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For the last six months, our trusty truck has scoured the country, | 0:00:03 | 0:00:07 | |
from the Highlands of Scotland to the south coast of Devon. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
And now we've reached journey's end for this series, and frankly, | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
it's time for a well-earned rest. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
But not before we take stock of what's been another memorable year | 0:00:17 | 0:00:21 | |
for the Antiques Roadshow. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
CHIRPING | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
Our team of experts have been busy this season. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
Over the last six months, they've | 0:01:10 | 0:01:12 | |
met over 30,000 visitors, all eager to share their treasures with us. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
When an object, a treasured antique, is valued on the programme, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
we're often asked, what happened next? | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
When the cameras have stopped rolling, did the owner keep it, | 0:01:22 | 0:01:26 | |
did they sell it? Where did it end up? | 0:01:26 | 0:01:28 | |
Oh, my gosh. Oh! | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
Are you joking?! | 0:01:31 | 0:01:33 | |
Tonight is your chance to see the most talked-about finds screened | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
across this series, and to discover | 0:01:36 | 0:01:38 | |
what happened after their starring role. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
And here we have possibly the most exciting dolls | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
which have ever come on to the Roadshow. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
And what about those rare and precious antiques that our experts most wanted to find? | 0:01:46 | 0:01:52 | |
Well, a lady has come along today who thinks she might just have found one. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:56 | |
We begin this special look back in Devon. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
Our visit to the Britannia Naval College started with a lucky find for ceramics specialist John Axford. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:07 | |
It was an even luckier moment for David, who'd brought | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
this delicate vase in, as he'd dropped it just before meeting John! | 0:02:09 | 0:02:13 | |
It's a nice little glass vase - where did you get it? | 0:02:13 | 0:02:17 | |
It belongs to a friend of mine. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:18 | |
Ah. Why didn't he come? | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
I'm down here on holiday. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:22 | |
So, you go on holiday with your friends' vases? | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
Yes, see whether I can get rid of them! | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
He knows I like the show so he said, "Why don't you take something down?" I said, "I've got nothing." | 0:02:27 | 0:02:31 | |
He said, "Take this down." | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
Fabulous, it's very pretty. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:35 | |
It's glass, overlaid glass - a white base and red glass on top of it. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
It's got all sorts of things on it - a little bat here, | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
we've got a little twin fish symbol here, | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
rockwork, pine trees, prunus, it's got it all going on. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:50 | |
On the base, we've got a little mark on the bottom, | 0:02:50 | 0:02:53 | |
a four-character mark, it's a Chinese mark, the mark of one of the Chinese emperors. Oh, is it? | 0:02:53 | 0:03:00 | |
He thought it was Japanese. No, it's a Chinese vase. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:02 | |
It says Qianlong, and he reigned for most of the 18th century, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:06 | |
from 1736-1795. The problem is, you can have a perfectly good | 0:03:06 | 0:03:11 | |
18th-century vase and an unscrupulous person will mark it. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:15 | |
Right. It's lovely quality. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:17 | |
The base is like jasper. And the mark is done really well. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:22 | |
I have no reason to believe this is not a perfectly genuine | 0:03:22 | 0:03:26 | |
18th-century Chinese glass vase, a really nice thing. Lovely. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
It's worth a fair bit. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
Is it? ?3,000 or ?4,000. | 0:03:32 | 0:03:34 | |
Is it?! | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
It's a damn good thing. Don't say it. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
It's a damn good thing it didn't break when you dropped it earlier! | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
I know. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:44 | |
GASPING | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
That's why I gave up cricket. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:47 | |
John, that was a great way to kick off our day at Dartmouth, and then it had an even happier ending. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
Yes, they took the vase, very pretty vase, up to auction | 0:03:57 | 0:04:01 | |
and they put it under the hammer. And it went for...? | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
It went for ?30,000, so I expect they were pleased. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
And you valued it at ?3,000 or ?4,000?! Yes. So, what happened? | 0:04:07 | 0:04:12 | |
Well, the Chinese market for imperial goods has rocketed. It's sizzling hot. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
Things have gone up 50-fold in five years, | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
and no-one can keep pace on where things are going to go. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:23 | |
Two weeks ago in New York, a vase made 22,000 times its estimate. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:43 | |
we'll tell you after this special look back at the year. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:51 | |
It was in the small Yorkshire village of Saltaire | 0:04:51 | 0:04:58 | |
After 33 years on the Roadshow, his patience finally paid off with this almost 1,000-year-old bronze. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:09 | |
for all the hard work I'd done over the years. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:11 | |
Brilliant. So he gave me this, the one thing I admired. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:16 | |
He got it from an auction house in Bradford, | 0:05:16 | 0:05:19 | |
and it was being used as a doorstop. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
At the end of the auction, he'd seen the vase, | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
and I don't know what he gave for it, | 0:05:24 | 0:05:26 | |
but he made a bid and came home with it. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:28 | |
How fascinating, that's wonderful. Do you like it? | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
I love it, it's my favourite piece. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
Where do you think it comes from? | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
Myself, I would say Chinese, but I'm not 100%. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:41 | |
My grandad did mention Chinese, he had tried to look it up. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:45 | |
It is Chinese. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:46 | |
What age do you think it might be? | 0:05:46 | 0:05:48 | |
I don't know, 200 years old, would it? | 0:05:48 | 0:05:51 | |
It is undoubtedly | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
the oldest bronze we've ever had on the Roadshow. Seriously? Yes. | 0:05:54 | 0:06:00 | |
The question is exactly when this dates from. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:04 | |
I think with these cords on here, | 0:06:06 | 0:06:10 | |
we're beginning to look as if it might be Yuan Dynasty, | 0:06:10 | 0:06:15 | |
which followed the Song, | 0:06:15 | 0:06:17 | |
and that ran from 1279 to 1368. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:23 | |
I think that's when it dates from. Right, yeah. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:26 | |
We've got here cast in these squiggles, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:32 | |
which are actually based on chilong, which are sea dragons. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:37 | |
Right. And then that's been infilled | 0:06:37 | 0:06:41 | |
with key fret. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:43 | |
And it's beautifully done. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:47 | |
And then, on the side, you've got these | 0:06:47 | 0:06:52 | |
dragon handles. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:53 | |
It's got | 0:06:56 | 0:06:57 | |
condition problems. | 0:06:57 | 0:06:59 | |
It was at some time buried. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
Right, yeah. I think this verdigris on here, which some | 0:07:01 | 0:07:05 | |
naughty person has had a go at cleaning, I notice. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
No more, thank you. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:09 | |
No, no, I've never cleaned it. I don't know if my grandad ever did. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
Right. I think this fairly definitely indicates that | 0:07:13 | 0:07:16 | |
this was a burial gourd. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
One of the handles looks as if it might come off at any minute. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
Yes, it's a bit... | 0:07:22 | 0:07:24 | |
The foot has come off and been put back. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
But we're looking at something which is | 0:07:27 | 0:07:30 | |
pushing 1,000 years old, you know. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
If this were in a smart dealer's catalogue in London... | 0:07:33 | 0:07:38 | |
Yeah. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
..I could see it having a price tag of somewhere between | 0:07:40 | 0:07:45 | |
?10,000 and ?15,000. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:47 | |
Seriously? Seriously? | 0:07:47 | 0:07:50 | |
Yay! | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
That's really unbelievable, to be honest. Thank you, Grandpa! | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
Thank you very much, yeah! | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
Owner Matthew tells us he's still coming to terms | 0:07:58 | 0:08:01 | |
with that valuation, but has recently decided | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
to sell the bronze and have a big family holiday. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
It was another record-breaking day at Swindon's Steam Rail Museum. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:13 | |
There, Fergus Gambon, a doll enthusiast from childhood days, made this remarkable find. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:19 | |
I brought Aunt Mary Ann to visit you. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
You brought Aunt Mary Ann to visit me? | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
Rather alarmingly, I see some loose limbs here. Yes. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
They're here, but they're separate. Let's get the whole thing out... | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
Those are the legs. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:34 | |
..and see what we've actually got. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:36 | |
The more I look, actually, the more astounded I'm becoming. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:43 | |
That's great, let's lie her down. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
Did you play with this as a child? | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
No, no, no. No? | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
She was handed on to me about eight years ago by my 98-year-old aunt, | 0:08:50 | 0:08:55 | |
who's known her all her life. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
It was my granny's and my great-granny's before that. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
So she's lodged with the family for many generations. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
For a long time, yes. I've always had an interest in dolls of this type. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:09 | |
She's very elegant. She's very elegant. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
She's carved from a single piece of wood. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
And her torso is shaped to show off the fashion that she's wearing. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:18 | |
Do you know anything about 18th-century English fashion? | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
This is a sack, isn't it? | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
Oh, clever, yes, indeed, exactly. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:27 | |
A sack-back dress. When we turn her round... | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
You can actually see the colour, because she's been lying on that. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:34 | |
Look at the brilliance of that colour. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
While we've got her his way, we can see how her hair was made - | 0:09:37 | 0:09:40 | |
real hair woven onto little ribbons and tied around. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:45 | |
These are all seriously early features... | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
Oh, right. ..and get doll people very excited indeed. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:53 | |
And for me, the incredibly exciting | 0:09:53 | 0:09:55 | |
and wonderful thing about this doll... | 0:09:55 | 0:09:58 | |
..is that using her dress, her costume, as an aid to dating, | 0:10:00 | 0:10:06 | |
and looking at the way she's made... Right. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
..I think she dates from about 1740. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:12 | |
1740?! 1740. | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
Crumbs! | 0:10:15 | 0:10:16 | |
She is a seriously early English doll. And as such, | 0:10:16 | 0:10:21 | |
she's quite a major discovery. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
You can imagine on the Roadshow, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:27 | |
dolls are coming in here in vast numbers. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
And here, we have possibly the most exciting doll that's ever come on | 0:10:30 | 0:10:35 | |
to the Roadshow. A real, real significant find. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:40 | |
I don't think the condition is an issue, as regards the value. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
Right. There have been a number of dolls of this importance on | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
the markets in the last few years, both in London and | 0:10:47 | 0:10:52 | |
one, in fact, in Las Vegas. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
And based on the price of those dolls, I have a fairly accurate idea | 0:10:54 | 0:11:00 | |
of what I think she would make in a saleroom. Right... | 0:11:00 | 0:11:04 | |
And that figure is... | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
?20,000. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:09 | |
Oh, no! | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
I don't want that responsibility! | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
Sue is definitely not selling her doll, | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
and Aunt Mary Ann went straight to specialist | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
conservationists after her trip to the Roadshow, and is looking | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
resplendent today, complete with a new nose and restored clothing. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:33 | |
Not bad for a toy first played with in the reign of George II! | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
I reckoned she was special. I didn't know she was that special. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
She is a real Roadshow discovery. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
Oh, fantastic. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
Over the years, our experts have seen lots of buried treasures, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:48 | |
objects literally dug up out of the ground. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
This year, we managed to unearth our oldest piece of treasure trove. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:55 | |
It fell to veteran expert Henry Sandon at Chatsworth. | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
It's incredible to come here to Chatsworth | 0:11:58 | 0:12:01 | |
and find the earliest piece we've had on the programme | 0:12:01 | 0:12:06 | |
here on this table before us - | 0:12:06 | 0:12:08 | |
an Ancient Egyptian head. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
I suppose it's about Middle Kingdom, which is... | 0:12:11 | 0:12:15 | |
Yes, 1700 to 1750 BC. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
Over 3,700 years old. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
3,700 years old! | 0:12:20 | 0:12:22 | |
That's older than me! | 0:12:22 | 0:12:24 | |
It's not looking in such bad condition, all things considered. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
How did you come by it? | 0:12:27 | 0:12:29 | |
I dug it up out of a back garden in Derby. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
In your own back garden? Yes, doing some gardening, | 0:12:33 | 0:12:36 | |
and I hit it with a spade. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:38 | |
Hopefully I didn't do too much damage to it, but I hit it with a spade. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:41 | |
So presumably, someone had used it as a garden ornament | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
or rockery or something like that? | 0:12:45 | 0:12:47 | |
Yes, something along those lines, in the past. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
But it's incredible to discover it! | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
I suppose, I mean, you ought to have this investigated in | 0:12:53 | 0:12:57 | |
perhaps the British Museum or something like that. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
I did take it down to them 12, 18 months back, | 0:13:00 | 0:13:03 | |
for them to take a look at. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:05 | |
Initially, when I sent them the e-mails and the pictures, they | 0:13:05 | 0:13:09 | |
arranged for me to go down, but they said, in all honesty, we're expecting | 0:13:09 | 0:13:13 | |
it to be a fake. Possibly an early fake, Roman, but a fake nonetheless. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:18 | |
I opened it up there and I think the guy's jaw dropped, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
and before I knew it, I had the whole department arranged around the table | 0:13:20 | 0:13:24 | |
having a look at it. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:25 | |
They were like, "Yes, actually, it's genuine." | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
Incredible. 4,000 years ancient and found in Derby! | 0:13:28 | 0:13:34 | |
It goes back before the city of Derby started! | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
It does. Isn't that incredible? | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
I suppose one's got to think of a value. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
?10,000 upwards or something like that? | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
I mean, it's a major thing, it really is a fantastic object. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:51 | |
I think I'm speechless. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:55 | |
For the first time ever! | 0:13:55 | 0:13:57 | |
Now he's able to talk again, | 0:14:00 | 0:14:01 | |
Andrew tells us he's definitely keeping his Egyptian head - | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
as he told us, it's a one-off, so why sell it? | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
More buried gems came our way | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
when jewellery specialist Geoffrey Munn found not one but two | 0:14:15 | 0:14:19 | |
medieval rings this past series. The first came | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
as a complete revelation to its owner at Beverley Minster. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:26 | |
Why on earth did you bring me this ring to the Antiques Roadshow? | 0:14:26 | 0:14:30 | |
Curiosity, basically. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
And what sparked that curiosity? Was there anything about it? | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
Well, the setting, for one thing. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:38 | |
The size of the ring - | 0:14:38 | 0:14:39 | |
because my mother had large fingers and it didn't fit. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
I've never seen the ring on her hands, ever. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
I've never found any marks on it, so I'm curious. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:50 | |
It was in a pioneer matchbox, wrapped up with cotton wool, so, | 0:14:50 | 0:14:54 | |
is it there for sentimental reasons? | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
If so, why? | 0:14:57 | 0:14:58 | |
I'm baffled. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:00 | |
Well, I'm a bit baffled too, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:03 | |
I'm terribly grateful in a way that she didn't wear it, because, | 0:15:03 | 0:15:07 | |
would it surprise you to know that this ring | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
was exactly the same age as Beverley Minster? | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
It is at least 600 years old. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
Good grief. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:17 | |
And what we can tell about it is that some stage or another, | 0:15:17 | 0:15:22 | |
I've looked at it enormously carefully with my lens, | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
and there are tiny, tiny traces of earth | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
under the setting and beyond it. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
So it is an excavated object, without any doubt at all. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
I'm farming stock, my grandparents were farming stock, | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
so, one of them has maybe picked it up. Found it in a field. Yep. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:41 | |
It is the most marvellous object. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:42 | |
It hums with all the magic of medieval England. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:47 | |
It's a 15th-century ring, at very least, and it's very charming too, | 0:15:47 | 0:15:52 | |
because it's an illusion that it's made of two bands. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:55 | |
One is matt and the other faintly polished. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:58 | |
Those are undoubtedly emblematic of two lives drawn together, | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
if you like, by the stone in the middle. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
And this is a love ring, and it's rather touching, really. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:07 | |
We can say with every confidence that it was lost at some stage or another. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:12 | |
What we know about it is that it was a reasonably high-status owner, | 0:16:12 | 0:16:16 | |
because it's made of pure gold. | 0:16:16 | 0:16:18 | |
Most people didn't have access to pure gold. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
And fewer people would have access to a sapphire, | 0:16:20 | 0:16:23 | |
which is rather crudely cut, in a way. It's not quite a cabochon, | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
but it's simply lapped in a simple way. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:29 | |
This is not only an enormously interesting object, | 0:16:29 | 0:16:32 | |
but an intensely valuable one. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:34 | |
There was a ring sold at an auction room in London which was almost | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
identical in design, set with a tiny diamond, | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
and it fetched ?20,000. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:48 | |
Are you joking?! | 0:16:52 | 0:16:54 | |
What the heck do I do with it now? | 0:17:00 | 0:17:02 | |
No idea. I'd keep it if it were mine. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:04 | |
Owner Paul is doing just that, | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
this time not in a matchbox, but in a safe. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:09 | |
But the second ring Geoffrey saw had a different destiny. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
This time it came to light at Swindon after our next guest had unearthed it on nearby farmland. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:20 | |
Well, I was out detecting with three friends in a field one evening. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:26 | |
It was just getting to dusk, and we said, "Come on, time to go home," | 0:17:26 | 0:17:30 | |
so they switched off their metal detectors, | 0:17:30 | 0:17:32 | |
popped them on their shoulders. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:33 | |
I just carried on walking to the car, got a bleep | 0:17:33 | 0:17:36 | |
with the metal detector, dug it up, and it was quite dark by that time, | 0:17:36 | 0:17:40 | |
and one of them said, "It looks like a bit of gold paper." | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
I pulled it out and said, "Blimey." | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
We didn't quite realise how old it was until we got it under the light. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:49 | |
And then the pulse was quickening - how long was it before you realised | 0:17:49 | 0:17:53 | |
that it was something really ancient? | 0:17:53 | 0:17:54 | |
I looked through a few books and realised that it's probably medieval. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:58 | |
The next stage then is to hand it in under the Treasure Act. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
Under the Treasure Act, when something's made of precious metal and it's over 300 years old, | 0:18:02 | 0:18:06 | |
you have to submit it to your finds officer at the museum, don't you? | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
Yes. And I should think the finds officer was pretty overwhelmed, wasn't he or she? | 0:18:09 | 0:18:13 | |
Oh, yeah, absolutely, she'd never seen a ring like that. | 0:18:13 | 0:18:15 | |
Neither have I, and my pulse has quickened, | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
and I wasn't even there on that dark, dusky night. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
It's set with a natural diamond crystal, isn't it? | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
It is, yes. It's a cubic diamond, cubic crystal of diamond, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:27 | |
it's not actually been cut. | 0:18:27 | 0:18:29 | |
In a way, that's a pointer to its age, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:31 | |
because diamond cutting | 0:18:31 | 0:18:33 | |
is a later sophistication than you would expect in a ring like this, | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
which is mid to late 15th century, isn't it? Yep. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:40 | |
It's a love ring. Around the shank is an inscription | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
once inlaid with black enamel. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
You've almost memorised that, haven't you? | 0:18:45 | 0:18:47 | |
Amour mi tien. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:49 | |
It means "love hold me". | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
Love keep me. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:53 | |
And at the back is a true lovers' knot. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
The more it's pulled, the tighter it becomes. | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
So this is a fantastic emblem of a medieval love affair | 0:18:59 | 0:19:03 | |
that we can only guess at. | 0:19:03 | 0:19:05 | |
I'm sick with envy, I wish a moment like that had happened to me. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:08 | |
Without a shadow of doubt, if this was sold | 0:19:08 | 0:19:12 | |
under the right circumstances, | 0:19:12 | 0:19:14 | |
that it could come near to, well, | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
?40,000. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:18 | |
Oh! Blimey! | 0:19:19 | 0:19:20 | |
Can't believe that. 40,000?! | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
And true to Geoffrey's word, that ring went on to sell recently | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
for ?42,000, and the proceeds were split with the owner of the land. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:34 | |
Jonathan, who brought it into the Roadshow, tells us he's using | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
his share to pay for a new bathroom and much-needed car repairs. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
But how does that saying go? | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
All that glisters is not gold? | 0:19:44 | 0:19:46 | |
So, what have you brought me? My pot of gold. Your pot of gold. Yes. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:51 | |
Wow! Tell me, | 0:19:51 | 0:19:52 | |
what is this pot of gold, where did you get it from? | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
It was my grandfather's, | 0:19:54 | 0:19:56 | |
and he died in 1924, | 0:19:56 | 0:19:58 | |
and he had a carousel all his life, you know... | 0:19:58 | 0:20:03 | |
The funfair? The funfair one, yes. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
And this is what he used to paint the horses with and | 0:20:05 | 0:20:10 | |
things like that. Fantastic. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
It's pure gold, 24-carat gold. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:15 | |
Is it? Yes. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:16 | |
Can I open the top and have a little look inside? | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
Yes, certainly. I've never had a pot of gold before. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
No rainbow today. No, we need a rainbow, we do! | 0:20:23 | 0:20:26 | |
Wow, look at that, that's unbelievable. And it's powder. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:30 | |
It's like gold dust, yes. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
Exactly. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
That is incredible. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:36 | |
I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
It has a smell about it, doesn't it? | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
Money does, doesn't it?! Always! | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
Well, we would have to test it to make sure, | 0:20:46 | 0:20:50 | |
but yes, you are talking about 22-carat, up to 24-carat gold. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:56 | |
I would say this is going to be roughly around about | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
?7,000 to ?9,000. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
That is a fantastic find at the end of your rainbow. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:08 | |
My goodness. I shall go on holiday! | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
Sadly, when they came to test the pot, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
it turned out to be flaked paint. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
Sorry, Agnes. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:20 | |
Looks like your holiday is on hold. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
And another visitor to the Roadshow didn't get the happiest of outcomes either. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
It was bought off the internet about six to eight weeks ago | 0:21:28 | 0:21:32 | |
by my brother, who is on holiday at the moment, | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
and I offered to bring it along for a valuation. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:39 | |
And what did he pay? | 0:21:39 | 0:21:40 | |
I think he paid ?700 for the owl. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
And what was it described as when he went to bid for it? | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
It was described as a Martinware tobacco jar. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:50 | |
Well, the Martin brothers are really quite a serious name in | 0:21:50 | 0:21:54 | |
the decorative arts market, especially nowadays. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
They're a trio of brothers that came to some great prominence at the end | 0:21:57 | 0:22:01 | |
of the 19th century, predominantly through the manufacture | 0:22:01 | 0:22:05 | |
of grotesque wares, grotesque birds. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:07 | |
In fact, their most popular range, the things most people see them for, | 0:22:07 | 0:22:12 | |
and deemed to be most iconic for, | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
are what we call the Wally Birds. They produced them in great | 0:22:14 | 0:22:17 | |
quantities from the 1880s through to the end of the century. | 0:22:17 | 0:22:23 | |
As a result, they are incredibly sought-after. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:26 | |
A bird of this size would probably realise somewhere in the region | 0:22:26 | 0:22:31 | |
of ?20,000 to ?25,000. Really? | 0:22:31 | 0:22:36 | |
If it were right. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:37 | |
Right... | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
And that is unfortunately where I've got to be the bearer of bad tidings. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:43 | |
OK. He is good. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
He is in fact incredibly good, and that is the problem at the moment. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:50 | |
The market has become so strong, and so boisterous, that there are some | 0:22:50 | 0:22:56 | |
very, very clever people out there doing some very, very clever work. | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
And I have to say that unfortunately, he is - | 0:23:00 | 0:23:04 | |
we've got to use the right word - he's a fake. He's a fake. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
But all's well that ends well, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
as David revealed when he came back recently. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
So, once you'd found out from Will Farmer | 0:23:15 | 0:23:18 | |
that it was a fake, what did you do? | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
I was advised by Will | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
that he would verify it for me, that I should look to try | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
and get my money back. Because the Roadshow said they would | 0:23:26 | 0:23:29 | |
verify it for me, I sent them a nice little e-mail, | 0:23:29 | 0:23:32 | |
mentioning the fact that it had been on the Roadshow, | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
and they, without hesitation, really, gave me a full refund. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:40 | |
And how much did you buy it for? | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
Initially, ?700. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
So it was worth getting the refund! | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
Certainly was, definitely. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:48 | |
I'm very pleased with the outcome, and it was thanks to the Roadshow | 0:23:48 | 0:23:51 | |
and Will Farmer as well, his intervention, | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
that I was able to get the refund quite quickly. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
I was disappointed on the day, because I was hoping | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
that it was the real thing. Just unfortunate that I bought a fake. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
I'm glad you got your money back. Yeah, so am I. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:05 | |
Our look back on this year's most talked-about finds takes us | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
back to the splendid backdrop of Beverley Minster. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
This memorable encounter for expert Graham Lay | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
didn't begin too promisingly. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:25 | |
This looks like two members of the Women's Land Army. Is that true? No. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:31 | |
No. Oh, have I offended you somehow? | 0:24:31 | 0:24:34 | |
Yes. Why is that? They look like Women's Land Army. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:37 | |
We aren't Women's Land Army. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
Well, what were you, then? The Women's Timber Corps. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:44 | |
Women's Timber Corps? Yes. So this is you, is it? | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
Yes, it is. That's me. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:50 | |
Now, I know a little bit about that, but many people | 0:24:50 | 0:24:54 | |
will never have heard of the Women's Timber Corps. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:56 | |
So, you were a member of the Women's Timber Corps when? | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
1942. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
At 17 and a half. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
We finished in 1945. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
And what did you have to do? | 0:25:08 | 0:25:10 | |
What was the purpose of the Women's Timber Corps? | 0:25:10 | 0:25:12 | |
The purpose of the Women's Timber Corps was first of all to get the men | 0:25:12 | 0:25:18 | |
from felling the trees into the forces. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
So, we had to learn how to fell a tree. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:23 | |
Then, we were taught how to measure | 0:25:23 | 0:25:27 | |
for pit props and telegraph poles. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:29 | |
That's what you were cutting the trees down for? Yes. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:32 | |
That's a very valuable service, making pit props in particular for the mining of coal during the war. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:39 | |
So, you were a lumberjack, were you? No. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
Lumber Jill. Lumber Jill! | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
Is that what you were called?! | 0:25:45 | 0:25:46 | |
Yes. How bizarre, that's quite strange, isn't it? | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
Wonderful time. Wonderful time, really, wonderful friends. | 0:25:56 | 0:26:01 | |
And then we lost... | 0:26:02 | 0:26:04 | |
We lost our families, you know, brothers... | 0:26:08 | 0:26:11 | |
..in the war. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:14 | |
Dreadful, really. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
But we were, we were all good friends and we worked very hard. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:21 | |
I wouldn't have missed it for the world, but I didn't know what I was going to do. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:26 | |
You did your bit. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
Oh, most definitely. You did your bit, and I'm very proud of you. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:32 | |
Thank you very much. Thank you. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:34 | |
Perhaps the most moving story this series was told to | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
jewellery specialist Joe Hardy at Tatton Park in Cheshire. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:46 | |
This is my aunt, my late father's sister and her eldest daughter. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:53 | |
And this is where? This is in Venice, | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
taken in about 1935, I think. And this is | 0:26:55 | 0:27:00 | |
one of the daughters again with her sister, | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
taken in Brussels, where they lived, where they were being educated. | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
And this is their son Freddie. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:08 | |
Oh, lovely, lovely photo. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:15 | |
And in 1939, | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
my father was afraid for their safety, | 0:27:18 | 0:27:20 | |
and they came back to Manchester. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:22 | |
But when Chamberlain said "peace for our time", they went back, | 0:27:22 | 0:27:26 | |
because of the elder daughter's exams, and | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
sadly, it was a terrible decision, because they ended up in Auschwitz. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:32 | |
Oh, my goodness me. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
They were taken to the camps, yes. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:36 | |
These cards here that you have, what are these? | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
These are letters that my aunt wrote to my father and his brother | 0:27:39 | 0:27:44 | |
during the time they were in France. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:52 | |
and the Germans crossed the Channel, | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
that then they would come directly to our house | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
and take our family, because we were Jewish. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:58 | |
Then he didn't hear anything from her at all for the next few years. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
For the next few years? He waited? | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
He waited, only until the end of the war, | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
when the Red Cross got in touch, 1945, and they found out | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
what had happened, that they had been taken to Auschwitz and gassed, | 0:28:09 | 0:28:14 | |
burnt in the crematorium. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:16 | |
With the children? With the three children as well. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:22 | |
Oh, my goodness. They were all taken. So, erm, | 0:28:22 | 0:28:34 | |
My aunt must have left her phone number. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
And she brought all the jewels that had belonged to my aunt. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
Sadly, my father was so distraught at the time, | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
he never kept a record of who she was. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:45 | |
And actually now, my brother and I are going to La Baule | 0:28:45 | 0:28:53 | |
or her descendants, because somebody will know the story. | 0:28:53 | 0:29:00 | |
And this watch here was one of the collection | 0:29:00 | 0:29:03 | |
which was then given back to your father by this neighbour, this lady? | 0:29:03 | 0:29:07 | |
That's my very precious remnant of the story. | 0:29:07 | 0:29:10 | |
It is such an elegant watch, which goes with the elegance | 0:29:10 | 0:29:13 | |
of your aunt in the photograph that you showed us. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
She was a Manchester girl - you don't expect a Manchester girl | 0:29:16 | 0:29:20 | |
to have died in the Holocaust, particularly. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:22 | |
No, of course not. So, that's a very sad story, and my | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
father could never talk about it, he was just heartbroken. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:28 | |
And so it's left to our generation to keep the memory of it alive. | 0:29:28 | 0:29:32 | |
And since then, Jackie has been to France for an emotional meeting | 0:29:32 | 0:29:36 | |
with the family who helped her aunt. | 0:29:36 | 0:29:38 | |
They presented her with pieces they kept for her aunt, | 0:29:38 | 0:29:40 | |
which they've held on to for 60 years. | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
that they most want to find, | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
that they dream of turning up to a Roadshow. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
It remains to seen quite how many we unearth, | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
as we welcome a whole new set of visitors | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
to our new series later this year. But Jill here... | 0:30:09 | 0:30:11 | |
Jill, you're the first one to come out of the woodwork. | 0:30:11 | 0:30:15 | |
And you think you might have found one of these valuable antiques. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:18 | |
You screamed when you saw it on the television. I did, I was absolutely amazed. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:24 | |
Let's just remind ourselves. Shall we have a quick look? Yes. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:27 | |
Well, what we see the least of are almost | 0:30:27 | 0:30:34 | |
is the jewellery designed by the neo-gothic architect William Burges, | 0:30:34 | 0:30:38 | |
who is really the greatest genius | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
of 19th-century design and architecture. But he also dabbled | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
in jewellery specifically, | 0:30:45 | 0:30:46 | |
and he made designs for his intimate circle. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:50 | |
We know about them because the designs remain at the Victoria Albert Museum. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:54 | |
Is that what these are here, then? Yes, most definitely they are. | 0:30:54 | 0:30:57 | |
And very tantalisingly, it says on the top of here, | 0:30:57 | 0:31:00 | |
six of these in silver and three of these in gold. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:05 | |
So we've nine chances of the Antiques Roadshow flushing | 0:31:05 | 0:31:07 | |
these out of the United Kingdom somewhere. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:09 | |
So these are designs for brooches, are they? | 0:31:09 | 0:31:11 | |
Yes, and they're almost certainly bridesmaids' brooches. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:14 | |
So, Jill, what did you think when you saw Geoffrey there? | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
I was speechless for a second or two. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:20 | |
I just thought, it can't possibly be my brooch. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:24 | |
He was looking at the first two brooches, but my brooch was underneath. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:28 | |
And I thought, no, it can't possibly be my brooch. | 0:31:28 | 0:31:31 | |
So I rushed upstairs and rushed back down again and I thought, "It is!" | 0:31:31 | 0:31:35 | |
Were you there holding it up against the television trying to check? | 0:31:35 | 0:31:39 | |
Two days before the programme came on the television, I'd actually been going to sell it | 0:31:39 | 0:31:44 | |
and I'd put it out on top to sell, to take to the local market | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
because I thought it might be worth a few pounds. Oh, gosh! | 0:31:48 | 0:31:52 | |
So it was really incredible because it's been stuck at the bottom of my jewellery case for 20-odd years. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:59 | |
And which one of these do you think it is? I think it's that one. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
I think it's that one. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:03 | |
Well, get it out. Let's have a quick look. I think it is that one. | 0:32:03 | 0:32:07 | |
It's broken, I'm afraid. | 0:32:07 | 0:32:09 | |
It's that one. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:10 | |
Right. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:12 | |
You're the very first person who's come forward, so it's very exciting. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:17 | |
I've no idea. You don't know either, do you? | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
I can't wait. Well, Geoffrey Munn, he's going to be very excited, | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
is going to have a look, and then we'll find out. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
Wonderful! | 0:32:26 | 0:32:27 | |
Our best bargain buy screened this series | 0:32:31 | 0:32:34 | |
has to be a pretty cup and saucer found by John Sandon in Brighton. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:40 | |
A tea bowl and saucer for drinking tea | 0:32:40 | 0:32:43 | |
in the Chinese style. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:44 | |
But on the bottom, the famous crossed swords mark of Meissen. | 0:32:44 | 0:32:49 | |
Meissen, one of the great European factories, the oldest porcelain factory, | 0:32:49 | 0:32:53 | |
and perhaps the most famous, and therefore, the most imitated of all | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
and the most commonly faked mark is the crossed swords. | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
So what's important is the provenance and the history. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
Yes, well, I've only had it for about six months. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:06 | |
I was moving into a new house | 0:33:06 | 0:33:08 | |
and I didn't have any crockery cos I'd been in a shared house, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:11 | |
so I was going to lots of car-boot sales and just buying loads and loads of plates and saucers, | 0:33:11 | 0:33:16 | |
things like that and I just liked mismatched different coloured things | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
and I saw this and I bought that as well. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:23 | |
So what do you think you bought? Well, I thought it was old. | 0:33:23 | 0:33:27 | |
I got it home and I looked and I kind of recognised | 0:33:27 | 0:33:31 | |
the little signature thing on the bottom, but I didn't know what it was. | 0:33:31 | 0:33:34 | |
Yes, they're the swords of Saxony where the Meissen factory was established | 0:33:34 | 0:33:39 | |
and of course, the mark was introduced as a form of protection in the 1720s. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:44 | |
Everyone was imitating Meissen back then, | 0:33:44 | 0:33:47 | |
so they put the mark on in order to protect the real thing. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:50 | |
But of course, as soon as they put a mark on, they gave a sign for everyone else to copy. | 0:33:50 | 0:33:54 | |
From that time onwards, everybody put the crossed swords on. | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
But what they didn't do was really match the quality | 0:33:57 | 0:34:00 | |
so it's really the detail we look at to see if it's really Meissen or not. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:04 | |
In this case, I think, really... | 0:34:04 | 0:34:05 | |
How close do you have to look to see this is quality? | 0:34:05 | 0:34:08 | |
Yeah, the little flowers, absolutely miniature. | 0:34:08 | 0:34:11 | |
It's pretending to be Chinese, | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
because that's what the great porcelain was at the time. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:15 | |
A very distinctive style. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:17 | |
And this style of Chinoiserie painting was developed at Meissen around the 1720s. | 0:34:17 | 0:34:24 | |
We're looking at a design that was in fashion in the early 1730s. | 0:34:24 | 0:34:27 | |
1730s? That old? | 0:34:27 | 0:34:29 | |
Well, it is. It really is that age. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
It looks new. | 0:34:32 | 0:34:33 | |
Yeah. I didn't think it was that old, cos it was in such good condition. | 0:34:33 | 0:34:37 | |
And at the car-boot sale, they probably thought it was new. Yeah, probably. | 0:34:37 | 0:34:41 | |
My, oh my. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:42 | |
It was a set made for a king, made for a prince, | 0:34:42 | 0:34:45 | |
it was the most expensive porcelain of its day... Wow. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:47 | |
..and it's pretty expensive now. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
So, go on, tell me, how much was it at the car-boot sale? | 0:34:50 | 0:34:54 | |
Well, I think it was about ?2.50. | 0:34:54 | 0:34:56 | |
I never spent any more than ?3.50 for anything. | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
Well, you haven't half done well. This is something else. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:02 | |
Because it's in wonderful condition, it's top quality | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
and in mint condition. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:08 | |
So what's it worth? Um, single cup and saucer... | 0:35:08 | 0:35:12 | |
how about ?5,000? | 0:35:12 | 0:35:13 | |
GASPING AND LAUGHTER | 0:35:13 | 0:35:16 | |
Seriously? | 0:35:17 | 0:35:18 | |
Oh, my... | 0:35:20 | 0:35:21 | |
Owner Poppy still loves her boot sale buy | 0:35:25 | 0:35:28 | |
and says she's holding on to them for a future investment. Wow. | 0:35:28 | 0:35:32 | |
Perhaps the best reaction to a Roadshow revelation | 0:35:37 | 0:35:40 | |
happened at the end of our day in Saltaire, | 0:35:40 | 0:35:43 | |
and it was another antique from China that prompted the interest. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:47 | |
I don't think it's ever been dusted in a long time. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:53 | |
It's my mum's and it just sits on a shelf in the dining room. | 0:35:53 | 0:35:56 | |
And how did your mum get it? | 0:35:57 | 0:35:59 | |
She said it was from her mum and dad | 0:35:59 | 0:36:01 | |
when she was a little girl, they all went to Torquay on holiday | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
and they went into a sort of junky antique-y type shop | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
and her dad spotted it and at the time she said | 0:36:09 | 0:36:13 | |
it was all black and grimy | 0:36:13 | 0:36:14 | |
and he spent the holiday with a little toothbrush | 0:36:14 | 0:36:17 | |
shining it up. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:18 | |
Cleaning it up? | 0:36:18 | 0:36:19 | |
We have what is a hollow vessel in the middle | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
and it seems to be surrounded by branches, | 0:36:22 | 0:36:26 | |
pine tree, growing round its own trunk. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:30 | |
And there's a lovely detail here, when we get into this side, | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
how the outer branches | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
undercut themselves, and you get | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
a really quite complicated in-and-out of the branches. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:43 | |
Do you know where it's from? | 0:36:43 | 0:36:44 | |
Um, China? | 0:36:44 | 0:36:46 | |
It's from China. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:48 | |
Pine trees are very important in China. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:51 | |
They are symbols of longevity and permanence. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:54 | |
If you go into a scholar's studio and you look at the table | 0:36:54 | 0:36:58 | |
and you look at the things that he's laid out, his writing equipment, | 0:36:58 | 0:37:01 | |
you'll find an ink stone and you'll find | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
a little pot of water into which he will dip his brush | 0:37:03 | 0:37:07 | |
to get the ink and then write on the paper. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:10 | |
And I believe that this is likely to be a brush washer, | 0:37:11 | 0:37:16 | |
so you put water in it, | 0:37:16 | 0:37:17 | |
but although it's actually of a pine tree, | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
it's not carved in pine. This is actually carved | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
in bamboo. OK. How old do you reckon it might have been? | 0:37:23 | 0:37:27 | |
I've no idea. | 0:37:27 | 0:37:28 | |
Do you want to have a guess? Go on. Um... | 0:37:28 | 0:37:31 | |
120-ish? | 0:37:31 | 0:37:32 | |
120 years. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:34 | |
Well let us go back another... | 0:37:34 | 0:37:37 | |
300. | 0:37:37 | 0:37:39 | |
Really? | 0:37:39 | 0:37:41 | |
Yes. Maybe 400. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
This was being carved | 0:37:43 | 0:37:47 | |
around 500 years ago. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:48 | |
Oh, my gosh. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:50 | |
So it's a rare survivor. | 0:37:50 | 0:37:52 | |
Oh, my gosh. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:53 | |
It's survived your cleaning techniques. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
I'm just going to say one more thing about the shape. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:58 | |
It alludes to rhinoceros horn. | 0:37:58 | 0:38:02 | |
Rhino horn was another very favoured material for the Chinese scholar, | 0:38:02 | 0:38:07 | |
but I'm glad to say this is not rhino horn, from one point of view, | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
from the point of view of the rhino. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:12 | |
But from the point of view of value, a rhino horn of the 1500s | 0:38:12 | 0:38:17 | |
would have been a very, very expensive object. | 0:38:17 | 0:38:21 | |
Being bamboo, I'm afraid, it's not in the same league. Yeah. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:26 | |
So, this little scholar's object is probably only worth | 0:38:29 | 0:38:33 | |
somewhere in the region of, let's say, between ?6,000 and ?9,000. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
Oh, my gosh! | 0:38:36 | 0:38:37 | |
Are you joking?! | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
My mum's in Florence, I'll have to ring her up! | 0:38:42 | 0:38:44 | |
It's a wonderful, wonderful object. | 0:38:46 | 0:38:50 | |
I can't believe it! | 0:38:51 | 0:38:53 | |
We've seen some fantastic responses to this series' | 0:38:53 | 0:38:56 | |
treasure trove on the Antiques Roadshow. | 0:38:56 | 0:38:58 | |
Our thanks to all who waited so patiently | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
to see our team of experts. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:03 | |
Let's hope there may be a surprise in store for you | 0:39:03 | 0:39:05 | |
if you visit us this year. | 0:39:05 | 0:39:06 | |
But before we go, one last mystery to unravel. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
I've been looking forward to this - | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
the moment has come to put Jill out of her misery. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:18 | |
Very nice to see you! I sense a plot! Yes! | 0:39:18 | 0:39:21 | |
And you're central to it! | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
Jill thinks she may have found one of the brooches by William Burges, | 0:39:23 | 0:39:36 | |
You appealed for it on a programme, Jill was watching it | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
and thinks she may have found it. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
Before you look, what would it mean | 0:39:42 | 0:39:44 | |
if it is indeed one of William Burges' brooches? | 0:39:44 | 0:39:45 | |
It would mean the absolute world to me. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:48 | |
I found these designs in the Victoria Albert Museum, | 0:39:48 | 0:39:51 | |
and I published them in a book I wrote with Charlotte Gere, | 0:39:51 | 0:39:54 | |
my co-author, and we were terribly excited by them, | 0:39:54 | 0:40:01 | |
pivotal architect in the 19th century. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
And it raised our subject up into an entirely new category, | 0:40:03 | 0:40:07 | |
in a way, | 0:40:07 | 0:40:10 | |
and they are artistic in every sense of the word. | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
But I can hardly talk, I'm so excited! Come on, then! | 0:40:13 | 0:40:17 | |
It's too much! Jill, let's get it out and have a look. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:20 | |
Oh, my goodness me. I think it might be that one. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:24 | |
I don't think there's any shadow of doubt, | 0:40:24 | 0:40:26 | |
and I think that is absolutely... | 0:40:26 | 0:40:30 | |
I honestly can hardly articulate it. I think it's absolutely marvellous. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:35 | |
And it's completely different manufacture | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
to what one might have expected. | 0:40:38 | 0:40:41 | |
It's slightly heavier and massier than I thought the design would be. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:44 | |
But in every sense of the word, it is it... Is it?! | 0:40:44 | 0:40:48 | |
It's pulse-making! | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
Honestly, it is a Tutankhamen experience on the Antiques Roadshow! | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
I have to say that only television can do this - | 0:40:54 | 0:40:57 | |
there is no other medium that could have flushed this out, | 0:40:57 | 0:41:01 | |
from not only the United Kingdom, | 0:41:01 | 0:41:03 | |
but potentially from the entire world. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:05 | |
Can I tell you something? Yes. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:08 | |
Jill was going to sell it down the local market | 0:41:08 | 0:41:11 | |
and thought she might get a few quid for it! | 0:41:11 | 0:41:13 | |
Two days before. Two days before? | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
Gosh, I'm going to stalk you for the rest of my life, | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
I think it's absolutely marvellous, isn't it? | 0:41:18 | 0:41:20 | |
Geoffrey, how rare is this? | 0:41:20 | 0:41:23 | |
It's beyond rare. I never hoped to see it. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:26 | |
Jewellery designed by artists | 0:41:26 | 0:41:28 | |
and architects of this calibre are hardly measurable. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:32 | |
The Cecil Higgins Art Museum has just bought | 0:41:32 | 0:41:35 | |
a settle by William Burges, a piece of furniture, | 0:41:35 | 0:41:38 | |
and without putting too fine a point on it, | 0:41:38 | 0:41:40 | |
they've just paid just shy of ?1 million for that piece of furniture. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:47 | |
?850,000, they paid for it, very recently. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
Money isn't the greatest fascination | 0:41:51 | 0:41:54 | |
What we're sharing together is IT. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
I'm interested to know about you, the moment of recognition. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:59 | |
What happened when you saw that? | 0:41:59 | 0:42:00 | |
I did a little scream and ran upstairs to find it! | 0:42:00 | 0:42:08 | |
What do you think now that Geoffrey's told you that it is...? | 0:42:08 | 0:42:16 | |
Well, I think, measured against the settle, | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
it is an extraordinarily valuable object. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:22 | |
Somebody lucky enough to buy that from you at said boot sale | 0:42:22 | 0:42:25 | |
would have walked away with something close to ?10,000. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:29 | |
Oh, my God! | 0:42:29 | 0:42:33 | |
So, that was quite a... You like it a bit more now! | 0:42:33 | 0:42:38 | |
With two days from selling it. I just forgot to take it down to the market. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:42 | |
Jill also confessed to me that she didn't like it very much! | 0:42:42 | 0:42:46 | |
I didn't like it! I'm assuming you're liking it a little more now?! | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
I love it! Oh, my goodness! I always loved it, | 0:42:48 | 0:42:53 | |
and I never, ever dreamt | 0:42:53 | 0:42:56 | |
that I would ever lay hands on it or see it. | 0:42:56 | 0:42:59 | |
Isn't that wonderful? It's very, very moving stuff for me. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
The tables of the Antiques Roadshow are turned, because usually | 0:43:02 | 0:43:05 | |
it's the owner of the object that is given this jolt of surprise - | 0:43:05 | 0:43:09 | |
this time round, it's the specialist who's got it big time, | 0:43:09 | 0:43:12 | |
and I'm frankly trembling with it! | 0:43:12 | 0:43:13 | |
Thank you very much! I think we're going to have to take Geoffrey away | 0:43:13 | 0:43:17 | |
and wipe him down with a damp flannel! He's in such a lather! | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
What an amazing find. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:22 | |
We appeal for all sorts of wonderful antiques in this series, | 0:43:22 | 0:43:26 | |
so if you think, like Jill here, that you might have one, | 0:43:26 | 0:43:30 | |
please bring it along to our next series of programmes. | 0:43:30 | 0:43:33 | |
All the details of when our recordings are going to be | 0:43:33 | 0:43:36 | |
are on our website - | 0:43:36 | 0:43:39 | |
And also, there are clips on our website which show the items | 0:43:39 | 0:43:42 | |
we've appealed about throughout the series. | 0:43:42 | 0:43:45 | |
Who knows, it could be you, and we would be thrilled to see it. | 0:43:45 | 0:43:50 | |
MUSIC: Boombastic by Shaggy | 0:44:21 | 0:44:22 | |
# Mr Lover Lover, mmm | 0:44:22 | 0:44:24 | |
# Mr Lover Lover, girl | 0:44:24 | 0:44:28 | |
# Mr Lover Lover, mmm... # | 0:44:28 | 0:44:30 |