Fountains Abbey 1 Antiques Roadshow


Fountains Abbey 1

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It'll come as no surprise to you

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to learn that we are very weather dependent on the Antiques Roadshow,

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and the series so far has experienced

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some of the wettest weather since records began.

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So today we've been praying for a break in the clouds,

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and it looks like our venue has answered our prayers,

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because one has just appeared.

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But then, this was a very important place of worship

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nearly 800 years ago.

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Welcome to the ruins of Fountains Abbey

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near Ripon in North Yorkshire.

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You might think it's crazy to set up a Roadshow in a ruin.

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I mean, what if this brief burst of sunshine doesn't last,

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and it starts to rain again?

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Well, usually we use a marquee,

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but this time we have the oldest wet-weather cover we've ever used.

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Known as the solarium, it started out life as a refectory,

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and then it was used as a store for the Abbey's food and produce,

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and amazingly, it's in almost as good a nick now

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as it was when it was built back in 1170.

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Quite an achievement for 13 disillusioned monks

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with a dream to set up a monastery in the middle of nowhere.

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The Cistercian monks led austere lives,

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and spent most of the day in silent meditation and prayer.

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They were known as the White Monks,

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because of the coarse sheep's wool robes they wore,

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and they didn't wear underwear beneath them,

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just to make them that bit more uncomfortable.

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It took 80 years to build Fountains Abbey, and as it grew,

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so too did its economic and political clout.

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It was a highly organised and self-sufficient community,

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and eventually became one of the wealthiest monasteries in Britain,

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lived in by 500 people - that's equivalent to a medieval town.

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Fountains Abbey was home to the monks for four centuries,

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until Henry VIII ordered its dissolution,

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since when it's remained a ruin,

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albeit one of the biggest and best-preserved in Europe.

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And let's hope our visitors,

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flocking in from nearby towns like Ripon and Harrogate

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won't need to take advantage of the wet-weather cover

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kindly provided by the monks.

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This is just the kind of thing you'd need

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if you'd been standing in a long queue at the Antiques Roadshow

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-for a couple of hours.

-Yeah.

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A seat or stool, and formed from three lovely squidgy cushions,

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and you think, "Wow that's going to be comfortable," until you do that.

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HOLLOW KNOCKING

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Then you realise they're not three squidgy cushions at all,

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-it's all made from pottery, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Where did you get it?

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Well, I bought it in auction, it was damaged, it cost £100,

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you know, which I felt was a good price.

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-Right. But it was damaged?

-Yes.

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Faulty goods.

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Cost £500 - I had to repair it.

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THEY LAUGH

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-So, £500?

-Yes, yeah.

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But it's worth it.

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Yeah, well, absolutely.

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I mean, look - the restoration's been beautifully done,

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so that's fine.

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But, I mean, you don't know where it's from or anything like that.

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No, no history, no.

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Well, it's a garden seat, and that's the name we give

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to seats which are often made out of pottery or porcelain,

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and they're made for use in the garden or in a conservatory,

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where it's damp and wet,

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and you couldn't have wooden furniture or upholstered furniture.

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-Yeah.

-This is ideal.

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Um...

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What's interesting about this, apart from the fantastic modelling -

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you know, it's just a brilliant idea, isn't it,

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three cushions like this -

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but it's the wonderful painting on it.

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This is a style of painting that I recognise so well.

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-It originates, actually, in Wales in the 1820s.

-Oh, right.

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And it makes it really interesting and easy to date a piece like this,

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-just by virtue of these wonderful flower sprays.

-Yes, yeah.

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And we're looking at a date of around 1835 or 1840.

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Lovely.

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I don't think it actually matters who made it,

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or when it was made, just look at it.

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-Right.

-It's glorious.

-Yeah.

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Actually, I don't know who made it.

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That's the problem, there's not a mark on it.

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Minton would have been a candidate,

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but it's not in the Minton shape books -

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I've checked.

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Right.

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So we just have to say an English pottery garden seat.

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Still a mystery.

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-Still a mystery, but it's English, and we've dated it.

-Good.

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-Good.

-And your £100 purchase price...

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£500 restoration job...

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you must have felt a bit anxious after that, did you?

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-It's a beautiful piece, and I love it to bits.

-Yeah.

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-So you don't care, really?

-I don't care about the cost.

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You just invested the money because you wanted...

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-I've never seen another one.

-No, you won't see another one.

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I've never seen one.

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No.

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But I think the fact that it's restored doesn't matter.

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I don't think anyone will care.

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They will just look at this,

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and they will fall in love, as I have done, as you did.

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Yeah, yeah.

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And I think they'd pay...

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-..£3,000 for it.

-Lovely, yes.

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-Maybe more.

-Yes.

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Good for the family's future.

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Absolutely.

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Yes.

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Now, I'm very fond of clocks, but I'll tell you something,

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I'm quite glad I don't own this,

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because I wouldn't want to move it around the house too much.

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No, it doesn't get moved a lot, no, you're all right.

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-HE LAUGHS

-What sort of weight is it?

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It's about 125lb, somewhere there.

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It's a massive calendar mantel clock.

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And obviously, something big like this,

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it's been a presentation or something of that sort.

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What do you know about it?

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Me mother bought it 60 year ago at a house clearance sale.

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-What did she pay? Do you remember?

-30 shillings.

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30 shillings?

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-That's, what, £1.50 in new money, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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You said it came with a pair of vases.

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Yes, but she gave them away, she didn't want 'em.

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Well, I mean it would have been new then,

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it would have been a very generous present.

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-It would, wouldn't it?

-Ooh, yeah.

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The black slate - and I say black slate because this is slate,

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-it's not black marble.

-Yeah, yeah.

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Obviously, the brown is marble, but this is black slate,

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and it was used, basically, as a symbol of mourning

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after the death of Prince Albert.

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-Ah.

-And this is the sort of full-blown example of it,

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within two decades after his death.

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You can see the visible Brocot escapement there,

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with the ruby pallets, obviously striking nicely.

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You've got a lovely barometer there, beautifully enamelled,

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absolutely lovely, and then this is the piece that I adore,

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is this perpetual calendar.

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-And you've seen that click...

-That doesn't work.

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-It doesn't work?

-No.

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-It would be quite easy to get it going, I'm sure.

-Yes.

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But I mean, you've got the moon, the phases of the moon in there,

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and then you've got, obviously, day, date and month,

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and it will be perpetual,

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-it will absolutely counteract for each leap year as well.

-Yeah.

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-Yes.

-It should be that good.

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It's a top-of-the-range item, very, very busy, even down to the bezels.

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When you think that most bezels are just gilt brass,

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but this - you've actually got it all chased.

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It's been beautifully done with gold flower heads.

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It's superb quality.

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Is it French?

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-French throughout.

-That's what I thought, yeah.

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Apart from the fact of the case,

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which might have been made of Belgian slate.

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The only thing that I'm slightly not happy about is the eagle.

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I bought that a year ago, just to set it off.

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-To set it off!

-HE LAUGHS

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-To make it even taller!

-Yes! THEY LAUGH

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I don't what was... could have been a lion on top.

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I mean, I think that this is absolutely right,

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-can I just remove that?

-Yeah.

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But that's obviously pretty new, and I'm not...

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I don't think it goes with it terribly well, to be honest.

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Well, I like it.

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-That's all that matters.

-THEY LAUGH

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-Size is slightly against it.

-Yeah.

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If it was a little bit smaller, it'd be rather more money,

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but at auction it's still going to make

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£2,500 to £3,000.

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Mm-hmm, yeah.

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-Are you happy with that?

-Yes, yes, yes.

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Good.

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I'll tell you something, it's not a bad investment on 30 bob, is it?

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Ah, no, no, no.

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Takes a lot of polishing.

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THEY LAUGH

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What a wonderful collection of Inuit carvings.

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Where did you get them?

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In the late '60s, I was a dental officer on Baffin Island,

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in the high Arctic,

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travelling from settlement to settlement,

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and providing dental care.

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In the process, I got very interested in their carvings.

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But each of these is carved by a man -

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or a woman -

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that I treated, and so some of them were for payment for the dentistry,

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but others I would negotiate and buy off them.

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And did they have good teeth?

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Oh, no, their teeth was absolutely terrible, really.

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SHE LAUGHS

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I extracted over 7,000 teeth in three years.

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My goodness.

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And what about this one?

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This is, I think, the most interesting.

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Um...

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The carver is a man, or was a man called Noah - he's dead now -

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one of the most famous of the carvers, born in 1900,

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and he needed new dentures.

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So I made him some new dentures, and because I knew he was a carver,

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I said, would he carve me something?

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And he came back a few days later with this.

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And it is a man who has a very bad abscess on a tooth,

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which is closing his eye, there.

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That's fascinating, and of course,

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you've got wonderful examples of the Inuit, with their Shamanist...

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-That's right.

-..inspiration, and also their transformation.

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-A man transforming.

-This one, yes.

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This is a Shaman, he's dancing, he's beating his drum,

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and he's going into a trance and changing into a wolf.

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This is a very interesting piece, it's by a 14-year-old girl,

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-and it's a piece of caribou thigh bone carved as a musk ox.

-Musk ox.

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And this is a seal hunter, and as soon as they kill a seal,

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they blow some water into the mouth of the seal,

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and say a little prayer,

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thanking the seal for the food that he's giving to them.

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-And this - I love this - again a Shamanistic subject.

-That's right.

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That was Joe Curley, and he was a Shaman.

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He had three wives and 24 children,

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and that again is a Shaman, but changing into an arrow.

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Of course, Shamans were the witch doctors of the Inuit.

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-Yes.

-And very important in their society.

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And inherited, so you could only be a Shaman

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if your father or mother was a Shaman.

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And, of course, a lot of these carvings were made of soapstone.

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That's right, and interestingly, each village has its own supply,

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so just by looking at the colour, you would know this is Lake Havar.

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By looking at that, you would know that was Eskimo Point,

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and so they're absolutely characteristic of each village.

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And a tremendous amount of the carvings here

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were inspired by and supported by James Houston,

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who actually went and lived with the Inuit in Cape Dorset.

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That's right, an Englishman, an artist in his own right,

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who settled in the Arctic and saw the potential,

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encouraged them to do carvings and also paintings and prints.

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These pieces came from really what we call the "Golden Era"

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-of Inuit carving.

-Yes, yes.

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And of course these are the pieces now that are being sought after,

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and in terms of when you were buying them,

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you were obviously swapping for dental work

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or doing a bit of bartering.

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That's right, two or three extractions and a carving.

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SHE LAUGHS

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Well, it certainly was the best-paid dental work

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I think you will have had,

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because a carving like this nowadays would sell

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for anywhere between £4,000 and £5,000.

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And the same with the Shaman turning into the wolf -

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that's an important subject, especially with the drum,

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-so again, the same.

-Yes, indeed.

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So we're looking at probably here,

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in excess of £15,000.

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Well, they're not for sale, because, as I said,

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each one has a very personal relationship to me.

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And I hope you've written that down.

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I'm in the process of doing it, yes.

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Good.

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So, where do you keep this?

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This is kept in our dining room.

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Right...

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I inherited it from my mother, who died in February,

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but it's come from my great aunt, who was born in 1886.

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I don't know the date of it.

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I'd love to know if it came from my great-grandfather.

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Well, I'm not sure if you're aware - it was never a dining room piece.

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-Ah.

-It was always intended for the kitchen.

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Ah, I thought so.

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It is a dresser base,

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and the rack would have been tied or screwed to the wall.

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Ah, that explains...

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There's no evidence of marks on here, where -

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what we call shoes - there's no marks there.

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So the rack would have been tied to the wall or screwed to the wall.

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It's not very deep, so you can actually get to it.

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I understand, thank you, yes, that's interesting.

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This is made out of oak.

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The linings, when you open the drawers, is pine.

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So it's a country piece.

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It was never - as I say - a sophisticated town piece.

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Um...

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The handles have been put on later.

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Originally, when we look at it as a whole,

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you see these lovely brass swan neck handles - they weren't there.

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They just had handles just below the escutcheon there.

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-Oh, I understand, yes.

-And that's why we've got that little shadow.

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-I wondered about that.

-You see?

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The date of it is around 1800,

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so it's George III period,

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and it's standing on little pad feet

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just to give it a little bit of elegance.

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The condition is very, very good.

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I love the idea we've got these three long boards and no splits.

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They haven't warped or undulated, and the colour is very, very good.

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The shame is that the handles have been replaced,

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because the collectors, who go nuts for this,

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they want to tick all the boxes knowing it's all original.

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It's worth, in this condition,

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um...

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around £1,200 to £1,500.

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-If it had the original handles...

-Mmm...

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..it goes up to £2,000.

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So we've got to pull it back because it's not quite original.

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I still love it as it is.

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I love animals, and I love horses,

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and that's what attracted me to this piece.

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What's the story behind it?

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It belonged to my husband's grandparents.

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It's been in the family for about - I think - 100 years.

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Um... And the story was that Grandpa went to Paris with his wife,

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and she saw it, and I think she burst into tears

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because she was so moved by it, and he bought it for her.

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It made me feel very poignant, and I mean, it's such a beautiful thing.

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I mean, I don't know much about the artist, to be honest.

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It's signed, "E Drappier" -

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that's Edmond Ernest Drappier, I believe - and it's dated 1906.

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And it was cast in a French foundry,

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-but it's got all the accoutrements of war.

-Yes.

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And "Epave" on the front which I think means wreck in French.

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-Yes.

-And it's the wreck of a horse, really, the wreck of a relationship.

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-I mean, it's actually quite topical...

-Yes, it is.

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-..because of the film War Horse.

-Yes, absolutely. Because of Joey.

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Which was a powerful testimony to the relationship

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between a soldier and his horse,

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and this bronze is real storytelling -

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it's storytelling by the fact that something's missing.

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It tells a story because of the thing that's not there,

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and that's the rider.

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And I find that so moving, and it's just beautifully modelled, and...

0:17:020:17:08

it does everything for me.

0:17:080:17:10

There's the butt of his rifle, there's a broken wagon wheel.

0:17:100:17:13

A helmet.

0:17:130:17:15

Helmet, it's from the Franco-Prussian War.

0:17:150:17:17

-I would have thought.

-Yes, that's what we think, yes.

-From the date.

0:17:170:17:20

And from the helmet.

0:17:200:17:21

And...

0:17:210:17:23

You know, I've looked up auction records for this

0:17:230:17:25

and it actually makes a reasonable amount of money.

0:17:250:17:29

I think one like this came up in April this year,

0:17:290:17:33

and it made £3,000.

0:17:330:17:36

Yes, I can believe that.

0:17:360:17:37

It's worth every bit of it, isn't it?

0:17:370:17:39

-Beautifully done.

-Well, I just think it's wonderful.

-Yes.

0:17:390:17:42

The phrase, "Talk softly but carry a big stick" comes to mind.

0:17:440:17:48

-It's pretty impressive, isn't it?

-It is indeed.

0:17:480:17:50

And where does it come from?

0:17:500:17:52

It's a Fijian war club.

0:17:520:17:53

But it was bought in this country, though,

0:17:530:17:55

so we didn't export it illegally.

0:17:550:17:57

And we were on leave from Fiji in 1969,

0:17:570:18:01

and I went into the local pub in a village in County Durham,

0:18:010:18:05

saw this on the wall, and knew exactly what it was,

0:18:050:18:10

and so I offered the publican a price for it, and he said,

0:18:100:18:15

"Well, I'll think about it,"

0:18:150:18:17

and three years later, when I was on leave again,

0:18:170:18:19

I went back into the pub and I said, "Have you thought about it?"

0:18:190:18:22

-and he said, "Yes, I'll sell it to you."

-And it was still on the wall?

0:18:220:18:25

Well, by that time he'd decided that hunting prints were the decor,

0:18:250:18:29

so he'd put this into a store room,

0:18:290:18:30

and he kept his word, he sold it to me.

0:18:300:18:32

And do you have a connection?

0:18:320:18:35

Yes, and this is my grandson, who is my Fijian war club carrier.

0:18:350:18:40

-So it's quite appropriate, then?

-Yes.

0:18:400:18:42

THEY LAUGH

0:18:420:18:43

Do you know much about how they were made, or the age, and..?

0:18:430:18:46

I don't know too much about how they're made.

0:18:460:18:49

I think it's a couple of hundred years old,

0:18:490:18:51

because it's a very fine specimen.

0:18:510:18:53

Yeah. It really is a fine specimen.

0:18:530:18:54

You get whacked by that, you're going to know about it.

0:18:540:18:57

But the way they would make them is -

0:18:570:18:59

as a sapling, they would bend them, tie them off,

0:18:590:19:02

you would choose the one you wanted, which would be...

0:19:020:19:05

Cos this, in its natural form without carving,

0:19:050:19:07

would be incredibly strong.

0:19:070:19:09

They would tie it off and let it grow like that.

0:19:090:19:12

When it got to a big size, chop it around and decorate it.

0:19:120:19:14

And I think it's an indigenous wood called vesi or something like that.

0:19:140:19:18

-Vesi.

-Vesi, yeah.

0:19:180:19:19

It's just such an impressive piece.

0:19:190:19:22

I mean, if you're the tribal leader, you're the club carrier,

0:19:220:19:28

so eventually you're going to get it.

0:19:280:19:30

-Eventually.

-THEY LAUGH

0:19:300:19:32

I mean, they are really sought-after.

0:19:320:19:34

I mean, this one has taken a bit of a battering.

0:19:340:19:37

Er... You know, there's a few marks on it,

0:19:370:19:39

but it's so beautifully carved,

0:19:390:19:40

and over the last few years, the market for these has shot up,

0:19:400:19:43

everyone is trying to get back what was originally theirs -

0:19:430:19:46

you know - their heritage, as it were.

0:19:460:19:48

And it would have a good value.

0:19:480:19:50

Mm-hmm.

0:19:500:19:51

£8,000?

0:19:510:19:52

Whoo!

0:19:530:19:55

-It's good money.

-HE LAUGHS

0:19:550:19:57

We know there isn't a better specimen in the Fiji Museum.

0:19:570:20:00

-Well, that's why I would value it to that.

-Yes.

0:20:000:20:02

And I think that could be conservative,

0:20:020:20:04

because these are so sought-after.

0:20:040:20:06

-You like it more, don't you?

-THEY LAUGH

0:20:060:20:09

I'm not saying anything!

0:20:090:20:11

And I'll hand it to you, then, as the club carrier, it's yours.

0:20:110:20:14

You should have it like this, James.

0:20:140:20:15

-Like this?

-No, like that.

0:20:150:20:17

-Both hands.

-Right.

0:20:170:20:18

-No Fijian chief carries his own war club.

-Well, there you go.

0:20:180:20:22

He always has a carrier.

0:20:220:20:23

But you'll soon have your own carrier.

0:20:230:20:25

Oh! One day, hopefully.

0:20:250:20:26

-HE LAUGHS

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

0:20:260:20:28

Thank you.

0:20:280:20:29

When it comes to our Basic, Better & Best challenge this week,

0:20:410:20:44

I like to think I might have a reasonable chance

0:20:440:20:46

of getting it right this time,

0:20:460:20:47

because we're looking at handbags, vintage handbags.

0:20:470:20:51

I like to think I know a little bit about those,

0:20:510:20:53

well, certainly I like to wear them on my arm, anyway.

0:20:530:20:55

Our specialist, Ronnie Archer Morgan,

0:20:550:20:57

has brought three handbags along

0:20:570:20:58

from the '30s, '40s and '50s.

0:20:580:21:00

The basic one is worth £200, the better, £1,000,

0:21:000:21:04

and the best, the princely sum of £2,000.

0:21:040:21:08

So, I'm going to enjoy looking at these,

0:21:080:21:10

and we'll see what our visitors think, as well.

0:21:100:21:13

Which do you think is which?

0:21:130:21:15

Um...I think the basic one is the green.

0:21:150:21:19

Which do you think is which?

0:21:190:21:21

-This is the bottom one.

-That's basic, OK.

-Yes.

0:21:210:21:24

I'd be tempted with that one.

0:21:240:21:26

It's the only one that would tempt me, yes.

0:21:260:21:28

The better, I would say, would be this one.

0:21:280:21:32

Can I ask you, which of these handbags would you choose

0:21:320:21:34

as the best for your fair wife?

0:21:340:21:37

I think I'd choose this one.

0:21:370:21:38

That's the best, OK.

0:21:380:21:39

And the best, the little jewelled handbag.

0:21:390:21:42

I would say this one here.

0:21:420:21:44

Oh, dear.

0:21:440:21:45

And this is the best.

0:21:450:21:47

Do you think I've ever bought a handbag for her after 50 years?

0:21:470:21:50

SHE LAUGHS

0:21:500:21:52

This is a lovely French 18th-century picture of Diana and Actaeon.

0:21:530:21:57

So where did you get this from?

0:21:580:22:00

Um... I actually found it in a junk shop in Australia,

0:22:000:22:03

in the Southern Highlands, near a place called Barrol.

0:22:030:22:06

-Many years ago?

-Um...

0:22:060:22:08

About eight years ago, so quite recently.

0:22:080:22:10

-And have you done some research on it?

-Yeah.

0:22:100:22:12

Did a bit of research, looked on the internet for ages,

0:22:120:22:15

and came up with a print, or an etching,

0:22:150:22:17

which seems to relate to the picture.

0:22:170:22:19

-Could I have a look at that?

-Yeah.

0:22:190:22:20

And by Pierre Berchet,

0:22:220:22:25

and it's almost...it's the reverse image of this picture,

0:22:250:22:29

because Diana and Actaeon as a subject matter

0:22:290:22:31

-was painted quite a lot in the 18th century.

-Right.

0:22:310:22:34

And he was born in 1659. As you probably know, he died in 1720.

0:22:340:22:39

Yeah.

0:22:390:22:40

Now, is this by him?

0:22:400:22:43

Well, looking at the quality, this is actually quite good quality,

0:22:430:22:46

and I would certainly say this is French,

0:22:460:22:47

and the story is,

0:22:470:22:49

Actaeon comes along and looks at Diana,

0:22:490:22:51

and of course, not supposed to do that -

0:22:510:22:54

she's nude - and he starts turning into a stag,

0:22:540:22:57

and then eventually the hounds jump onto him and he's killed.

0:22:570:23:02

Right.

0:23:020:23:03

But it is beautifully done,

0:23:030:23:04

and the quality, actually, of the face here is very, very good.

0:23:040:23:08

Now, it was very dirty, was it, when you got it?

0:23:090:23:13

Yeah, it looked interesting, but I'm not an expert on art by any means.

0:23:130:23:16

-It was filthy...

-Mmm.

0:23:160:23:18

..and I had it restored, and the person that did it

0:23:180:23:20

said it was covered in flies and filth,

0:23:200:23:21

and it was really thick and dirty, you couldn't really see anything,

0:23:210:23:24

and it was only... Until she cleaned it, you could see...

0:23:240:23:27

-Well, it's cleaned really well.

-Yeah.

0:23:270:23:29

Now, is it a copy of this picture, or another version?

0:23:290:23:31

Yeah.

0:23:310:23:32

Well, I can't stand here and tell you that is definitely by him.

0:23:320:23:35

-Yeah.

-But it's certainly "school of."

0:23:350:23:37

-And it is 18th century.

-Yeah.

0:23:370:23:40

Um...

0:23:400:23:41

What did you pay for it?

0:23:410:23:42

Off the top of my head, about £600. £600-£700.

0:23:430:23:47

Well, I think, just on pure decorative quality,

0:23:470:23:51

-and taking into account the age on this...

-Yeah.

0:23:510:23:53

I think it's worth about £6,000 to £8,000 in the current market,

0:23:530:23:56

-it's really nice.

-Yeah.

0:23:560:23:57

You obviously spent some money having it restored.

0:23:570:23:59

Yes, a bit, yeah, yeah.

0:23:590:24:01

So, did you put the frame on here?

0:24:010:24:02

I did. It was my attempt to try and get something

0:24:020:24:04

that I thought went with it, and it looks quite new and shiny,

0:24:040:24:07

I have to say, at the moment, looking at it here.

0:24:070:24:09

It would be quite nice to have an 18th-century frame on here,

0:24:090:24:12

because it would make it look much more important.

0:24:120:24:14

And it just so happens

0:24:140:24:15

that Rupert's been looking at one just before I came on.

0:24:150:24:18

Right.

0:24:180:24:19

-So I'm going to hand this to you...

-Thanks.

-..and have a look at it.

0:24:190:24:22

-Now, take one end of this, Dendy.

-OK, OK, OK.

0:24:220:24:25

-Let's have a look, now, let's just see.

-Over there.

0:24:250:24:28

Now, what do you think about that?

0:24:280:24:29

Would you like this on the picture?

0:24:290:24:31

Yeah, it looks good, doesn't it? With a bit of age to it, I think.

0:24:310:24:34

Looks really good.

0:24:340:24:35

And so, having valued it at £6,000 to £8,000,

0:24:350:24:37

I think that with that on,

0:24:370:24:39

because the frame must be worth - as it's partially carved -

0:24:390:24:41

a couple of thousand pounds,

0:24:410:24:43

I think it makes it more like £10,000, doesn't it?

0:24:430:24:45

I think it really looks the business.

0:24:450:24:46

Gives you an idea of what it's going to look like, that's the main thing.

0:24:460:24:50

-Yeah.

-You can just see it hanging in someone's palazzo.

0:24:500:24:52

And I think it makes it...

0:24:520:24:54

It makes it a much more important thing in the period frame.

0:24:540:24:56

Pictures maketh a room.

0:24:560:24:57

Yeah.

0:24:570:24:58

-HE LAUGHS

-Marvellous.

0:24:580:25:00

-Brilliant. Thank you, thanks a lot.

-There you are, job done.

0:25:000:25:02

-I'm afraid you can't have the frame.

-HE LAUGHS

0:25:020:25:05

Well, this looks like an extraordinarily luxurious object.

0:25:070:25:10

Tell me about it with you.

0:25:100:25:11

Well, I inherited it from my mother,

0:25:110:25:13

who I think must have inherited from her great-grandmother, possibly.

0:25:130:25:17

Um... Apart from that, I know very little about it.

0:25:170:25:19

My mother never wore it, it would not have been her style -

0:25:190:25:21

I think it's a bit ostentatious.

0:25:210:25:23

I do remember as a child raiding the dressing table

0:25:230:25:27

and taking it out, occasionally playing -

0:25:270:25:29

-I think that's probably where it got slight damage.

-Aah!

0:25:290:25:32

-You didn't bite it, did you?

-Possibly!

0:25:320:25:34

-Yes, I thought I could see teeth...

-Fed it to the dog or something!

0:25:340:25:37

Yes, quite! But what we can be absolutely certain of

0:25:370:25:39

is that it's actually sold in London,

0:25:390:25:42

because the lid satin of the case

0:25:420:25:43

tells us it was sold in Oxford Street,

0:25:430:25:45

and it's presented in the most extraordinarily luxurious way.

0:25:450:25:48

What it is presenting, into this wonderful sunlight today,

0:25:480:25:51

is the illusion of pure gold.

0:25:510:25:53

And I'll say the illusion of pure gold,

0:25:530:25:55

because it is made of a gold alloy,

0:25:550:25:57

but the surface has actually been enriched with gilding,

0:25:570:26:00

and there was a purpose in all of this.

0:26:000:26:02

Because this is what we call Etruscan jewellery.

0:26:020:26:05

It's in the Etruscan manner,

0:26:050:26:08

and Victorian society was driven nearly mad

0:26:080:26:10

by archaeological pursuits.

0:26:100:26:12

The love of the past transcended anything

0:26:120:26:14

the Antiques Roadshow could do.

0:26:140:26:15

There were books about the past,

0:26:150:26:17

there were photographs of ancient jewellery,

0:26:170:26:19

and it actually inspired people to dress up as Etrurian princesses

0:26:190:26:23

in smoggy old London, and this was a prevalent style.

0:26:230:26:27

And this rich gold surface is actually harking back

0:26:270:26:29

to the ancient jewellery found in Etruria and Ancient Greece

0:26:290:26:33

and in Rome,

0:26:330:26:34

and it's an odd concept to have a pious Victorian lady

0:26:340:26:38

walking around wearing these.

0:26:380:26:40

We know it belonged to a Victorian lady, we know it's 1860,

0:26:400:26:43

we know that she's prosperous enough to afford gold,

0:26:430:26:45

to shop in Oxford Street for the finest jewellery,

0:26:450:26:48

so we can raise her ghost a little.

0:26:480:26:49

But she was almost certainly a widow.

0:26:490:26:51

Right.

0:26:510:26:52

We see here in the front that there are vine leaves and grapes.

0:26:520:26:55

The vine is actually an emblem of death.

0:26:550:26:57

And so we have quite a joyful thing, um...blazing with gold,

0:26:570:27:03

but it's harking to somebody who's gone from her life.

0:27:030:27:05

Oh, right, this is fascinating.

0:27:050:27:07

-And this is unusual to have gold jewellery for mourning.

-Mmm.

0:27:070:27:10

More often than not it was made of jet or steel or something like that.

0:27:100:27:13

But perhaps she's long into mourning,

0:27:130:27:14

and coming into a new part of her life,

0:27:140:27:16

but we can, I think, be absolutely certain that that's the case.

0:27:160:27:19

So, value.

0:27:190:27:20

Um... In a funny way, perhaps one doesn't necessarily want jewellery

0:27:200:27:24

that is evocative of, frankly, the grave.

0:27:240:27:26

But I think this is extraordinarily wearable.

0:27:260:27:28

Anybody would be pleased to give in the region of

0:27:280:27:31

£800 to £1,200 for this suite of jewellery,

0:27:310:27:33

and they'd walk away with a complete entity from the past

0:27:330:27:37

that they could wear and enjoy,

0:27:370:27:39

and it's thrilling to see it, thank you very much.

0:27:390:27:41

Mm, well, thank you.

0:27:410:27:42

Now, earlier on, I was telling you about these vintage handbags

0:27:570:27:59

that our specialist Ronnie Archer Morgan has brought in

0:27:590:28:02

for our Basic, Better & Best challenge.

0:28:020:28:03

I've been showing them to our visitors.

0:28:030:28:05

They've all come up with a different idea

0:28:050:28:07

of which is the basic, worth £200,

0:28:070:28:09

the better, worth £1,000, and the best, worth £2,000.

0:28:090:28:13

Now, Ronnie, I've...

0:28:130:28:15

I've just gone along and chosen what I like the best,

0:28:150:28:17

because I find it so hard to tell,

0:28:170:28:19

because these are '30s, '40s and '50s handbags, aren't they?

0:28:190:28:22

-Yeah.

-Now, you are very interested in handbags,

0:28:220:28:24

which isn't necessarily an interest you'd associate with a chap.

0:28:240:28:27

HE LAUGHS

0:28:270:28:28

So what gets you excited about vintage handbags?

0:28:280:28:30

Well, when I came into the antique business,

0:28:300:28:34

I came from a fashion-connected background,

0:28:340:28:37

and as I was going round the markets and the salerooms,

0:28:370:28:41

I saw an opening for handbags.

0:28:410:28:43

Because I just thought they were fantastically made,

0:28:430:28:46

beautiful objects, that were being neglected by collectors.

0:28:460:28:50

And, as we know, some handbags are worth a fortune.

0:28:500:28:53

-Did you have your own collection?

-Yes, I did.

0:28:530:28:55

I had about 50 bags,

0:28:550:28:58

and I needed the deposit for a flat,

0:28:580:29:03

so I had the idea of taking them to a gallery,

0:29:030:29:07

suggesting the idea of an exhibition,

0:29:070:29:10

which had never been done before.

0:29:100:29:11

-An exhibition of vintage handbags?

-Exactly, yeah.

0:29:110:29:13

And contacting the fashion press...

0:29:130:29:15

and, in fact, the fashion press were really interested,

0:29:150:29:18

and about three or four major fashion magazines

0:29:180:29:21

covered that exhibition.

0:29:210:29:22

And...

0:29:220:29:24

the result of that was,

0:29:240:29:25

I had the deposit to buy the most important thing

0:29:250:29:28

that I've ever bought in my life - my home.

0:29:280:29:30

So, talk us through these bags, then.

0:29:300:29:32

I mean, as I say, I've made my selection here,

0:29:320:29:35

basic, better and best, simply because I like this one the best.

0:29:350:29:38

I love that one, yeah.

0:29:380:29:39

But go on, how do we assess these bags?

0:29:390:29:42

Well, I think your fashion instincts and your sense of dress

0:29:420:29:46

has worked here, because you've got the best right.

0:29:460:29:49

-But you've got the other two wrong.

-Oh!

0:29:500:29:52

-Which...

-OK.

0:29:520:29:53

So where do we start, then? Which is the basic?

0:29:530:29:55

This is the basic, so we'll put that there.

0:29:570:30:00

Now tell us about this bag then, cos it looks like it has...

0:30:000:30:02

You know, I mean, they could be semi-precious stones, I don't know.

0:30:020:30:05

This is suede.

0:30:050:30:06

It's all paste, and the enamel's cold-painted.

0:30:060:30:10

The silver frame is not silver, it's just made to look like silver.

0:30:100:30:13

But it is fantastic quality antelope suede, and it's from the 1930s,

0:30:130:30:19

and that one is the one that's worth about 200.

0:30:190:30:23

-So the better one, £1,000, then.

-Yeah.

0:30:230:30:26

-And what is this?

-It's crocodile.

0:30:260:30:28

-Gosh.

-But it's turquoise green, it's a very, very rare colour.

0:30:280:30:31

It's hard to tan that colour to that kind of purity.

0:30:310:30:35

It's a fantastic size. It's a very unusual shape.

0:30:350:30:38

I love these crossed circular rings here,

0:30:380:30:41

and this cylindrical catch with the cuts in it,

0:30:410:30:45

and it's in immaculate condition,

0:30:450:30:47

and when you open it up, it's bottle-green kid leather inside,

0:30:470:30:50

piped in gold.

0:30:500:30:52

A fantastic bag.

0:30:520:30:53

But it doesn't have a great maker - it's not a maker that anybody knows.

0:30:530:30:57

-And this is what, '40s, '50s?

-1940s.

0:30:570:30:59

-Well, it's a fabulous colour, certainly, I thought that.

-Yeah.

0:30:590:31:02

So, hooray, this is the best one.

0:31:020:31:03

This looks like it's made out of fancy string.

0:31:030:31:05

It is.

0:31:050:31:06

It's made by a wonderful designer, one of my favourites,

0:31:060:31:10

called Roberta di Camerino, in the mid-'50s.

0:31:100:31:14

When she was a little girl,

0:31:140:31:16

she helped out in her grandfather's pigment factory,

0:31:160:31:18

and learned to mix pigments, hence you get these exciting colours,

0:31:180:31:21

bubblegum pink and peppermint green.

0:31:210:31:25

But it's dyed cord, but it's laid over bright pink...

0:31:250:31:29

Ohh!

0:31:290:31:30

That's lovely.

0:31:300:31:32

..kid leather, and inside, the same.

0:31:320:31:35

The chain... The handles here are adjustable.

0:31:350:31:39

And it's in beautiful condition, isn't it?

0:31:390:31:41

It is in amazing condition.

0:31:410:31:44

The people that carried her bags were people like Grace Kelly,

0:31:440:31:47

Elizabeth Taylor...

0:31:470:31:49

She's a designer's designer,

0:31:490:31:51

and nearly all the handbag designers of today

0:31:510:31:54

look to her early designs for inspiration.

0:31:540:31:57

-And that's why it's worth £2,000.

-That is.

0:31:570:31:59

And it's a very rare survivor.

0:31:590:32:01

Ronnie, thank you very much,

0:32:010:32:02

certainly that is a beautiful handbag.

0:32:020:32:04

And who knows? You might have a bag or two

0:32:040:32:06

belonging to your mother or your grandmother languishing at home,

0:32:060:32:09

or, like me, you might have thrown them away and be regretting it now.

0:32:090:32:12

If you still have got them, bring them along to a Roadshow,

0:32:120:32:15

we'd love to have a look at them.

0:32:150:32:16

Have a look on our website for more details about handbags

0:32:160:32:19

and what to look for, that's...

0:32:190:32:22

Today, we've had silver from China, from Russia, from Turkey,

0:32:280:32:34

all round Europe, North America, South America,

0:32:340:32:38

and I'm glad to say we've now got something

0:32:380:32:40

from the other corner of the Earth, because, looking at the kangaroo,

0:32:400:32:44

it's fairly obvious where this piece comes from.

0:32:440:32:47

So how did a piece of Australian silver end up in Yorkshire?

0:32:470:32:51

I've no idea, to be honest.

0:32:520:32:54

Um... It was my grandfather's, who then gave it to my mother,

0:32:540:32:57

who then gave it to me.

0:32:570:32:58

And it's been in a cabinet at my house for several years now,

0:32:580:33:02

and I've often wondered where it's come from,

0:33:020:33:04

so I'm hoping you can shed some light on it.

0:33:040:33:06

Well, I have to say that Australian silver

0:33:060:33:10

sometimes lacks a little bit of interest and quality,

0:33:100:33:15

but this is really superb quality.

0:33:150:33:18

The way the base is textured, we've got these lovely sinuous palm trees,

0:33:180:33:23

the leaves falling down and then supporting this bowl at the top.

0:33:230:33:28

We've got fruiting vines at the ends with parrots perched on the top,

0:33:280:33:32

we've got everything here,

0:33:320:33:34

but most important of all is we've got some marks at the bottom,

0:33:340:33:39

and an awful lot of these cups are not marked.

0:33:390:33:43

This one has the mark for Kilpatrick and Company.

0:33:430:33:47

They were from the State of Victoria.

0:33:470:33:50

Founded in Melbourne in the mid-19th century,

0:33:500:33:53

and this piece dates from round about 1865,

0:33:530:33:58

so it's pretty old, and it always fascinates me,

0:33:580:34:01

how things of that age from the other side of the world

0:34:010:34:04

-end up here in Yorkshire.

-Yeah.

0:34:040:34:07

Now, there's one thing missing about this,

0:34:070:34:09

which you may not have ever realised.

0:34:090:34:12

It should have been covered with an emu's egg.

0:34:120:34:15

-Oh, really?

-This is the lining, the inside.

0:34:150:34:19

So the outside would have been this grey-blue colour,

0:34:190:34:22

and if you look around the edges,

0:34:220:34:24

you can see there's a gap

0:34:240:34:25

where the egg would have fitted down inside these mounts,

0:34:250:34:29

and on the top and on the bottom.

0:34:290:34:32

Having said that, you know, this is a good piece.

0:34:330:34:37

I would expect, if this went into auction, you would get

0:34:370:34:41

-at least £2,000, maybe more.

-Goodness.

0:34:410:34:45

That's been sat there for years! SHE LAUGHS

0:34:450:34:48

-Amazing.

-What's going to happen now?

0:34:480:34:50

I'll get it insured. THEY LAUGH

0:34:500:34:53

Well, you've got to put probably £3,000 or more on it for insurance.

0:34:540:34:58

-Right.

-It is a very rare thing.

-Really?

0:34:580:35:00

And especially to get it hallmarked,

0:35:000:35:02

and just wonderful to see a thing from so far away end up here.

0:35:020:35:06

Well, thank you very much, that's been a big surprise!

0:35:060:35:08

-SHE LAUGHS

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:35:080:35:10

Two pottery figures.

0:35:110:35:13

Where do they come from?

0:35:130:35:14

Um...they belonged to our grandmother,

0:35:140:35:17

-and she was one of the first women doctors.

-Uh-huh.

0:35:170:35:21

And in order to fund her training,

0:35:210:35:24

because she was first of all a nurse,

0:35:240:35:26

she went to work as a nanny, nurse-cum-governess,

0:35:260:35:31

for a family, and they were into jute,

0:35:310:35:35

and so they of course travelled a lot around those parts,

0:35:350:35:39

-and they gifted her a few quite special things.

-Yes.

0:35:390:35:44

And these were two of the things that were gifted.

0:35:440:35:47

And what did she think she'd been given?

0:35:470:35:49

Tang dynasty figures.

0:35:490:35:51

-Right, so she thinks they're Chinese.

-Yes.

0:35:510:35:53

-And you think they're Chinese?

-Yes.

0:35:530:35:55

-And you think they're Tang?

-Yes.

0:35:550:35:57

Of course they are Tang dynasty -

0:35:570:35:58

I say "of course" because earlier on today,

0:35:580:36:00

I saw a very good imitation of a Tang pottery figure -

0:36:000:36:05

but these are genuine,

0:36:050:36:06

and there are various reasons for telling you that,

0:36:060:36:09

but just take it from me, for the time being, they are genuine.

0:36:090:36:12

I fished them out because, um... they're all to do with death.

0:36:120:36:15

Mmm.

0:36:150:36:17

We are only a few yards away from the dead door

0:36:170:36:19

here at Fountains Abbey.

0:36:190:36:21

The door through which the corpses were taken

0:36:210:36:24

to be buried in the ground just behind us,

0:36:240:36:27

and in China from the...well, right up until the second century BC,

0:36:270:36:31

if you were very important, if you were an emperor,

0:36:310:36:34

or king of your own particular part, when you died...

0:36:340:36:38

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to die!"

0:36:380:36:41

LAUGHTER

0:36:410:36:42

Because you would want all of your retinue to come into your tomb dead

0:36:420:36:47

as well, and of course that would include your 250-odd wives.

0:36:470:36:52

This practice, oddly enough,

0:36:520:36:53

seemed to be really quite unpopular with the general population.

0:36:530:36:59

So they started replacing human sacrifice by pottery sacrifice,

0:36:590:37:03

and of course the most famous pottery sacrifice

0:37:030:37:05

is the Terracotta Army, created for the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang

0:37:050:37:10

in just - well, just before 200BC.

0:37:100:37:14

And those are life size, those are about seven feet high.

0:37:140:37:17

They're the first, sort of, real replacements

0:37:170:37:20

for human and animal sacrifice.

0:37:200:37:22

And by the time we get to the Tang Dynasty...

0:37:220:37:25

they get down to this size.

0:37:250:37:27

So there they are, lovely.

0:37:270:37:28

Now, those would have been quite valuable, um...30 years ago.

0:37:280:37:33

But so many have come out of the ground,

0:37:330:37:35

that unless they are very unusually coloured -

0:37:350:37:38

blue glazes or something like that -

0:37:380:37:40

the value's not particularly high,

0:37:400:37:42

considering, yes, they are, they were made

0:37:420:37:44

somewhere between, let's say 700AD and 1000AD.

0:37:440:37:48

-Yes.

-You know, before this place was built.

-Yes, yes.

0:37:480:37:51

Er... And I'm going to put a value of about...

0:37:510:37:55

Mmm... Let's say...

0:37:550:37:57

£400 to £600 on each.

0:37:580:38:00

On each, ooh, very nice.

0:38:000:38:02

They're lovely though, aren't they wonderful?

0:38:020:38:04

-I think they're great.

-Yes.

0:38:040:38:07

Now, this looks like an ordinary wedding band,

0:38:070:38:09

so I'm interested, why did you decide to bring this in?

0:38:090:38:13

Well, me husband's had it for 25 years-plus.

0:38:130:38:17

He's always thought there was something different about it,

0:38:170:38:20

because it's got no hallmarks, but it's got some writing on it.

0:38:200:38:23

But everyone just says it's just a bit of old scrap metal.

0:38:230:38:27

And then we went to the jewellers to take in some old broken jewellery,

0:38:270:38:32

and we got offered £108 scrap value for it.

0:38:320:38:36

-What, for this, or..?

-For that.

0:38:360:38:38

-For that on its own.

-When was this?

0:38:380:38:39

-Last week.

-Last week!

-Yeah!

0:38:390:38:42

-THEY LAUGH

-£108 last week?

-Yeah, yeah.

0:38:420:38:44

Fantastic.

0:38:440:38:46

Going back 25 years ago, how did your husband acquire it?

0:38:460:38:51

He was on a camping trip with the boys, just really young,

0:38:510:38:55

and he was in this stream, and just come across it.

0:38:550:38:57

And it was just - this gold just glinting in the stream

0:38:570:39:00

-and he just picked it up.

-Yeah, yeah.

0:39:000:39:02

And then what happened?

0:39:020:39:03

-So £108 last week...

-Mm-hmm.

0:39:030:39:05

So what stopped you from melting it down?

0:39:050:39:07

Um... The jeweller started to ask if he found it in the mud,

0:39:070:39:12

or something like that, um... and he went, "No, in a stream,"

0:39:120:39:17

and he started raising his eyebrows a little bit, and said,

0:39:170:39:19

"If I was you I, would take it to an auctioneer,"

0:39:190:39:22

and the auctioneer - my husband took it then, this week -

0:39:220:39:27

and they said again "Yes, it's just scrap value, £135."

0:39:270:39:30

So we've come just for the day out, just to try it!

0:39:300:39:33

LAUGHTER Just in hope!

0:39:330:39:36

Well, I am delighted that you came with this ring.

0:39:360:39:40

Um...I love the feel of gold.

0:39:400:39:44

There's that allure of gold that's captured man's imagination

0:39:440:39:48

for thousands and thousands of years,

0:39:480:39:51

and it's got this beautiful yellow shine to it, hasn't it?

0:39:510:39:54

And you can feel, sort of, the weight of history, actually,

0:39:540:39:57

when you pick it up, and it's...

0:39:570:40:00

-Because it's 22 carat gold - quite a high carat gold.

-Yeah.

0:40:000:40:04

-But what this is, is your poesy ring.

-Mm-hmm.

0:40:040:40:07

And a poesy ring... A sort of a loose translation,

0:40:070:40:10

-it's like a poetry ring...

-Yeah.

0:40:100:40:12

..because it has the inscriptions inside,

0:40:120:40:15

usually from a loved one or to a loved one.

0:40:150:40:18

And inside here is the inscription, in English,

0:40:180:40:23

"A virtuous wife preserveth life."

0:40:230:40:26

Right.

0:40:260:40:27

So that's what it... that's what it means -

0:40:270:40:29

that's what it's saying inside.

0:40:290:40:31

And this is about 17th century.

0:40:310:40:34

-This is incredible!

-I know!

-17th century!

0:40:340:40:36

It's when I were looking at it, they kept saying 17th century,

0:40:360:40:39

I'm thinking, "Well, it's got to be worth more than £100, surely..."

0:40:390:40:42

-That's what I thought!

-Exactly! Absolutely.

0:40:420:40:44

Well, the value is a little bit more than £108.

0:40:440:40:48

Right...

0:40:480:40:49

THEY LAUGH

0:40:490:40:51

So, I would say the value would be in the region

0:40:510:40:54

of about £2,500.

0:40:540:40:56

Oh, well...

0:40:560:40:58

Yeah...

0:40:580:40:59

It's more, isn't it?

0:40:590:41:00

I am so pleased you didn't take £108 last week,

0:41:000:41:04

and have melted down a 17th-century ring.

0:41:040:41:07

-Yeah.

-Can you imagine?

0:41:070:41:08

I know, yeah.

0:41:080:41:09

I know your husband found this a very long time ago,

0:41:090:41:12

but you should really just contact your museum, your local museum,

0:41:120:41:16

-and declare it.

-Mm-hmm.

0:41:160:41:18

And so then they can go through with you the procedures,

0:41:180:41:22

the correct procedures for when you find something

0:41:220:41:25

that could possibly be under the Treasure Trove Act.

0:41:250:41:27

-Right.

-It's a bit of history,

0:41:270:41:28

and to find this and have this brought along here

0:41:280:41:31

in this amazing abbey, fantastic.

0:41:310:41:33

-Thank you both very much indeed.

-Thank you, thank you.

0:41:330:41:35

Well, this is a very pretty, girly thing,

0:41:360:41:40

but that isn't really the point here,

0:41:400:41:43

because you're a lady on a mission, aren't you?

0:41:430:41:45

Yes, yes.

0:41:450:41:46

Um... Basically, it's one of the very few things of my grandmother's

0:41:460:41:50

that I own,

0:41:500:41:51

and she was brought up in Vienna, and had to come to this country

0:41:510:41:54

just before the war, so I'd just like to know,

0:41:540:41:57

is this one of her special objects that she brought from home?

0:41:570:42:01

Well, I mean - you know - I've got goose bumps at that,

0:42:010:42:05

because of the implications of leaving Vienna in 1938.

0:42:050:42:08

I mean, there's one reason why people left Vienna in 1938.

0:42:080:42:12

Yes, absolutely.

0:42:120:42:13

And the other - what happened..?

0:42:130:42:15

Well, my sick grandfather, because he was over retirement age,

0:42:150:42:19

he couldn't come into England, and so he had to stay in Vienna,

0:42:190:42:23

and so it was just my grandmother and her children,

0:42:230:42:25

including my father, that were allowed out.

0:42:250:42:28

So, come on, what happened?

0:42:290:42:30

I believe that he stayed in Vienna for two years,

0:42:300:42:35

and then he was rounded up, and eventually ended up in Riga,

0:42:350:42:38

where he died, probably about three months later.

0:42:380:42:41

Ooh.

0:42:430:42:45

Well...

0:42:450:42:47

I mean, it's absolutely right.

0:42:470:42:49

I mean, you know, this is Viennese.

0:42:490:42:52

We know it's Viennese, because, actually, it's written on it.

0:42:520:42:55

You...

0:42:550:42:56

That means nothing to you,

0:42:560:42:59

this little portcullis gilded logo in the bottom,

0:42:590:43:03

but that is the gilded logo

0:43:030:43:05

of one of the finest glass companies in the world,

0:43:050:43:09

which is J & L Lobmeyr, who shared the same bonds as your family.

0:43:090:43:15

So they had a really hard time, too.

0:43:150:43:18

And they are still in the same premises in Vienna

0:43:180:43:22

that they've occupied for 150 years.

0:43:220:43:25

So, what is this?

0:43:250:43:26

Well, the object itself is historic revival -

0:43:260:43:30

what we have is,

0:43:300:43:31

the original vessels of this type were firstly shells, sea shells,

0:43:310:43:37

and then rock crystal -

0:43:370:43:38

they were carved out of mineral rock crystal in baroque...

0:43:380:43:43

slash - coming into Rococo style, from the 17th century.

0:43:430:43:50

And so...and then you get into the 18th century

0:43:500:43:52

with these Rococo archetypal opposing sea scrolls in enamels,

0:43:520:43:58

highlighted in gold,

0:43:580:44:01

this little chap coming up here in 18th-century costume,

0:44:010:44:07

and I suppose, stylistically, you get the idea of the shell

0:44:070:44:10

-in the fact that it's asymmetric here.

-Yes.

0:44:100:44:13

Made in Vienna in about 1900,

0:44:130:44:18

and you'd get about £400 or £500 for it, you know, if you sold it.

0:44:180:44:22

But, I mean, how big's the story?

0:44:220:44:24

Absolutely, no - I've no intention of selling it,

0:44:240:44:26

as I said, I just wanted to know its history, thank you very much indeed.

0:44:260:44:29

-It's a wonderful thing, back to you.

-It's beautiful, thank you.

0:44:290:44:33

I'm almost totally bowled over by seeing this collection.

0:44:330:44:37

They are the most glorious set of little skittles

0:44:370:44:41

in the form of elephants.

0:44:410:44:43

They're made out of felt,

0:44:430:44:45

they're stuffed with a kind of wood straw, and the king pin -

0:44:450:44:49

this wonderful king elephant with his crown and his jacket -

0:44:490:44:53

absolutely fantastic.

0:44:530:44:54

Now where did you buy them?

0:44:540:44:55

-We didn't buy them.

-Oh!

0:44:550:44:56

They belonged to my mother-in-law's cousin...

0:44:560:45:01

A lovely wee Irish lady - and towards the end of her life,

0:45:010:45:05

she lived with my parents-in-law

0:45:050:45:07

and when we would go over and visit and bring our children with us,

0:45:070:45:10

occasionally these skittles came out of the cupboard,

0:45:100:45:14

and were allowed to be played with down the corridor,

0:45:140:45:16

and they would roll balls at them, then they were put away again,

0:45:160:45:19

so we've always sort of known that they were there,

0:45:190:45:22

and I think they might have been Alice's childhood toy,

0:45:220:45:25

-but I don't know how old they are.

-How fascinating.

0:45:250:45:27

When do you think she was born?

0:45:270:45:29

Um... Round about 1897.

0:45:290:45:32

Sounds like a rather precise "about!"

0:45:320:45:34

-SHE LAUGHS I...

-That's fine, it's perfect.

0:45:340:45:37

Because that fits in with the date of these.

0:45:370:45:40

They're made by a company called Steiff,

0:45:400:45:42

-who are perhaps better known for making teddy bears.

-Mmm.

0:45:420:45:48

Margarete Steiff - the lady who set up the Steiff factory -

0:45:480:45:52

started the business in Germany in 1880,

0:45:520:45:56

and the very first product she made was an elephant.

0:45:560:45:59

-Right.

-She was always very partial to elephants.

0:45:590:46:02

The first little product in fact wasn't a toy,

0:46:020:46:05

-it was an elephant-shaped pincushion.

-Right.

0:46:050:46:08

So I don't know where this love for elephants came, but she was -

0:46:080:46:11

you know - very much, that was her... Her little icon, if you like.

0:46:110:46:17

And the first thing that people usually say about Steiff is,

0:46:170:46:21

"Oh, I know all about Steiff, they have a button in their ear."

0:46:210:46:24

-Yeah.

-OK, where's the button?

0:46:240:46:26

They don't have any buttons.

0:46:260:46:27

They have bells round their necks, but no buttons.

0:46:270:46:30

And that's because the buttons didn't come in until 1904.

0:46:300:46:34

Oh, right.

0:46:340:46:36

-That makes sense.

-So that's why I wanted to know how old Alice was,

0:46:360:46:39

because if Alice was born in 1897, you know,

0:46:390:46:42

-if she got these at the age of five or six...

-Yes.

0:46:420:46:45

-..that would actually fit in quite...

-It would, wouldn't it? Yes.

0:46:450:46:48

-..fit in quite well.

-Yeah.

0:46:480:46:49

Er... They are - I think - absolutely charming,

0:46:490:46:54

I mean, they come in different, er...qualities -

0:46:540:46:57

some of them come in velvet.

0:46:570:46:59

-Right.

-These, as I mentioned, are felt ones.

-Mmm.

0:46:590:47:02

And felt, I think...

0:47:020:47:03

As you have noticed, felt is the kind of caviar for moths.

0:47:030:47:08

-Absolutely!

-If there is any bit of fabric in the house

0:47:080:47:11

that's made of felt, they will zero in on it.

0:47:110:47:14

So who's done a bit of cross stitch on there?

0:47:140:47:16

Alice must have done that, yes.

0:47:160:47:17

Nobody else has touched them.

0:47:170:47:19

They've never been out of her hands, I don't think.

0:47:190:47:21

Well, she obviously loved them hugely.

0:47:210:47:23

To keep them for 90... 93 years, I think.

0:47:230:47:26

-And...and to darn them.

-Yes, yeah.

0:47:260:47:29

And they have a value.

0:47:290:47:30

They are very collectable

0:47:300:47:32

and the auction price, I would say, would be

0:47:320:47:36

between £9,000 and £10,000.

0:47:360:47:38

No!

0:47:380:47:41

All stitched up, with...knocks and stuffing coming out like that?

0:47:410:47:45

I thought...

0:47:450:47:46

I don't know what to say!

0:47:470:47:50

I just wanted to know they were old...and loved.

0:47:500:47:54

Wow!

0:47:540:47:56

Well done, Alice! SHE LAUGHS

0:47:560:47:58

Gosh!

0:47:580:47:59

-Well done, Alice.

-Oh, goodness!

-Old and loved indeed.

0:47:590:48:02

Yes, yeah.

0:48:020:48:03

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you. Thank you.

0:48:030:48:06

Do you know, in the two or three days before we arrived here

0:48:070:48:09

at Fountains Abbey,

0:48:090:48:11

much of the grounds here were submerged in water,

0:48:110:48:14

and we all worried this whole thing was going to be a total wash-out.

0:48:140:48:18

But, look, we've had the first day of sunshine we've had in weeks.

0:48:180:48:22

Must be divine intervention.

0:48:220:48:24

From the ruins of Fountains Abbey,

0:48:240:48:26

and the Roadshow team, until next time,

0:48:260:48:28

bye-bye.

0:48:280:48:29

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