0:00:00 > 0:00:03We've visited some stunning locations over the last 18 months,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07but one that stood out particularly for me was Hertford College, Oxford,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10a place where I spent four very happy years as a student.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15We found enough wonderful finds there to have plenty for two shows,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18so tonight I bring you Hertford College take two.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Oxford's home to the Morris Minor, the four-minute mile and the oldest
0:01:12 > 0:01:14English-speaking university in the world,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and for me, it's a trip down memory lane.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23For four years I studied languages at Hertford College,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26which appeared as a hall of residence in the 13th century,
0:01:26 > 0:01:27along with Oxford's oldest colleges.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Now there are 39, with 20,000 students,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34who have more libraries at their page-turning
0:01:34 > 0:01:39fingertips than any other city in the UK, over a hundred.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41The most famous is the Bodleian,
0:01:41 > 0:01:46which stores around eight million books on 120 miles of shelving.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Who could be in Oxford without
0:02:00 > 0:02:03spending some time on the river? I used to love it.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08This was the scene that inspired Lewis Carroll's
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Alice Through The Looking Glass.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14With views like this, small wonder that Oxford sparked the imagination
0:02:14 > 0:02:17of many of its former students.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23They've written about the adventures of hobbits, Chronicles Of Narnia.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25They in turn spawned a movie and TV industry
0:02:25 > 0:02:30from The Golden Compass and Harry Potter to James Bond and Brideshead Revisited,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35which was filmed at my old home, Hertford College, where I was a student
0:02:35 > 0:02:38during the '80s and this quad and the rooms around it were the setting
0:02:38 > 0:02:42and inspiration for the author, Hertford old boy Evelyn Waugh.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Today the people of Oxford have made their way to here by
0:02:45 > 0:02:47all sorts of cars, bikes,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52possibly boats, to join our slow and snaking trains to the experts.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56We welcome them all to the Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59There's something worryingly odd about these dishes,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and while I try and work out what it is, tell me where you got them from.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06These were bought recently at a car boot sale in Northumbria,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and they were £5 each.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Well, what do you think you bought? Have you any idea?
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I'm not sure. They stood out because of their size and because of the colours in them,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19but I don't know much about them at all.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24What we have here are Delft dishes, and Delft dishes shouldn't look like this.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27It's the rims that are so extraordinary, and looking round,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30feeling the edge of this dish, there's barely a blemish on it.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32- It's not chipped and broken.- No.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Delft is a very soft pottery, made to look like the Chinese porcelain, but
0:03:36 > 0:03:40copied in Holland, copied in England with a thick tin glaze.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44And that chips off and breaks very easily and so this should have chips
0:03:44 > 0:03:47all the way round there, but it actually looks
0:03:47 > 0:03:49- remarkably clean and new.- Yes.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52And so when you see these things at car boot sales,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- the tendency is to assume they can't be that old.- No.
0:03:55 > 0:04:02But it's fine, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just survived in remarkably good condition.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08This dish was made in London. It was made in about...1780s.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10- Right, gosh. - So back in the 18th century.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14And it looks brand-new, doesn't it? It looks extraordinary.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18A pretend Chinaman, he's not really a Chinaman, he's a Lambeth Chinaman.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21That's where he was made, and he's sitting in a Chinese-style
0:04:21 > 0:04:26landscape but painted in the bold colours of London Delft.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31This very bright red. And the use of the blue with these little scratched-in lines,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34such a typical feature, especially of the Lambeth Delft ware.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40- Yes.- So not just one for £5 but another one, also £5.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- Yes, also £5.- And another...
0:04:43 > 0:04:48- Well, this is a little bit more convincing I suppose, because you've got one chip there.- Yes.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- That's not bad, is it?- No, I think they're beautiful.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54I don't mind the chips at all, I think it adds a bit to them.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55It shows their age a little bit more.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58That's a nice design, there's a bird flying there.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00A rather comical bird.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02The influence here is Chinese
0:05:02 > 0:05:05porcelain from the early 18th century,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07and that's what this was imitating.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10This one, I say this one I don't think is a Lambeth one,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- I think this looks more Bristol.- Bristol, right.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Delft was made in many places, and it's hard to say just where
0:05:18 > 0:05:20but this is even older.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- Oh, right.- This one is from 1740.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- Oh, my gosh.- So. - I didn't realise at all.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And you've got some lovely dishes for £5 each.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I must find out where this boot sale is!
0:05:33 > 0:05:35I mean, they're worth more than that.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40That one is worth £300...£400.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Right, gosh, that's a good return, yes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48And this one, older, even more, say £500, £600.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Oh, that's brilliant.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52I'm really pleased.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53So keep hunting for more.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Oh, I will do. Thank you.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04It strikes me that you could well be a collector of Art Deco bronzes.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- Would I be right?- No, I'm afraid not, no. They came from my nan.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12She used to keep them in a cabinet and then when she died,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16my aunt had all the china and my mum just had these three figurines.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- Did she? That could have been quite a wise move.- Oh, really?
0:06:19 > 0:06:23But from...from the point of view of sculptor, let me just say
0:06:23 > 0:06:29that from a hundred yards I recognise these as being by a man called Josef Lorenzl,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- and he was quite prolific.- Yes.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35And he did bronzes of all sizes. These are relatively small for Josef.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40I always refer to him as Legs Lorenzl because his girls have got such
0:06:40 > 0:06:47fabulous long legs, but looking at them, they're pure sort of 1925.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48When I say Art Deco, these
0:06:48 > 0:06:53girls belong to that, an age of keeping fit above anything else.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58If you think about the Edwardian age, quite stuffy, and then the 1920s
0:06:58 > 0:07:01arrived and everybody wants to keep young and beautiful, and
0:07:01 > 0:07:07what I find endearing about Lorenzl, he's a good starter sculptor.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11In other words, he's not overly expensive, because Art Deco figurines
0:07:11 > 0:07:14- can fetch quite often huge amounts. - Yes.
0:07:14 > 0:07:20So, just looking at, say, this little figurine with a girl in the centre,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25there is a signature, but it's very, very small, and all it actually says
0:07:25 > 0:07:28is L-O-R, because there wasn't enough room to put the rest on there.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30To be honest with you, you
0:07:30 > 0:07:34really don't need a signature because his style is so distinctive.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Value? OK, your small little figurine,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41she's going to be worth in the region of around about £300 to £400.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Maybe a little bit more on a good day.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47This lady over here, who's a little bit larger,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50is going to be worth £400 to £600.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Oh, goodness, yes.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And this girl over here who's obviously not shy, with her arms
0:07:55 > 0:08:00raised in gay abandon, you might say, she's going to be worth in the region
0:08:00 > 0:08:02- of £500 to £700.- Oh, goodness me.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08Now I think it's safe to say, your mother almost certainly came off best
0:08:08 > 0:08:13by leaving the crockery and taking these three ladies in Oxford.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15She did. Thank you.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20So what is this Oxfam walk business?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Well, I was 16 years old.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- Yeah.- A mere 40 years ago.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26You mustn't tell everybody.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28And went on the first charity walk
0:08:28 > 0:08:32for Oxfam, and at the same time my father was
0:08:32 > 0:08:35filming at Pinewood Studios, a film called Anne Of A Thousand Days.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39My father was director of photography on the film, Arthur Ibbotson.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43And he took my sponsor form in and he asked the technicians to fill
0:08:43 > 0:08:45it in, and then lo and behold he came home with
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor having filled it in.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49There it is, Richard Burton.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54And then further down, he also managed to persuade Richard Harris.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Oh, is that Richard Harris? Good heavens!
0:08:56 > 0:08:58So he sponsored me as well, and then
0:08:58 > 0:09:02after the walk I had to go and collect this sponsor money and...
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Burton and Liz owe Julie £28. - In the local Watford Observer.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08That was an awful lot of money really, wasn't it?
0:09:08 > 0:09:13It was. The total was about £140 in the end, a lot of money in those days.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- Good heavens.- And then, yes, I went and got my money
0:09:16 > 0:09:19from Mr Burton, who very kindly posed for a photograph and signed,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23"To Julie with best wishes, despite your blisters, Richard Burton."
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Which were significant.
0:09:25 > 0:09:31I reckon that would sell for about between £150 and £200.
0:09:31 > 0:09:37But I also found, in your collection, this, of the Beatles, signed.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Now, how did you get that?
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Well, my father's cameraman at the time was working on the Beatles film.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- Yes. - I think it was A Hard Day's Night.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51We went to watch him filming at one of the London theatres, the Beatles actually performing,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56so we met them, my sister and I, and they very kindly signed a postcard.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59But I was much younger then, I was only about 12 or 13 then,
0:09:59 > 0:10:00and yes, we came away with...
0:10:00 > 0:10:02So you actually saw them sign it?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Yes, and it was signed, "To Julie, love from the Beatles",
0:10:06 > 0:10:09so I feel very honoured that it's actually personalised.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10I think that's splendid,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14and it's got to be somewhere in the region of £2,000.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Gosh.- That's better.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Well, it's in our family so it's a bit of heritage from my dad.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Twenty years ago, I worked for Minton in Stoke on Trent and at that point
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I did a lot of work around their history, and therefore I know this
0:10:30 > 0:10:33is a Minton figure, and although I've never seen that particular
0:10:33 > 0:10:37model, I saw it in a pattern book and didn't actually know it existed.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40It was modelled by a chap called Richard Bradbury,
0:10:40 > 0:10:41probably in the 1930s,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44but clearly all this seems to relate to it.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- Yes.- Help me, help me get there.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51My grandmother and grandfather worked for Minton.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54My grandfather used to do a lot of work for the bosses at Minton
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and they knew he'd got a little girl of about three or four, and they needed a model.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- Right.- And they asked if she would model for it, which she did,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07and she was given this suit and also the figure, for doing the modelling.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12- So this is your mother? - That's my mother, yes.- Good heavens. It's a wonderful story
0:11:12 > 0:11:16because one sees the finished product often, I'm familiar with things like this,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and it never occurs to you that there was a human start.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23I just think the modeller sits there, works away, does what he does.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26But to actually say, "Well, I need a four-year-old child, who's got one?
0:11:26 > 0:11:31"That'll do, come here, get these clothes on, stand still and off I go,"
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I think that's wonderful. Has it been worn since?
0:11:34 > 0:11:37It's been worn by myself and also my three children.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- Now do we have any evidence of that? - Yes.- There's a picture - of me, unfortunately.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Unfortunately? You look wonderful.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I was probably... A little bit older than her there.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49- So this is Butlins?- Yes.- So you were in the dressing-up competition?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Yes.- Did you win?- I can't remember.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- You probably had the best costume of anybody there.- Well, probably.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00- The only professionally-made costume. You were that jester.- Yes.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06Right, I think it's a lovely story because it really fills out the background to how figures were made.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11A figure like that by Bradbury is still going to be £250-£300.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15What's the costume worth? It's priceless - it's the whole story.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- Yes, yes.- It just brings your family to life in a wonderful way.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Yes.- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26So tell me, is this a family member?
0:12:26 > 0:12:28No, no,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I saw it at an antiques
0:12:30 > 0:12:33centre about three years ago and I just fell in love with him.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35He had such a lovely face.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Your eyes met across a crowded room.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42Yes, yes. His sort of friendly, laughing eyes.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44When you took him home, was he framed like this?
0:12:44 > 0:12:52No. When we bought it, it did have a very narrow stainless-steel surround.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57It was about an inch wide, but it just didn't do justice
0:12:57 > 0:13:01to the painting at all so we had it reframed and then we noticed
0:13:01 > 0:13:04that on the back there was a compliment slip.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06From Fort Dunlop,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11so I did a bit of investigation work on the internet and came up and
0:13:11 > 0:13:15found that it was actually John Dunlop, who invented the tyres.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18- I was quite pleased really. - Absolutely.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21To find that there was, you know, he was somebody, not just a Victorian
0:13:21 > 0:13:27old gentleman, as it had on the ticket in the antique centre.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Well, of course, John Dunlop invented, as you say, the pneumatic
0:13:31 > 0:13:35tyre, which was patented in 1888, and is really, I suppose, one of
0:13:35 > 0:13:38the most important people in the automotive industry.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43And he was obviously a very nice chap.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- Yes.- And it's lovely to have a picture like this,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and in retirement he went to Ireland.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52We know from a date point of view
0:13:52 > 0:13:56that this was painted there, because by 1907 he was in Northern Ireland.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59But the artist's name is a chap called Lafayette.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Lafayette is actually the pseudonym
0:14:01 > 0:14:06of an Irish artist called John Scott Lauder.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12So it is an Irish picture painted in Northern Ireland in his retirement
0:14:12 > 0:14:14as a wealthy old man.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I would imagine that a picture like this at auction,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20without being able to think of a great institution or
0:14:20 > 0:14:23a big automotive company to sell it to, would make just
0:14:23 > 0:14:27you know mid to high hundreds, so still a jolly good turn on your £80.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32- Yes, yes.- But I think if one could find an automotive institution that
0:14:32 > 0:14:36would like a portrait of somebody as great as he was, I think you might
0:14:36 > 0:14:39find it would make even more.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Yes, well, we shan't be parting with him, I don't think.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45- I think he's quite happy with us. - Yeah, I'm sure he is.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48So you've been on the bottle, I see.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- Mm, looks like it.- They're a little older than that.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- A little older than me.- Tell me how you got hold of them.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59They were given to me as a gift. I did some work for an antique dealer.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04I was a collector of bottles early in the days, and I bought from him
0:15:04 > 0:15:06and he was very pleased with all the work.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10He said "Here's a very special present for you, look after them.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13"I think you'll find them quite valuable at the end of the day."
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And I managed to get them out of the attic last night after 25 years.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20The wine bottle is a particular collecting area.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23It evokes wine history and the people who
0:15:23 > 0:15:28collect them tend to be wine lovers, and these date from a similar period.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34You can date wine bottles quite easily through the progression of their shape.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37This cylinder shape came in in about 1780.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40It was one of the great breakthroughs in packaging history.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44You know, the Tetra Brik that we get our milk from.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46I mean that's an important breakthrough in packaging history.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49but this bottle has effectively remained the same.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53It's been stretched a little and it's the modern Bordeaux bottle.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Go into any wine merchant and you'll
0:15:55 > 0:15:58find bottles of this shape. What's amazing about it,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01that differentiated it from its predecessors
0:16:01 > 0:16:02is that you could lay it down.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- Right.- Every bottle before that,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11- you'd have to tilt it or stand it upright.- Right.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Because it's a cylinder shape, you could lay down your wine,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and that still remains with us today.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- Yes.- So in a way, this is the perfect bottle. It's never
0:16:20 > 0:16:24been bettered, and most of these date from the late 18th century.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- There's one that's different.- Right.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29All of these are made in a dip mould.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33You dipped the glass into a mould, you blew
0:16:33 > 0:16:36into a baked bean tin, a glorified baked bean tin,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39and you pulled it out and you've got your shape.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43At the top of this bottle, there is a slight ridge around there,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45- which is the top of the mould.- Yes.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47You can see it, it's plainly there.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51The one that's different here is this one.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Now that has some lettering on it and it says "patent".
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Oh, really? Yes. I noticed that.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01And it says "Ricketts patent" and in 1821 Ricketts of Bristol,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04bottle works in Bristol, invented a machine
0:17:04 > 0:17:08which got rid of the hand-made element of bottle making.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- Yes.- That was the next breakthrough. So we had the most important bottle
0:17:12 > 0:17:15in glass making - in wine history, really, here,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19bettered by this breakthrough here.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21The seals are interesting in that they link to owners.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24I've been told that some of these are Oxford college bottles.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28I can definitely say to you, they definitely are Oxford University,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30but I don't know which college.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35This boosts their value. You'd need an Oxford historian to tell you what they are.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40We're talking probably £100 each for them. The one that is actually
0:17:40 > 0:17:44worth a bit more is the Ricketts one, because it is quite unusual to have
0:17:44 > 0:17:47the full patent on the shoulder and beneath it, and so we're
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- talking about £200 for that one. - Isn't it interesting?
0:17:50 > 0:17:55But what you've got here is a little time capsule in bottle-making history
0:17:55 > 0:18:00- and as a bottle collector, you're on the button, it's great.- Well done, that's really nice.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09So this is the catalogue description of it. So the estimate was £400 to £500. Which price did you pay?
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Seven fifty. Was that too much?
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Well, we'll see.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Now we know clearly what it is, anyway. A Dieppe ivory mirror.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Dieppe is a natural harbour on the north coast of France,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22not that far from Le Havre on the entrance to the Seine.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27So you've got all the ships coming from the French East Indies and the West Indies,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30all coming back towards Paris, bringing their wares in,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33and this school of carving started in Dieppe.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35It is a fantastic part of social history of France,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39started carving in the 17th century.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42This very definitely is ivory.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Is it? I thought some of it might be bone.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Well, you do see bone, and
0:18:47 > 0:18:51rather unfortunately, historically, they did use human bone sometimes.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Oh, did they? Oh, right, yes.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55But the Dieppe School still
0:18:55 > 0:18:59flourishes, and in the 19th century, I think this is when this was made.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- So have you got the missing lion from here?- No, I've never had it.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- Does he come out? - He does come out, usually.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Stuck in, oh, right.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Well, I think that if I was keeping this, which you
0:19:12 > 0:19:15clearly are, and treasuring it, I would get that remade.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I don't think it would be difficult to get done in Dieppe.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- In Dieppe? Oh, right.- As far as I'm aware, it's still going,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24the school of carving there, for 300 years or more,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and I'm pretty sure you can either send it, or why not take a boat trip?
0:19:28 > 0:19:33- Why not? Yes, I'll do that.- And have a little holiday in Dieppe and see if you can get someone to do it.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37So you bought it in the '70s for that ringed price of £750?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Yes.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41What would you pay for it today?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Well, I doubt I'd buy it today.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47- That's an interesting point. You don't like it? - Yes, I do like it, but it's just...
0:19:47 > 0:19:49It wouldn't be on my list of priorities.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53It wouldn't... OK. Well, if you sold it today,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57I think you would expect to sell it, at auction,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01for between about £2,000 and £2,500, something like that.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Yes, yes, that's very nice, isn't it?- With or without your lion.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Yes, so I'll have the lion made just to complete the picture.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- I think so, yeah.- Thank you very much.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13- It's a wacky piece of furniture... - Wacky, yes, yes, it's wacky.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I've been given two items made by a rather interesting designer,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22so I'm off to see our ceramic experts, to see what they make of them.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23- Hello, you two.- Hello.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- I've got two things for you to look at.- Oh, yes.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Now what do you make of these?
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Ooh, well, er, I like blue and white for a start-off.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36They're not very old.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- I don't know what, what you know.- OK.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- Oh, that.- That is. - Well, it's not.- Well, the shape is.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44The shape is, it's 17th century
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- blanc de Chine from China.- Right, but what do you think about the...
0:20:47 > 0:20:54- The decoration is modern, he's imitating transfer printing.- Yeah.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- By hand painting.- But that shape...
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Strange thing to do, bought-in blank.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00That shape is actually...
0:21:00 > 0:21:04I know that shape is in the Ashmolean, round the corner from here and it's...
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- because Worcester used it.- Yeah.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Worcester used it ...You're almost on the right track...
0:21:09 > 0:21:13these are in fact done by an esteemed colleague of yours.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- Ah, yes.- Really?- We don't have any esteemed colleagues.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Ah, now you're talking about yourself!
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I'm going to go and talk to him to find out a little bit more about them.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23Gentlemen, thank you very much.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26OK, thank you.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31It must be pretty daunting living with a hundred or so faces of
0:21:31 > 0:21:34eminent Victorians looking down upon you every day.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Um, I've got used to it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- My mother couldn't stand it.- Could she not?- No, no.- So was it your mother's?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44No, it belonged to my grandfather, her father actually.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45How did he come by it?
0:21:45 > 0:21:49He bought it for two and six when they were clearing out the Jockey Club, pre-war.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Did he buy it because he liked it?
0:21:51 > 0:21:53No, he actually bought it for the glass to make a cold frame with.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56He bought it for the glass, so where's the glass now?
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- I broke it on the way here, put my knee through it. - Nice timing.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06Let's talk about the image though, because it represents all the eminent members of the Jockey Club
0:22:06 > 0:22:09and the date is written at the bottom, 1878.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12But it's not just faces of the members.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Around this roundel in the middle
0:22:15 > 0:22:20are what look like genuine watercolours of scenes of racing...
0:22:20 > 0:22:22- Have you had a good look at those? - Yes, yes.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24They're done in watercolour and gouache.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Watercolour being transparent, gouache being the rather more obvious whitey, flaky bits on top
0:22:29 > 0:22:31and they're signed by John Sturges
0:22:31 > 0:22:36who was a reasonably eminent horse painter, often illustrated
0:22:36 > 0:22:37in the magazines of the day.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42So you've got an amalgam here of art and photography.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45About this time photography was taking over, so in a sense it's
0:22:45 > 0:22:51a rather poignant reminder of just where art was going, it's being pushed out on the edges.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55But the interesting thing is that, although photography could capture
0:22:55 > 0:23:01people and could photograph horses, art had yet to realise that horses
0:23:01 > 0:23:06don't look like rocking horses when they ride like that,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10and it's an interesting sort of transitional point.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Imagine how difficult it would have been for this photographer to have gone round,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18photographed all of these, worked out the head shots, worked out who to have in profile,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20worked out who are the key guys in the middle...
0:23:20 > 0:23:24it was really quite a piece of craft, so, although photography
0:23:24 > 0:23:28in some senses is seen as a lesser art form, this is a real virtuoso
0:23:28 > 0:23:31example of the medium.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33So, he bought it for two and six.
0:23:33 > 0:23:3612½p.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38So what do you think it's worth now?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40No idea whatsoever.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46Well, I would be comfortable valuing it around about £3,000.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51- More than 12½ p, isn't it? That's a good investment.- Good investment.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57Well, I take one look at this and there's only one continent you can possibly think of,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01and that's Africa and here we are just getting ready to, you know, do the recording,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and I have to confess I've no idea what it's called, and then who should appear
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- but this gentleman here. - Who I have no idea who he is,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12- but he's come to see this. - Roadshows can be a bit like that.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Because he tells me...
0:24:13 > 0:24:15you've seen it in Rhodesia.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17I was born and bred
0:24:19 > 0:24:26in Rhodesia which is now Zimbabwe and that is the African mbira, M-B-I-R-A,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28which is played with thumbs.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30- Aha.- To make music.- To make music.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33To make the sound, yes, the buttons are meant
0:24:33 > 0:24:36to amplify the sound of the thumbs.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41And these, all these sections here are made out of flattened nails, aren't they?
0:24:41 > 0:24:47That's right and the length of them is actually to give specific sounds.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Do you want me to...o sound it?
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Yeah, yeah, why not?
0:24:51 > 0:24:52This is how it was played.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Fantastic, thank you so much.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12You've informed,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15given me information because this was brought back 120 years ago.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21But so what exactly was the story? What's your connection with Africa?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Er, my father-in-law, because he,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27he prospected for gold there at the same time as Cecil Rhodes.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29And did their paths cross in any way?
0:25:29 > 0:25:35Yes, yes, they walked together, camped, and my father-in-law
0:25:35 > 0:25:37always carried a Bible,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41because nobody would ever read the Bible and he cut a hole in the Bible
0:25:41 > 0:25:44and so his precious things were kept in there, inside.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50- So he wasn't necessarily a religious man?- No, no, no, no, no and he also kept his toothbrush in there,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53which was only a piece of stick that he'd shredded the ends of,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58and on the campfire he used to put the stick, he said, round the soot
0:25:58 > 0:26:02and clean his teeth, and his teeth were perfect white, beautiful teeth.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And how does the bronze monkey fit into the picture then?
0:26:05 > 0:26:10Well, he carried this on his back, now it doesn't look very big
0:26:10 > 0:26:13and we thought it was bronze, but we're still not sure because it
0:26:13 > 0:26:16weighs nearly a stone in weight, it really is very, very heavy.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19And it's my door stop to keep my kitchen door open.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24But it's a horrible looking thing, frightened my kids to death when they crawled, but, um,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27we want to know what it's made of because it's so heavy.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Well, I think what you normally associated with bronzes is
0:26:31 > 0:26:34the European bronzes that you see, many of which are actually hollowed
0:26:34 > 0:26:39out and so they're not as heavy as a solid lump of bronze like this would be.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Do you have any idea what this meant to him? Why did he carry it with him?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Well, he said it came from King Solomon's Mines but he must have
0:26:46 > 0:26:49thought a lot of it to carry it on his back, it's so heavy.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52This would be like having several bricks in your back pack.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56- Oh, definitely.- As you walk the length of the African continent.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00It must have had some huge significance for him.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05But I'm afraid to say that you know, its value is, is almost nothing,
0:27:05 > 0:27:10I mean it's worth probably, you know, maybe £100 but it's not...
0:27:10 > 0:27:12it's not finely made, it's not beautiful to look at.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Oh, no, no, no, it's a hideous- looking brute but anyway it's...
0:27:16 > 0:27:21We were hoping you were going to say it was gold, that's why I brought it, just in case,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25but if not, well, it'll still go on being my door stop in the kitchen.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Yes, yes, well it's just completely baffling, isn't it?
0:27:29 > 0:27:34And then I suppose the mbira, what would the commercial value?
0:27:34 > 0:27:38If you to buy something like this, and I don't suppose they're ever for sale
0:27:38 > 0:27:40because the idea is you make them yourself?
0:27:40 > 0:27:45It's very difficult to put a price to it,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49because they were made traditionally
0:27:49 > 0:27:53for entertainment. You never get these on the market.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- No, I've never seen any. - This is very unusual here.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57And they stay within a family?
0:27:57 > 0:28:02They stay within a family and there are people who are specialised in playing the mbira.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Absolutely revealing on every count.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10- Exactly.- Thank you for bringing it in, and thank you for adding your tremendous knowledge
0:28:10 > 0:28:13- to everything we've said. Thank you. Thank you.- Thank you.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I can now reveal that the designer behind these pieces is none other than John Sandon.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23So, John, this is a bit of a surprise, how long have you been doing this?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26All my life I think I've had an interest in porcelain,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28really inherited from my dad.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32When I was a schoolboy, Dad was the curator of the Royal Worcester Porcelain factory,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36and so I spent more time with him on the porcelain works than I did at school,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38learning how porcelain was made.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I know for Henry, his big thing is Worcester
0:28:40 > 0:28:44and you swang away from Worcester primarily into other interests as well?
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Yes, I left school at 16 to go into the world of fine art auctions
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and so I've learnt a bit more than just Worcester, I discovered
0:28:51 > 0:28:56there's wonderful porcelain made at Meissen and the Chinese and Italian and everywhere.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Tell me about these, your influences and what brought you to this?
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Well, these started me off when I was 12 years old.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06Dad found a little cupboard in the factory at Worcester containing
0:29:06 > 0:29:10old moulds from the 1920s, and so I had a go at casting from those moulds.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12The potters at Worcester let me watch them work
0:29:12 > 0:29:17and taught me about all the skills of porcelain potting, throwing, painting.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19That was an amazing education.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It was great because they were such skilled men and women too,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25I would watch them work for hours, and they made it look so easy.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28When I tried it...I tried to cast this horse and he kept going wrong,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32I had ten attempts and they all split or fell apart in my hands,
0:29:32 > 0:29:33but then I got one right, just
0:29:33 > 0:29:37the right thickness and it's now beautifully cast, I glazed it and
0:29:37 > 0:29:42- I fired it and so to me, as a little boy, when it came out of the kiln... - Oh, must have been very exciting.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47- Yes, it got me hooked on porcelain. - What about these? These aren't things that you've done?
0:29:47 > 0:29:51- No.- No, well they taught me interest in blue and white, because Dad loved
0:29:51 > 0:29:56archaeology and he did excavations on the site of the old porcelain works
0:29:56 > 0:29:59at Worcester in the 18th century, and I found these, I was 14 then,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03when I dug these two saucers up from the ground, and these are ones that
0:30:03 > 0:30:07were made in 1770 at Worcester in that blue and white.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11This one is painted in blue with cobalt oxide, which is actually a
0:30:11 > 0:30:13- black colour, painted straight onto the unglazed porcelain.- Beautiful.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18- You dug it up in this condition? - It went wrong in the making, got a chip on the rim,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and so they threw it away in the grounds of the old factory.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25If it hadn't had that chip they'd have covered it in glaze, it would
0:30:25 > 0:30:29have then been fired and would have come out like this one, which turns blue,
0:30:29 > 0:30:31the cobalt changes colour in the glaze,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34so finding these taught me how porcelain in blue and white was made.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37So this is what you've done, so tell me about...
0:30:37 > 0:30:43David Battie was very impressed with this one... He thought this was a beautiful freehand here.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45So your inspirations for this?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47That's based on a pattern that was done at Worcester,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50who themselves were copying Chinese.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53I don't like to directly copy the Chinese or Worcester patterns...
0:30:53 > 0:30:58I like to do my own slight variations, but on porcelain shapes made at Worcester,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01fired in the factory kilns to a very high temperature.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05So my part is doing the painting in blue, and it's sealed there for all time.
0:31:05 > 0:31:06And this lovely...
0:31:06 > 0:31:08nasturtiums are they? What are they?
0:31:08 > 0:31:11- They're lotus.- Lotus, ah.- They were growing in the park in Hong Kong.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14I always like, whenever I'm travelling, I take a sketch book
0:31:14 > 0:31:19and I do little sketches and then I work them out into porcelain designs afterwards.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23They're beautifully drawn. What do you do then? You keep them? Are going to sell them?
0:31:23 > 0:31:25This is really a hobby at the moment.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28One day I think I'd like to have my own kiln and make porcelain
0:31:28 > 0:31:30but at the moment I just enjoy doing it, and again,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34continuing to learn from it, how difficult it is to make porcelain.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39- It's always fascinating to find out what our experts do in their spare time, thank you.- Not at all.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48These are called comports.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52I don't know how much you know about these but they are strictly speaking, table decoration.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54- Yes, they're not epergnes then? - They're not epergnes.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Epergnes tend to have lots of baskets hanging off them.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01- Oh, I see.- That goes on top of here, as you probably know.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03And then they're spread across the table.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06- You need a pretty impressive dining table...- That's right, yes.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09..to display all these. And I gather they were your grandfather's?
0:32:09 > 0:32:13My great-grandfather, after he'd been Mayor of Reading for two years,
0:32:13 > 0:32:18- this was presented by his grateful fellow councillors. - He must have been a good mayor.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Um, that's also... what you've got in your hand there...
0:32:21 > 0:32:22I had a quick peek at earlier...
0:32:22 > 0:32:26is very rare to see... this is the original photograph from the manufacturers.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28- Yes.- And there's a mark down here.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32- Oh, yes.- Which is the mark, a silver mark for Barnard Brothers.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34- Yes, that's right. - Which appears on your comport.- Yes.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37So this must have been taken in the factory, as they left the factory,
0:32:37 > 0:32:38so in actual fact you have...
0:32:38 > 0:32:43the story of these manufactured till now, you've kept them in the family all this time.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- That's right, yes. - They're fantastic, they...
0:32:45 > 0:32:47you've probably seen all the scenes, they're sort of
0:32:47 > 0:32:49- pastoral scenes. - Pastoral scenes, yes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53To make people feel more connected with the rural countryside,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56which they weren't, when these were made in 1870 and made people
0:32:56 > 0:32:59feel a bit more at home if they could see... we've got a sheep...
0:32:59 > 0:33:01- Yes.- ..a little boy tending a sheep here, we've got another boy over
0:33:01 > 0:33:06here who's looking after his turkey, a young goatherd girl.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Yes, with her grapes.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11I gather that there is another one.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12There...yes, there is.
0:33:14 > 0:33:15Four together
0:33:15 > 0:33:21- make an awful lot of difference, it's more, much more valuable than two pairs.- Yes.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25If you were to walk into a shop in the West End, which is the only place
0:33:25 > 0:33:27you would be able to buy such grand-looking things,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29you would have to pay for the whole set of four,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34today about £35,000.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Mm, of course they'll stay in the family.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38I couldn't give them away.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Well, we're looking at perhaps one of the most iconic cartoon images of
0:33:46 > 0:33:47the 20th century, Snow White.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Where did you get her?
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Well, my great-uncle, Arthur Crooks Ripley.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55- What a name!- I know, it's a good name, pretty memorable.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00He bought it from the Leicester Galleries, in Leicester Square, London, at the time, in 1937.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- Yes.- And it was the celluloid used in the actual filming of Snow White.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Right, because the film was actually released in America and in the
0:34:07 > 0:34:09UK I believe, in that year.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12- Exactly.- '37-'38.- I'm sure it had a big profile as a sale
0:34:12 > 0:34:17because it was the first time Walt Disney wanted to sell any of the art work from any of his films.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21And you can see that it is celluloid, and the colours
0:34:21 > 0:34:23are put on, obviously on the back.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27This, of course, isn't actually by Walt Disney.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31He did the original design and he had a studio with hundreds
0:34:31 > 0:34:36of people who would then do the celluloid and hand colour them all,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40and, of course, they must have needed tens of thousands of images
0:34:40 > 0:34:45- to make a long cartoon. Now it's laid onto a natural wood veneer. - Yes.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49And obviously all these sort of scoring, circle, frame, the title,
0:34:49 > 0:34:54have all been done as part of the sort of presentation of the piece.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Unusual thing to buy in the 1930s.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01I should imagine so, he was a writer and a very keen amateur painter,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05and he had friends that were artists and I know that he collected a lot of art
0:35:05 > 0:35:10and I would imagine he'd like going up to London and obviously the exhibition caught his eye
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- and he thought it was something quite special.- Yes, yes.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16It's one of the few celluloids that are just Snow White on her own,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19we've got the original sale documents so you can see...
0:35:19 > 0:35:21Let's have a look, let's have a look.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23I believe it's number 43.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Number 43, let's have a look...
0:35:25 > 0:35:29- Oh, yes, oh, there's quite a lot you could buy.- Yes.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32There we are, 43, Snow White...
0:35:32 > 0:35:34the grand price of two guineas.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37- Quite something. - Animals pulling Snow White
0:35:37 > 0:35:41sixteen guineas, so that was an awful lot of money, isn't it?
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Well, what's it worth?
0:35:43 > 0:35:47There's a huge market in America for this sort of thing.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49If I was putting this in a sale,
0:35:49 > 0:35:53it would go in with an estimate of between three and five thousand pounds.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55- We'd easily achieve that. - Gosh, amazing.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00It's a very rare original item with the original purchase document...
0:36:00 > 0:36:01you've got the lot.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06- Just before, before 1912...- Yes.
0:36:06 > 0:36:13But I don't know exactly when, my in-laws set up home in Pangbourne and
0:36:13 > 0:36:17they went to a house sale in Reading and they purchased the table
0:36:17 > 0:36:24and four chairs that went with it, and sideboard and a sort of flat-top desk,
0:36:24 > 0:36:29and I always understood that they paid £12 for it.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31For the whole lot?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Yes, I've no doubt that that was all they had as well.
0:36:34 > 0:36:35And where are the chairs now?
0:36:35 > 0:36:41Well, the desk and the sideboard went to a nephew of mine, the chairs were
0:36:41 > 0:36:44perhaps a bit rickety and I burned them because they were...
0:36:44 > 0:36:47You burned the chairs?
0:36:47 > 0:36:52They were the kitchen chairs and they were a bit rickety and...
0:36:52 > 0:36:55What did you have to say about this?
0:36:55 > 0:36:58That happened in those days, didn't it, really?
0:36:59 > 0:37:02It's a good job you didn't burn the table.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Yes, well, we had a use for the table.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08You had a use for the table. But no use for the chairs.
0:37:08 > 0:37:09And where does this table reside now?
0:37:09 > 0:37:15Well, when my mother-in-law died in 1968, it came into my possession and
0:37:15 > 0:37:20we've used it as the table ever since. They used it every day.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24- My mother-in-law cooked on it. - She cooked on the table.
0:37:24 > 0:37:30- She cooked on it.- Prepared on it. - And with a blanket on it, she did the ironing on it. We don't iron on it.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34- We don't iron on it?- No, no, I don't prepare vegetables on it,
0:37:34 > 0:37:39but we use it obviously as our dining room table, it's used for mealtimes.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44This is quite pretty, this border, this is satin wood.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46Do you know what the main wood is?
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- Any idea?- No.- The main wood is rosewood.- Oh, yes.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Even though you use it for your suppers and things like that,
0:37:53 > 0:37:57- it's really a breakfast table. - Oh, really? That's interesting.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00So this would have been in a breakfast room of a grand house.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Around the edge, I like this ...like beadwork.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08- Yes.- And then it's repeated again on the central shaft.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Now this is a good quality table because the central shaft is
0:38:11 > 0:38:15actually solid rosewood, this is rose wood veneer, and then when we
0:38:15 > 0:38:20get down to the base, that's again veneered, and then you've got these
0:38:20 > 0:38:22highly decorative brass feet.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Very, very pretty, very, very pretty.
0:38:25 > 0:38:31This table's made around about 1825, it's Regency. It's a tilt top
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and so when the table wasn't being used,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37it would have been tilted up and then pushed to the side of the room
0:38:37 > 0:38:42and so you can use the room for dancing and things like that.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45If, if you were going to buy this in a retail shop,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48all fully restored, you wouldn't get much change out of £15,000.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51How much?
0:38:51 > 0:38:54This is a very nice table.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58So I'd love to have seen those chairs because they would have
0:38:58 > 0:39:00been valuable as well.
0:39:00 > 0:39:06- They were chairs and...- Good job you didn't burn the table, wasn't it? - It was, wasn't it.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11We've got this lovely little card
0:39:11 > 0:39:16and a beautiful pendant here and on the card it says, "With all my love to my dear wife,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19"God bless her and make her happy always, Vincko".
0:39:19 > 0:39:26And then on the reverse it says, "With kind regards, Mr Vincent A Weeks"... Who was he?
0:39:26 > 0:39:30He was my husband's grandfather and he married my husband's grandmother
0:39:30 > 0:39:34in 1913 and I think that was a gift when they got married.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38What a lovely gift, but how bizarre that he's also put on there "with kind regards",
0:39:38 > 0:39:41when it is a romantic gift and giving this beautiful necklace.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44- Yes, yes. - It's from the Art Nouveau period
0:39:44 > 0:39:47which dates from 1890 to 1910.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52It's set with moonstones and made of gold, solid gold.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57Beautiful piece showing all the right qualities of an Art Nouveau piece of jewellery,
0:39:57 > 0:39:58it's extremely well made,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01its got lovely sinuous lines to it,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04beautiful natural elements as well in the floral motifs.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09- The moonstones I think are the most romantic stones because they have a lovely shimmer to them.- Mm, yes.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Now when you look very closely at the piece, you can see that it
0:40:13 > 0:40:17did have some enamel on it, and it's not signed, which is a real shame.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21This, because of having the enamel on as well, could have well been by
0:40:21 > 0:40:24an extremely good maker, but without a signature and without
0:40:24 > 0:40:27having more information, it's difficult to know.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29So, do you wear it?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32My daughter has it now and she wears it occasionally.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Excellent. Well, if it came up to auction, despite the fact that it is
0:40:36 > 0:40:42- missing the enamel work, it would fetch somewhere between £1,500 and £2,000.- Really?
0:40:42 > 0:40:46- Well, that's very nice to know that. - Good, yes.- Thank you very much.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54It was a gift from a very old friend who I've known for many, many years
0:40:54 > 0:40:59- and when I retired he gave it me as a present.- Oh, very nice.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02What it is, is Chinese provincial,
0:41:02 > 0:41:07and it was painted in underglazed blue
0:41:07 > 0:41:14with this phoenix or ho-ho bird amongst rocks and foliage.
0:41:14 > 0:41:20The glaze is very thick and in places has run into globules over it
0:41:20 > 0:41:24and that's made the whole thing slightly fuzzy and undefined and
0:41:24 > 0:41:27actually rather romantic.
0:41:27 > 0:41:34And I love the way they just concentrated in the middle here
0:41:34 > 0:41:37and left all this blank.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40That's quite unusual
0:41:40 > 0:41:45to see that and I think it works extremely well.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50The back we have got is covered in grit...
0:41:50 > 0:41:52This is to stop it
0:41:52 > 0:41:56sticking to the floor of the kiln, you dust the bottom of the kiln with
0:41:56 > 0:42:00this, and put the dish on it, and what's happening is the heat has
0:42:00 > 0:42:04actually blown it upwards and it's got stuck there.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Unusual here we've got
0:42:07 > 0:42:11these ribs, I've never seen that before as far as I can remember.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Did you think it was very old?
0:42:16 > 0:42:19I suspected it was old from the markings on the back because
0:42:19 > 0:42:22it just looks an old item.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24You can't go on that.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29- You can't?- No, big trap that one.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31- So it's not old then?- Yes, it is.
0:42:31 > 0:42:32Oh, right.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35It's just that you can't rely on it looking old.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40- OK.- Actually it's dating, I think, to the Jiajing period.
0:42:40 > 0:42:49- He reigned from, 1522 to 1566, so it's 450 years old.- Gracious.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54- We've got a crack here. - Yeah, I have seen that.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56Which will affect the value,
0:42:56 > 0:43:01but it's a rarity, I mean it's a rarity and a lot of people would...
0:43:01 > 0:43:05like you...love to have it, I think, and I think they would be happy to
0:43:05 > 0:43:10pay somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500 for it.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14- Lovely.- So it was a very nice gift. - It certainly was.
0:43:18 > 0:43:26- This is a message form dated 11th November 1918.- Yeah.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31And it says, "Following from 5th Army begins.
0:43:31 > 0:43:37"Hostilities will cease at 11 o'clock today, November 11th".
0:43:37 > 0:43:41What an incredible message to have received!
0:43:41 > 0:43:43Tell me all about it.
0:43:43 > 0:43:48It was taken down by my great-uncle, Sapper Leopold Jacobs, who was on the
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Western Front and he'd been there for most of the First World War.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54- He was a signaller. - He wrote this down?
0:43:54 > 0:43:56He wrote this down, yes.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58I wonder what his reaction was.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00I've been thinking about that...
0:44:00 > 0:44:04I suspect it was not quite what we think it was,
0:44:04 > 0:44:08because for a month the German army had known the game was up,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12and the German army had been retreating, the British army had been
0:44:12 > 0:44:17advancing, and I suspect that they knew that it was going to happen,
0:44:17 > 0:44:21and after all he'd been through in four years, I suspect his reaction
0:44:21 > 0:44:26was, "OK, good, that just confirms what we all know anyway".
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Well, that's quite incredible because you know something,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33I think if I'd written this down after all of the horrific carnage
0:44:33 > 0:44:38that I'd seen of things that had happened over the previous three or
0:44:38 > 0:44:42four years of the First World War, I think I would have gone, "Yes, it's
0:44:42 > 0:44:46over, it's over finally!" but you don't think that's what happened?
0:44:46 > 0:44:49- No, I think that's what we would think today.- Yes.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51And what we know about it,
0:44:51 > 0:44:55but what he knew was this was just the conclusion of what...
0:44:55 > 0:44:57as I say... I think they knew anyway.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01Well, clearly he thought a lot of this bit of paper, this little brown
0:45:01 > 0:45:05piece of paper, because it's framed, he framed this, I guess.
0:45:05 > 0:45:06Well, it was either he, or my father
0:45:06 > 0:45:10who framed it, but it's been in the family ever since.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15Well, of course, it isn't a unique item even though your great-uncle
0:45:15 > 0:45:20actually wrote this himself, that makes it unique to you, but there are other examples known.
0:45:20 > 0:45:26The Imperial War Museum has got a number of these, but if you bought this in a militaria
0:45:26 > 0:45:30dealer's shop then I guess you'd be paying something like £300, £400 or
0:45:30 > 0:45:35- maybe even £500, because it is an historic document.- Good gracious.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Oh, I hadn't expected that.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Tom, you're six, aren't you?
0:45:42 > 0:45:45- Yeah.- And you like watching the Antiques Roadshow.- Yes.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47- So do you watch it every Sunday night?- Yes.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50In your pyjamas after your bath? And what do you like about it?
0:45:50 > 0:45:53That you can make things and...
0:45:53 > 0:45:56- ..and...- Make things you've seen on the programme?
0:45:56 > 0:46:00- Yeah.- Oh, like what? - Like boxes and brooches.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06Once when I was about three, I made a brooch out of a glue top and
0:46:06 > 0:46:08some silver foil.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12- Because you'd seen something like it on the Antiques Roadshow?- Yeah.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Tell me about these candlesticks, you've brought these.
0:46:15 > 0:46:21- Yeah.- What do you know about them? - I know that my great-great-great- grandfather
0:46:21 > 0:46:28found them in Clearwell Castle and then my great-great-great-great...
0:46:28 > 0:46:32no, no, one great, took them to bed.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36- He used them. - Oh, used to walk along like this? - Mm.- With the candlesticks.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38- And do you ever do that at home? - Er, no.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42- No, might be a bit dangerous, mightn't it? They're beautiful, aren't they?- Mm.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44So you want to find out more about them?
0:46:44 > 0:46:47- Mm.- Well, let's find someone who can tell you.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Whilst we do have a bit of sunshine I think
0:46:49 > 0:46:53really we could do with just a little bit more to show this
0:46:53 > 0:46:55to its absolute best.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58I've only come across a couple of these in my time
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and I've always debated where they're from and who made
0:47:01 > 0:47:04them but I'm hoping you can shed a little bit of light on it for me,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07tell me, how did you come to own it?
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Well, it came to me from my grandfather. I've always known
0:47:11 > 0:47:16it because ever since I was tiny, it was in my grandfather's house.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21He came to own it because he did some private work as an accountant and one
0:47:21 > 0:47:27of his clients was not able to pay and he took this in lieu of payment.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33I think what may not be immediately apparent to the viewer is quite how
0:47:33 > 0:47:37this is made, because whilst we have what I can best describe as
0:47:37 > 0:47:41a simulated rosewood frame, the interior of this is made up
0:47:41 > 0:47:44of glass beads,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46and not just a few glass beads.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49- Just before I came I did some quick maths.- Yeah.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53I've done the surface area, then I've done a small square,
0:47:53 > 0:48:01beads per square and I reckon we're looking somewhere between 180,000 and 200,000 glass beads
0:48:01 > 0:48:04just within this panelled screen.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08And I mean even now as the sun's coming out, it just sings.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11That's why I used to love it, because it sparkled.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16It does sparkle, it's the little girl in you, that's what it is.
0:48:16 > 0:48:23This is classic sort of post-Edwardian, 1920s, round that early part of the 20th century.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25As far as we... my father can remember...
0:48:25 > 0:48:29- it was at the end of the 1920s, early 1930s.- Oh, it's all adding up.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31I think this is a piece that would
0:48:31 > 0:48:36attract interest all over the world, I think it's an international piece,
0:48:36 > 0:48:41quite how you would then ship it all over the world is slightly worrying.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44But I think when you find that right client, I actually have no
0:48:44 > 0:48:48hesitation in saying that on a good day in the right sale,
0:48:48 > 0:48:49with other glass, with other
0:48:49 > 0:48:54similar like items of this quality, I'd be very happy to put an auction
0:48:54 > 0:48:59estimate of £3,000 to £5,000, £4,000 to £6,000...
0:48:59 > 0:49:01- No problem.- Thank you very much.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Aren't these delightful?
0:49:05 > 0:49:11- They're superb.- Couple of frogs. - They're not frogs, they're toads. - Why are they toads?
0:49:11 > 0:49:16- Because toads have got toes, frogs haven't.- Oh, right.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Oh, well, I will stand corrected on that one, but what's their pedigree?
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Well, my grandfather bought them at an auction sale
0:49:24 > 0:49:28when I was a little girl and gave them to me as a present, so they've
0:49:28 > 0:49:32been with me all my life. I can't remember how old, but very young.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37The actual age of them, you can see hallmarked there. A lot of muck in there.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39It's a job to clean them with one arm.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Well, I'll forgive you with your arm the way it is, but let's just have a look.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Maker's mark we can just see there, that's Alexander Crichton,
0:49:47 > 0:49:54very good London maker, and date letter the "e" there, that's for 1880.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56Wow!
0:49:56 > 0:49:58So a bit of age to them.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02And there of course is where the pepper will come out.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03Have you ever had them valued?
0:50:03 > 0:50:09Well, about 20 odd years ago, somebody offered me £25 for them,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13but I refused because they were worth more to me as sentimental value.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18- Right, right, I think that was probably a wise decision.- Wow.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21I think we're looking at about £2,000.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23What!
0:50:23 > 0:50:26They're rare anyway but a pair is amazing. Don't croak.
0:50:26 > 0:50:32Wow, I would never ever have believed that, thank you very much.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36So what's this?
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Um, I'm told it's a theatre ticket.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43- Ah.- Yeah, it was a gift from a friend whose father collected coins,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46that was among the collection, I was finishing drama school
0:50:46 > 0:50:48so appropriate gift,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51and I'm told it's an 18th-century theatre ticket.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53I don't know whether that's true.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58Well, I don't know, I'm no expert in theatre tickets but I think the 18th-century date's right.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02- OK.- This lettering, the actual letter forms
0:51:02 > 0:51:04are perfectly right for that period.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Actually this shape
0:51:06 > 0:51:08you'll find on
0:51:08 > 0:51:13- Bullock, George Bullock's furniture of the early-19th century.- Right.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16So again I think that suggests that we're looking at a date
0:51:16 > 0:51:20somewhere between perhaps 1795-1810 something like that.
0:51:21 > 0:51:28But I'm not sure that in the late-18th century we were calling
0:51:28 > 0:51:31that bit of the theatre the "pit", it was the stalls.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34It would have been stalls by then, right.
0:51:34 > 0:51:35So we have to think
0:51:35 > 0:51:41what other kind of pit might you have needed a ticket for, right?
0:51:41 > 0:51:44- OK.- Cock fighting.
0:51:44 > 0:51:45Right.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48And dog fighting.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51And I think that's what this is for...
0:51:51 > 0:51:56it's a cock fighting, or a dog fighting, ticket.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01- So I'm afraid that your theatrical school was wasted.- But I could start a dog-fighting business.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03You could start a dog-fighting business.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06- Brilliant.- And I would use this to come and see you with it.- Fantastic.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Thank you very much.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11- Thank you.- Oh, I suppose we ought to put a price on it.
0:52:11 > 0:52:16- How much does one pay to get into a cock fight? - A cock fight. Oh, Lord knows.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I think somebody, a collector, would probably give you, um
0:52:19 > 0:52:21£100 to £200 for that.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Good Lord, well, thank you very much.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28This is a typical Victorian...
0:52:28 > 0:52:32sometimes called a horse's-hoof box because it has that appearance.
0:52:32 > 0:52:3519th century, covered in this wonderful aquamarine blue velvet,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38slightly worn off the surface now, isn't it?
0:52:38 > 0:52:43So whenever I see a box like this, the first thing I think is what is going to be within?
0:52:43 > 0:52:46What is the content? And one would never be disappointed
0:52:46 > 0:52:51when you open up a box lid like this, and there within you reveal...
0:52:51 > 0:52:53that.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Let me know as much as you can tell me.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Well, it's come down in my husband's family, his great-great...
0:53:00 > 0:53:04no, his great-grandfather was a man called Peter Vriler who was given it
0:53:04 > 0:53:06by Empress Elizabeth of Austria.
0:53:06 > 0:53:13He was... Peter Vriler was a Greek living on Corfu and he had a lovely old house which she wanted to buy.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18After being pressurised to sell to her, he finally gave her the house
0:53:18 > 0:53:23and the land, and after it was all completed, she sent this for his
0:53:23 > 0:53:27wife, and to go down to the wife of the eldest son. My husband was the...
0:53:27 > 0:53:30- Just like that.- Yes.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35It's a very complex piece of jewellery in many ways,
0:53:35 > 0:53:42because the main body of the piece is this centre, oval centre,
0:53:42 > 0:53:49but here we have the Empress's own diamond crown motif and then there's
0:53:49 > 0:53:53a very complicated monogram underneath it studded with
0:53:53 > 0:53:58diamond chips, but the main fabric of the piece, the main core of this,
0:53:58 > 0:54:05is this wonderful arrangement of big fat diamonds around the outside...
0:54:05 > 0:54:10- Yes.- ..each diamond weighing in the region of three quarters of a carat,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13each stone.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17- Yes, yes.- And then, as if to reinforce the fact that this is
0:54:17 > 0:54:24a serious piece of jewellery, it's mounted on a mesh of gold
0:54:24 > 0:54:27that is so sinuous in its articulation
0:54:27 > 0:54:31and the condition is impeccable.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36Now what do we know about the Empress herself, known as Sissi
0:54:36 > 0:54:40in her lifetime? A very interesting woman, wasn't she?
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Yes, she was, um, she was a young, very young princess when she was
0:54:44 > 0:54:48married off to Franz Joseph of Austria.
0:54:48 > 0:54:53I think it was... her elder sister was intended for his bride but he was taken by this young
0:54:53 > 0:54:56girl who was quite wild, where he was much more conventional.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59Her high spirits could have even become a bit unbalanced
0:54:59 > 0:55:04in later years and she took to sort of roaming round the Mediterranean to escape from the court life.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08This nomad of going round, so doing things that an Empress
0:55:08 > 0:55:09simply didn't do.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13Going to visit Greece, going to Corfu, building a palace in the
0:55:13 > 0:55:15middle of Corfu. An unhappy woman.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Very unhappy.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20- Lonely, isolated. - Yes. Very beautiful.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23But her end was awful.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28She was walking along the promenade at the side of Lake Geneva
0:55:28 > 0:55:34and a young man approached her and apparently took out a file
0:55:34 > 0:55:36and shoved it
0:55:36 > 0:55:38into her.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43And... because she was dressed in so many wonderful clothes, she didn't
0:55:43 > 0:55:48actually realise at the time that she'd been stabbed, and calls out
0:55:48 > 0:55:52"What is happening to me?"
0:55:52 > 0:55:56and collapses and dies.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58So I think it's one of the most
0:55:58 > 0:56:03tragic stories of European royalty in the 19th century.
0:56:03 > 0:56:10All right, now coming back to the piece here, stylistically I think that the piece was probably
0:56:10 > 0:56:14made in around about 1865-1870.
0:56:14 > 0:56:20And in typical fashion in the 19th century, you could also find
0:56:20 > 0:56:25individual little fittings that would be housed, locked away,
0:56:25 > 0:56:30under a velvet cover within the box itself,
0:56:30 > 0:56:35so we have the feature that you can detach the centrepiece by means of
0:56:35 > 0:56:37these little grips at the side, and
0:56:37 > 0:56:41convert it to be worn as a brooch. Have you worn it as a brooch?
0:56:41 > 0:56:45No, I've only worn it as a pendant but never as a brooch.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Well, look, there's the original pins, and there's the centrepiece,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50so typical practicality.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55- Yes.- You can break it up and make it into something else. Value...
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Have you shown it someone at all?
0:56:57 > 0:57:00I did have it valued for insurance by an auctioneers about
0:57:00 > 0:57:02twelve years ago, I think...
0:57:02 > 0:57:05about £5,000 they said, for insurance purposes.
0:57:05 > 0:57:11Not enough, not enough. £15,000 to £20,000.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13- Right.- Got to be...
0:57:13 > 0:57:16it's a great story, fabulous piece of jewellery.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19- Thank you.- Fabulous, thank you.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23It's been wonderful being back here at my old Oxford college...
0:57:23 > 0:57:28though it never looked like this in my day. It's been a real treat for me personally,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31but also for what has to be one of our youngest viewers, Tom, you're six.
0:57:31 > 0:57:37You brought along your candlesticks, our experts looked at them, so what were they worth in the end?
0:57:37 > 0:57:40- They were £80. - £80 well that's not bad for a bit of pocket money.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42- So did you have a good day?- Yeah.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46Yeah, we all had a good day here, so from Hertford College in Oxford,
0:57:46 > 0:57:48- bye, bye.- Bye, bye.
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