0:00:02 > 0:00:04Today's venue for the Antiques Roadshow doesn't give away
0:00:04 > 0:00:07many clues as to what lies inside. What do you think?
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Aircraft hangar perhaps? When it was built in the '70s,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14it's said the KGB was concerned the UK might be building
0:00:14 > 0:00:17a new missile silo so made a few discrete enquiries.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20It is in fact the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich
0:00:20 > 0:00:23which is hosting us for the Antiques Roadshow.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Tucked away on the leafy campus of the University of East Anglia
0:01:11 > 0:01:14in Norwich, the striking Sainsbury Centre is home to an eclectic
0:01:14 > 0:01:17collection of artworks from around the world.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27The centre gets its name from the couple who donated the collection
0:01:27 > 0:01:31and provided the funds for the building, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34As grandson to John James Sainsbury,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37the founder of the supermarket chain,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Robert entered the family business after qualifying as an accountant.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Although he was very successful,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48what really motivated Robert was a love of art, particularly sculpture.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50In the 1930s, together with his wife Lisa,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54he embarked on what he called a journey of unplanned discovery
0:01:54 > 0:01:58into the art world, buying up all kinds of treasures.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Despite their wealth, they limited their budget to £1,000 a year
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and only bought pieces they really fell in love with,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and if they wanted something that was outside their budget,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16they either sold something or just had to forgo the pleasure.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20By the time Robert retired in 1969,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24they had over 400 works all squeezed along with their four children
0:02:24 > 0:02:29into a modest four-bedroomed terraced house in London.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The Sainsburys didn't want to split up or sell off
0:02:31 > 0:02:35a lifetime of collecting, so they donated their entire collection
0:02:35 > 0:02:39to the University of East Anglia where their youngest daughter had studied,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41but as there wasn't space for it here,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44they funded a new building which would double up as a gallery
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and also as an art department for the college.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Completed in 1978, it was the first public building
0:02:52 > 0:02:56designed by a young and then relatively unknown architect,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Norman Foster, now Lord Foster of course,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02architect of the Gherkin in the city of London.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Since then, the gallery's been expanded and items added
0:03:07 > 0:03:13but Robert and Lisa's personal collection is still very much the star attraction.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21And it's against this very modern backdrop that our experts
0:03:21 > 0:03:26are taking centre stage getting ready for a busy day ahead.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29And if you'd like to play along with our valuation game, visit...
0:03:32 > 0:03:36..for a link to download the Roadshow app.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41You're here today on something of a mission, aren't you?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Yes, this belonged to my father
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and as far as I know, it's a cruet and I think it's German.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52My mum says it's cut glass but I'd like to know why there are
0:03:52 > 0:03:54so many bottles, what it would have held.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57First off, I have to say that I think this is just
0:03:57 > 0:03:59a really beautiful thing.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02English cut crystal from the Regency period,
0:04:02 > 0:04:08coming up to 1800 and a bit beyond, is for me the most beautiful glass.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Such an expression of Englishness.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13It really, really is.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16We were the richest people in the world at this point.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19We had the Empire and Britannia ruled the waves
0:04:19 > 0:04:21and there was a surge of confidence
0:04:21 > 0:04:25that living in a country like that gives you.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30Instead of being, "Oh, sorry," you become Superman in a way,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and for me an object like this absolutely sums that up.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38It is just beamed in from the Regency.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40This is what their life was about.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45This is to be placed in the centre of the table and to provide you,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48as my guest, at my Baronial banquet,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52with salt and pepper and condiments.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58There are dozens of types of garlic paste, soy, anchovy and so on.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Remember, this is before fridges
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and the food was generally bland,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and what you wanted to do was fire it up a bit,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and here is your firing up equipment.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And as such, I think it's a fantastic object
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and the way we lived became the envy of the world.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19To a point where it was widely copied.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- You think this is German?- Yes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It's Dutch.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28I know this because there's a hallmark just there
0:05:28 > 0:05:33and that is a Dutch hallmark for 1819.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Its facon d'Angleterre, English style but made in Holland,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42quite feasibly for the German market, so bearing in mind
0:05:42 > 0:05:46that it's made of cut glass which is as fashionable as nothing,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48nobody wants it, and it's an object
0:05:48 > 0:05:51that is almost entirely useless by modern standards,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised if I told you it was worth £50.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58But I'd be misleading you,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01because actually it's a relatively valuable object,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and that if you put this into auction,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07the price it would fetch could be reasonably expected to be
0:06:07 > 0:06:10between £800 and £1,000!
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Oh, is it? A lot more than I thought.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18I probably would have believed you when you said 50 quid.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23You really couldn't get a more Art Deco piece of jewellery
0:06:23 > 0:06:26than this bracelet, where all the gems are set
0:06:26 > 0:06:28in geometric linear formation.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33They're diamonds, as I'm sure you know.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37A combination of brilliant cut stones,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39baguette cut stones.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44In fact, I couldn't think of a more quintessential Art Deco
0:06:44 > 0:06:48diamond bracelet if I tried than this particular one.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I'm assuming this is a piece that goes back through the family
0:06:51 > 0:06:55to 1930, 1935. Would that be about right?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I think so. It was a surprise, really.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01It was inherited from a distant cousin of mine
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and when she died about 15 years ago,
0:07:04 > 0:07:09- we happened to find it in the safe deposit box in the bank.- Lying there?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12With some other pieces but even going through photographic records,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16we never saw any photograph of anybody ever wearing this.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I do think it probably was bought around the '30s?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22- Was it a shock to find it just lying there?- It was.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26What did you do when you saw it? What was your first reaction?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Astoundment, really, because I think the settings are so beautiful.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31Aren't they?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It's the slight greyness that one sees in old stones
0:07:34 > 0:07:37that you probably don't see I think in modern-day jewellery today.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- Do you wear it? - I do, from time to time.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- And do people admire it? - They do, yes.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Would it come as a nice surprise if I tell you it's signed
0:07:47 > 0:07:48"Cartier London?"
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I'm not totally surprised but I'm delighted you confirm that.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Signed "Cartier London" means
0:07:54 > 0:07:58it's not just a very nice Art Deco diamond bracelet smothered
0:07:58 > 0:08:01with these wonderful brilliant baguette cut diamonds,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05but it's got the ultimate pedigree for it as well.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07- That's nice.- Particularly for a bracelet that's lying
0:08:07 > 0:08:11in a safety deposit box that no-one even knows about,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I would say that's very, very nice.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Value, well, with Art Deco jewellery like that,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19if it were not by Cartier,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23it would still be a very desirable bracelet because of its width,
0:08:23 > 0:08:24because of the quality
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and because of the quality of the individual stones
0:08:27 > 0:08:30which are uniform throughout, but with the Cartier moniker on it,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33that is another different kettle of fish.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- You mentioned it was probated? - It was.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37- How much?- £8,000.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40No. I don't think so. Not for me anyway.
0:08:40 > 0:08:4115.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47What a thing! Lying in a safe deposit box.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- I wish it was me. - Thank you very much!
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I've filmed just about everything on the Antiques Roadshow
0:08:56 > 0:09:00other than a kitchen sink. Now it's my opportunity to do it! Absolutely.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03This is incredible. It looks amazing, doesn't it?
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Before I go into a little bit of detail about it,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I want to know how we have a kitchen here today?
0:09:09 > 0:09:12About ten years ago,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17we took it out of the house we moved into and it went into the garage.
0:09:17 > 0:09:18"We'll sell that", we say.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It could be valuable. It's retro, it's '60s, it is in vogue.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24That was 10-12 years ago.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27I don't know if it's still in vogue now,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29and then we moved house, and as you would,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32you'd sell the kitchen that's taking up space in the garage.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36We didn't. We moved it with us to the new house.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I take it you didn't like it?
0:09:39 > 0:09:44No, not at all. It's not going back in the new house!
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I think you're fast becoming one of the minority
0:09:47 > 0:09:50in not liking something like this,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52because you're a little bit out on the date.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55It's 1950s, it was made by a company
0:09:55 > 0:09:59called Constant Speed Airscrews Industries.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04They were part of a whole range of aviation companies
0:10:04 > 0:10:08that post-war had to diversify their production.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11All of a sudden, they weren't producing aircraft for the war effort.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14What did they do? They made all sorts of things.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17This company made kitchen units
0:10:17 > 0:10:21and they made this kitchen the English Rose kitchen.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24This has become a fabled retro kitchen.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28It was the first real modular kitchen in Europe.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33In the 1950s, most people's kitchens were a mishmash of cabinets, tables,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and here we had something that was quite revolutionary.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39It's very American looking.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Manufactured from aluminium, which of course
0:10:41 > 0:10:44is one of the products used in building aircraft.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48The company that made these I believe made Spitfire parts,
0:10:48 > 0:10:54the nice romantic notion that your kitchen unit may have a bit of Spitfire in it.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55That always helps, I think.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59It is very stylish indeed and if we look at the way it's formed,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02it's actually very well made.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06We have a lot of double skins which have noise insulation inside them.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Very well constructed.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13If we think about the quality of this, quality came with a price.
0:11:13 > 0:11:20The average wage was about £8 a week in the 1950s.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25A double unit like this at the top would cost you £18.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Are there any old bags of sugar inside?
0:11:27 > 0:11:30There's a big crowd in this one!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Very well constructed. You can see it's all bolted together.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It looks like aircraft construction.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40These are very sought-after.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42People are enjoying installing them.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45There's a finite supply of them
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and they're also in very poor condition sometimes.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Value?
0:11:50 > 0:11:54I suppose if you were to go and buy this on the internet,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58rather than a retail environment,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02you would pay about £1,000-£1,500
0:12:02 > 0:12:04- for what's here.- OK.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09If you were to buy at retail from a specialist that sells this material,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12it could be as much as £3,000-£4,000 worth here
0:12:12 > 0:12:14in restored condition.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Would you still not consider reinstalling it?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I'm not sure I've got the say-so on that. Probably not.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Maybe have a word with your wife.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Funnily enough, when I first saw this,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32my hope was I was going to find a nice set of Norwich marks on it.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36- That would be good. - That would have been extremely good.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Unfortunately I can't find a single mark.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40Have you been able to find one?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I'm sorry, I haven't and other people have looked at it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45It's very frustrating but nobody has found a mark on it.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50I wondered whether it was where the coin had been let in whether it might have been on the bottom.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53That is quite original to it.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55It is not that they have cut out any marks there.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Delightful coin set in.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04Quite usual for where it would have been produced. The low countries.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10Beakers were very important things in the low countries,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13so a lot of movement across the North Sea.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17A lot of trading and so it's not surprising to find
0:13:17 > 0:13:20low countries pieces in East Anglia.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24What we've got here as well, rather nice, is this coat of arms.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29With the initials appearing there, "PV and DB."
0:13:29 > 0:13:32The "V" is going to be a Van somebody or other.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35It's probably a husband and wife
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and if you could crack that, it would be rather nice.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43The anno, 1636.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I think that is going to be the date of it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51The decoration could go back to an earlier period
0:13:51 > 0:13:55and this wonderful Renaissance decoration, you will find back
0:13:55 > 0:14:00into the earlier part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, mid-16th century.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04It does have a bit of a problem.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Crack there.- I never noticed that!
0:14:09 > 0:14:12That, if you ever decide to do anything about it,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15you'd need an absolutely top restorer.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18How far back does it go in your family?
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I inherited it from my father about 40 years ago when he died
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and I guess it's been in the family since Victorian times,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- but I am guessing. - Right, right.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32A tricky one for value without any marks on it.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36I think even so we are looking at
0:14:36 > 0:14:39between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Really as much as that?
0:14:41 > 0:14:43It's a lovely beaker. It really is.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50I live on a nature reserve with lots of rare birds and geese and ducks
0:14:50 > 0:14:54and so I'm pretty bowled overseeing this amazing collection of canaries.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56You must be a canary fancier?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Yeah. I've been breeding canaries since the '70s.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- You've been breeding them?- Yeah. And when I finished breeding them,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- I started collecting them.- And just out of interest, why canaries?
0:15:06 > 0:15:10We're Norwich, is that something to do with the Canaries football club?
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Not particularly football. Just the canary connection with Norwich -
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- breeding the canaries. - Tell me, please.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19When the Flemish weavers came after the persecution in Europe...
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- When was that? - I think that was 1565.- Yes.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Towards the end of the 16th century.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- And they brought the canaries with them.- As pets?
0:15:27 > 0:15:30As pets, caged birds and they were breeding them and it built up.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33From that sort of day to late 1890s,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37- there were over 1,000 breeders in Norwich.- Were there really? - Breeding canaries, yeah.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40It's the most amazing collection. Where did you start?
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The first two I bought was in the Theatre Royal in Norwich,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45at an antiques fair in there.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I bought two there and it got a little bit addictive after that.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50SHE LAUGHS
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Which were the ones you bought first?
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- A little pair of these Samson ones there in the middle.- Oh, yes.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- Samson from Paris. - Yeah, that's right,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- which were a copy of the Bow ones from years ago.- Yes.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06Well, you've got Bow ones here, haven't you, which are pretty nice?
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I mean, all I can say is I'm thrilled to bits to see
0:16:10 > 0:16:14so many canaries and the fact that some of them are not yellow!
0:16:14 > 0:16:16- Could you do that when you were breeding?- No.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19You can breed a white one, but generally, these are just souvenirs.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21So, what were you trying to breed?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25- Gloster canaries...- Yes? - ..which had a crown or crest on.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- And you went in for competitions? - Yeah, competitions, shows.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31You could go in for competitions with porcelain ones, couldn't you?
0:16:31 > 0:16:35- That would be nice, wouldn't it?! - I think it's absolutely splendid.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38And presumably, you bought this wonderful cabinet to go with them?
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Yeah, that was bought especially for the canaries.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44And looking at all those, what have you got? 80 or something in there?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48- 138.- Ooh, 138!
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Well, if we sort of multiply by an average of, say, £50,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56you're sitting on a wonderful collection worth about £7,000.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- I'm very pleased with that. Thank you very much.- Good. Good. Wonderful.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Word after word after word, all hand-sewn.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09I seem to be looking here at the world's biggest sampler.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- Tell me about it. - Yes. It's a sampler,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15but not as you might recognise. In fact, a lot of people might think,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- "I've got a sampler at home, but it doesn't look like that..."- Exactly.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21"..it's got an alphabet and a nice picture of a cottage
0:17:21 > 0:17:22"and some animals and flowers."
0:17:22 > 0:17:26But technically, yes, we think of this as a sampler.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- I bought this from the Norfolk Museum collections.- So, you don't own it?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I don't own it. I wish I owned it. I think...
0:17:33 > 0:17:36As a curator, you're not really supposed to have favourite objects,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39but this is just absolutely my favourite object
0:17:39 > 0:17:41in the Norfolk Museum Service collections.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Now, I'm just going to explain.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45This is why we've got umbrellas because we're very aware
0:17:45 > 0:17:48of the danger to an object like this of too much sun.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51But who is it and who was she?
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Well, very helpfully, she tells us all the way through.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59What we do know is that it was made by a lady called Lorina Bulwer
0:17:59 > 0:18:01and we actually know quite a bit about Lorina
0:18:01 > 0:18:05from doing bits of research. We know that when she stitched this,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09she was in Great Yarmouth Workhouse and it was around 1900.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13So although it looks very modern, it is quite old.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16She was in the female lunatic ward.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20So, suddenly, that makes this piece really special and unusual.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Now, why was she there? Did her family put here there? Do we know?
0:18:23 > 0:18:28We don't really know and that's one of the reasons I love this item
0:18:28 > 0:18:29because there are so many questions
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and there's quite a lot of mystery around it.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34There are not very many surviving workhouse records
0:18:34 > 0:18:37from Great Yarmouth Workhouse at this time.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39People only ever really ended up in the workhouse
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- if they couldn't cope any more on their own.- It was the bottom line in society.- It was.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46We can assume that was probably the situation for Lorina.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48She's a very cross woman, isn't she?
0:18:48 > 0:18:54She is. I would say this takes the form of a very long, angry rant.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57She's not happy about being in the workhouse.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59She's angry with her family.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02She is angry at the situation she's found herself in.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- Is there a good bit to read out? - There's lots of good bits.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- Well, they're all good bits! - They are!- But they're all rather rude.- They are.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10We have to be a bit careful which bits we read out.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14But I think one of my favourites is about her neighbour, Mrs Gooch.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18"She walks with the aid of a black walking stick.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20"Her hands are crippled with dramatic.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25"She wears long, drab Lindsey draws because of using oils,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27"Ellimans embrocation."
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Now, what we do know is that Mrs Gooch was real. She was a neighbour.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- And we now have a very clear image of her.- We have a very clear image!
0:19:34 > 0:19:36And actually, if you look at the top,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38you'll see it's addressed to several people.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42So, she starts off to the "Maharajah of Kelvedon."
0:19:42 > 0:19:44So, she is writing a letter.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48In some ways, it's easier to think of it as sort of an embroidered letter.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51At first, you think, "What a wonderful, decorative thing."
0:19:51 > 0:19:55And then you look beyond that and you have this amazing insight
0:19:55 > 0:19:57into the attitudes of that day,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- the changing treatment in mental health issues.- Yep.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Now, we wouldn't dream of treating somebody like that.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07In those days, it was quite commonplace, even as late as 1906,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10for people to be randomly locked up for no good reason.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13And I think she's very aware of that.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15She doesn't believe that she should be in there
0:20:15 > 0:20:17and she's really angry with her family,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and some very specific members of her family as well,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23for her ending up in there. So I think she's well aware
0:20:23 > 0:20:26that this isn't the right place for her to be.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29But of course, it's very difficult for us to tell whether or not it was.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Presumably, the story is buried in here somewhere,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34but what did she do then?
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Do you think they came out of the workhouse?
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Did she publish them, in effect?
0:20:38 > 0:20:40We don't know for definite.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42But my instinct is that she did get them out somehow.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45And I say "they" because there's another very similar sampler
0:20:45 > 0:20:48that had come up for auction in 1995.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Last year, we were able to track it down
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and sure enough, she produced another one
0:20:53 > 0:20:55and it was done about three years after this
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- and she's even angrier by this point. - Cos nothing has happened?
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- Nothing has happened.- She's published her first proclamation
0:21:02 > 0:21:05to no response, so she does another one. It makes sense, doesn't it?
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- Yep.- Until somebody listens. But nobody ever does listen.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- No.- It's a tragedy, really, isn't it?- It is.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I think in museums we often talk about
0:21:15 > 0:21:17whether or not objects speak to us.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20We're interested in what they can tell us about the past,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23but it is so unusual to have an object that really is
0:21:23 > 0:21:26speaking to you and is shouting at you from 100 years ago,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29telling you, "This is how I feel. This is how I feel."
0:21:29 > 0:21:31That's why it is so special.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36It's immensely creative. This is an amazing and exciting object.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40But of course, you're a museum and out of respect to museums,
0:21:40 > 0:21:41we don't value museum objects.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45But it's just priceless in all sorts of other ways.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Your job is to bring it to life, isn't it?- Yes. Thank you.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51That's all right! Thank you very much.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Well, this interesting musical instrument,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- I gather you discovered it in rather unusual circumstances.- Yes, I did.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- Tell me about it.- Well, I was on patrol in Afghanistan.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- You were in the Army?- Yes. - In which regiment? - The Royal Anglian Regiment.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10- Oh, indeed. Yes. Go ahead. - So, on patrol in 2007,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12I'm just walking through the desert
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and it's a pretty quiet day and I saw something glistening.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17You get suspicions going at those sorts of stages.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21About an hour and a half of working out exactly what we've got in front of us.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Put a bit of string tied to the end of it.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Went back 300m and hid behind a big hill and then slowly...
0:22:28 > 0:22:30- LAUGHTER - As you do!
0:22:30 > 0:22:34And then slowly pulled it towards me, hoping it didn't go bang at that stage.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38When I pulled it towards me, realising, "Hang on, I might have found..."
0:22:38 > 0:22:40A nice little souvenir came out of there.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Emptied out the sand, shook it off a little bit, gave it a little
0:22:43 > 0:22:46bit of a brush off and found this nice little horn,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- just sitting there. - What an extra ordinary story.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- And you brought it back with you? - Yes, brought it back this year.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56I think it probably dates from the 1920s, so I think it's about
0:22:56 > 0:22:58100 years old, give or take.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Made of brass and copper with this interesting head on the end
0:23:02 > 0:23:06with a tongue coming out. So, the hole for the music to come through.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Add the nice brass boss in the middle section here.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13It's difficult to say whether or not it's actually ceremonial
0:23:13 > 0:23:15or whether it would have been used for playing.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17It's not of great commercial value.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20But it would properly fetch £100, £150.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23But it's wonderful that you should own it
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and find it in the desert out in Afghanistan.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30- You're not a musician yourself, are you?- I play trumpet.- Oh, do you?!
0:23:30 > 0:23:34- So, you're a brass player?- Yeah. - Gosh. What a remarkable coincidence.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Have you tried playing this? - I have tried playing it.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38It is slightly dented on the mouthpiece.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- But if you want, I can give it a go now.- Well, nobody's listening.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- Go on. Give it a go! - I apologise for the bad sound.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48SPLUTTERING NOISE
0:23:48 > 0:23:49LAUGHTER
0:23:49 > 0:23:52I did warn you!
0:23:52 > 0:23:54It worked better earlier on.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01They're just crackers! But I guess...
0:24:01 > 0:24:03LAUGHTER
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Here we have the wood block that actually produced this print
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and that's what's so wonderful about this. It's very tangible.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It's a bit like me. No visible means of support.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Now, word's got round you've got some items here
0:24:20 > 0:24:24that might have some rather exciting Russian provenance,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27a word we rather like to hear on the Roadshow.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30What can you tell me about them?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32They were our mother's.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- She lived in Syria.- In Syria? Was she doing there?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38At the time, they were with the Foreign Office, both working there.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42So, how did Russian items come into their possession in Syria?
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Mum saw them in a jeweller's in Syria, one of them, first of all,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48and she brought it cos she liked.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Then I think she went back and bought the others.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53The jeweller said he bought them from a Russian family.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- A Russian family?- Yeah.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59So, were they expensive at the time?
0:24:59 > 0:25:03We think, one of them, she may have paid about £400,
0:25:03 > 0:25:08- but she wouldn't have paid much more than that.- This was how long ago?
0:25:08 > 0:25:11- About 13 years ago.- Yeah, I think she just really liked them.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14She really liked them rather than specifically...
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- just that they're beautiful items. - On the back...
0:25:18 > 0:25:20..is the Cyrillic writing,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23which I guess your mum and dad were able to read?
0:25:23 > 0:25:26After she bought one, I think she bought some others
0:25:26 > 0:25:29and she started to look at the different markings on the back
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- and it was always a case of, "Is it or isn't it?"- Is it or is it not...?
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- Faberge.- Faberge.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37We get very excited about Faberge on the Roadshow.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41And have you ever tried to ascertain whether they're Faberge or not before now?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- We think my mum might have. - Yes, we think she might have done,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48but we haven't got much paperwork left to go on, so we don't know the real results of what happened.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53- No-one will say, "Yes, no." - Well, we will...
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I can confidently predict.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58You've come to the right place. Kids, what do you make of them?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01They're exquisite and quite colourful as well.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03They're exquisite and colourful?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05That's quite a combination, isn't it?
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Well, they may be, they may not be Faberge,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10but we'll certainly be able to give you an answer.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17We're forever prising things done from life,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19but it's very refreshing, every now and then,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23to get something done from the death.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26And this death mask
0:26:26 > 0:26:29of the prime minister William Gladstone...
0:26:29 > 0:26:34is yours and you're Vice Chancellor of UEA and a historian.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39So, where does this image of the prime minister come from?
0:26:39 > 0:26:41It comes from my great-grandfather, the first Lord Acton.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45And was he the historian who coined "absolute power"?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."- Yes.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51So, a very interesting association.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Gladstone had him made a peer,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56he was in need of additional liberal peers
0:26:56 > 0:27:01and they became very close political allies and friends.
0:27:01 > 0:27:07- And the date of it?- It was May, 1898, when Gladstone died.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Now, what do you know about the process of making a death mask?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13There are a variety of ways.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Often used for villains, to keep an impression of them
0:27:17 > 0:27:19before photography kicked in.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21I think, as a way of memorialising the dead,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24it stayed longer on the Continent than in Britain.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26My great-grandfather was very continental.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31The idea of commemorating death really goes back a long way
0:27:31 > 0:27:35to medieval kings, the idea of showing their face upon the coffin.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And they have to be propped up, do they not, in a chair,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43- in order for the plaster cast to work?- I think they do.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47- It's all a bit grim. - And if we look at it in detail,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50it is, unlike portraiture of the period,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53it is an undiluted expression of death
0:27:53 > 0:27:56- and possibly of pain as well. - Yes, I know.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I'm not sure that we, in our generation, handle death
0:28:00 > 0:28:04with the sort of confidence and sense of continuity that they did then.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07So I don't think it was thought of as a gloomy thing.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11I think it was thought of as somebody who's gone on a bit ahead.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And clearly, Lord Acton, if we look at the box,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17saw this relic of his friend
0:28:17 > 0:28:20as a hugely important and significant object.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It seems to be made of wood with plaster
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and then impressed with designs from Byzantine
0:28:26 > 0:28:31and possibly pre-Reformation Catholic images,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34almost as if Lord Acton was trying to turn him
0:28:34 > 0:28:35into a Catholic after death.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Gladstone did lie in state in Westminster
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and the words written around him were in Latin,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46getting about as close to Catholicism as an Anglican would.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49There was no tension between them over that.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53What is interesting to know is that there are people out there
0:28:53 > 0:28:55who collect death masks...
0:28:55 > 0:28:58you know, normal people.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02But there are also people who collect historical images
0:29:02 > 0:29:05and what we're dealing with here is
0:29:05 > 0:29:08an image of one of the most charismatic prime ministers
0:29:08 > 0:29:11of all time and with that wonderful provenance
0:29:11 > 0:29:14that goes back to your great-grandfather
0:29:14 > 0:29:16and that association.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19I mean, I suppose we're talking around about
0:29:19 > 0:29:21£5,000 or £6,000.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Well, it's not for sale.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31- Now, I understand you've had a word already with Fiona about this?- Yes.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33We had a chat to her earlier, yes, about the boxes
0:29:33 > 0:29:35and a little bit of their heritage.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40My late mother-in-law, she found the first box in a jeweller's shop
0:29:40 > 0:29:43- in Damascus in Syria.- Right.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46She bought it because she liked it, very pretty box,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and then realised there were one or two marks on the bottom.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Now, she believed that she knew what they were
0:29:52 > 0:29:55- because she'd spent three years in Moscow...- Right.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59..so she'd seen a lot of Russian boxes.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04Fair enough because, in fact, they all bear Russian marks.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07This, actually, is a very good example.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11We've got underneath there Faberge marks.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Now, looking at these,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18visually, they're absolutely super.
0:30:19 > 0:30:25But when you start to look at this enamel work close-up,
0:30:25 > 0:30:27you start to notice one or two things.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29For example, can you see that tiny little black dot there?
0:30:29 > 0:30:35- Oh, right. Yes.- And as you go around in this enamel,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39there are a lot of even finer black dots.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Similarly, if you look with a magnifying glass
0:30:42 > 0:30:46at the soldiers' faces and so on,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49- they sort of disappear into a sort of blob.- Oh, OK.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53And it applies, actually, to all of these.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57So, when you look at this enamel, there are very fine little dots
0:30:57 > 0:30:59and again, when you magnify it,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02the enamel starts to look a little bit treacly.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04So, what's going on?
0:31:04 > 0:31:09Well, sometimes we do have to impart bad news.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12- I can see that coming!- Really?
0:31:12 > 0:31:15And I'm afraid this is one of those occasions.
0:31:15 > 0:31:20Had these been Faberge, that would have been superb enamel.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23If there'd been a black dot there, believe me,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27- Faberge would probably have sacked the guy who did it.- I see. Right.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30And the marks, that's a bit more tricky
0:31:30 > 0:31:32because that needs experience.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36They have the visual impression of a set of Faberge marks.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39You've got the Imperial warrant, all this sort of thing.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43But those are not genuine marks.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48There has been an enormous amount of forgery of Russian work,
0:31:48 > 0:31:53in particular Russian enamel work, over the last 20 years or so.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58The market's been flooded. So many people are being caught by this.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03- So, I'm afraid this does have a huge difference...- I can imagine.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05..in value.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08- We're not in the tens of thousands...- No.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10..which would have been the case
0:32:10 > 0:32:13if we'd been looking at Faberge boxes.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Your late mother-in-law, if she didn't pay more than about
0:32:17 > 0:32:21£200, £250 each, she got value for money...
0:32:21 > 0:32:25- what she didn't get was Faberge. - Well, I think she bought it
0:32:25 > 0:32:28originally because she liked the box. That was the original thing.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32And that's a very good reason for buying and good for her.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35There is just over £1,000 worth there.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37- Much better than a kick in the teeth.- Indeed.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- Not the Bahamas, this year, I'm afraid.- I'm afraid not.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42I think Clacton-on-Sea might be it.
0:32:42 > 0:32:43Lovely. Thank you very much.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56I have to say, I think this is the campest piece of China
0:32:56 > 0:33:01I've ever seen and I'm hoping you'll say it belonged to Liberace.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03No, unfortunately not. It belonged to my mother.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07She inherited it from her aunt who was in service for a bishop
0:33:07 > 0:33:12on the south coast. We believe he gave it to her as a leaving present.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16I can see why he was tempted to get rid of it! Does your mother like it?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- Yes, I think she does, actually. - I mean, it is...
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I mean, does anybody in the background like it, perhaps?
0:33:24 > 0:33:27You love it? I think it's a love-hate thing.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31I think it's enormous fun. It is a coffee and liqueur set.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33But what a coffee and liqueur set!
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I mean, I don't think you'd be trundling this
0:33:35 > 0:33:39onto the dining table... Maybe you did. Maybe that was the idea.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42You cleared away the flowers, you put this on the table,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45you got the burner up. The coffee would be made here.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48This is obviously broken. This should have gone over like that
0:33:48 > 0:33:51so that the coffee would come up here, down the funnel
0:33:51 > 0:33:54and you'd get your little china teacup
0:33:54 > 0:33:57and take a couple of coffee. "Would you like a liqueur?" "Yes, please."
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Maybe in here you'd have some after-dinner mints as well.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02- This, I have to say, is a replacement.- Right.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04He is a different type of porcelain.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07So, I think probably there would have been another box like this.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10But he does sort of work.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Maybe they've had two many liqueurs and not enough coffee
0:34:12 > 0:34:14and he got broken.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19I think, basically, it's French. 1870 or so.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21These were things which are often created by retailers.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Somebody's had the mad idea,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27"Let's make a train with coffee at the front, liqueurs at the back.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31"Everybody will buy one." I don't think many people did buy one.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36But it's the whole post-dinner experience as a train.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39And in an auction, it's going to make anywhere between £500 and £800.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42- Oh, right.- Because where would you find another one?
0:34:42 > 0:34:44It's a shame Liberace's no longer with us
0:34:44 > 0:34:48- cos he would definitely buy it. - Lovely. Thank you very much.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Initially, when you brought these in, I thought,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53"That's an interesting collection of portrait miniatures."
0:34:53 > 0:34:56And certainly, these ones here on the card
0:34:56 > 0:34:59are hand-painted portrait miniatures,
0:34:59 > 0:35:05- very delicately done and painted on ivory.- On ivory?- On ivory.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07But very expensive to have done.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10And they were popular throughout the 18th and 19th century,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13really until the invention of photography.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17And then suddenly it became much cheaper to have your portrait taken
0:35:17 > 0:35:22- and one didn't have to employ an artist to do that for you.- Of course.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24This all started in the 1830s, 1840s.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27This is where a relation of yours comes into it.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Well, this gentleman here is Alexander Lamont Henderson
0:35:30 > 0:35:33He's my great, great, great grandfather
0:35:33 > 0:35:37and he patented the process for enamelling photos onto these metal plates.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40- And he could do this both in black and white or in colour.- Yep.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43- And I think he properly made a bit of a fortune.- Yeah.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46Apparently, he had a very large shop on one of the main streets in London at the time.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51- And he also became Queen Victoria's personal photographer.- He did.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Now, she was fascinated by photography.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55She was a very keen photographer herself,
0:35:55 > 0:35:59but obviously needed to have him just as a personal assistant as well.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02I think they're fascinating. And so who have we got here?
0:36:02 > 0:36:06- We've got Albert... - Yeah.- John Brown.- John Brown.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10We all know about John Brown and the stories that went on at the time
0:36:10 > 0:36:13until today, who he was and why was he such a favourite.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17- Interestingly, also we've got the famous...- Dr Livingstone.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Dr Livingstone, I presume. There he is. A famous person of the day.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- A wonderful collection.- Thank you. - What are they worth?
0:36:25 > 0:36:29- In photography terms, they very rarely turn up.- Mm-hm.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32But you've got four or five here.... I really believe...
0:36:32 > 0:36:34something like Livingstone is going to be worth
0:36:34 > 0:36:39- £600, £700, £800.- Really? - John Brown, probably the same.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Not so much for Albert, I would have thought.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46- But I really love the one you're never, ever go to get rid of, which is...- Of course not...
0:36:46 > 0:36:50..your great-great-great-grandfather, so the collection here, we're talking about £2,500-£3,000.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53- Really? Thank you.- Thank YOU.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I think these are really, really charming
0:36:57 > 0:37:00and really quite old-fashioned... antiques.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05And, strangely, I've just found out this lady behind me
0:37:05 > 0:37:06- has got one as well.- Yes.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08My grandfather gave me one.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11It has more colours on it. It's not blue and white. It has deer on it.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14It's green and yellow, and has more colours on it.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18So I moved across and asked you, "What on earth is this thing?"
0:37:18 > 0:37:20I usually put my pencils in it,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24- so I'm not too sure what it is. - I think you might know what they are.
0:37:24 > 0:37:31Well, the family story is that these are Dutch, Delft planters
0:37:31 > 0:37:36for baby, baby tulips, but I have no idea
0:37:36 > 0:37:39if they're the real deal or whether they're complete fakes.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43- Because my father was an antique dealer...- And did he deal in a lot of fakes(?)
0:37:43 > 0:37:45LAUGHTER
0:37:45 > 0:37:49When they were fake, he brought them home for us for private consumption,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53because he was a really reputable antique dealer in Chicago
0:37:53 > 0:37:55and then, latterly, in New Mexico.
0:37:55 > 0:38:01- Are they Dutch? - No. Go on, put it down.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05Um, they're called flower bricks, and so you're absolutely right.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09They're not for pencils or crayons - they are for flowers.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14I mean, nowadays, you get that horrible green oasis stuff that people jam flowers in.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Back in the middle of the 18th century, you have a flower brick.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21And they are so charming. Can you imagine that full of flowers?
0:38:21 > 0:38:24- So mid-1700s?- Mid-1700s.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29And curiously, it's always been very, very popular in North America.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33- Where are you from?- Born in Chicago. - Stop. And you're from?- Toronto.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37You see, isn't that curious? It all holds together really well.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39But here we are in Norfolk,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43and my great-grandparents were born in Ludham, up the road from here.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46So I'm definitely part local. And my father was English.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50These are local too. These are English delftware, they're not Dutch.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- Ah.- Delftware is tin-glazed pottery.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56It's pottery with a glaze which contains tin oxide to make it whiter,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58to try to make it look like Chinese porcelain.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03But the term delftware has become used, first in Holland, but then also for the English factories,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07and these are mid-18th century English delftware.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10They're very charming things. Old-fashioned.
0:39:10 > 0:39:16- Today, in the auction, the pair may be £1,600, something like that.- Wow!
0:39:16 > 0:39:20- I guess they're not fakes, then. - They're not fakes.- That's lovely!
0:39:20 > 0:39:21How lovely! Well, thank you,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24because I really genuinely didn't know what they were.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26I'd love to own these. I think they're gorgeous.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46When did you last have a proper look through the contents of this box?
0:39:46 > 0:39:52- Years ago!- Years ago?- Yeah. - Literally. And they're just family goodies.- Yeah.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56- And where do they live?- In a bottom drawer of a chest of drawers, yeah.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Oh, it's such a shame. It's such a waste!
0:39:59 > 0:40:03I'm going to seize that one and just pop that there,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07because that stands out to me amongst all these fabulous seals and goodies.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10And I'm going to lose the box.
0:40:10 > 0:40:11So what do you think of that?
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Do you think that looks interesting or not really?
0:40:14 > 0:40:16I'm hoping it looks interesting.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Well, I'll tell you something.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Collectors love things in mint condition.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26And bar one fault, this looks to be in tiptop condition.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Good.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Well, let us start by looking at the name.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35It is a silver champleve dial.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Perfect.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41And it's signed Windmills & Bennet.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- A fantastic pair of makers.- OK.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49In partnership for only a short time in the late 1720s.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53- So this thing is nearly 300 years old.- Gosh.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58- That's older than the two of us put together!- Quite a bit!
0:40:58 > 0:41:03The hands are lovely. Beetle and poker hands in blued steel.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07I'm hoping we'll see the most magnificent movement inside.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12And I'm not wrong. Look at that. It's wonderful.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15It signed T Windmills & Bennet, London.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18And then there's a number there.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Just things to look for on the movement.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24These fantastic Egyptian pillars, quite lovely.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Just what you'd expect to see for that sort of date.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32And...when did you last look inside this thing?
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Yesterday, before I brought it here.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- Had you noticed that lovely little grotesque face in there?- No.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Well, he's there looking absolutely superb.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Good set of London marks.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Little bit of rubbing just on the top of the date letter,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50- but that's K of 1725.- OK.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54So it's just quite gorgeous.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Now, I said there's one thing wrong,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01and the thing that's wrong is that that bow has been changed.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05It would have been a little stirrup bow much smaller than that
0:42:05 > 0:42:07- and rather more delicate.- OK.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11But other than that, the watch is in quite lovely condition.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13Now, inside the outer case,
0:42:13 > 0:42:17we have a lovely watch paper from Priest of Norwich.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21That has obviously been put in there round about
0:42:21 > 0:42:24the early part of the 19th century, by the watchmaker that would have
0:42:24 > 0:42:27- given it a quick clean and overhaul.- OK.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Just a lovely, lovely thing. And I know it's going to be so sad.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- You're going to put it back in that drawer, aren't you?- Probably!
0:42:33 > 0:42:38Well, I'm going to tell you what you'd have to pay to replace it.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42And then, hopefully, it'll just have a bit more pride of place.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46If you went to a decent watch dealer,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49you'd have to pay, for that little silver thing,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51between £3,000 and £4,000.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Mm! That's good!
0:42:53 > 0:42:56That's great! Thank you.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- Please don't put it away in a drawer for another 50 years.- No, no,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02I'll have to put it in pride of place somewhere.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Holding it here, it's very simple and crude, almost,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11- and yet, this bird's so full of character, isn't it?- Mm.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15I mean, it's got to be a real person. Do you know who he is?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I think I know he's a Martin bird.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22I don't know who he is, but I like his face.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25The Martin Brothers, the great potters in London...
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Wallace Martin was the modeller of famous birds.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31And he's said to have modelled them all on real people he knew -
0:43:31 > 0:43:33clergyman or judges.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37I mean, I don't know, I think he's got a bald head
0:43:37 > 0:43:40and a little bit of hair at the back there, but it must be a real person.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43- Where did he come from? - Well, it came...
0:43:43 > 0:43:47passed down to my husband from his mother, and she knew an old lady
0:43:47 > 0:43:50who actually knew the Martin Brothers, I gather...
0:43:50 > 0:43:54- lived near them in London.- Oh, right.- And that's how it came to us.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57That's probably back in the 1920s or '30s, when the factory
0:43:57 > 0:44:01was struggling, but the birds were made during the peak of their skills.
0:44:01 > 0:44:07- They made such individual pottery. - Right.- Signed there Martin, London.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09- Yeah.- Made in salt-glazed stoneware.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13The glaze fills in every little crevice, back in the potting,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17and that, I think, helps to bring out the character.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21But, simple modelling, just the human head...
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I think he's losing his hair on top, but it's curling out at the back,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27like mine does. It's a real character.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30- It's only a little one. - It's only a little one.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32That is really the crucial thing.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34You get models of birds with detachable heads,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38- sometimes groups of the big Wally Birds.- Yes, yes.- Those are fabulous.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42A little one is actually quite a rarity in many ways, and so,
0:44:42 > 0:44:47almost, the smaller the better. And he's had a little chip on his nose.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49That may be why they didn't sell it to begin with.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52It's just chipped off and been polished smooth.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55- That was probably done by the brothers themselves.- Yeah.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56It's going to make a difference.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59That's probably knocked a couple of thousand off it.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03What's left? 5,000?
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Good heavens! That's amazing! Amazing.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13Well, that's for the next generation. They'll be very pleased!
0:45:17 > 0:45:20There are several things I like about your pendant,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22and let me tell you what they are.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26Its colour, the quality of the gems, and the third thing is
0:45:26 > 0:45:32I love the harmony and the balance between the drop stone and the top.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Now, they would have produced something like that,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36with that kind of balance,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39in around about the year 1910.
0:45:39 > 0:45:40So question number one...
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Is it a family piece that goes back as far as 1910?
0:45:44 > 0:45:48It came to me through my mother, who is Australian.
0:45:48 > 0:45:55And it was given to her by her godmother in Adelaide,
0:45:55 > 0:46:00- I suspect, in about the 1930s.- I think it goes back before the '30s.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04I think, by the '30s, things had got more angular and geometric,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07so I think this is with the delicacy...
0:46:07 > 0:46:11its platinum, its diamonds, but the key components -
0:46:11 > 0:46:13and you mentioned it, you said Australia -
0:46:13 > 0:46:18these are exquisitely observed and polished black opals,
0:46:18 > 0:46:22- probably from somewhere like Coober Pedy...- Yes.- ..in Australia.
0:46:22 > 0:46:27And they have been polished to show the harlequin colours
0:46:27 > 0:46:31of the opals themselves, so if you look at the main one,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33the black one at the bottom, let me explain.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- The best opals are black opals.- Yes.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39And this black opal here has been very carefully polished
0:46:39 > 0:46:42to show the harlequin play of colour
0:46:42 > 0:46:44from the surface at the base.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48A diamond top stone,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50a diamond communicating stone,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52a diamond above,
0:46:52 > 0:46:57and then another further black opal top stone
0:46:57 > 0:47:01in a diamond hoop frame on a platinum chain.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05So, it's a very, very smart piece of jewellery,
0:47:05 > 0:47:07which, incidentally, are called in the trade
0:47:07 > 0:47:10- negligee pendants.- Oh!
0:47:10 > 0:47:12The idea was that they would...
0:47:12 > 0:47:14How can I put this?
0:47:14 > 0:47:16They would sit in the swell of
0:47:16 > 0:47:19the embonpoint, if that's one way of putting it.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22They just lodge themselves rather beautifully.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24And, before I get too bogged down in detail here,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27the word negligee pendant is a very apposite one
0:47:27 > 0:47:30- for something like that. - You told me that!
0:47:30 > 0:47:34Now, I have to point out one rather nasty defect to it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37When we turn it over,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and that's the best way of looking at it,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42can you see there?
0:47:42 > 0:47:45There is a very nasty chip at the top.
0:47:45 > 0:47:46How did that happen?
0:47:46 > 0:47:48- Do you know?- I've no idea.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Well, it doesn't help it, because
0:47:50 > 0:47:53the people that buy gems like this want something that's
0:47:53 > 0:47:57absolutely perfect. And, I think someone would probably,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00if it ever appeared on the market,
0:48:00 > 0:48:02they would remove the opal drop
0:48:02 > 0:48:05and they would cut off that top bit
0:48:05 > 0:48:08and then re-peg it on.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10It's not going to be quite the same,
0:48:10 > 0:48:11but I don't like that chip,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14because it does detract from it somewhat
0:48:14 > 0:48:15and it will worry people.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18As it stands at the moment,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20even though it's got the damage,
0:48:20 > 0:48:22£5,000-£6,000.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Amazing.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29Anyone's going to want it because of the sheer individuality,
0:48:29 > 0:48:30beauty and harmony
0:48:30 > 0:48:32of your lovely little bit of jewellery.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35- Thank you very much! - You're welcome. Thank you.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39Your table is covered in marquetry
0:48:39 > 0:48:42and the base has got lots of shamrocks on it.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44So, do I presume that one of you is from Ireland?
0:48:44 > 0:48:47- I'm from Ireland, yes.- And it's from your side of the family?
0:48:47 > 0:48:50It's actually not. It actually comes from my wife's side of the family.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53The table belonged to my stepgrandfather
0:48:53 > 0:48:56and when my grandmother passed away, I inherited the table.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Oh, right.
0:48:58 > 0:48:59So, where do you hail from?
0:48:59 > 0:49:02- I come from Cape Town in South Africa.- OK.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05So, this table somehow made a journey out to South Africa
0:49:05 > 0:49:08and then ended up in your grandparents' possession?
0:49:08 > 0:49:09That's correct.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12But, unfortunately, I didn't know my stepgrandfather's
0:49:12 > 0:49:16side of the family, so how they acquired it, I really don't know.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18- One of life's great mysteries. - Absolutely!
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Well, the table itself was made
0:49:21 > 0:49:23in Killarney in County Kerry.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27And a lot of people used to visit Killarney through
0:49:27 > 0:49:30the 19th century to see the beautiful lakes and mountains.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33- Have you ever been? - That's right, yes. We have been.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35And the table is littered with hints
0:49:35 > 0:49:39and signs that that's where it's from.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41The first is Muckross Abbey,
0:49:41 > 0:49:43which is one of the local sites.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46And, in the 1820s, people began visiting
0:49:46 > 0:49:48and were presumably looking for souvenirs.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51And so the locals in Killarney
0:49:51 > 0:49:54would make small toys and small objects out of wood.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56And, have you ever heard of arbutus wood?
0:49:56 > 0:49:59Strawberry tree wood?
0:49:59 > 0:50:02- Yes, yes.- Strawberry tree, yes. - Arbutus is its botanical name.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03But it grows there.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07And, some of the marquetry is actually arbutus wood,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10combined with yew.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12And a lot of these leaves look quite
0:50:12 > 0:50:15like leaves from the arbutus tree.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Then, of course, the shamrocks to the base.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22They started by making small souvenirs, but then, when the
0:50:22 > 0:50:24railways arrived in Killarney,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27more and more tourists were able to come.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30And so I presume that the people of Killarney recognise this
0:50:30 > 0:50:32ready marketplace.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37And so this would have been made in the 1850s and, of course,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40the great thing about a table like this is that it's not only
0:50:40 > 0:50:42decorated on the outside,
0:50:42 > 0:50:47but inside it's a feast for the eyes, isn't it?
0:50:47 > 0:50:49It's a games table,
0:50:49 > 0:50:51not just a plain tea table.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53With backgammon,
0:50:53 > 0:50:55cribbage and a chequerboard.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58And then another couple of local views to Killarney.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02And, of course, the meandering shamrock is ever present.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04It's a great table.
0:51:04 > 0:51:05Yes, it is. Brilliant!
0:51:05 > 0:51:08- Do you ever use it as a games table?- No.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10- We never have.- You really should.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12Cos, the whole thing about antiques is they're not
0:51:12 > 0:51:15just to sit there and look beautiful, and that's why
0:51:15 > 0:51:16I love furniture, because
0:51:16 > 0:51:18you actually get to use them, too.
0:51:18 > 0:51:19It's completely practical
0:51:19 > 0:51:23and, you know, should get an airing every so often.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Now, you've probably heard that,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29since the turn of the millennium, brown furniture
0:51:29 > 0:51:31has been performing pretty poorly
0:51:31 > 0:51:33at auction and on the open market.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36However, this perhaps is something that's slightly
0:51:36 > 0:51:38bucking the trend,
0:51:38 > 0:51:42because its value now is around £6,000.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44- Hmm.- 6,000.
0:51:44 > 0:51:45HE WHISTLES
0:51:45 > 0:51:49It's considerably more than
0:51:49 > 0:51:54any other mid-19th century games or tea table.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57Good. It'll definitely be in our family for a long time.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59It will do. We won't be selling it!
0:52:02 > 0:52:05I'm in doll heaven here. We've got three different eras of dolls.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08So, how did you come to have them?
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Fidelity, over this side, and these wooden dolls here came down through
0:52:13 > 0:52:17the generations in my mother's side of the family.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- Right.- The wax doll was given to my mother by a friend.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24My mother used to go around with some of the dolls that we had
0:52:24 > 0:52:28- and talk to Women's Institutes and that kind of thing.- Did she?
0:52:28 > 0:52:31And a friend of hers said, "Oh, I've got a doll. You can have her."
0:52:31 > 0:52:34This was many years ago, now.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36And produced this doll.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38- That's pretty fantastic. - She didn't want it.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Yes, she gave it to her.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43It's funny. A lot of people with wax
0:52:43 > 0:52:47find it's almost too like the real thing
0:52:47 > 0:52:49and they find it a bit macabre.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53But this particular wax doll is made by one of the best makers,
0:52:53 > 0:52:54the Montanari family.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59And they came over from Italy in the early part of the 19th century.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02And they started making wax dolls.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Pure, poured wax. Beeswax.
0:53:04 > 0:53:05And then coloured.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08And she's absolutely splendid.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10And in wonderful condition.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Original hair.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15She is something the wax doll collectors go mad for.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Especially in this condition.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Now, she is about 1850.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23We go further back now, tell me about these.
0:53:24 > 0:53:29Well, they used to belong as a family group in a dolls' house.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31They've been given a fictional name.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33But, they stayed together
0:53:33 > 0:53:35and represented the members of the family.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37I love it! Wonderful.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39These are all early 19th century.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43They date back to something like
0:53:43 > 0:53:451815, 1825.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47They are from what we call the
0:53:47 > 0:53:49Grodnertal region of Germany,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51which was southern Germany.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52And they made many, many of these
0:53:52 > 0:53:54dolls without clothes,
0:53:54 > 0:53:56and they'd send them all over the world.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58So, we'd get a lot in this country.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02And then we'd - or the Americans, or any country -
0:54:02 > 0:54:05would put their clothing on them.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07- Right.- But what's so lovely about these,
0:54:07 > 0:54:11they look as though they've got British clothing on them,
0:54:11 > 0:54:12rather than German clothing.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15You know what I mean? They don't have
0:54:15 > 0:54:17dirndls and things.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20They are very, very special, because they're in such good condition.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Most of these I see have either got
0:54:22 > 0:54:26an arm missing or the paint on their heads has been worn off,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30because basically it's like an Old Master painting.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33They're a base of wood painted with oil paint
0:54:33 > 0:54:36and that is what you see, like an oil painting.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39And then we come to the big girl.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Fidelity. She's really early.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43She's early 18th century.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45She's probably about 1730.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47- She's George I.- Right.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50All right, she's had the odd broken finger and things,
0:54:50 > 0:54:52but my goodness, she's in good condition.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54It is so rare to have a doll
0:54:54 > 0:54:57of 1730 anyway existing today.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00She's splendid.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01The same thing as the Grodnertal dolls,
0:55:01 > 0:55:04she would have had this thin layer of gesso
0:55:04 > 0:55:06put over the wood,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10and then a thin layer of oil paint over the gesso.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13So, it gives that translucent effect,
0:55:13 > 0:55:14with rosy cheeks.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18These are inserted glass eyes and then you take this off.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20This is real hair
0:55:20 > 0:55:21put in with nails
0:55:21 > 0:55:23- and it's literally a wig.- Painful!
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Put in with nails. Painful, exactly.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29But it's stayed on, even though the hair's a bit thinner.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31She's getting on!
0:55:31 > 0:55:32She's getting on a bit. Absolutely.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Wonderful little bonnet.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38We now have to talk about price.
0:55:38 > 0:55:44The Montanari wax doll at auction would probably
0:55:44 > 0:55:46make in the region of £800-£1,200,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48possibly as much as 1,500.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Each of these Grodnertals vary.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55The ladies here are worth about £300 each.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57And the men about £400 each.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00- Wow.- Oh, gosh. Expensive family.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Expensive family.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05So, we come to Fidelity.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10If she were to come up in the right auction,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12we'd be talking about
0:56:12 > 0:56:15£10,000-£15,000.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17CROWD GASP
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Grief!
0:56:19 > 0:56:22- Surprised?- Very.- Yes.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24- Yes.- Very. Thank you.- Thank you.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26APPLAUSE
0:56:28 > 0:56:29Oh!
0:56:29 > 0:56:31LAUGHTER
0:56:31 > 0:56:34I've been watching that all the way through waiting for it to go!
0:56:34 > 0:56:35Oh, my goodness!
0:56:40 > 0:56:43- Di, it's a bit of an important week for you, this one.- Yes, it is.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44- It's my last week here.- Last week.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47And you've been working at the University of East Anglia for how long?
0:56:47 > 0:56:4922 years, for the Student Union.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Now, there's been a few parties, I imagine,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53and concerts over those 22 years?
0:56:53 > 0:56:55Yes, there's been loads. Absolutely loads.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59And we're trying to actually portray them in our backstage area.
0:56:59 > 0:57:00So this is one of those.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03So, this is... You show this backstage at the Student Union?
0:57:03 > 0:57:05- Yes.- Robbie Williams.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Now, this is when he left Take That, presumably?
0:57:07 > 0:57:09That's right. This is the first solo show
0:57:09 > 0:57:10after he left Take That.
0:57:10 > 0:57:151997. So, you must have seen a few things backstage, then?
0:57:15 > 0:57:18- Yeah, some I can't talk about, but, yeah.- Oh, can't you?
0:57:18 > 0:57:23- Do tell.- But I do see an awful lot of guys in their pants. So...
0:57:23 > 0:57:24Any names we might have heard of?
0:57:24 > 0:57:27I daren't! I daren't tell you.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29Now, there's a few pants here.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32These are ones that we retrieved from the stage,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34where people threw them over.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37- And they've got their addresses and little messages.- No!
0:57:37 > 0:57:40So, from Robbie Williams in his pants, your final week.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Yeah, so you're my final gig. So it's exciting.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46And this is my final gig of the day here.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48From the Antiques Roadshow, from Di, Robbie Williams
0:57:48 > 0:57:52and the knickers and the whole Roadshow team, bye-bye.