0:00:04 > 0:00:08This week we follow the River Avon four miles upstream from Stratford
0:00:08 > 0:00:11to visit a home that's been owned by the Lucy family
0:00:11 > 0:00:13since the 12th century.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18The Victorian owners of Charlecote Park brought treasures from every corner of the world
0:00:18 > 0:00:21to decorate their home.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24So, I think they'd rather approve of our visitors bringing their own antiques here today.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29And with crowds like this, it looks like we're in for a busy day.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from Warwickshire.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22You must admit, we choose some exquisite locations
0:01:22 > 0:01:23as our Roadshow backdrops!
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Just look at this Elizabethan manor,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29nestling in a beautiful parkland setting.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31What's not to like about a place like this?
0:01:31 > 0:01:35When George Hammond Lucy brought his new wife, Mary Elizabeth,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38here to Charlecote Park in 1823, she was not impressed.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42She confided to her diary that the windowpanes rattled
0:01:42 > 0:01:47with every gust of wind and that it was cold, so cold.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51So, they set about giving the house a major revamp.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54The couple were keen to make their old-fashioned,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57draughty house more comfortable.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00But instead of giving it a modern makeover, they turned the clock back
0:02:00 > 0:02:05300 years and revamped it to look more Elizabethan...
0:02:08 > 0:02:11..even adding this fake barrel-vaulted ceiling
0:02:11 > 0:02:13in the Great Hall,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16which is painted plaster instead of timber.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21George and Mary Elizabeth then went off on two Grand Tours in the 1840s
0:02:21 > 0:02:24bringing back magnificent furniture
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and exotic decorative objects, like this huge alabaster vase -
0:02:28 > 0:02:32not exactly the most practical thing to put in your suitcase!
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Sitting alongside 500 years of family portraits,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40their newly-acquired belongings at last made a home to be proud of.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Today we're welcoming guests,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47courtesy of the modern-day Lucy family
0:02:47 > 0:02:50who, along with the National Trust, have rolled out the red carpet.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Let's see what other family gems await us we join our experts.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Unless I'm mistaken, we have a piece of Royal gold
0:03:01 > 0:03:04in front of us, don't we? Tell me about it.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07It belonged to my husband's great-grandfather.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08He was a hairdresser
0:03:08 > 0:03:09to King Edward VII
0:03:09 > 0:03:11when he was Prince of Wales
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and he travelled on his journeys abroad.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19And one day the Prince had asked his hairdresser to cut his hair
0:03:19 > 0:03:22on a Sunday and he refused to do this, on the basis that
0:03:22 > 0:03:26he was a very principled man and said that Sundays are sacred
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and therefore, "No, I will not cut your hair."
0:03:28 > 0:03:32However, he was surprised to be called the following day
0:03:32 > 0:03:33and the Prince agreed
0:03:33 > 0:03:37that it was a very good thing that he had said what he had said,
0:03:37 > 0:03:38and he took the pin out of his lapel
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and handed it to his hairdresser.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Fantastic story, isn't it?
0:03:43 > 0:03:47And your husband's ancestor had refused to cut,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50not only the hair of a Prince of Wales, but also a future Emperor,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52so it's rather smart
0:03:52 > 0:03:54to turn an Emperor down, isn't it? Absolutely, yes.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58And an Emperor of India, which may be a hint of what's going on here
0:03:58 > 0:04:01because we can see that this is supplied by a firm in Madras
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and it's more than likely that this
0:04:04 > 0:04:07was presented during his visit to India.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Yes. We know it's the Prince of Wales,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11because here are the three feathers
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and the little legend underneath that says "Ich dien",
0:04:14 > 0:04:18which means "I serve" - strange, as it should be the hairdresser
0:04:18 > 0:04:19serving the Prince of Wales!
0:04:19 > 0:04:23The Prince of Wales. "I serve" is the present Prince of Wales' cipher
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and it's bound with this mysterious snake.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Have you thought about the snake at all? No idea, no.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31I haven't even thought about it. No.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Well, the snake biting its tail, which effectively this is,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37is a very ancient symbol called the ouroborus,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39the eternally renewing circle,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43and it's an emblem of eternal affection, or eternal regard.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Oh, yes. So, it was obviously a very thing to receive from the Prince.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48The only issue I'd have about the story
0:04:48 > 0:04:50is that it's highly unlikely
0:04:50 > 0:04:53that the Prince would be wearing his own cipher on his own pin.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56This is a very typical Royal presentation piece,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58set with a little emerald in the front.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00But, it's a fantastic story, isn't it?
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And beautiful in its wonderful fitted case.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Yes. I think Edward VII's a much more popular sovereign
0:05:07 > 0:05:10than might at first be imagined.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12People are very interested in his history
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and something very much from his heart would carry quite a premium.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And I think anybody who had the chance of buying this,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and they don't have any chance... No.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22..would be quite pleased to give you
0:05:22 > 0:05:24maybe ?800 and maybe ?1,000, why not?
0:05:24 > 0:05:28A lovely thing. Thank you very much. Thank you very much indeed.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33The first question I'd like to ask is
0:05:33 > 0:05:36what is a Polish picture doing in the Midlands?
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Well, my great-great-grandfather bought it in the 1920s
0:05:41 > 0:05:46in New York and he landed there in the 1880s, 1890s from Poland.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49From Poland. Yeah. So, why did he leave Poland in the 19th century?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Polish Jew. Right.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Being Jewish and Polish at that time wasn't particularly a good thing,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00so he left for Ellis Island to find a better life.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Poor chap. But he found a better life in America?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Yeah, he ended up being a paper-mill owner. Very good.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I guess he must have done quite well for himself and decided...
0:06:08 > 0:06:10He was feeling nostalgic.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Yeah, exactly.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Upset and homesick.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16All those tall buildings of New York,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19he probably fancied a bit of Poland back on the wall.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21So, he bought this rather beautiful picture.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25It's interesting because it's by an artist that is quite well known,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Wywiorski. OK.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30As it clearly says on this label, but it's beautifully signed here.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35And "MG". Do you know what the MG? No. Mikhail Gorstkin. But curiously,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37it says underneath that,
0:06:37 > 0:06:38"Munchen 85".
0:06:38 > 0:06:44Now, all good painters went off to Germany to perhaps hone their skills
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and just get a bit slicker
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and neater and tidier and they did it beautifully.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54And, I suppose, the best schools at the time were in Germany,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57so any artist worth his salt, especially from Poland,
0:06:57 > 0:07:02went off to Munich to really train up, and so in 1885 this was painted.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Even though it says "Munchen" here, it's not necessarily painted in Munich. We don't know.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10But they put that as a sort of a stamp, like a sort of degree almost.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Yes. It showed that he was international
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and he was a good artist.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Look at it, it's fantastic quality, isn't it?
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Yeah, it's beautiful. Absolutely fantastic.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23It seems to me, it sort of portrays a slightly sort of warlike image here
0:07:23 > 0:07:26of the mighty Polish army.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Now, the great question is, what about a valuation?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Have you had it valued? No, not at all.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It's got a great, very grand frame.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Yeah. Which is typical of sort of Victoriana.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41But I would have thought it was worth between sort of ?5,000 and ?7,000.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Blimey. Wow. Any good? Yeah, I won't tell my dad.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48He's over in Vegas at the moment, so he might get a bit excited
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and go and blow the money!
0:07:51 > 0:07:53I think that's wonderful.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Don't tell him, otherwise he'll spend it all on the slot machines.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58He doesn't know we're here, so...
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Now, when most people buy a new living room suite,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07they tend to buy new these days,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09but you've brought Granny's sofa with you.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Thank you. I absolutely adore this.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I'm a huge fan of Art Deco, so as soon as I saw this,
0:08:15 > 0:08:16I just had to have it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20It probably didn't arrive in your house. How did you get it there?
0:08:20 > 0:08:23It was on an online auction site and the reserve on it
0:08:23 > 0:08:27was rather high, and I just loved the look of it,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29I just fell in love with it,
0:08:29 > 0:08:34I thought, "I've got to get this out of my system, even if I didn't get it." I put a ?15 bid on it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Two days later I got a rather disgruntled e-mail saying,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39"Please collect from me within two days, I'm moving",
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and I got it for ?15.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Really? Yeah. That's astonishing,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46but it couldn't have gone to a better home, really,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49because you are the epitome of sort of vintage elegance.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Thank you. You're dressed in '40s and we're looking at something
0:08:53 > 0:08:5710 years earlier, a 1930s suite, but it's gone to a great home,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00you're obviously passionate about previous eras.
0:09:00 > 0:09:07Hugely passionate. My little cottage is just full of 1930s, a bit of Art Deco, 1940s,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11World War II memorabilia and a bit of '50s stuffed in there, as well.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16But my passion is the '30s and '40s, so it goes beautifully, yeah.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19What I love about this is it is so of its time.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23I mean, just sitting back in here you feel like you are...
0:09:23 > 0:09:25at an Odeon Cinema, which of course...
0:09:25 > 0:09:28It kind of reclines and it's got that elegance of the cruise ships
0:09:28 > 0:09:31that I love - this streamlined elegance.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Streamlined, and here, I mean, just underneath you here when we get up,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38it's that curve. Oh, it's gorgeous.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41It's the curve of every bay window
0:09:41 > 0:09:45in a new suburban house in the '30s and it is emulated here.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48And, interestingly, I had a little peek earlier and underneath,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52it's got this rather darker blue colour.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58Yeah, actually, I think it used to be a very dark blue at some point.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00And the reason it's faded, of course,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03is that those 1930s living rooms were suntraps
0:10:03 > 0:10:06and Crittall windows were all about suntrap windows,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08they let in the light.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13So, out went all the old kind of dark oak, turned Elizabethan style legs,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15and in came moderne style,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18of which this is the epitome, really.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22I adore it, I think it's fabulous. There's a chair we haven't got here.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25That's right, it's two chairs and the two-seater sofa.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26So you've got a complete suite.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30And I think that it's considerably more exciting in terms of value
0:10:30 > 0:10:32than the ?15 you paid for it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39I think that anyone who potentially decided to steal it away from you,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41if they could get a look in,
0:10:41 > 0:10:46I think you're looking at a suite probably worth about nearly ?800.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47You're kidding me!
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Really?! Yes.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55My parents are going to be so angry because they HATE this!
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Oh, that's made my day, thank you very much.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00It's stunning. It's comfortable.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04It's comfortable and cosy. It is. It's just getting up off it.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07You need a cup of tea to figure out your way off it again,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10because you can flail around a little bit,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12but it's nice reclining, isn't it? Yeah.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Let's watch the pictures!
0:11:15 > 0:11:18MUSIC: In The Mood by Glenn Miller
0:11:26 > 0:11:28It's an unusual watch
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and I've a feeling we've got an unusual history behind it.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Who wants to speak first?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Well, I'll let Isabella speak first
0:11:34 > 0:11:37because she knows more of the background of the family,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39and I will tell you how I came by it.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41And this is grandfather's watch.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44My father was a pilot in the war
0:11:44 > 0:11:46for the Polish Air Force
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and finished up in a POW camp in Romania,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53just by Constanza, where he met my mother,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58who had been taken from her family to be a cook in a POW camp.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01So, she was Romanian? Well, she was born in Romania.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Ah, OK. And when the war was over, my parents were displaced persons...
0:12:06 > 0:12:10our parents were displaced persons, couldn't go back to their countries
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and, very fortunately, England gave them a home.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So you went to Poland about 20-odd years ago.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Yes, 25 years ago I decided I wanted, I needed, to go
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and have a look and see what was going on.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27There was a far distant relation there and she took me
0:12:27 > 0:12:29to see Great-Great-Aunt Anushka,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34which was a very lovely old lady who was in charge of this watch.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39She had actually rescued it from the house prior to the Germans,
0:12:39 > 0:12:40or the Russians,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44marching over and taking all the possessions and she'd hid it.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47She'd wrapped it up beautifully in some cloth
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and then buried it in a deep bucket of yellow flour.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54And that's about it, I know nothing more about it.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's a great story. A lovely story.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Fantastic. We have a photograph
0:12:58 > 0:13:00of Grandfather. I have a photograph of my grandfather.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Would you like to see it? Yes.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Let's have a look.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Isn't that great?
0:13:06 > 0:13:07And the fob is hidden by his coat.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10That's right, and that's my grandmother.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Very beautiful. She is, isn't she? Absolutely beautiful.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Who's that? Our father.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Love the haircut. I know!
0:13:17 > 0:13:19What a tremendous story. Yes.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20Not sure I can beat that -
0:13:20 > 0:13:23telling you about the watch is... Tell us about the watch!
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I'll tell you about the watch. Can I hand you that? Of course you can.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30The watch is Swiss and it's a hunter watch, a hunter-case watch
0:13:30 > 0:13:34so called because it has this cover over the top of the dial.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38But what is unusual about the watch is the complexity of the movement
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and it shows on the dial,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43the day and the date and the month
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and also the phases of the moon,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48and also the seconds and the hours
0:13:48 > 0:13:52and the minutes in an 18-carat case, made around 1920.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54It's very beautiful.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58At auction, it would fetch between ?600 and ?800.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Good Lord! And possibly more.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Love it and treasure it.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08I think it's fairly well known that I'm a glass nutter.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12I can't help myself. If I'm driving around the country...
0:14:12 > 0:14:13I was driving up here yesterday,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17there's not a charity shop I didn't stop in. Screech! Another one!
0:14:17 > 0:14:22And whether it be a boot fair, antique shop, antique centre, I can't help myself.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25And what I really like about this is your story which is about your dad.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29He was a similar, kindred spirit to mine, I think. He was, yes.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33He used to travel to work with a briefcase walking past antique shops
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and on the way home he often popped into them
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and he used to get home with my mum and open the briefcase
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and pull something out and she used to say,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"Oh, no, not again", or sometimes, "Oh, wonderful!"
0:14:44 > 0:14:47And this is something that he pulled out of the bag one day.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Well, I think that's a jolly nice thing to pull out of the bag. It's a really pretty thing.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56It was made not far from here, in Stourbridge, by John Walsh Walsh.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00His name was John Walsh, but he didn't think that was wacky enough,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03so he changed his name by deed poll to John Walsh Walsh.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And the way you make this is you've got cobalt oxide,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09this is pre-Lalique, remember?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Laliquesque, isn't it? But this probably dates from about 1900,
0:15:13 > 0:15:161910, which is way before Lalique.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20And you blow this into a mould that is impressed with the pattern.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23You then take it out of that mould
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and re-blow it in a smooth mould,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28then you reheat it and what happens
0:15:28 > 0:15:34is that act brings on the opalescence in this.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Right. It's called the brocade pattern
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and you can see that that's really logical that it should be.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43And I think it's jolly nice. Do you like it? I love it. But the imperfections in it,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45would they have been in the manufacture?
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Oh, absolutely. I mean, the day this was made,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50it looked identical to the way it is now.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55It hasn't changed one iota, very pretty. And its value,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57?400 to ?500.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58That's wonderful!
0:15:58 > 0:16:01My father would have been delighted, thank you very much indeed.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Well, I've always believed
0:16:05 > 0:16:07that good design is good design.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11It doesn't matter whether it's 200 years old or 50 years old.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16But this is a wonderful time-line of seating. How do they connect to you?
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Well, we've just always collected interesting chairs.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22We bought several different houses
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and one of them had a very modern interior
0:16:25 > 0:16:30and so we then wanted to make it minimal and we bought this Marcel Breuer.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33But we had two of them, we've only got the one now.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38And then the chair at the end? Well, this was because we had a house that had been Gothicised
0:16:38 > 0:16:41by Sanderson Miller and we were looking for things
0:16:41 > 0:16:44that would echo the Gothic revival.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49And the interior designer who was helping us found it in London.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50I don't know where he found it
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and I don't know anything about it, really.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54I think it's fair to say then,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57quite clearly, that you are a chair fetishist.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Yes. Is that correct?
0:16:59 > 0:17:04That is right. Well, I'll let you into a little secret, so am I.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Good. I've got a house full of chairs. Have you?
0:17:06 > 0:17:10And I find myself being drawn to them in the most peculiar of reasons.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13It's about shape and form.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Yes. But what you've got here, as I say, a time-line ranging from...
0:17:17 > 0:17:20At this end we have something that we'd class Regency Gothic,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22so 1810 to 1820,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24running through here in the middle,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27as you quite rightly said, Marcel Breuer `
0:17:27 > 0:17:31first designed in 1925, the height of the Bauhaus.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Yes. This was a development.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37It's everything, this transformed the mass manufacturing of furniture
0:17:37 > 0:17:38and became an iconic chair. Yes.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44Icons are, it's a big term to use, but, no, an iconic chair.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Yes. Sweeping through to your landmark piece,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49your Charles Eames lounge chair and ottoman.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54That's right. This chair, of course, created between 1953 and '54,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57went into production in 1956. Right.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00And has been in continuous production every year
0:18:00 > 0:18:02since it was first initiated. Yes.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07And, to me, probably one of the most important chairs of the 20th century.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Yes. But the interesting thing is values.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Now, I always think you look at a Roman coin and you think,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17"Well, it's Roman, so it must be worth hundreds."
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Well, no, Roman coins can be bought for pounds, shillings and pence.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25So, by that token, we have a chair here that is in essence
0:18:25 > 0:18:29no more than 50 years old in its design,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33yet a chair at the other end that is 200 years old. Yes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36But the prices couldn't be further apart.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38If I say to you today a lovely...
0:18:38 > 0:18:42And it is a beautiful chair with some lovely trompe l'oeil decoration,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I would say probably refreshed at some point in its life,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50but the prices actually start here at, say, ?400 or ?500.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56We move to Mr Marcel Breuer and we have a chair, a Wassily chair,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58a later reproduction,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01but worth...?500 to ?600.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Goodness. And we sweep our way round
0:19:04 > 0:19:09to a wonderful Charles Eames 670 and 671 lounge chair and ottoman,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11beautifully beaten up.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Eames actually said he wanted the chair, when lived in and used,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19to look like a fantastic baseball glove.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Well, it does!
0:19:20 > 0:19:22It does, doesn't it? It does!
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Today a good issue like this, a good early issue,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30you're not going to be able to replace for much less than ?3,000.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Oh, no! Wow!
0:19:34 > 0:19:37They are all icons of their time.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Their time. So, well done, you. You have a fantastic eye.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45Oh, thank you very much indeed, thank you. My pleasure. Well, gosh.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49This is an incredibly intense,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53and almost sensual portrait, by Val Prinsep.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58And very often with these really wonderful portraits by Prinsep,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02you get a great connection between the artist and the sitter.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Now, she was obviously a great beauty of her time, but you certainly feel
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that either she was in love with him, or he was in love with her.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Now, tell me, do you know who she was? I do know who she was.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17She was, in fact, my great-grandmother. What was her name?
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Her name was Agnes Bowman.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24I think the history of the picture, Agnes Bowman's father
0:20:24 > 0:20:29was Sir William Bowman, who was a surgeon at Kings College Hospital,
0:20:29 > 0:20:30living in Kensington.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34At the time, Val Prinsep was living in Kensington as well
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and I think they must have known each other.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41And I have a letter, which I could not find before coming here today,
0:20:41 > 0:20:48that relates to this, from Val Prinsep, thanking Sir William Bowman very much.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I think he must have treated either Val Prinsep or his wife.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Yes. But thanking him very much for looking after whoever it was
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and I feel that this picture, this painting,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02is actually a thank you to Sir William from Val Prinsep.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Isn't that lovely? Mmm.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07A piece of history and it's stayed with the family, too, which is great.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Well, I found it at the bottom of my mum's chest in her hall
0:21:11 > 0:21:16when I cleared her house out after she died, four years ago. She didn't know it was there.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19So, it's been tucked away, a little treasure tucked away.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Yes. Val Prinsep is an interesting character.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24He was very social, but he was one of the great artists.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27He admired Lord Leighton so he was very much a classical painter,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31but he also was involved with the Oxford Union decoration,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34with Rossetti and some of the Pre-Raphaelites.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39He was influenced by Rossetti and you get a Rossetti feel about this picture. Absolutely.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40It's beautiful, isn't it?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43A highly successful artist. A wonderful life.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47He became a Professor at the Royal Academy in 1901. Oh, right, I didn't know that.
0:21:47 > 0:21:53But you often see pictures on such a vast scale by him and this is just a little gem, it's just a little jewel
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and you almost really feel that you know this sitter.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Absolutely, well, she's very beautiful, isn't she?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01It's inscribed lower right.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06Just under the mount, there's a little inscription which says, "V Prinsep to W Bowman",
0:22:06 > 0:22:08which is a lovely personal touch.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Yes, yes. This is a really rare lovely oil painting,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14in totally original condition.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It's been tucked away, it hasn't been touched.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20But this is a very desirable picture. Right.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And certainly worth ?8,000 to ?12,000.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Are you joking? Somebody prop me up!
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Good heavens! Well, Mum didn't know obviously, did she?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Thank you so much.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I don't know if the team may be trying to tell me something,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44but this is the second time
0:22:44 > 0:22:48I've found myself discussing toilet roll on the programme!
0:22:48 > 0:22:50What can you tell me about this?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53It was a toilet roll that was rejected by The Beatles
0:22:53 > 0:22:57when they were recording at Abbey Road Studios.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58And why did they reject it?
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Apparently, because it was too hard and shiny.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04So, it does look like there's a piece been torn off,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07but I don't think they got very much further with it.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Each sheet's stamped with "EMI Ltd" as well, which I think put them off.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16It was the record label. Yeah. And they didn't like that. Do you know what that reminds me of?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It's like that tracing paper loo roll.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21It doesn't look very nice. It used to be, like, British Rail?
0:23:21 > 0:23:25You thought, "Why did anyone MAKE loo roll like this? It's not comfy, it doesn't work."
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Exactly, exactly. And so the Beatles rejected this loo roll.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30The Beatles rejected it and
0:23:30 > 0:23:34I believe it's the only one in existence. Are you surprised?
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Yeah, there are no others!
0:23:37 > 0:23:39And how did you come by it?
0:23:39 > 0:23:45My father bought it in the 1980 Sale Of The Century at Abbey Road Studios. It came up for auction.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48When they were selling... Everything off, yeah.
0:23:48 > 0:23:49It was on the original backing plate,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53but the glass case has been a later addition to preserve it a little bit.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55How amazing! So, I mean,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58what level of fame do you have to have reached
0:23:58 > 0:24:00where your rejected loo roll
0:24:00 > 0:24:05becomes something that is sold at an auction? I mean, my goodness!
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Obviously, the Beatles, yeah!
0:24:07 > 0:24:10And a letter. "Toilet roll. Most things went very smoothly...
0:24:15 > 0:24:17"..they complained was too hard and shiny.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26"The paper was immediately withdrawn and things became much smoother
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"for the staff after that." Fnar-fnar!
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Bit of a wag, this Ken Townsend. So Ken Townsend, General Manager.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37He was General Manager of EMI. Yeah.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Right. So, who bought this again? Your father?
0:24:39 > 0:24:44My father, yeah. And, I hardly dare ask, how much did he pay for this?
0:24:44 > 0:24:47In 1980, he paid ?85 for it.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52In an edition of the book about Abbey Road,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Ken Townsend's actually disgusted that it made ?85,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58because recording equipment of the time
0:24:58 > 0:25:02was making less than he paid for the toilet roll, so... No! Yeah, yeah.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06My word! It's a strange old world, the antiques business, isn't it?
0:25:06 > 0:25:07Very strange.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27At last we have an answer to that age-old riddle,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29"Why does a chicken cross the road?"
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Now we know why - to get to a brand of chicken food.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36And this is wonderful! Look, there is mayhem going on here,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39there are dead chickens, there are running chickens,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43there are pecking chickens, there's all sorts of gesticulation,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and I don't know what going on here.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Tell me how this wonderful object came to be in your hands.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52These were sent out to shops as a form of advertising.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57You put them in your window or somewhere in your shop and it advertised the product. Yeah.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01When the war came, I don't believe it was ever sent back. Oh, I see.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04So, they were given to you really on loan by the manufacturers
0:26:04 > 0:26:07and then they'd come and pick them up. Well, I'm very pleased
0:26:07 > 0:26:08they didn't come back,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12because this is giving us an enormous amount of pleasure.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14I have to say that all my early years,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17from the time that I was born until the time that I was 18,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19was spent in the company of chickens.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Ah, right. It made me the woman I am today.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24And, in fact, one of my great confidants,
0:26:24 > 0:26:30when I was about four, was a very stately Rhode Island Red cross Light Sussex that had the name Mrs Green.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33So, you know, I can empathise exactly
0:26:33 > 0:26:36wanting to have the comfort of a good feed at some point.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40It's not unusual to have an automated advertising campaign
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and these came in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45This is perhaps one of the most complex ones.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50The earlier ones were clockwork and you might have a smoker,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52an automaton smoker,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56where smoke would blow out from his cigarette holder.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58You may have a tea drinker.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02There were all sorts of early clockwork types.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04But this is one of the most complex.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Has it always been in reasonably good condition?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Have you done any work to it?
0:27:09 > 0:27:12My engineer over here has helped me get it back together
0:27:12 > 0:27:14so that we could bring it today.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18But we've still got work to do here, because this is no longer pecking.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23And, of course, this no longer runs.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25But what has happened is that
0:27:25 > 0:27:28the chickens have been run over by this lorry,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and the lorry driver's come to say,
0:27:31 > 0:27:39"I'm terribly sorry, I've run over your chickens", and, hopefully, he'll do it now.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44There we are. And the farmer says, "What are you doing?
0:27:44 > 0:27:46"I'm going to punch you on the nose."
0:27:46 > 0:27:50I wonder how effective it was as a sales technique?!
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I'm told that the kids used to stand in the street
0:27:53 > 0:27:55and watch these and they loved them,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58because, of course, they hadn't got any telly or anything.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00So, this was as good as a telly? Yes.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Of course it was. Well, I love it,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and there is a huge interest in early advertising material,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09particularly something as complex
0:28:09 > 0:28:12as this, with so many different movements.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18I could see it very much taking pride of place in a museum,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20talking about the times.
0:28:20 > 0:28:27I agree absolutely, dating from just before the Second World War.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And value, I would put a value of between...
0:28:31 > 0:28:35?400 and ?700, definitely.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38And if one can get it back into full working order,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41it's going to certainly fetch four figures. Great object.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Well, do you know, I am a firm believer in starting work
0:28:50 > 0:28:54right at the bottom and working your way up. And this chap here,
0:28:54 > 0:28:59in this army record book, started in the army at the age of 14 years,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02one month, and at only four foot,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04nine-and-a-half inches tall. That's right.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06But quite clearly he went on
0:29:06 > 0:29:09to do wonderful things if these are his medals.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13He was obviously very, very highly decorated.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18And this is him. Yes, that's William Henry Dale, my grandfather.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23And he was born in 1869 and he enrolled in the Royal Engineers
0:29:23 > 0:29:26when he was only 14 years old
0:29:26 > 0:29:28as a boy trumpeter, and from there
0:29:28 > 0:29:32he rose through the ranks to be Lieutenant Colonel.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Wow! And he was very, very honoured
0:29:36 > 0:29:39in many ways by the end of his career.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42You know, getting the Military Cross, getting the OBE
0:29:42 > 0:29:46and many, many other medals which you can see there.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50He's got an amazing array of medals, hasn't he? Mmm, he has. Quite spectacular.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54He must have been... I mean he was obviously a career soldier...
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Absolutely. ..spending decades in the army,
0:29:57 > 0:29:59dedicated to the service. Yes.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01What did he do? Well, a lot of it,
0:30:01 > 0:30:06he started off in Africa and that was a continent which he loved.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10He spent years in Egypt and his job was
0:30:10 > 0:30:16actually to survey and create telegraph links
0:30:16 > 0:30:19across the wild parts which had been unsurveyed in Africa.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21That's terribly important, of course. It is.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23It was very, very dangerous work.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27It involved using a lot of native workers who knew the terrain.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30When he reached the rank of Major,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34his brother officers, because he was moving onto another posting,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37wanted to make a silver figurine for him.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40And he said, "I don't want an effigy of myself,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42"I want one of my workers."
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Well, he was quite clearly a distinguished soldier.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49There's no doubt about that from these wonderful decorations.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53And, you know, they have a considerable value, of course.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55I hadn't thought of that.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57From an insurance point of view,
0:30:57 > 0:30:59passing these things down the family, at the moment,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03the medals, the silver trophy,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06his army records, the photographs,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08and I guess you've got other things,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11have you, of his? Yes. OK, I would say that,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14from an insurance point of view,
0:31:14 > 0:31:16they're worth...
0:31:16 > 0:31:18?15,000.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Really? I had no idea.
0:31:20 > 0:31:26I've never, ever thought of their monetary value. No, I'm just very, very proud of what he achieved.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Well, we're used to seeing glass
0:31:32 > 0:31:34formed into vases and plates and bowls,
0:31:34 > 0:31:38but it's not every day that you end up with a glass knife
0:31:38 > 0:31:43and it's amazing, because this is really sharp.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46I mean, if it were a letter opener
0:31:46 > 0:31:49and it blunted its way through an envelope
0:31:49 > 0:31:52I could understand this, but this is really sharp
0:31:52 > 0:31:54and I've never seen one before!
0:31:54 > 0:31:58And the beauty of it is that we've got the blah-blah that goes with it.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00"The Nutbrown glass knife
0:32:00 > 0:32:03"is manufactured of specially-prepared glass.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07"While the makers do not guarantee it is unbreakable..." blah-blah-blah,
0:32:07 > 0:32:12"..it's absolutely fantastic for preparing grapefruit and it's ideal for cakes, pies and meats, etc."
0:32:12 > 0:32:16I mean, that's just great! What's the story, where did you find it?
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Well, my girlfriend was working in a charity shop,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22well, she did it voluntary from finishing her job...
0:32:22 > 0:32:27Great. ..and I popped in there and I saw it and I bought it for ?5.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Well, I think that's obviously a bargain.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31I mean, it is a wacky object. I mean,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34how many have survived? There's a little chip up the top.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37You paid a fiver. I reckon that's a pretty safe bet.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39It's got to be worth at least, what, ?6.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Wow, I've made a profit!
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thanks for bringing it.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49I went to a car-boot sale and I was looking in a glass cabinet
0:32:49 > 0:32:53and I saw this ring and thought, "Wow!"
0:32:53 > 0:32:56The gentleman said he wanted ?40 for it
0:32:56 > 0:33:00and I bought it for my wife to wear on special occasions, really.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02You know, it's such a nice ring.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04And does she? No.
0:33:04 > 0:33:05What do you mean, no?
0:33:08 > 0:33:10She thinks the amethyst is a bit too large.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13There's something about the colour that made me think,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16"Was this really silver?" You're absolutely right.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19It is not silver, it is platinum.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24It is 1900,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27but what I love about this
0:33:27 > 0:33:29is the attention to detail,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31which you can only get with platinum.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Silver is too soft and it tarnishes
0:33:34 > 0:33:38and it's not strong, so, therefore,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41you can't make something very delicate-looking with silver,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43but you can with platinum.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46I love the way that the working carries on underneath,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48so even when you're wearing the ring,
0:33:48 > 0:33:50you've still got the working...
0:33:50 > 0:33:53You should be a jeweller, I reckon!
0:33:53 > 0:33:57I reckon you should be a jeweller because you are absolutely right.
0:33:57 > 0:34:02What I love is this attention to detail and how soft and smooth it is,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05and it curves, so it really fits snugly on your finger.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Yeah. It's very rare you will find rings today
0:34:08 > 0:34:12that go to this length for no money, really.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16It's an amethyst. It is set with diamonds, not that many diamonds.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20On the side here, we've got a baguette-cut diamond
0:34:20 > 0:34:23and we have some single cut diamonds.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26So you know, intrinsically, you're not talking very much.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29You gave ?40 for it, how long ago?
0:34:29 > 0:34:31About 10 years ago.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35About 10 years ago. What if I said to you today
0:34:35 > 0:34:38it would be round about ?800 to ?1,000 instead?
0:34:38 > 0:34:40What would you say? What would you think?
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Thank you very much!
0:34:43 > 0:34:44Very nice.
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Good day's work.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Hilary, I know you're a bit of an Archers fan... I am.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55..and like a good cup of tea.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Now, someone has brought in this kind of Archers memorabilia.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02The cups, the jigsaw puzzle and a game here.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I just wondered if you wanted to give it the once-over.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06How would you appraise these?
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Well, you know, it's always lovely to see The Bull.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Not how I imagine it.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15And, you know, Hollerton Bakeries.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Yes, I feel that I could just walk in there and I could be part of the set. You realise, of course,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22that Borsetshire is the one county in the British Isles
0:35:22 > 0:35:25that The Antiques Roadshow has never visited.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28We should put that right. We want a visit to Borsetshire.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Lower Loxley could definitely...
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Couldn't it? Lower Loxley would be perfect to film the Roadshow.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38What would these things be worth, do you think? Well, not a huge amount.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40I love the cups and saucers.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43They would probably be worth, I don't know, ?10 to ?15 each.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47These, I suppose, ?20 to ?30.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50I suppose you've got ?50 to ?70 worth here.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53I can think of a way we could double that value at a stroke. How? Go on.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Do you recognise this lady?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58No, you won't. Kathy from the Archers.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03Otherwise known as Hedli in real life, and these are hers.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06These are my treasures. Oh, Hedli, how wonderful to meet you.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08I have more. It's lovely to see you!
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Well, you see you want to... I'm going to shut my eyes, speak, speak!
0:36:12 > 0:36:16If I said something like, "Kenton, I've had enough, it's about time you left."
0:36:16 > 0:36:18The problem is, you weren't having enough with Kenton!
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Let's not go into that too much!
0:36:21 > 0:36:25That's a bit astute! Now, has anyone got a pen I could borrow?
0:36:25 > 0:36:29A pen, a pen? Oh, we need a pen.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Thank you, sir. Right, Kathy.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35I have to call you Kathy, would you do the honours and sign this?
0:36:35 > 0:36:39Does it actually add to the value or does it detract from it?
0:36:39 > 0:36:42I thought this would spoil it. If it's YOU, Kathy.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46All right, I'm going to sign it, then. OK, right.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49What would you say it's worth now, Hilary?
0:36:49 > 0:36:51It was 20 quid two minutes ago.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Now...signed by Kathy?
0:36:53 > 0:36:58Do you know, people always say on the Antiques Roadshow that we create markets.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Well, do you know, we just have.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04It's definitely double. That's definitely 50 quid's worth now.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Well, there you go. All you Archers collectors out there,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11just talk to me and I can double the value of all the memorabilia!
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Well, thank you very much.
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Thank you, thank you.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16ARCHERS THEME PLAYS
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Although there's no title on it, auctioneers have a habit
0:37:26 > 0:37:29of creating cheesy titles for these things and I can't help feeling that
0:37:29 > 0:37:33she ought to be called something like Sweet Reverie or something like that.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35You don't know what she's called?
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Haven't a clue. No, no. No relation at all. Is she not? No.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40Well, she's very beautiful.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42But it's obviously been reframed.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Did you buy it, or how did you come by it?
0:37:44 > 0:37:48No, well, it came from an aunt in Switzerland and when the box
0:37:48 > 0:37:52of all of her effects came over to an aunt's flat
0:37:52 > 0:37:53and my brothers went along,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56we decided what we'd like to take away with us. Right.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01And, rather stupidly, I decided I'd take away a box full of old picture frames.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04And when I looked through, fairly rapidly,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06I just saw this wooden panel
0:38:06 > 0:38:10and I thought it was the back of a picture frame.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11So, I just put it back in the box,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15and about five years later, my wife wanted a picture frame,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18so she went to the box, and she said, "Have you seen this?"
0:38:18 > 0:38:20So, I said no, and that's what it was.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23And I thought, "Crikey, it's really quite beautiful".
0:38:23 > 0:38:26So, she's been languishing in this box. So, she's been languishing.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30She had a little chip of paint up in the top here somewhere.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35I took it to a dealer in Bristol and they touched it up and cleaned it
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and framed it, so this is what I've got.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40So, we don't know long she's been lying in this box. No, no.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44Your aunt didn't like it, either. How bizarre. I don't think she did.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Why would you not like it? It's absolutely beautiful.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50No, well I think it got so dusty, she didn't know what she had.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52What a shame. I mean, she missed out, didn't she?
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Yes, absolutely. Well, I mean,
0:38:54 > 0:39:00it says here clearly E C-A-S-T-R-E-S, Castres,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03who was a Swiss artist, Edouard Castres,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05born in the 1830s, dies in 1902.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09And you mentioned it's on panel, and I think it's quite clear,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11looking at the picture that it's on panel,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15because it has this jewel-like quality when the paint sits
0:39:15 > 0:39:20on the surface like this, rather than is absorbed to a certain extent, so all the colours really look glowing.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23And I think it has a fabulous vibrancy to it.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26And, of course, it's beautifully observed in every way.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Not only is she very beautiful, but this nice little still life here.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32In the middle, yes.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37It's just lovely, isn't it? Yes, I love the light on the coffee pot. Do you think it's after a ball or...?
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Well, what is she dreaming about?
0:39:40 > 0:39:45I know. She's got a spinning wheel here and is this something to do with time, and so on, passing?
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Well, you obviously love the picture.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Yes. And it is, I think, absolutely beautifully painted.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54So, it arrives in a box of stuff.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Yes, exactly. So, it hasn't cost you anything.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Apart from a splodge of paint and a frame.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05Well, he's very desirable. And, actually, it's a very pretty picture.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Right now, these genre pictures are perhaps not as hot as might have been a year or two ago,
0:40:09 > 0:40:13but it will come back and it's a good Swiss artist.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17I would have thought at auction today you could expect somewhere between ?3,000 and ?5,000 for it.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Right. So...
0:40:20 > 0:40:21Oh, that's good. Yes!
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Your aunt did you proud.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Yes, absolutely, yes.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28I wonder if she knew. Yes.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Well, look at these gold boxes, don't they look fantastic?
0:40:33 > 0:40:34They are status symbols
0:40:34 > 0:40:38from the 18th and 19th century, but, tell me, how are they yours?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Well, back in about the late 1950s,
0:40:41 > 0:40:45my sisters and I had a little bit of money coming in from a trust fund
0:40:45 > 0:40:48and instead of reinvesting it in boring old stocks and shares,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50my father decided to buy these
0:40:50 > 0:40:53and he collected them over the '60s
0:40:53 > 0:40:56and possibly '70s and he would also do swaps.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58He would try and get better ones
0:40:58 > 0:41:00than the ones he'd already bought.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02So, that's what we ended up with.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Fantastic. That's a true collector,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06advancing the collection.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09But it's very rich and spectacular.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12But in the front we have the three that I've chosen to talk about
0:41:12 > 0:41:16and I think I'll talk about this one first which a very exotic
0:41:16 > 0:41:18and sort of almost sugary perfumed box, isn't it?
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Have you thought about why it looks like that?
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Possibly it's for sweets.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25It may well have been for sweets,
0:41:25 > 0:41:26but it was made in Geneva,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28which was a great centre for enamelling
0:41:28 > 0:41:30in the early 19th century,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34and they were making these gold boxes for export to the Orient.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37And this was almost certainly made for the Turkish market.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Oh. For the Sultanate out there.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42And it's lavished with all the skill
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and meticulous craftsmanship of Swiss manufacture -
0:41:45 > 0:41:47but oddly enough, to be sold abroad.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50This is a technique called micro mosaic
0:41:50 > 0:41:53and that's something brought back from abroad
0:41:53 > 0:41:55for the British market, fundamentally.
0:41:55 > 0:42:00And it's made up of tiny tesserae of coloured glass which have been fused together.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02And when you take a lens to it, it looks like brickwork,
0:42:02 > 0:42:06but you move away and it's for all the world like an oil painting.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08It's a miracle of craftsmanship.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12This one here looks as if it's 18th century, but it's not, actually.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16It's in the Rococo manner and it's a revival of an 18th-century style.
0:42:16 > 0:42:21It has a core of Siberian jade, which is the clue to what this object is.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23And it's made by a craftsman
0:42:23 > 0:42:27who was one of the satellite firms for Faberge.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Faberge was very interested in the entire 18th-century form of decoration,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35including gold boxes and so it fits in jolly nicely,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39but it's probably made in the very late 19th or early 20th century. Yes.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42So, it's a bewildering collection to value.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45It not only includes snuff boxes and snuff mulls,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49but also cases for sealing wax decorated with four colours of gold,
0:42:49 > 0:42:53alloys of gold, decorated with engine turning.
0:42:53 > 0:42:54But let's have a stab at valuing
0:42:54 > 0:42:58these in the front and then move backwards from there.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01This gold box is probably worth
0:43:01 > 0:43:04today ?5,000, ?6,000.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Crikey! And this one here in the middle,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10the micro mosaic box, it's a very bold one.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13I think that that's going to be...
0:43:13 > 0:43:16?15,000. Whoa!
0:43:16 > 0:43:18And this one,
0:43:18 > 0:43:23if we can draw it into the fold of Faberge that would be wonderful,
0:43:23 > 0:43:27but as it is, a Russian cigarette case, very exotic, very beautiful
0:43:27 > 0:43:30in the 18th-century taste, overlaying a hard stone core,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32well,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34?20,000 for that.
0:43:36 > 0:43:42And so, I suppose, all the gold boxes on this table must be,
0:43:42 > 0:43:47when you add them all up, it must be nudging between ?50,000 and ?60,000.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51My goodness! So, snuff away, it's wonderful!
0:43:51 > 0:43:54Wonderful things to see.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Thank you very much. Thank you.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01I hope you've enjoyed our day here in the sunshine at Charlecote Park.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Until next week, bye-bye.