0:00:03 > 0:00:06This week we're in a seaside town that was loved by royalty and was
0:00:06 > 0:00:09a magnet for the aristocracy and high society.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12So the Antiques Roadshow team should feel quite at home.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Welcome to Brighton, a Prince's playground.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08It was Brighton's lively reputation and seaside that attracted the Prince of Wales here back in 1780.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13And where the Prince went, the rest of London's high-society followed.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19In 1800 it was described as being, without exception, one of the most fashionable towns in the kingdom.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23It was a Prince Regent, later King George IV, who was
0:01:23 > 0:01:27largely responsible for Brighton's air of elegance and decadence.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31He came here in the 1780s hoping the sea water would ease his gout,
0:01:31 > 0:01:37but the attractions of racing, gambling and the theatre proved even more alluring.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43The Prince decided that Brighton, just 50 miles from London, was a perfect place for a country
0:01:43 > 0:01:49house, and instructed his aides to look for a modest seaside residence.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51We don't know whether sea water did improve the Prince's gout,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55but certainly he's not alone in thinking that being by the sea is good for your health.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59And although a charming little beach hut is good enough for peasants like
0:01:59 > 0:02:03us, the future king could afford to be a bit more flamboyant.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07And this is the seaside pad he ended up with.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Brighton Pavilion, in all its eccentric glory, was
0:02:13 > 0:02:19designed by John Nash and completed in the early 1820s when the Prince Regent was crowned King George IV.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24And what had started out as a respectable farmhouse was transformed into a fabulously
0:02:24 > 0:02:28over-the-top Indian and oriental fantasy.
0:02:35 > 0:02:42And inside, the sumptuous furnishings designed from floor to ceiling for maximum dramatic effect
0:02:42 > 0:02:45created a magnificent setting for the new monarch.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51One of the King's passions was food, and the most elaborate banquets were
0:02:51 > 0:02:54held here in the banqueting room, where the French chef
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Marie-Antoine Careme created menus with as many as 60 dishes.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06However, Queen Victoria was not so amused by this Oriental exuberance,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and in 1845 the pavilion was put up for sale.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Among the prospective buyers were the founders of a new school, Brighton College.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19But they couldn't afford it, so they designed this, their own school, just down the road.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24But its pupils haven't entirely escaped the Pavilion's oriental influence.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Mandarin Chinese is compulsory for all students.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31We don't know whether local or far-flung items will turn up
0:03:31 > 0:03:35here today, but our specialists are all set for the unexpected.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- Is this a Brighton boy? - No, he's a Londoner, north London.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47So who is he?
0:03:47 > 0:03:50He's Frank Wollaston, and he's my grandfather.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- This is your grandfather?- Yes.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54This is your grandfather as Icarus?
0:03:54 > 0:03:55As Icarus, yes.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Who got too close to the sun and got burned?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Absolutely. I'm sure he did at times.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Why do you say that? What sort of man was your grandfather?
0:04:04 > 0:04:08He was a very interesting character, very cosmopolitan, he spoke several
0:04:08 > 0:04:14languages, they travelled with the act they had, the Montague Brothers.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17So your grandfather was an actor?
0:04:17 > 0:04:23No, he was actually, he was physical training, this was the act.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24That's him?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Ah, the Montague Brothers. So, what were they?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30They look like sort of nude models.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34They were sort of painted white to look like statues, and the act
0:04:34 > 0:04:36was that somebody played the sculptor
0:04:36 > 0:04:43and then they came alive and did all these poses of the typical Greek...
0:04:43 > 0:04:47But obviously pretty naked, the original Full Monty.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49The original Full Monty!
0:04:49 > 0:04:54- As you can see, there's not much there.- I've never heard about this type of act.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59- Did you ever meet your grandfather? - No, he died, unfortunately, before I was born.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01He died in 1939. So quite young.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And this picture, I suppose, is painted, what, about 1900?
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Yes, he was 18 then, that sounds right, I think.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12So we can assume that the artist, we can see it's signed in the bottom
0:05:12 > 0:05:18left-hand corner of this picture, Albert Herter, may have seen them, been impressed by these figures,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and decided to incorporate it into the picture in the form of
0:05:22 > 0:05:24your grandfather as Icarus?
0:05:24 > 0:05:25Mm. Absolutely, yes.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Do you happen to know, did your grandfather go to America?
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- Yes, he did, actually, yes.- New York.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Yes, he went to New York, but I don't think that's how... I know the artist was American, I believe.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Albert Herter was an American painter.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43He painted murals, interiors, portraits, landscapes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47A bit of everything, really. He's also quite collected as well.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52The only problem with this picture is, rather like Icarus, it seems to have got too close to the sun.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I don't know what's happened to it,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57but there's a sort of craquelure that's become overly accentuated.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02In really good condition, this painting would be worth £12,000.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07- Goodness. - Gosh.- But in this state, it's worth, I should think, £3,000 to £5,000.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Right, OK. Thank you.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11- But what a portrait of a grandfather!- Yes.
0:06:15 > 0:06:21Now, anybody gazing at this vase would be forgiven for thinking that it was a piece of
0:06:21 > 0:06:28Japanese Satsuma pottery, because it's got all the credentials, the colour and the decoration.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32But we both know that it's actually a piece of glassware.
0:06:32 > 0:06:39And what I'm intrigued to know is how a piece of glassware of this type found its way to Brighton.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42It came from my Aunt Betty, a cousin of my mother's.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45She either gave it to me when we helped her move house, or
0:06:45 > 0:06:50unfortunately she passed away just before Christmas so it could've been with her belongings then.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- But it was in a big black sack in the garage.- Like a plastic bin liner?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Afraid so, yes.- Yeah?- Yes.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- OK.- Until this morning. - Until this morning?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Yes. It's been sitting there, and it was only because we were coming along
0:07:01 > 0:07:05today, I thought, I saw it poking out and I bought it with me.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Was there anything else poking out of the sack, or just this one at the moment?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Er, a game of Scrabble!
0:07:10 > 0:07:14No? OK. Well, you've made the right decision, you brought the vase.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17First of all, have you noticed how it tones?
0:07:17 > 0:07:21It goes from this sort of rich, almost coral colour,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25and it's sort of slightly paler around this bulbous base.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26But what I find lovely
0:07:26 > 0:07:31is this decoration, because this is quality enamelling.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36And whenever you see a piece like this, the first thing you do, you want to turn it upside down.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40You want to have a look to see if there's any mark whatsoever.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46But there isn't, but what you have got, look, you've got these multi-layers, if you will.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48So you've got almost three layers of glass.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Good sign, that's called overlay.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55But the decoration is pure Japanese.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58These are chrysanthemums, if my knowledge of botany is right,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02and that, of course, is the flower of Japan.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07But if this could talk to you, it would talk to you in a quasi
0:08:07 > 0:08:11French Black Country accent,
0:08:11 > 0:08:18because this was actually enamelled by the great Jules Barbe,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22a Frenchman who came to work for Thomas Webb.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Thomas Webb and Sons in Stourbridge,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30the greatest makers of Victorian glassware.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It isn't marked, but, to be frank with you,
0:08:33 > 0:08:39you don't need a signature, because this is the signature, the quality of the decoration.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43So, Jules Barbe, craftsman.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47I'm looking at you now, are you liking this a bit more as I've been talking about it?
0:08:47 > 0:08:53I think it's hideous, but the more you talk about it, the more I'm beginning to like it, I think.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55If I was to tell you that if I want to go and buy one of these,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59I wouldn't get one for less than £1,500.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- You're joking?- 1,500.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05- Even to people in Brighton, that's a lot of money, isn't it?- 1500 pounds?
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- Yes, 1500 pounds.- I like it better.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- I do like it better! - Can I make a suggestion?- Yes.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15When you go home, go back to that black plastic bin liner and look
0:09:15 > 0:09:20very careful, because these would almost certainly have come in pairs.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- In pairs?- In pairs. - I'm looking tonight.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29So look at these opals breaking up the sunlight.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32They're refracting the light, they're actually making a spectrum
0:09:32 > 0:09:35of it, and it's a miracle of natural science.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Did you feel that way about it when you first saw them?
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Yes, when I first opened the case, I went, ah!
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- That's fabulous. It's like a butterfly's wing, in a way, isn't it?- Yes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49I'm very interested to know where you first saw these. How did that happen?
0:09:49 > 0:09:55They belonged to a friend who passed on, and we were able to buy them from her estate.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I can't remember what we paid for them,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01but it was in the early 70s, it wouldn't have been an awful lot
0:10:01 > 0:10:04because we didn't have an awful lot of money at that time.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Well, in a sense opals are not particularly valuable stones, particularly when they're small
0:10:09 > 0:10:12like this, but it doesn't diminish their amazing appeal.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15And, in a sense, the stones of which these objects are made
0:10:15 > 0:10:17are not central to their importance,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22because the people that made them weren't interested in intrinsic value, in fact they scorned it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26What they really were interested in was craftsmanship, and these are two
0:10:26 > 0:10:28superb jewels from the arts and crafts movement.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33Tell me, what did you think about the lid satin when you saw that?
0:10:33 > 0:10:37The inscription is to a Mr and Mrs Gaston?
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I thought that was probably that Mr had had them made for Mrs.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47In a way, he probably did make them for her, but they're a very, very famous married couple of arts
0:10:47 > 0:10:54and crafts jewellers of the highest possible calibre, and they had some very high calibre friends, too.
0:10:54 > 0:11:00They were Quakers, and they were friends of the Cadbury family, who had all the means to have
0:11:00 > 0:11:05jewellery made, but, rather like the Gaskins, they scorned intrinsic
0:11:05 > 0:11:08value for its own sake and everything had to be made by hand.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- It's very evident from this, this is exactly what happened.- Oh, right.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15And they learned all of that from an even more distinguished source.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18They were a friend of William Morris, and so were
0:11:18 > 0:11:23right at the absolute pinnacle of English arts and crafts jewellery.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25A high point, but a later point, really.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28They date from anywhere between 1900 and 1920,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32and so they're a late expression of what William Morris wanted to achieve,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and so these are very, very good things. Do you enjoy wearing them?
0:11:35 > 0:11:40Yes, I do. I don't wear them every day, obviously, because they look a bit fragile.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43They are a bit fragile. Probably less fragile than you think,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45but they would've wanted you to wear them.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48They wanted, actually, a beauty to pervade everything
0:11:48 > 0:11:53in the tradition of William Morris, so having said all of that people want these things really badly.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56I must say, I think they're absolutely perfect.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02They're in perfect condition, in their original boxes, they're signed, extraordinarily attractive.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07So, without mincing words, £3,500 for that one.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Never?
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Gosh.- And £2,000 for that one.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Well, that is a surprise. Really.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21Carved ivories like this are a real passion of mine. Is this from your collection?
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Yes, it is, and it was passed to me from my father,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27who brought it at an antique shop in London.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30And, as my mother says, he paid far too much money,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33and, at that time, it was in the hundreds.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- Wow. And when was that? - That was about 30 years ago.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38And do you know much about its history, or where it's from?
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Not really, only that my father had put a little note on the back, so
0:12:42 > 0:12:45that's all I know about it, which is why I bought it here today.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49The note says it's Flemish, which isn't entirely wrong.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52There were centres for carving ivory like this
0:12:52 > 0:12:56in Dieppe in France, Germany, you know, Flemish.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- But this one, I think, is German. - Oh, right.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And it would date from the early part
0:13:01 > 0:13:06of the 18th century, 1700, 1720, and it's carved in such high relief.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13The scene is almost like a bacchanalian wine party.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15This one here falling in this unfortunate position,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17you wouldn't want to be him.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Today, it's not so much it's not acceptable,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22but it's just a little bit odd, but then it was the norm.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26The condition of it is fantastic.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29The carving, which is done with wheels, all this is done by hand,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Carved with foot-pedalled drills, and it is exceptional quality.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37And it's even got the little initials here of the workman.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Looks like a GV, or a CV.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44That again would add to it. It's in the lovely frame, which I don't think is as early as the ivory.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47It's a later frame, this is more of a late 19th century frame.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51But I'd have thought, well, what did he pay?
0:13:51 > 0:13:56In the hundreds. I don't know exactly, but it was about maximum £200.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Which was a reasonable amount.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- Exactly, yeah.- These have, sort of always on the up.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Condition is the key.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06This one, I'd have thought, a couple of thousand.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08- Oh, lovely.- Not bad, is it?
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So he had better taste than he was given credit for.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12And I'll tell my mother that.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- She'll be happy about that.- Good. Well, thank you for bringing it in.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Thank you very much indeed.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22You've probably gathered from the dragon and the bamboo
0:14:22 > 0:14:24all over this mug, where it comes from.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26- Yes, yes.- China.- Yeah.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29It's what's known as Chinese export silver.
0:14:29 > 0:14:36It is, indeed, made in China but it was made for Europeans to buy and bring home to wherever they lived.
0:14:36 > 0:14:43Most often you get engraving of ownership from sea captains or from the commercial fleet
0:14:43 > 0:14:47that were doing so much business with China in the 19th Century.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52They treated themselves to a mug or large tankards and coffee pots and things. They came home with them.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Where did you get it from?
0:14:54 > 0:14:59This was a gift from my uncle who was in the Merchant Navy.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01- He was.- Yes, he was, indeed.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04That link doesn't surprise me at all in that sense.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09That's extraordinary that he should be a sea captain and you've got a direct connection back to China.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- Presumably he bought it in China? - I would guess so, yes.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17I would imagine they did stop off at some point and pick one of these up.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23- So, yeah.- This is made in around Hong Kong or Kowloon in about
0:15:23 > 0:15:291900, 1910 by a man called Wang Hing who was a very prolific Chinese silver maker.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31This silver now is going up and up in popularity
0:15:31 > 0:15:34because it's being exported back to China.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38It's come full circle. Now it's going back into the hands of Chinese
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- people, the descendants of those who made it in the first place.- OK.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47Erm... It's a little bit rubbed, the faces on the side of the mug are just losing their detail a little bit.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51However, it's a very nice object and I would suggest that in order
0:15:51 > 0:15:56to go and buy that you're going to have to pay the thick end of £1,000.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59That's quite sensational, yeah. Wow!
0:16:12 > 0:16:14EXPLOSION
0:16:15 > 0:16:16That was spectacular!
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Tell me how it started?
0:16:18 > 0:16:24Well, I've always been interested in the theatre and I spent most of my life in Hong Kong
0:16:24 > 0:16:30and I used to get fed up with the dinner parties and talking about the supermarket and all the rest of it.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35So, I said, "Let's go upstairs because I've got a small, little theatre and I'll perform on it."
0:16:35 > 0:16:41They all thoroughly enjoyed it. When I retired I wanted a bigger theatre and I found this in an antique shop.
0:16:41 > 0:16:48- I paid £60 for it. I got this and two other theatres as well.- £60?
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Fantastic. When was that, when did you start performing this one?
0:16:53 > 0:16:57This was about 27 or 30 years ago.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01How splendid! So this is your seascape.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Tell me, how many others have you got?
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Quite a few! I've got a full Round The World In 80 days which lasts for
0:17:08 > 0:17:12an hour and a half but you don't want something to last that long.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17- No.- I mean, I've got the Cinderella, I've got Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- So you can keep children happy for hours on end.- Yes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25The thing is each one is planned so when I pass over I can give it
0:17:25 > 0:17:29to my children and they can bring it out and completely resurrect
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- what's all been done before. - That's wonderful.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37But what a lovely, lovely thing and you've also these wonderful sound effects.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39You invented them.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Well, I put them together, let's put it like that.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43THUNDER SOUND EFFECT
0:17:43 > 0:17:44Yes, well I really covet this.
0:17:44 > 0:17:51But it's such a delight to see you using it because you don't see people like that any more.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55If you do they're using modern things.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59This is such a lovely one because it dates right back to Benjamin Pollock
0:17:59 > 0:18:03when he was the famous printer of toy theatres
0:18:03 > 0:18:07in probably the mid-19th Century and it went
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- right on and he was so well known that even Charlie Chaplin...- Yes.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- And Robert Louis Stevenson... - Winston Churchill had one.
0:18:14 > 0:18:21- And Winston Churchill, so it was the most fantastic time of entertainment instead of a television.- Yes.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26So this probably dates from 1880, it could be 1870.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Of course, the back drops are a bit later. You've added...
0:18:29 > 0:18:31The back drops are German.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35They're reasonably modern, not Pollock's.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39No. But if you've got all those other drops, and stories,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and this wonderful antique
0:18:42 > 0:18:47facade, it must be in the thousands, possibly 1,000-1,500.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51- The price doesn't matter to me. - Good!- I would never, ever sell it.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52Wonderful.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Well, the name Tiffany is a name probably we all know.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06This is a little, silver cigarette case quite boring,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08got the date on it, 1963.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10But, actually,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13it's quite a resonant object, isn't it?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Tell me about how it came into your hands?
0:19:18 > 0:19:23Well in 1963 President Kennedy came to Ireland
0:19:23 > 0:19:26to visit his ancestral home in Wexford.
0:19:26 > 0:19:33He spent three further days there in Dublin, Cork and Galway and
0:19:33 > 0:19:38on his Cork visit he was received by the Lord Mayor of Cork,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Sean Casey who was my dad.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44He gave this as a present to my mam and dad.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48And were you there on that day when he visited Cork?
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I was only eight years of age but it's a memory I'll always have.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58- And this is a photograph that records that particular event.- Yes.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03There's JFK in the centre here, and your father, presumably, he's the mayor with his
0:20:03 > 0:20:05- chain of office.- That's right.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And it's engraved, "To his worship, the Mayor Of Cork,"
0:20:08 > 0:20:12your dad, "From President John F Kennedy"
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- and the date, June 1963. - That's right.
0:20:15 > 0:20:22- He was with you in Cork in June and the 22 November 1963... - The whole world was shocked.
0:20:22 > 0:20:29As a result, this is a box which already had a great sort of aura with it, the fact that it had been
0:20:29 > 0:20:33given to your dad by President Kennedy, but also
0:20:33 > 0:20:40it must have been an object almost of remembrance then, later on that year.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45Yes, and very much so, because my dad died four years later.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49So, it's a memory of them both, really.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53It's not really something that one should be thinking about value
0:20:53 > 0:20:59but I'm going to talk about value because the two values I'm going to give are so completely different.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02On the one hand you have a
0:21:02 > 0:21:09basically pretty, modern, unexciting, very unfashionable object, ie a silver cigarette case.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13And, as such, the weight of it,
0:21:13 > 0:21:18I would have said value around £120-£125. But...
0:21:18 > 0:21:24You have this kind of fairy dust sprinkled over an object like this.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29I could easily see that, in auction, probably in the States,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32fetching well into four figures.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33So £1,000 plus.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37It is a piece of American history, it's a piece of Irish history
0:21:37 > 0:21:39and it's a piece of your own family history.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Very much so.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Well, it wouldn't be a day at the seaside without a seagull
0:21:48 > 0:21:53and I have to say this has to be the most stylish seagull I've ever seen.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55But tell me, where did he come from?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Well, I used to live in London.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Many years ago it was bought at Heal's in Tottenham Court Road
0:22:03 > 0:22:06by my late sister and then she gave it to me.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11So what year would your sister have bought this for you, do you remember?
0:22:11 > 0:22:15I would think it must be about 1940 something or the other.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17I can't be really sure.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I think it might be a little bit earlier.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23I have a vision of you girls tripping down the Tottenham Court Road
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- maybe in the 1930s.- Could well be.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Especially with it having that feel, it's in the height of the Art Deco movement.
0:22:30 > 0:22:37I mean to have gone into Heal's or a similar store and buy something like this for me is such a statement.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40You're saying a lot about you as a person, the things
0:22:40 > 0:22:43that you want in your home and the things that you like around you.
0:22:43 > 0:22:49- True.- Because this is Art Deco at its absolute pinnacle.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54It's designed by Adnet. Now there are two Adnets, Jean and Jacques.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Brothers who were leading forces in the field of modernism.
0:22:58 > 0:23:05They really created some of the best Art Deco of the period from 1925
0:23:05 > 0:23:07at the big Paris Exhibition, right through.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11They had a vision of everything being clean and pure.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17They would take a form like this and pare it down to the finest and most simple line.
0:23:17 > 0:23:24I think if you look at this you can see there's nothing left but what is completely essential.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- So where does it live at home? - On my television.- Of course.- Yes.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32Why would a seagull not live on top of your television, quite frankly.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35- It's the perfect place. - It is a nice place for it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Well, he's a wonderful thing and they are popular because they are
0:23:39 > 0:23:44- so stylish and they fit with modern design and modern homes today.- True.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46And, to go and find another one, well, even taking into
0:23:46 > 0:23:49- consideration there's a little bit of damage to him.- Yes, there is.
0:23:49 > 0:23:57Even taking that into consideration, you're going to have to go out with £300-£350 to go and buy him again.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- Oh.- But I'd certainly be happy to pay that for him and if anyone can
0:24:00 > 0:24:05distract you for a few moments, I'd like to see if I can whisk him away.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07I'd think you'd be lucky to do that.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09You're going to come after me?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18You've brought along today, I don't know how many objects
0:24:18 > 0:24:21which I've selected just a few.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22Where did they all come from?
0:24:22 > 0:24:27My grandfather was the Austrian ambassador to China after the war
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and these are some of the things that were
0:24:30 > 0:24:33passed down amongst an awful lot of other stuff as well.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37- Right, do you like them?- Yes.- You do. OK, well I'm gonna go through these.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41This is a snuff bottle.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46Snuff-taking in China was a major activity
0:24:46 > 0:24:48in the 18th and 19th centuries.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52They are now very collectible.
0:24:52 > 0:24:59This one is enamelled with insects, butterflies, there's a cricket down here.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01A beetle.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03It's terrific fun.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09This has got a Jiajing reign mark on it, which is a late 18th and early 19th century reign mark,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13and reign marks, of course, on Chinese objects,
0:25:13 > 0:25:14you never trust them.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Once in a while, it's right, and I think this is right.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I think it's of the period.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26And, as such, I think it would make £700 to £1,000.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Oh, my goodness.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- So, that's quite nice.- Oh, wow.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33This is a seal.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38If you were a Chinese calligrapher, or if you painted paintings,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41you used a chop, as we are pleased to call them - a seal.
0:25:41 > 0:25:48Here we've got one which is in soap stone. It's a very soft stone.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50That was ideal for carving intricate characters.
0:25:50 > 0:25:57It's in the form of a Buddhist lion
0:25:57 > 0:25:59and two pups.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Absolutely charming.
0:26:01 > 0:26:07They've used the stone cleverly so the faces are reddish
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and an inscription in here as well.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16Date, difficult. I think that's early-19th, possibly 18th-century.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19It could be 1750 and a jolly nice one.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23- £1,000 to £1,500.- Oh my...
0:26:23 > 0:26:27- The other two are Japanese. - All right.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33This one is of a potter, decorator, we see a lot of.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35A man called Sobei Kinkozan.
0:26:35 > 0:26:43This little box made for the West, it's not an object that the Japanese or the Chinese would use at all.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45What it is is an incense burner.
0:26:45 > 0:26:53So you'd burn a little bit of incense in there and it would all smoke out through those holes. Date?
0:26:53 > 0:26:56That's about 1900.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58In stonkingly good condition.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01£2,000 to £3,000 on that.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04- That's my favourite.- Is it?!
0:27:04 > 0:27:08- That's cos it's the most expensive! - No!
0:27:10 > 0:27:16This is a really unusual piece of Japanese cloisonne work.
0:27:16 > 0:27:23It's on a silver body which is always a good sign.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Usually they are on a brass body and they may have
0:27:25 > 0:27:30a silver top and bottom but I think this is silver all the way through.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And...
0:27:32 > 0:27:38A mark. And very rarely do you get a mark of one of the top makers.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42This is Kyoto Namikawa.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45And Namikawa is the tops.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Date?
0:27:47 > 0:27:501900, 1910.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Glorious little object.
0:27:52 > 0:27:58That would make in the region of £2,500 to £3,500.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Oh my... That might be my favourite now.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03THEY LAUGH
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Now, that's the least. I'll have that one, then.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- Thank you very much, indeed. - Thank you.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Well, "bottoms up" is the phrase that comes to mind with all these cocktail shakers here.
0:28:18 > 0:28:24- You've got a large collection of these.- Indeed. Absolutely, something in excess of 120.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27- 120!- Indeed.- Have you used them all?
0:28:27 > 0:28:30I have, with one exception, tried all of them.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34- I like your style. You're obviously keen on a cocktail.- Indeed.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39- Which is the oldest?- The oldest one is this one. That's about 1900-1905.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Why did you start collecting cocktail shakers?
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I've had an interest in cocktails for a number of years,
0:28:45 > 0:28:50initially with a drama group that we ran in central London and cocktails
0:28:50 > 0:28:53were fairly high on the agenda.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- Higher than rehearsals? - Indeed, indeed.- Quite right!
0:28:56 > 0:28:59On the subject of cocktails, I have actually developed one for you.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01It's called Bruce's Blue.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04This is my very own cocktail, created in my honour?
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- Indeed it is.- Do you know, that's why I love working on this programme.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12It will become obvious why it's called Bruce's Blue.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Actually, it reflects your punk era.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19- Oh, when I had blue hair. - Blue hair, absolutely. Absolutely.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22That was a long time ago.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24So Bruce's Blue.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25Absolutely!
0:29:28 > 0:29:30- Chin-chin.- Be truthful about this.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Ooh, that's lovely.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37That's delicious.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Sorry, folks, definitely not for you!
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- What's in it?- It's whisky,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48blue curacao and lime juice.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50- It's nothing complex.- Oh...
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Bottoms up. Mmm...
0:29:55 > 0:30:00Ten or 15 years ago you'd have been looking at this in a skip,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02quite possibly, or in a charity shop.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Did you get that from there?
0:30:05 > 0:30:10No, I actually found it at the back of my father's garage.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12It was just covered in cobwebs.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Aw, I'm almost feeling sorry for it but you saved it.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20Yeah, my brother threatened to put it out into the skip
0:30:20 > 0:30:24which was just outside my dad's house and I couldn't have that,
0:30:24 > 0:30:26so I took it home.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28I think you did the right thing.
0:30:28 > 0:30:321950s, probably late 1950s, and it's obviously a cocktail/drinks cabinet.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35You would have your glasses displayed inside here
0:30:35 > 0:30:38and maybe some bottles of nice things to drink underneath there.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42What really interests me about this is you're looking
0:30:42 > 0:30:44at a fantastic piece that shouts the 1950s.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Starting at the bottom, you've got these splayed legs.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Very typical of the 1950s into the 1960s.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53Moving up this nice curved front
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and then this wonderful patterning on this yellow here.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59The colour itself is quite important.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01This was a new colour, a new furniture for a new generation
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and new style, post-war. Things were moving forward.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08The key to that is the 1951 Festival Of Britain.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11This was all about the world of tomorrow, today.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13Science, nuclear, atomic patterns.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16That's reflected in the patterns on here.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18If you look down here, this little star motif,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20as well as being like a star in the sky,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23it's almost like an atomic structure, too.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27These look almost like little cells, whizzing around under a microscope.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29The great thing about this is the superb condition.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33It's not worn, it's got its original panels of glass underneath.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Even its original handles, super. That's going to make it appealing.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Any piece that shouts the style of the day really has to be collectible in the future.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47If you looked at it in a shop, perhaps even here in Brighton, or in a good retro shop
0:31:47 > 0:31:53in the centre of town, you'd be maybe £150, £200. Perhaps a bit more depending on the shop.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57You seem a little disappointed.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00That's what I thought it would be, maybe 200.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04- You're absolutely spot on but the most important thing is enjoy it.- Thank you.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Thank you very much.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Is that the school tie of Brighton College?
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Is he a Brighton College schoolboy?
0:32:14 > 0:32:16- He is, yes. - All right, and who is he?
0:32:16 > 0:32:20- That was my father. - How old is he in that?
0:32:20 > 0:32:23I guess about 12 or 13, starting at the school.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28- Just at the outset. - Which I think was about 1919.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30I see, and it's by...?
0:32:30 > 0:32:34By Harry Mileham, my grandfather. So he painted his son.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36And this, this amazing painting.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39- And that, yes. - This huge, amazing painting.- Yes.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41First of all, I love the shape, don't you?
0:32:41 > 0:32:43It's a kind of letterbox shape, really.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46- Yes.- But it's very good for lots of figures.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Very like a last supper. The composition is probably based on a famous last supper.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Yes, I've heard that.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57I see from the label on the back that it's called The Pardoner's Prologue.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02- Yes. - So this is the beginning of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Is that right?
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Yes, I think it was a stop half way.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06- A stop half way. - It was the first, yes.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10I see, so these are all the people who were going to tell their tales
0:33:10 > 0:33:13and that must be the wife of Bath in the middle, surely.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15It is, with her cherry stone saying "amour".
0:33:15 > 0:33:18- Yes, which is love, of course.- Yes.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Tell me a bit more about it?
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Well, this is the Pardoner...
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- The fellow here.- This chap here.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29- He looks unpleasant. - He was an unpleasant person.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31It was his trade to sell pardons, religious pardons,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- to people who'd sinned but he'd sell them to them, was that right?- Yes.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38I think he went on about money being the root of all evil
0:33:38 > 0:33:41- which is exactly what he was. - Yes, exactly.
0:33:41 > 0:33:42- And then...- Who's this fellow?
0:33:42 > 0:33:46- That's Chaucer.- I thought it might be. That's the man himself.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48And on his right is the knight.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52- From the Knight's Tale.- This is my uncle, this little boy here.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55- Your father's brother?- His brother, who also went to Brighton College.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57- OK.- And I think that's him again.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01Well, it's an extraordinary mixture of colours. Very bright.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03It's like a piece of stained glass.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06We've got a signature and a date of 1924.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11It's an interesting time in British art generally because it's just after the first war
0:34:11 > 0:34:13and a lot of artists were going completely modern -
0:34:13 > 0:34:16goodbye to all that, reject all the Victorian values.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21This one stayed firmly in British history for his subject, didn't he?
0:34:21 > 0:34:24- Yes, he did.- I have a feeling he might be one of those artists
0:34:24 > 0:34:28who's been slightly passed by, by fashion that dictates these things.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31I absolutely agree.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35It's painted meticulously. He must have been a hard worker.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39- Did you know him, did you ever watch him paint?- No, no... I saw him...
0:34:39 > 0:34:42He was an old man when I was young.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45I think I was about eight when he died.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50I remember him working in his studio which was at the bottom of the garden.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53In those days he was just doing stained glass.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57- He made stained glass? How interesting.- There's quite a bit in local churches.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02But it remains a marvellously decorative thing, I think.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06And it's rather a long time since I read my Chaucer.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09I can't exactly remember all the stories.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13But I would have fun remembering them through this picture.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16They're all there, actually, if you do.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21I think it's worth about £8,000 to £12,000 now.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Right ... Well, thank you very much.
0:35:24 > 0:35:25Thank you.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30He's lovely, isn't he? The nicest lion that I've seen.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35I bought him two years ago at an antique shop near Guildford and it cost me £5.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Excellent. What do you know about it?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40I just liked its face and I thought it looked old
0:35:40 > 0:35:45and kind of hope that it is old. I'm not sure if it's a reproduction.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48Sure, they do reproduce these.
0:35:48 > 0:35:54He isn't a reproduction. I think the face is beautifully done.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57It's hard to say where it's from. I think it's Scandinavian.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00The lion features heavily in Scandinavian iconography.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04- I think it's 17th, if not 16th century.- Wow, fantastic.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07And, actually, it looks to me - and it's hard to say -
0:36:07 > 0:36:10but it's actually a mount or a foot of a piece of furniture.
0:36:10 > 0:36:16It's made of bronze. So, you say £5...
0:36:16 > 0:36:20- Bought in an antique shop two years ago?- Yes.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24I don't think I would've paid £5 for it.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26I would have had to pay £1,500 for it.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Wow! Wow!
0:36:30 > 0:36:33- Gosh. - Slightly better than...- Good grief.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35That is... Wow, that's amazing.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39- Pretty good, eh?- Wow.- It's the nicest thing I've seen today.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47Well, I've not seen a table cabinet on the Antiques Roadshow
0:36:47 > 0:36:49for five or six years and now I have two.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52They're both totally different in construction and decoration.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56This one, probably south German, could be Scandinavian.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Not quite sure, difficult to determine,
0:36:58 > 0:37:00but painted biblical scenes,
0:37:00 > 0:37:05architectural columns and, without doubt, 17th century.
0:37:05 > 0:37:091670 to the end of the century.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11And this one, totally different.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14But we know precisely where it came from.
0:37:14 > 0:37:20This is Spanish and this could be any time between 1710-1720 and 1750.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23I'm relying on you now to tell me a bit more about it.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28Yes, it came from my ex-partner's family estate in northern Spain.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31And I inherited it when he died.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Right. And it was a Spanish family?
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Yes, an old Spanish family.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Right. This, at first glance, is a table cabinet.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43On the other hand, the feet are not original.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48It looks very much like the centre part of the interior
0:37:48 > 0:37:52of a Bargueno, which is a drop-down writing cabinet.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56This could be the part that slotted in.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Particularly with this architectural cabinet here.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04This traditionally was where the great man would keep
0:38:04 > 0:38:08his secrets to show his new cabinet friends, as they were called.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Let's have a look at the construction.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15Basically, this is an early use of tortoiseshell or turtle shell
0:38:15 > 0:38:21as it should be called and brass inlay with walnut around it.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24This was a natural tortoiseshell which is given the colour
0:38:24 > 0:38:28by a background of red which shines through.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31It was a sort of equivalent, if you like,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35of brass and tortoiseshell veneers, and marquetry,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39which was boullework, which was going on at round about the same time.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Does it have pride of place indoors?
0:38:41 > 0:38:48Not really. I have a fairly modern house with modern paintings and stuff in it. It's in my bedroom.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52It's quite dramatic though, if you have one dramatic item on its own,
0:38:52 > 0:38:54rather than a cluttered look of antiquity.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59So, Spanish, difficult to say which part of Spain it came from.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04Today's value, probably in the region of between £3,500-£4,500.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Just a fascinating thing and thank you.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08Thank you very much.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14At every Roadshow, I long for someone
0:39:14 > 0:39:19to bring in something related to the most famous sea battle of all time,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21the Battle of Trafalgar.
0:39:21 > 0:39:27And you've brought in this naval general service medal, with a Trafalgar clasp.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Now where did it come from?
0:39:29 > 0:39:36My great-great-great-grandfather was Admiral Spencer Smythe
0:39:36 > 0:39:40who's shown in the picture there and he was a midshipman.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44He joined the Navy when he was 11.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47At the Battle of Trafalgar, he was 13 years old.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52- He didn't serve on Victory? - No, he didn't. On HMS Defiance.- OK.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54On the edge of the medal
0:39:54 > 0:40:01is impressed his name, Spencer Smythe, midshipman.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03These are very rare medals.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06But I can't believe that you've actually got a picture
0:40:06 > 0:40:10of the person who was the midshipman at the Battle of Trafalgar,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13while all the wood splinters were smashing around you
0:40:13 > 0:40:16and the cannonballs were coming through the side of the ship.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21A horrendous scene of carnage and blood.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24But this portrait here, when do you think that this was taken?
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Well, we're not certain.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31Obviously they're all very elderly gentleman and there's only a few of them left.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34They're all wearing their medals.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I would imagine when he was in his 70s.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39So this is that medal there, is it?
0:40:39 > 0:40:41- That he's wearing on his breast? - Yes.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43The very medal that I'm holding in my hand.
0:40:43 > 0:40:49Do you know, I think the last time that I saw one of these naval general service medals
0:40:49 > 0:40:53with a Trafalgar clasp has got to be at least two or three years ago.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55They're so rare with the Trafalgar clasp.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57You've also brought this watercolour in.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Tell me about the watercolour.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04It was painted by my great-great- great grandfather after the battle,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06some years after the battle,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09I would imagine just from memory. We've got two of them.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11- You've got a pair?- Yes, a pair.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13OK.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Well, certainly
0:41:15 > 0:41:18this clasp alone with this medal
0:41:18 > 0:41:21fetches quite a considerable sum.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23It's pushing on to £5,000.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25I think with the print here,
0:41:25 > 0:41:30with the pair of watercolours which are beautifully executed,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34I think we would be talking about
0:41:34 > 0:41:35an auction value...
0:41:35 > 0:41:39of between £8,000 and £10,000.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43Goodness me. Thank you very much.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49So how did this splash of colour come into your life?
0:41:49 > 0:41:54When I bought a house 25 years ago, it was left in the house.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- This was left in the house?- Yes.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Right, well, that was quite something to leave in a house.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05Have you reflected on what it might be that was left in the house?
0:42:05 > 0:42:09I've no idea what it is, actually. I know...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Because it's by Henry Miller...
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Because it's signed in the bottom right-hand corner.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19We've looked it up on the computer and there are similar paintings of his.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21That's as much as I know about it.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24This watercolour, with washes, heightened with body colour,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29is signed and dated in the bottom right-hand corner, Henry Miller.
0:42:29 > 0:42:301955.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33You haven't just got an interesting picture here.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36You've got a painting by a celebrated writer -
0:42:36 > 0:42:39one of the great celebrated writers of the 20th century.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Henry Miller was also a bit of a shocker.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47He wrote a book called Tropic Of Cancer, which was the equivalent
0:42:47 > 0:42:52of Lady Chatterley's Lover, which was banned because of its sexual heat.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57And later on he was feted - George Orwell and others called him
0:42:57 > 0:43:00one of the greatest writers of our times.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03But then he turned into a painter as well.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05This man had no end of talents.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09What you've got here, in a complex, colourful way,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13is a writer expressing himself in another medium.
0:43:13 > 0:43:19- I mean, if all writers could paint like this there'd be an awful lot of interesting pictures.- Yes.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Have you thought what it might be worth?
0:43:21 > 0:43:22Absolutely no idea.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25It was a very generous little house-warming present.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27It's worth £2,000.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Really? Fantastic.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31I never expected that.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Well done. Thank you very much.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50In this series, I'm asking our experts which items did they see
0:43:50 > 0:43:54most often, what's brought the most often on to the Roadshow?
0:43:54 > 0:43:59And which item would they most like to see, that they really fantasise about finding?
0:43:59 > 0:44:01John Bligh, you're our longest standing
0:44:01 > 0:44:03- furniture expert.- Still standing.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06I'm assuming that you would most like to see some kind of furniture?
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Well, yes. And I was trying to think and I
0:44:09 > 0:44:12think honestly it has to be the bow-front chest of drawers.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16Clearly we don't have one here. I guess it's rather difficult to cart it along!
0:44:16 > 0:44:18It's a different story with furniture. Not as easy to bring.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22Basically, they bring photographs, like this.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26That actually is the most popular, the commonest.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Now we have to remember that this is the standard form.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33Too short, three long drawers. Fairly deep, commodious indeed.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36They were made in huge numbers throughout the 19th century.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Believe it, these things, although they're 150 years old,
0:44:40 > 0:44:44probably £100, £150, and it's a fine, it's a good antique.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Drat! I knew you were going to say that
0:44:46 > 0:44:49because I've got one like this and I paid more than that!
0:44:49 > 0:44:54- And they're terribly commonplace? - I'm afraid so, but the market goes up and down.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56- So this is the kind of thing you see most often?- Absolutely.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00I will have four or five photographs of chest of drawers like that.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03Either straight front or bow-front in every programme.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08What would you most like to see? Presumably something French, ornate, a bit of Chippendale perhaps?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Well, it's always nice to find something one can
0:45:11 > 0:45:16have an attribution for, either a maker or a particular house or area.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20And here, of course, probably one of my favourite places in England,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24is Brighton's showpiece, which is the Royal Pavilion.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29And there, the Prince's architect and designer and interior decorator, was Henry Holland,
0:45:29 > 0:45:33who liked French furniture, modern French, Greco-Roman and Chinese,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36or Oriental, and it's the Chinese that gets me.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40I just find it fascinating that they were importing flat-pack tables and chairs.
0:45:40 > 0:45:46Flat-pack furniture? I assumed that was a modern mass-produced phenomenon that we have these days?
0:45:46 > 0:45:51No, it was that, really, that caught the imagination of Henry Holland,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53and it was 1802, 1804,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56that the Prince started to redecorate the inside,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59and it took probably the next 20 years.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Sadly, after which, he only visited twice.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06The great hedonistic days of the pavilion were when he was Prince Regent.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09He spent all that money on it and only visited twice?
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Oh, God, yes. After 1822.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Up to then, he nearly lived here.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15Is it then because it's so delicate
0:46:15 > 0:46:18that there's so little of this furniture left?
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Up to a point, but also, when he died in 1830,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25the place was closed up and Queen Victoria, particularly,
0:46:25 > 0:46:30- was slightly embarrassed at what had gone on here.- It was all a bit hedonistic for her?- It was too much.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33And it was closed, and they took a lot of the things out
0:46:33 > 0:46:35and put them into the royal palaces.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38And that's when a lot of things disappeared,
0:46:38 > 0:46:42and that's why we always think there's a possibility, and actually
0:46:42 > 0:46:46that's the excitement, of finding something that can be traced
0:46:46 > 0:46:48to one of Crace's drawings like this.
0:46:48 > 0:46:49I was in New York recently
0:46:49 > 0:46:52and there was a pair to that table in New York.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56If I'd got any money I'd buy it. It's actually 85,000, which is not
0:46:56 > 0:47:02a huge amount of money, but it's a lot for a table that collapses.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06If we could say it came out of Brighton Pavilion, anywhere
0:47:06 > 0:47:09- with a definite attribution, you can treble that or quadruple it.- Really?
0:47:09 > 0:47:13Oh, yes. That's the great turn-on. It's so exciting.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Any of you can oblige?
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Yes, well, it hasn't walked in so far.
0:47:18 > 0:47:19No, there's the rest of the day.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Yes, there's the rest of the day, as you say.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27And, if you have any of this furniture that would quicken the pulse of John Bligh here,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31do please bring it in or contact us, and you can find us at our website.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Some people are going to look at the screen and say,
0:47:43 > 0:47:44"Oh, no, here he comes again,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47"Will Farmer with yet another piece of Clarice Cliff."
0:47:47 > 0:47:50But, in my defence, there is Clarice Cliff
0:47:50 > 0:47:52and then there is Clarice Cliff.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Shall we say the best and then the rest?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58And, for me, what we're looking at is by far the best.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59I'm glad to hear that.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Tell me a little bit about it from your side.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03About 50 years ago I was at an auction.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07I bought a big box of stuff, china, etc. That was in the box.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09I paid the equivalent of about 20p.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12- 20p?- Took it home, kept it in my apartment for a couple
0:48:12 > 0:48:17of years until I went to America, and my mother said, I love your vase.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20I said, Ma, you can have it. Gave it to my mother.
0:48:20 > 0:48:26Came back 20 years later and she went to the Brighton Museum and she saw
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Clarice Cliff in Brighton Museum, thought it might be worth something.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32She had it valued about 15 years ago,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34and I think it was about 1,200, 1,500,
0:48:34 > 0:48:36which I thought was a little high.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38But she said she didn't want to sell it.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Let's see what more I can tell you about it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43It sounds like mum's a bit of a detective, to have gone to Brighton
0:48:43 > 0:48:45and seen Clarice Cliff in Brighton
0:48:45 > 0:48:48she will have gone to the first ever exhibition of Clarice Cliff's wares.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53- It might have been. - But what we are looking at is a pattern that's called sliced circle.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55The design was created in 1929.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59It sometimes does overlap into 1930.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02- And today it really does tick all the boxes.- Oh, good, I'm glad.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04So you paid, just remind me?
0:49:04 > 0:49:05It was three and six
0:49:05 > 0:49:08in those days, just under 20p.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11- For the whole box of other stuff as well.- And we'd like to see a profit.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15- Yeah.- Something was muted around 1,200 a few years ago?
0:49:15 > 0:49:19- Yeah.- Well, I'll happily give you the 1,200. Is that all right?
0:49:19 > 0:49:21- No.- No, OK. You're quite right,
0:49:21 > 0:49:25cos if I gave you £1,200 I would be quite seriously short-changing you.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28- Really?- Let's be dead straight and cut to the chase and say that you
0:49:28 > 0:49:32would struggle to replace this vase for much less than £5,000 to £6,000.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Really? Very nice. My mother's going to be really happy to hear that. Excellent.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Do you know this is a bit of a clonky old candlestick,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41isn't it? What's happened to it?
0:49:41 > 0:49:43It's all bent. It's got cracks
0:49:43 > 0:49:45in the top and it's very worn out.
0:49:45 > 0:49:46Why's it so worn out?
0:49:49 > 0:49:55My granddad dug it up in the back garden of my dad's holiday house.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57He dug it up in the back garden?
0:49:57 > 0:50:00It's quite old you know. Look at it, look at the way it's made.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Did you ever notice it's got a line down the side there?
0:50:04 > 0:50:06- No.- Well this candlestick is made in two halves
0:50:06 > 0:50:09and the two halves are then fitted together.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Now that tells me something about it.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Also on the bottom, which is quite unusual for this type of candlestick, there's some initials.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18GMD.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Now, I don't have any idea what those initials stand for.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25But one thing I will say to you
0:50:25 > 0:50:29is that this candlestick is 250 years old.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Can you believe that?
0:50:31 > 0:50:33- No. Not really.- 250 years old.
0:50:33 > 0:50:39When your granddad was digging in the garden, he dug up one of a pair of Georgian candlesticks.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43So this was made around in about 1765 to 1770.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Now, what do you think would make this more valuable?
0:50:48 > 0:50:50Er, maybe a bit of polish.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Maybe bit of polish, yes. But how about the other candlestick?
0:50:55 > 0:51:00- Do you fancy going to dig up the other one?- No.
0:51:00 > 0:51:08- A pair of Georgian candlesticks like this would probably be worth around about £300 at auction.- Wow!
0:51:08 > 0:51:13But one on it own is worth a little bit less than half than that, given that it has some damage.
0:51:13 > 0:51:20- Anyway, it's fabulous and it's very old, and maybe you should give it a little polish, eh?- Yes.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Now, you have brought along this beautiful car mascot.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31But what happened to the beautiful car that she once sat on?
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Well, it wasn't sitting on a car when we bought it.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36We acquired it like that.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40But we had a collection of vintage and veteran and sports racing cars,
0:51:40 > 0:51:45including a Silver Ghost Rolls, and my husband thought that she was
0:51:45 > 0:51:51so similar to the lady on the Silver Ghost Rolls that she might have been a prototype of an earlier mascot.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Obviously, you and he had great eye, because you're absolutely right,
0:51:55 > 0:52:00this mascot is made by the same sculptor, Charles Sykes.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02He made the famous Flying Lady.
0:52:02 > 0:52:09But what is little known he also made this lady, and she's actually called Mystery.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14Now, Rolls-Royce were thinking about producing a car and going to call it
0:52:14 > 0:52:20Mystery, and this was going to be the mascot that sat on top of that particular radiator cap.
0:52:20 > 0:52:25However, that project got scrapped and also the design of this didn't really work.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Because as you were going along and it rained,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31the rain must have actually got caught in her drapes there.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36So they produced a prototype, and I have to say,
0:52:36 > 0:52:41in all my years of looking at mascots and classic cars,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44this is only the second one I've ever seen.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46So extraordinarily rare.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50My husband always intended to try and find out more about it, perhaps when he retired.
0:52:50 > 0:52:55Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to do that.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58But did you have the same interest in cars as he?
0:52:58 > 0:53:03Well, yes, because my brother and my father were both interested in cars and motorbikes,
0:53:03 > 0:53:09and my brother advertised the vintage Bentley that he had bought and decided to sell and buy another one.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13And my husband was 21, and it was advertised in Motor Sport,
0:53:13 > 0:53:17so we met through an advert in Motor Sport - my husband came and bought it.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20So buying the Bentley, he met you.
0:53:20 > 0:53:21- He met me.- Fell in love.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Well... My brother always...
0:53:24 > 0:53:29- Or did he fall in love with the Bentley?- My brother always said he had to marry me to get the spares!
0:53:29 > 0:53:34So I had to endure that when I was young, you know what brothers are like.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40Well, I'm envious of all your cars and I'm very envious of this mascot,
0:53:40 > 0:53:45because she is not only a beautiful mascot, but extraordinarily rare.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48And as I said, only two are known.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53One turned up in America and it made in excess of 20,000.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56But that was a signed one, Charles Sykes. This isn't signed.
0:53:56 > 0:54:03So I think here in the UK, if she was sold, it would be more like £5,000 to £7,000. But...
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Lovely. We're going to keep it.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08I'm delighted. All you need now is a car to put it back on.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Well, true. I've got a Bentley still.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17- Do you have any French connections in your family?- No, none at all.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21So can I inquire how you actually came by this, which is a very French clock?
0:54:21 > 0:54:24It was a gift to my father from his employer.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28- I would say 35 to 40 years ago.- And it's just sat around in the hall.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32Just sat indoors on a little table.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Well, it's called an annular clock or a circle tournant,
0:54:36 > 0:54:39because of the two horizontal chapterings
0:54:39 > 0:54:42which actually turn on a horizontal basis.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46So it is a turning circle, or an annular because of the circular chaptering.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49And it's a particularly good one.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54It does have a name, which is going to be extremely difficult to see, because it's buried.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55But I managed to have a quick look.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59It is signed by a maker called Lechopie a Paris,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02which is engraved in rather fine script along the bottom.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And there were three or Lechopies.
0:55:05 > 0:55:10One particular one called Adam, who was Adam Lechopie, was working
0:55:10 > 0:55:14until 1789, and I reckon that absolutely pins the clock to him.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17It's the third quarter of the 18th century.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20And it is absolutely a staggering piece of work.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24Because the quality of chasing, the bronze the gilding which is
0:55:24 > 0:55:29in very fine condition, clearly it's never been cleaned since you had it.
0:55:29 > 0:55:34And the inlaying of the marble into the panels of the side doors is exceptional.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37One interesting point I would like to show you is,
0:55:37 > 0:55:43- if you look at the case, can you see a thin line running down there?- Yes.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46And down there. The same line is repeated on the back.
0:55:46 > 0:55:54So to make the case, they basically cast two halves, two pieces, identical and then they soldered
0:55:54 > 0:56:01them, or welded them, in the fashion of day, soldered them together, and after which, the "sizzler",
0:56:01 > 0:56:05the chaser, would have gone over and covered every detail and put all this in.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09This would have been cast in sand, so it's a rough piece of work at the time.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13The reason you can see those lines is because, in the soldering process,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17they used to use arsenic, and it just bled through.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20If the clock was cleaned, it would disappear again.
0:56:20 > 0:56:26If we look at what effectively is the front of the clock, because here is where the hours are read,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30we've got a door that opens, and that's how you get in to wind the movement.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Basically, it is a standard clock movement, made to fit in here
0:56:34 > 0:56:36by using a right-angled bevel gear.
0:56:36 > 0:56:42They shoot the power up to the top, and there's a couple of wheels in here that turn this.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45So you've actually managed to drive from the vertical movement
0:56:45 > 0:56:49to a horizontal plate, and it's easy to see. Striking on the hour.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55It is a stunning piece. I have been thinking about the value. Have you ever had it sort of valued?
0:56:55 > 0:57:00No, a few years ago, a gentleman offered my dad...he just said 4,000.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04That's not a bad bid, was it?
0:57:04 > 0:57:08It was a long time ago. But I don't know what it is now.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12Well, I have been struggling between the two and I'm going to go in the middle of what I thought.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15- I reckon we're probably looking at 12,500.- Oh!
0:57:15 > 0:57:16God!
0:57:19 > 0:57:22It's a good thing he didn't accept it.
0:57:22 > 0:57:23Goodness!
0:57:23 > 0:57:28- Ooh!- Very nice piece. Thank you. - Thank you, thank you very much.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35We have been bathed in glorious sunshine all day here at Brighton College,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and lots of old boys from the college have turned up,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40and one of greatest old boys of all has turned up -
0:57:40 > 0:57:43our Antiques Roadshow old schoolboy Michael Aspel!
0:57:43 > 0:57:46- How nice to see you!- Well, thank you. And you. Isn't this glorious?
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Were you just paying a social call or did you bring something along?
0:57:49 > 0:57:53Both, really. I just wandered past and heard people enjoying themselves and I thought I'd pop in.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57But I did bring an object, which was given to me
0:57:57 > 0:58:00on a very special birthday about 30 years ago,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03and I asked... They said, what would you like? And I said a telescope.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Because I wanted to study the heavens, and they had these great things on tripods, and I got this.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Which is very nice.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11But not quite what you were expecting?
0:58:11 > 0:58:16No, but I consulted an expert, and it's just what I thought - sort of 1820, worth 150 quid.
0:58:16 > 0:58:18Belonged to a midshipman. Story of my life. I see no ships!
0:58:18 > 0:58:21I can't believe you've waited this long to bring
0:58:21 > 0:58:23something along when you worked on the programme for such a long time.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25Well, I felt shy about it, really.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27I didn't want to embarrass them.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30- Now that I'm not working on it, I can do what I like!- Exactly!
0:58:30 > 0:58:37- Well, on that note, from Brighton College and the Antiques Roadshow, until next time, bye-bye.- Bye.
0:58:45 > 0:58:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:49 > 0:58:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk