy's family silver. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:58 | |
-So how many pieces have you got? -We've got about 18,000 spread worldwide. -Yeah. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:04 | |
From huge pieces of fabulous centrepiece silver | 0:34:04 | 0:34:08 | |
to a couple of guitars signed by Status Quo given to HMS Ark Royal, | 0:34:08 | 0:34:12 | |
but we rather thought Lady Penelope here, that was given to the ship HMS Penelope back in 1967 | 0:34:12 | 0:34:18 | |
by the production company that did the Thunderbirds series, was something rather unusual | 0:34:18 | 0:34:23 | |
and an awful lot of mystique has grown up over the years. | 0:34:23 | 0:34:26 | |
-Oh, tell me. -Well, she did about ten years sea time | 0:34:26 | 0:34:31 | |
and she spent a lot of that time in the Chief Petty Officer's mess on board. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:35 | |
Occasionally, they come and see us in the trophy centre and they tell us about Lady Penelope, | 0:34:35 | 0:34:41 | |
and they say they remember coming off watch | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
after a particularly unpleasant bit of time at sea and just offloading all their woes on her. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:50 | |
She was the kind of glamour interest in Thunderbirds. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:54 | |
Thunderbirds produced by Century 21, Gerry Anderson's company | 0:34:54 | 0:34:58 | |
creating these very lifelike puppets with synchronised jaw movements, | 0:34:58 | 0:35:05 | |
and they were much more sophisticated than Bill and Ben | 0:35:05 | 0:35:09 | |
and the other sort of puppets that were known at the time. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:13 | |
And to have a full-sized Lady Penelope is incredibly rare. | 0:35:13 | 0:35:18 | |
The first thing to say is that she is not a production, she wouldn't have appeared. | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
There is nothing moving about her, everything is static. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:26 | |
Although she is made obviously by the modellers, the face is absolutely correct, the eyes are correct. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:32 | |
And I would say that she's wearing almost certainly a production number, as far as the costume's concerned. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:39 | |
-Any paper work? -We have got a letter from the production company that is the deed of gift, if you like... | 0:35:39 | 0:35:46 | |
to HMS Penelope and therefore the Royal Navy. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:49 | |
-A very specific line in there - and quite right - it says, "You must never sell." -Oh, very good. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:56 | |
-And we would never dream of doing so. -Right. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:59 | |
Had she been an actual puppet used on the programme, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:03 | |
the actual puppets change hands at £30,000 plus. | 0:36:03 | 0:36:07 | |
So £3,000 to £5,000 is where I would say where she is, considering everything about her. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:14 | |
She is very desirable, but she's not the ultimate prize. | 0:36:14 | 0:36:18 | |
But I guess as far as the ship is concerned, she was the ultimate prize | 0:36:18 | 0:36:23 | |
-and that, as far as being that comfort on dark and stormy nights, she served her purpose. -Thank you. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:31 | |
Well, you've got here one of the most sumptuous collections | 0:36:31 | 0:36:36 | |
of officer's lance cap plates that I've seen for a long time. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:41 | |
Why are you interested in them? | 0:36:41 | 0:36:43 | |
-Having been in the regiment since the age of 15... -15?! | 0:36:43 | 0:36:49 | |
-At the age of 15? -I wasn't very good at school. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
-OK. -And some pieces came out of the regiment with me, | 0:36:53 | 0:36:57 | |
-and I've collected ever since. -What's this? -A photo when he was 15. | 0:36:57 | 0:37:01 | |
-This is you? -Yes. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:04 | |
-In the Lancers. -Yes. -OK, which regiment? | 0:37:04 | 0:37:08 | |
-17th/21st. -The famous one? -Yes. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:11 | |
Involved in the Battle of Balaclava, of course, the famous death or glory boys. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:16 | |
-Yeah, that's the one. -Where do you get them from? | 0:37:16 | 0:37:18 | |
Most of the plates on this table we acquired from an attic find, | 0:37:18 | 0:37:23 | |
if you can find such a thing these days. They all came from one family, | 0:37:23 | 0:37:28 | |
erm, whose grandfather and his father collected | 0:37:28 | 0:37:33 | |
and they remained in the same family and I acquired them recently. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:37 | |
Others that I have, I picked up via military contacts that I have, | 0:37:37 | 0:37:43 | |
amongst this collection probably the oldest at about 1830, is that one, | 0:37:43 | 0:37:47 | |
to a regiment that was only around for a couple of years - the 19th. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:51 | |
The 19th, now that's quite rare. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:53 | |
It's rare in that pattern. I believe it's the very first pattern | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
that was ever produced and there weren't many made. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
OK, erm... | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
it, of course, has the fairly standard, slightly taller, ray back. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:06 | |
The first lance caps were actually almost that size. | 0:38:06 | 0:38:09 | |
Yes, they were much taller, so this has the slightly taller... | 0:38:09 | 0:38:12 | |
if you compare that with this one, for example, it's a great deal | 0:38:12 | 0:38:16 | |
taller than the later version and the lion and the unicorn, of course. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
That one was bought for my birthday by Natalie. | 0:38:20 | 0:38:24 | |
Really? Wow! What a generous person you are, that's fantastic. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:28 | |
That's a beauty. What about some of the others? Again, any favourites? | 0:38:28 | 0:38:32 | |
Crimean period, 17th Lancers, which was my regiment. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:37 | |
Oh, yes, this is the 17th, Death Or Glory Boys and this is the one, | 0:38:37 | 0:38:40 | |
actually, that is most recognised by people, isn't it? | 0:38:40 | 0:38:44 | |
Because of the skull and word "or glory" there | 0:38:44 | 0:38:46 | |
so that's the one that nearly everybody recognises | 0:38:46 | 0:38:49 | |
-as the 17th Lancers. -Yes. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:50 | |
Do you have a history in your family then of serving in the army? | 0:38:50 | 0:38:55 | |
-Father was a Guardsman. -A Guardsman? -Yeah. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
-So he didn't really approve of you... -Riding a horse, no. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
OK. What do you pay for them? Give me an example. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
They range from a standard other-ranks plate on it's own, | 0:39:06 | 0:39:11 | |
-if it's a good regiment £300 to £500. -OK, yeah. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:15 | |
In good condition, officers, basic officers, the last particular | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
-officers of the regiment such as the 17th/21st Lancers... -Yes. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:23 | |
-..the last pattern probably about £700 to £800. -Right. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:28 | |
Then upwards £3,000 or £4,000 depending on how early they are. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
With rarities like this, the sky's the limit, | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
it's what someone's prepared to pay for it. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:36 | |
I guess something like that... | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
is going to be something in the region of £3,000 - £4,000, | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
I mean, who knows? Maybe more. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
There are 13 lance cap plates for a start, you've got the three caps, | 0:39:45 | 0:39:51 | |
you know, I mean... Gosh! With the rarities, with the early ones, | 0:39:51 | 0:39:56 | |
you've got to be talking about £25,000. | 0:39:56 | 0:40:01 | |
Mm, it's a deposit on an Aston Martin. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:06 | |
PEOPLE LAUGH | 0:40:06 | 0:40:08 | |
I've seen a few brews in my time, but I've never seen one which says, | 0:40:09 | 0:40:14 | |
"Charrington's Princes Brew, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales," | 0:40:14 | 0:40:19 | |
so this is indeed a precious brew. How did it come into your family? | 0:40:19 | 0:40:23 | |
Ah, well, when Edward VIII was Prince of Wales, | 0:40:23 | 0:40:28 | |
on 15th March 1932 he paid a private visit to Charrington's brewery | 0:40:28 | 0:40:35 | |
and in honour of his visit, a Prince's Brew was brewed. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:40 | |
What's it got to do with your story, your family? | 0:40:40 | 0:40:42 | |
Um, well, I had a great uncle who was a cocktail waiter | 0:40:42 | 0:40:45 | |
-in one of the night clubs that the Prince of Wales frequented. -This was a gift? | 0:40:45 | 0:40:50 | |
Yes, it seems the Prince of Wales went to that club following that... | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
visit that day and was handing these bottles out to lots of people. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:59 | |
-Ah, so he would have been... -So he probably... | 0:40:59 | 0:41:01 | |
he was perhaps a favourite waiter of his and said "Have one of these." | 0:41:01 | 0:41:05 | |
-I notice you're not letting it go, you're... -No, I say it's mine! | 0:41:05 | 0:41:09 | |
Your hand was gripped around there as mine would be if this were mine. | 0:41:09 | 0:41:13 | |
Yes, right. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
The Prince would have made a good publican, wouldn't he? | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
He would indeed, yes, yes. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:20 | |
-"Evening, Squire." -Yes. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:22 | |
-Playboy Prince with his own label. -Yes, yes. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:26 | |
Most miniatures we see on the Roadshow, I have to say, are not particularly exciting | 0:41:26 | 0:41:31 | |
but this one here and the one on the table are without doubt | 0:41:31 | 0:41:35 | |
some of the finest miniatures I've ever seen. | 0:41:35 | 0:41:39 | |
I'm very intrigued. Are they relations? | 0:41:39 | 0:41:41 | |
The lady is, that's on my paternal grandmother's side of the family. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:47 | |
-She married into the... -She married into this, into this family. -Yeah. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:52 | |
And if we look on the back it says "Colonel James Hamilton, aged 38, from 1784." | 0:41:52 | 0:41:57 | |
Do we know what the Colonel did? | 0:41:57 | 0:41:59 | |
-He was obviously in the army but... -Yeah, I'll go for that! Exactly. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:04 | |
Good one. | 0:42:04 | 0:42:05 | |
But how did he cope with the pink hair? I'm quite worried about it. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
-I think it was just the fashion of the time. -It was, wasn't it? | 0:42:08 | 0:42:12 | |
What I love about it is the quality, | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
I mean, excuse the pun, but it really is head and shoulders above | 0:42:14 | 0:42:17 | |
any other miniature I've ever seen on the Roadshow | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
and if you look very carefully, | 0:42:21 | 0:42:23 | |
with my magnifying glass, I can just see the initials JS, 1784. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:27 | |
And obviously that's the greatest miniaturist, John Smart. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:32 | |
-Yeah. -Absolutely wonderful. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
He is the finest miniaturist from the late 18th and early 19th century, | 0:42:34 | 0:42:39 | |
and anybody who was anybody really wanted to be painted by him, | 0:42:39 | 0:42:44 | |
and I think he looks so modern this man, doesn't he? | 0:42:44 | 0:42:47 | |
Absolutely stunning. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:49 | |
-Let's look at this one. This lady is your relation, she married into the... -Married into the family. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:54 | |
Oh, look, it's absolutely identical almost, isn't it? | 0:42:54 | 0:42:59 | |
-Absolutely. -Just... very good, can you pretend you are... | 0:42:59 | 0:43:03 | |
She's the perfect lady from the 18th century, very good. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:06 | |
Can you look slightly towards me? | 0:43:06 | 0:43:08 | |
You see? Perfect. | 0:43:08 | 0:43:11 | |
They've been in your family obviously since the 1780s. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:14 | |
-Yes. -She is absolutely ravishing, isn't she? | 0:43:14 | 0:43:18 | |
I think these are fantastic. | 0:43:18 | 0:43:20 | |
I just can't tell you how exciting they are. Value wise, | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 | |
they haven't perhaps changed that much over the years in value, | 0:43:23 | 0:43:28 | |
but I would have thought they were worth | 0:43:28 | 0:43:32 | |
between £10,000 and £15,000 each. | 0:43:32 | 0:43:34 | |
-Really, each? -Yes, each. | 0:43:34 | 0:43:37 | |
So that'll pay for a few burgers, won't it? | 0:43:37 | 0:43:42 | |
-Thank you so much. -Thank you. | 0:43:42 | 0:43:44 | |
Today I've heard words like amazing and phenomenal issuing from members | 0:43:44 | 0:43:48 | |
of the Antiques Roadshow team, who are usually quite phlegmatic. | 0:43:48 | 0:43:52 | |
The reason is the sheer number of people who have been here today. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:56 | |
By 10am this morning there were nearly 2,000 people on the lawns, | 0:43:56 | 0:44:00 | |
so it's been a perfect Roadshow scene on an almost perfect English summer's day. | 0:44:00 | 0:44:04 | |
Many thanks to Christchurch Borough Council for making it all possible, | 0:44:04 | 0:44:08 | |
and from Highcliffe Castle, once again, goodbye. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 |