0:00:02 > 0:00:05Today, we've come to a village built on soap,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08or at least the proceeds of a famous soap empire
0:00:08 > 0:00:11which created 900 houses for its workers.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from Port Sunlight near Liverpool.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Port Sunlight has a very special place in my heart
0:01:02 > 0:01:04because I used to live here.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07In fact, I used to live there, number 62, when I was four years old
0:01:07 > 0:01:09and that's because my dad used to work for the company
0:01:09 > 0:01:11that owned this village,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14the company that was originally known as Lever Brothers.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19I remember playing here, in the Dell,
0:01:19 > 0:01:20but I was far too young
0:01:20 > 0:01:23to understand the historical significance of my surroundings
0:01:23 > 0:01:27and the name William Hesketh Lever meant nothing to me.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34But without him, neither the factory nor the village,
0:01:34 > 0:01:39named after his favourite brand of laundry soap, would exist.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42In 1889, Lever commissioned the first of over 30 architects
0:01:42 > 0:01:45to create his perfect community,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50transforming 140 acres of marshland into what you see today.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Up went the Arts And Crafts-style cottages with their own baths,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00loos and cold running water, set against a backdrop of wide,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03French style tree-lined boulevards,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05and all manner of community buildings,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08like the dining room where Lever's workers ate
0:02:08 > 0:02:10under the watchful gaze of his collection
0:02:10 > 0:02:12of Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16In return, the workforce were expected to follow
0:02:16 > 0:02:21a life of thrift, sobriety and a desire for self-improvement,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24which is no small ask, but then Lever believed
0:02:24 > 0:02:27that if his workers were healthy and removed from the temptations
0:02:27 > 0:02:32of city life, they'd work hard, and remain loyal to his company.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39In the early 1900s, one of Lever's most loyal workers
0:02:39 > 0:02:42was foreman and village photographer Edward Jenkins.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Here's one of his albums.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Take a look at this. This is Jenkins
0:02:48 > 0:02:51in the Port Sunlight Literary Society.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Talk about self-improvement.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55How elegant they are!
0:02:55 > 0:02:58They look like something out of a French Impressionist painting.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00We should let one of our experts see this.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Our roadshow today is being held in the heart of the village
0:03:07 > 0:03:10on the green, just outside the Lady Lever Art Gallery,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13which we'll visit in a later programme.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Buckingham Palace has been the focus
0:03:21 > 0:03:24of quite a lot of attention this year.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28And I have to say, not quite as much attention as whoever made this
0:03:28 > 0:03:31because it's made out of matchsticks stuck together.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- That's right.- Who made it? - It was a great-grandfather of mine.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37A passionate hobby of his. I believe he made
0:03:37 > 0:03:41a number of models but this one remained with my nan
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and was passed down to me.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It's something I remember throughout my childhood.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Every time I went to visit her in London, it was stuffed on top
0:03:49 > 0:03:54of her wardrobe out of view, unfortunately and not appreciated.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58But I wanted to show it off today and I think it's fabulous.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Well, it IS fabulous. Was he a great smoker, your great grandad?
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- Must have been. - Must've been, exactly.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09The Palace, obviously, was redesigned in 1913
0:04:09 > 0:04:11by Sir Aston Webb and of course, this is the frontage
0:04:11 > 0:04:13that we know today.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16You're clasping a whole load of bits. What are they?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19That's a photo of the man who made it,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23William Moyer, and also, here, some letters.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26He was seeking dimensions directly from Buckingham Palace itself.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Oh, my goodness. Let me hand you back the photograph.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- So, this is from Buckingham Palace...- 1957.
0:04:33 > 0:04:371957, it gives you the size... Oh, look!
0:04:37 > 0:04:42And here is actually a hand-drawn map of the palace
0:04:42 > 0:04:45giving the dimensions, the height, the width all the rest of it
0:04:45 > 0:04:48from the Superintendent's Office at Buckingham Palace.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- So, he had no excuse not to get it right.- No, exactly.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Well, it's terrific and I have to say that...
0:04:55 > 0:04:58of all the matchstick models I've seen of all kinds of things,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01this really has to take the biscuit.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03What's it going to be worth?
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Just think of how many boxes of matches for a start.
0:05:07 > 0:05:1139,000 matches, I believe. And two and a half years to make.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12My goodness.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17If only one could put his hourly rate down, at £10 an hour,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19you know, how much would that be worth?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23But, sadly, I'm afraid that these are labours of love
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and the value, even though it's a fabulous model, I don't think
0:05:25 > 0:05:28it would fetch probably more than about £400-£500 at auction.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30But...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32- what a labour of love.- Absolutely.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- Thanks for bringing it along. - Thank you.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39This is one of the most lovely mustard pots
0:05:39 > 0:05:40I have ever come across.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46- I hope you love it.- I do, I do. - So, how did you come by it?
0:05:46 > 0:05:47It belonged to my great aunt,
0:05:47 > 0:05:48who passed it to her sister,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51my grandmother, when she died.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Passed to my mother and my mother gave it to me about a year ago
0:05:54 > 0:05:56because I'd always admired it.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We definitely have similar tastes.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00So, why is it so special?
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Well, it's not hugely old.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It was actually made in 1903.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10You've got the London hallmarks
0:06:10 > 0:06:13for that period.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Now, what we've got there is the mark of the Guild of Handicraft,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18"GofH Ltd."
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Absolutely wonderful organisation,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26founded in the late 19th century, inspired by William Morris.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And the whole idea was to go back to medieval working,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33small workshops, and Ashby, who was one of Morris's pupils,
0:06:33 > 0:06:38was the leader of the Guild of Handicraft.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39And there are so many things here
0:06:39 > 0:06:43that absolutely shriek Ashby at you.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48Look at what happens there, how that sweeps around into the base.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51That, to my mind, is sheer genius.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55He also loved using these cabochon stones,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58just rounded off, very natural form of the stone.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03And, can you see, if I just turn it slightly like that,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06how you've got that slightly ripply effect on the surface?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08That's very special.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11That's the final planishing, the final hammering
0:07:11 > 0:07:16and that was showing it was actually made by hand
0:07:16 > 0:07:18because at the time they started doing this,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20everything was being churned out by machine
0:07:20 > 0:07:23and had this sort of mirror surface.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27What we've got as well, which you don't often see,
0:07:27 > 0:07:28is the mustard spoon with it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33What a joy, what a joy. I think for this mustard pot,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36you'd be hard-pressed to buy it
0:07:36 > 0:07:39under £3,500.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- Oh, goodness me.- She's shocked.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Yes. That IS a surprise.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54We have a saying in the art world
0:07:54 > 0:07:55which is the back of the picture
0:07:55 > 0:07:58will often tell you more than the front.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01But you found something beneath the picture, did you not?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It all starts with you buying, at a house clearance,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06this portrait, this print of Charlotte Bronte.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Yes. I bought it for the frame cos I liked the frame.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11I thought the frame was really old.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15So, you took the picture of Charlotte Bronte,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17which is a sort of pretty modern print,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19you took that out of the frame,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21which you liked the look of, can we have a look?
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Yes.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25- Goodness me.- That was underneath.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29And what did you think when you found it?
0:08:29 > 0:08:31I thought it was quite an old picture.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36So, you have here a portrait of another famous author,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37William Shakespeare.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42- Yes.- Hidden behind Charlotte Bronte. How extraordinary.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47An 18th-century pastel, probably about 1730, 1740,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51based on the portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52We call it the Chandos painting.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55It's a little bit rubbed, it's a little bit damaged,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58but you have a drawing, a pastel
0:08:58 > 0:09:02of a very emotive, historical, literary subject.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07Pastel was becoming very popular in England in the 1720s and '30s.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09People like William Hoare, a prominent artist,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11was making it vogue.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And you can tell that this is early pastel because of the laid paper.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17You can see the lines running through.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21And pastel, like chalk, has a tendency to crumble and deteriorate.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22And you can see that
0:09:22 > 0:09:26this is an early 18th-century application of the medium.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30So, you've got a 1730s portrait of William Shakespeare
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and it's worth probably £600-£800.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Wow. Amazing.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40And can I ask you how much you paid for the frame? £5.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- Not bad.- Good.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48This is only part of your collection.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- How many have you got? - Around 300-400.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Where do you find them?
0:09:54 > 0:09:58I've found most of these in the corner of my brother's field
0:09:58 > 0:10:01where his horses graze and there's a river.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03And the river kind of washes away all the soil
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and it pulled out some crockery,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08so we started digging and kept on finding bottles.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12- These came out and got you hooked on digging them up?- Yeah.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16- It's addictive.- How do you find out where to dig for Victorian bottles?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Actually, it's kind of easy to find where they are because
0:10:20 > 0:10:24they list their dumps on their maps so you just need some old maps.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- How old are you?- Ten.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It takes me back because when I was your age,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33I used to go digging for bottles with my dad.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Though my father was more interested in digging for pots
0:10:35 > 0:10:38rather than glass bottles but we used to find things like these
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- and it's very exciting, isn't it? - Yeah, very exciting.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Just the thrill of when you pull them out the ground, it's amazing.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Especially with some rare ones like these cods.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54- Right, so what are these? Tell me. - They're cod bottles.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57They were used, I think, for carbonated water.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- Right, so these are the ones with the little marbles inside?- Yeah.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And some children used to smash the top of them
0:11:03 > 0:11:06to get the marble to play marbles with them when they were quite poor.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10So they're quite hard to find because most of them were smashed.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12- It's hard to find perfect ones, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Well, they all look beautifully clean. You spent a lot of time
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- washing, I should think. - Yeah, in our sink, in our kitchen.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22We scrub, scrub, scrub with a toothbrush and cotton buds.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25But you've done so well. Indeed.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- These are the poison bottles, aren't they?- Yeah.- Because of the...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Was it the stripes on them? - Yeah, they've got ribs.
0:11:31 > 0:11:37That's so blind people would know not to drink it otherwise they'd die.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- So, you've been learning a lot about these by the sound of it.- Yeah.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Where do you keep them?
0:11:42 > 0:11:46We have a special bottle room in the back of our house for them.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- A bottle room?- Yeah. - That sounds like a real collector.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Of course, generally, of course,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55bottles aren't that expensive, individually,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58but it certainly adds up when you get a collection like this.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Normally, the simple little poison bottles are £5, £10,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05up to £20 for nice coloured ones.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07When you've got local named bottles,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09that's always interesting, isn't it?
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I mean, on a nice...
0:12:11 > 0:12:14A Birkenhead name on a bottle locally always adds interest,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17so, from £3 or £4 up to £10-£20,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20again, if you get an interesting name.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Those cod bottles are worth 15-20.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It's not that much but it's expensive for a bottle.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29And it adds up when you've got 360 of them, isn't it?
0:12:29 > 0:12:30Yeah.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34But, no, exciting fun and nothing like it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And I think the way you've been learning about them is admirable.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41I envy you greatly. My digging days are over
0:12:41 > 0:12:42but you've got a lot ahead of you
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and thanks for bringing in
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- such great selection to share with us.- OK.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Now, I see lots of interesting watches on the roadshow,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56watches that look like they should be worth lots of money,
0:12:56 > 0:12:57and rather disappointingly aren't.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59And what you brought today
0:12:59 > 0:13:02is a rather disappointing looking watch, if I may say so.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- It is, yeah.- But, actually, it's not. It's a very interesting watch.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11And I'll say from the outset what it is. It's a German deck watch.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13- Do you know what deck watch is? - No, I don't.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Well, before I explain what a deck watch is,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17perhaps you'd like to tell me what you know about it.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21What I know about it is my father brought it back from the war.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24He was with the 43rd Gurkha Lorry Brigade.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Not exactly sure where he got the watch
0:13:27 > 0:13:29but he said he swapped it for cigarettes.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31At some point, he was guarding some German prisoners,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34as far as I'm aware. That's as much as I know about it.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36We were always fascinated about it as children
0:13:36 > 0:13:38because it's got a swastika on the back.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Unfortunately, it is broken
0:13:39 > 0:13:41and I unfortunately think it was me who broke it.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- Did you drop it? - No, I wound it up too much, I think.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48But I never admitted to that. My two sisters will now know it was me.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53The definition of a deck watch is a watch that is used at sea
0:13:53 > 0:13:55for keeping precise time.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58On a ship, or more likely in this instance a U-boat...
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Oh, right.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02..on a ship, you took the time downstairs
0:14:02 > 0:14:04from the marine chronometer,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06which was the ship's clock, and you went onboard deck
0:14:06 > 0:14:08with your sextant,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and you took the time from the sun precisely
0:14:11 > 0:14:14to show where you were on your chart in the position at sea.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Now, a U-boat had the same problem. And they used deck watches.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23And this is a German silver deck watch.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Technically, on the dial, you've got the hours around the outer edge,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29you've got a seconds ring,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31and you've got this strange subsidiary dial here,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35which is numbered "Auf" and "Ab", up and down.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38And it indicates how many hours it has left to run.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40And when you wind it...
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- Do you see the hand going around- Oh, yes.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44And that is coming up.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46It goes all the way round to there
0:14:46 > 0:14:48and it has 28 hours to run down.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51So it tells you how many hours it's got left before it runs down.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52Oh right, oh right.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Silver pocket watch and here's your swastika on the back
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and the other numbers on the watch indicate what it was doing,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03where it was, in the German navy.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04Oh.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Now further into the watch - we've got to
0:15:07 > 0:15:09take the back cover off because the hinge is broken -
0:15:09 > 0:15:14but you've got the maker's name on the watch, A Lange & Sohne.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Lange & Sohne were the greatest watch makers in Germany
0:15:18 > 0:15:19at that time.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22The best. They were the Patek Philippe of Switzerland,
0:15:22 > 0:15:23the Rolex of Switzerland.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26They were the best and they're greatly collected today, still.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- So, actually, it's a rather special watch.- Oh, OK.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32I think I ought to mention that you can actually go to Lange now,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34or you can write to Lange, send an email to Lange,
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and find out from them exactly what the history of this watch is.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43So it's got to be worth some money.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46From a packet of cigarettes to...
0:15:46 > 0:15:51Well, a collector wouldn't pay top price, because, as we've seen,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53- the hinge has broken...- Yes. - ..and it's not in great condition.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57- Yeah.- But we know why. Everybody now knows why.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Value - between £1,000 and £1,500.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Really?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- Thanks very much for bringing it in. - Thank you.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09This album has already been looked at
0:16:09 > 0:16:11by Fiona at the beginning of the programme.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15It is an album purely to do with Port Sunlight.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20I believe it has over 300 snapshot images of the employees
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- having a good time, one way or another.- Basically, yeah.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- This is the photographer.- Yes. - And his name?- Edward Jenkins.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- Edward Jenkins. - Edward John Jenkins, yeah.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Now, Stuart, you're a conservationist here at the museum.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- Yes.- And you know all about this album.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Yeah, the Village Trust bought this album in 2008
0:16:35 > 0:16:38for the Port Sunlight Museum collection.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40And they really give a flavour of
0:16:40 > 0:16:41what was going on, roughly between 1890
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- and just before the First World War. - Yeah, I'd say so.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I've been able to date quite a lot of the photos in there
0:16:48 > 0:16:50so I'm pretty confident in saying that, yeah.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Now Mr Lever, the boss, took very good care of his employees.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- He did.- And he paid for all these events to happen.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59- Yes.- He wasn't actually a philanthropist.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02No, he thought philanthropy was charity and he wasn't
0:17:02 > 0:17:04running a charitable venture here.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06So, he saw it as good business practice
0:17:06 > 0:17:09to keep his employees happy and this is his way of doing it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13- Yes.- One of the things that is known to history that went on here -
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Mr Lever took some 1,800 of his employees to Paris.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Yeah, that was in 1900 to see the Paris Exhibition.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21To see the Paris Exhibition.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25And then, a couple of years later, he took 2,000 of his employees
0:17:25 > 0:17:26to Brussels.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Well, as I understand, the whole village and works
0:17:28 > 0:17:29were shut down for the weekend.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Right. And, yeah, it cost a considerable...
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Was that to see the new factory over in Brussels?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Yes, they were opening a new factory.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- And I understand they did the whole thing in a weekend.- Yes.
0:17:38 > 0:17:39They left at 12 noon on Friday.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And they all left on trains from Bevington Station,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44but they all had different colour-coded badges
0:17:44 > 0:17:47so they could get on the right train, and knew what ticket...
0:17:47 > 0:17:49And this is a good photo of them leaving from Bevington.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- That's Bevington Station, yeah. - Excellent stuff.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53Well, what I particularly like
0:17:53 > 0:17:57are elephants in the sea at Blackpool.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Yeah, I think the Blackpool trip was round about 1909.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01They used to go away every summer.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Right. You just imagine elephants on the beach,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06- in the sea at Blackpool. - It's an unusual shot, yeah.
0:18:06 > 0:18:07Well, it's a fabulous album
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- and there's another album to go with it.- Yes.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13It is very illuminating, it really tells the story,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and it gives the flavour of Port Sunlight.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20People having a good time, it makes you feel happy,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- which is rather nice.- Yes.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And I think would be very appealing on the open market, I have to say.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I'm going to suggest, if it came up in auction,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30it would be between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32- That sort of level.- Wow!
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- Thank you very much for letting me see it today.- No problem at all.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Port Sunlight - there's a clue in the name.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48But there is precious little sun to be found today.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52It has rained and now the skies are grey and overcast
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and it's pretty chilly. So John Benjamin, our jewellery expert,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59has decided to set up stall inside this marvellous double-decker bus.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01The queue starts upstairs
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and he is receiving visitors down the end there.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I think he's got the right idea, I think I'll join him.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10That feature is very unusual.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13The tendency is that people always say,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17"If there's a locket compartment, it's poison," but I don't think so.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Well, it's a large, round piece of glass, as far as I can see!
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Yes, my grandma, it came from her side of the family,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35through her husband and I've always liked it, since I was a child.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40- OK.- Cos its colours were just really nice, I thought.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So, when she passed away, it was one of the items I wanted to take
0:19:43 > 0:19:47because I just liked it, along with a few other items.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Did some research,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I know it came from my grandfather's side of the family
0:19:52 > 0:19:57and I found out that it's quite old, as far as I can make out,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- I know nothing other than that. - You know nothing? Apart from that.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04- OK, well, it's a paperweight.- Yes.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07To state the obvious. Made in about 1850.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Right in the mid-part of the 19th century
0:20:09 > 0:20:15and it's made up of all these canes in circular bands.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18For me, most exciting thing about it is that
0:20:18 > 0:20:22the canes aren't all of the same size.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Have you heard of the great French paperweight manufacturers
0:20:24 > 0:20:27like Clichy and Baccarat, and Saint-Louis?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30I know of, but I wasn't too sure if it was a Birmingham,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33possibly, maker from England cos I knew some of the, they...
0:20:33 > 0:20:34So you know there were some English makers?
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Some English makers
0:20:35 > 0:20:38but other than that I couldn't identify anything on it.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Well, it's not like the French ones. It doesn't look French to me at all.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42Fair enough.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- The central cane is much, much bigger.- Hm-mm.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48I also recognise some of these canes
0:20:48 > 0:20:52and those two factors lead me to come to an attribution.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- Right?- You, you said it a moment ago - Birmingham.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57This is a Bacchus weight
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and Bacchus were contemporary with Clichy, Baccarat and Saint-Louis.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04They were really the only British company in the mid-19th century
0:21:04 > 0:21:06making weights of this quality.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I didn't genuinely know that.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I mean, cos the reason why, I just like it because it didn't have,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14the colours weren't garish and they weren't too bright...
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- It's very subtle, isn't it? - So, which is what I prefer.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19Well, the glorious thing is
0:21:19 > 0:21:22because they're contemporary with the French makers,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24mid-19th century, and because they are such good quality
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- the collectors really like them.- OK.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28HE CHUCKLES
0:21:28 > 0:21:31And I noticed as soon as I saw this, I thought,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35"Oh, one of those sold only a few weeks ago in London, just the same."
0:21:35 > 0:21:36- Yeah?- Just like that!
0:21:38 > 0:21:40- Do you know what it made?- No.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I thought, maybe, it was worth about £350...
0:21:43 > 0:21:48It's worth £2,500-£3,000.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Ecky thump!
0:21:51 > 0:21:56- How much again?- £2,500-£3,000.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Well, bringing a pair of sundials to Port Sunlight is very apt,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04however, the only thing we're missing - not much sun today!
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Sadly, sadly, no. It always happens!
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Now, sundials, in general, are not terribly accurate,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12however, these are the Rolls-Royce of sundials.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16They are actually called heliochronometers, I believe,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and were accurate up to a minute.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Why was it so important is that you could use these to tell the time?
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Well, when Greenwich Mean Time was introduced in the 1880s,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32people no longer had a means of setting their clocks right.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36They used to set by sundials but sundials don't tell clock time.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Surprisingly enough, the sun isn't very accurate,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42it runs about 15 minutes slow
0:22:42 > 0:22:45or 15 minutes fast during the course of the day,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47so we have to make an adjustment to allow for that
0:22:47 > 0:22:49and of course, we're not at Greenwich,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51so we have to make the setting.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54It takes 12 minutes for the sun to get to Greenwich from here.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59So, on these two sundials we've got two slightly different mechanisms.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02This one, introduced in about 1907,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07to make the adjustment for the sun you have to turn this dial round
0:23:07 > 0:23:08to set it to today's date.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13As you turn it round you can see that this moves backwards and forwards.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14And you turn the dial
0:23:14 > 0:23:18so the sun shines through this very small hole, here,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20on to a line on the back.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24So, once you've done that you read the time directly, here.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25Accurate, again, to about a minute.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Which was so important because one forgets, you know,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31that normal pocket watches in those days wasn't terribly accurate
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- so you had to regularly adjust your watch.- Yeah.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36So, this was made by a company, here, it says,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39"Pilkington and Gibbs, Preston," just on the road.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40And patented around about 1907
0:23:40 > 0:23:44and they were made up to the beginning of the First World War,
0:23:44 > 0:23:45- 1914.- That's right, yes.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48By the time the world, the First World War had finished,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50the need for the sundial, really, had gone, you know...
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Well, and then the good old BBC,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- turn on the radio and listen to the pips.- Yeah, yeah.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56But, this one looks slightly different?
0:23:56 > 0:24:00This one was made right at the end and this one is fairly unusual.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Mr Gibbs invented this one, Mr Pilkington invented this one
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and this one works on a slightly different principle.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09You've got two date rings
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and what you do is, you can move the outer one backwards and forwards.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15What you do is, you match up the date on the inner one
0:24:15 > 0:24:17to the date on the outer one.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19That's the sun variation one.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21And then, to get the longitude,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24there's a little pointer here which you can offset slightly.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26This box has got two slots in it -
0:24:26 > 0:24:29one slot at the front, one slot at the back
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and you turn it round, put your hand here,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33turn it round until the sun shines through both slots.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- OK.- And then you know the whole thing's completely aligned
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- and you read the time directly off here.- Fabulous.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Made very late on.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I only know of, well until ten minutes ago,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I'd only knew of six of these in the world.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51We think there was about 50 made and I just found a lady in the audience
0:24:51 > 0:24:54who tells me her husband's got one, so we'll have a chat later.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57- The power of the Antiques Roadshow, eh?- Absolutely so, yes.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59You're obviously extraordinarily knowledgeable
0:24:59 > 0:25:01about all types of sundial.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03I noticed on your sweatshirt here, what's that?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05British Sundial Society, yes.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09- There is a British Sundial Society - you're not a member?- Not yet.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Oh, well, I just happened to have an application... No!
0:25:12 > 0:25:15OK, let's talk about rarity and values.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18This model does turn up irregularly at auction.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And if you look at the auction records, they fetch,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24I don't know, between £800 and maybe £1,000.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27This example is obviously a lot rarer.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31In my whole career I've never seen one turn up, so very, very rare.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Can I ask much it cost you?
0:25:33 > 0:25:38It cost me 1,000 US dollars, which is what? About £800, I suppose.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Well, I think it was a very, very good buy.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43To buy one today on the open market,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47you'd be talking about a figure of between £3,000 and £3,500.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Oh, good!
0:25:49 > 0:25:51LAUGHTER
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I love you. Thank you very much.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Well, you're the exact person I wanted to meet here
0:25:59 > 0:26:01when I knew I was coming to Port Sunlight
0:26:01 > 0:26:04because I believe you live in one of these wonderful houses?
0:26:04 > 0:26:05Jubilee Crescent, that's right, yeah.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08And why am I not surprised to see
0:26:08 > 0:26:12a little bit of local art pottery in your home?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14So, how did it arrive there?
0:26:14 > 0:26:18It's from my mother's family, the Rutherfords. They were ship-builders
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and I believe that my great-grandfather
0:26:20 > 0:26:23owned the building in Birkenhead where the pottery was produced.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27As you know, it wasn't a particularly successful commercial enterprise
0:26:27 > 0:26:31and they sometimes gave tiles in kind when they couldn't pay the rent.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Well, I'm not surprised.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Let's first of all name that pottery as Della Robbia.
0:26:36 > 0:26:42I like to wave a flag for Della Robbia, I think 1893-1906.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Dear Harold Rathbone at the helm,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46a member of that famous Liverpool family.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- It's still famous today.- Absolutely.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Great financiers, but I don't think he shared the business acumen,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55did he, of the rest of the family? Let's have a look at the subject.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57You've got what, to all intents and purposes,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01are some very industrious gnomes, obviously doing their gardening,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05with a chap in the middle who's obviously the king,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08sat on his throne, who appears to be smoking a pipe.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11So, I'm quite envious of this.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I think these are quite jolly characters to live with.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Let me tell you, I know for a fact that
0:27:16 > 0:27:19if I wanted to replace that today,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23the chances are I would be asked to part with the best part of £2,500.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Oh, that's very reasonable. Thank you.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Strangely enough, I collect these.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33You know what they are?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Well, I'm not entirely sure.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40I bought them in Nigeria during the time of the Biafran Civil War
0:27:40 > 0:27:41nearly 50 years ago.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I bought them from a trader
0:27:43 > 0:27:46who knocked at my flat door in Nigeria
0:27:46 > 0:27:50and I had a fascinating evening bartering with him.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I can't remember what I paid,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56but I'd be astonished if I paid as much as £5 for the lot
0:27:56 > 0:27:59and I was told that these were slave bands
0:27:59 > 0:28:02but I'm not clear.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I understand the others, I was told, were cowrie rings,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08which are a sort of currency.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11That's what they are, they are called manilla,
0:28:11 > 0:28:16I think named after Portuguese or Spanish name for bangle.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18They are currency, those ones.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21They were originally called slave money
0:28:21 > 0:28:25because these were manufactured, often in England, I think in Bolton.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30Bolton, where strangely enough, this being Lord Lever territory,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32is where he started manufacturing soap, I think.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37I can see why you think that's a slave bangle,
0:28:37 > 0:28:39because it possibly is based on a slave bangle.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43But if you actually look, these rings aren't strong enough
0:28:43 > 0:28:46to hold the force of a strong man from pulling them apart.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51Also, what makes them not a slave bangle is the design.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54They wouldn't punch and engrave designs on a slave bangle,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56they wouldn't bother.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58They're also currency.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02In various regions of Africa, they had different types of currency.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06You get slabs of metal like this, the size of a shield,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08that could be used as currency.
0:29:08 > 0:29:14They loved metal and it had a value in their society.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17These are the most plentiful type, these small ones.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20They made these in their millions
0:29:20 > 0:29:24and I have seen bags, boxes full of these things.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29They hang, believe it or not, from a lampshade in our dining room,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33but it's a good conversation piece because people say, "What are they?"
0:29:33 > 0:29:36- I see. They must look fantastic hanging there.- Yes.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40The patina leads me to believe they're 19th century,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42which is good, they're a good age.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Now, these have quite a reasonable value
0:29:45 > 0:29:47and these have almost no value.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49I would say these are between £2 and £5 each.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55And those, as a pair, would be close on 200.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57I think it's very interesting
0:29:57 > 0:30:00that these were probably shipped from Bolton to Nigeria
0:30:00 > 0:30:02and they've come back here, to this region,
0:30:02 > 0:30:04and they've come full circle.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10This delightful oil painting of Avebury by Alexander Mackenzie
0:30:10 > 0:30:15is just a fantastic example of post-war abstract art.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Now, I know a little bit about this artist,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21but I'm very interested to know what you know about the artist.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25He was a friend of my husband's and a former partner of my husband's
0:30:25 > 0:30:28who attended Liverpool Art College with him.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31So, my husband knew him quite well through the '60s
0:30:31 > 0:30:33and visited him in Cornwall.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35He was such a lovely man.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38He was really good, and I love his paintings.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44I just like having them around, I can appreciate them after 40-plus years.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Of course, he was such a major force in the abstract art movement
0:30:48 > 0:30:50and of course, St Ives.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52You really get the sense of Ben Nicholson
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and Barbara Hepworth's influence on this little picture.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59I realise Alexander Mackenzie is a local man from Liverpool,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02but I think it's the 1950s period in St Ives
0:31:02 > 0:31:04that really pushed him forward.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08What I love about this little picture, from 1962,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11is that here he is, fascinated by the landscape
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and the human element of the landscape.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18He's looking right down on Avebury, the stone circles,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20and all the history that's involved.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24He's really worked and rendered this little panel.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27In particular, you can see that he's used relief work,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31he's added pieces, he's dug away - it's rather magic.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36This market has grown and grown and grown in the last few years
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and there's huge demand for little pictures like this.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40And will you be surprised
0:31:40 > 0:31:44if I tell you this could make £10,000 on the present market?
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Um, yes. That is a huge surprise.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53If this rustic scene is what you think it is,
0:31:53 > 0:31:57it made an absolute fortune when it was sold about 100 years ago.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01I mean, I've got the catalogue here, the Beecham sale, at Christie's,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and this painting that looks like a George Morland
0:32:04 > 0:32:07looks like the same picture here.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10How long have you owned this painting?
0:32:10 > 0:32:14I think I purchased it about 1975, '76.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Because you're hoping that it's one and the same picture
0:32:16 > 0:32:18as the one in the catalogue?
0:32:18 > 0:32:20I'd like to think it is, yes, indeed. Yes, quite, quite.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Well, I'm looking at the image here, illustrated in the catalogue.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29This was an extremely important sale of a Mr Beecham.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31He had a number of works by George Morland,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34the late 18th century rustic painter.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39That made over £5,000 in 1917.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43- I mean, that's the price of a London townhouse then.- Yes.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47So, imagine if this is one and the same picture, how valuable it was.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50True, it's quite a staggering sum of money, yes.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53So, let's treat this like a crime scene and let's try and find out
0:32:53 > 0:32:58whether or not it is old and whether it is the real thing.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00The first thing is to look at the surface.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Is it discoloured? Does it have an ancient varnish?
0:33:03 > 0:33:05- Well, I have to say it does, doesn't it?- Certainly.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07I mean, it's almost yellow.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Varnish ages with time, that's very reassuring.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Has it got any damages on it, signs of its history?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Well, it's got a great hole here,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20so this is a picture that has a bit of a past.
0:33:20 > 0:33:21Now, let's get a little bit more forensic.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Have you measured the painting
0:33:24 > 0:33:28and is it exactly the same size as the picture that was sold in 1917?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32Yes, well, within about an eighth of an inch,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35the sizes for length and width are identical.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37OK. Going deeper still,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41I'd love to find out little bit more about the canvas of this picture,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44see whether that can give us some history.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46Has it at any point been relined,
0:33:46 > 0:33:50which would suggest that the canvas, being very old,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52has gone a bit floppy, has gone a bit decrepit,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54and has gone on to a new canvas.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Now, with your permission, can I just take it out of its frame?
0:33:57 > 0:33:59With pleasure, with pleasure.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03I think we have two assistants here to help us do so, it's quite a job.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Incidentally, the frame itself is also quite reassuringly old-looking.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11I wouldn't say it was 18th century, but it looks early 19th century.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14- You think 1820, perhaps? - Could do.- Interesting.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16- I don't know, because it's gone now! - That's in its favour.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21And yes, sure enough, you can see that this is a canvas
0:34:21 > 0:34:25that has been laid onto a new canvas.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29Now, this almost invariably happens with 18th century pictures.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34So, you've got the right dimensions, you've got a relined canvas -
0:34:34 > 0:34:37the sort of things that all add up.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40But let's have a look at the picture itself
0:34:40 > 0:34:44and home in, if you would, on those faces.
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Now, I have to say,
0:34:45 > 0:34:50this is where things begin to sound less optimistic.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Because if you analyse the quality of, let's say,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55that boy's head there, well,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59it's primitive to the point of implausible
0:34:59 > 0:35:01for the work of George Morland.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05And then if you have a look at the foliage,
0:35:05 > 0:35:11that too, is it just a little bit sticky, a little bit repetitive,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13not quite what it should be?
0:35:13 > 0:35:16I fear that this is
0:35:16 > 0:35:21an early 20th century fake of the real picture.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23What has happened is,
0:35:23 > 0:35:29someone has gone to inordinate trouble to cover their tracks.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32This is a highly sophisticated craftsman
0:35:32 > 0:35:36who understands how to make a picture look old
0:35:36 > 0:35:41and has achieved that in all but one respect - the quality.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46- Does that disappoint you? - Well, it does, yes, yes indeed.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49But you look as though you can handle it.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51I'll have to handle it, won't I? Fact is fact.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Do you know what it would be worth if this were real,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58as everything here superficially suggests?
0:35:58 > 0:36:01I believe his pictures, this type of period of picture,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04isn't fetching the peak money it used to fetch,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but I have no idea of what George Morland's currently worth.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08As a work by George Morland
0:36:08 > 0:36:14it would be worth anything between £60,000, £70,000 and £100,000,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16a work of this scale.
0:36:16 > 0:36:22As the work of a clever faker, I'm afraid it's worth about £1,000.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Oh, dear me. Can't win them all, then, can we?
0:36:32 > 0:36:35On at cold and dismal Port Sunlight afternoon,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39I was delighted to see this extraordinary collection
0:36:39 > 0:36:41of vibrant, happy textiles.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44What are they and when did you start collecting them?
0:36:44 > 0:36:47This is part of the Afrograph collection.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50We have a wide collection of African textiles,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and this is part of the commemorative cloths.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57These commemorative cloths were printed and worn for celebrations,
0:36:57 > 0:37:00national celebrations, international celebrations,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03as well as family celebrations.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06The oldest item we have belonged to my great-grandmother,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10who was in her 80s when she died, and I was a little girl then.
0:37:10 > 0:37:16We actually have a photograph of her wearing the Queen Victoria cloth.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21That cloth was printed to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24I think it's joyous to see such large samples.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26- These were actually worn? - Yes, these were worn.
0:37:26 > 0:37:33These are actually skirts, like a wraparound skirt, so people wore them
0:37:33 > 0:37:37and then when the time is passed for the celebration, you put it away
0:37:37 > 0:37:40for your granddaughter or your great-granddaughter
0:37:40 > 0:37:43to discover years after you are dead and gone.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47These three textiles nearer me all relate to English royalty and then,
0:37:47 > 0:37:52the one nearest you celebrates the starting of the Republic of Ghana?
0:37:52 > 0:37:53That's right.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Ghana was the first black African country in the British Empire
0:37:56 > 0:38:02to become independent and then, in 1960, Ghana became a republic,
0:38:02 > 0:38:04so this cloth was printed to celebrate that
0:38:04 > 0:38:07and it's got the picture of Kwame Nkrumah,
0:38:07 > 0:38:11who was the president at the time.
0:38:11 > 0:38:12This is a very small sample
0:38:12 > 0:38:15of what I understand is a very large collection.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17I think they're joyous, I think they're very decorative
0:38:17 > 0:38:19and I think they're very rare.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22We've got to talk a little bit about value,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25but I'm totally at a loss, because I've never seen them before.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I've never seen them at auction.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30My gut reaction, certainly for the bigger pieces,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34that they could certainly be worth £300 or £400 for the earlier pieces
0:38:34 > 0:38:39and maybe £100 - £150 for the smaller. But you have many, many?
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Well, yes, and also we have no intention of selling them
0:38:43 > 0:38:47because we can't enjoy them if we sold them to somebody else.
0:38:47 > 0:38:48Wonderful sentiment.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53And thank you so much for cheering up this slightly gloomy day.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55It could be worse, it could be snowing.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57LAUGHTER
0:38:59 > 0:39:04Well, these items bring a new meaning to a visit to the dentist!
0:39:04 > 0:39:08Where did you find these amazing fossilised teeth?
0:39:08 > 0:39:12We had an old auntie who lived in Rowen in North Wales
0:39:12 > 0:39:17and she inherited a cottage and when she died,
0:39:17 > 0:39:19we just split all the things
0:39:19 > 0:39:22between the family and my husband chose these.
0:39:22 > 0:39:23Wow.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28Well, this is a tooth from an extinct giant shark,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Carcharodon megalodon, which literally means "big tooth."
0:39:32 > 0:39:36Imagine a whole jaw full of those!
0:39:36 > 0:39:39These could be anything from two million to three million years old
0:39:39 > 0:39:43and older and with teeth like this, they were eating giant turtles
0:39:43 > 0:39:49whose carapaces they could just crack with the pressure.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53They say there was a ten ton pressure force on that tip.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57The biggest Great White tooth, three inches. These can grow to seven.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00I mean, it's just absolutely colossal.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02These are very exciting.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04We've got all the teeth, we've got a fossilised eardrum,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07perhaps of a young whale,
0:40:07 > 0:40:12we've got a lovely large vertebra, perhaps from a Megalodon,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14I'm just a little bit unsure.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The Megalodon shed its teeth regularly,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19so these are found all over the world,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22so they're quite a common one to find
0:40:22 > 0:40:25but everybody loves a big tooth, don't they?
0:40:25 > 0:40:29So, when it comes to value, that one alone is worth £150 - £200.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33- Right, yes.- And your whole collection should easily fetch
0:40:33 > 0:40:38- between £600 and £900 at auction. - Wow, brilliant. Yes.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40- There we are.- Great!
0:40:42 > 0:40:45Well, on an awful rainy day like this,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49it is so wonderful to see a piece that lifts the spirits.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52What a glorious example. What's your relationship to it?
0:40:52 > 0:40:56It was actually left to me by an elderly friend in his will.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00I've had it about 20 years and it's just been in a glass cupboard.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03I take it out every now and then and admire it.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05- And give it a little polish? - Yes, I do, yes.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08And you have ever wondered where, or did he ever talk about it?
0:41:08 > 0:41:11No, he never did and I'm sorry to say
0:41:11 > 0:41:15that I've never chased it up, really. I know nothing about it.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17I imagine it could have been Italian,
0:41:17 > 0:41:19but that's as far as it goes.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Well, you've gone to the continent, which is fine, but actually
0:41:22 > 0:41:24we need to go a little bit up and we need to go into what,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28at the time when this was made, was really Bohemia.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30We're actually with the firm of Loetz.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Now, Loetz at the time were really a tour de force
0:41:33 > 0:41:35in the making of art glass.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39They have their origins in the 19th century, actually,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42starting around the 1830s, 1840s.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46By 1900, they were at their absolute best.
0:41:46 > 0:41:51In fact in 1900, they exhibited in Paris and won the Grand Prix.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55They were deemed the leaders in making beautiful art glass.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58- It is beautiful.- It IS beautiful.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- It's beautiful and it's actually quite special.- Is it?
0:42:02 > 0:42:04In terms of the more technical aspects of it,
0:42:04 > 0:42:09the range is called Papillion, which of course, butterfly.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11This is cobalt Papillion.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15This was first introduced around 1899 and, actually,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17was one of the most popular designs
0:42:17 > 0:42:20and ground decorations that they made.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23But the thing that makes yours slightly more special,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25of course, is this silver,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28this wonderful sinuous Art Nouveau silver, which, funnily enough,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32was predominantly made for the American market -
0:42:32 > 0:42:35the Americans just adored this stuff.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38And this works so beautifully and it sings.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Well, he must have thought a great deal of you
0:42:42 > 0:42:47because his bequest to you today is worth between £2,000 and £2,500.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51I'm glad it's been behind a cupboard with glass,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54otherwise the cats would have had it!
0:42:56 > 0:42:57You do know that this is
0:42:57 > 0:43:01two separate pieces of jewellery, don't you?
0:43:01 > 0:43:02I do, I do.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04You've got the main centrepiece,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08this rather large confection of pearls and diamonds at the front
0:43:08 > 0:43:12and you've got a matching necklace at the back.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17This necklace part at the back is mounted up in around about 1900
0:43:17 > 0:43:22with pearls and diamonds, probably set in silver and gold.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25And the main fabric of the piece in the front
0:43:25 > 0:43:28is mounted up in platinum
0:43:28 > 0:43:31and that was made in around about 1915 to 1920.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36As far as you know, has it been in that format?
0:43:36 > 0:43:38It was given to me in that format.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42My mother got it for her 45th birthday
0:43:42 > 0:43:45and she has always worn it in that format,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49but I did know that it came in two separate pieces.
0:43:49 > 0:43:50My goodness me, this is what
0:43:50 > 0:43:52we call a formal piece of jewellery, isn't it?
0:43:52 > 0:43:54It is indeed.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57It represents an era which is long gone,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00not many people wear pieces of jewellery like this
0:44:00 > 0:44:02and when we see pieces of jewellery of this form,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06the first thing you ask yourself, "Is it valuable? Is it commercial?"
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Why should it be, if it isn't worn today?
0:44:09 > 0:44:14Well, the answer is that it's got an awful lot going for it.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18First thing, let's have a look at the necklace at the back.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21These are almost certainly real natural saltwater pearls.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23I think that they're not going to be cultured,
0:44:23 > 0:44:25they're going to be the real thing.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29It's natural saltwater pearls which are the valuable ones.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31They're set in a line
0:44:31 > 0:44:34with these little leaves of tiny diamonds in between,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38but the main thing is it is a support system
0:44:38 > 0:44:44for this extraordinary big plaque at the front,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47which is what I would call a corsage piece,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50a formal piece of jewellery.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54These pearls are far more grown-up.
0:44:54 > 0:44:55They are big pearls
0:44:55 > 0:44:59and this is going to be natural saltwater pearls here
0:44:59 > 0:45:01in this group of five.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03They're beautifully matched.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Look at the colour of them -
0:45:05 > 0:45:09lovely, silver-grey tone that each of the pearls has got.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Then let's have a look at the diamond frame,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14which is a combination of old cut diamonds -
0:45:14 > 0:45:17what do I mean by old cut? They're are not the modern cuts.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20These are the period cut stones, the pedigree,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24the old goods that people love so much.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26If I take it off the block...
0:45:28 > 0:45:30If we have a look at it here,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33there's a tiny little name engraved on the top.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36- Did you know that? - No, I didn't know that.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Well, it's not easy to spot.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Before we come onto the name,
0:45:41 > 0:45:46I just want to mention also that at the side of the frame, here,
0:45:46 > 0:45:51you have two tiny little French control marks.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57It's French, 1915,
0:45:57 > 0:45:58but the name in the middle
0:45:58 > 0:46:02is one of the great jewellers active in this period,
0:46:02 > 0:46:06one of THE names...
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Boucheron.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13Boucheron Paris is up there with the best of the best.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Yes.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22This is an overpoweringly commercial piece of jewellery
0:46:23 > 0:46:29because it ticks all the boxes that jewellery buyers demand.
0:46:30 > 0:46:36Platinum. Pearls. Diamonds.
0:46:36 > 0:46:381915 Boucheron.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45If it didn't have any connection with Boucheron all,
0:46:45 > 0:46:50if it were simply just a piece of jewellery in its own right,
0:46:50 > 0:46:55I think I'd probably quote you £25,000.
0:46:57 > 0:47:03Because of the fact that it has that provenance by Boucheron, Paris,
0:47:03 > 0:47:06I think that your piece of jewellery
0:47:06 > 0:47:12is worth £35,000-£45,000.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14CROWD GASPS AND MURMURS
0:47:14 > 0:47:17I want to make this clear to you,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21I know we come out with grand statements, but for me,
0:47:21 > 0:47:26this is the most wonderful thing that I've seen on the show.
0:47:26 > 0:47:27Wow.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29APPLAUSE
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Port Sunlight may not be very sunny, but my goodness,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40the people of Port Sunlight have been amazing today.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Look at you all in your blue ponchos in the pouring rain.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48People have been standing here for hours, patiently, with good humour,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51we could not have made the programme without them.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53So, from the Antiques Roadshow,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57thank you to the people of Port Sunlight, not the weather,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00and we will see you next time. Bye-bye.