Greenwich 2 Antiques Roadshow


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Welcome back to the Old Royal Naval College,

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just a short stroll from the National Maritime Museum

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and the Royal Observatory, and we discovered so much plunder here on our last visit,

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we're back for more. So, welcome again to the Antiques Roadshow from Greenwich.

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In 1696, when Christopher Wren started work

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on the Royal Naval Hospital for Retired Seamen,

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he designed this grand and perfectly symmetrical array of buildings.

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But there was one stipulation - a command from Queen Mary

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that he leave a gap down the middle.

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It was so that the Royal eyeglasses would have

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an unimpeded view to the Thames from their summer holiday home.

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But this was no ordinary home.

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This is Queen's House and it caused a revolution in British architecture.

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It was the first building to incorporate all the qualities acquired from the Classical world,

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principles of perfect proportion and mathematical precision.

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The genius behind this exquisite home is Inigo Jones, who, after

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studying in Italy for three years, built it for Queen Anne in 1616.

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The Great Hall is a huge, perfect cube of 40 foot by 40 foot

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with a strikingly patterned black and white marble floor,

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which accentuates its precise geometrical principles.

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But it's not the most impressive feature here.

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The spiralling Tulip Stairs was yet another first.

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It gives the impression it's floating because the cantilevered staircase

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supports itself without the aid of a central column and never before

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had such a feat of design and engineering been seen in Britain.

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And although it's called the Tulip Staircase,

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the flowers on the iron railings are actually fleur-de-lys.

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After the royal lease expired on Queen's House, it was given over

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to the Royal Naval Hospital

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as a home for the orphaned children of seamen.

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For nearly 200 years, this whole site was the Royal Naval Hospital,

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and now it's the Old Royal Naval College, a charitable trust

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allowing everyone to experience the beauty of our venue.

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Over to our specialists.

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This is an extraordinarily sumptuous box, isn't it?

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It's been in the family for a long time and it's been in pride of possession in our corner cabinet

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and I just like looking at it,

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but I'd like to know more about the background and its history.

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My understanding is that it is the Empress Eugenie,

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who was married to Napoleon III,

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but apart from that I don't know an awful lot about it.

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Well, I must say, that's quite a corner cabinet, I mean, to bring

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that out, it's a fantastic example of late 19th century goldsmith's work.

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And it's in the 18th century taste,

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in homage to her predecessor, Marie Antoinette.

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And we see the Empress of France

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effecting that style in the miniature in the front.

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She's actually wearing a pearl parure, a necklace and earrings,

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from the French crown jewels,

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which is a pointer to what happens next.

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When we open it, we can see the inscription on the lid says,

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"Given to Countess Cowley by the Empress Eugenie, May 6th 1872."

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And I think that that's a critical date,

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because it was around and about that time

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that Napoleon III and the Empress were exiled from France

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and they came to live here in the United Kingdom.

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From that moment on, their story is related to the United Kingdom,

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rather than France. Extraordinarily brave lady.

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She survived an assassination attempt when she went to the opera,

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and some of her attendants were blown to smithereens

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and she was spattered with blood.

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And to show her immense bravery, she continued to go into the opera

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and sat there, stained in blood, whilst the opera proceeded.

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But the inscription is, I think, critical because

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Lady Cowley and her husband were at the Embassy in France.

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And it's my guess - and it is only a guess at this time - that this box

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was given by the Emperor and the Empress as a thanks

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to Lord and Lady Cowley for making it possible for them

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to come here and live in the United Kingdom.

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So, goodness me, what do we make of a gold box, made of enamel,

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of chased gold, in the Louis XVI taste,

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but actually made in the 19th century for a 19th century Empress?

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It's pretty hot stuff, isn't it?

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It's loaded with all kinds of emblems of love and faithfulness.

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And when the history's properly painted in,

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I have every confidence that someone somewhere will be prepared to give

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-in the region of £8,000 to £10,000 for it.

-You're joking.

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Unbelievable!

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It obviously will never come out of our family,

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but to know that it's such a valuable piece. Unbelievable.

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These look as if they came out of a fantastic baronial hall.

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Where did you get them from?

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-They were in my father's cafe.

-A cafe?

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A cafe. Either side of a counter, built in.

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So when it was finished, the cafe,

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we retrieved these and kept them. They've been in my loft for years.

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-And where was the cafe?

-Woolwich.

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Woolwich?! I wonder how they got there?

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I'd love to know myself! I don't know.

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Because they certainly didn't start off life in a cafe.

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-I've known them for 40 years.

-And lions, right from the earliest time,

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from the Egyptians and the Greeks,

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they've meant majesty, victory, pride, sex, power.

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This was always the story about lions

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and so they were very, very popular

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in the 19th century when these were made.

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Look at these wonderful features, you know, the claws.

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Even the teeth and the tongue. Have you seen it?

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Fantastic. And they would have come from some major house.

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I'd love to know the history, yeah.

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Well, these came from some really wonderful, as I said, in a baronial hall.

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And they would have had a wonderful marble top on them.

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-That's it, yes. Lovely.

-Fantastic.

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And they're the sort of thing that today,

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an interior decorator, a designer, would love them.

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If you saw these for sale at £2,000, you wouldn't be surprised

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because they're great things.

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It's great that you kept them.

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-I have all these years, yes.

-From the cafe.

-Yes.

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That's fantastic.

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We'll never know what house they came from, but they certainly would have had an interesting history.

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As somebody born in London, who spent a lot of his childhood in London,

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I was very much driven by the Thames.

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I loved it, I loved everything to do with it.

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And I can remember the Thames

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when it was full of ships and busy with tugs all over the place.

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Of course, it's all gone now. But these actually take us back into that story, don't they?

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They certainly do. I can trace my history back

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for 35 years on the tugs, but my father was with the firm 46 years

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and my grandfather, 52 years service.

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-But the river is in you?

-Oh, most certainly. Oh, yes.

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What is this company? What is the W flag?

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The W stands for a firm called William Watkins.

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They were the first people, first company on the River Thames

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that had steam-powered paddle tugs

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of which the Monarch was the first one that they had.

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They then developed over many years and more tug companies were formed.

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The firm that my family were very much involved with

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were called W H Alexander's

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and they also were steam-powered.

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Does the company still exist?

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There still are tugs on the Thames.

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Various companies have been bought out, takeovers.

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We're, in fact, owned by a Danish company now.

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Here, we're going right to the beginning of

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-the history of Thames tugs, aren't we?

-We are.

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Paddle tugs, 1830s,

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but what excites me about this model of a tug called the Monarch

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is that, I think everybody knows that great Turner painting,

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The Fighting Temeraire.

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That huge ship from Trafalgar being towed to the breakers, in a sunset,

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with this dirty steam tug hauling it along.

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This is that tug, isn't it?

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-It certainly is.

-I mean, it makes me quite excited to think

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that this is the beginning of that modern age.

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That painting's about the change from old Britain to new Britain, which Turner recorded in 1838.

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This dirty little tug is what did it.

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And if we move on - much bigger, much more modern. What date is that?

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-1870, something like that.

-Right. Bigger ship,

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but equally important.

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What is one of the most famous sights in London?

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Cleopatra's needle. How did it get here?

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Well, it was towed from Egypt in a special iron casing, by tug boats.

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And in 1877, when it came over, in a storm in the Bay of Biscay,

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it broke loose and was lost.

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And eventually it was found floating

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-and it was this tug that brought it home.

-That's correct.

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So, what we've got here is, in a sense, two crucial moments

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in Thames history, represented by boats that people don't think about.

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They think about great ships and the Belfast and all that,

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but to me, the reality of Thames life is tugs. Is that fair?

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Yes, it's so ingrained in so many people's lives.

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So these are great maritime models.

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Because of the association with Turner, that's a very important model.

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I'm going to saying probably about £800 to £1,000 for the top one

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and £2,000 to £3,000 for the bottom one.

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But the history is sort of written into then, somehow.

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It's beyond the value.

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-They are lovely things. Thank you.

-Thank you.

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So why do you think this is Derby?

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Because I watch all the programmes and I love flowers.

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I know everything about flowers

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and I know that that rose is the cabbage rose.

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-We're talking about this rose here?

-Yes, the roses.

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So I know that Derby. And if you say it isn't, I'll be very upset!

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There was one man at Derby very famous for his painting of roses and his name...?

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I don't know names. I can't remember names. That's not my age, I never could remember names.

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Well, I'm going to tell you. His name is Billingsley.

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It is a Derby, isn't it? Isn't it?!

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Well, Billingsley did teach people how to paint roses at Derby,

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but everybody else in Staffordshire did exactly the same.

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So the question is, is this Derby or is it somebody copying Derby?

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No, definitely not.

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That a Derby. That's Billings, whatever his name is!

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-Shall we have a look?

-Yes please!

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-That is not a Derby base.

-Oh.

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What is it? I know it's over 200... You're sure it's not Derby?

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It's definitely Derby - it's his rose...

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You see, a style of painting doesn't necessarily mean it comes from where the style originated.

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It's something very good, I know. It's not rubbish. It's good.

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-You like it?

-I do like it.

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-So it can't be rubbish?

-No!

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-It is 200 years old. It's early 1800s.

-That's it.

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OK? And the gold is good, but it's not as good as Derby.

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Derby was fantastic on the gilding.

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-So I'm going to say this is Staffordshire.

-Yes. Staffordshire...

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Derby was Staffordshire, wasn't it, no?

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-No, Derby usually is in Derbyshire.

-Ah, that's not Staffordshire. I'm not very good at places either!

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-Anyhow, it's a lovely thing and you like it.

-Yes, I do.

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It would be worth more if it were Derby, so I hope you won't be disappointed when I tell you

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it's probably only worth somewhere in the region of £200.

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Well, I only paid £3 for it, so what about that?!

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Thank you! It's not Derby, but it's....

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I hope my wife isn't watching this!

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-You don't know who done it then?.

-No.

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No, cos there's something written underneath.

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-We'd need a detective to tell you that.

-Oh, I'm not that clever. I only watch you people!

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-You watch a lot of television, don't you?

-Oh, I do. When your programme comes, everything goes.

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Except for me pussies. They can stay on the chair, I go on another chair.

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-How many of those have you got?

-Well, the one we rescued, cos she was ill treated.

-Just the one?

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The babies died, she was pregnant again, so we took her on.

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I won't say what one it is, I don't want to be up for libel, but...

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Well, make sure pussy stays away from this,

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-because cats are very dangerous to china.

-I know, I know. Thomas is a little terror.

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-Thomas?

-Thomas. That's the baby. Cos we rescued....

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Thomas wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Derbyshire and Staffordshire anyway...

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These paintings belong to my godmother

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and I've borrowed them back because I grew up with them.

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-This one was my godmother.

-She painted that?

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-And that's the naval college.

-100 yards from where we are now.

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And how long ago? About 1950, it looks like.

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A bit later than that. Sort of 60s, 70s or something.

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-And she was a Greenwich artist through and through, sort of thing.

-And her name? A C?

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Anne Christopherson. She painted mainly the river in Greenwich

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and there are several, I think, in the Maritime Museum.

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Very nice sort of cool, glacial greens there, aren't they?

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And very much of their time, really, if you are saying that

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it's sort of late 50s, early 60s. And this picture?

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That is by her late husband, John Christopherson,

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who was a self-taught artist

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and he painted mainly buildings, quite a lot of Greenwich.

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He has much more as sort of modern touch, hasn't he?

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A lot of texture in the paint.

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-He might even have mixed some sand into that, I think, to get that.

-It is quite textured, isn't it?

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It is. And a very flat perspective and bold colours.

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-It's quite clear that he is more of a modernist then she was.

-She's much more traditionalist.

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But then you don't get more modern than these.

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They went on holidays every year to Cornwall, to St Ives.

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What was rather fantastic was that my godmother and her husband, John,

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knew all the new wave artists of the 50s and 60s in St Ives.

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And how did this get to your godmother?

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My godmother actually met Wallis when she was a child

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and she saw him with a load of paintings outside his house

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and asked her father if he'd buy her one

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and they were only a shilling or so each.

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He said, of course he'll buy her painting but he'll buy her a proper one.

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-So she didn't buy it.

-She didn't get it?

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She didn't get it, but years later she did get her own way when she bought this one.

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I see, she bought it herself later.

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-So she never let go of that idea?

-No.

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And this Alfred Wallis, he is a naive painter.

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He was in fact THE naive painter

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because he was discovered really by Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood in St Ives in the late 1920s.

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He'd been a fisherman all his life, hadn't he?

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I believe he liked to paint with boat paint

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because he thought that was proper paint.

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-And not on proper materials?

-No. I don't think he could afford it.

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Because he was naive and completely self-taught,

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all his perspective is completely flattened out.

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-Well, it doesn't have any perspective.

-No.

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And objects in his pictures, they take on a size that's relative to their importance to him

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rather than any kind of visual scheme he might impose on it.

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You see that here. He's obviously a man who knows ships.

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I imagine the rigging is exactly correct.

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I like the way the torn-off strip, which is a part of the object...

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-It also suggests waves, almost.

-Yes, quite.

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But this artist was another native Cornishman. This is Peter Lanyon.

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I suppose there's a flatness to that, too, in the same way that this is flat, so is this.

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It's this getting back to a fresh primitive eye that was so important with St Ives artists.

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What is remarkable about these two is that of the whole, all of the St Ives artists,

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these are the only two native Cornishmen amongst the group,

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-amongst the entire group.

-I think they are, aren't they?

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Because a lot of people disappear down to Cornwall during the war.

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So a lot of very sophisticated artists went there to get back to a sort of purer way of seeing.

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But these two, they were looking out.

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I hadn't realised that. That's really interesting.

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So, values...

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Now, your godmother's picture and her husband's, what d'you think?

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Probably £500 or £600 I should think.

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-Perhaps a bit more. I don't know.

-That's spot on, I'd say.

-Right.

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-Moving on, what about him?

-John's paintings are beginning to get a bit more liked.

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That's probably maybe £1,000 now, maybe a bit more? I don't know.

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Yes, well, you might know better than me, I hate to admit

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because they're very local painters

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and Greenwich has that strange sort of...insular feel, hasn't it?

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-It's really quite a self-contained environment.

-Yes.

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Whereas these two artists have world reputations.

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And this Alfred Wallis, for example, is probably worth between £20,000 and £25,000.

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Right.

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He's very collected. And he's very valued.

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And so is Peter Lanyon.

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This small painting, which has these wonderfully vibrant colours,

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and I think works extremely well

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is worth between £20,000 and £30,000.

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Well, that's very interesting.

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If my godmother was here now

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I think she'd tilt her head to one side, smile

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and say, "Well, isn't that marvellous?"

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-And then offer you a cup of tea.

-Perfect.

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OK, So, a rather an interesting water clock.

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-How old do you think it is?

-Well, it came with a court cupboard

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and a 16th century monk's bench.

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My parents bought it in 1944 in London because they lived in London.

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It was just three items of furniture that they started their married life with, I think.

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So this oak piece looks rather good alongside the other oak bits of furniture?

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Yes, wonderful, actually.

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So, had you thought about this date down here,

0:18:420:18:45

Mr Dryden of Frome, 1623?

0:18:450:18:48

It is a very old date. But I would love it to be from that date

0:18:480:18:53

-but I don't know.

-Let's just look at the general principle of it

0:18:530:18:56

which is that you put the water in there and there's a float

0:18:560:19:00

and you then turn the tap on, let it drip out into a bin down below

0:19:000:19:05

and as the float descends, the time is read off, on these twin scales.

0:19:050:19:11

Carved in oak.

0:19:110:19:12

And it certainly looks the part.

0:19:120:19:15

D'you want the bad news?

0:19:150:19:17

I think so, yes.

0:19:170:19:19

Well be bad news basically is that nothing like this was ever made

0:19:190:19:24

of the period we're talking about.

0:19:240:19:27

And they are all made 300 years later than that date

0:19:300:19:33

-in Birmingham by a firm called Pearson Page.

-No.

0:19:330:19:38

All made in the 1920s and you can still see copies

0:19:380:19:42

of their catalogues with numerous different designs of water clocks.

0:19:420:19:47

They are wonderful concoctions but typically early 20th Century bits of fun and games.

0:19:470:19:53

-They weren't meant to deceive.

-No.

0:19:530:19:55

If I was to quote you as a novelty item, between £300 and £400,

0:19:550:20:00

-would that be very disappointing?

-No, not at all.

0:20:000:20:03

Because it would be a miracle if it had been originally there.

0:20:030:20:08

Thank you very much.

0:20:080:20:10

Well, you've brought along this rather bizarre and quite small shirt.

0:20:100:20:15

-Yes.

-And it says on the front, it's embroidered, "Sister Susie's Shirt".

0:20:150:20:21

Now I know a little bit about this, because in the First World War,

0:20:210:20:25

in 1914, there was a tongue-twister song, a novelty song, and the chorus went something like this.

0:20:250:20:32

# Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers.

0:20:320:20:35

# Such skill at sewing shirts our shy young sister shows.

0:20:350:20:40

# Some soldiers and epistles say they'd rather sleep with thistles

0:20:400:20:44

# Than the saucy soft short shirts for soldiers sister Susie sews. #

0:20:440:20:49

-How about that?

-You've done a good job of it.

0:20:490:20:52

Ha, ha, ha! But that was a novelty song, written in 1914.

0:20:520:20:55

I've seen it online.

0:20:550:20:56

And it was sung by such people as Al Jolson, at the time.

0:20:560:21:00

But why is this tiny little shirt Sister Susie's shirt?

0:21:000:21:04

All I know about it is that my grandmother told me

0:21:040:21:08

that my great-grandfather had it in the First World War, which was her father-in-law.

0:21:080:21:14

And that they were sent to the Australian soldiers from the schoolgirls.

0:21:140:21:17

-You're Australian(?)

-Yes!

-How did I guess(?)

0:21:170:21:20

My mouth might be giving me away!

0:21:200:21:22

-OK, so sent...

-Sent as a care package item,

0:21:220:21:28

but also to be used practically, as a wash bag.

0:21:280:21:32

So this is actually a wash bag? OK.

0:21:320:21:35

The idea was that they could put their socks in it, as a wash bag,

0:21:350:21:38

but I believe also they could take the buttons off, if they needed a spare button.

0:21:380:21:43

And I believe some were sent

0:21:430:21:46

with a normal tape measure and a sewing thread and needle,

0:21:460:21:49

so they could repair their items, but that's my rough knowledge.

0:21:490:21:54

-Does this have a tape measure in it, as well?

-It has a special tape measure, I believe.

0:21:540:21:58

I will just bring it out very gently because it's...is it satin or silk?

0:21:580:22:03

Oh, gosh, it's got to be silk, hasn't it?

0:22:030:22:05

-I think it's silk and it's painted silk, so I believe that makes it extra special to me, at least.

-Yes.

0:22:050:22:10

Isn't that beautiful?

0:22:120:22:13

And we've got painted inches here.

0:22:130:22:15

Yes. And each of the flags.

0:22:150:22:18

Each of the flags of the Allied powers.

0:22:180:22:20

My goodness, it goes on forever.

0:22:200:22:22

It might go off the table, at this rate!

0:22:220:22:24

Let's bring it off this end. What is at the end?

0:22:240:22:26

-It has a date.

-Right.

0:22:260:22:29

Which is what I'm most interested in, to find out more about.

0:22:290:22:32

-Are we going to reach the end?

-Yes, yes, here we go.

0:22:320:22:35

Because it says, "Remember Gallipoli, April, 1915."

0:22:350:22:39

Did he serve during the time of the Gallipoli campaign?

0:22:390:22:42

I know he didn't serve at Gallipoli. He was at the Somme.

0:22:420:22:44

OK, now, this was him?

0:22:440:22:46

This was him. Aged 21, I believe, because it says so on the back.

0:22:460:22:50

-"Uncle Reg, aged 21 years."

-Wow. And you've brought a letter?

0:22:500:22:54

-I've bought one of his letters.

-Dated? What was this?

0:22:540:22:57

-"July 3rd, '17."

-1917.

0:22:570:23:01

It says, "We have had news this week that the SS Mongolia has been sunk,

0:23:010:23:06

"with the whole of May's mail".

0:23:060:23:08

And then, "..on which to me means

0:23:080:23:11

"that all my letters from England, and some from you, have gone.

0:23:110:23:14

"To say nothing of a parcel, including my diary, which I valued,

0:23:140:23:19

"as it had been written from the beginning of the war".

0:23:190:23:22

Later on, it goes into the letter to say that three bags of mail

0:23:220:23:26

were saved from the ship and, hopefully, he feels that his diary may be in one of those bags.

0:23:260:23:32

-Did you never find out whether they were?

-I haven't had a chance

0:23:320:23:35

to go through his top room yet, because it hasn't been touched since before he died in 1981.

0:23:350:23:40

-That will be my job.

-OK.

0:23:400:23:43

So, are you a historian?

0:23:430:23:44

I'm the family archiver.

0:23:440:23:46

But I did go to uni and do history, just so I could learn a little bit.

0:23:460:23:50

-And this is just the tip of the iceberg?

-Yes. These are my primary documents.

0:23:500:23:54

Well, you know, there is a value to all these things.

0:23:550:23:59

He was a very brave man. I hate putting values of this sort of thing.

0:23:590:24:02

It's priceless to me, so the monetary value won't matter.

0:24:020:24:05

This very, actually, quite rare object today, I have to say,

0:24:050:24:10

together with the letter, the photograph, the tape measure

0:24:100:24:13

and all the other objects, which I'm sure amount to a huge amount,

0:24:130:24:17

I would guess that a collector would certainly pay

0:24:170:24:22

somewhere in the region of £500-£700 for it.

0:24:220:24:24

-That much?

-Oh, yes!

0:24:240:24:25

That's, like, 1,500 Australian dollars!

0:24:250:24:29

-That's my ticket home!

-Fantastic!

0:24:300:24:33

-Don't go home too quickly.

-No, no, no.

0:24:330:24:35

Over the last 20 years, there's been a big anti-smoking campaign.

0:24:360:24:41

So, most cigarette cases are usually not worth much more

0:24:410:24:45

than the scrap value of the metal. But there are one or two exceptions.

0:24:450:24:49

And you've brought along something

0:24:490:24:53

which I think is a little bit special.

0:24:530:24:56

By the way, are you warm? Is it hot in here?

0:24:560:24:58

-It is quite warm.

-The temperature's going to go up quite a bit,

0:24:580:25:02

because you've brought along quite an amazing cigarette case

0:25:020:25:08

with the most beautifully painted enamel on it

0:25:080:25:11

of a reclining nude. And it's actually signed,

0:25:110:25:14

"R. Gilbert" at the bottom. Do you know anything about its history?

0:25:140:25:17

Not a lot, no. My husband bought it.

0:25:170:25:19

-Did he?

-I think he thought it looked rather like me!

0:25:190:25:22

Well, as I said, this is absolutely stunningly painted.

0:25:250:25:28

The case was actually probably made in Austria.

0:25:280:25:32

It was imported into Chester. And these marks at the top here are import marks for Chester.

0:25:320:25:38

Imported by the Demiere Brothers in 1910.

0:25:380:25:42

The great thing about enamelled cases is that they have got to be perfect

0:25:420:25:48

to be worth anything.

0:25:480:25:50

-Right.

-Has anybody ever given you an idea of what something like this might be worth?

0:25:500:25:56

No, they haven't, no.

0:25:560:25:58

If it didn't have any enamel on it,

0:25:580:26:01

-it would be worth, probably, in the region of £20-£25.

-Right.

0:26:010:26:08

But because not only is the enamel perfect,

0:26:080:26:11

but it is a very saleable subject. A case like this

0:26:110:26:14

is probably worth between £1200-1500.

0:26:140:26:18

Very good. Very good.

0:26:180:26:20

-Yes, I shall look after it.

-Well, I think you should.

0:26:200:26:24

When I was told there was a young man with some automata,

0:26:250:26:28

I must admit, I saw that you were a young man, but I didn't realise

0:26:280:26:31

that they were the sort of automata that, actually,

0:26:310:26:34

-they're electric toys, aren't they?

-Yes.

0:26:340:26:38

-So they don't really work on their own wind-up, but they wind up in terms of electricity?

-Absolutely.

0:26:380:26:44

And I'm absolutely riveted by them and you obviously are, too.

0:26:440:26:49

Tell me, tell me, did you buy them all at once? How did you find them?

0:26:490:26:53

Well, I was very lucky. In the early 80s I went to America a few times.

0:26:530:26:57

In California, I had to meet this chap who was selling the five.

0:26:570:27:01

And I saw them in his shop and I just fell in love with them

0:27:010:27:04

and I, luckily, had the money, enough, sufficient money,

0:27:040:27:08

to buy them at the time and I've brought them back with me.

0:27:080:27:11

How was he describing them to you?

0:27:110:27:13

He described them as actually what they were - advertising material.

0:27:130:27:17

They used to, the company that made these, Barringer Brothers,

0:27:170:27:22

would ship them out all over the United States

0:27:220:27:24

to jewellery shops, for example, Tiffany's, places like that.

0:27:240:27:29

So the Barringer Studios actually were in Pasadena?

0:27:290:27:33

-So they were already in California?

-Yes, they were.

0:27:330:27:36

So you went out to California and they had all these in one shop.

0:27:360:27:41

But I gather that they only made

0:27:410:27:43

less than 100, for displays like this,

0:27:430:27:47

-advertising in jewellers' shops.

-Absolutely.

-Because, actually,

0:27:470:27:51

-there are only a certain number of jewellers' shops that would want them.

-Quite, yes.

0:27:510:27:56

And be able to afford them too.

0:27:560:27:57

Because I would have thought in their day, they would have been expensive to hire out.

0:27:570:28:02

And also, if I were Tiffany's, and I think this is what happened,

0:28:020:28:05

they'd start with one, and then maybe after a month or two or three months, they'd change it.

0:28:050:28:10

They'd ring up and say, "Actually, can I see your catalogue?

0:28:100:28:14

"Can we have this one for another three months"?

0:28:140:28:17

-So they would swap them over.

-Yes, that makes sense.

0:28:170:28:20

And I think they were working in the 1920s right through to the 1950s.

0:28:200:28:24

And these are around the late 1930s.

0:28:240:28:28

So we start with the car, which, I suppose,

0:28:280:28:31

he's just bought her a wedding ring and engagement ring.

0:28:310:28:35

It does say diamond, so she's a lucky girl.

0:28:350:28:37

And they're off, just married...

0:28:370:28:40

I wonder where they're off to.

0:28:400:28:42

-I'd like to know!

-And then this one

0:28:420:28:45

-I find a little bit...

-Creepy?

-Saucy.

0:28:450:28:49

Saucy, yes.

0:28:490:28:51

Maybe they were told, "You are not to marry this man" and they're going off having had the babies.

0:28:510:28:56

-The babies look almost as big as their parents.

-They are pretty big.

0:28:560:29:02

It's hilarious. I just... I could watch that and I'd

0:29:020:29:06

then think, "Oh, what a lovely ring that is over there in that window."

0:29:060:29:09

So what a clever idea.

0:29:090:29:11

-And what did you pay?

-1,000 in 1986.

0:29:110:29:17

-For all of them?

-All of them, yes.

0:29:170:29:20

-Well, that was probably almost 2-1 then, wasn't it?

-Yes, it was.

0:29:200:29:24

-So, say 500 or 600?

-Yes.

0:29:240:29:27

-So £100 each, more or less?

-Yes, more or less.

0:29:270:29:29

I would put each one up to 500 each.

0:29:290:29:32

-Possibly 1,000 each.

-Really?

-Pounds.

0:29:320:29:35

Yes...

0:29:350:29:36

And the enjoyment - you could go round the country giving displays.

0:29:360:29:40

If anyone wants me to, yes.

0:29:400:29:43

-Thank you very much.

-My pleasure.

0:29:430:29:45

Well, we don't get many Roman marble busts on the Roadshow,

0:30:020:30:05

so I'm delighted you brought this fellow along.

0:30:050:30:08

-But he's suffered a bit over the years, hasn't he?

-Yes, indeed.

0:30:080:30:11

-He's got a few bits missing.

-How did he come into your possession?

0:30:110:30:14

Well, around two years ago, the Italian bank I was working for

0:30:140:30:18

in London closed down and was taken over.

0:30:180:30:21

-Yeah.

-So they decided to have a blind auction of all their fixtures and fittings, and amongst many things

0:30:210:30:29

that I bought - books, paintings, a sofa - was this wonderful piece.

0:30:290:30:35

And why did you buy him?

0:30:350:30:37

Because he always, he always stood in the middle of the boardroom

0:30:370:30:41

and whenever we had Christmas parties or drinks...

0:30:410:30:45

-There he was.

-Yes, and at the end of the evening

0:30:450:30:47

-I was there with him and my arm around him so...

-Excellent.

0:30:470:30:50

..So he became my drinking partner.

0:30:500:30:53

Terrific! Now, how old do you think he is?

0:30:530:30:55

Well, um, my heart would like to tell me it's Roman

0:30:550:31:00

but I think my head tells me that it's probably a 1960s replica.

0:31:000:31:06

Well, I've had a good look at him.

0:31:060:31:08

He's definitely not a replica from the 1960s, you'll be glad to hear, but to me neither is he Roman.

0:31:080:31:13

If you look at his face, obviously he's lost his nose,

0:31:130:31:17

but the Roman figures of the period that you see, the Emperors and so on,

0:31:170:31:21

are immensely strong characters and they're powerfully carved.

0:31:210:31:25

This face to me is a little bit weak,

0:31:250:31:27

his eyes particularly are not as strong as they should be, and in

0:31:270:31:31

general, his appearance is not gutsy enough to be of the Roman period.

0:31:310:31:36

-Having said that, as I say, he's not brand new.

-No.

0:31:360:31:40

So I suspect he was probably made in the mid-18th century.

0:31:400:31:44

-OK.

-For the grand tour, perhaps,

0:31:440:31:46

the Englishman travelling abroad wanting to take back a Roman bust in memory

0:31:460:31:51

of his trip, and this is the sort of thing he would buy.

0:31:510:31:55

So probably middle of the 18th century, that sort of period.

0:31:550:31:58

Now, do you know who it is?

0:31:580:32:00

When there was the exhibition at Bristol Museum last year

0:32:000:32:03

of Emperor Hadrian, I went and saw it, had a look,

0:32:030:32:07

and I recognised the face and especially the beard.

0:32:070:32:09

I believe it's Emperor Hadrian.

0:32:090:32:11

-You could well be right, because the beard certainly is very similar, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:32:110:32:16

And you've got the rather sort of mop of hair on the top,

0:32:160:32:19

which again you see in some Hadrian's portraits.

0:32:190:32:22

I think he's a splendid figure. You have him displayed at home?

0:32:220:32:25

Indeed. He's in our dining room, he looks over us when we eat and

0:32:250:32:30

at Christmas he wears a party hat.

0:32:300:32:32

-Joins in the festivities.

-Oh, yes, so he's part of the family.

0:32:320:32:36

-Oh, terrific!

-Yeah.

-Well, I think he's great.

0:32:360:32:39

So you bought him at a private auction.

0:32:390:32:42

-Yeah.

-Tell me how much you paid for him.

0:32:420:32:44

-£50.

-£50?

0:32:440:32:46

If he was Roman then he'd be worth considerably more but as we've said, he's not modern.

0:32:460:32:52

I think he's mid-18th century, and I suspect if this came up at

0:32:520:32:55

auction you'd probably be looking at a value of £2,000 to £3,000.

0:32:550:33:00

-So you've done pretty well.

-Really? Wow!

0:33:020:33:05

Well, hopefully Hadrian will enjoy many Christmas parties yet to come with you and your family.

0:33:060:33:11

That's great news. He is going back in that little hole in the dining room where he sits.

0:33:110:33:16

-Delighted to hear it. Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

0:33:160:33:19

Now, you wait for a bus and three come along at once.

0:33:200:33:23

-Aren't they wonderful?

-And what do you do with these Routemasters?

0:33:230:33:26

Of course, they used to be plying the streets up and down London

0:33:260:33:30

and of course we don't see them anymore.

0:33:300:33:32

We've rescued them from the scrap heap and we've restored them, and

0:33:320:33:35

we put them back on the road because people still love them.

0:33:350:33:38

They have gone completely from London streets, have they?

0:33:380:33:41

Not completely. There are two heritage routes left,

0:33:410:33:44

-still run by Transport for London.

-I used to go to school in one.

0:33:440:33:48

I remember hanging on to the pole and judging when the right

0:33:480:33:51

-moment was to jump off and keep running!

-Were you good at it?

0:33:510:33:55

I never fell over, put it that way.

0:33:550:33:57

-I fell over lots of times.

-Well, these are fabulous things.

0:33:570:33:59

I have to say, we have an expert on this programme who spent much of his childhood

0:33:590:34:03

travelling on Routemasters, he's very fond of them. Paul Atterbury.

0:34:030:34:06

-I think he's the man you need to see.

-I'd love to meet him.

0:34:060:34:09

This is such an appropriate place to see something like this.

0:34:090:34:13

It is a beautiful clinker-built boat,

0:34:130:34:16

dating from about 1880, 1890, I think.

0:34:160:34:21

On rockers. It is incredibly unusual.

0:34:210:34:24

Do you know anything about its make-up?

0:34:240:34:28

It was my grandfather.

0:34:280:34:29

And it was a very well known boat-building firm

0:34:290:34:36

from Brightlingsea in Essex.

0:34:360:34:39

Was it built as an apprentice piece?

0:34:390:34:42

Well, I think it was similar to an apprentice piece but they were

0:34:420:34:47

absolutely normal for boat builders to build them for the family.

0:34:470:34:53

So, this was for family use.

0:34:530:34:55

Yes, definitely.

0:34:550:34:57

The person in the picture is my aunt.

0:34:570:35:00

I have a picture of him and my aunt.

0:35:000:35:03

He was obviously incredibly proud of it.

0:35:030:35:06

She looks about two. She's not looking too happy in there.

0:35:060:35:08

Presumably the rocking of the boat!

0:35:080:35:12

So, with something like this, it does have a commercial value as well.

0:35:120:35:18

I have no hesitation in saying that if it went into the right sale,

0:35:180:35:23

I think that a pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500 is probably quite conservative.

0:35:230:35:27

Yes, yes.

0:35:270:35:29

To the right person who could appreciate its worth, its beauty, you know?

0:35:290:35:35

Over the years on the Roadshow,

0:35:350:35:37

I've learnt never to be surprised by anything.

0:35:370:35:39

But today, you've broken that rule.

0:35:390:35:42

You've brought me Routemasters.

0:35:420:35:44

My favourite bus. Why have you done that?

0:35:440:35:47

Well, I run a company that runs Routemasters,

0:35:470:35:50

and what better for a roadshow than something that runs on the road?

0:35:500:35:53

Perfect. Can we go and have a look?

0:35:530:35:55

Please.

0:35:550:35:56

This brings it all back.

0:36:010:36:03

I love the Routemaster for two reasons.

0:36:030:36:05

One, because I think London Transport in this period and earlier was so great for design.

0:36:050:36:11

The way tube stations looked, the posters, signage, lettering.

0:36:110:36:17

Everything was designed to perfection for its function.

0:36:170:36:21

And of course it was designed by London Transport.

0:36:210:36:23

As the perfect London bus.

0:36:230:36:25

The second, of course, is my own memories.

0:36:250:36:27

I was a child in London when the first Routemasters came in

0:36:270:36:31

and I can remember that excitement

0:36:310:36:33

in Trafalgar Square or wherever of seeing my first Routemaster.

0:36:330:36:36

It was big, it was different, it was wonderful. And very exciting.

0:36:360:36:40

I have to say, I am a sufficiently sad person to have gone out on that

0:36:400:36:43

last scheduled Routemaster night in London to see my last sight of one in service. It was very memorable.

0:36:430:36:49

-What about your memories?

-Similar to yours, really.

0:36:490:36:52

I can remember being late home for tea one day because I waited

0:36:520:36:55

for the one Routemaster that was new on to the route and got into terrible trouble with my mother.

0:36:550:37:00

Obviously you're more serious than I am!

0:37:000:37:02

I just think it's a great bus, and it's wonderful to be in one again.

0:37:020:37:06

So nice to go in and see these seats, the lighting, that funny yellow ceiling.

0:37:060:37:10

It's exactly as I remember it.

0:37:100:37:12

Well, we take great pride in restoring them

0:37:120:37:14

to the way they were and how people remember them.

0:37:140:37:17

And the one in front, in fact, was one of the last to come off.

0:37:170:37:20

Now, I suppose we've got to talk about the value of it.

0:37:200:37:23

How do you value a bus?

0:37:230:37:24

I know that when whatever it was called - Transport for London, whoever - was selling them off,

0:37:240:37:30

at the end of Routemaster service,

0:37:300:37:32

I know they were £2,000 each because a friend wanted to buy one.

0:37:320:37:36

What are they worth now? £10,000? £15,000?

0:37:360:37:39

I think it depends upon the condition and of course they are appreciating all the time.

0:37:390:37:43

As there are less of them, they become more valuable.

0:37:430:37:45

So classic design becomes the antique of the future.

0:37:450:37:48

-I think they will become an antique of the future.

-Wonderful.

0:37:480:37:52

Now I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do. Hold on tight, please!

0:37:520:37:55

RINGS BELL

0:37:550:37:56

Now, we often come across chargers like this

0:37:570:38:00

decorated often by an amateur

0:38:000:38:02

depicting an attractive female,

0:38:020:38:05

and they're not very interesting.

0:38:050:38:07

We never know who they are, we never know who the artist is,

0:38:070:38:10

and they're decorative and that's it.

0:38:100:38:12

However, I don't think this is the case with this.

0:38:120:38:15

-Do you know who it is?

-Yes, I do, it's Ellen Terry.

0:38:150:38:18

Ah! Right. A very famous actress of her era.

0:38:180:38:21

And how do you know it's Ellen Terry?

0:38:210:38:23

Well, in the first instance, I recognised it.

0:38:230:38:26

My wife and I were going to see some friends on a Sunday night.

0:38:260:38:30

We passed an antique shop and in the back I saw the plate and I recognised Ellen Terry.

0:38:300:38:34

And a few weeks later it was my birthday and my kind wife,

0:38:340:38:38

Christine, produced it for me, for my birthday, which was marvellous.

0:38:380:38:42

At the time, I was working with Sir John Gielgud and we were doing a play.

0:38:420:38:48

Just a minute - you were working with Sir John Gielgud? That was kind of convenient!

0:38:480:38:52

-It was handy, yes.

-They were related, weren't they?

0:38:520:38:54

They were. She was his great aunt.

0:38:540:38:56

He was a member of the Terry family, his mother was a Terry.

0:38:560:38:59

And I was stage managing a play called Half Life

0:38:590:39:03

at the Duke of York, which had transferred,

0:39:030:39:06

and Sir John was in the company.

0:39:060:39:08

So I took a photograph of the plate,

0:39:080:39:10

because I knew it was her but I didn't know the part,

0:39:100:39:13

so I showed it to him and I said, "Do you know which part it is?"

0:39:130:39:16

And he said, "Oh, yes, it's Ellen in Much Ado About Nothing,

0:39:160:39:19

when she played Beatrice to Irving's Benedick".

0:39:190:39:22

So that kind of solved the problem, and then later on we found this photograph

0:39:220:39:27

which shows her in the same role.

0:39:270:39:29

Not quite in the same costume - she's got sort of...

0:39:290:39:32

I think whoever's done this painted the lace, gave her more pearls,

0:39:320:39:35

but he's neglected to put this rather complicated costume on.

0:39:350:39:38

He's kept it very simple.

0:39:380:39:40

This was proudly signed "E Williams"

0:39:400:39:42

and dated '84, for 1884, which is absolutely typical of this period.

0:39:420:39:46

They were all made in the 1870s-1880s.

0:39:460:39:49

By the 1890s, they were dying out a bit as a pastime.

0:39:490:39:54

So you've transformed a fairly ordinary plate by the fact you

0:39:540:39:57

happened to know Sir John Gielgud,

0:39:570:39:59

just happened to be working with him,

0:39:590:40:02

into something which is really a slice of theatrical history.

0:40:020:40:06

And consequently, you've changed it from being worth, you know, £100,

0:40:060:40:11

to something which I think a theatrical collector would pay £500, maybe £800 for.

0:40:110:40:16

Maybe even a bit more. Thank you for bringing it in.

0:40:160:40:19

-It's quite made my day.

-Thank you very much.

0:40:190:40:21

I think you've brought along a bit of a cheeky monkey, today, haven't you?

0:40:210:40:27

-I did.

-In more ways than one.

0:40:270:40:29

So, the question is, a piece of glass like that,

0:40:290:40:32

you went out and bought it, or you saw it at a car boot,

0:40:320:40:37

or it's in an antiques shop in Paris, or what?

0:40:370:40:42

No, I actually didn't.

0:40:420:40:43

When I came to London in 1985 I worked as a chambermaid.

0:40:430:40:49

And one of the guests in the hotel actually left it behind.

0:40:490:40:52

It went into lost property for six months, as it had to,

0:40:520:40:56

and the guest never came back to reclaim it,

0:40:560:40:59

so after the six months in lost property, it went to me.

0:40:590:41:05

-So here we are.

-Let's have a look at your monkey, shall we?

-Yes.

0:41:050:41:09

I'm saying a monkey - I think it might be sort of a gibbon.

0:41:090:41:12

Or he might be a lemur.

0:41:120:41:15

Because what do you get in Madagascar?

0:41:150:41:17

You do get the lemur.

0:41:170:41:19

You do, you see.

0:41:190:41:20

Because, if we turn this over,

0:41:200:41:23

you've got a mark on there which says Lalique, doesn't it? OK.

0:41:230:41:28

Now, that has me asking one or two questions, OK?

0:41:280:41:34

Because this is not a typical Lalique mount.

0:41:340:41:37

Now, the point is that this opalescent glass, because it has

0:41:390:41:43

got that nice milky, bluey quality to it, no doubt that is Lalique.

0:41:430:41:46

-So, that's definitely Lalique.

-No doubt about it.

0:41:460:41:49

But there is a Madagascar connection.

0:41:490:41:52

Because originally, he was from a family of lemurs

0:41:520:41:56

and all their faces were around the perimeter of a Lalique glass bowl.

0:41:560:42:03

And I think what's happened is that somebody has got hold of a bowl,

0:42:030:42:08

and they have cut out all the monkey, all the gibbon, or the lemur,

0:42:080:42:12

whatever it is, they've cut them out and they've had them mounted.

0:42:120:42:16

But I don't believe it was the Lalique factory that did it.

0:42:160:42:20

Because I don't think the mount's good enough, and why put "R Lalique" on there?

0:42:200:42:26

Because I think this has been done at a later stage.

0:42:260:42:30

When it comes to date, this bowl was made round about 1930, 1932.

0:42:300:42:35

But again, looking at those mounts,

0:42:350:42:37

I think those mounts have been put on in the post-war period.

0:42:370:42:40

-I think those mounts are 1960s, possibly even 1970s.

-Right.

0:42:400:42:45

So, they shouldn't have "R Lalique" on there.

0:42:450:42:50

Because for anything to have the "R", has to be within his lifetime.

0:42:500:42:55

He died in 1945.

0:42:550:42:58

Either way, I think it is an object of desire.

0:42:580:43:02

-Really?

-Well, I do.

0:43:020:43:04

When it comes to valuation, I've never seen one sold,

0:43:040:43:08

but I would not expect that to be offered for less than £500.

0:43:080:43:14

Should you ever decide to sell it.

0:43:140:43:16

Thank you very much.

0:43:160:43:20

My father was a sergeant's lieutenant based in Hong Kong

0:43:200:43:24

in the British Navy when of course it was a British base.

0:43:240:43:28

And he had a young family. He didn't have a lot of money,

0:43:280:43:31

but he collected little bits of jade that, at that time, didn't

0:43:310:43:34

cost too much money.

0:43:340:43:36

-And this was in the 19...

-Early 1960s.

-Right. OK.

0:43:360:43:40

It's a wonderful display and lesson in all sorts of aspects of jade.

0:43:400:43:45

I mean, the different objects, for a start.

0:43:450:43:47

We've got here, we've got a hat pin or hair ornament.

0:43:470:43:51

These are belt hooks which are carved with dragons and so forth.

0:43:510:43:55

You probably know what these are?

0:43:550:43:57

No! I don't.

0:43:570:44:00

Well, they are called bi-discs.

0:44:000:44:02

They're curious objects which were placed upon the bodies in tombs in Neolithic times and they continued

0:44:020:44:09

making them in China. And these ones, these two look 19th century.

0:44:090:44:13

But interestingly, they have still got these little knobbles

0:44:130:44:16

on the surface, which you see on the ones from the Shang dynasty,

0:44:160:44:20

thousands and thousands of years ago.

0:44:200:44:24

These two here, they are archers rings, so you don't...

0:44:240:44:27

when the bowstring whacks your hand. Vases, carvings of animals.

0:44:270:44:32

And the other thing it shows us is all the different colours that jade can come in.

0:44:320:44:37

And at different times in Chinese history, different stones

0:44:370:44:40

have been used and different ones have been more popular.

0:44:400:44:43

Commercially at the moment,

0:44:430:44:44

white jade is very sought after by the Chinese.

0:44:440:44:49

There is a good example.

0:44:490:44:51

Very white, much whiter than almost anything else on here.

0:44:510:44:55

And what would that be?

0:44:550:44:56

-Would that be just like an ornament, or, the rabbit?

-What, this one?

-Yes.

0:44:560:45:00

This one is carved, pretending to be a section of bamboo.

0:45:000:45:05

It's got bamboo leaves on it and if you cut a piece

0:45:050:45:08

of bamboo inside, you see that's the internal structure of the bamboo plant as it grows.

0:45:080:45:13

-Yep, got you.

-And of course the Chinese make works of art in lacquer,

0:45:130:45:17

in bamboo, there are plenty of good bamboo carvings, in boxwood,

0:45:170:45:21

but Jade is one of the most highly prized.

0:45:210:45:23

And it's fabulous to see such a lot of it.

0:45:230:45:26

Dating it has always been difficult.

0:45:260:45:29

Some things you can be fairly categoric about.

0:45:290:45:32

You don't tend to see the very bright jadeite,

0:45:320:45:34

which is this apple green colour,

0:45:340:45:36

until the second half of the 18th century, really.

0:45:360:45:41

Unlike pottery and porcelain, where you can look at the material

0:45:410:45:45

and say, this was not produced until such a time, jade was all formed tens

0:45:450:45:49

of thousands of years ago, so how does one date it?

0:45:490:45:52

Well, it comes down to style, really.

0:45:520:45:55

This hair ornament stands a good chance that it's 18th-century.

0:45:550:45:58

The quality is very, very fine.

0:45:580:46:00

Some pieces I think are 20th century.

0:46:000:46:02

This little vase here is a relatively crude affair.

0:46:020:46:05

But they're terrific. I love the animals as well.

0:46:050:46:08

Yes, I like the animals. I think that's what he liked collecting.

0:46:080:46:11

Yeah. Are there any you particularly want to ask about?

0:46:110:46:13

Possibly the little horse, I like.

0:46:150:46:17

This is carved in a much earlier style.

0:46:190:46:22

It's a late Ming, 17th-century style.

0:46:220:46:24

Can that actually be tested, or is it just...?

0:46:240:46:27

No, you can't test it. What you can do is compare it very closely with other

0:46:270:46:31

ones that are known to have been in collections at certain times.

0:46:310:46:35

But it's fabulous to see so many pieces.

0:46:350:46:37

I think you're a very lucky girl.

0:46:370:46:40

-Yes, I am!

-They really are quite valuable.

0:46:400:46:44

There should be in excess of £15,000 here.

0:46:440:46:46

That's very, very nice to know.

0:46:460:46:48

-Yeah.

-It's super. And there may be single pieces which make 1,000 or 2,000 individually.

0:46:480:46:54

Yeah. Amazing.

0:46:540:46:55

You're probably wondering why I want to talk about something

0:46:550:46:59

so humble as a child's napkin ring and spoon.

0:46:590:47:02

What I love about the Roadshow is that it throws up the odd gem

0:47:020:47:07

of an object which may look unspectacular, but you have brought along such a gem.

0:47:070:47:14

The clue to it is written in the lid here, Liberty & Co.

0:47:140:47:19

Now, this is a christening present. And is it your christening present?

0:47:190:47:23

No, it was my husband's auntie's christening present.

0:47:230:47:27

And she was born in 1910.

0:47:270:47:29

Right, well, that also gives a very good clue

0:47:290:47:32

to what I want to talk about.

0:47:320:47:34

Because it actually has hallmarks on the side here for 1909,

0:47:340:47:40

and it has the Liberty & Co hallmark on the edge here.

0:47:400:47:45

But there's one very special reason why a little napkin ring

0:47:450:47:50

and spoon like this is so special, and that is the designer.

0:47:500:47:55

One of the most famous designers

0:47:550:47:57

of the early 20th century was a chap called Archibald Knox.

0:47:570:48:02

-Oh!

-And he is a top, top man.

0:48:020:48:06

The enamel on the ring and on the spoon is very typical of his work.

0:48:060:48:10

He worked as a designer for Liberty exactly at this time.

0:48:100:48:16

Not only that, you've got everything in the original case.

0:48:160:48:20

So it's a pretty special lot, it's a collector's lot.

0:48:200:48:26

We're probably looking at something here worth at least £1,000.

0:48:260:48:30

Good grief!

0:48:300:48:32

No, I had no idea.

0:48:340:48:36

It's that special.

0:48:360:48:38

He is one of the most popular names at the moment.

0:48:380:48:41

There's a real surge in art-nouveau silver at the moment, particularly by Archibald Knox.

0:48:410:48:48

Thank you very much. Thank you.

0:48:480:48:51

When I first met you and you showed me the box saying

0:48:510:48:55

Vauxhall 30D, somehow I assumed it would be full of Vauxhall cars.

0:48:550:48:59

But how wrong was I?

0:48:590:49:02

Because they are not Vauxhalls at all, are they?

0:49:020:49:06

They're Dinkys,

0:49:060:49:08

but there's a Packard,

0:49:080:49:10

and a Rolls-Royce.

0:49:100:49:12

I think it was my father that bought them for me,

0:49:120:49:15

shortly after I was born,

0:49:150:49:18

which would have been probably '39, '40.

0:49:180:49:21

Not many more were probably bought during the war.

0:49:210:49:24

I mean, none were made during the war.

0:49:240:49:27

And then afterwards,

0:49:270:49:30

I started buying them myself when I was nine or 10,

0:49:300:49:33

with a little bit of pocket money.

0:49:330:49:35

And went on buying them until I was about 14 or 15.

0:49:350:49:38

All of which I have still got. This is just a small selection.

0:49:380:49:42

-In total, how many Dinkys do you have?

-I should have counted them before I came out.

0:49:420:49:46

Probably about 40.

0:49:460:49:48

And, as you can see, I hardly played with them so they are in pretty good condition.

0:49:480:49:54

I personally like the tanker here because I am just a few years younger than you

0:49:540:50:00

and this one was brought out in the fifties.

0:50:000:50:04

In 1952 I think it first came out.

0:50:040:50:08

I didn't think I had bought it as long ago as that. Good grief!

0:50:080:50:11

But we have to talk about value.

0:50:110:50:13

So, yes.

0:50:130:50:15

These early ones, pre-war,

0:50:150:50:18

probably worth anywhere between £150 and £300 each.

0:50:180:50:23

The tanker, again in its original box, worth another £150-180.

0:50:230:50:29

You multiply that by the 40 you've got,

0:50:290:50:32

and you're not talking about hundreds, but low thousands.

0:50:320:50:35

Yes, I think that's true, yes, yes.

0:50:350:50:38

As a child, I enjoyed playing with my Dinkys, but I never kept them as nice as you did.

0:50:380:50:43

So I admire you, because my Dinkys are now worthless, whilst yours are still worth a fortune.

0:50:430:50:48

It is interesting you had some.

0:50:480:50:51

-Thank you very much indeed.

-It's a pleasure. Thank you.

0:50:510:50:54

It was my father's. He passed away about 10 years ago

0:50:540:50:57

and it was part of my inheritance. I chose to take this little box.

0:50:570:51:01

-It's been in the family for a long time.

-You chose it, well done you!

0:51:010:51:05

-Well, hopefully, yes.

-So, where do you think he got it?

0:51:050:51:08

He used to travel, so I'm thinking it may be from China

0:51:080:51:11

or somewhere like that because we used to have quite a few pieces from China.

0:51:110:51:15

That's the only reason I'm thinking that. Apart from that, I have no idea.

0:51:150:51:19

OK. On the surround, this lovely what we call guilloche enamel.

0:51:190:51:24

That's the pattern of the enamel, so it's sort of zig-zaggy.

0:51:240:51:28

And over that, we have lovely roses, for love.

0:51:280:51:32

And then in the middle, you have again enamelling, but

0:51:320:51:36

it's all to do with love and harmony so you've got two goddesses and then you've got Cupid,

0:51:360:51:41

so you have harmony and love and it must have been a wonderful present

0:51:410:51:46

-for someone, a beloved, if you like.

-So I'm glad I've got it then. Yes.

0:51:460:51:52

And then underneath,

0:51:520:51:54

we have a number.

0:51:540:51:56

And it actually says,

0:51:560:52:00

it says, Swiss, see?

0:52:000:52:03

Now, the Swiss maker

0:52:030:52:06

would have been someone called Charles Margerathe.

0:52:060:52:10

And this would have been somewhere near Neuchatel, which is called St Croix.

0:52:120:52:16

And these would have been made by this firm somewhere between the 1920s and 1930s.

0:52:180:52:23

If we can get it going...

0:52:230:52:24

BIRD TWEETS

0:52:260:52:28

Well, what I love about it is they are actually real bird feathers.

0:52:400:52:44

-Oh, right, OK.

-And they've still got the lovely colours, too, which a

0:52:440:52:48

lot of these birds from such a long time ago, they lose their colours,

0:52:480:52:52

they lose their feathers, they moult.

0:52:520:52:54

-And... Have you ever thought of its worth?

-No idea.

0:52:540:52:59

Well, if it were to go into an auction,

0:52:590:53:03

in the right sort of auction, it would probably make £1,500.

0:53:030:53:06

-Right, OK. Yes.

-So...

0:53:060:53:08

-That's a very nice... I think I shall get that insured.

-Well done!

0:53:080:53:12

-Yes, thank you very much.

-A delightful piece.

0:53:120:53:15

Shall we get it going again?

0:53:150:53:17

These wonderful gold medals tell me that the owner was somebody who was

0:53:280:53:35

very important in the Peninsular War.

0:53:350:53:38

This was Sir Richard Fletcher,

0:53:380:53:41

who was my grandfather's great grandfather, I think, and

0:53:410:53:46

he built the lines of Torres Vedras which kept Napoleon out of Lisbon during that war.

0:53:460:53:53

Now, let's talk a little about the Peninsular War,

0:53:530:53:56

because in the early 19th century, the French

0:53:560:53:59

-had virtually overcome all of Europe, apart from Britain of course.

-Yes.

0:53:590:54:05

And in 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar,

0:54:050:54:08

defeated the Spanish and the French, but Napoleon made a great mistake.

0:54:080:54:14

-Yes.

-He then decided to overthrow the Spanish, who were his allies,

0:54:140:54:19

-and to take over Spain.

-Yes.

0:54:190:54:21

So that gave Britain a chance to get into the Iberian Peninsula.

0:54:210:54:26

Now, Fletcher,

0:54:260:54:28

-Lieutenant-Colonel Fletcher?

-Correct.

0:54:280:54:32

..Was the most important royal engineer at that time,

0:54:320:54:37

and he was appointed to Wellesley, then Wellington's staff.

0:54:370:54:41

-Yes.

-So he would have been in day-to-day contact with Wellington.

0:54:410:54:46

He would have been literally sitting almost as we are here.

0:54:460:54:49

-Yes.

-Opposite that famous commander.

0:54:490:54:52

-Yes.

-Wellington.

-Yes.

-What a wonderful thing to imagine, actually.

0:54:520:54:55

-Yes, yes.

-So what are the medals we've got here?

0:54:550:54:59

The top one interests me because this isn't a British medal.

0:54:590:55:02

-No, no.

-It looks to me like a Portuguese medal.

-Yes.

0:55:020:55:05

And I think I'm right in saying it's the, is it the Order of the Tower and Sword or something like that?

0:55:050:55:11

-That's my understanding, yes.

-Yes, OK.

0:55:110:55:13

Presented by the King of Portugal, yes.

0:55:130:55:16

And then looking at the bottom here, at six o'clock, we've got a

0:55:160:55:20

very foreign-looking medal which is the Sultan's Medal.

0:55:200:55:25

Which was awarded in 1801 for services against the French in Egypt,

0:55:250:55:30

of course, and so Fletcher would have taken part in that campaign as well.

0:55:300:55:34

Yes, yes, yes.

0:55:340:55:35

But the medals that really interest me are the two either side of...

0:55:350:55:39

-I guess this is his portrait, is it?

-I'm sure it is, yes.

0:55:390:55:43

Well, this is a wonderful silhouette portrait of Fletcher.

0:55:430:55:46

This medal here is the Army Gold Medal.

0:55:460:55:50

And what does it say on there?

0:55:500:55:52

-Talavera.

-Talavera?

0:55:520:55:55

1808.

0:55:550:55:58

-And across at three o'clock we have the Army Gold Cross.

-Yes.

0:56:000:56:05

Now this medal here usually is inscribed.

0:56:050:56:07

Let's have a look on the edges of what's called a cross pate and it

0:56:070:56:12

says here, "Lieutenant Colonel" - "L Colonel", so Lieutenant Colonel -

0:56:120:56:17

"Sir Richard Fletcher", and this is a terribly important medal.

0:56:170:56:22

-In fact, Wellington himself was awarded that medal.

-Yes, yes.

0:56:220:56:26

Well, you know, he was a greatly loved man, Fletcher.

0:56:260:56:30

-Yes, yes.

-He took great care of the staff under him.

-Yes, yes.

0:56:300:56:34

And he was killed at San Sebastian.

0:56:340:56:37

Yes, yes.

0:56:370:56:39

By a bullet, and his loss was greatly felt by everybody under his command.

0:56:390:56:44

-Yes, yes.

-And I think I'm right in saying that his officers

0:56:440:56:47

-subscribed for a memorial in the hills above San Sebastian.

-Yes.

0:56:470:56:52

-Where I think he was buried.

-Yes.

0:56:520:56:54

Now there is a value to these medals, you know.

0:56:540:56:57

-Yes.

-Certainly the top medal and the bottom medal,

0:56:570:57:00

I suppose they'd be worth £2,000, £3,000, something like that.

0:57:000:57:05

But these two are quite important.

0:57:050:57:08

And this medal would be worth, because it's Fletcher,

0:57:080:57:14

somewhere in the region of £15,000.

0:57:140:57:18

-Yes.

-And this medal, the Cross, is worth £35,000.

0:57:180:57:22

So the whole lot together, in my view, could be worth

0:57:220:57:27

as much as £50,000 at auction today.

0:57:270:57:30

It's a wonderful, wonderful collection.

0:57:300:57:32

Are you going to keep it in the family?

0:57:320:57:34

-Going to go to the Royal Engineers Museum, I think.

-It is?

0:57:340:57:37

Yes, well, it's set in my will.

0:57:370:57:39

Well, I think they are very fortunate

0:57:390:57:42

and I know they cared greatly about Fletcher, I know that.

0:57:420:57:46

And I think it will find a very warm welcome. Thank you.

0:57:460:57:49

Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

0:57:490:57:51

We've had a great day here in Greenwich by the River Thames.

0:57:530:57:57

People have brought all sorts of fascinating items for us to look at,

0:57:570:58:00

including, of course, these fabulous Routemaster buses.

0:58:000:58:04

And things are drawing to a close here now, so I thought,

0:58:040:58:07

what better way to depart than on one of these?

0:58:070:58:09

So, from the Antiques Roadshow in Greenwich, bye-bye.

0:58:170:58:20

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:440:58:47

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:470:58:51

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