Exeter Cathedral 1

Download Subtitles

Transcript

0:00:01 > 0:00:03Today we're in the bustling city centre of Exeter,

0:00:03 > 0:00:07and tucked away, just off the high street, is this beautiful green.

0:00:07 > 0:00:12And from Roman bathhouse to Saxon monastery to Gothic cathedral,

0:00:12 > 0:00:16it's been at the heart of the city's history for 2,000 years.

0:00:16 > 0:00:20Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from Exeter Cathedral in Devon.

0:01:07 > 0:01:12Walking through Exeter Cathedral, it's wonderfully calm and serene,

0:01:12 > 0:01:15but cathedrals weren't always the quiet,

0:01:15 > 0:01:17reverential places we expect today.

0:01:17 > 0:01:23This hush is a relatively modern Victorian invention.

0:01:23 > 0:01:27Before then, as the biggest building right in the heart of the city,

0:01:27 > 0:01:30the cathedral was a noisy community space that attracted

0:01:30 > 0:01:32all sorts of characters.

0:01:32 > 0:01:36For centuries the clergy had to deal with people shooting birds

0:01:36 > 0:01:39nesting in the walls, ball games that broke windows,

0:01:39 > 0:01:42cutpurses and pick-pockets stealing from worshippers.

0:01:42 > 0:01:44Even a murder.

0:01:47 > 0:01:50It wasn't just people that were a problem.

0:01:50 > 0:01:53Behind that door is where the dog whipper lived.

0:01:53 > 0:01:56His job was to round up all the stray dogs that would

0:01:56 > 0:01:58wander around the cathedral every day.

0:01:58 > 0:02:01He would look down from his window, from his room up there,

0:02:01 > 0:02:04and if he saw any, he'd be straight down to shoo them out.

0:02:04 > 0:02:10And this is what he used, the dog whipper's staff, poor things.

0:02:10 > 0:02:13It's still used today, but only for ceremonial purposes

0:02:13 > 0:02:16and it's carried by the verger during services.

0:02:19 > 0:02:22The cathedral had another unusual employee on the books,

0:02:22 > 0:02:26to deal with a different animal problem and help keep time.

0:02:26 > 0:02:32This wonderful astronomical clock was fitted in 1484 and behind here,

0:02:32 > 0:02:36rodents would nibble away at the ropes of the clock's inner workings,

0:02:36 > 0:02:41no doubt attracted by the animal fat which was used as a lubricant.

0:02:41 > 0:02:44So a little hole was cut into the door leading to the clock workings,

0:02:44 > 0:02:46so a cat could get in and catch the mice.

0:02:46 > 0:02:50The cat was even listed as a member of the cathedral staff

0:02:50 > 0:02:53and had a regular salary. A penny a week.

0:02:55 > 0:02:56And that's Tom,

0:02:56 > 0:03:01who lost an eye in a fight with an owl for a rat in the cathedral.

0:03:01 > 0:03:04He looks quite fierce, but apparently he was a real pussy cat.

0:03:07 > 0:03:11Outside, our experts are ready for their challenging but somewhat

0:03:11 > 0:03:15safer task of inspecting all the items brought along by our visitors.

0:03:15 > 0:03:17But you know, don't wait for our experts to

0:03:17 > 0:03:21give their valuations, why don't you have a go with our valuation game.

0:03:21 > 0:03:23Just press red on your remote control, or you can

0:03:23 > 0:03:26play along with our app on your smartphone or on your tablet.

0:03:28 > 0:03:33It really is a very unusual clock. Do you like it?

0:03:33 > 0:03:36I love it, absolutely love it.

0:03:36 > 0:03:41Do you know where it was made? Have you any idea about it at all?

0:03:41 > 0:03:45No, only that it was left to my godmother

0:03:45 > 0:03:49by an uncle who lived in Bond Street, I believe owned

0:03:49 > 0:03:53a property at Bond Street years ago, that's all I know.

0:03:53 > 0:03:59Well, that would make sense because this was a wealthy man's object.

0:03:59 > 0:04:03In the loose sense of the word, a carriage clock.

0:04:03 > 0:04:07So let's see if we can have any sort of ideas as to who might have

0:04:07 > 0:04:09made it, and we are helped very much.

0:04:09 > 0:04:12On the bottom there it says "Tiffany & Co"

0:04:12 > 0:04:15and it says "Sterling silver"

0:04:15 > 0:04:19and it says 925 parts of 1,000 silver.

0:04:19 > 0:04:23So, do you know much about Tiffany?

0:04:23 > 0:04:29Um, only sort of, you know, the obvious Tiffany jewellery and...

0:04:29 > 0:04:35Exactly, well, Tiffany was given by his father a chunk of money

0:04:35 > 0:04:41in the 19th century and started producing all sorts of goodies.

0:04:41 > 0:04:48This is absolutely typical of the output of Tiffany from 1895 to 1905.

0:04:48 > 0:04:51Top of the range, it's a cracking good thing,

0:04:51 > 0:04:56the sort of product that they would have had manufactured for the

0:04:56 > 0:04:59US market, because remember they had outlets then in Paris

0:04:59 > 0:05:01- and in Regent Street, London.- Oh.

0:05:01 > 0:05:04I mean, we've got these wonderful pineapple finials,

0:05:04 > 0:05:07they really are lovely, and then running down here,

0:05:07 > 0:05:09this is all, of course, solid silver.

0:05:09 > 0:05:11We've got these little cherubs

0:05:11 > 0:05:15gambolling around in this scene, and then on the sides we've got musical

0:05:15 > 0:05:21trophies, the whole thing with four free-standing fluted columns.

0:05:21 > 0:05:25And the movement of the clock is French throughout,

0:05:25 > 0:05:28but under there,

0:05:28 > 0:05:30bit of a giveaway, "Tiffany & Co, New York".

0:05:30 > 0:05:33Just looking at the movement, it's probably going to be

0:05:33 > 0:05:36one of the better makers, somebody like Drocourt.

0:05:36 > 0:05:40And you might or might not have noticed the two gongs

0:05:40 > 0:05:42and three hammers. Do you know what they do?

0:05:42 > 0:05:45No! Oh, it chimes, but I've never heard it.

0:05:45 > 0:05:47- You've never heard it?!- No.

0:05:47 > 0:05:50- Shall we just have a quick listen to that?- Ooh, yes, please.

0:05:50 > 0:05:54So the easiest thing to do is just move it on, so here we go.

0:05:56 > 0:05:58CLOCK CHIMES

0:05:58 > 0:06:00Do you hear that?

0:06:00 > 0:06:02- Yes.- Just starting to do the hours.

0:06:02 > 0:06:05CLOCK CHIMES

0:06:05 > 0:06:07And then having finished the hours, it will do the quarters,

0:06:07 > 0:06:11- ding dong, ding dong.- Oh. - Let's see if it does.

0:06:13 > 0:06:14CLOCK CHIMES There we go.

0:06:14 > 0:06:18- Oh.- Where's this been for the last eight years?

0:06:18 > 0:06:21- In a cupboard! - If I'm going to tell you the price,

0:06:21 > 0:06:23I want you to promise me you'll get it out of that cupboard,

0:06:23 > 0:06:27- maybe have it cleaned and overhauled, and use it.- Right.

0:06:27 > 0:06:30- Promise me and then I'll tell you the price.- Yes, I promise.

0:06:30 > 0:06:35OK, at auction in that state, it's going to fetch between £5,000

0:06:35 > 0:06:37- and £8,000.- Oh.

0:06:37 > 0:06:41So it's worth spending a few hundred pounds to have the movement cleaned.

0:06:41 > 0:06:46- Right.- You've made the promise, now use it, please.- Right, will do.

0:06:50 > 0:06:55To have a box dated 1693, I'm trying not to be jealous.

0:06:55 > 0:06:57You must have done your research. What did you find out?

0:06:57 > 0:06:59Well, we don't know very much about it.

0:06:59 > 0:07:04It belongs to my father-in-law, who received from his Auntie Ethel.

0:07:04 > 0:07:08She used to keep pins and buttons in it and she lived in North Wales,

0:07:08 > 0:07:11and other than that, we don't really know much about it.

0:07:11 > 0:07:15And you've never done any checking out?

0:07:15 > 0:07:16No, no, I haven't.

0:07:16 > 0:07:21This, to me, is just as pretty as it comes.

0:07:21 > 0:07:24It's not particularly well made, it's naive,

0:07:24 > 0:07:27but the construction of it is charming.

0:07:27 > 0:07:29I mean, "For you, the best is not too good."

0:07:29 > 0:07:33It's such, it just couldn't be nicer, in my view.

0:07:33 > 0:07:36Whether it's for tobacco, I don't know,

0:07:36 > 0:07:38They're usually called tobacco boxes

0:07:38 > 0:07:42but I just think they're sweetheart boxes just for general use.

0:07:42 > 0:07:45But dated 1693.

0:07:45 > 0:07:48I mean, do you know what the construction is made of?

0:07:48 > 0:07:50Well, I don't, that's what I wanted to find out.

0:07:50 > 0:07:52Any guesses? You must have.

0:07:52 > 0:07:56Well, my husband thought it might be whale bone, but I've no idea.

0:07:56 > 0:08:00- Not whale bone.- Right.- Unless it's a rare whale with horns.

0:08:00 > 0:08:03- It's made of horn.- Ah, right. - So, and you can see here

0:08:03 > 0:08:06and some people confuse it with ivory or marine ivory,

0:08:06 > 0:08:07- i.e. walrus tusks.- Yes.

0:08:07 > 0:08:11But this is horn, and horn has this very sort of distinctive,

0:08:11 > 0:08:12you know, shading almost.

0:08:12 > 0:08:16But someone at some point has been cheeky because here,

0:08:16 > 0:08:19- this started off life as WL.- Yes.

0:08:19 > 0:08:22- And they've changed it to WB.- Yes.

0:08:22 > 0:08:24But all that, to me, adds to it.

0:08:24 > 0:08:28- 1693 in the reign of William and Mary.- Yes.

0:08:28 > 0:08:30This pique work round the border here,

0:08:30 > 0:08:35someone has really taken the time and it's really quite rare.

0:08:35 > 0:08:40- I mean, I think easily £500. - Gosh, lovely, right.

0:08:40 > 0:08:42- For that bit.- Oh, right.

0:08:43 > 0:08:46Another thousand for that bit.

0:08:46 > 0:08:48Oh, really?!

0:08:48 > 0:08:51- £1,500 all day long.- Right.

0:08:51 > 0:08:54- Because that is stunning. Thank you. - Thank you, thank you very much.

0:08:59 > 0:09:05So, when I see an object like this, it's almost like it's opening

0:09:05 > 0:09:10a door to real history, you know, this is not an abstract.

0:09:10 > 0:09:12This, to me,

0:09:12 > 0:09:15takes me in to Nicholas Cornock,

0:09:15 > 0:09:19who was clearly alive in 1726.

0:09:19 > 0:09:23Ooh, it gives me little goose bumps, it really, really does.

0:09:23 > 0:09:26- So who was he?- As far as I can determine, I believe,

0:09:26 > 0:09:29a family of wine merchants in Somerset,

0:09:29 > 0:09:32but I haven't been able to find out any more information yet.

0:09:32 > 0:09:37Wine merchants. Mostly the seals are owners, owners of the bottle.

0:09:37 > 0:09:42When Pepys records having seen his own bottles filled at the Mitre

0:09:42 > 0:09:48Tavern in 1663, he observes that "They had my name wrote upon them."

0:09:48 > 0:09:52So, I suspect that wine merchant is feasible,

0:09:52 > 0:09:53but I think it's a private owner.

0:09:53 > 0:09:57- So how does it come into your life? - Handed down from my grandparents.

0:09:57 > 0:10:00Oh, lovely. Let's examine the bottle itself.

0:10:00 > 0:10:03What happened is that the bottle first appears, the English bottle,

0:10:03 > 0:10:07melted on coal furnaces which gave it the edge, it was a hard glass,

0:10:07 > 0:10:10harder than ever previously made anywhere in the world.

0:10:10 > 0:10:11This was a major breakthrough.

0:10:11 > 0:10:14That bottle, the first one, was almost spherical, a globe,

0:10:14 > 0:10:19but it had the tendency to fall over, so in a design progression,

0:10:19 > 0:10:23what happened is that it grew a big bottom for stability.

0:10:23 > 0:10:27- Like a ship's decanter. - Precisely, like a ship's decanter.

0:10:27 > 0:10:31The other notable thing about it is this flange here,

0:10:31 > 0:10:34this disc of glass which is called the string rim.

0:10:34 > 0:10:37This is pre-cork, so wooden wedges were used

0:10:37 > 0:10:41so they'd drive a wooden wedge in there, bash, bash, bash,

0:10:41 > 0:10:46and then hold it in by getting some sail, or wagon cloth.

0:10:46 > 0:10:49You placed it over and then you tied

0:10:49 > 0:10:52it down against the string rim.

0:10:52 > 0:10:55And then, when you came to open this bottle,

0:10:55 > 0:10:59first of all you removed the string, then you took away the cloth.

0:10:59 > 0:11:04The way you got this out, was you got this thing like a nail, and you

0:11:04 > 0:11:07drove the nail into the stopper,

0:11:07 > 0:11:09as it were, made of wood probably,

0:11:09 > 0:11:12and you prised it out, and that's

0:11:12 > 0:11:14why they're invariably chipped.

0:11:14 > 0:11:17Look at that, chipped in one area.

0:11:17 > 0:11:21That's evidence, not of somebody careless later in time,

0:11:21 > 0:11:23but absolutely contemporaneous.

0:11:23 > 0:11:26And that actually doesn't affect the value, because it is fully

0:11:26 > 0:11:30expected, and if it hasn't got one, you start asking why.

0:11:30 > 0:11:35So, these things are collected and what's happened is that

0:11:35 > 0:11:38fine wine drinkers are the collectors of them.

0:11:38 > 0:11:41They're very sought after and an example like this,

0:11:41 > 0:11:46a really classic example, without a seal, for instance, this would be

0:11:46 > 0:11:48£300 or £400, £500,

0:11:48 > 0:11:51but you add the seal,

0:11:51 > 0:11:55name and date, oh, you know, that's the full packet, you know,

0:11:55 > 0:11:58that's what they want and that propels its value

0:11:58 > 0:12:03to between £2,500 and £3,500.

0:12:03 > 0:12:07And if you were to actually tie him down to an individual

0:12:07 > 0:12:10living there, then, that's another grand on top.

0:12:10 > 0:12:14- So go and find out who he was. - I'll do my best.

0:12:14 > 0:12:17It's in your interest to do so. Good on ya.

0:12:24 > 0:12:28"Dear Sandra, thanks for your letter..." Are you Sandra?

0:12:28 > 0:12:29I am.

0:12:29 > 0:12:34And the letter is written, signed, by George Harrison,

0:12:34 > 0:12:37- how fabulous is that? - I'm hoping it's really him.

0:12:37 > 0:12:40Well, there's a whole lot of memorabilia in this one frame

0:12:40 > 0:12:43and it tells a really great story.

0:12:43 > 0:12:45First of all, I want to hear your story, which,

0:12:45 > 0:12:47is this a ticket that relates...?

0:12:47 > 0:12:49- Yeah.- OK, tell me how it goes.

0:12:49 > 0:12:51I went to boarding school in Cheltenham

0:12:51 > 0:12:54and in the summer holidays in 1963

0:12:54 > 0:12:58I went to Llandudno, to see The Beatles,

0:12:58 > 0:13:02got back to school for the winter term and four of us

0:13:02 > 0:13:05decided we were in love with them, and would write to them.

0:13:05 > 0:13:08- Did you each have a different one? - Yes.- Oh, that's handy, then, yeah.

0:13:08 > 0:13:11So I, I was in love with George, yes, we all had a different one.

0:13:11 > 0:13:15I wrote to George and I enclosed a stamped addressed envelope,

0:13:15 > 0:13:16the others didn't.

0:13:16 > 0:13:20And I suppose it was about a week later that I got this back.

0:13:20 > 0:13:21So, let's have a look here.

0:13:21 > 0:13:25It tells a very interesting story, there's the letter,

0:13:25 > 0:13:28which we'll go into in just a second, there's

0:13:28 > 0:13:33a page of signatures and there's the envelope to you at the Oriel School.

0:13:33 > 0:13:37Now describe the moment when that letter arrived at school.

0:13:37 > 0:13:42Very excited, there was crowds all round behind me and I took it out

0:13:42 > 0:13:43and everybody screamed,

0:13:43 > 0:13:46and it was read out in assembly.

0:13:46 > 0:13:48It was read out in assembly?!

0:13:48 > 0:13:50What, the letter was?

0:13:50 > 0:13:52It was quite exciting.

0:13:52 > 0:13:56Wonderful. Well, I mean, let's look at 1963 for The Beatles.

0:13:56 > 0:13:59By the time they had got to Llandudno on the 15th August

0:13:59 > 0:14:04they'd done about 160 dates of concerts.

0:14:04 > 0:14:08A few days after this, the 23rd August, She Loves You

0:14:08 > 0:14:10came out and then bang,

0:14:10 > 0:14:13suddenly everything went completely bonkers,

0:14:13 > 0:14:16if it hadn't been bonkers already.

0:14:16 > 0:14:20And then we have the letter, which is slightly interesting,

0:14:20 > 0:14:24because it says, "Thank you for your kind comments, ta.

0:14:24 > 0:14:26"I had a great time in America."

0:14:28 > 0:14:32Now, you and I know that The Beatles didn't go to America

0:14:32 > 0:14:37until 1964, February '64 they went to America.

0:14:37 > 0:14:40That's what I'm hoping you might tell me.

0:14:40 > 0:14:44Well, I can tell you something about George in America.

0:14:44 > 0:14:46He goes on to say, "I had a great time in America,

0:14:46 > 0:14:49"but I didn't like New York as much as I'd expected.

0:14:49 > 0:14:52"It's a big unfriendly and lonely kind of place."

0:14:54 > 0:14:56George and his brother, Peter,

0:14:56 > 0:15:04went to America in September 1963 to visit his sister Louise in Illinois.

0:15:04 > 0:15:09Wow. So... It's probably genuine, then.

0:15:09 > 0:15:12It's even more genuine than one would imagine,

0:15:12 > 0:15:15because it's actually mentioning something that actually very

0:15:15 > 0:15:19few people outside the sort of real Beatle fans really know.

0:15:19 > 0:15:22And then it goes on, "I'm sorry I haven't got any photos with me,

0:15:22 > 0:15:26"so I'll just send you the note and autographs if you want them."

0:15:26 > 0:15:29- Ha, ha, ha, as if you wouldn't. - Yeah.

0:15:29 > 0:15:31"Must go, love from George Harrison."

0:15:31 > 0:15:34So there we have this great letter from George

0:15:34 > 0:15:35and then we have the signatures.

0:15:35 > 0:15:39And I can tell you that I'm afraid the signatures are not

0:15:39 > 0:15:41by The Beatles.

0:15:41 > 0:15:44They are by a Beatle.

0:15:44 > 0:15:46George signed them all.

0:15:46 > 0:15:48- How interesting. - And I tell you, it was,

0:15:48 > 0:15:52I'm led to believe it was George's party trick almost till

0:15:52 > 0:15:55the day he died, that he could sit down and do everybody's signature.

0:15:55 > 0:15:58- Wow, that's pretty good, actually. - It's not bad, is it?

0:15:58 > 0:15:59No, it's not bad.

0:15:59 > 0:16:03OK, so this is a valuation in two halves, really, it's

0:16:03 > 0:16:05a good news and a bad news story.

0:16:05 > 0:16:08The good news is that the letter, I would say, would be

0:16:08 > 0:16:10worth £1,500 to £2,000.

0:16:13 > 0:16:15- If the signatures had been... - Oh, yes.

0:16:15 > 0:16:18Oh, yes, you know where I'm going here.

0:16:18 > 0:16:21had the signatures been genuine, it would have at least doubled.

0:16:21 > 0:16:25- But still, I mean... - Oh, it's fascinating.

0:16:25 > 0:16:26It IS fascinating.

0:16:26 > 0:16:30I can just picture you aged 16,

0:16:30 > 0:16:35opening that letter at school in Cheltenham.

0:16:35 > 0:16:39# La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

0:16:39 > 0:16:42# If there's anything that you want

0:16:42 > 0:16:46# If there's anything I can do

0:16:46 > 0:16:47# Just call on me

0:16:47 > 0:16:50# And I'll send it along

0:16:50 > 0:16:52# With love, from me to you

0:16:53 > 0:16:54# To you

0:16:54 > 0:16:58# To you, to you. #

0:17:01 > 0:17:04This is a beautiful mahogany table.

0:17:04 > 0:17:06They're always called architect's tables, but we know you can

0:17:06 > 0:17:10- use it for any writing and reading purpose, can't you?- Yes, correct.

0:17:10 > 0:17:13I love this, I just want to show the top for people who haven't

0:17:13 > 0:17:16seen these, the way, when you lift the top, which is on a ratchet,

0:17:16 > 0:17:20hear it, like that, and of course this opens at the same time.

0:17:20 > 0:17:23But I think the...many of us have seen these before but what

0:17:23 > 0:17:27- we haven't seen is this plaque. Can you explain that to me?- Yes.

0:17:27 > 0:17:30This plaque is to the effect

0:17:30 > 0:17:33that this table was used by Bonnie Prince Charlie

0:17:33 > 0:17:38at Kingsburgh House, Isle of Skye, in 1745.

0:17:38 > 0:17:40It was the time he was fleeing after Culloden,

0:17:40 > 0:17:43and the Red Coats were after him,

0:17:43 > 0:17:47and he was with Flora MacDonald dressed as a maid,

0:17:47 > 0:17:50and from there he took a trip to France.

0:17:50 > 0:17:54I've got a slight conundrum here. I'm sort of stuck in the middle.

0:17:54 > 0:17:56If I'd been asked to date this without that plaque,

0:17:56 > 0:18:02I would say 1750 at the absolute earliest, and 1760.

0:18:02 > 0:18:05So I'm stuck. How good is this provenance?

0:18:05 > 0:18:08I've no doubt about it at all.

0:18:08 > 0:18:11It's been in the family all of 250 years

0:18:11 > 0:18:13and we have no reason to think that it wasn't used

0:18:13 > 0:18:15by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

0:18:15 > 0:18:17So, literally, you can trace it right back, can you?

0:18:17 > 0:18:20It's in books and recorded and so on...

0:18:20 > 0:18:22- Oh, right, right.- ..as being so.

0:18:22 > 0:18:25- Right, right.- They were Campbells, my relations,

0:18:25 > 0:18:26who lived at Kingsburgh.

0:18:26 > 0:18:29How sophisticated was the house? Because Skye 1745...

0:18:29 > 0:18:32Not very sophisticated and it doesn't exist any more,

0:18:32 > 0:18:33it's been knocked down.

0:18:33 > 0:18:37I wanted to go and see it, and was told it's no longer there.

0:18:37 > 0:18:40But my ancestor James Boswell, and Samuel Johnson,

0:18:40 > 0:18:44visited Kingsburgh House and also I think saw this desk too,

0:18:44 > 0:18:48when they went on their Hebridean Tour, which is recorded.

0:18:48 > 0:18:51- So they're ancestors as well? - Ancestors as well, yes.

0:18:51 > 0:18:54I just wish I knew when the first one of these was ever made,

0:18:54 > 0:18:56- ever designed.- Yes. - Because my feeling is,

0:18:56 > 0:19:00in 1745, this was sort of

0:19:00 > 0:19:03sent from London on the first boat.

0:19:03 > 0:19:05We can't prove it, but your family history,

0:19:05 > 0:19:08plus the Boswell/Johnson visit is fantastic.

0:19:08 > 0:19:11To have that sort of history with a piece of furniture is very unusual.

0:19:11 > 0:19:14Um, a real conundrum.

0:19:14 > 0:19:16I'm not sure what to do about the date.

0:19:16 > 0:19:18Let's just talk for a second about this.

0:19:18 > 0:19:21These brass plates have been added on to strengthen it.

0:19:21 > 0:19:23- Yes.- At some stage, probably in the 18th century

0:19:23 > 0:19:26and just to demonstrate, for those who haven't seen this before,

0:19:26 > 0:19:29I won't go right into it, this slides back

0:19:29 > 0:19:31and we've got pigeonholes, secret drawers no doubt.

0:19:31 > 0:19:34- That's right, yes, secret drawers. - Lots of little things going on.

0:19:34 > 0:19:36So we have a conundrum here.

0:19:36 > 0:19:38These architects' desks are beautiful.

0:19:38 > 0:19:40- I love it and I'm sure you love it. - Yeah.

0:19:40 > 0:19:43But they don't sell very well in the auction rooms.

0:19:43 > 0:19:48They're quite popular in the antique shops but not everybody's after one.

0:19:48 > 0:19:52What we've got here is provenance, somebody from, a Stuart descendant

0:19:52 > 0:19:55from the Campbell family, somebody who knows the house, knows Skye.

0:19:55 > 0:19:58But I can't really give you the value with the provenance,

0:19:58 > 0:20:03because we've got to really prove that one of these existed in 1745.

0:20:03 > 0:20:06- But in a shop, £10,000 to £12,000, something like that.- Yes.

0:20:08 > 0:20:12Judging by the colour and the condition of this little cup,

0:20:12 > 0:20:14it looks like it's been through the wars a bit.

0:20:14 > 0:20:16Do you know anything about its history?

0:20:16 > 0:20:20Well, yes, it was found on my grandparents' farm,

0:20:20 > 0:20:24over 100 years ago, early 20th century.

0:20:24 > 0:20:27And it was during renovations

0:20:27 > 0:20:30and it was in the thatch of the old farmhouse.

0:20:30 > 0:20:33Is this the farmhouse here, the picture you've brought along?

0:20:33 > 0:20:35Yes, Batson Hall.

0:20:35 > 0:20:37When the thatch, it was being slated

0:20:37 > 0:20:41they found this and it appeared to have been hidden.

0:20:41 > 0:20:43So it quite likely was in the wars,

0:20:43 > 0:20:45but that would have been the Civil War.

0:20:45 > 0:20:47Yes, and a lot of silver was actually hidden from...

0:20:47 > 0:20:50Yes, they used to like to make it into coins and that,

0:20:50 > 0:20:52or just take it...

0:20:52 > 0:20:55OK, well, let's have a look at the cup.

0:20:55 > 0:20:58If we look at the front, it's got some initials AB over EW

0:20:58 > 0:21:01and the date, 1641.

0:21:01 > 0:21:04- So that gives us a pretty good idea...- Yes.

0:21:04 > 0:21:06..that we're looking at a really old piece of silver.

0:21:06 > 0:21:10This form of cup evolved in the reign of James I

0:21:10 > 0:21:12in the early 17th century,

0:21:12 > 0:21:17with these sort of decorated bowls and these long stems.

0:21:17 > 0:21:20- Look quite crude, the decoration, in fact.- Yes.

0:21:20 > 0:21:23But the interesting thing about this cup is if we turn it round

0:21:23 > 0:21:27and look at the hallmarks, which are really very good indeed,

0:21:27 > 0:21:31the piece was made much earlier than the initials and date.

0:21:31 > 0:21:33It was actually made in 1630.

0:21:33 > 0:21:35Now, something like this

0:21:35 > 0:21:40is a pretty rare object, and early 17th century silver

0:21:40 > 0:21:43doesn't come on the market that often.

0:21:43 > 0:21:48As you know, this has quite serious damage on the base,

0:21:48 > 0:21:52which will obviously have an effect on its value.

0:21:52 > 0:21:57It's really worthwhile considering getting this properly repaired,

0:21:57 > 0:22:00because in really good condition,

0:22:00 > 0:22:04a cup like this is worth £12,000 to £15,000.

0:22:04 > 0:22:07In its current state, the value

0:22:07 > 0:22:10is nearer £6,000 to £8,000

0:22:10 > 0:22:13so it's really worthwhile spending some money...

0:22:13 > 0:22:17- Yes, yes. - ..in having it properly repaired

0:22:17 > 0:22:21because it's essentially a really good piece.

0:22:23 > 0:22:26You've brought me in a school timetable here.

0:22:26 > 0:22:27Who does it relate to?

0:22:27 > 0:22:32It's the timetable of Queen Victoria's children.

0:22:32 > 0:22:36The cousin of my grandfather was tutor and so this is his diary

0:22:36 > 0:22:39and the timetable of what they had to learn.

0:22:39 > 0:22:43- And what was his name?- His name was Frederick Weymouth Gibbs.

0:22:43 > 0:22:46Right, and he tutored them for how long?

0:22:46 > 0:22:50For ten years from 1851 onwards.

0:22:50 > 0:22:53- Right, OK.- Fortunately it was left to my grandfather.

0:22:53 > 0:22:55- And then come down to you? - Yes.- That's lovely.

0:22:55 > 0:22:58I mean, if we just look, for example, at the timetable,

0:22:58 > 0:23:00what they're learning, you know,

0:23:00 > 0:23:03we've got religion between eight and nine o'clock,

0:23:03 > 0:23:05between nine and 11 they go out.

0:23:05 > 0:23:0911 to 11:30, they go and have their luncheon.

0:23:09 > 0:23:1211:30 to 12 is Latin, then 12 till one is writing.

0:23:12 > 0:23:15We've got German, then they have dinner, then they go out again.

0:23:15 > 0:23:18I've just got an extract here on one day.

0:23:18 > 0:23:21This is the cousin of your grandfather writing.

0:23:21 > 0:23:24"Met the Queen this afternoon and walked with her.

0:23:24 > 0:23:28"She spoke a good deal about the Princes, and bade me notice

0:23:28 > 0:23:32"two peculiarities in the P of W" - in the Prince of Wales,

0:23:32 > 0:23:36"first, at times he hangs his head, and looks at his feet

0:23:36 > 0:23:39"and invariably within a day or two,

0:23:39 > 0:23:43"has one of his fits of nervous unmanageable tempers."

0:23:43 > 0:23:48So this is a first-hand account of the Prince of Wales, future king,

0:23:48 > 0:23:52and when he's going, you know, when he's, he says unmanageable.

0:23:52 > 0:23:56- Yes, it's a wonderful glimpse into history, isn't it?- Absolutely.

0:23:56 > 0:24:00And there's this, and you brought also these lovely pictures.

0:24:00 > 0:24:03This is one here by "AE".

0:24:03 > 0:24:07Albert Edward, in fact, it's by Edward VII.

0:24:07 > 0:24:10- Right.- And you can see he was a particularly good artist.

0:24:10 > 0:24:13- He was. - And his sister was even better.

0:24:13 > 0:24:17I have a painting of hers too in the collection I have.

0:24:17 > 0:24:22Super, and it's dated here 28th February 1855, Buckingham Palace.

0:24:22 > 0:24:25They obviously respected and adored him,

0:24:25 > 0:24:30they're giving their pictures to him as a token of thanks and gratitude.

0:24:30 > 0:24:31It's absolutely wonderful.

0:24:31 > 0:24:34And then this, below it, is a portrait of Victoria.

0:24:34 > 0:24:39Yes, it's a portrait of her by her portraitist Winterhalter,

0:24:39 > 0:24:43and it is signed by Queen Victoria.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46Right, and you've got other things in your collection as well.

0:24:46 > 0:24:48I have a lot of other things, yes.

0:24:48 > 0:24:52A lot of letters from Queen Victoria, things that say

0:24:52 > 0:24:56"to Mr Gibbs from the grief stricken widow," after Prince Albert died,

0:24:56 > 0:25:00- and things like that. - Fascinating insights.

0:25:00 > 0:25:04It's a lovely archive and it's actually got considerable

0:25:04 > 0:25:08importance, particularly from, obviously, the royal connections.

0:25:08 > 0:25:10It's very much museum quality.

0:25:10 > 0:25:13There's considerable monetary value to it as well.

0:25:13 > 0:25:17I can easily see a portrait like this, on its own,

0:25:17 > 0:25:22- making £40,000 to £60,000 alone. - That's amazing.

0:25:22 > 0:25:25And then you've got this drawing here which again, I mean,

0:25:25 > 0:25:30it must be worth between, somewhere between £5,000 and £8,000 easily.

0:25:30 > 0:25:32So, you know, these are unique pieces

0:25:32 > 0:25:36and the written account by your grandfather's cousin,

0:25:36 > 0:25:39I can easily see this alone being worth £5,000 to £8,000.

0:25:39 > 0:25:43It's a one-off. So these pieces, if we add them up individually

0:25:43 > 0:25:46must be worth £50,000 to £75,000 at least.

0:25:46 > 0:25:49I must get it into a museum quickly, I think.

0:26:04 > 0:26:06It's time to step into the shadowy world of the faker,

0:26:06 > 0:26:10and this week's Rogues Gallery comes courtesy of our ceramics expert,

0:26:10 > 0:26:14Fergus Gambon, who's supplied us with four pieces of Whieldon Ware,

0:26:14 > 0:26:17earthenware from the mid 18th century.

0:26:17 > 0:26:20Well, I say four pieces. Three pieces are. One of them

0:26:20 > 0:26:24mysteriously appeared in the 1980s and had experts scratching

0:26:24 > 0:26:27their heads trying to work out if it was genuine or if it was fake.

0:26:27 > 0:26:30Now, here's Fergus with some clues as to what to look out for.

0:26:30 > 0:26:32Prepare to choose your colour.

0:26:35 > 0:26:38Suspect number one is what appears to be a classic Whieldon type

0:26:38 > 0:26:41teapot, made some 250 years ago.

0:26:42 > 0:26:46The glaze shows a network of fine cracks known as crazing.

0:26:46 > 0:26:50These are normally an indication of age, but are they to be trusted?

0:26:54 > 0:26:57Object two is perhaps the rarest in the line-up, an unusually

0:26:57 > 0:27:00large tea canister moulded in relief with a figure of Flora.

0:27:01 > 0:27:04It bears the typical Whieldon decoration of coloured oxides

0:27:04 > 0:27:06under a lead glaze,

0:27:06 > 0:27:08creating a surprisingly contemporary tortoiseshell effect.

0:27:08 > 0:27:12It looks plausible, but is it too good to be true?

0:27:17 > 0:27:19Another teapot, with stubby legs.

0:27:19 > 0:27:22Like the other pieces of Whieldon ware, it looks rustic with

0:27:22 > 0:27:25occasional imperfections, but is that the faker trying to fool you?

0:27:29 > 0:27:32And finally, a cream ware milk jug and cover from the same school.

0:27:32 > 0:27:37The Staffordshire potters would have been proud of this 250 years ago,

0:27:37 > 0:27:40but are we looking at something made in the 1980s?

0:27:46 > 0:27:48So Fergus, four examples of Whieldon Ware,

0:27:48 > 0:27:50or rather three examples and one that looks like it.

0:27:50 > 0:27:53Very unusual, the decoration, isn't it?

0:27:53 > 0:27:57Mmmm, it's essentially cream ware in the days before the cream ware body

0:27:57 > 0:27:59was perfected and became flawless.

0:27:59 > 0:28:02And so really there's an attempt here to cover up a lot of the

0:28:02 > 0:28:06surface with this decoration, which is a sort of mottled decoration

0:28:06 > 0:28:12of coloured oxides which are allowed to dribble and merge into each other

0:28:12 > 0:28:15to create a kind of tortoiseshell effect and that's the idea.

0:28:15 > 0:28:18And this kind of decoration is associated with a potter

0:28:18 > 0:28:20called Whieldon, but it isn't all by him, of course.

0:28:20 > 0:28:22So some of it's just in the style of?

0:28:22 > 0:28:24Some of it's by other contemporary potters,

0:28:24 > 0:28:27because it's just a fashionable ware of the time.

0:28:27 > 0:28:28So we've got two teapots, obviously.

0:28:28 > 0:28:31- Two teapots. - And what about this? What was this?

0:28:31 > 0:28:34That's a tea canister. One kept one's tea in it,

0:28:34 > 0:28:37it would have had a lid, which is now missing.

0:28:37 > 0:28:39- And then the little jug at the end? - That's a milk jug.

0:28:39 > 0:28:42We're not so used to having milk or cream with jugs that have

0:28:42 > 0:28:46covers these days, but they did then, sometimes.

0:28:46 > 0:28:49Stops anything dropping into the milk.

0:28:49 > 0:28:53Now one of these was such a cunning fake...

0:28:53 > 0:28:56- Mmmm.- ..that very special tests had to be done on it,

0:28:56 > 0:28:59which doesn't augur well for me choosing the right one,

0:28:59 > 0:29:01but anyway, so tell me about that.

0:29:01 > 0:29:05It's called a thermoluminescence test and it involves

0:29:05 > 0:29:08a slightly destructive, invasive process of removing

0:29:08 > 0:29:13a sliver of the pottery from the object and heating it up, and

0:29:13 > 0:29:18when you heat it up, it gives off what they call a thermoluminescence

0:29:18 > 0:29:21which is a kind of blue glow, and the amount of that glow

0:29:21 > 0:29:26depends on the amount of radiation that the object has absorbed.

0:29:26 > 0:29:30The older the object, the more radiation it has absorbed

0:29:30 > 0:29:34since it was fired, and the more thermoluminescence.

0:29:34 > 0:29:36So you've set me a horrendous task.

0:29:36 > 0:29:39If it was so hard that a thermoluminescence test

0:29:39 > 0:29:41had to be done on it, I don't think I stand a chance.

0:29:41 > 0:29:43We can't expect you to.

0:29:43 > 0:29:47I mean, this one looks most different from all the others

0:29:47 > 0:29:50in that the striations on it are very different

0:29:50 > 0:29:53from these three, so I'm assuming this is the fake,

0:29:53 > 0:29:58and if I've got that right, I will feel very chuffed indeed.

0:29:58 > 0:30:00You'd better pick it up and see.

0:30:00 > 0:30:02It's got a hole in the bottom, has it?

0:30:02 > 0:30:05It's got a hole in the bottom, and if it has, you've won!

0:30:07 > 0:30:09- No!- Yes!- Yes?! Where is it?

0:30:09 > 0:30:11You missed it, look. There's a hole!

0:30:11 > 0:30:15- I can't see a hole. - There it is, isn't it?

0:30:15 > 0:30:18- Oh, teeny, weeny.- Teeny, teeny.

0:30:18 > 0:30:21Back of the net, I think is the technical term for that.

0:30:21 > 0:30:25Oh, I'm well chuffed, I'm almost lost for words, actually.

0:30:25 > 0:30:28Thing is, Fergus, that when you look at this next to these,

0:30:28 > 0:30:30it does look really different, doesn't it?

0:30:30 > 0:30:32Well, it's OK for you with hindsight.

0:30:32 > 0:30:35- Because these have got all these decorations on, this hasn't.- Yes.

0:30:35 > 0:30:37These colours are much darker than this,

0:30:37 > 0:30:40the green is different to these, so it does look really different.

0:30:40 > 0:30:43But when I tell you that that teapot sold in the 1980s for

0:30:43 > 0:30:48£2,500, and that other pieces of the same type,

0:30:48 > 0:30:52other fakes, were selling for tens of thousands of pounds,

0:30:52 > 0:30:54experts were fooled by these then.

0:30:54 > 0:30:57So this, as a fake, is almost valueless, really.

0:30:57 > 0:30:59Well, it would be immoral to sell it,

0:30:59 > 0:31:01it's wrong and it's not worth much.

0:31:01 > 0:31:03And what about the tea canister?

0:31:03 > 0:31:08The tea canister's lovely and it's worth £1,500, maybe £2,000.

0:31:08 > 0:31:12The teapot, actually, this one is cracked, so as a cracked piece,

0:31:12 > 0:31:15it's worth £500 or so,

0:31:15 > 0:31:19and the jug maybe £700, £800.

0:31:19 > 0:31:20Well, there you are - Whieldon ware.

0:31:20 > 0:31:23And if you want to know what to look for,

0:31:23 > 0:31:26have a look at our website with all sorts of hints and tips on there.

0:31:34 > 0:31:36- I picked this up from a local second-hand shop.- Right.

0:31:36 > 0:31:40About four or five months ago, knew nothing about it.

0:31:40 > 0:31:41A friend of mine restored it for me.

0:31:41 > 0:31:44Right. How much did it cost you?

0:31:44 > 0:31:46- Well, it owes me £50.- Right.

0:31:46 > 0:31:49Let me tell you about it.

0:31:49 > 0:31:53It's made out of mahogany and it's actually 18th century.

0:31:53 > 0:31:57Made in the George III period.

0:31:57 > 0:31:59A journeyman would have made this,

0:31:59 > 0:32:04a gentleman who travels around working for one cabinet maker,

0:32:04 > 0:32:07and then he'd move on and work for another cabinet maker.

0:32:07 > 0:32:09- Right, OK.- And because he's carrying things around,

0:32:09 > 0:32:12that's why you've got these little carrying handles on the sides,

0:32:12 > 0:32:15- which only open to a certain degree. - Right.

0:32:15 > 0:32:17So he'd have been carrying his wares.

0:32:17 > 0:32:21And inside the journey begins,

0:32:21 > 0:32:25because you've got all these wonderful little samples

0:32:25 > 0:32:28from literally all over the world.

0:32:28 > 0:32:31This is the height of cabinet makers

0:32:31 > 0:32:34showing what veneers were being used at the time.

0:32:34 > 0:32:38As I say, it's 18th century, and when I opened it,

0:32:38 > 0:32:41one of the timbers which I saw,

0:32:41 > 0:32:44I thought was fantastic to see

0:32:44 > 0:32:46this wood, it's called fustic wood,

0:32:46 > 0:32:48it's from the Caribbean.

0:32:48 > 0:32:52Chippendale often used this wood and when it's polished,

0:32:52 > 0:32:55it's beautiful, it has a wonderful grain.

0:32:55 > 0:32:58But if you look, you've got these timbers from the Americas,

0:32:58 > 0:33:01from the Caribbean, from Asia.

0:33:01 > 0:33:04How many timbers are there?

0:33:04 > 0:33:06Well, it should carry about 160

0:33:06 > 0:33:09but there's two missing, sadly.

0:33:09 > 0:33:14Well, these little chests are extremely rare.

0:33:14 > 0:33:18The restoration could have been done a little bit better,

0:33:18 > 0:33:20but it's not bad.

0:33:20 > 0:33:27Today I would put a value on this of between £800 to £1,000.

0:33:27 > 0:33:31- OK, yeah.- So I think you've done extremely well for £50.

0:33:31 > 0:33:32Oh, that's good, yeah.

0:33:32 > 0:33:34- So, well done.- Thank you very much.

0:33:37 > 0:33:41When you came and sat down with your pieces, you were almost

0:33:41 > 0:33:45- apologetic for coming and sitting down and showing them to me.- Yes.

0:33:45 > 0:33:51I just brought my mum's two rings and I literally just

0:33:51 > 0:33:54pulled this out of the box that I had, but then your little sort

0:33:54 > 0:33:59of magpie eyes lit up and you swept the brooch off and that was that.

0:33:59 > 0:34:02You're thinking, "Why has she done that? It's costume jewellery."

0:34:02 > 0:34:06Yes, that's what, I've only ever seen it a couple of times

0:34:06 > 0:34:08so I would assume that

0:34:08 > 0:34:12my family wouldn't have had that much money in the past

0:34:12 > 0:34:14to buy anything substantial.

0:34:14 > 0:34:17Well, costume jewellery, you know, is very collected.

0:34:17 > 0:34:20- Yeah.- I mean, it's nothing to be sniffed at.

0:34:20 > 0:34:24This piece is not costume jewellery.

0:34:24 > 0:34:26Oh.

0:34:26 > 0:34:28- It's the real thing.- Right.

0:34:30 > 0:34:32It's diamonds.

0:34:32 > 0:34:34Platinum.

0:34:34 > 0:34:37- Oh, I thought it might have been silver.- No.

0:34:37 > 0:34:39THEY LAUGH

0:34:40 > 0:34:45If it had been silver, you're quite right that up until about 1900

0:34:45 > 0:34:49- most jewellery was made with silver, or silver and gold.- Right.

0:34:49 > 0:34:51Platinum came in about 1900.

0:34:51 > 0:34:53And are those sapphires?

0:34:53 > 0:34:57- They are, this is about 1925. - Oh, right, OK.

0:34:57 > 0:35:02And the sapphires are probably synthetic.

0:35:02 > 0:35:05- But it doesn't matter, because it's all about the design.- Mm.

0:35:05 > 0:35:09You know, the sapphires are there to complement the design,

0:35:09 > 0:35:11they're so small it doesn't really matter intrinsically

0:35:11 > 0:35:15- whether they're synthetic or whether they're real.- Yeah.

0:35:15 > 0:35:19And the setting itself is all this lovely little milgrain setting.

0:35:19 > 0:35:23You might bring it out of its box quite often. I think you actually,

0:35:23 > 0:35:25while you're washing up, you can try it on first.

0:35:25 > 0:35:27I should put it on to do the washing up or something.

0:35:27 > 0:35:31- I think you should. Don't you think? - Yeah, OK, I shall...- Spoil yourself.

0:35:31 > 0:35:35- Yes, OK.- Knowing that you're wearing something that's £2,500.

0:35:35 > 0:35:37Wow. Gosh. Thank you very much.

0:35:37 > 0:35:39Something to dance about, isn't it?

0:35:39 > 0:35:42Well, it'll certainly buy a few gin and tonics later.

0:35:42 > 0:35:43- I'm joining you.- OK!

0:35:46 > 0:35:50This is a wonderful group of medals. Who did they belong to?

0:35:50 > 0:35:53Well, they belonged to my late uncle, Colonel Terence Conner,

0:35:53 > 0:35:56who took part in a largely forgotten rebellion,

0:35:56 > 0:36:00- the 1930-32 Burma Rebellion. - Is this him?

0:36:00 > 0:36:02Yeah, that's him in all his splendour,

0:36:02 > 0:36:03taken at Buckingham Palace,

0:36:03 > 0:36:06actually, when he went to get his DSO and the King's Police Medal.

0:36:06 > 0:36:09That's a fantastic portrait, wonderful portrait,

0:36:09 > 0:36:12beautifully tinted, actually quite a sensitive photograph, isn't it?

0:36:12 > 0:36:14- Yes.- Tell me what he did.

0:36:14 > 0:36:17He was very fortunate in that he was in the British Indian Army

0:36:17 > 0:36:21and he volunteered to take part in the, what they called

0:36:21 > 0:36:24the Human Sacrifice and Slave Releasing Expeditions.

0:36:24 > 0:36:26That doesn't sound very fortunate to me.

0:36:26 > 0:36:28Well, he enjoyed that sort of thing.

0:36:28 > 0:36:31Basically they went into unexplored territory of Northern Burma

0:36:31 > 0:36:33where they were literally releasing slaves

0:36:33 > 0:36:35and going through the jungle to do so.

0:36:35 > 0:36:38- In order to try and quash slavery. - Absolutely.

0:36:38 > 0:36:40The one big problem was that

0:36:40 > 0:36:43there was great support for slavery in Upper Burma.

0:36:43 > 0:36:46Well, when the rebellion broke out in Burma in 1930,

0:36:46 > 0:36:50by complete coincidence his regiment was in Rangoon, so he got asked

0:36:50 > 0:36:53if he would go in and help them.

0:36:53 > 0:36:56And as a captain, he had a very prominent role indeed

0:36:56 > 0:36:58- in quashing the rebellion.- Yeah.

0:36:58 > 0:37:00And what's the relevance of this tunic?

0:37:00 > 0:37:04Well, the background is that a guy called Say Assan

0:37:04 > 0:37:07declared himself, on a hill in Burma, Magician King.

0:37:07 > 0:37:10And what he did was, to gain support, he told them all

0:37:10 > 0:37:13that he would be able to draw symbols and put them on their shirts

0:37:13 > 0:37:16so they would be completely invulnerable to British bullets and

0:37:16 > 0:37:20they could all charge forward and attack and they would all be fine.

0:37:20 > 0:37:22And you can see quite clearly from looking at it,

0:37:22 > 0:37:24that they weren't invulnerable to British bullets,

0:37:24 > 0:37:26because there's a big hole right in the middle.

0:37:26 > 0:37:29So it's covered in these extraordinary symbols.

0:37:29 > 0:37:33It looks like a tiger, these squares that, you know, the magic squares,

0:37:33 > 0:37:35that wherever you go they always add up to a certain number.

0:37:35 > 0:37:37- That's right. - That's what they look like.

0:37:37 > 0:37:39Have you ever had them deciphered?

0:37:39 > 0:37:42Well, I did speak to somebody at the British Library about it

0:37:42 > 0:37:44and she told me that they all do have a meaning,

0:37:44 > 0:37:47but I'm afraid I can't personally tell you what they mean.

0:37:47 > 0:37:49But they scared these guys enough that they thought

0:37:49 > 0:37:51they could just charge forward.

0:37:51 > 0:37:53Now let me ask you something about these medals.

0:37:53 > 0:37:56What was he awarded the Distinguished Service Order for?

0:37:56 > 0:37:58His bravery in the operations of going into the jungle

0:37:58 > 0:38:01for weeks on end, capturing rebels.

0:38:01 > 0:38:04And this certificate would have come with the DSO.

0:38:04 > 0:38:06Yes, absolutely right, yes.

0:38:06 > 0:38:09- And also here we have the King's Police Medal.- Yes.

0:38:09 > 0:38:12And that was awarded to him because he was seconded

0:38:12 > 0:38:15to the Military Police, the Burma Military Police, and so that's

0:38:15 > 0:38:18one of the highest awards they could give him for his time there.

0:38:18 > 0:38:20That's an unusual combination, I would think.

0:38:20 > 0:38:22Well, I believe it is, yes,

0:38:22 > 0:38:25because obviously it's a police medal accompanying military medals.

0:38:25 > 0:38:29They're very, very shiny. Why is that?

0:38:29 > 0:38:32Well, I keep them on display so once in a while, I clean them up.

0:38:32 > 0:38:36- OK, here's a warning. Don't polish them.- Right, OK.

0:38:36 > 0:38:40Every time you polish a medal, we rub a little bit of the metal off.

0:38:42 > 0:38:45You know, it's a very, very good group here.

0:38:45 > 0:38:49Um, you've got a fabulous photograph of him.

0:38:49 > 0:38:52You've got this maybe even unique

0:38:52 > 0:38:56tunic which documents

0:38:56 > 0:39:00a barbaric part of our colonial history.

0:39:00 > 0:39:03Historically, I think this is very, very important.

0:39:03 > 0:39:06It doesn't necessarily always translate to value, of course,

0:39:06 > 0:39:07- high value.- No.

0:39:07 > 0:39:12But, I think we'd be looking in terms of an auction value today

0:39:12 > 0:39:16- of between £7,000 and £9,000.- Wow!

0:39:16 > 0:39:18OK, I wasn't expecting that.

0:39:22 > 0:39:23It's incredible.

0:39:23 > 0:39:26I've got a huge garden pot, obviously,

0:39:26 > 0:39:27full of beautiful flowers.

0:39:27 > 0:39:31- Who's the gardener, is it you? - No, it's my wife.- It's your wife.

0:39:31 > 0:39:33I think she's got exceptionally green fingers,

0:39:33 > 0:39:36- by the looks of it.- Yes, she has. - And this is definitely a first,

0:39:36 > 0:39:38but the flowers are sort of slightly incidental to

0:39:38 > 0:39:43what I think is a rather interesting piece of stone work here.

0:39:43 > 0:39:47And I'm interested as to why it's residing in your garden.

0:39:47 > 0:39:50It had always been in the family, ever since I can remember,

0:39:50 > 0:39:54and we always thought it was a font, a church font.

0:39:54 > 0:39:58- Right.- But a few years ago we went to the Exeter Museum

0:39:58 > 0:40:04and there's one identical there. And they called it a granite mortar.

0:40:04 > 0:40:07Right, OK, well, you've hit the nail on the head.

0:40:07 > 0:40:10What essentially you have is a very large mortar.

0:40:10 > 0:40:15This isn't, in fact, granite, it's actually a type of grit stone.

0:40:15 > 0:40:17A mortar is an object that's used for grinding things,

0:40:17 > 0:40:21and in this case, it probably would have been used for grinding grain.

0:40:21 > 0:40:23It's rather large, sometimes these had what was called

0:40:23 > 0:40:27sort of like a quern stone which sat in the top of them and would rotate.

0:40:27 > 0:40:29Has it got a hole in the bottom of it?

0:40:29 > 0:40:32- Yes, it does have a hole in the bottom.- OK, well, that's interesting

0:40:32 > 0:40:35because that could also define the way in which it was used,

0:40:35 > 0:40:37but I also see that it's got some lips on it as well.

0:40:37 > 0:40:41- Mmm.- So essentially used for grinding material.

0:40:41 > 0:40:46The form of it is very characteristic of medieval mortars.

0:40:46 > 0:40:47Medieval?

0:40:47 > 0:40:50So you are putting your flowers in an object

0:40:50 > 0:40:52that is 500 or 600 years old.

0:40:55 > 0:40:58Well, at one time, we kept fish in it.

0:40:58 > 0:41:00- You kept fish in it?- Yes.

0:41:00 > 0:41:01THEY LAUGH

0:41:01 > 0:41:03Well, garden pots can be quite expensive to buy.

0:41:03 > 0:41:06Even if you go down to your local garden centre, you can pay

0:41:06 > 0:41:08quite a lot of money for quite an ordinary garden pot.

0:41:08 > 0:41:10This is no ordinary garden pot

0:41:10 > 0:41:13and it appeals to a really kind of interesting type of collector,

0:41:13 > 0:41:18the sort of collector that likes old oak period objects, and if you

0:41:18 > 0:41:22went to a specialist sale that was selling those kind of objects, you

0:41:22 > 0:41:27would have to pay between £600 and £1,000 to buy this medieval mortar.

0:41:27 > 0:41:28£600 to £1,000?

0:41:30 > 0:41:32That's with the flowers or without the flowers?

0:41:32 > 0:41:34That's without the flowers!

0:41:41 > 0:41:44I can picture these behind a half peeled lemon

0:41:44 > 0:41:47and a lobster in one of those

0:41:47 > 0:41:49Dutch still life paintings.

0:41:49 > 0:41:52I can imagine it in one of those as well. At the moment they've just

0:41:52 > 0:41:56been sitting on top of the kitchen cabinet at home, gathering dust.

0:41:56 > 0:41:58- Do you know hold old these are? - I haven't got a clue how old

0:41:58 > 0:42:01they are. They don't belong to me, they do belong to my mother

0:42:01 > 0:42:04and she thought that they were Ming export,

0:42:04 > 0:42:07which came, obviously, later on,

0:42:07 > 0:42:11in the style of, to be shipped overseas, not for home consumption.

0:42:11 > 0:42:14That's "I believe", I don't know.

0:42:14 > 0:42:16She's mostly right, but let's have a look at that.

0:42:16 > 0:42:18Ming export.

0:42:18 > 0:42:21The Ming dynasty finished in 1644 so they're going to be,

0:42:21 > 0:42:25if she's right, they're going to be before that.

0:42:25 > 0:42:28It's a type of porcelain which is called Kraak porcelain.

0:42:28 > 0:42:30And it's not because it's broken,

0:42:30 > 0:42:34it's because it was transported to Europe from China

0:42:34 > 0:42:38in boats which were called carracks, which is a Portuguese vessel.

0:42:38 > 0:42:41Historically, for me, these type of vases, they do

0:42:41 > 0:42:43represent the East-West trade

0:42:43 > 0:42:46and it's going right back to the beginning of the 17th century.

0:42:46 > 0:42:48- The Dutch East India Company...- Yes.

0:42:48 > 0:42:51..has records of things that they call Persian bottles.

0:42:51 > 0:42:52Persian bottles.

0:42:52 > 0:42:55And this is what they called Persian bottles...

0:42:55 > 0:42:57- Oh, really?- ..in their records in the 17th century.

0:42:57 > 0:43:02- There was a ship that sank in 1643. - Yes.

0:43:03 > 0:43:05And a number of these came out of that ship.

0:43:05 > 0:43:07- These date from that time.- Really?

0:43:07 > 0:43:10I am flabbergasted, we thought it was well after that date.

0:43:10 > 0:43:131643.

0:43:13 > 0:43:16Well, they are from the first 40-odd years of the 17th century,

0:43:16 > 0:43:20so shortly after Shakespeare, shortly after Elizabeth I.

0:43:20 > 0:43:23- They're really old things. - That's very exciting.

0:43:23 > 0:43:27I can tell they're very highly prized by the fact

0:43:27 > 0:43:28if you touch them,

0:43:28 > 0:43:31no-one's allowed to pick them up in your house, are they?

0:43:31 > 0:43:33They're filthy, you positively stick to them.

0:43:33 > 0:43:38You do, it's that kitchen grime you get on things and the paint.

0:43:38 > 0:43:42It's absolutely, they're revolting to touch, absolutely revolting.

0:43:42 > 0:43:46They won't be marked, it's very, very rare for Kraak porcelain to

0:43:46 > 0:43:49- be marked, no marks on the base. - Nothing.

0:43:49 > 0:43:51The bodies are slightly moulded.

0:43:51 > 0:43:53You do know they're not a pair?

0:43:53 > 0:43:56I kind of wondered whether they were or not,

0:43:56 > 0:43:58but they are quite different when you look at them.

0:43:58 > 0:44:00They're not a pair, they're two very similar bottles

0:44:00 > 0:44:03and they've been hand painted in Jingdezhen.

0:44:03 > 0:44:07This one has a slight crack in it, very slight crack on the back,

0:44:07 > 0:44:09and it does affect the value.

0:44:10 > 0:44:13Together in auction today,

0:44:13 > 0:44:15they're worth around about

0:44:15 > 0:44:17£3,000 to £5,000.

0:44:17 > 0:44:20Wow, we weren't even going to bring them today as well.

0:44:20 > 0:44:21That's wonderful.

0:44:25 > 0:44:27This is my fifth visit to the Antiques Roadshow

0:44:27 > 0:44:31and every time I come I really enjoy my day.

0:44:31 > 0:44:32Well, I'm very glad to hear that.

0:44:32 > 0:44:35I've had the most appalling 24 hours.

0:44:35 > 0:44:38Last night on the way home I badly broke my arm and I've spent most of

0:44:38 > 0:44:43the night in hospital, hardly slept, haven't shaved, feeling terrible.

0:44:43 > 0:44:45And I don't mean to ruin your day

0:44:45 > 0:44:48when I tell you that the reason why I picked out these two spoons

0:44:48 > 0:44:51is because in actual fact they've got bogus marks on them.

0:44:51 > 0:44:55- Right.- They're fakes.

0:44:55 > 0:44:59- The marks on them look like London hallmarks of 1816.- Yes.

0:44:59 > 0:45:03- But in actual fact, they're on them to deceive.- OK.

0:45:03 > 0:45:07They're made by a man called Lawrence Twentyman, who was

0:45:07 > 0:45:12a silversmith working in Cape Town in South Africa in about 1820.

0:45:12 > 0:45:17He put on London marks to persuade his customers that he was

0:45:17 > 0:45:20selling them London quality silverware, when in fact

0:45:20 > 0:45:23he wasn't, he was making them in his little studio in Cape Town.

0:45:23 > 0:45:26Now did you buy these spoons or have you been left them?

0:45:26 > 0:45:30No, I found them amongst the possessions of my aunt after

0:45:30 > 0:45:34she died and they'd actually been in a drawer for about seven years

0:45:34 > 0:45:39and I just thought I'd bring a box of silver spoons to you today

0:45:39 > 0:45:42and you just happened to pull these two out of the box.

0:45:42 > 0:45:43And was she from South Africa?

0:45:43 > 0:45:48No, she wasn't, but my grandfather spent time in South Africa,

0:45:48 > 0:45:53- so possibly that's how they came into her possession.- Right.

0:45:53 > 0:45:56These are silver spoons and if they were London quality,

0:45:56 > 0:45:58if they had genuine hallmarks on

0:45:58 > 0:46:02and were of the quality of a London spoon maker, they'd be worth

0:46:02 > 0:46:04- somewhere in the order of £40 to £50 each.- Yes.

0:46:04 > 0:46:06But they're not.

0:46:06 > 0:46:08They're worth £80 to £100 each.

0:46:08 > 0:46:11Are they really? That's amazing.

0:46:14 > 0:46:16Now there's dogs and there's dogs

0:46:16 > 0:46:18and these are dogs, aren't they?!

0:46:18 > 0:46:21And it's got the signature here on the collar of T Earl,

0:46:21 > 0:46:24so I suppose that's Thomas Earl, 1868.

0:46:24 > 0:46:27Now, he came from a family that was famous for painting dogs,

0:46:27 > 0:46:30- they were really, really good at it. - Right.

0:46:30 > 0:46:32Such character in their animals

0:46:32 > 0:46:35and as you can see, this is an absolute master of it.

0:46:35 > 0:46:37I love them, I think they're absolutely terrific.

0:46:37 > 0:46:40What made you get them? Did you get them or inherit them?

0:46:40 > 0:46:43Oh, no, a huge accident. We went to an auction,

0:46:43 > 0:46:46because I'd seen a picture of a little Jack Russell, it looked

0:46:46 > 0:46:50quite sweet, and off we went, and we were just leaving, having thought

0:46:50 > 0:46:53the Jack Russell, was quite nice, and there was, this picture was by

0:46:53 > 0:46:59the door and it was just a study in brown, it was covered in brown goo.

0:46:59 > 0:47:02- Oh, you mean dirty? - Filthy, damaged frame,

0:47:02 > 0:47:04and I don't know quite why,

0:47:04 > 0:47:07but just sort of hanging round waiting to go and looked at it

0:47:07 > 0:47:10and I thought, "Ooh, I think they're nice," and just said to my husband

0:47:10 > 0:47:14as we left, "If I could take anything home, it would be that."

0:47:14 > 0:47:20"Oh, yeah?" Anyway, unbeknown to me, my husband went to the auction

0:47:20 > 0:47:22and in actual fact bought it,

0:47:22 > 0:47:25unbeknown to me, AND the Jack Russell.

0:47:25 > 0:47:28He only bought this because it didn't sort of make much money.

0:47:28 > 0:47:29I see, a bargain.

0:47:29 > 0:47:33- Sort of. Well...- How much money?

0:47:33 > 0:47:36- Probably around a thousand.- Oh, OK.

0:47:36 > 0:47:39And anyway it was, you know, oh, we did a bit of that

0:47:39 > 0:47:42and we thought, "Oh, well, you know," and we were referred to

0:47:42 > 0:47:46somebody who did a lovely job of lifting off all the filth and

0:47:46 > 0:47:50we found these lovely boys, and he said it was worth doing the frame.

0:47:50 > 0:47:53So we went and invested another 3.8 million

0:47:53 > 0:47:56and had the frame touched up.

0:47:56 > 0:47:59It's all a great job, though, it looks terrific.

0:47:59 > 0:48:00He's so photographic, as well.

0:48:00 > 0:48:03And look at the glistening on the lip of that dog.

0:48:03 > 0:48:05It's so cleverly caught, the light like that.

0:48:05 > 0:48:07- Who, Earl?- Yeah, Earl.- Right.

0:48:07 > 0:48:10And he never really bothers much with backgrounds, you know,

0:48:10 > 0:48:12you've got this really sort of boring sky

0:48:12 > 0:48:14and a bit of sort of vestigial heather to set them.

0:48:14 > 0:48:17He's much more interested in the character of the animals,

0:48:17 > 0:48:19and that he's caught brilliantly. Look at this chap's eyes.

0:48:19 > 0:48:21It is the eyes that do it for me

0:48:21 > 0:48:24and each of them seem to be telling a slightly different story to me.

0:48:24 > 0:48:26I think there's an age difference.

0:48:26 > 0:48:29- Different characters, age difference.- Yes, probably

0:48:29 > 0:48:31- an old boy.- The old boy bringing on the younger dog.

0:48:31 > 0:48:33- A young jumped-up, yeah. - They're chained together

0:48:33 > 0:48:35- so this one learns from that one. - I believe so.

0:48:35 > 0:48:38- That's fascinating, I didn't know that.- I think that's how

0:48:38 > 0:48:41they train them, I don't know. I could be making it up.

0:48:41 > 0:48:42One thing I do know is what it's worth

0:48:42 > 0:48:46and since that's what we're partly here for, I'm going to tell you.

0:48:46 > 0:48:50- How long ago?- Five years, I think. - Five years ago, yeah.

0:48:50 > 0:48:53Well, I think now it's worth between £10,000 and £15,000.

0:48:53 > 0:48:57- Woo-hoo, that's all right. Each? - LAUGHTER

0:48:57 > 0:48:58Don't push me.

0:49:10 > 0:49:12Well, it's a very pretty little easel box.

0:49:12 > 0:49:14Am I going to see something lovely in it?

0:49:14 > 0:49:16I certainly hope so, yes.

0:49:16 > 0:49:18Let me open it up and peek,

0:49:18 > 0:49:22if I can get it open, there we go.

0:49:22 > 0:49:24Oh, oh, ooh.

0:49:25 > 0:49:28Well there's the magic word, Rolex, Prince Imperial.

0:49:28 > 0:49:33- Mm-hm.- That's a lovely thing indeed

0:49:33 > 0:49:35and note that little tag.

0:49:35 > 0:49:37How long have you had this for?

0:49:37 > 0:49:40- About 40 years. - Have you ever used it?

0:49:40 > 0:49:44No, no, it's just been in a box in the wardrobe.

0:49:44 > 0:49:45It's absolutely mint.

0:49:45 > 0:49:50I mean, with this little tag which has got its movement number,

0:49:50 > 0:49:54it's what we call new old stock, I mean, it's unused.

0:49:54 > 0:49:58It's a typical Rolex 1930s dress watch,

0:49:58 > 0:50:02it's a duo-dial Prince Imperial, it's stunning.

0:50:02 > 0:50:04Do you find it pleasing?

0:50:04 > 0:50:06Oh, yes, very, I think it's very attractive.

0:50:06 > 0:50:10- Have you ever had the back off? Probably not.- No, never.- Do you mind

0:50:10 > 0:50:12- if I take it off? - No, I'd love to see inside.

0:50:12 > 0:50:16I'm going to have to put this on because it's a fiddly little job.

0:50:16 > 0:50:17So off comes the back.

0:50:19 > 0:50:23Now, look at that, if I pop those two there...

0:50:24 > 0:50:31..and start with the movement, which is observatory quality.

0:50:31 > 0:50:33- Is it?- That is THE top quality,

0:50:33 > 0:50:36it says observatory on the ratchet wheel, that is absolutely

0:50:36 > 0:50:39magnificent and the case,

0:50:39 > 0:50:41all the Rolex marks

0:50:41 > 0:50:43and it's 18 carat gold.

0:50:43 > 0:50:45Mm, I see.

0:50:45 > 0:50:47And this bit of paperwork which you've brought along

0:50:47 > 0:50:50is its chronometer certificate

0:50:50 > 0:50:52from October 1934.

0:50:54 > 0:50:58I have never seen one with the original box,

0:50:58 > 0:51:03- with the original certificate and its original tag.- Mm.

0:51:03 > 0:51:04It's in unused condition.

0:51:04 > 0:51:06Do you remember anybody wearing it ever?

0:51:06 > 0:51:10No. No, no, it's always been in the box.

0:51:10 > 0:51:13- Why has nobody used it? - I don't know why.

0:51:13 > 0:51:17It's absolutely extraordinary to come across it like this.

0:51:19 > 0:51:23Well, the nine-carat gold ones that are a bit rubbed

0:51:23 > 0:51:29fetch at auction around about £2,000 to £2,500.

0:51:29 > 0:51:31- Mm-hm.- That is nine-carat.

0:51:31 > 0:51:32- Yes.- Yours is 18-carat.

0:51:32 > 0:51:38- Yes.- So I'm going to say £4,400 to £5,000.

0:51:38 > 0:51:44This is mint with all its paperwork and its tags and its box.

0:51:44 > 0:51:48Collectors, particularly Far Eastern collectors, go mad

0:51:48 > 0:51:51for this at the moment and I have no hesitation in saying to you that

0:51:51 > 0:51:55at auction, in this condition, it will fetch

0:51:55 > 0:51:58- between £7,000 and £10,000. - Good heavens.

0:51:58 > 0:52:01And the problem is, it'll just go back into a drawer again, won't it?

0:52:01 > 0:52:06Yes. Well I'm not sure about that. I shall have to think about that.

0:52:06 > 0:52:10I've got a postcard here of somebody. Who's this?

0:52:10 > 0:52:14It's my grandfather's uncle. He was on the Titanic.

0:52:14 > 0:52:16He was the youngest survivor of the Titanic's father,

0:52:16 > 0:52:19Millvina Dean, who was nine weeks old at the time.

0:52:19 > 0:52:21- She was nine weeks old.- Yes.

0:52:21 > 0:52:25- OK, and she survived? - Yes, she was put in a mail sack

0:52:25 > 0:52:30- and put on the life rafts below with her mother and her father.- Right.

0:52:30 > 0:52:33But he died saving people to put on the life rafts with them.

0:52:33 > 0:52:35So sad.

0:52:35 > 0:52:41And the postcard is written just before they leave on the Titanic.

0:52:41 > 0:52:43Just before they left, yes.

0:52:43 > 0:52:45And he's writing it - who's Violet, he's writing to?

0:52:45 > 0:52:48- My great-grandmother. - OK, and he says,

0:52:48 > 0:52:52"just a card to ask you if I shall

0:52:52 > 0:52:56"come home or not before I go away.

0:52:56 > 0:52:59"Let me know, love from Bert."

0:52:59 > 0:53:02Yes, he was writing to see whether he should go home to say

0:53:02 > 0:53:04goodbye to the family before he left.

0:53:04 > 0:53:06- And do we know if he did? - No, he didn't.

0:53:06 > 0:53:10He didn't. It's so sad, isn't it? It's awful.

0:53:10 > 0:53:14And then the book here is inscribed to you.

0:53:14 > 0:53:16To me, yes, it's from Millvina

0:53:16 > 0:53:20when she started getting involved with the Titanic experience

0:53:20 > 0:53:25and she wrote it to me when I was two years old as a keepsake.

0:53:25 > 0:53:27OK, and when you say she started to get involved,

0:53:27 > 0:53:31it's dated 1995, so does that mean for a long period of her life

0:53:31 > 0:53:34- she didn't want to have anything to do with it?- No.

0:53:34 > 0:53:38Her brother went forward and helped with all the memorabilia

0:53:38 > 0:53:41of the Titanic, but at first she didn't want to,

0:53:41 > 0:53:44until her brother died and she was older, and then

0:53:44 > 0:53:48she lived an amazing life with going to America and just seeing everybody

0:53:48 > 0:53:51and doing talks on the Titanic and her experiences and what she knows.

0:53:51 > 0:53:54OK, and then she died, when did she die, then?

0:53:54 > 0:53:57She died on the 31st May 2009, my birthday.

0:53:57 > 0:54:00- Oh.- She was such a lovely person, so bubbly,

0:54:00 > 0:54:03- she always had stories to tell. - Really?- She was amazing, yes.- Well,

0:54:03 > 0:54:06- like you, you're telling the story now, it's brilliant.- Continuing it.

0:54:06 > 0:54:11Absolutely, and as you obviously know, there's a huge interest,

0:54:11 > 0:54:13there's a big market in Titanic material,

0:54:13 > 0:54:18anything related to the Titanic, but particularly survivors and it does

0:54:18 > 0:54:22have monetary value as well as the sentimental value obviously to you.

0:54:22 > 0:54:26I think the card on its own would easily

0:54:26 > 0:54:30- be worth £1,000 to £1,500. - Really?- I do.

0:54:30 > 0:54:33I can easily see the book inscribed, personally inscribed to you

0:54:33 > 0:54:35from her, making £500 to £1,000,

0:54:35 > 0:54:40so overall we're looking at certainly £1,500 to £2,500.

0:54:40 > 0:54:43I didn't expect that. Thank you, that's amazing.

0:54:46 > 0:54:50This seems to be a matching pair of plates, but one's painted

0:54:50 > 0:54:55with a comical Chinaman and here we've got a figure of a king.

0:54:55 > 0:54:59They're very peculiar. What do you know about them?

0:54:59 > 0:55:05I remember them on the wall of my husband's parents' house

0:55:05 > 0:55:09and traditionally in the family they were said to be very valuable,

0:55:09 > 0:55:13but no-one else seemed to know anything else about them and in

0:55:13 > 0:55:16due course they came to my husband and when I asked him about them, he

0:55:16 > 0:55:20said all he knows about them is that they came from his mother's family.

0:55:20 > 0:55:22- They're Delftware.- Right.

0:55:22 > 0:55:26- I don't know if you've heard of the term Delft at all.- Yes, yes.

0:55:26 > 0:55:30I mean, which is, in a way the European copy of Chinese porcelain

0:55:30 > 0:55:32before we knew how to make the real stuff.

0:55:32 > 0:55:36Crude pottery covered with a white tin glaze and that's what these are.

0:55:36 > 0:55:40And most of the early Delft is copying Chinese designs

0:55:40 > 0:55:43and that's what, the design we have here, I suppose.

0:55:43 > 0:55:48- What's curious is the palette and the colouring they're in.- Right.

0:55:48 > 0:55:51We've got some nice mix of colours which does indicate really

0:55:51 > 0:55:54quite an early date. So we're looking back here

0:55:54 > 0:55:57into the 17th century, but one thing we do find in early Delft

0:55:57 > 0:56:02often are portraits of the reigning kings and queens of the time.

0:56:02 > 0:56:06- Right.- And so one wonders here what this chap might be.

0:56:06 > 0:56:10So there, a very splendid king with a sceptre

0:56:10 > 0:56:13and I suppose he's holding a letter or a scroll.

0:56:13 > 0:56:14Who do you think he is?

0:56:14 > 0:56:17I really, really don't have a clue, I'm afraid.

0:56:17 > 0:56:19He must be a British king.

0:56:19 > 0:56:24One tries to think of dates from the plates and looking at the designs.

0:56:24 > 0:56:28I've seen one once before with a similar king which depicts

0:56:28 > 0:56:32James II. I think that's probably who he is.

0:56:32 > 0:56:36- Oh, goodness. - So that goes back to 1685-1688,

0:56:36 > 0:56:38a relatively short reign,

0:56:38 > 0:56:43so you've got a pair of plates here, probably made in London, I think,

0:56:43 > 0:56:47- but they're about as rare as you can get.- Really?

0:56:47 > 0:56:50I mean, this one is in a bit of a shocking state.

0:56:50 > 0:56:52- Yes.- It's been broken in half.

0:56:52 > 0:56:56- Someone liked it enough to stitch it together, just about.- Yes.

0:56:56 > 0:56:59- But it's barely held together now. - Yes, yes.

0:56:59 > 0:57:03But this is really quite an important piece of pottery, because

0:57:03 > 0:57:07you've got a picture of the king on a rare shape, in rare colours.

0:57:07 > 0:57:10- Delft doesn't get much more special than this.- Really?

0:57:10 > 0:57:13So we can forgive it a bit the poor condition.

0:57:13 > 0:57:16- Right.- So let's think.

0:57:16 > 0:57:21The perfect but Chinese subject one, shall we say

0:57:21 > 0:57:24- £10,000 to £20,000.- Oh!

0:57:24 > 0:57:27SHE GASPS

0:57:29 > 0:57:30The very broken one...

0:57:32 > 0:57:34Well, it's got to be more than that.

0:57:34 > 0:57:37- Oh, my God!- So at least £20,000.

0:57:39 > 0:57:40Oh, my God!

0:57:42 > 0:57:45Together as a pair, £30,000 or more!

0:57:49 > 0:57:53- I brought them in my handbag! - LAUGHTER

0:57:53 > 0:57:56That's all right, I'm sure it's a good, strong handbag.

0:57:57 > 0:57:59Speechless.

0:58:01 > 0:58:03Oh, can I cry now?

0:58:04 > 0:58:06Yes, yes.

0:58:07 > 0:58:10It's not often that we see tears on the programme,

0:58:10 > 0:58:12but thankfully these were tears of joy.

0:58:13 > 0:58:17From Exeter Cathedral and the Antiques Roadshow team, bye-bye.