0:00:09 > 0:00:11Every series of the Antiques Roadshow,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14the producers like to set me a challenge and test my mettle.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Well, they certainly have this week.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18I'm 50 foot up in the air
0:00:18 > 0:00:22on the tiny fighting platform of a Victorian gunship.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Yikes! This week, we're in Chatham.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Since the 17th century, home to Britain's fleet
0:00:28 > 0:00:30and where the Royal Navy ships were built.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow
0:00:32 > 0:00:35from the Historic Dockyard, Chatham in Kent.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19The 18th century was dominated by war with France and Holland.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22So being close to the Channel and the North Sea
0:01:22 > 0:01:24meant that Chatham on the River Medway
0:01:24 > 0:01:29was an ideal place for the Royal Navy to base and build its fleet.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Chatham Royal Dockyard
0:01:30 > 0:01:33was the principle shipbuilding yard for the Royal Navy.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And between 1700 and 1815,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39125 ships were built and launched here,
0:01:39 > 0:01:44providing work for nearly 2,000 men from 26 different trades.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Many of the Georgian buildings are still here,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51a reminder that this was once the most important dockyard in Britain.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57In 1984, the dockyard closed and is now a museum,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00welcoming visitors from all over the country.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03So it's time to raise the Roadshow anchor and set sail
0:02:03 > 0:02:05as we join our specialists
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and residents of the nearby Medway towns.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18I always think that the best paintings of sailors and the sea
0:02:18 > 0:02:20are by sailors first
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and artists second.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24And here is one, William Lionel Wyllie.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- And he was a local man, wasn't he? - I believe he was, yes.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31He did work in Medway and also the Thames
0:02:31 > 0:02:33and then he moved to Portsmouth, I believe.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Yes. I think that's right.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39And is that not recognisable as Rochester Castle?
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Rochester Castle.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43So right over there, I think I'm right in saying.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Yes. That is one of...coal is being unloaded by hand.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50So, it's coal being lifted out of the hold
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- by these...were they stevedores, or...?- Yes.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Hauling it out.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And there's a fellow here, I rather like him, he's shouting, isn't he?
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I don't know what he's doing. Is that a mug of beer? Could that be?
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Yes.- So he's having a jolly good old drink and a shout.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And it's such a bustle, such a lively scene.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11You really do get a strong sense of, when would it be, about?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Early 1900s.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15That's what I think. Or perhaps even earlier.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- Yes.- Here are the barges they're loading the coal into.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21- Yes.- And this smoke and the steam,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24it's very evocative of the busy life
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- that this place must have once had. - Oh, yes.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30When you think of what it used to be like, the Medway, years ago,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33even in my time, it's altered so much.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- Because your job is on the river? - It was on the river, yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I was skipper of a salvage vessel. Medway Rhino.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43A voyage and salvage vessel. Based at Sheerness docks.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47So, I mean, would you say that's a fair representation of river life?
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Yes. I've actually gone around there
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and got an idea of where he actually took it from.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57And that was right on the corner of what we call Chatham Ness.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And there's a poem on the back.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04That is a poem from a burial at sea.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06When you do ashes at sea.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- Have you had to do those? - I have done it, yes.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10How does the poem go?
0:04:10 > 0:04:15"It is my sole relief that on some far distant shore
0:04:15 > 0:04:17"far from despair and grief
0:04:17 > 0:04:19"old friends shall meet once more."
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I think that's great. And it obviously means a great deal to you.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24It's a nice feeling.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28If you're doing someone's ashes, a colleague's ashes at sea,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31in the Medway or in the Thames Estuary,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33it's nice to be able to do something.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36I think that's great. I think it was probably done
0:04:36 > 0:04:39for one of the magazines, like The Graphic.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40It's an illustration.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42It's actually done in watercolour, in one colour.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Which again, it adds to the immediacy.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I get the feeling of him standing right there and doing it,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50just dashing it off. Catching it like a snapshot.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And that is why it feels so real, so immediate.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54And so very good.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56How did you get it?
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I rescued it from being burnt.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01- Oh, no!- Yes.- That's terrible!
0:05:01 > 0:05:04They were clearing out some of the offices.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- This was ages ago?- 40 years ago.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- Oh, I see. Yes. - And I managed to rescue this one.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Well, now, he's a very sought-after artist.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16He actually ran away to sea
0:05:16 > 0:05:19because the Royal Academy rejected some of his pictures.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21He thought, "Forget that, I'm going to sea."
0:05:21 > 0:05:24And that's, of course, where he learnt a great deal more
0:05:24 > 0:05:26about the sea than he had known.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30That's why he came back the better marine artist, I think, later on.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32And he is collected.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And I particularly like his work, I must say.
0:05:35 > 0:05:36So I'm delighted to find one.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40I can't put a huge amount on it because it is black and white.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43But I'd be surprised if it wasn't worth £400-£600.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- Something like that. - OK. Thanks very much.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's a pleasure. Thanks for bringing it.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50So, where exactly did this piece of furniture come from?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It came from Hampton Court Palace.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- That's a good provenance.- Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57How do you know it came from Hampton Court?
0:05:57 > 0:06:01My aunt had a wet fish shop in Hampton
0:06:01 > 0:06:03and she supplied the palace with fish
0:06:03 > 0:06:08and she would take fresh fish to the palace every day,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and this cabinet stood in one of the back passages at the palace,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13she liked it, she thought it was unloved,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15she used to have a joke with the people there
0:06:15 > 0:06:17that she delivered the fish to for years.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20This was some time just after the war,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22and one day when she went in
0:06:22 > 0:06:25they said that she could have the cupboard.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And she did a deal with them and she paid for it in fish.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Fantastic. So the only cost this piece of furniture owes you...
0:06:32 > 0:06:33No, it's not the only cost.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37It has cost me £1,000 twice in ex-marriages,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40so I've had to pay out a little bit.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42You obviously like this piece of furniture
0:06:42 > 0:06:46if you've held onto it through two divorces.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I've had it for 38 years now,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51and my aunt when she died wanted me to have it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- And I've had it ever since. - It's a great provenance, isn't it?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57It's always nice to know that something comes from a good house,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- and you don't get many as good as Hampton Court.- No.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04And one of the pieces of it that I like the most are these panels.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09- Yeah.- The carving is really crisp and deep,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- but it's also very, very refined, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:07:13 > 0:07:20And these panels date it to about the late 16th, early 17th century.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22That's the good news.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Now the bad news.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27The bad news is that these panels
0:07:27 > 0:07:30have been set into a piece of furniture
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- that's been built around them.- OK.
0:07:32 > 0:07:39Using pieces of wood that have been perhaps old choir stalls,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42panelling from churches, panelling from houses.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44And do you want to know which country it had come from?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Had you spotted the "1 er"?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50This is French "premiere". And it means "first".
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And then on your side there's "27th".
0:07:53 > 0:07:58So these maybe have been numbers on the end of pews,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02somewhere on choir stalls, somewhere possibly in a church.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04St Peter in the middle there.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08But they are pieces of wood that have been taken
0:08:08 > 0:08:12and put together in this form of furniture.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14There are a few clues.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19One is the difference in the dates that the pieces were carved.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21The difference in this piece of wood here,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24the cornice has had to be stained
0:08:24 > 0:08:26to match it and blend it in to the other pieces.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30And it's also quite scaled-down size.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35If this was a 17th-century cupboard, it would be much bigger than this.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37And that's been scaled down, I think,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42- in the late 19th or even early 20th century.- OK.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So it truly is a piece of furniture that evolved over time.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I mean, who knows where all these bits of wood originated from?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50But as far as value goes,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53you should have stopped after your first marriage,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55because it is worth around £1,000.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56I've lost money, then!
0:08:59 > 0:09:03I'm from WB Simpson, that made this panel.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07I'm a director of a company along with my two partners
0:09:07 > 0:09:09that have been there all their lives,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and their father was part of the company all his life.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15And we've collected these panels
0:09:15 > 0:09:17as part of the heritage of the company.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22- So what we're looking at is a sort of company history.- Yes. Yes.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24So let's look at WB Simpson.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29William Butler Simpson was one of the great names in Victorian tiling.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31But of course he goes back much further.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34From memory, I think he was born in the 1790s
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and died in the 1880s, so a very, very long life.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- Is that a picture of him over there? - That's WB Simpson, yeah.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42How old is he there?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Looking at his appearance, we'd guess that he was about 30.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49And of course that may be when he just started the business,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- which I think was 1833, wasn't it?- That's correct, yeah.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58Before that, we think he designed wallpaper and interiors and fabrics.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Which takes me to this pattern book.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- So this is part of the archive, is it?- Yes.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07We're looking at probably, I guess, the 1840s, 1850s.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12And it's full of decorations like this which are not for tiles,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14they're for painted panels in houses.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18You could have a fairly formal arrangement like that,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22you could have stained glass if you want stained glass,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27and of course equally, you could have sort of illustrative panels.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28And you can imagine things like this,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32these rather exotic sort of classical landscapes,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35set into big framed panels in drawing rooms
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and that sort of thing. That's what they were for.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42And all this, of course, is long before tiling gets going.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Tiling is really something that starts in the 1860s
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and then moves on.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49This one, we can see, is dated 1905.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53So this is long after Simpson himself died in the 1880s,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57but I think he must have shifted his business to tiling
0:10:57 > 0:11:01when tiling became fashionable. And again, great competitors.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06Doulton's, later Carter's, Craven Dunnill -
0:11:06 > 0:11:09all the big names did tiling.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13And the emergence of the tile panel as a decorative element
0:11:13 > 0:11:15is very much of the 1870s and onwards.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18And it became the sensation of that period,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22with all those names making wonderful panels.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Now, these sort of rural England scenes,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28to me, are associated more with pubs and hotels
0:11:28 > 0:11:31where you could actually glorify that vision of...
0:11:31 > 0:11:33the England, to be fair, that was disappearing.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37All this was vanishing at that time, under railways and factories.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40This is what we were thinking about preserving.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44I think this is a great thing. You say you acquired it. Did you buy it?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I think it was bought through an auction 30 or so years ago.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Just as a panel. Which we've now mounted and kept in our offices.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Kept as a display, yeah.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57If somebody came to you and said, can you do this again, could you?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Well, we would give it a good try.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I think we might be able to do that, yeah. One day, maybe.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03LAUGHTER
0:12:03 > 0:12:07There's two things here. One is you've got a great factory archive.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Two, the things themselves are individually quite valuable.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13The book, a pattern book like that, is meaningless
0:12:13 > 0:12:17unless you've got the Simpson connection. You have,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20so you're looking at probably 3 to 5,000 for that.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22As an insight into decoration.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The small panels are going to be £1,000-£1,500 each.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Because they are such great subjects.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Maybe Robin Hood, maybe some medieval fantasy -
0:12:32 > 0:12:35who cares, really? But when we come to the big panel,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38this is really serious stuff. I mean, we're looking at £10-£15,000
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- for something like this.- Wow. We didn't think it was that much!
0:12:42 > 0:12:44So it's not just your archive.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47It's also quite important financial history as well.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Now you've brought along this
0:12:52 > 0:12:53rather small, narrow box.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Very, very thin box.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57And it holds a secret,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- doesn't it?- Yes, it does.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Shall we open the box and see what's inside? We open that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04There's a lever behind.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07If I pull this out, watch what happens.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08CROWD GASPS
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Oh, my!
0:13:10 > 0:13:15- Gasps from the crowd!- That's what it's for! And it's quite sharp.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18It's incredibly sharp. It's handmade.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Every single part of this is handmade.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And it is, to my mind, a very vicious object.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29- Yes, it is, indeed.- But what's it for? That's the question.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- Well, I don't know what it's for. - Ah.- I've owned it for all my life.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Before that, it belonged to an old German gentleman.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41I guess it's over 150 years old, for sure,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- and I still don't know what it is. - OK. Well.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- Let's look at it and sort of analyse it.- Yes.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49From the point of view of date, I think the way it's constructed,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54- it must be late 18th century or early 19th century.- Yes.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Whether it's English or not, I'm not sure.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00- I don't think it is English, I think it's Continental.- Yes.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02However, the question is, what is it for?
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Now, we've got the interesting brackets. You see these little pins?
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Yes.- There's one on either end and this is meant,
0:14:09 > 0:14:14I think, to mount it on something, between two pinions if you like.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17There's also this lever,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20so it's meant to be pulled remotely
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and this is meant for deployment right at the last minute.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- Now, I have to tell you I have never seen one of these before, ever.- OK.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32But, I think it's one of two things,
0:14:32 > 0:14:39either it's for securing on the outside of a door
0:14:39 > 0:14:40of some official office,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43perhaps the police office or something like that,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46in case it's attacked.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49You would pull this lever and out would come these spikes
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and there might be several of them in rows
0:14:51 > 0:14:53to stop people approaching the door.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I suppose so, yes.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Or it could be something that's attached to a carriage
0:14:59 > 0:15:02to stop highwaymen attacking the carriage.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05I think that... That's my conclusion I eventually came to.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09But I'm not 100% sure. However, we are going to value it.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- Now, I think it's worth quite a lot of money, actually.- Really?
0:15:13 > 0:15:15My grandchildren will be pleased to hear that!
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Well, I think it's most unusual.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22I wouldn't mind betting that this would sell at auction today
0:15:22 > 0:15:24for something in the region of
0:15:24 > 0:15:26- £1,200-£1,500.- Yes.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Well, it was given to myself and my husband by his mother
0:15:32 > 0:15:37when we moved into our first house, as a present.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40She had bought it at an auction in Bournemouth
0:15:40 > 0:15:42but I have no idea what she paid for it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44And I understand you have done some research.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Yes, well, we were interested in Gillows,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52we knew that they were quite famous and an article in the magazine
0:15:52 > 0:15:55told us about a museum in London that had their records,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59so we went there and on microfiche,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01we each had one of the microfiche machines,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and we were racing to see who was the first to find it.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06I bet that took a long time, didn't it?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09It wasn't too long, probably about half an hour.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Then they printed out documents for us with all the details.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- May I have a look?- Yes.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And these documents are saying?
0:16:17 > 0:16:21- They tell you exactly what the cabinet is made from.- Which is?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- I think it is bay wood.- Right.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26And it tells you precisely,
0:16:26 > 0:16:31all the exact prices of each item that went into it.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34It was made as a music cabinet
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and it comes out that it cost £18, 12 shillings and 10 pence.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- That's brilliant, isn't it? - Very precise.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42And that also came off the microfiche
0:16:42 > 0:16:46which made it easy for us to identify it.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Right, there are some
0:16:47 > 0:16:50telltale signs about this cabinet.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51As soon as you look at it, you know
0:16:51 > 0:16:53it's by this renowned maker,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- Gillows of Lancaster.- Indeed.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57One of the telltale signs is this,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00if I pull this drawer open like so...
0:17:01 > 0:17:03..under the underside,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and this is almost like Gillows' signature, see these little screws?
0:17:06 > 0:17:11- Yes.- They have been chamfered down and there is a little space.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15That's there so the drawer can expand and contract,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18without splitting the actual base of the drawer.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20It was one of their little signs.
0:17:20 > 0:17:26Other cabinet makers didn't do it. It was just down to Gillows.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32These little pieces here, this is to stop the dust.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34When you are cleaning the drawer out,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36it's actually easier for maintenance.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38So they were thinking not only for them,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41but for the people who were going to use the piece of furniture.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46- Of course, it's stamped here. Gillows of Lancaster.- Yes.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50They were leading cabinet makers in Lancaster,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53but also they were interior decorators
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and when this was put into the music room,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59the whole room would have been in this fashion,
0:17:59 > 0:18:05in what we call aesthetic period, which is around 1880, 1900s.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10Later into the 1900s, Gillows merged with another company
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and they were called then Waring & Gillow.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15But this is just before they merged,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19- so they just have the brand name Gillows of Lancaster.- Right.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Because this is aesthetically beautiful,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25I would put a value on this
0:18:25 > 0:18:27between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Oh, my goodness!
0:18:29 > 0:18:31That's lovely, thank you.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Three very pretty Dresden Cupids.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Are they your collection, have they always been together?
0:18:38 > 0:18:42I'm not sure if they have always been together, they belong to my mum now.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44But she got them from her mother-in-law
0:18:44 > 0:18:49who died about 10 years ago. So I'm not sure where they have come from.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- Are they your taste? Do you like them?- No, I think they're horrible.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55I'd give them to a charity shop.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02This is a very popular style that has been around for a long time.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05In Dresden, these have been made since the 1750s
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and they've carried on being made really for an awful long time.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Many homes have liked them, perhaps the traditions for Cupids around
0:19:12 > 0:19:17has waned a little bit but actually these are... I like some these.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20They are rather different. Which do you think is the best of them?
0:19:20 > 0:19:22You have any preferences?
0:19:22 > 0:19:27No, I think they're all horrible, but probably that one I would prefer.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Right, what we need to look at
0:19:29 > 0:19:33with these is who made them and when and really how well they are made.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Looking at that one, it's Cupid in disguise.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Cupid there is dressed up as a little girl with a fan
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and we look at the amount of detail in the way the faces are painted
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- and it's actually not terribly well done on this one.- Ah.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50This one isn't a good one.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53So, having got that one out of the way,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57there's the mark on the bottom. It is two lines and a cross.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01It looks like the Dresden sign, but it's a copy.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05This was made in, probably, about 1900 in Sitzendorf,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07a town near Dresden,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11but it isn't the real thing but it is copying this one.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15This is Meissen, Meissen is the great factory in Dresden.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18When you look at the way it's painted,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20there is a lot more detail there.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23The scrollwork on the base is so much more precise.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- It is just that much better. - Oh, yes.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31The mark, very proudly, the crossed swords of the Meissen factory.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33That's the mark we always like to see.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35But, of course, everyone copies that,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It's the easy thing to pretend.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41What you can't do is imitate the quality of Meissen
0:20:41 > 0:20:45and when Meissen made that in 1870,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48they were making wonderful quality figurines.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53And then we've got a group here which, actually,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- goes back rather earlier.- Oh!
0:20:55 > 0:20:59This one, again, nice and heavy and it's a Meissen one.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I think it is the seasons. This one is summer,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05holding the corn. You've got spring with flowers.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08That's autumn with a goblet
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and there's winter warming his hand on a burner.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16And we look for the telltale mark, and there it is, tucked at the back.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The early ones are marked around the back
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and if you find one with a crossed swords there and it's real
0:21:22 > 0:21:27- and good quality, we're looking at one made in 1745.- Wow.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33- So, middle of the 18th century. So that's that much older.- Yeah.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36It's had a bit of mending, this has been a bit damaged at the base.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38The tree has been broken off.
0:21:38 > 0:21:44It's had a bit of a hard life but the quality still shines through.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46So, three different figures,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49and appropriately different values.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Because she there is a copy,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57that one's going to be probably around about £40.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59It's pretty but nothing special.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04The Meissen one, that one is real Meissen, but Victorian Meissen,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08so that we are looking at about £600.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14And here we have got just that much older, mid-18th century,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Meissen at its best, so in spite of the damage
0:22:17 > 0:22:19we're looking at £1,500.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Wow!
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Maybe I like that one best!
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It's not bad!
0:22:25 > 0:22:28So, over £2,000 worth of figures,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32but this is the one to treasure.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Yes, to be careful with on the way home. Thank you.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Take a look at this toothsome trio here.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50They may not be the most attractive objects I've ever seen
0:22:50 > 0:22:52on The Antiques Roadshow, I have to be honest,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55but they are certainly among the most popular. Toby jugs.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58This week's Basic, Better, Best challenge is set by our
0:22:58 > 0:23:02ceramic specialist Henry Sandon, who is a great devotee of Toby jugs.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05He has brought three along today, one is worth £50,
0:23:05 > 0:23:10one is worth £700 and the best one is worth £1,400.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Can you tell which is which? Let's see what our visitors think.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Basic for the guy with the brown coat
0:23:18 > 0:23:22cos he seems a little bit more dull and not as, like, nice looking.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26And then better for the guy in the blue and then,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28best for the guy with the green coat.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- With the attractive spots on his face?- That's right.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- Would you fancy owning something like that in your home?- No.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- It is not trendy enough. - That's harsh, isn't it?
0:23:39 > 0:23:43The handle on that one is better finished than the other two
0:23:43 > 0:23:46so I'll put that as best.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Basic, better, best.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- And he is best because? - He just looks older.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56His teeth look a bit shabby
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and he just looks like he needs a good dentist. I'll go with him.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01I like his nose as well.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- So you like his bad teeth and his sort of beak-like nose?- Yes.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Is that what you like in a man?
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Well, in Toby jug, not so much in a man. But in a Toby jug!
0:24:11 > 0:24:15That is the best. That is better.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16OK, why do you think this is the best one?
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- Blue is my favourite colour. - Is that really the only reason?
0:24:19 > 0:24:21Yes, I'm afraid so, yes.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24It's just so arbitrary, isn't it?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Thank God for Henry Sandon. At least he knows what he's talking about!
0:24:32 > 0:24:33Generally speaking,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37I like to hold the glass that I'm appraising on the show,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40but this is a rather rare occasion.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Frankly the less I handle it, the better I feel.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Tell me why on earth have you brought this disaster area in
0:24:50 > 0:24:54- to the Roadshow today. - My wife will answer that.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I bought it for him as a present
0:24:57 > 0:25:03- and then after a period of time, it started to go crumbly.- Yes.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09- And then you noticed it started to smell.- Of sulphur.- Sulphur?- Yes.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14It was smelly glass that's falling to pieces.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16This is not what everybody wants.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21The reason that it's disintegrating is that it's crizzled.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23It is a lack of alkali in the ingredients.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27It's like the cake that doesn't rise. The ingredients are rubbish.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29They were not perfectly balanced.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Crizzling is evidenced by a mass of tiny cracks.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38It's opalescent rather than see through, which it would have been.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41So what did you think you bought?
0:25:41 > 0:25:46- What is this? - We took it to the museum.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- The V&A.- Yes.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54They looked at it and immediately said that it wasn't Venetian glass.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57OK. It certainly looks like it.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00It pleased us because by that time,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04we were very curious about the whole thing. It was very strange.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07And we had come across Sir Robert Mansell.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10OK. What you are saying by Sir Robert Mansell is that he was
0:26:10 > 0:26:15Admiral Sir Robert Mansell, MP, who held the glass monopoly,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19the monopoly for making glass in England under Charles I.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22So we're talking about before Restoration and all that.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24We are around 1640.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28A very interesting guy, but boy, that's a big leap.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32What you are doing is linking this to Sir Robert Mansell which
0:26:32 > 0:26:34is a pretty hairy occupation to do.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39For a start, one of the problems about glass of that age is, frankly,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41we don't what it looked like. We don't.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46What we do know is that Venetian style, Venice glass,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50was the dominant glass-making style over Europe at this date.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54But to link this with Mansell is pushing it
0:26:54 > 0:26:59because, frankly, there are problems about placing it that early.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04It certainly looks it, but the linkage between ceramics
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and glass has always been quite strong.
0:27:07 > 0:27:14When you see a cup in ceramics like that, you think, "This isn't 1640."
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Or silver, it could also be in silver.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Similar forms in silver. This is later
0:27:19 > 0:27:22because for a start it's too big.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Cups and saucers at this date were much smaller, a third smaller.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31Further, the handle, it wouldn't have had a handle at that date.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Handles of this type are more neoclassical.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39- This is going back to the Greek. This is later.- Yeah.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43So whilst it is crizzled and looks a million years old,
0:27:43 > 0:27:50the chances are it's more like 150 years, probably, than 350.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54And that is a fact. That is the probability.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57The value of course, because we've got to value stuff, is
0:27:57 > 0:28:02if it was 1640, nobody knows what Mansell made anyway,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05so to say this is what he made, you can't go there,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09it would be maybe £200 as an academic curiosity.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11It could be brought out at lectures
0:28:11 > 0:28:14or put in a museum cabinet, basement,
0:28:14 > 0:28:19or you accept it as a 150-year-old one and actually, worth a tenner.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24- Yes! - SHE LAUGHS
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Right!
0:28:29 > 0:28:34- What does one say to that?- The missus has said it all, in my opinion.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35That's the best...
0:28:35 > 0:28:39I think you'd best have a fiver for that. Fantastic!
0:28:39 > 0:28:44I don't think I've had an owner do a better ending than that. Brilliant!
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Well, a beautifully made wooden presentation box
0:28:50 > 0:28:53probably of holly wood and, for me,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56there's no prizes for guessing what is within.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59There are three pretty little enamel blue eggs. Tell me about them.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04They are my friend's whose aunt gave them to her.
0:29:04 > 0:29:10She believes they're Russian, but that's all she knows about them.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13I think she probably guessed that they were
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Russian from the lid satin. It is written in Cyrillic.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20It is clearly legible to enthusiasts of this subject.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23It actually says the name of an important Russian jeweller.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26I'd like to discuss this in a back to front way
0:29:26 > 0:29:28and tell you about the eggs
0:29:28 > 0:29:32which are sky blue enamelled Easter eggs on the necklace.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37They're surmounted by tiny, tiny diamond laurels
0:29:37 > 0:29:39and that's quite important in a way
0:29:39 > 0:29:42because in the tradition of jewellery
0:29:42 > 0:29:44the colour blue is for love.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Something borrowed, something blue,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48and here we have it conspicuously written.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Above it we also see tiny laurels set with diamonds.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56This is a visual rebus for a Latin phrase which is
0:29:56 > 0:30:00"Omnia vincit amor" - "the triumph of love over all".
0:30:00 > 0:30:05So here is the triumphal laurels surmounting the colour blue.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07There's also another message coming across,
0:30:07 > 0:30:08because they are Easter eggs.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13This is a gift from somebody at Easter in Holy Russia to present
0:30:13 > 0:30:18to somebody that they love and it's the triumph of love over everything.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20I think it is a triumph because it's survived.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21It's in pristine condition,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24which is wonderful for all kinds of good reasons.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Let's return to the lid satin once again.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32It says quite plainly, K Faberge, Moscow.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35Oh, gracious.
0:30:35 > 0:30:36Wonderful.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40We don't need any explanation beyond that to know that this is by far
0:30:40 > 0:30:44the most famous goldsmith's workshop that's ever existed.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49- It's very exciting stuff. - What are the blue baubles of?
0:30:49 > 0:30:52They are made of a silver core which has been engraved
0:30:52 > 0:30:54and then flooded with blue enamel.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58- You are seeing through the enamel on to the engraved ground.- I see.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01There's a great tradition in Russia to give Easter eggs.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05In the country, you'd have painted white chickens' eggs to give.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08In the towns, there would be wooden eggs, perhaps ceramic eggs,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11but in this curious and claustrophobic world
0:31:11 > 0:31:15of the Romanov court and its orbit, only Faberge would do.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18- This is a whiff of pre-revolutionary Russia.- Wonderful.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21And in 1917, catastrophe happened
0:31:21 > 0:31:23because the Russian Revolution came about
0:31:23 > 0:31:27and Faberge's empire was destroyed utterly and completely and forever.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30And so when we see these things coming through,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32the excitement mounts enormously.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34And mercifully, your friend has taken enormous care of it,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36because it's almost perfect condition,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and it's kept within this box,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40which signs it, it's like a picture frame.
0:31:40 > 0:31:46And your friend has an object which is undoubtedly worth £12,000.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Oh, my goodness! Oh, she'll be thrilled to pieces. Oh!
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Because quite recently she had a big fire at her house.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57And quite a lot of things lost.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00And this was one thing that survived.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Well, that's wonderful. It may be some small compensation.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05But how exciting to see it here today.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08That is absolutely wonderful, she'll be thrilled to pieces.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10I'm thrilled to pieces!
0:32:10 > 0:32:14I'm exhausted now, I don't know about you! Wonderful, wonderful.
0:32:18 > 0:32:19If you remember,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23I was telling you earlier about our Basic, Better, Best challenge
0:32:23 > 0:32:26set by Henry Sandon this week, our ceramics specialist.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Three Toby jugs, one worth £50, that's the basic.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35The better one worth £700, and the best one worth £1,400.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Now, Henry, I have to say, among our visitors,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40we are all a bit nonplussed by them.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Particularly because, in the nicest possible way,
0:32:43 > 0:32:48- they are just so darn ugly.- Oh, no, they're not! They're beautiful.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51- What is so lovely about them? - They're real people, aren't they?
0:32:51 > 0:32:55They have noses, fine noses, and pustules on their face,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58and they're drinking beer. What could be better than that?
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Yes, look at this one in particular. He's covered in spots,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03and his teeth are terrible.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Shame, isn't it? Well, they were coarser people in those days.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10And I suppose... They named Toby jugs after Toby Fillpot,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13who was a great drinker in the 18th century.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16He was supposed to drink gallons of beer at a time.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19And they named Toby jugs, it's said, after him.
0:33:19 > 0:33:20And I think they're great.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23They derive, of course, from the 18th century,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27from the 1780s when they were invented by Ralph Wood.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32And the three models here are of the Ralph Wood type, the ordinary jug.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36Now, very, very much rarer ones come in strange shapes.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38The Fiddler, a chap playing the fiddle,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42and a chap who is ironing clothes. They're very, very rare.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45One of the chaps ironing clothes, The Tailor,
0:33:45 > 0:33:51- fetched £30,000 a few years ago. - Really?- So they are expensive.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Now these ones aren't in that market,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56they're the ordinary, the usual Toby jugs.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01Well, I had a bit of a go at thinking which I thought was which.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05- I mean, this one has its lid. - It's got his hat, yes.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Which I do very carefully there.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10So I thought, I presume that must affect the value
0:34:10 > 0:34:12because the other two do not.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17So, basic, because I thought he was painted the most basic way.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22Better because he has his hat. And then best, well, he's the most ugly.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- Ohh!- And he's got the most detail.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28So, go on, put us out of our misery.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31That's not a bad shot, I suppose.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34The basic one is the latest one, in date.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39He's going to be a Victorian one, 1860-70 in date.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42And that is this chap. He's a Victorian one.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46The quality of the making is poorer, no decoration worthy,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49and he is a basic one.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Perhaps 50 quid or something like that.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56Right. Got that wrong. So, better?
0:34:56 > 0:35:00The better one, the better one is our friend down here.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04He is a Ralph Wood-type of about 1790 in date.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08And he is very nicely decorated,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10but the glaze doesn't work sometimes.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13The face is poorly decorated, the glaze runs
0:35:13 > 0:35:18and dribbles down his coat. It's not terribly well controlled.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22And he basically would go for something like
0:35:22 > 0:35:25about £700 at auction, that one.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28One of our visitors chose him as best because she thought
0:35:28 > 0:35:31his teeth were so terrible, he deserved recognition all of his own!
0:35:31 > 0:35:34- Well, people in the 18th century all had bad teeth.- Quite.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37So this is the best one, which I happened on by chance, really.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Certainly the modelling is the finest of the three.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42The modelling is finest, and also the painting.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45I mean, the face is absolutely fantastically well painted.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49And the base, look at this wonderful marbling around the base.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51It's exceptional, you very seldom get that.
0:35:51 > 0:35:52And he's by Neale,
0:35:52 > 0:35:58a noted maker of Toby jugs in about the 1790 period.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01And he is the best of the three of them.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05And he's valued at auction somewhere around the 1,500 or so bracket.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Goodness me. And you've got some in your home, Henry?
0:36:08 > 0:36:12I've got lots in my home, yes! Including some of me!
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Very embarrassing, but I find them great fun.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22It's a really lovely Chinese painting, it's so obviously Chinese.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25And we've got two of the Eight Immortals here.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28We've got a man called Li Tieguai,
0:36:28 > 0:36:32- and, you know, for all the world, it is a Chinese painting.- Yes.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35But there's a rather strange clue on here
0:36:35 > 0:36:37as to where it might have come from.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39And it says Montgolfier in the watermark.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41How did you come by this?
0:36:41 > 0:36:44My husband's grandfather, George Mottished,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47was a road surveyor in Hampshire before the First World War.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50And he joined up, he went into building roads
0:36:50 > 0:36:52for the troops at the front.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Oh, right. And this is him? That's him there, yes.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00And he had, working under him, a troop of Chinese coolies.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04He called them coolies. With no disrespect.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06And they were building roads for the troops.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11Right from 1916 to 1919, I think.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14He had a lot of respect for his team, he liked working with them.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17When they disbanded at the end of the war,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20the gangmaster presented him with two painted scrolls.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23He was very, very touched by this gesture.
0:37:23 > 0:37:24He had them framed, took them home,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27and they were his treasured possessions.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29And we inherited them about five years ago.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31I must say,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34I don't think I've ever seen Chinese paintings on French paper.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37- Probably not.- So it is so interesting, with the connection.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40- We know that they were painted in France.- Yes.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Now, the Chinese Labour Corps
0:37:42 > 0:37:46was largely shipped out of Shandong province.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49It became clear that by 1916,
0:37:49 > 0:37:54we needed labour to work with your grandfather-in-law as engineers.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57They did all the sort of basic work.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02They laid roads, as they did with him, they dug trenches.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05And eventually, after the war, they cleared up all the barbed wire.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09And there are various debates about how many there were.
0:38:09 > 0:38:15But there were about 150,000, maybe as many as 200,000 Chinese labourers
0:38:15 > 0:38:20who worked with the Allies through that second half of the war.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24And did he ever write about any particular incidents with them
0:38:24 > 0:38:29- or anything like that?- No, but he told his daughters a few tales.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32One was that they were so short of road materials
0:38:32 > 0:38:36that when the theatre of war shifted from one place to another,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39they took up the road they'd made and moved it to the new place.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41And when they came to a hole they couldn't cross,
0:38:41 > 0:38:46he commandeered a wagon-load of tins of bully beef and tipped them in.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49They had more bully beef than they had road material,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53so they crossed the gap on bully beef.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57And he clearly had a very close relationship with them.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00And interestingly, they stayed on after the war,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02lots and lots of them.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05And I suspect that some of the diaspora of Chinese in France
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and in England came from this group of labour that was sent over.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14And in fact, in France, about 2,000 died during the war.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18Er, and there are, there's one wonderful graveyard
0:39:18 > 0:39:21by Lutyens, with a Chinese gate
0:39:21 > 0:39:25over the entrance, where there are 2,000 of them buried.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28And it's in a place called Noyelles sur Mer.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Most unusual, cos all the others are standard war graves,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36- but this is an unusual Chinese one. - How amazing.- Very interesting.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Now, I have a connection with this, strangely.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43- Because my great-grandfather, same generation...- Yes.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47- ..was in Shandong province.- Oh! - ..and was responsible
0:39:47 > 0:39:50- for recruiting them to send to the front.- Well, I never!
0:39:50 > 0:39:53In modern terms, one would think that was a shameful thing to do,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and I think they were paid very little.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00And it was three months' journey, and some were sunk on the way.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03It's not something one should feel entirely proud of.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06The fact is, the Chinese today are very keen to rehabilitate
0:40:06 > 0:40:10- the value of the Chinese Labour Corps.- I'm not surprised.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12And this is such an interesting thing.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16The sad thing is that, apart from to you and I,
0:40:16 > 0:40:18who have a particular interest in them,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- they're not worth a huge amount of money.- No, no.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22You realise they wouldn't be.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26So whilst you and I think they're fabulous,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I think commercially, they're worth...
0:40:29 > 0:40:32probably no more than, you've got two of them,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35I suppose, £400-500 for the pair.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38- Hmm.- Which is not a huge amount of money.- No, it doesn't matter.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Do you know anything about the inscription?
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- Why people can't read it? - Well, I can't read it either.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46And maybe somebody who sees this
0:40:46 > 0:40:48will be able to translate it and tell us!
0:40:48 > 0:40:50- That would be lovely, wouldn't it? - I would love to know!
0:40:50 > 0:40:52Yes! Right, thank you very much!
0:40:54 > 0:40:57She's got this wonderful, serene look about her.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59- She obviously hasn't been in the sun.- No.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03- Has she been out much at all? - No. I've had her for five years.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06I just had her in a bag, in a box, under the bed,
0:41:06 > 0:41:07and when my sister had her,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10she had her in a bag, in a box, under the bed.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14- So she hasn't seen the daylight, no. - Poor little mite!
0:41:14 > 0:41:15Now you said your sister had her,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18she's obviously a good deal older than your generation.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- So whose was she before that? - My sister was a carer,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23and she belonged to an old lady that she looked after,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27- and she gave it to my sister. - So that's the link?- Yes.
0:41:27 > 0:41:28Well, she's lovely.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31She's what's known as a shoulder china doll,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33because her head and her shoulders
0:41:33 > 0:41:36are all made in one piece, as you can see.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39And, in fact, I'm rather pleased that she's undressed,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43because you can totally see the construction.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47She's been stitched onto this calico body.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49You can see the wide hips here.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Not because women had huge hips,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54but because it was the fashion of the time to have wider skirts,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58and that would give width to the skirts when she was fully dressed.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- Have you done any research on her? - Erm, no, not really.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05I did have a quick look on the internet last night,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08but I drew a blank, really. I just thought she may be German?
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Well, she's got a good chance.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13I mean, these china-headed dolls were made...
0:42:13 > 0:42:15the majority came from Germany, there's no question.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18They were made elsewhere too, but the majority were German.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23I've got no reason to think that she won't be. What about date?
0:42:23 > 0:42:25I know some of them are, like, 1800s,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29but then they went into the 1900s, so, no. I really haven't got a clue.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31OK, well, it's somewhere in the middle there.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Shall we try and pin it down a bit?
0:42:33 > 0:42:37Well, one good way of looking and being able to date a doll,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40particularly one that has got an elaborate hairdo,
0:42:40 > 0:42:42is to look at that hairstyle.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44There we can see it's plaited at the sides
0:42:44 > 0:42:46and then tied back into
0:42:46 > 0:42:48this sort of loose, low chignon.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50So that's good.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54I mean, I'm not going to be able to pinpoint it to a precise year,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57but I would say between 1855 and 1860.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00So you can get a good guide from that.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Erm, she's not a hugely valuable doll,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06but she's still collectable,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09and I would put her at around £300 to perhaps £350.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Yeah, that's very good. Yeah, I'm pleased with that.
0:43:12 > 0:43:13Lovely. Thank you.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19A few years ago, I had a call from BBC Look North.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22In the light of the Chilean mining disaster,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25their attention had been drawn to the fact that
0:43:25 > 0:43:29local residents had found an old Victorian rubbish tip
0:43:29 > 0:43:34and had been sending down shafts like mine shafts into the tip,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37and clearly, the council had issued an order banning this,
0:43:37 > 0:43:39because of safety, the fear of collapse.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43And you know jolly well what they were looking for, don't you?!
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Yes! Old bottles! And that's how I got into it, really.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Back in the 1980s,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52I was doing some research on my great-grandfather's company.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55He was a mineral water manufacturer in Gravesend.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59And one night, we went to the local pub, myself and my brother,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02and he just happened to say that, round the back of the pub,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06they were building houses on an old Victorian rubbish tip.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09So he said, "Do you fancy having a look?" So we went round the back
0:44:09 > 0:44:12and there were just bottles everywhere, laying everywhere.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14We were hoping to find one from my great-grandfather's company,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18- but we never did.- What's the name of that company?- CH Perry.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22- OK, and what did they make? - Fizzy lemonade, really.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25OK, people will take a glancing view at these and think,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28"Ooh, we've dug up things like that in the garden."
0:44:28 > 0:44:30But I suspect that we're in the presence
0:44:30 > 0:44:32of a rather elevated collection here.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34Yeah, because when I first started,
0:44:34 > 0:44:39the first bottles I found up there was quite a rare star-shaped poison.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43And via that, I met other collectors and I found out about...
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Oh, you caught nutter-itis?!
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Yeah, I found a network of clubs
0:44:47 > 0:44:50and there's also magazines and shows.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52But with the poisons, it just got to be too much.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54There were so many. So what I did,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57I whittled it down just to the patented shapes that were developed.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59Go on. Show us what you're talking about.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Well, back in the Victorian times, of course,
0:45:02 > 0:45:04there was no electric or anything like that.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08There was gas, if you were lucky, or candlepower.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10So what was happening was that people were getting up in the night,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14or whatever, reaching for their medicine, for their cough,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16but reach for the wrong bottle
0:45:16 > 0:45:19and picked up the bottle of carbolic acid,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22drink that, and there was a lot of deaths via it.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25So what happened is that chemists, doctors, and glass companies
0:45:25 > 0:45:28all started to patent different shapes
0:45:28 > 0:45:30so that they felt odd to the touch.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33So you'd get up in the night, it would feel strange,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36it would have grooves, or bobbles, or whatever on it,
0:45:36 > 0:45:40so you knew that it was odd and so you'd be wary of drinking it.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44So, they presumably all date, what, 1860s onwards?
0:45:44 > 0:45:48That's right. That's when the first true poison bottle was patented.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Right up to the 1920s, until electric light was prevalent.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57- So predominantly blue, obviously, here, which delineated poison.- Yes.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00- Blue was poison?- Yes.- And what about green and amber, then?
0:46:00 > 0:46:02They just came along later.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04A lot of the glass companies just diverted into...
0:46:04 > 0:46:06they probably thought,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09"Well, the main thing is the shape, so colour doesn't matter."
0:46:09 > 0:46:12OK, well, show us something stonking.
0:46:12 > 0:46:17Well, probably the classic English poison bottle is the coffin.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19- In the shape of a coffin! - The shape of a coffin.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Can't get much more macabre than that!
0:46:21 > 0:46:25That's patented by Langford in 1871. Very rare.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27There's only about six known worldwide,
0:46:27 > 0:46:29and half of those are damaged.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31Yeah, there's the nutter in you coming out!
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Yeah, I'll lay that down because it's a bit...
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- What about the skull?- Now, the skull, that's an American.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38That's the only American bottle I've got.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40- The rest are English?- Yes.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44Well, generally speaking, blues sell in shops for about a tenner.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46Yeah, I mean, it's a good thing to collect,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48if you're a youngster coming into the hobby.
0:46:48 > 0:46:49You can pick them up as little as 50p.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51But when you start to specialise...
0:46:51 > 0:46:54And what are the restrictions about going into tips?
0:46:54 > 0:46:56- It's almost impossible. - Is that right?
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Because of health and safety. You just cannot do it.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Right, so you'd have to check a club to find out what you can do?
0:47:01 > 0:47:03That's right.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05OK, so I'm thinking the blue ones
0:47:05 > 0:47:07would go for a bit more than green ones...
0:47:07 > 0:47:08Not necessarily. No, no.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11I'm just thinking at my level, which is the tenners!
0:47:11 > 0:47:12Oh, right! HE LAUGHS
0:47:12 > 0:47:14How much are you paying?!
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Well, I've been very lucky, actually,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19because a lot of these I got in the early days of the hobby.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22So the whole thing is picking up? It's a hot collecting field?
0:47:22 > 0:47:24It's collected worldwide now, all these items,
0:47:24 > 0:47:26and so it is very difficult.
0:47:26 > 0:47:27So how much are you...?
0:47:27 > 0:47:31Well, the coffin, there would be quite a few people
0:47:31 > 0:47:33who would pay £12,000 for that.
0:47:33 > 0:47:34- What?!- £12,000.
0:47:34 > 0:47:39- £12,000?!- Yeah. - Is that right? £12,000!
0:47:39 > 0:47:40Let me see it!
0:47:40 > 0:47:42- MAN IN CROWD:- Don't drop it!
0:47:42 > 0:47:43Look at that!
0:47:43 > 0:47:46That's 12 grand!
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Go on, hit me again! Hit me harder!
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- Well, that one is about £2,000. - Is that right?
0:47:51 > 0:47:54So how much have you got on the table here?
0:47:54 > 0:47:55You, selling at auction?
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Round about 50K.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59£50,000? Here?!
0:47:59 > 0:48:01There's only one thing for it!
0:48:01 > 0:48:05LAUGHTER
0:48:05 > 0:48:07And if you drop that, you WILL be dead!
0:48:07 > 0:48:09LAUGHTER
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Do you remember how I started the programme, all the way up there,
0:48:16 > 0:48:19terrifyingly, on the fighting platform of HMS Gannet?
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Well, fortunately, the producers have allowed me down here
0:48:22 > 0:48:24to the safety of the forward deck,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27and all the rigging you can see around me,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30miles and miles of rope, were made here at the Ropery.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34So from HMS Gannet and historic dockyard, Chatham,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37from all the Roadshow team, bye-bye.