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I ask you - what is it about this programme and tall buildings? | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
So far, I've been up to the top of the Blackpool Tower, | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
I've been sent up to the pinnacle of Beverley Minster, | 0:00:08 | 0:00:10 | |
and to a very windy gantry at the top of the Forth Rail Bridge. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:15 | |
Now they're saying, "You'll get the best view of Birmingham from there" | 0:00:15 | 0:00:18 | |
It's 300 feet tall! | 0:00:18 | 0:00:20 | |
Well, here goes - anything for the Roadshow. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:23 | |
Do you know what? | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
They were right. The view is stupendous! | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
We're back for a second visit to Birmingham, | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
once known as the city of a thousand trades, | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
and from the university clock tower, | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
the whole of the city is laid out before you. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:29 | |
The list of industries synonymous with the city | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
and beyond is impressive. But, of course, the West Midlands | 0:01:35 | 0:01:38 | |
is best known as the home of the motor car. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
In 1906, Herbert Austin is said to have cycled around Birmingham | 0:01:42 | 0:01:46 | |
looking for a factory where he could start his business, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
and the building he found was an old tin-printing works at Longbridge, | 0:01:48 | 0:01:52 | |
and the rest, as they say, is history. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
And if you look just through here, you can see his car factory. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
At its peak, Austin employed 22,000 local people at Longbridge, | 0:02:00 | 0:02:04 | |
making it the largest car factory in the world. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
For his services to industry, | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
Herbert Austin was made Baron Austin of Longbridge. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
Incidentally, this is Old Joe, | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
the nickname for the university's clock tower, | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
and it's called that because Joseph Chamberlain, | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
father of the Prime Minister Neville was the first chancellor here back in 1909. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:31 | |
Generations of students have feverishly sat their finals | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
in the Great Hall. Thankfully today it's only our experts' knowledge | 0:02:36 | 0:02:40 | |
that's being tested, as we launch another Antiques Roadshow. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
Well, this oil painting, this portrait of a lady, | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
is a rather wonderful fashion statement. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
When did you two meet? | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
About a year, year and a half ago. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
And what pulled you two together? | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
I just fell in love with her, just loved her so much. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:01 | |
Where did you find her? | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
Local auction house. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
How was it catalogued? | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
Um, oil painting, possibly Russian aristocrat, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
but that was it, really. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
OK, well, I've done a little bit of my own detective work. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:15 | |
There's a little inscription on the back of the picture, | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
but also top left, there's a monogram | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
and a date "92" so that would be 1892. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:26 | |
The monogram is by an artist | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
-J Champion Bradshaw from the Isle of Man. -Oh, right! | 0:03:29 | 0:03:33 | |
He lived in the Isle of Man, 1891, and then moved to Manchester in the mid 1890s. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:38 | |
Yeah. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:40 | |
It's an incredible fashion statement. Were you pulled to this picture | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
because she was luxuriously dressed? | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
I think so, and the jewellery as well. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
I'm interested in jewellery, but I just think she's so lovely. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:53 | |
I've spoken to one of our other experts about the jewellery, | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
and the jewellery dates to the same date, 1890. | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
Pearls and gold. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
Again, these would have been quite luxurious items. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
-Yes, yes. -The dress is made in Italian silk. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
-It's beautiful. -So I suspect this was a commissioned portrait, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
possibly by her husband. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
What strikes me, though, is here she is beautifully dressed, | 0:04:12 | 0:04:17 | |
handmade, wonderful silk dress, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:19 | |
great jewellery, very expensive jewellery, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
but perhaps not the greatest artist in the world. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:25 | |
-Not a great society portrait painter. -OK. | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
So it looks to me like hubby | 0:04:28 | 0:04:29 | |
only went half way in terms of his commissioned portrait. | 0:04:29 | 0:04:33 | |
-That's interesting. -It would make about £2,000 to £3,000 at auction. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
Wow! Wow! | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
That's good, that's good. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
I don't think we'd let her go, you know, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
because we just love her so much. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
-So how long have you been living with this cat? -25 years. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:56 | |
25 years, and can I ask, where does it reside in your home? | 0:04:56 | 0:05:00 | |
On a board right by my bed, looking at me, | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
so every morning, every evening, I see him or her. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
It's the first face you see when you open your eyes. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:12 | |
It is indeed. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:13 | |
And doesn't it scare the life out of you, | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
because, I mean, that is one very ferocious-looking animal. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
Well, not necessarily because, to me, I look at it with different eyes. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:22 | |
As a bronze, I find this incredibly powerful. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:26 | |
From a sculptural point of view, the man responsible for this | 0:05:26 | 0:05:31 | |
really understands the anatomy of this particular beast. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:35 | |
Now, when it comes to species, to me it has all the looks | 0:05:35 | 0:05:40 | |
of a lioness, but the man responsible is down here, isn't he? | 0:05:40 | 0:05:45 | |
-Yes, that's right. -Merculiano. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:49 | |
He was born in Naples about 1860 | 0:05:49 | 0:05:51 | |
but certainly he's showing it in Naples at the Art Institute | 0:05:51 | 0:05:55 | |
and then he moves to France. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:57 | |
No surprise there, bearing in mind your accent, I think, | 0:05:57 | 0:05:59 | |
-is from the other side of the Channel. -Indeed, yes. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:03 | |
And he's working in Paris | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
and he's recognised for being a great sculptor, | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
and just looking at the beast, I'm fascinated by the way that | 0:06:07 | 0:06:12 | |
he manages to get this beast actually gripping onto this | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
very naturalistic rock. I mean, it is rock. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
I mean that is just, you know, solid. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
How does it end up with you? | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
It used to be at one of my auntie's, in Paris, | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
and when she died, my mother offered it to me, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:31 | |
so I brought it back to England and it has been with me ever since. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:36 | |
-Fantastic. -25 years. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
Merculiano is not the sort of artist | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
that turns up in any great, you know, sort of quantity | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
-in this part of the world. -I see. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
But I would suggest that if I wanted to go out | 0:06:50 | 0:06:52 | |
and buy this rather ferocious-looking beast, | 0:06:52 | 0:06:55 | |
I would probably have to pay somewhere in the region of | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
between £2,000 to possibly £3,000. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
Oh, good, very interesting. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
I never thought of the price, but it's good to know. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:07 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
I had the privilege of going to the Princess Margaret sale | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
with my sons | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
and I found her a fascinating woman, | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
and I wanted maybe a little bit of the royal collection. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:32 | |
Fantastic, a little bit in love with her in a way. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:36 | |
Oh, yes, I'm fascinated by her. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:38 | |
Well, the point about royal jewels from the past, | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
and indeed any age but our own, is establishing what is the provenance, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
because the provenance is really an enormous part of the value. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
In this case, it's absolutely incontestable | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
-because it's in the sale room catalogue here, isn't it? -Yes. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:53 | |
And they are photographed not only in their own right here, | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
but also with the Princess in wear, | 0:07:56 | 0:07:59 | |
-and so I think one really can't ask for any better proof than that. -No. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:04 | |
I mean, the colour and the drama of the hat and this, that and the other. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
-And Margaret looking at her best. -Yeah, no, absolutely. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
In my view she always looked wonderful actually, but I think | 0:08:11 | 0:08:15 | |
that was an extraordinary phenomenon in that she was | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
not only born to high rank, but also an extraordinarily beautiful woman. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
-And here we see... -A bit naughty because there's smoke in the air. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
Oh, smoke in the air. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:25 | |
Smoke in the air and she's smoking a cigarette, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
but lovely with the hair a little bit unkempt. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
Yes, I mean a sort of puckish look, I mean, | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
I think there was something about her that was unconventional | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
and very charming and a very easy smile actually, | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
-as far as I remember. -So do I. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:43 | |
Yeah, brilliant, isn't that wonderful? And there is the brooch | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
to the centre, incontestable provenance, | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
-it was there at that moment and it's here with us now. -Yes. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
Utter magic, wonderful. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
Those earrings, particularly, I was attracted to | 0:08:52 | 0:08:55 | |
because of the fabulous picture with her wearing them. | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
-Well, they do look rather like hats in a funny way, don't they? -Yes. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
Of course, coral is a very daring colour, actually. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
I mean, it's a good colour but it's strong and shows | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
an independent spirit which she certainly had. And they are... | 0:09:08 | 0:09:11 | |
-they're sort of Sputniks, they're exploding stars of coral. -Yes. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
Heightened with brilliant diamonds in gold. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
And I like this one too very much, John Donald, | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
and he is a most important 20th-century jeweller | 0:09:19 | 0:09:23 | |
and these are baroque pearls, they're misshapen pearls, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
it's almost a reminder of the fact that these are organic materials. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
-Yes. -That they're not those terrible ball bearing pearls | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
-that you see all the time. -Yes, not perfection. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
Not perfection, but in a way, more than that, they're just | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
a reminder that they are natural, and just to draw the eye | 0:09:38 | 0:09:43 | |
into their lustre, their orient, this strange sleepy silky texture | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
that pearls have, they've put some diamonds in there too. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:50 | |
Just a little flash and then it takes your eye immediately to the jewel. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:54 | |
Might be quite tricky in this instance | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
because she'd be wearing it, and one would be concentrating on her, | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
so have to be strong statements for royal jewellery. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
Really, really marvellous stuff and stuff with a royal touch, | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
the magic royal touch. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
And you went to the sale, and you chose the ones you wanted. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
Yes. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:10 | |
And you got your bidding form and the tension's mounting | 0:10:10 | 0:10:14 | |
-and what happened? -My heart was beating when the hammer went down | 0:10:14 | 0:10:17 | |
and we bought, I think, the first lot we bought were the coral earrings. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:21 | |
Fantastic. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:23 | |
And to just have, you know, something that belonged to | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
a member of the royal family, particularly Princess Margaret, was... | 0:10:25 | 0:10:29 | |
Well, exactly. Can you remember how much they were? | 0:10:29 | 0:10:33 | |
Yes, the coral earrings were £8,000 | 0:10:33 | 0:10:38 | |
-and the John Donald brooch was £11,000. -Marvellous. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:46 | |
Well, in a funny way, I don't know how one can tell you that | 0:10:46 | 0:10:51 | |
that's a good price, or a bad price, | 0:10:51 | 0:10:52 | |
quite simply because it is the only price. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
-Yes, exactly. -This was your only chance to buy these things. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
-Exactly. -And you got them, and they are at a premium, | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
definitely the price paid, but the premium is that they are | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
incontestable souvenirs of a great lady, now gone. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
Marvellous, thank you. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
I'm of a generation that was brought up | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
watching a film called Genevieve and I think like most small boys | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
I was fascinated by veteran cars. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:21 | |
And I remember being taken to the veteran car run in November | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
and seeing all that, and I thought, | 0:11:24 | 0:11:26 | |
"When I grow up I'm going to have one of those", but I never have. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:29 | |
And so, in a sense, these bring it all back, | 0:11:29 | 0:11:31 | |
because, OK, you haven't got the car, | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
but you've got some amazing lamps. They're yours, are they? | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
They are, yes, yes. Well, sorry, they're my father's. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
Well, how are they yours? | 0:11:41 | 0:11:42 | |
They were originally my grandfather's | 0:11:42 | 0:11:45 | |
and they were passed on to my father and my father had them restored. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:49 | |
He didn't have the car? | 0:11:49 | 0:11:50 | |
He didn't have the car, unfortunately. I wish he did. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
-He was bit of a hoarder and a collector. -OK. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:55 | |
-But he never had the total vehicle. -Never had the total vehicle. | 0:11:55 | 0:11:57 | |
He always liked the sort of... almost need to call it the jewellery, | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
the aspects that went with the car. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
-Yes. So you grew up surrounded by all this junk, in a way? -Yes. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
I mean, the astonishing thing about these | 0:12:05 | 0:12:07 | |
is they are looking in such amazing condition. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
Now, I'm sure they weren't like that. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:12 | |
No, no, they were in very, very poor condition. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:15 | |
-Is this where you come in? -That's right. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:17 | |
We're a restoration company based in the jewellery quarter in Birmingham. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:22 | |
Simon's father, and Simon, visited our workshops, | 0:12:22 | 0:12:27 | |
showed us these lamps, thought that they were beyond economical repair. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
They were a wreck, were they? | 0:12:31 | 0:12:32 | |
They were, they were quite bad, and we decided to restore them | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
which took in the region of about 200 hours, | 0:12:36 | 0:12:41 | |
but now they're a fully restored pair of BRC headlamps. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:46 | |
-What's that? -This is a book for these particular headlights. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:51 | |
They're a French set of headlights | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
and the book explains how the lamps were produced | 0:12:55 | 0:13:02 | |
and also how they function, and also the cost in 1905. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
-Which is 225 Francs. -Correct. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:10 | |
Now these are fantastic typical BRC products. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:15 | |
They've got parabolic lenses, which is very, very high quality, | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
they're sort of top of the range. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:19 | |
They're the 130 model which seemed to be quite common, | 0:13:19 | 0:13:23 | |
and they would have been put onto a quite substantial grand car. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:28 | |
What did the restoration cost? | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
In the region of about £10,000. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
So that's 200 hours all round. | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
I mean, the these is actually down | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
to the quality of the restoration. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:41 | |
It is very easy to badly restore lamps, or car parts, | 0:13:41 | 0:13:45 | |
and you could have halved the value, or less, | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
by having them badly restored. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
They've been done so well that in fact, as it happens, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:55 | |
the value is about what the restoration cost. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:59 | |
Which is fine, because they didn't cost you anything. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:02 | |
Exactly, yes, they were passed down and they're part of our family still. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
Yes, but of course, the you've got to do now is, | 0:14:06 | 0:14:08 | |
-where's the car? -That's what I need to work out. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
And I'm afraid the car will cost you rather more than £10,000 | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
but you'll find one and then of course you can restore it. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
Of course. We'll try. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
-Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
Something rather interesting has happened. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
These two vases have been brought along today for David Battie to see. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
What he doesn't realise is that he did see them about 20, 25 years ago. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:42 | |
And he valued them at £10,000. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
They've been brought along again today | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
and we'll see if he realises that he did actually see them before, | 0:14:48 | 0:14:52 | |
and see what he values them for today. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
You know what? | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
These make the most fantastic ashtrays! | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
Because you could smoke as much as you like, put it in that | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
and you never need to empty them. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
OK. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:08 | |
And I once went on a visit to a Maharajah in India | 0:15:08 | 0:15:12 | |
and somebody had done exactly that. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
It was full up to here with dog ends! | 0:15:15 | 0:15:19 | |
I think there's a few old comics in there from when I was a child. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:22 | |
Yes, there are. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:23 | |
Really? You didn't go in after them? | 0:15:23 | 0:15:26 | |
No, there's probably some collectors items in there as well. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
These are Chinese, as I am sure you knew. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:32 | |
Made in Jingdezhen, which is the main porcelain centre. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:36 | |
Brought down in the white that is undecorated but glazed, | 0:15:36 | 0:15:41 | |
and then painted in Canton. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
And we call this class Canton porcelain. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:48 | |
The subject matter is more or less | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
what you would expect to find | 0:15:53 | 0:15:55 | |
on these vases. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
We've got panels of audience subjects | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
and more on here. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:03 | |
We've got battle scenes over there. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
Do you know what this is? | 0:16:07 | 0:16:08 | |
I've no idea. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:09 | |
-It's a musical stone. -OK. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:13 | |
If you take a boulder of Jade | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
and slice it, | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
drill a hole in it and hang it up, | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
-and hit it with a hammer, you get a musical note. -Oh, really? | 0:16:21 | 0:16:25 | |
And they became so skilled, the Chinese, | 0:16:25 | 0:16:28 | |
that they could tune them, | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
and they had what was effectively a xylophone but in stone, in jade. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:36 | |
It is also one of the eight Buddhistic emblems. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:42 | |
Round the bottom we've got dragons | 0:16:42 | 0:16:45 | |
and this gilt so-called flaming pearl, | 0:16:45 | 0:16:50 | |
which is, again, a Buddhistic emblem. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
Pearl of wisdom. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
How do we date them? | 0:16:55 | 0:16:56 | |
Well, up here on the neck we've got flat dragon handles. | 0:16:56 | 0:17:02 | |
And if you see flat dragon handles, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
you're probably looking prior to 1850. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:11 | |
And I would put these probably 1840, 1850, some time around there. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:16 | |
-The one thing I haven't mentioned is, of course, their size. -Yes. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
-Where do you keep them? -They're kept either side of my mother's fireplace, | 0:17:20 | 0:17:24 | |
which they've been there for a long, long time. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
It's not for me to say | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
but that chip is not an expensive thing to do. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:34 | |
-It may cost you 300 or £400 but it would be worth it... -OK. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
-..and it would look so much better, I think. -I think so, too. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:42 | |
I mean, apart from that they're in stonkingly good condition. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
So, we come to the price. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
I would be pretty confident that if these came up in a sale, | 0:17:48 | 0:17:53 | |
-they would make somewhere around £15,000 to £20,000. -OK. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
And if they went higher than that, I would not be surprised. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
-Well, you may be surprised now. -Quite a surprise. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
-Oh, my goodness! -David, you might be wondering what I'm doing here. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
I was listening and it was absolutely fascinating. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
Did anything about these appear in any way familiar? | 0:18:13 | 0:18:17 | |
Well, only in the sense that they're big Canton vases. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
-They're not come from my home, have they? -No! | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
-We've played a very little trick on you... -Oh, no! I hate tricks! | 0:18:23 | 0:18:27 | |
-..because these were brought along... -I shan't sleep! | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
-..by Andrew's father, by Eileen's husband about 20 years ago. -No! | 0:18:30 | 0:18:35 | |
You valued them then! What do you think you valued them for? Any idea? | 0:18:35 | 0:18:39 | |
-Just to make things even harder! -I might have said 5,000 to 8,000? | 0:18:39 | 0:18:43 | |
-8,000 to 10,000. -You said 8,000 to 10,000. -Yeah. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
And so we just decided we'd see if you recognise... | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
-You see so much stuff but we thought we'd have a go. -Yeah. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
We do see too much and often they just sort of clock up in your mind | 0:18:53 | 0:18:57 | |
and your mind doesn't access it, and didn't in these cases. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
-The good thing... -I would've thought I'd have remembered the chip. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
Given you valued them 20 years ago, | 0:19:03 | 0:19:05 | |
-thank goodness you valued them for more! -Well, exactly! | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
So this really looks as though it's had a good working life, this box. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
It's in a very sort of humble condition, isn't it? | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
-By humble do you mean "well used"? -Sort of, yes! -Sort of well used. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:21 | |
It belonged to my mother. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:23 | |
She would've been 100 or over by now, had she lived. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
I'm not sure whether she bought it or whether it belonged to HER mother. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
As far as I know, it was a sewing box. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
Someone else suggested that it might have been a tea canister | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
with little locks to either side | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
to keep the tea under lock and key? | 0:19:41 | 0:19:43 | |
-Well, I think your first guess is right. -OK. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:47 | |
It's a workbox and would've been used to keep silks and threads in. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:51 | |
The locks are there, yes, and that's sometimes associated with tea | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
but a tea canister or a tea caddy of this date would be much smaller. | 0:19:55 | 0:20:01 | |
In fact, it dates from around 1790. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
It's made out of pine and then has been veneered in various timbers. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:08 | |
This section at the top here is yew wood | 0:20:08 | 0:20:13 | |
and most of what you see is sycamore. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
Just looking inside, the state on the inside, | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
it is pretty much similar to that on the outside and it would've had | 0:20:20 | 0:20:25 | |
this lovely sort of sugar pink coloured paper lining it. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
And over the years, that's simply rubbed away. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:32 | |
But what I love about this box is that it doesn't look as though | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
it's ever been restored, hardly polished, | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
-if you don't mind me saying that! -True! | 0:20:38 | 0:20:41 | |
And it's really nice to think that something of that age | 0:20:41 | 0:20:45 | |
has actually had a good working life, | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
and it's been used and enjoyed and appreciated. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
-Did your mother use it to keep her silks in it? -She did, she did. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
And what I use it for is pens, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:56 | |
crayons, pencils, charcoal. | 0:20:56 | 0:21:00 | |
It's absolutely crammed full. I emptied it yesterday | 0:21:00 | 0:21:03 | |
and the contents cover a huge tray, so it really has worked hard. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
So, really, it's something that's been inherited | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
-and been used ever since you've known it... -Yes. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
..and if it was to appear at auction now it would fetch...£600. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:19 | |
Would it, indeed? Yes, well, it'll never go to auction. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:22 | |
Thank you. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:23 | |
Tell me, why have you brought this along? | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
I brought the table along initially to have it valued | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
but also because the dogs really took to this table | 0:21:32 | 0:21:38 | |
and chewed the table. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
-The dogs? How many dogs do you have? -I've got four dogs. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
The eldest two are eight years of age | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
and when they came together as a couple of puppies | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
they chewed the table. And then Ben, he was four-and-a-half, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
he also chewed the table and my puppy at home chewed the table as well! | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
You don't tell them off? | 0:21:56 | 0:21:57 | |
I do but it's more often than not when I'm out that they did it, | 0:21:57 | 0:22:01 | |
so it's hard to tell a dog off | 0:22:01 | 0:22:03 | |
-when you're not there to see what they did at the time... -Right. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:06 | |
..cos they don't understand. But I have moved this out of the way | 0:22:06 | 0:22:10 | |
so the dogs don't have access to it, with a view to getting it repaired. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
-So now you've upset the dogs? -Possibly! | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
Do you know what this table is? | 0:22:16 | 0:22:18 | |
-I don't, actually, no. -It's called a breakfast table. -Right. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:22 | |
It's made of rosewood and it's late Regency. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
It's about 1830 in date | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
and it's veneered in rosewood, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
so it's quite a good piece of furniture. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:35 | |
I'm going to tip it down like this. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:39 | |
The top is in lovely condition | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
cos these type of tables, often they split. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:46 | |
Central heating or being placed in front of a window, | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
things like that. But as it happens, this is in very good order. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:54 | |
It's just down here where the dogs have been nibbling it. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
It can be restored. It would cost quite a lot to do. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:00 | |
It would cost, I think, as much as the table's worth - | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
around £1,500. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
And the other thing I'd recommend is this... | 0:23:06 | 0:23:08 | |
Give your doggies one of these! | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:23:13 | 0:23:15 | |
What we're looking at is what I think is a real icon of 1970s design | 0:23:18 | 0:23:23 | |
but to you it's a T-shirt. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
It was my dad's originally, in the 1970s. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:28 | |
He got it mail-order from the shop | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
And it's kind of been passed down to me | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
but I'm really interested in that kind of era, that kind of music | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
and the fashion, too, so it's a bit more than just a T-shirt. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
Great! Well, let's just talk about the Sex Pistols for a moment | 0:23:41 | 0:23:45 | |
because you and I know about them but perhaps not everybody does. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
Formed in 1975, they had a very short first career, | 0:23:48 | 0:23:51 | |
just two and a half years. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:53 | |
But I suppose what brought them huge notoriety | 0:23:53 | 0:23:56 | |
-was this single, God Save The Queen. -Yeah. | 0:23:56 | 0:24:00 | |
Released in May 1977 | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
to coincide with all the wonderful, happy celebrations | 0:24:02 | 0:24:06 | |
for Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee, her Silver Jubilee, | 0:24:06 | 0:24:10 | |
and they brought this out, a piece of complete anarchy. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
-And here is the Queen with the safety pin through her lip. -Yes! | 0:24:14 | 0:24:18 | |
-I mean, designed to shock and shock it did. -Yeah, I think so. | 0:24:18 | 0:24:22 | |
Do you like the song? | 0:24:22 | 0:24:23 | |
I do, actually. I mean, as you said, | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
they don't have a wide kind of repertoire of songs | 0:24:26 | 0:24:30 | |
but this is definitely one of my favourites. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:33 | |
It's really powerful in what they're trying to say and do. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
It worked well. Whether you like it or not, it worked well. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
-Exactly. It was a really powerful message that came across. -Yeah. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
And of course, because of its lyrics | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
and maybe even because of the design of the sleeve, it was banned. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:51 | |
It was banned by the BBC, | 0:24:51 | 0:24:52 | |
it was banned by every independent radio station. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:56 | |
-It was THE most banned record of all time. -I didn't know that. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
Yeah! Absolutely! | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
What relationship do you have personally with this T-shirt? | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
Well, as I said, it was my dad's in the '70s | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
and he obviously was a lot smaller then | 0:25:08 | 0:25:12 | |
and I was put in it as a child. | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
In fact, my parents put me in it to sleep in it as a baby | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
and I have worn it a few times since as well, | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
so I think it's too nice to just be kept in a wardrobe, | 0:25:20 | 0:25:23 | |
I do like wearing it. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
These T-shirts are sought-after now | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
-and even though we can see your dad wore it. -Yes! | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
And he got hot and sticky in it too, | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
but even so, I think we should expect it to fetch | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
-something over £200. -Really? -If it ever came up for sale. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:38 | |
Well, it is a real icon from the 1970s. Lucky you to have it. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:42 | |
Thank you very much, thank you. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:44 | |
So, with that terrific cloche hat, it's got to be 1920s, do you think? | 0:25:47 | 0:25:52 | |
Yes. My aunt was a student at Glasgow School of Art in the '20s. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:56 | |
-I see. -And the hat wasn't hers. | 0:25:56 | 0:25:58 | |
-Oh, wasn't it? -No. Hunter came in and she was sitting | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
and he said, "Just sit there, I'm going to paint you. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:04 | |
"Borrow her hat." | 0:26:04 | 0:26:06 | |
-I see, obeying commands. -Yes, and... | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
And she was obviously terrifically good fun, look at her. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:12 | |
-Oh yes, she was. -She's all teeth and smiles and fun | 0:26:12 | 0:26:14 | |
and what a lovely dress she's wearing as well, | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
with that multi-coloured patchwork. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:18 | |
-So, George Leslie Hunter. -Yes. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
-he's quite a good artist, isn't he? -Yes. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:23 | |
-One of the Scottish colourists. -Yes. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:25 | |
He spent most of his early life in California. Did you know that? | 0:26:25 | 0:26:29 | |
I had read that somewhere, yes. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
And he didn't really take up oils, | 0:26:31 | 0:26:32 | |
because he was working there as an illustrator, until a lot later, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
after he came back to Europe, went to Paris. Do you like it? | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
Yes, I do, it's very much my aunt. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:40 | |
She lived until she was over 90, | 0:26:40 | 0:26:42 | |
but she stayed young. I can remember going up one time | 0:26:42 | 0:26:45 | |
and there was a new Gauguin print over the mantelpiece, | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
and I said, "Oh, that's nice". She said, "Yes, I've got a set of them, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:53 | |
"but there was a nude so I've put that in the bathroom". | 0:26:53 | 0:26:56 | |
How many of my 70-year-old aunts would have done that? | 0:26:56 | 0:26:59 | |
-I thought that was terrific. -She sounds like great fun | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
and I can see why Hunter would pick her out from a crowd | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
and say "Right, stay there, I'm going to paint you." | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
And there's something really quick about this picture, isn't there? | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
-Yes. -His other paintings are quite studied and careful, perhaps, | 0:27:10 | 0:27:14 | |
but this is almost an oil sketch | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
and it's got these very bold black lines separating the shapes up | 0:27:16 | 0:27:22 | |
and then in the middle, this patchwork of pretty colours | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
done with a flat brush, | 0:27:25 | 0:27:26 | |
and then this wonderful wide smiley face. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:31 | |
It's full of joy, this picture, | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
and I think it's just great fun. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:35 | |
So you've no idea - you've never shown it to anyone or anything? | 0:27:35 | 0:27:39 | |
No, no. It's Auntie Nancy. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
-My daughter tells me she's having it when I finish with it. -Quite right! | 0:27:42 | 0:27:46 | |
Would you want to insure it? | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
I don't know, I didn't think of it being that valuable. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:52 | |
-Well, it might cost you a bit. -Might it? Right. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
Well, you'd have to pay premiums on £30,000, I think. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
Really? Oh. | 0:27:57 | 0:27:59 | |
-Yeah. -Ah, right. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:01 | |
-It's a bit different, isn't it? -It is, isn't it? Yes. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
Our team of specialists never know what's going to turn up on a Roadshow day, | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
but I can tell you that they're all hoping today will be the moment | 0:28:13 | 0:28:17 | |
when their dream find comes in. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:19 | |
But for our ceramics specialist John Sandon, | 0:28:19 | 0:28:21 | |
that did happen some years ago in this Great Hall in Birmingham. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
A little pottery bust. I wonder who he's meant to be. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:29 | |
-Yes. -Sort of, he's wearing... | 0:28:29 | 0:28:32 | |
well, I suppose that's a turban of some sort | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
with a jewel on his head, | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
so a Turk of some kind. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:38 | |
Well, my aunt had it on her mantelpiece all her life, | 0:28:38 | 0:28:41 | |
she lived in the same house from the 1920s | 0:28:41 | 0:28:44 | |
until she died at the age of 94 about four years ago. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:47 | |
Right, so that's been sitting on the mantelpiece | 0:28:47 | 0:28:49 | |
-and now come down to you. -That's right, yes. | 0:28:49 | 0:28:51 | |
What we've got here is a piece of pottery, | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
which is clearly shown by his nose being missing. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:57 | |
And I can see inside the colour of the clay | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
-and it chips very easily. -Yes. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
We've got a material called Delft. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:03 | |
To look like Chinese porcelain, they took a pottery clay | 0:29:03 | 0:29:07 | |
and covered it in a thick white glaze | 0:29:07 | 0:29:09 | |
and it looks like a nice white china body. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:12 | |
It started perhaps in Italy. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:13 | |
It's best known in Holland, where the name Delft applied, | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
and you also get it made in France, and in England. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:20 | |
And placing where it's made | 0:29:20 | 0:29:22 | |
-is going to be a very crucial thing to this little object. -Yes. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:25 | |
Because we go back to quite an early age for Delft. | 0:29:25 | 0:29:28 | |
Looking at his face there, | 0:29:28 | 0:29:30 | |
he's wearing, I guess, a moustache and a little goatee beard | 0:29:30 | 0:29:35 | |
which sort of comes to mind images of Charles I, or indeed Charles II, | 0:29:35 | 0:29:42 | |
and that's really the period we're looking at. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
We've got a piece here from the 17th century, | 0:29:44 | 0:29:46 | |
-goes back to, I suppose, the 1670s. -Gosh. | 0:29:46 | 0:29:49 | |
Anything from that age, we're talking quite a rare piece. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:52 | |
-Really? -Indeed. | 0:29:52 | 0:29:54 | |
-Even though it's so battered? -Well, that's... | 0:29:54 | 0:29:56 | |
-I like to see battering on these. -Oh, right. | 0:29:56 | 0:29:58 | |
That's telling me more, that it's got some age. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
If Delft has got no chips at all, then it's normally modern. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
It's a very rare survivor. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
I've never seen one like it, I've never seen this model, | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
I'm sure it's totally unrecorded. | 0:30:09 | 0:30:12 | |
Cautiously, one is thinking... | 0:30:12 | 0:30:14 | |
perhaps £50,000. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:16 | |
Really? Ooh. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:18 | |
And it could, I say, some have made over £100,000... | 0:30:18 | 0:30:23 | |
-Oh, dear. -..for pieces of such importance. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:27 | |
-It's a major discovery. -Is it really? | 0:30:27 | 0:30:29 | |
-Gosh. -It's so exciting, I'm just... | 0:30:29 | 0:30:31 | |
I'm shaking, holding it here, but I'll put it down carefully. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
-Gosh. -Because it is a wonderful thing, wonderful condition. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:37 | |
What a piece! | 0:30:37 | 0:30:39 | |
Well, John, I have to say | 0:30:39 | 0:30:40 | |
that was a remarkably restrained reaction from that lady there. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:44 | |
Was she stunned into silence? | 0:30:44 | 0:30:46 | |
I think sometimes that sort of news is rather difficult to take in. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:49 | |
How can something that looks so simple | 0:30:49 | 0:30:51 | |
be worth such a huge amount of money? | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
It was a heck of a valuation. Do you know what happened to it? | 0:30:53 | 0:30:57 | |
Well, first of all, we had to get the piece checked out | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
because I felt sure it was rare and early English | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
but there wasn't another one known, | 0:31:02 | 0:31:04 | |
so we showed it to museum experts, specialists in Delft | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
who'd dug up on the site of the London Delft potteries. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:11 | |
Happily, they all agreed with me | 0:31:11 | 0:31:12 | |
but they all thought it was English, no doubt about it, | 0:31:12 | 0:31:15 | |
-and the only one known. -How extraordinary. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:18 | |
And so what did the lady do with it? Has she still got it? | 0:31:18 | 0:31:21 | |
It's always a dilemma. In this case, | 0:31:21 | 0:31:23 | |
much as her family loved the piece, it's always been on the mantelpiece | 0:31:23 | 0:31:26 | |
but at that kind of money, it was really just a worry too much | 0:31:26 | 0:31:30 | |
so they decided to sell it, through the auspices of a London dealer. | 0:31:30 | 0:31:34 | |
It was sold to an American private collector of pottery | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
and he paid a price just over what I had valued it at | 0:31:37 | 0:31:40 | |
so it's always a relief to be assured | 0:31:40 | 0:31:43 | |
-that it really was that special. -Absolutely. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
So it's been on quite a journey then, from Birmingham, | 0:31:45 | 0:31:48 | |
all the way over to the States. | 0:31:48 | 0:31:50 | |
Here we are in the Great Hall again, so no pressure, John. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:52 | |
But who knows? Maybe something equally extraordinary will turn up. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:56 | |
I'll let you get back to your table. | 0:31:56 | 0:31:57 | |
Well, let's hope I'll find the pair to it now. | 0:31:57 | 0:31:59 | |
You see, I started my jewellery career in Hatton Garden | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
and when I was told I was going to come to Birmingham for the Roadshow, | 0:32:06 | 0:32:09 | |
I was so excited as I've never been here before. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
I arrived yesterday and rushed to the jewellery quarter. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:15 | |
It's a fabulous place! | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
I really must go. | 0:32:18 | 0:32:19 | |
Oh, it was amazing. I went and saw this... | 0:32:19 | 0:32:22 | |
the Jewellery Museum there with Smith and Pepper | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
and it was how the workshop was | 0:32:24 | 0:32:27 | |
in their day, and it brought back so many memories for me. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:32 | |
And then today, | 0:32:33 | 0:32:35 | |
you've brought these most amazing jewellery designs. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:38 | |
Where have these come from? | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
Well, about 20 years ago, | 0:32:41 | 0:32:44 | |
in one of my rash moments, I decided to build a Victorian steam launch | 0:32:44 | 0:32:48 | |
but I needed a steam engine, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
so I went and saw a machinery dealer I knew, who had a steam engine. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:54 | |
-Right. -And he knew we were fashion designers. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
-OK. -So he turned round and said, "I've got something you might like" | 0:32:57 | 0:33:03 | |
and he said, "I think there's about 1,000 paintings here". | 0:33:03 | 0:33:06 | |
And in fact, we counted them and there's over 5,000. | 0:33:06 | 0:33:10 | |
-So you saw them and you fell in love with them. -We had to have them. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:13 | |
You had to have them. Who owned these? | 0:33:13 | 0:33:15 | |
Where did they come from originally? | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
They came from a company called Bloxwich, | 0:33:17 | 0:33:19 | |
and that was in Holland Road here in Birmingham. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:22 | |
The company started in 1918 - very small company, | 0:33:22 | 0:33:26 | |
and they finished... I think they closed in 1972 | 0:33:26 | 0:33:30 | |
and then the auction was in 1979. | 0:33:30 | 0:33:32 | |
Right. So, I mean, these were all drawings | 0:33:32 | 0:33:35 | |
for their costume, they made costume jewellery, did they? | 0:33:35 | 0:33:39 | |
It was costume jewellery, yes. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:40 | |
We talk about jewellery-making being a skill. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:43 | |
Well, to actually paint like this | 0:33:43 | 0:33:45 | |
-is a skill in itself. -And getting all the repeats, you know, | 0:33:45 | 0:33:49 | |
-doing the same shape there and there. -Yes. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:51 | |
And without a computer. | 0:33:51 | 0:33:53 | |
-Exactly, these are all hand done, hand-painted, hand-drawn. -Amazing. | 0:33:53 | 0:33:58 | |
Absolutely stunning. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:00 | |
-This is following history. -Oh, yes. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:03 | |
In costume jewellery, it is following history and it is amazing. | 0:34:03 | 0:34:07 | |
For instance, you've got over there Egyptian style, | 0:34:07 | 0:34:10 | |
and of course Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in 1922 | 0:34:10 | 0:34:14 | |
and so then, that gave a lot of people the idea... | 0:34:14 | 0:34:18 | |
-That that's what they'd like to wear. -Exactly. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:20 | |
And this one, the detail - oh, | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
I mean everything is just so, so wonderful. Now... | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
..what's happened here? | 0:34:27 | 0:34:29 | |
I think that was when they were allowed to smoke while they worked. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
-Oh, my goodness. -Or a... | 0:34:32 | 0:34:34 | |
-These are the actual working drawings. -Yes. | 0:34:34 | 0:34:36 | |
These coloured ones I think are the ideas. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
These are the working drawings they took to the workshop. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:41 | |
-These are all signed. -This one too. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
-You liked this one, didn't you? -Yes I do. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
I'll tell you why I like this. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
It's because it's got here... | 0:34:48 | 0:34:50 | |
other than it being, again, beautifully painted, | 0:34:50 | 0:34:54 | |
but the detail - in that you could actually take it to a goldsmith | 0:34:54 | 0:34:57 | |
-and say, "I want it like that". -And that's how it would be made. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
Because he's got the side elevation drawn as well, so you instantly know | 0:35:00 | 0:35:05 | |
that this is not flat. | 0:35:05 | 0:35:07 | |
These pieces have got movement to it, they've got the curve to it. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:11 | |
You know, there's been goldsmiths and silversmiths here in Birmingham | 0:35:11 | 0:35:15 | |
for over 200 years. It's an incredibly important centre for jewellery | 0:35:15 | 0:35:18 | |
and it has its own assay office here as well - | 0:35:18 | 0:35:21 | |
really incredibly important, | 0:35:21 | 0:35:23 | |
and these pieces, the drawings here, | 0:35:23 | 0:35:26 | |
which have come from 1918 to 1972. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:30 | |
-Yes. -I mean, a fantastic wealth | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
of all the different historical events that have gone on. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:37 | |
I would say, because these drawings are so wonderful, | 0:35:37 | 0:35:39 | |
and they encapsulate such an important part of jewellery history, | 0:35:39 | 0:35:43 | |
I would say at least, you know, £2 each, | 0:35:43 | 0:35:46 | |
and you have over 5,000 drawings. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:49 | |
-Yep. -I mean, £10,000? | 0:35:49 | 0:35:52 | |
-I think it's fabulous. -Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:55 | |
"Antonio Brady with the regards of JVL Pruyn | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
"and Willie Watts Sherman, 1866". | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
Does that inscription have any connection with you and your family? | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
Yes, it does. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
Antonio Brady was my husband's great-great-grandfather | 0:36:13 | 0:36:19 | |
in the early part of the 19th century. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
He was a victualler in the Navy and this was his tankard. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:26 | |
It was given to him when he was in America. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:30 | |
You've hinted at something I was hoping you might say, | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
and that is America. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
Because they're two very different pieces here | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
and this, as you rightly say, is American. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:40 | |
It's rather nicely made. It's got this fabulous cast finial here | 0:36:40 | 0:36:47 | |
of a very muscular figure pulling this medallion, | 0:36:47 | 0:36:51 | |
so it's got strength to it, it's a really characterful piece of silver. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:54 | |
But most important of all, | 0:36:54 | 0:36:57 | |
on the bottom, | 0:36:57 | 0:36:59 | |
-it's got "Tiffany and Company". -Yes. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
And this is an early Tiffany mark. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:04 | |
-Oh, right. -And the inscription, 1866, | 0:37:04 | 0:37:07 | |
is almost certainly about the time that the tankard was made. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:11 | |
So, you've got a good piece of silver | 0:37:11 | 0:37:13 | |
by the best American makers of the period | 0:37:13 | 0:37:17 | |
and of course, Tiffany's still going, | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
-still a very big prominent name. -Yes. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:22 | |
But it's not often you see a nice tankard like this from that period. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:27 | |
Moving on to this vase, | 0:37:27 | 0:37:30 | |
this is very English. | 0:37:30 | 0:37:32 | |
-Yes. -Personally, I absolutely love it. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:36 | |
If we look at the marks, it's got some marks on the front - "G of H". | 0:37:36 | 0:37:41 | |
Well, originally that stood for "Guild of Handicrafts" | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
-but in later years, it actually stood for George Hart. -Yes. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:48 | |
And it's got a date letter for 1933. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:51 | |
-Right. -This is a wonderful example of Arts and Crafts silver. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:56 | |
And if I tell you that Arts and Crafts silver at the moment | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
-is on an all-time high... -Oh. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
-..hopefully that might get you a little bit excited. -Gosh, yes. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:07 | |
But is there any history you know about this piece? | 0:38:07 | 0:38:09 | |
It doesn't go back as far in the family. | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
My mother-in-law gave it to me about 30 years ago. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
She lived in Chipping Campden, | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
-so it's not far from home. -Ah, that's right. | 0:38:17 | 0:38:20 | |
And an elderly lady living next door was moving house | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
and asked my mother-in-law whether she would like to choose a memento, | 0:38:23 | 0:38:27 | |
and my mother-in-law always said she loved that vase, | 0:38:27 | 0:38:30 | |
-I think because her birth sign is Pisces. -Ah. | 0:38:30 | 0:38:35 | |
And so she loved the fish | 0:38:35 | 0:38:37 | |
and so she chose that. And then later on, she gave it to me. | 0:38:37 | 0:38:42 | |
You mentioned Chipping Campden, which, of course, | 0:38:42 | 0:38:44 | |
was really one of the birth places of the Arts and Crafts movement | 0:38:44 | 0:38:48 | |
as Charles Ashbee moved his business from London to Chipping Campden. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:52 | |
It's typical of their work, it's very stylish, it's beautifully made. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:58 | |
It's got a horn body with the silver overlay of fish and reeds. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:02 | |
I mean, a really great piece of design. | 0:39:02 | 0:39:06 | |
Now, we've got to come to what these things might be worth. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:10 | |
I suppose the Tiffany piece, being as early as it is, | 0:39:10 | 0:39:17 | |
is going to be worth in the region of £600 to £800. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
Gosh. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
The vase, though, may surprise you. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:26 | |
-Yes? -How about £2,000 to £2,500? | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
Good gracious! | 0:39:31 | 0:39:32 | |
-Goodness! -You've made my day by bringing it along. Thank you. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
Thank you, thank you very much. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:38 | |
I think your friend here is suffering from | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
what has more recently been known as a wardrobe malfunction. | 0:39:42 | 0:39:45 | |
-She seems to be revealing quite a lot. -Sort of decolletage. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:49 | |
Yes, and she's certainly a very sort of sensuous lady, isn't she? | 0:39:49 | 0:39:53 | |
She has a lovely smooth touch. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:54 | |
Lovely, lovely finish, it's like really polished marble, isn't it? | 0:39:54 | 0:39:58 | |
-Mm-hmm. -Do you know what this wonderful thing is made from? | 0:39:58 | 0:40:01 | |
Absolutely no idea. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
I'm afraid we've just known her for a very long time | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
but we've no idea where she comes from, what's she's made of | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
or who she really is. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
Well, have you ever noticed the mark impressed on the back? | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
-No. -It says "Copeland". | 0:40:13 | 0:40:15 | |
-Oh. No. -Copeland were makers of Parian porcelain. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:20 | |
Oh, right. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:21 | |
It's a wonderful type of porcelain | 0:40:21 | 0:40:23 | |
-that was invented to simulate polished marble. -Oh, OK, right. | 0:40:23 | 0:40:27 | |
She's not real marble, | 0:40:27 | 0:40:29 | |
she's a 19th-century thing designed to look glamorous and sensuous. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:33 | |
She looks a kind of lady with personality. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:35 | |
Well, as a family, we always call her Alice | 0:40:35 | 0:40:37 | |
but my father was always convinced she was actually the Empress Livia. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
-Right. -But Alice is what she's been all my life and my father's life. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:44 | |
-Well, she can stay as Alice, but she's actually Clyte. -Oh, right. | 0:40:44 | 0:40:48 | |
And she is copied from a Greco-Roman sculpture, marble, | 0:40:48 | 0:40:54 | |
-in the British Museum. -Oh. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:56 | |
And she's a really famous image, an iconic figure in British art, | 0:40:56 | 0:41:01 | |
-so this would have been a very well-known image in the 19th century. -Right. | 0:41:01 | 0:41:04 | |
And this particular copy is modelled by a man called Delpech | 0:41:04 | 0:41:08 | |
in about 1855, although the bust is probably a little bit later. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:12 | |
The Parian market is not strong at the moment | 0:41:12 | 0:41:14 | |
but I don't think that matters. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:16 | |
I think she is an extremely beautiful and charming thing | 0:41:16 | 0:41:20 | |
which many people would like to own. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:23 | |
So, I think a reasonable, sensible, | 0:41:23 | 0:41:26 | |
cautious estimate would be of | 0:41:26 | 0:41:29 | |
between £800 and £1,200. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
Really? Oh, that's good. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
Not that we'd get rid of her, she's very much passed down the line. | 0:41:34 | 0:41:37 | |
We're already sorting out who'll have her in the fourth generation. | 0:41:39 | 0:41:42 | |
That's wonderful. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:43 | |
Well, I guess you've worked out this is a pretty nice thing, | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
so why have you brought it along? | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
Well, it's been in the glass cabinet at home | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
since it's been passed down through the family | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
so I thought I'd bring it along today | 0:42:00 | 0:42:02 | |
and see if it was... If you can tell me anything about it, really. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:05 | |
Well, I can. One of the things... I mean, I know it, to start with. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:09 | |
-I mean you brought it out and I knew exactly what it was. -Right. | 0:42:09 | 0:42:12 | |
But it's one of these things that it is exactly what it says on the tin | 0:42:12 | 0:42:17 | |
-because it's all written here. -Right, yeah. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:19 | |
And had you noticed that? | 0:42:19 | 0:42:21 | |
I'd noticed the "Orrefors", yes. | 0:42:21 | 0:42:23 | |
So, basically, you have "Orrefors, Lindstrand," | 0:42:23 | 0:42:28 | |
-then a digit, and then a couple of letters. -Right. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
And Orrefors is the great... | 0:42:31 | 0:42:33 | |
-the greatest glassworks of the 20th century in Sweden. -Right. | 0:42:33 | 0:42:37 | |
Based in a village called Orrefors. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:39 | |
-Amazing, I don't know where they got the name. -Right. | 0:42:39 | 0:42:41 | |
Vicke Lindstrand is the best designer of the 1930s for Orrefors | 0:42:41 | 0:42:45 | |
-and this is Vicke Lindstrand because it's got his name on it. -OK. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:49 | |
And it's 1939, it's just before the outbreak of war, | 0:42:49 | 0:42:53 | |
-which Sweden was a non-combatant in. -Right. -A neutral country. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:57 | |
-And it just works, doesn't it? -It does, yes. -Don't you think? | 0:42:57 | 0:43:01 | |
-Yes, yes. -The baby blowing the bubbles, and the optics of glass | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
allow that to make appear that the baby's blowing the bubbles | 0:43:04 | 0:43:09 | |
-out of the pipe... -Yeah. -And the bubbles have spread. | 0:43:09 | 0:43:11 | |
-Just floating. -All over. And it's just a really good use. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:15 | |
-It itself is a bubble. -Is it a vase or...? -It's an object. -Right. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:19 | |
It's an object. I mean, if you stuck a daff in there, you'd be daft. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:23 | |
-Right. OK. -That's not what you do with it. -Yeah. | 0:43:23 | 0:43:25 | |
What you do is, you look at that, you put it in the light, | 0:43:25 | 0:43:28 | |
-get it out of the cabinet and put it out. -In the light. -In the light. | 0:43:28 | 0:43:31 | |
Because that's a nice thing, worth 500 quid. | 0:43:31 | 0:43:34 | |
£500. Yes, brilliant. | 0:43:34 | 0:43:38 | |
I'm glad I brought it along, yes. Thank you. | 0:43:38 | 0:43:40 | |
They say an owner looks like his pet, so... | 0:43:43 | 0:43:46 | |
Thanks very much indeed. | 0:43:46 | 0:43:47 | |
What are we to make of this? | 0:43:47 | 0:43:49 | |
Well, he's supposed to be a Staffordshire Bull, OK, | 0:43:49 | 0:43:53 | |
he was a real live dog about 150 years ago | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
and he's been in my family ever since, sort of thing. | 0:43:57 | 0:44:01 | |
He's supposed to be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier? He's miniscule. | 0:44:01 | 0:44:04 | |
Well, he was. I think he's just a throwback of some description. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:08 | |
-Has he got a name? -Yeah. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:10 | |
"The Dog". | 0:44:10 | 0:44:12 | |
FIONA LAUGHS | 0:44:12 | 0:44:13 | |
Growing up in Scotland, | 0:44:16 | 0:44:18 | |
I always wanted a Norah Wellings Highland doll. | 0:44:18 | 0:44:21 | |
I mean, made by Chad Valley and Norah Wellings had her own factory | 0:44:23 | 0:44:27 | |
and she's really regarded as the greatest maker of felt dolls | 0:44:27 | 0:44:31 | |
-that Britain has ever produced. -Yes. | 0:44:31 | 0:44:34 | |
You've got a wonderful display here. Where did you get them? | 0:44:34 | 0:44:37 | |
Well, they're from Chad Valley in Wellington | 0:44:37 | 0:44:40 | |
and when it closed down, my father's friend's wife, who worked there, | 0:44:40 | 0:44:44 | |
he bought them off her | 0:44:44 | 0:44:46 | |
and they've just sat in tissue paper for the last 40 years, I'm afraid, | 0:44:46 | 0:44:50 | |
although when I was a girl, they sat on a shelf, my pride and joy. | 0:44:50 | 0:44:54 | |
And so you were 10 years old... | 0:44:54 | 0:44:57 | |
Yes, 10 or 11, about that, yes. | 0:44:57 | 0:44:59 | |
And you opened up all these dolls? | 0:44:59 | 0:45:02 | |
Yeah. Christmas. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:03 | |
Like winning the lottery all in one then, it really was. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:06 | |
-It's sad to think of them in tissue paper, I have to say. -It is, yes. | 0:45:06 | 0:45:10 | |
But because they've been in tissue paper, | 0:45:10 | 0:45:12 | |
-they're in fantastic condition. -Yes. | 0:45:12 | 0:45:14 | |
I see a lot of Norah Wellings dolls that are not in very good condition | 0:45:14 | 0:45:19 | |
and of course condition is something that collectors really, really want. | 0:45:19 | 0:45:23 | |
-Yes. -And of course, they're all quite different. | 0:45:23 | 0:45:26 | |
This is probably the most common one. | 0:45:26 | 0:45:29 | |
-Interestingly, 70% of her dolls were exported. -Oh, right. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:33 | |
-And a lot of them went onto cruise liners and were sold as gifts. -Yes. | 0:45:33 | 0:45:36 | |
There's a very big collecting market in the States for these dolls. | 0:45:36 | 0:45:40 | |
These ones here | 0:45:40 | 0:45:41 | |
are much more unusual, | 0:45:41 | 0:45:43 | |
and in actual fact, they did make | 0:45:43 | 0:45:45 | |
-quite a lot of the Scotsman... -Oh, right. | 0:45:45 | 0:45:48 | |
..because it was very, very popular, | 0:45:48 | 0:45:50 | |
again being exported to Canada and America. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:52 | |
What I love about them, | 0:45:52 | 0:45:54 | |
and what I've always loved about them, | 0:45:54 | 0:45:56 | |
-is how on earth did she do those ears? -I know! | 0:45:56 | 0:45:59 | |
I mean, they were obviously done separately, | 0:45:59 | 0:46:02 | |
and they're so distinctive, | 0:46:02 | 0:46:04 | |
-they're Norah Wellings' ears. -Yes, yes. | 0:46:04 | 0:46:07 | |
Most of them would be, | 0:46:07 | 0:46:09 | |
I would say, about £100 each, | 0:46:09 | 0:46:12 | |
but of course, some of the rarer ones | 0:46:12 | 0:46:15 | |
could easily be £200 each, | 0:46:15 | 0:46:17 | |
so I think we're looking at a collection | 0:46:17 | 0:46:20 | |
of certainly in excess of £1,000. Probably £1,500. | 0:46:20 | 0:46:24 | |
Oh, wonderful, thank you. That's lovely. | 0:46:24 | 0:46:27 | |
Life on the Roadshow is about all sorts of things, | 0:46:27 | 0:46:29 | |
but certainly what it brings home to us, | 0:46:29 | 0:46:31 | |
talking to people like you, | 0:46:31 | 0:46:33 | |
is the enduring interest in wartime activities. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:37 | |
I'm very interested in wartime history, | 0:46:37 | 0:46:39 | |
I'm just too young to have been part of it, but my parents were - | 0:46:39 | 0:46:42 | |
like so many of us - and what fascinates me is | 0:46:42 | 0:46:45 | |
there's still aspects of that story | 0:46:45 | 0:46:48 | |
that have never been told, and I think you've brought me one here. | 0:46:48 | 0:46:52 | |
What is the Snapshots From Home League? | 0:46:52 | 0:46:55 | |
Well it was a scheme introduced by the YMCA | 0:46:55 | 0:46:59 | |
during the First World War. | 0:46:59 | 0:47:01 | |
This album relates to the Second World War. | 0:47:01 | 0:47:03 | |
The scheme was introduced in the First World War | 0:47:03 | 0:47:05 | |
but it was part of their welfare work with troops | 0:47:05 | 0:47:09 | |
to try and maintain contact between | 0:47:09 | 0:47:12 | |
-soldiers and their families. -Right. | 0:47:12 | 0:47:14 | |
This scheme operated by the YMCA | 0:47:14 | 0:47:16 | |
distributing forms for the soldiers to complete, | 0:47:16 | 0:47:20 | |
to request photographs of their loved ones, | 0:47:20 | 0:47:23 | |
their pets, or whatever. | 0:47:23 | 0:47:25 | |
They returned the forms to the YMCA's headquarters, | 0:47:25 | 0:47:28 | |
and these were then distributed to amateur photographers | 0:47:28 | 0:47:31 | |
that the YMCA had recruited. | 0:47:31 | 0:47:33 | |
The photographers then went out | 0:47:33 | 0:47:36 | |
-and made photographs of the families, usually in the family home. -Yes. | 0:47:36 | 0:47:40 | |
And then the photographers | 0:47:40 | 0:47:43 | |
posted on the photographs to the individual men. | 0:47:43 | 0:47:46 | |
So the soldier serving in the Air Force in India - or whatever it might be - | 0:47:46 | 0:47:50 | |
he could say, "Oh, I haven't seen my mum for three years. | 0:47:50 | 0:47:52 | |
-"Can you go and photograph her?" -Yes, absolutely. | 0:47:52 | 0:47:55 | |
So, Miss J Cook - who was she? | 0:47:55 | 0:47:57 | |
Jean Cook was a teacher, living in Sussex, | 0:47:57 | 0:48:01 | |
and she was recruited as one of these tens of thousands of photographers. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:05 | |
So she was just an ordinary person... | 0:48:05 | 0:48:08 | |
-Who could take pictures. -Yes. -And looking... | 0:48:08 | 0:48:10 | |
-just instantly at the pictures, they're pictures anybody could have taken. -Yes. | 0:48:10 | 0:48:14 | |
-They're not smart photographs. -No. -They're snaps. -Yes. | 0:48:14 | 0:48:17 | |
Hence the snapshot title. | 0:48:17 | 0:48:19 | |
I think... let's see if we can tell a story. | 0:48:19 | 0:48:21 | |
Yes, here's one. | 0:48:21 | 0:48:23 | |
I mean, this is picked at random. | 0:48:23 | 0:48:25 | |
So this is the form that Driver Knight filled in. | 0:48:25 | 0:48:30 | |
So, he sent that back and he gave the home address | 0:48:30 | 0:48:33 | |
-and then the photographs came and they were sent by Miss Cook. -Yes. | 0:48:33 | 0:48:38 | |
So she had the contact with the soldier. | 0:48:38 | 0:48:40 | |
This is one, quite a good one I think, | 0:48:40 | 0:48:42 | |
so it's from... | 0:48:42 | 0:48:45 | |
Mr Roselle, 1942. | 0:48:45 | 0:48:48 | |
He's on the Revenge or something like that | 0:48:48 | 0:48:50 | |
or he's at a base called Revenge. | 0:48:50 | 0:48:52 | |
"Dear Miss Cook, I have just received a letter from home | 0:48:52 | 0:48:57 | |
"and enclosed in it were some delightful snaps of my family. | 0:48:57 | 0:49:00 | |
"I am writing to thank you from the bottom of my heart | 0:49:00 | 0:49:03 | |
"for these grand keepsakes | 0:49:03 | 0:49:05 | |
"and I must say, my family all looked well." | 0:49:05 | 0:49:08 | |
-So his whole life is improved by it, isn't it? -Yes, it is. | 0:49:08 | 0:49:11 | |
So Jean Cook just went round | 0:49:11 | 0:49:13 | |
day after day, taking photographs of ordinary people? | 0:49:13 | 0:49:17 | |
Yes. I understand she used a bicycle and got on her bike after school | 0:49:17 | 0:49:21 | |
and visited families to take these photographs. | 0:49:21 | 0:49:24 | |
-And she was one of thousands. -Yes, tens of thousands, yes. | 0:49:24 | 0:49:27 | |
In different parts of Britain. I think this is a wonderful record | 0:49:27 | 0:49:31 | |
-of how things were. -Yes. | 0:49:31 | 0:49:32 | |
We know about all the front line stuff, it's all documented, | 0:49:32 | 0:49:35 | |
but when you think of this vast support system this represents, | 0:49:35 | 0:49:38 | |
-it's almost like that sort of mass observation thing, isn't it? -It is. | 0:49:38 | 0:49:42 | |
Where we're recording ordinary people in their lives. | 0:49:42 | 0:49:45 | |
And you can imagine Jean Cook knocking on the door saying, | 0:49:45 | 0:49:48 | |
-"Can I just take a picture?" -"What, now? All right." | 0:49:48 | 0:49:50 | |
-"Just sit there", you know, and off she goes. -Yes, yes. | 0:49:50 | 0:49:52 | |
And I just have this image of these women, mostly, I imagine, | 0:49:52 | 0:49:56 | |
cycling all over Britain, taking photographs. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:58 | |
And all these troops who were, sort of, reassured by that contact home. | 0:49:58 | 0:50:03 | |
Of course now it's quite different, I mean, it's easy, isn't it? | 0:50:03 | 0:50:07 | |
It is, but I can really appreciate this, | 0:50:07 | 0:50:09 | |
-the resonance of this. My daughter's in the army. -Right. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:13 | |
So I can understand very much how important it is, to keep in touch. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:17 | |
I mean it's very hard to think of things like this in terms of value. | 0:50:17 | 0:50:20 | |
I mean, personally, I'd love to pay £100, £200 for it, | 0:50:20 | 0:50:25 | |
simply because I'd like to feel that I'm part of that story. | 0:50:25 | 0:50:29 | |
But I think it's actually irrelevant. | 0:50:29 | 0:50:30 | |
It's really about the contact between these people, | 0:50:30 | 0:50:33 | |
what it meant to all of them. | 0:50:33 | 0:50:35 | |
I thought I knew a lot about the war but, you know, | 0:50:35 | 0:50:37 | |
you've taught me something new | 0:50:37 | 0:50:39 | |
and I'm delighted to be able to open | 0:50:39 | 0:50:41 | |
-a new chapter of memory and experience. Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:50:41 | 0:50:46 | |
This is a splendid loving cup. | 0:51:01 | 0:51:04 | |
They call these loving cups, with two handles, | 0:51:04 | 0:51:06 | |
and made to commemorate the Worcester Corporation Sports Day | 0:51:06 | 0:51:11 | |
of 100 years ago. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:13 | |
That was Edward VII's coronation, | 0:51:13 | 0:51:16 | |
-wasn't it, really? Good, wasn't it? -Yes. | 0:51:16 | 0:51:18 | |
How did you get hold of it? | 0:51:18 | 0:51:19 | |
It was left to me by my mother when she died, | 0:51:19 | 0:51:22 | |
because she knew that I liked pots | 0:51:22 | 0:51:24 | |
and it was won by my great uncle in 1911, | 0:51:24 | 0:51:28 | |
as far as we know, for the sports. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:31 | |
-And this is him in here, is it? -This is him, yes. | 0:51:31 | 0:51:34 | |
-Which one is he? He's the cyclist there. -That's right. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:36 | |
Not necessarily for a cycle race, | 0:51:36 | 0:51:38 | |
this could be for any sort of sports day, couldn't it? | 0:51:38 | 0:51:41 | |
But wonderful, with the city coat of arms and motto, | 0:51:41 | 0:51:44 | |
and everything, and wonderful blue ground. Royal Worcester, of course, | 0:51:44 | 0:51:49 | |
but the glory of it, to me, | 0:51:49 | 0:51:50 | |
-is this side and this wonderful painting. -Beautiful. | 0:51:50 | 0:51:55 | |
It's signed by the great fruit painter of all time. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:59 | |
-Really? I didn't know that. -This is Richard Sebright - R Sebright. | 0:51:59 | 0:52:04 | |
It's superb painting of fruit | 0:52:04 | 0:52:06 | |
and the gilding around it is magnificent. | 0:52:06 | 0:52:08 | |
It is beautiful, yes, it is. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:10 | |
A lovely, lovely cup. It's going to be worth a fair bit of money. | 0:52:10 | 0:52:13 | |
-Really? -Yeah. -Oh. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
I suppose you're looking at a pot, with this marvellous painting here, | 0:52:15 | 0:52:19 | |
-£1,000. -Oh, golly. | 0:52:19 | 0:52:21 | |
-So look after it. -Yes, I'll look after it. We treasure it. | 0:52:23 | 0:52:26 | |
-It's beautiful. -Yes. | 0:52:26 | 0:52:27 | |
Last time we came to Birmingham, | 0:52:29 | 0:52:31 | |
we had a fantastic valuation of about £50,000 on one item. | 0:52:31 | 0:52:35 | |
And rumour's going round the experts, | 0:52:35 | 0:52:37 | |
that this could be another big-ticket item, | 0:52:37 | 0:52:40 | |
so, I'm just going to sit down here | 0:52:40 | 0:52:41 | |
and have a little listen to what they're going to say. | 0:52:41 | 0:52:44 | |
You could tell from the far side of a football pitch | 0:52:44 | 0:52:47 | |
that a box of this quality | 0:52:47 | 0:52:49 | |
has got to have something wonderful in it. | 0:52:49 | 0:52:53 | |
Just look at the beautiful engraved brass inlay | 0:52:53 | 0:52:55 | |
of these coat of arms. | 0:52:55 | 0:52:58 | |
They look vaguely familiar to me. | 0:52:58 | 0:53:01 | |
Do you know whose they are? | 0:53:01 | 0:53:02 | |
Yes, I do, they're Spencer Churchill's crest. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:04 | |
The two shields, crossed shields | 0:53:04 | 0:53:08 | |
and I bought it because of Lady Diana - | 0:53:08 | 0:53:11 | |
then Princess Diana - | 0:53:11 | 0:53:13 | |
and I fell in love with it. | 0:53:13 | 0:53:16 | |
I'm not surprised. | 0:53:16 | 0:53:18 | |
You're talking of two of the most famous families | 0:53:18 | 0:53:21 | |
in the British Isles - | 0:53:21 | 0:53:24 | |
-the Spencers and the Churchills. -Quite. | 0:53:24 | 0:53:26 | |
And I've got a feeling | 0:53:26 | 0:53:27 | |
-that something good is going to be inside. -Oh, yes, oh, yes. | 0:53:27 | 0:53:31 | |
Wow! | 0:53:33 | 0:53:34 | |
Absolutely stunning! | 0:53:34 | 0:53:38 | |
Let's have a look in closer detail. | 0:53:38 | 0:53:41 | |
A beautiful box, made in silver gilt | 0:53:41 | 0:53:44 | |
and silver, lovely combination, | 0:53:44 | 0:53:47 | |
just makes it a bit more exciting than either completely gilding it. | 0:53:47 | 0:53:51 | |
-More work involved, so, you know. -Oh, yes. | 0:53:51 | 0:53:53 | |
Absolutely stunning quality, | 0:53:53 | 0:53:57 | |
beautifully engraved in the centre here with the same armorials, | 0:53:57 | 0:54:02 | |
but the condition looks quite amazing. | 0:54:02 | 0:54:06 | |
Travelling sets like this | 0:54:06 | 0:54:08 | |
first started appearing in the early 19th century, | 0:54:08 | 0:54:12 | |
and as the Grand Tour | 0:54:12 | 0:54:14 | |
became fashionable throughout the 19th century, | 0:54:14 | 0:54:17 | |
these boxes got more and more elaborate, | 0:54:17 | 0:54:19 | |
and well known companies, like Asprey and Garrard, | 0:54:19 | 0:54:23 | |
won gold medals at great exhibitions and international exhibitions, | 0:54:23 | 0:54:27 | |
for producing these amazing sets. | 0:54:27 | 0:54:30 | |
But this one, I mean, just look at the scent bottles - | 0:54:30 | 0:54:33 | |
beautifully painted in gold on the glass here. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:37 | |
Even the stopper | 0:54:37 | 0:54:39 | |
is a work of art, | 0:54:39 | 0:54:41 | |
it's absolutely stunning. | 0:54:41 | 0:54:44 | |
I've got to ask you where you got it. | 0:54:44 | 0:54:46 | |
Well, I bought it from a London auction house | 0:54:47 | 0:54:51 | |
and when I saw it the first time, | 0:54:51 | 0:54:54 | |
I said, "This has to be bought." | 0:54:54 | 0:54:57 | |
-I don't blame you. -I had to fight for it, but I got it. | 0:54:58 | 0:55:01 | |
Can you remember what you paid for it? | 0:55:01 | 0:55:03 | |
35,000. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:04 | |
35,000. | 0:55:04 | 0:55:06 | |
OK, let's look a bit further, | 0:55:06 | 0:55:09 | |
because if we lift this out, | 0:55:09 | 0:55:11 | |
we've got another | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
wonderful row of manicure items. | 0:55:14 | 0:55:16 | |
Fairly standard to find a manicure set, | 0:55:16 | 0:55:19 | |
but not fairly standard to find one | 0:55:19 | 0:55:21 | |
-with a lapis-handled letter knife. -Correct. | 0:55:21 | 0:55:24 | |
You've got beautiful cut steel scissors, | 0:55:24 | 0:55:27 | |
mother-of-pearl-handled manicure items, | 0:55:27 | 0:55:30 | |
absolutely glorious things. | 0:55:30 | 0:55:33 | |
If we look at one of the boxes... | 0:55:33 | 0:55:36 | |
-..we see it's got the maker's mark, RG... -Yes. | 0:55:38 | 0:55:41 | |
-..for Robert Garrard. -Yes. | 0:55:41 | 0:55:42 | |
He was the royal goldsmith to Queen Victoria | 0:55:42 | 0:55:45 | |
and one of the best makers... | 0:55:45 | 0:55:48 | |
..in the 19th century. | 0:55:49 | 0:55:51 | |
Some say, perhaps the best maker after Paul Storr, | 0:55:51 | 0:55:53 | |
-who's generally regarded as the finest maker. -Yeah. | 0:55:53 | 0:55:56 | |
It's got a date letter for 1844 here, | 0:55:56 | 0:55:59 | |
so, early Victorian. | 0:55:59 | 0:56:01 | |
Garrard's quite proudly... | 0:56:03 | 0:56:05 | |
..put on the front here, | 0:56:07 | 0:56:09 | |
another little brass plaque saying, | 0:56:09 | 0:56:12 | |
"R & S Garrard & Co, Crown Goldsmiths and Jewellers, | 0:56:12 | 0:56:15 | |
"Panton Street." | 0:56:15 | 0:56:17 | |
So, they were very proud of this, quite obviously. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
-It doesn't end there though, does it? -Oh, no! | 0:56:20 | 0:56:23 | |
-We've got another drawer... -More to come. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:26 | |
..at the bottom, | 0:56:26 | 0:56:28 | |
where we've got an ivory brush set, | 0:56:28 | 0:56:31 | |
but the things that I really like are these. | 0:56:31 | 0:56:34 | |
Because they're actually the candlestick branches, | 0:56:35 | 0:56:40 | |
-and I think they screw into here, don't they? -They do, yeah. | 0:56:40 | 0:56:42 | |
And so, if you're travelling around Europe | 0:56:44 | 0:56:47 | |
in the 1840s, | 0:56:47 | 0:56:49 | |
-this is pretty much everything you could ever want. -Oh, yeah. | 0:56:49 | 0:56:53 | |
This really is the ultimate travelling set | 0:56:53 | 0:56:57 | |
by a great maker. | 0:56:57 | 0:56:59 | |
So... | 0:57:00 | 0:57:02 | |
how do you put a value on something like this? | 0:57:02 | 0:57:04 | |
I think you paid a very reasonable price. | 0:57:04 | 0:57:07 | |
-That was 1998. -1998. -Yeah. | 0:57:07 | 0:57:10 | |
Well, I've seen some pretty staggering sets in my time, | 0:57:10 | 0:57:14 | |
but this ranks as one of the prettiest and the best quality. | 0:57:14 | 0:57:18 | |
It's got a great history, | 0:57:18 | 0:57:20 | |
one of the most noble families in England, | 0:57:20 | 0:57:23 | |
and if I was valuing this for insurance, | 0:57:23 | 0:57:28 | |
I would put at least £100,000 - maybe more. | 0:57:28 | 0:57:32 | |
Yeah. | 0:57:33 | 0:57:35 | |
-Is that all right with you? -Oh, yes. | 0:57:35 | 0:57:36 | |
That's very all right, thank you. | 0:57:36 | 0:57:38 | |
Well, that has to go back into the vaults again tomorrow, I'm afraid, | 0:57:38 | 0:57:42 | |
that sort of money. | 0:57:42 | 0:57:43 | |
Well, I'm not surprised. | 0:57:43 | 0:57:45 | |
Absolute pleasure | 0:57:45 | 0:57:47 | |
to see something so wonderful as this, | 0:57:47 | 0:57:50 | |
and in fabulous condition. | 0:57:50 | 0:57:52 | |
That travelling set - £100,000! | 0:57:55 | 0:57:58 | |
And wasn't it exquisite? | 0:57:58 | 0:58:00 | |
What a great way to end our programme! | 0:58:01 | 0:58:03 | |
A wonderful time here at Birmingham University in the Great Hall. | 0:58:03 | 0:58:07 | |
Until next time, from the whole Antiques Roadshow team, | 0:58:07 | 0:58:09 | |
bye-bye. | 0:58:09 | 0:58:10 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:58:34 | 0:58:36 |