0:00:03 > 0:00:07In the year that Scotland decides on its potential independence,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10what more fitting place to be than Scone Palace,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13where the first Scottish Council sat over 1,000 years ago.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow, from Perth.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07This is Moot Hill, in the grounds of Scone Palace.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And this is the legendary Stone of Scone.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Where exactly it comes from is a mystery,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21but since the Ninth Century,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24every monarch of Scotland has been seated upon it
0:01:24 > 0:01:28for their coronation ceremony, including Robert the Bruce.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Except, this isn't the real stone, this is a copy.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35The real stone - as all the guidebooks will tell you - is in Edinburgh.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37But that's not what everyone believes.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43After Edward I had conquered Scotland in 1296,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45he ordered the stone be taken to Westminster Abbey.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52There, it was placed into the Coronation Chair, upon which
0:01:52 > 0:01:56every monarch of our nation has sat to be crowned ever since.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Of course, this isn't the real Coronation Chair -
0:01:59 > 0:02:02the real Coronation Chair is in Westminster Abbey - but some
0:02:02 > 0:02:07people believe that the stone in that chair isn't real either.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15The story goes that when the Abbot of Scone heard Edward's men were coming, he had a copy made
0:02:15 > 0:02:18and hid the actual stone somewhere in the palace grounds.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22After all, it was one of the nation's most sacred objects.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27If the story's true, it would mean that the stone that's been used
0:02:27 > 0:02:30for generations of monarchs in the coronation ceremony, right up to
0:02:30 > 0:02:34the present day with Queen Elizabeth II, that that stone is a copy.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37And the story doesn't end there.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40On Christmas morning, 1950, the stone was stolen
0:02:40 > 0:02:45from Westminster Abbey by a group of Scottish students.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Four months later, it turned up at Arbroath Abbey
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and, from there, it was returned to London.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54So which is the real Stone of Scone?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Well, you'll never stop the rumours, but one thing's for sure,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01this is probably the most contentious stone in Britain.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Out on the palace lawns, our experts are ready to take up
0:03:07 > 0:03:09the quest of unearthing some treasures themselves.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And if you want to try your hand at valuing antiques, why not play along
0:03:12 > 0:03:16via our app, or by pressing the red button on your remote control?
0:03:16 > 0:03:17Best of luck.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23The wonderful world of jewellery is always full of surprises.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Now, when I picked this out, the surprise on your face!
0:03:27 > 0:03:28What did you think?
0:03:28 > 0:03:32It's... I find it kind of hideous.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- Do you?- I phoned Mum, and I said, "Mum, she picked the ugly one!"
0:03:35 > 0:03:37JOANNA LAUGHS
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Well, this is what's interesting,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43- because you had, actually, a cameo and a diamond watch.- Uh-huh.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And then you had this as well. Now, quite an eclectic...
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Two very traditional pieces of jewellery, and then this.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52So how did you acquire this? How did your mother get this?
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Um, it was given to her by her godmother, who lived in Edinburgh.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58And has she worn it? Have you seen your mother wear it?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- I've never seen her wear it. - The ugly brooch.- Yes!
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Well, this is the beauty of jewellery, that we do tend to
0:04:05 > 0:04:07think of jewellery being traditional,
0:04:07 > 0:04:08with diamonds and silver
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and the antique and gold, but there is a whole other
0:04:11 > 0:04:15world of jewellery out there which I actually get very excited about.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17And this is from the '60s.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20After the war, jewellery wasn't really that exciting,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22it was very traditional,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26and then in the '60s, people were wanting to really break out.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30They were breaking out everywhere else, in fashion and music,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34but what hadn't happened was jewellery - it was left behind.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40But there was one person that initiated innovative design
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and creativity, and putting the creativity back into jewellery,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47but he used stones in their natural way.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51The '60s was all about being organic, going with the flow,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55using rock crystals, not cutting stones to a traditional way.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00So there was another person that was also of the same thought,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02and he was called Charles de Temple.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Now, I'm going to turn it over...
0:05:06 > 0:05:09..and you see this magic signature of Charles de Temple.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I got so excited when I saw that, I really did.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17You know, he's quite an unknown jeweller of the '60s period,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20but he had quite an exciting life.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23He worked in very different areas of art.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26He worked with Alexander Calder, the sculptor, Pierre Cardin,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29with Paco Rabanne in the fashion world.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33So these influences brought his designs into being something
0:05:33 > 0:05:39very innovative and different, and this is one such piece.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43It isn't about the intrinsic value there,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48but do you see that he's used these topaz crystals, uncut crystals?
0:05:48 > 0:05:52- Mmm, yes.- And he's got two cultured pearls there,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56and it's nine-carat gold. It was made in England.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It's quite stunning.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01So, I mean, value...
0:06:01 > 0:06:03In an auction at the moment,
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I would say it's in the region of about £3,000.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10LAUGHTER
0:06:11 > 0:06:17- Wow! Mum said to me about 250. - £250?- Yes.
0:06:17 > 0:06:18It's no longer an ugly brooch!
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Oh, my goodness.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30There are snuff bottles and there are snuff bottles.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32You know, I think it's stunning work.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- I mean, what do you think about it? - I think it's lovely.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And have you had it long?
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Um, it belonged to my late husband's family.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I've had it for maybe about 20 years.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44At the front of the bottle here -
0:06:44 > 0:06:47I'm not sure which is the front and the back, the carving's so amazing -
0:06:47 > 0:06:52there's a nobleman being served some food in a landscaped garden.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55At the back of the bottle here,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57we have a lady at her toilet,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00being attended to. One of the attendants is holding a mirror
0:07:00 > 0:07:02and another one's combing her hair.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Round the back of the figures,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08there's detail, behind the figures,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10and it's relief, but it's such high relief, it's amazing.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14It's been polychromed, you know, it's been painted, as you can see.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- Yes.- It's made of ivory. It's stunning, it really is.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It's one of the nicest I've ever seen.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23It's a good size. Often, they can be dinky, tiny things,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26but this one is very substantial and collectors love these.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- Do they?- I mean, have you ever taken it anywhere to have it valued?
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- No idea of its value?- No, none.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Well, it's 19th Century,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38and this is such a fine example of this relief carving.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It's got a little chip here and, of course, the lid of the snuff
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- and the snuff spoon is missing.- Yes.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- It would have had a domed lid, probably coral.- Oh, right.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Coral and jet maybe, like a jet ring with a coral dome lid.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- That's missing, and that's a shame. - Right.- Some people
0:07:52 > 0:07:55would probably value this at 800 to 1,200,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58but I'm going to stick my neck out, and I think in the right auction,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03to a collector that doesn't have an ivory bottle of this quality,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I think they could spend as much as £3,000 on this.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- Oh, my goodness!- I really do. - Oh, my goodness!
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Coming to Scotland, the one thing I left at home this year -
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- not expecting this wonderful day - was my sunhat.- Oh, dear.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19So when you turned up at my desk with this hatbox,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23I thought, "Going to make my day," because you've brought me a sunhat.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- Very good. - So, um, let's have a quick look.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29If you'd just like to hold on to that.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Not a hat, but something that looks a bit like a hat.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40- I think this is a hat maker's machine.- Yes, I believe it is.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- How it works is that your customer would come in...- Yeah.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48..you would have very delicately placed this on your customer's head,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- something like that...- Yeah. - ..and pressed it down.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54- I won't do it now because it's quite delicate.- That's right.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59And all these little levers at the side would have moved out
0:08:59 > 0:09:03to make an exact impression around your...where the
0:09:03 > 0:09:05- brim of the hat would have gone. - That's right, aye.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- And how did that get recorded? - Well, as far as I understand,
0:09:09 > 0:09:15the pins in this machine then formed the shape of the person's head
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and these formed an impression on this piece of paper here,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and that was a way of recording somebody's head shape and size.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24So I believe.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- But this is so beautifully made, isn't it?- I know.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31- I mean, it's not cheap and cheerful. - No.- It's made out of ebony, brass.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- Yeah.- And all the little keys here are mother-of-pearl.
0:09:34 > 0:09:35I know. It's amazingly complicated.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I think this was a first-class hatter, don't you?
0:09:38 > 0:09:39I think it must have been.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42It came from an old shop in Dundee that was being cleared out.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44It was a gents' outfitters
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and the people clearing out the cellar gave me a phone call, saying,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49"There's something that you might be interested in."
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- So I acquired it just recently, actually.- Fantastic.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55What I like about it also is that it has the name of the maker,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Allie Aine, of Paris.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And although you've got this miniature impression here,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04how was that then transformed into the full-size hat?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- I see there's another piece in here. - That's right.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11So if we just take that out and ask you to put the lid back on...
0:10:11 > 0:10:14So you've got this paper impression, which was in miniature.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- That's right.- And then what happened?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Well, as I understand it, then they took this piece here,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and I suppose there were pins put in there,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and they would match the pinholes on the paper and then this would
0:10:26 > 0:10:32then slide out and form a shape of the person's head exactly so.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- Clever stuff, wasn't it? - Complicated stuff, yes.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39But clever, so it made... It ensured that your hat was made to measure.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Yeah, absolutely made to measure and unique to that individual.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Well, I can tell you that this manufacturer patented this model
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- in 1846.- Oh, right, yeah.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- This was probably made a few years later, so 1850, mid-Victorian.- OK.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I think it's a fantastic idea,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57it's a wonderful contraption and quite rare.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- I'll tell you how much I paid, if you want.- If you like.- 100 quid.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- You got the whole lot for 100 quid? - Yes.- Why wasn't I there?!
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Well, I didn't really know what it was or what it was worth, so it was just a guess.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- But for £100, you're not going to lose.- Well, that's what I felt. - Yeah, well, I love it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I mean, I think it's just a lovely piece of Victorian mechanism,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17beautifully made, very high quality, top Paris maker.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20I think at auction, you're talking between £600 to £800 now.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Well, that's not bad. I think I might sell it.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24LAUGHTER
0:11:27 > 0:11:30We've seen, inevitably, a lot of Monart come in today,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34because it was made here and it's your glass. You know, it's really...
0:11:34 > 0:11:37You can't get more Perth than Monart. So this is
0:11:37 > 0:11:41a particularly nice one, and where did it come into your life?
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Well, basically, it was my uncle's,
0:11:44 > 0:11:50and when he died, I was his sole relative, really.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56I had to clear the house and that was where we found it, 21 years ago,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58and I was putting it to the charity.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00OK, so why didn't you?
0:12:00 > 0:12:05Because somebody told me it was Monart and my husband said,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07"Well, no, we will keep it."
0:12:07 > 0:12:09So the number-one rule
0:12:09 > 0:12:12of recognising Monart is - turn it over.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16And in the centre of the base, there is a unique... Over the years,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I worked out the other day that I've probably handled half a million
0:12:19 > 0:12:24pieces of glass in my time, and the only ones ever that I've ever
0:12:24 > 0:12:27handled that have this projecting mark there, pontil mark,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29the raised pontil mark, only Monart,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31in the history of world glass-making.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35So if it's got that, then the chances are it's plain,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38it's just polished off, and they put the paper sticker just on there.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42That's how it was. This is known as the Cloisonne range.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Cloisonne is enamelling.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49It means where little fields are filled in with colour,
0:12:49 > 0:12:54and this reference to cloisonne are these little fields of colour here.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58So it was a really a difficult one to make, and the orange
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and the white field, they cooled at different temperatures
0:13:02 > 0:13:05because they're different chemical properties, and they cracked.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- Right.- So most of these were lost.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10So they didn't make many of them because, really, it was a pain,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13they proved a pain. They tried them, they didn't work very well.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15About 1935, thereabouts.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17So you've got a rare piece,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- so it's an extra pleasure that you didn't, you know, bin it.- Yes.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25And if you get the idea, what they do is, they dip it in the colour...
0:13:25 > 0:13:27If you think of toffee apple, they put the orange...
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- dipped the orange into some white glass.- Uh-huh.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33And then you blow it. It's like the creation of the world, you know,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36all the continents parting from a single mass. That's what it's like.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40And, as such, as a rare piece, even though these have probably lost almost half their value -
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Monart as a genre has lost half its value over the last ten years -
0:13:44 > 0:13:47this one, still, in auction, you selling it,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50is between £600 and £700,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54which makes it the most valuable piece of Monart I've seen today.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Well, I was offered 100 for it at the time, but...
0:13:58 > 0:14:00No, that's excellent.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Gosh, it's been sitting in a cupboard!
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Get it out. Give it some air.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Now, here's a very relaxed horse
0:14:10 > 0:14:13after what I think must have been a pretty severe workout,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16because we've got all the grooming materials here
0:14:16 > 0:14:17and he's tucking into some
0:14:17 > 0:14:19well-earned hay, by the looks of it.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22And it's by John Emms, 1892.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- Was it your family's? - Yes, it's a family picture.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28My grandfather was a Royal Scots Grey.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32He had an affiliation for any grey painted horse.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- It's a fine grey, isn't it? - It is. Beautiful.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38I mean, the thing about John Emms is, he was a superb horseman.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40I mean, usually, you'd expect to see a few dogs around as well,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42because he was very good at painting dogs.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46They always have these extraordinary human characteristics about them.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49But this horse does too. It's a splendid grey and it's...
0:14:49 > 0:14:52There's a label on the back that says the grey's name is Champion.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- So that doesn't ring any bells with you in your family?- It doesn't, no.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58- So it's just a grey.- Yeah.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Well, it's beautiful, and he understood the anatomy of a horse
0:15:01 > 0:15:04so well, I think. You know, if you can imagine that he spent
0:15:04 > 0:15:07some time in the abattoir - sorry about this - looking at dead horses,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10I mean, it's the only way you understand about muscles and bones.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And then if you look at this horse, you can see that
0:15:13 > 0:15:16every muscle - even though it's quite quickly painted -
0:15:16 > 0:15:20is well understood, and this horse is superbly put together, I think.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Are you a horseman?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25No, I'm not, but my wife used to be a pretty useful rider
0:15:25 > 0:15:27when she was younger.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30But I never tire of looking at this picture.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It's just so beautiful. The form, I think, is just...
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- Yes, do you find it restful? - It's almost alive.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Yeah, it is almost alive. He's got...
0:15:37 > 0:15:40He uses a number of very clever visual tricks to do that, John Emms,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I've often noticed with him... I mean, it's almost photographic.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45There's a sort of depth of field here.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48The horse seems sharply in focus, but he's very cleverly just -
0:15:48 > 0:15:50and really quickly - just painted the straw
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and the hay around it, and this light that comes in across
0:15:54 > 0:15:58this loose box, which presumably the horse is in, is well understood.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02But the whole thing done with the utmost speed and brevity,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and only somebody who's completely confident of his anatomy
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and of painting can do that, I think.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So, really, it's a very successful horse painting.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15I don't suppose money is a thing that you've really concerned yourself with, but...
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Because people love pictures, they just leave them on their walls for generations.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- I haven't got a clue how much it's worth at all.- No, no.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Well, I would say between £3,000 and £5,000 at auction.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And, um, anyone would be glad to have it
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and probably pay a bit more, especially somebody who liked greys.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- My daughter's already claimed it, I think.- Children do that.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Looking at this face, I can almost hear my grandmother say,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"It's a face only a mother would love."
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Is it something you love?
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Yes, indeed. It's strange,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52but I was most attracted to it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54So what's your connection to it?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Both my parents were Londoners and my maternal grandmother -
0:16:57 > 0:17:00who lived in Kew, I think, at the time -
0:17:00 > 0:17:03their family were friends with the Martins.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05We had quite a lot in the family. When my mother died,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I certainly decided that's the one I was going to have.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- So from the family connection of Martinware, this is the one you chose?- Indeed, yes.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Well, it is a lovely example.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17It's a little imp playing a tambourine, and it's fully marked
0:17:17 > 0:17:20on the back, as you'd expect, "RW Martin, London, Southall,"
0:17:20 > 0:17:24and dated 1900, which is quite late in their time.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28And Martin Brothers were a very well-known family of potters.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Robert Wallace Martin, who signed this,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33is probably the man responsible for it.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37And they made a small quantity of quite idiosyncratic pieces
0:17:37 > 0:17:41which they're well-known for, as well as the ordinary vases.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But it's always these figures which are more interesting,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and they turn up from time to time.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48But they are rare and they are special.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So, not that it's ever going to come on the market,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55because I know you treasure it, if this did come onto the market today,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58you would be looking to realise something like £3,000.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Really? Mm, lovely.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- So you picked all right. - Thank you very much.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- It's a pleasure, look after him. - Thank you.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Do you remember at the beginning of the programme,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12I was telling you about the mystery of the Stone of Scone?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Well, we found out just last night that a member of our own crew -
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Joe, here, who is our sound man - is connected to the Stone of Scone.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21It was your father, wasn't it, Joe?
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Yes, my father, John Manley, was a radiation X-ray specialist
0:18:25 > 0:18:29with the Ministry of Defence, and his job was to build
0:18:29 > 0:18:32the X-ray machine that you put your bag through at the airport.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34- Oh, so it's all down to him? - It's all his fault, yes.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Because it gave you the instant image,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38rather than having to take the film and develop it.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41But because of his knowledge of X-rays,
0:18:41 > 0:18:46in July 1973, he was accompanied up to Westminster Abbey
0:18:46 > 0:18:51by people from the Home Office and special policemen,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53and he X-rayed the Stone of Scone
0:18:53 > 0:18:56that sits under the Coronation Chair.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59So they had to take it out from underneath the Coronation Chair,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03take it to Poets' Corner, took five blasts to get an X-ray
0:19:03 > 0:19:05strong enough to get through the stone...
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- Because it's such a massive thing, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09..and eventually produced an X-ray
0:19:09 > 0:19:12which showed the three metal rods that are inside.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14The three metal rods are believed to be inside
0:19:14 > 0:19:17because when the students - those Scottish Nationalist students -
0:19:17 > 0:19:19stole it in the 1950s, they broke it, didn't they?
0:19:19 > 0:19:22They did. As they took it out, they dropped it and broke it,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and when they got to Scotland, it was repaired.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26And these bolts were put inside to hold it together.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Because then there was a whole conspiracy theory -
0:19:28 > 0:19:31I mean, there are so many surrounding the Stone of Scone -
0:19:31 > 0:19:34that the stone that was then returned from the stonemasons
0:19:34 > 0:19:36was not the original stone.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37And what did your dad think?
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Oh, he knew it was the real one, he had no doubts at all.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45Very much a scientist. If there's an X-ray, it's the real thing.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48How amazing. Well, there you are. Who'd have thought it?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- From within our own team... - PEACOCK SQUAWKS
0:19:51 > 0:19:53And the peacock thinks it's pretty amazing as well!
0:19:53 > 0:19:55From within our own team,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58a little bit more knowledge about the Stone of Scone.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Three pieces of Oriental porcelain.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03Do they have a history?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Not that I know of. They've been
0:20:06 > 0:20:08in the family for three generations.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09Right. And was anything
0:20:09 > 0:20:11said about them -
0:20:11 > 0:20:12where they came from, what they were for?
0:20:12 > 0:20:14They belonged to my grandmother.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18The bowl was supposed to be a bleeding bowl.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20I'll come to the bowl in a moment.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21I want to start with these.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24The shape, in China, is known as a "gu".
0:20:24 > 0:20:28It's a shape that goes way back into the Bronze Age,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32into the Shang and the Zhou dynasties, 2,000, 3,000 years BC.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And it's a shape that's survived all of those years.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38For 5,000 years, the Chinese have been making this shape.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43The decoration of these gu is in what is called
0:20:43 > 0:20:47the green family of enamels - the famille verte, as it's known,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51or at least was known from the 19th Century as famille verte.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54These are transparent enamels painted onto
0:20:54 > 0:20:59the surface of the glaze and they immediately suggest
0:20:59 > 0:21:01the late 17th and the early 18th Century.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04This was the prevalent colour pattern that the Chinese
0:21:04 > 0:21:08painted all of their colourful porcelains at the time.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13However, these are NOT late 17th Century, early 18th Century.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14They are copies.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Oh. That's disappointing.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20They are copies, made probably in the early to mid-19th Century,
0:21:20 > 0:21:21but they have a decorative value.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Let's go to the bleeding bowl, as you know it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27There are three colours that immediately point us towards Japan -
0:21:27 > 0:21:30the underglazed blue, the red and the gold.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Those three colours are the essential colours
0:21:33 > 0:21:34in the Imari palette,
0:21:34 > 0:21:40a colour palette which the Japanese started in the mid-1600s.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42It became very, very popular in Europe.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45This is not a Japanese shape, it's a European shape,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49and so it was made in Japan for European consumption.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52But actually, the elements are typically Japanese.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I particularly like this detail here.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- Look at this fellow here.- Yes.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01The little hare leaping across a stream.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05And then the other motifs are just very stylised,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08almost sort of fabric designs,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11with a central design of a flower vase on a terrace.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I've always wondered why there were two holes in it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Ah, the two holes here, because if you wanted to put this to one side
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- when it had been used, you put it on the wall.- Ah.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26And you'd put a loop through here, a wire or a string loop,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28and it would hang nice, nicely against the wall,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33either backside facing forward or, more decoratively, that way.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Now, you called it a bleeding bowl.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Yes, it was always known in the family as a bleeding bowl.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42These bowls were used by barbers as bleeding bowls. In fact,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47they had two functions - one was to bleed a client who wasn't well.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50One of his four humours was out of balance,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and so in order to relieve - or to get the balance back -
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- you have to relieve a little blood from the vein.- Yes.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59But, of course, barbers did another job, as well as bleeding patients.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04They did your shave in the mornings. So the gap for your bleeding arm
0:23:04 > 0:23:07receiving the blood in the centre
0:23:07 > 0:23:12- could equally well be used for your morning shave.- Oh, yes.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15If they could get it through your second chin.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- I'm finding it difficult! - LAUGHTER
0:23:17 > 0:23:21So these are multifunctional bowls for bleeding
0:23:21 > 0:23:23or for trimming a beard.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27And this dates from the early 1700s, so it's 300 years old.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32These are early 19th-century, so much, much younger.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Value...
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I think it's a rare object, it's in beautiful condition,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41considering that it's tortured many clients over the years.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I think today, it's probably worth between £400 and £700.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46As much as that?
0:23:46 > 0:23:50So this is old and these are much, much younger,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52these are basically copies.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54But these, in today's market,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58are probably worth between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- Oh, my God!- And...
0:24:01 > 0:24:03And they've been sitting in the front hall!
0:24:03 > 0:24:05LAUGHTER
0:24:05 > 0:24:09- And that..- They sit in my front window, by the front door,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11for everybody to see.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- And now on television. - Yes, I'll have to hide them!
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I have to say, in the nicest possible way,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22that that T-shirt looks like a snug fit.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24LAUGHTER
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Possibly because I haven't worn it for 32 years, probably,
0:24:27 > 0:24:28something like that.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32So, can I ask if you are a big Clash fan?
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Massive Clash fan. I bought my first Clash LP
0:24:35 > 0:24:37in Woolworths, in Perth.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40As soon as I put the first track on, that was me hooked.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And there's not a day goes past without me playing a Clash record.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45This, like, putting this T-shirt on
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and thinking of the gig in Glasgow when I bought them,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52the back of my neck is actually tingling, thinking about it.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56And, as he's about to discover, one of these T-shirts is my brother's!
0:24:57 > 0:24:59OK, well, we'll save...
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Maybe he'll be out when the Roadshow's shown...- Yeah, hopefully.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05..so he'll never know that you've actually stolen his T-shirt.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- That's right.- And, you know, the thing is, your passion
0:25:08 > 0:25:12and your enthusiasm is shared with so many people.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15- I mean, The Clash are no more, but The Clash live on.- That's right.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18And, actually, what you're wearing -
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and maybe your brother's, or maybe not your brother's T-shirt -
0:25:22 > 0:25:24are exactly those iconic images.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29You know, it was all about a new kind of design, it was all about,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31you know, pushing the boundaries, it was about the bringing down
0:25:31 > 0:25:35- the system, about waving things in people's faces.- That's right.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38It was about, you know, anarchy, let's face it.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41They're rock history and they're design history
0:25:41 > 0:25:44and they are made out of rubbish fabric.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49They were not designed to last for 30 years, but they have.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50And they have a value.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54I've seen them going on the internet for about 300 apiece.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57So, I mean, putting that into pound terms,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01- let's say £450 for the two. - Mm, yeah.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04You know, they go, they go well,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07so maybe before the programme is screened,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09you could do a deal with your brother.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11LAUGHTER
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I'm looking at a box with a very, very famous symbol on it,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31which takes me straight into wanting to know what's in it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33The Olympic symbol is so familiar.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- This can only contain a medal, can't it?- Yes, that's right.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39So there we are, two medals, so two for the price of one.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Well, the medal that should be in the box is this one here,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46which has the German eagle and swastika and the Olympic rings.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Berlin, 1936.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52Yes, it's dated 1936 and it comes from the 1936 Olympic Games.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And on the back, there is a commemoration for services rendered at the Games.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00- The medal was given to my grandfather, Heinz Drecher...- Yes.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03..because he was an employee of Osram at the time, who provided
0:27:03 > 0:27:06all the lighting for the Olympic Games.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Osram is a German company, or was at that point, formed in 1906,
0:27:10 > 0:27:15and he gets that for being involved in the production values,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17if you like, of the Olympics.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21And it was terribly important that Germany should impress the world.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It wasn't just about making sure their athletes won, it was actually
0:27:25 > 0:27:29about having the best spectacle, the best drama, the best lighting.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- Everything had to be better than anybody had ever seen.- Yes.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And it was a very, very famous event.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Everything was done to make it completely memorable.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40So the Germans were saying to the world, "Look, this is what we are,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42"we've recovered from the First World War,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44"we're now dominant in every area."
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And, of course, technology was so important.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Osram has an interesting history.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52The person in charge through the 1930s was actually Jewish,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57and he survived, apparently, until the outbreak of war,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59when he was booted out by the Germans.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01So he may well have been there
0:28:01 > 0:28:03- when your grandfather was doing the Olympics.- Yes.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It's taken a long time for me to bring these things to anything
0:28:06 > 0:28:09because of the connection with a very ugly history.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12My grandparents were not Nazis - they were very frightened people
0:28:12 > 0:28:14who were in a country that was run by them.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It's where you draw the boundaries. It's a very interesting story.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Equally, he fought on the First World War on the wrong side,
0:28:20 > 0:28:21- as far as we're concerned.- Yeah.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24- We've got to move on from those worries.- Sure.- What's the other box?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28These are ceramic medals, I suppose you would call them, although they
0:28:28 > 0:28:32don't attach in any way, and they each have a swastika in the centre.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33- Yes.- And, like, a flag.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36If I turn it over, I can see in the inscription
0:28:36 > 0:28:38that these were made for another exhibition,
0:28:38 > 0:28:43which was the German Colonial Exhibition held in Dresden in 1939.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44That was one of a sequence of
0:28:44 > 0:28:46colonial exhibitions through that period.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50The French had one, we had Wembley in 1924.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53And this, again, I suspect, was awarded to him
0:28:53 > 0:28:55- because he probably did the lighting at that exhibition.- Yeah.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58What do you remember about him? Or did you ever know him?
0:28:58 > 0:29:00I never actually met him. He died before I was born.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03My father and my mother told me lots of stories about him
0:29:03 > 0:29:06and I've got a wonderful collection of photographs of him,
0:29:06 > 0:29:07so I feel as though I know him.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- Did he ever come to Britain? - He never did, no.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- So there's no connection here.- No. - You are the connection, in effect.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- Yes, that's right.- This is a totally German story.- Yes.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19So, you know, in a sense, why are we talking about it here in Scotland?
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Well, my mother was a nurse with the Red Cross and she was in Austria
0:29:24 > 0:29:26- at the time when the war ended... - At the end of the war.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30..the Second World War ended. And my father, who is still alive,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33was in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35And the Argylls were temporarily disbanded,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37- but there as a peacekeeping force. - Yeah.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40And they had quite a lot of time on their hands and they did things
0:29:40 > 0:29:44- like put on stage shows for the local communities.- And meet girls.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Yes, and my mother saw him on stage and fancied him and met him afterwards.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50- And the rest is history.- Exactly!
0:29:50 > 0:29:54So it's a great sort of... You know, that component, you know,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57love comes into it, occupation, all those things come into it.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00So then it becomes a Scottish story from that moment on,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02- and here you are.- Yes, indeed.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Um, I think it's lovely because it sort of takes us into
0:30:05 > 0:30:08that great drama of the spectacle of Nazi Germany
0:30:08 > 0:30:10and all that it represented,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13and he having no choice but to work for it, obviously.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18- Yes.- I think...because of the rarity of that particular medal,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22we're looking at something like £1,000 or £2,000.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26- My goodness. Really?- Yes.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30- Oh, good.- They're rare things, but it's a great story.- Oh, yes.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32I love this sort of crossing of country boundaries,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34- bringing it all together.- Yes.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41So this wonderful architectural
0:30:41 > 0:30:42and exotic bird cage
0:30:42 > 0:30:43you've brought us in
0:30:43 > 0:30:45today to look at,
0:30:45 > 0:30:46what can you tell us about it?
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Well, it came from Singapore...
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Well, I bought it in the mid '60s in a place called Thieves' Market,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and it cost me about 25 Singapore dollars in those days.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00I took it to an antique restorer and while it was there,
0:31:00 > 0:31:01he phoned me up and he said,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04"The American Ambassador's wife is here and she wants to buy it."
0:31:04 > 0:31:06And I said, "I'm not selling it."
0:31:06 > 0:31:08So she said, "I want it, I'm the American Ambassador's wife."
0:31:08 > 0:31:12I said, "If you were the Queen of Sheba, I'm not going to sell it."
0:31:12 > 0:31:15And that's the story, and it's been in the family ever since.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17- Fantastic.- You know...
0:31:17 > 0:31:19I was told it was built for an emperor's birds
0:31:19 > 0:31:21and the Chinese inscription is,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23"A haven for my feathered friends." And it's said to be
0:31:23 > 0:31:27a thousand pieces of bamboo, but we've never counted them, so...
0:31:27 > 0:31:28I don't think we'll start today.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30- No.- We'd be here for a very, very long time.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32We would be, we would be.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Well, you know, the Thieves' Market, of course,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37is one of the longest running markets
0:31:37 > 0:31:41on River Road in Singapore, dating back to the 1930s,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45when a lot of the wealthy Europeans and Asians built decorative houses
0:31:45 > 0:31:48within that sort of area and neighbourhood.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51And, of course, the bird cage really, I think, you know -
0:31:51 > 0:31:54early man's fascination with birds,
0:31:54 > 0:31:56they've always realised that you actually have to cage them,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58because they fly off or predators get them.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02So bird cages have been around for a number of years.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05I would have thought it's probably the sort of thing, to my eye,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08that would have been mid 19th Century, 1850,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10something like that, and if we look,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13we can just sort of pull out the drawer here
0:32:13 > 0:32:16and we can see that that's where all of the little droppings
0:32:16 > 0:32:19would have been when taken out. It's quite well manufactured.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24We identified earlier this lovely pair of palace-style doors,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and all of this gilt ornamented decoration and the carving
0:32:27 > 0:32:30and, as you say, this inscription here. A great thing.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34And very, as I said earlier, very architectural, with all these
0:32:34 > 0:32:38little doors for the feed and the water and so on.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42- And it's got this rather nice old painted surface on it.- Yeah.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Which I really like, it's just been worn away, it's got great patina.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48It's got good colour. And, in actual fact,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50even the, you know, the gilding
0:32:50 > 0:32:52is rather sympathetically faded,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55which I think is all, you know, a good thing today. And I think
0:32:55 > 0:33:00collectors, purists, want to see them in this type of condition.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It shows age, it shows it's been used,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04it's been loved, and all of those things.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08So if this came up for auction today, it would carry
0:33:08 > 0:33:10a pre-sale estimate of between
0:33:10 > 0:33:12£500 to £800, something like that.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Lovely, lovely. Well, that's great, that's absolutely great, thank you.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Well, when we first unpacked this item today,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22we thought it might have been from a substance called
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Britannia metal, but on closer examination,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26it is solid silver, sterling silver.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Do you know much about it, or how it came into your possession?
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Two years ago, before he died, my second cousin gave it to me.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35He lived in Ely, was a bachelor.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Before the Second World War, he'd been a diplomat
0:33:38 > 0:33:40and had been in the RAF.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44- Right.- During the Second War, he'd been shot down over Northern Italy
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and had been a member of the Resistance,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and this was given to him by a good friend,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53and the only good friend I remember him ever talking about was McDonald.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55That's quite interesting,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59because on the base, you've probably noticed the initials McD...
0:33:59 > 0:34:02- Yeah.- ..which is presumably him, or refers to him.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05But the curious thing is, it's not European silver,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07it's actually made in America.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10And it's made by a rather important American firm,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14probably the leading silversmiths in America, they're called Gorham.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17And it was the Gorham Manufacturing Company,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20and they were based in Providence, Rhode Island.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22So a very exclusive firm
0:34:22 > 0:34:24and producing all sorts of very expensive wares.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27And this is one of the things.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30It's got this wonderful bark-textured handle,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33three of them, and that's technically called
0:34:33 > 0:34:34a loving cup, or a tig,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36and the idea behind them would be that
0:34:36 > 0:34:38at the end of a dinner, or a banquet,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42you could pass it round and all imbibe from it, have a little drink.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Hence, it's got this gilt colour inside it, which is silver gilt.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Gorham started in about the 1820s, but this piece, I think,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53was by a sculptor that they employed,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55an Englishman called Thomas Pierpoint.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58He worked for a London firm of silversmiths,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02went out to work for Gorhams, and he did this sculptural quality,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05quite monumental sized pieces of work, and the detail's just superb.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Not just the bark texturing on the handle,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10but the roots, almost, of the tree.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13We've got these pine cones and we've also got these fabulous pine trees
0:35:13 > 0:35:16which are done by a process called acid etching.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19We've also got a very pretty - amongst the trees -
0:35:19 > 0:35:22there it is, almost like Uncle Tom's Cabin, isn't it?
0:35:22 > 0:35:25- It is. - Hidden away in the woodlands.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29It's got quite a lot of value to it and we'll come to that in a second,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32and the main reason being that American silver is very collectable.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36- Right.- This period is about 1880, we're going to say, circa.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40It's got the quality of craftsmanship,
0:35:40 > 0:35:41it's got desirability,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and that always commands a high price
0:35:44 > 0:35:48if it ever comes on the market. From the point of view of valuation,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50you'd be looking somewhere
0:35:50 > 0:35:52in the region of £3,000 to £4,000.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Useful!
0:35:55 > 0:35:58I think the proper thing would be to fill it up, wouldn't it?
0:35:58 > 0:36:03- It would, shall we ask the Laird? - Yes, why not?
0:36:10 > 0:36:15Now, look at this explosion of colour - four pieces of chunky,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18funky glass that could only be supplied by our glass guru,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Andy McConnell.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22This is our Rogues' Gallery.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Three of these are made by Geoffrey Baxter,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27in the 1960s, at the Whitefriars Glassworks.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30They are much sought after, even though they're so recently made.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33So sought after that they are sometimes faked.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38And one of these is a little rogue in our gallery, but which is it?
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Here's Andy McConnell with some clues.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45This ruby piece is the hooped vase
0:36:45 > 0:36:49and its textures remind me of Soviet brutalist concrete architecture,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52but is it real Whitefriars?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57The second piece is known to collectors as
0:36:57 > 0:37:00the "mobile phone vase" - which obviously wasn't its name
0:37:00 > 0:37:04when it was introduced in 1967 - but does it ring true?
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Next up is the largest production piece that Whitefriars made,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14in their most popular colour, but is it a tangerine dream?
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Finally, this is the pineapple vase,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22and it reminds me of a Second World War hand grenade.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25It was a basic of the Whitefriars textured range,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27but is it the real thing?
0:37:30 > 0:37:32So, Andy, four pieces of glass and one of them is faked,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35- even though they were only made 50-odd years ago.- Yeah.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39So they must be so desirable, if someone goes to that much trouble.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43Yeah, I mean, you're talking about probably the most collected
0:37:43 > 0:37:46range of British glassware from the 20th Century.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49And there was an exhibition in '97-'98
0:37:49 > 0:37:54where Whitefriars was presented at Manchester and London museums,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58and it was like a lit detonator, Whitefriars just went mental,
0:37:58 > 0:38:04and the greatest collector focus is on this stuff, which is '66-'68.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06So Whitefriars Glassworks, then,
0:38:06 > 0:38:07was where it was at in the '60s, was it?
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Whitefriars was Britain's oldest glassworks.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12It was off Fleet Street and it was moved into
0:38:12 > 0:38:16a former Carmelite monastery, so they were the white friars.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- Oh, I see. - So that's where they got their name.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22But then they moved to Wealdstone in 1923 and when they closed
0:38:22 > 0:38:25in 1980, they were Britain's longest established glassworks.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28And these particular designers - Geoffrey Baxter being one of them -
0:38:28 > 0:38:31were right at the forefront of design at the time, were they?
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Yeah, he went to the Royal College in the early '50s,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36came out as one of these phoenix people,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39that Britain would rise from the ashes through good design.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43And then in 1966, he went psychedelic - he did -
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and look at this stuff. I mean, it's a beacon, original shapes,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50original colours. And, boy, it was enormously popular.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54This, in particular, was the sort of - I hate to say - iconic vase,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and the piece is now worth £800.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59And what about the other values, then? I mean...
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Not much, £100, £100, £180,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06but still, there are some shapes being faked.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10We don't want to blacken the whole group of Whitefriars textured glass
0:39:10 > 0:39:14by saying they're all fakes, because they are very easy to clock.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18- Let me tell you which one I thought. We all had a little chat about it. - All right, OK.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- And everyone was going, "Blue, orange, green, red..."- OK.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25So the only thing I thought was, being all the glass is textured...
0:39:25 > 0:39:27- It's called the textured range... - Obviously, obviously.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31I wondered about this one, it's like a piece of Lego, isn't it?
0:39:31 > 0:39:33And the glass here was just much clearer
0:39:33 > 0:39:36and I thought, maybe it's this one, I don't know.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37- That one.- You've given up?
0:39:37 > 0:39:39- Yes, that one.- Wrong!- Oh.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42You see, you were no help at all!
0:39:42 > 0:39:44You've got to pick them up, you're not...
0:39:44 > 0:39:46If I do this - look, look, look.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Now I need you to tell me, based on that...
0:39:50 > 0:39:51Right.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54- ..which one's the wrong 'un. - Oh, gosh.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57If I get it wrong again, I'm going to feel like a complete plonker.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Right, that's a totally smooth disc, that's a totally smooth disc,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02this is obviously not a totally smooth disc.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Oh, yes, this is smooth and this isn't,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07- right, OK, so that's different. - Got it, you got it!
0:40:07 > 0:40:10It's really quite easy to suss it.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13No help at all, is all I'm going to say!
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Right, and also, it's got a "V" on here,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17I didn't notice that was going to give it away.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21- It's German for "vake"! - LAUGHTER
0:40:21 > 0:40:25So that is different, that is a polished pontil,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29that's a polished pontil, polished pontil, and that isn't,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31and really, that's not nearly as good.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35- The top is really rubbish, actually. - Is it? What's rubbish about it?
0:40:35 > 0:40:38It's kind of wonky and they're not supposed to be that wonky.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41But it's really the... The message lies in the soil,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43or at least, the pontil mark.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46So it's not like everybody's got to stop buying Whitefriars
0:40:46 > 0:40:48because the whole area's become so dodgy,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51because very, very few of the forms have been faked.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Right. Now you know what to look for - turn it over
0:40:55 > 0:40:57and look at the mark on the bottom.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59And there are tips on our website...
0:41:01 > 0:41:02I hope you do better than I did!
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Who is this chap sitting in the cockpit of this plane?
0:41:09 > 0:41:11This is my great-grandfather, Graham Conacher Young.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13- And all this material's to do with him?- Yes.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15How did you find it?
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Well, my dad was the one who found it, he just let me look at it,
0:41:18 > 0:41:19and I think it was amazing.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22It was amongst your grandfather's effects?
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- Yeah.- You just sort of fell over it? - Mmm.- I mean, how lucky is that?
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- Definitely.- Do you know what sort of gun that is?
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Would it be an early machine gun of some sort?
0:41:30 > 0:41:33It's called a Lewis gun, and it was specifically made for aircraft use.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35It has a big drum on the top
0:41:35 > 0:41:38which held the best part of 100 cartridges.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41The way that he would have used that - it's mounted over the wing.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43It fires over the top of his propeller,
0:41:43 > 0:41:45so it doesn't shoot the tip of his prop off.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- What was that little packet? - Um, his medals came in here.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- Right.- He got three medals. - OK, do you want to show us them?
0:41:51 > 0:41:54This one, he got for serving in Mesopotamia.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56That's called the General Service Medal
0:41:56 > 0:42:00and it was issued for smallish campaigns that people served in.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03And it was from 1918 onwards,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07so he must have been in there very, very late in the First World War.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12- Yeah.- And it says "Iraq", which is quite a current topic almost today,
0:42:12 > 0:42:13- isn't it?- Yeah.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15This one, I think he got for serving in the Great War.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17And do you know what that one's called?
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Is it the General Service Medal?
0:42:19 > 0:42:22No, that's the Victory Medal, and we know that it's victory
0:42:22 > 0:42:24because there's a lady there with big wings, blowing a trumpet,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26saying, "Ha-ha, we've won!"
0:42:26 > 0:42:28So that's the Victory Medal, and what's the other one?
0:42:28 > 0:42:30He got it for flying his plane, I think.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32That always comes with the Victory Medal, and that's known as
0:42:32 > 0:42:35the War Medal, and you always find those two together.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39And we see a lot of those on Antiques Roadshow,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42but yours are really special,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46because those are to a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49which was the sort of beginning of the Air Force.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52- Yeah.- And in the year 2012,
0:42:52 > 0:42:54that was the 100th anniversary that they set up
0:42:54 > 0:42:57this Royal Flying Corps, because before that,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59aviation had been managed separately
0:42:59 > 0:43:02by the Army, which had detachments of balloons run by Royal Engineers,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04or the Navy, which had its own planes.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09But somebody thought - air is a really important strategic idea.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11We're going to have one body that covers it
0:43:11 > 0:43:14- and it's going to be called the Royal Flying Corps.- Yeah.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17And consequently, it wasn't very big, so a medal like those two
0:43:17 > 0:43:19with Royal Flying Corps on it
0:43:19 > 0:43:23makes them really very special. And together with that medal,
0:43:23 > 0:43:25it gives that lovely sort of idea of his service.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29- Yeah.- This is an absolutely fantastic collection.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Have you done any sort of research about him?
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I found the watch that he wore when he was flying,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36and then we've got his log books here as well.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I think his log books will pay some very, very careful attention,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41- if you go through those.- Mm.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44You've got plenty of school holidays! Go through those.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Of all this collection, those, I think, are the most important
0:43:48 > 0:43:50bits about him, because they tell you what he did.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Have you ever thought about what it might be worth?
0:43:52 > 0:43:55No, I think it's just a good family piece to have.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57I don't think I'll ever sell it.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59I think that's a very admirable attitude.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03But I still think that you need to know what the market says
0:44:03 > 0:44:08that these are worth, because if you had to go and buy this
0:44:08 > 0:44:12at an auction, with all those fantastic log books,
0:44:12 > 0:44:14the medals, the great pictures,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18you'd be paying probably about £1,000 to £1,500,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21- because it's just a fantastic collection.- Yeah.- I think it's great
0:44:21 > 0:44:25that you keep this guy's memory alive, by this.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27- Yeah.- Congratulations, and thanks for bringing it.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Well, as a lover of really ancient books,
0:44:32 > 0:44:35I can't tell you how excited I am
0:44:35 > 0:44:39to get my hands on a book of such obvious antiquity.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43It's clearly fantastically old, it's very charismatic.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46I'm looking at it here on the table in its leather binding
0:44:46 > 0:44:50with these tremendous locks on it. What is it?
0:44:50 > 0:44:54It's called a Lockit book, a locked book, and it's a register
0:44:54 > 0:44:57of all the members of the Guildry Incorporation of Perth.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59Started in 1452.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The Guildry was an association of merchants and traders who controlled
0:45:03 > 0:45:07trade in the borough and set trading standards, that kind of thing.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10- So I'm looking at a 15th-Century book.- 15th Century, yeah.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13And everything about the binding tells me that, in a way.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17This wonderful dark leather is obviously characteristic,
0:45:17 > 0:45:18but this tooling here is tremendous.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Very simple in its way, simple blind tooling, with these
0:45:22 > 0:45:26crossed lines here, with some nice floral touches here and there.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29This binding certainly dates from the very, very late
0:45:29 > 0:45:3115th Century, perhaps into the 16th Century.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33But you're telling me the actual contents of this book
0:45:33 > 0:45:37- go back at least 14... - 1452 is the first entry, yes.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40I don't know about you, but whenever I see a book with clasps
0:45:40 > 0:45:42or locks on it, they almost ask you just to crack them open.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Is it OK to open them? I see one's already seen better days.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48- Yes, yes.- Let's have a look.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51So, look at this, the very material from which the book
0:45:51 > 0:45:53is made inside is also clearly medieval.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57This, I think, is 15th-Century paper, and what paper it is!
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Look at the thickness of that, it's absolutely tremendous.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03In quality, it's really better than any modern paper I've seen.
0:46:03 > 0:46:04Now, what about the content?
0:46:04 > 0:46:08You can glean a lot of the history of the time from the entries.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12The book also contains some very prominent autographs.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Notably, some Royal ones. Here we are, here.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20That's really very exciting. I mean, for two pages of a book
0:46:20 > 0:46:23to contain two signatures of such incredible import is amazing.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27I mean, look, here we've got, this is James, 1601,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30- this is James VI of Scotland.- Yes.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Just a couple of years before he became James I of England.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Before the Union, yes, yeah.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38And the good people of Perth managed to get a certain Charles -
0:46:38 > 0:46:42this is 1650, so I'm assuming that's Charles II.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43That's right, yes.
0:46:43 > 0:46:44They managed to persuade him
0:46:44 > 0:46:47- to sign his name on the opposite page to James VI.- Yeah.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48So this opening -
0:46:48 > 0:46:53I mean, it's tremendous to see such important autographs in one book.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57And I notice here, this brings us right up to date.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00- That's right. - You have Queen Elizabeth
0:47:00 > 0:47:04and the Duke of Edinburgh, signing on the 6th July 2012.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07- Now, you're from the Guildry Incorporation.- That's right.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09You're obviously in possession of something unique
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and, of course, such a thing does have a value.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14It's not only very old,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16it's got some very important historical records in it.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19It's got some tremendously important autographs in it.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23And really, above all of that, it's just a very beautiful thing.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26So I'm weighing up all these factors that we've talked about
0:47:26 > 0:47:28- in my mind, and I'm adding in my head...- Yeah.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31..and I think I'm coming to a value
0:47:31 > 0:47:32of £100,000.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35HE GASPS
0:47:35 > 0:47:38OK, right.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40I'll have a word when I get back!
0:47:44 > 0:47:47So a passion, clearly. Tell us all about it, share it with us.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Well, I started a passion, and this was the one
0:47:51 > 0:47:54- that started it all off. - Oh, and tell me why.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57This was my father's, and it was presented to him
0:47:57 > 0:48:01- on his 21st birthday, being 1923. - And it's a beautiful case,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03because with cigarette cases, it's important that they don't
0:48:03 > 0:48:06show fingerprints, and this is what we call engine turning.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Which is actually not only decorative,
0:48:08 > 0:48:10it has a function, in that you don't...
0:48:10 > 0:48:12If it was polished metal, it would be like
0:48:12 > 0:48:14touching a mirror all the time.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16So the knack is to make the surface sort of different
0:48:16 > 0:48:19so that one can't leave fingerprints all over it.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21But equally, it's very decorative. It's wonderful, isn't it?
0:48:21 > 0:48:23And the others, tell me about the others.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26- Just collected on my travels. - Fantastic, isn't it?
0:48:26 > 0:48:29I'm going to follow you around, seeing this wonderful collection.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32- Thank you.- Wonderful, but there's one, of course, that my eye darts to
0:48:32 > 0:48:35immediately, and it's the most beautiful case,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37made of a green stone.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40- And it's Siberian jade, nephrite. - Wow.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Yeah, and it's an enormously chic object - in gold,
0:48:44 > 0:48:45with a ruby clasp -
0:48:45 > 0:48:48and it's a cigarette case. And cigarette smoking was
0:48:48 > 0:48:52an absolute sort of epidemic in 1900, everybody did it.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57And to elevate this rather terrible habit - now dangerous habit -
0:48:57 > 0:49:00they would contain the cigarette in
0:49:00 > 0:49:02the highest picture of luxury, really.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04It's a very luxurious object, isn't it?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06What do you know about it?
0:49:06 > 0:49:10I just know that it's Russian and we bought it in an antique fair.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15- Yes.- And we thought - this is about three years ago - and we thought
0:49:15 > 0:49:19that the Russian...all the artefacts were starting to come through.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22- Yes.- And we thought that it might be a bit of an investment.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Exactly how much did you pay for the case?
0:49:24 > 0:49:25One and a half.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28I think it was a great investment. Investment or not,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31it's always going to be, you know, a most beautiful object.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36Curiously enough, when Juliet first set eyes on Romeo, she said...
0:49:36 > 0:49:39- Oh!- ..and it's a good claim,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41and it's terribly relevant, you'll be surprised to hear -
0:49:41 > 0:49:45"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
0:49:45 > 0:49:47And in a way you have, by default,
0:49:47 > 0:49:50a Faberge cigarette case, but it isn't a Faberge cigarette case.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55It's not one, but it has all the characteristics of it.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57The lapidary work, paper-thin jade,
0:49:57 > 0:50:02it has to be light for the pocket, it's got to be something useable.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05And here, we can see the hallmarks for 56, which is 14-carat gold,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08and the crossed sceptres for St Petersburg,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11and the unidentified maker's mark here.
0:50:11 > 0:50:12- I don't know who the maker is.- Ah.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15And frankly, I don't know that there's much hope of doing it.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19If this were by Faberge, it would be worth £40,000.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- Sorry?- £40,000.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Wow!
0:50:25 > 0:50:31A paper-thin cigarette case in jade, by Faberge... But, um, sadly not.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32No, never mind.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36A tenth of the price, so maybe £4,000, but a joy forever.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40Wow, that is wonderful, that is wonderful, thank you so much.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42No, a pleasure, wonderful.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45So it's a beautiful day in Scotland,
0:50:45 > 0:50:47you thought you'd pop along to the Antiques Roadshow
0:50:47 > 0:50:50- and you grabbed something last-minute?- Yes, exactly.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54And that was chosen at the very last minute to come here, yes.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58So, in a china cabinet, in pride of place in the house, or...?
0:50:58 > 0:51:00In a cardboard box, in the attic.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05So it's quite old. It's older than you or I, made in the 1750s.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08It's from the Chelsea factory, in London,
0:51:08 > 0:51:11who were one of the first - if not the first - factory to make
0:51:11 > 0:51:13porcelain in this country,
0:51:13 > 0:51:18and the soft paste of Chelsea takes these flowers so beautifully.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20And if you look at the colour of the flowers,
0:51:20 > 0:51:22the free way that they're painted,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25the way that only a very skilled artist can do,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and this, of course, this was a real object of desire,
0:51:29 > 0:51:34and you've grabbed it from a cardboard box, last-minute.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Yes, my wife was going to use it for putting cakes on,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40but thought it wasn't big enough, so it was never actually used.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Well, I'm glad it wasn't,
0:51:43 > 0:51:46because if you go on a cake-to-plate ratio,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49it would have to be quite a special cake to go on this,
0:51:49 > 0:51:50because this plate's worth £800.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52- Is that right?- Yes.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57So, perhaps... Shall I hold on to you while you recover?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00You'd better, yes!
0:52:00 > 0:52:03- It's the nicest piece of porcelain I've seen today.- Thank you.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06James McNeill Whistler.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10- Yes.- And there's his lovely little device that he invented,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13- called the Whistler butterfly. - Yes, that's right.
0:52:13 > 0:52:14- Never see it anywhere else, do you? - No.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16- It's an etching.- Yes.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Was it your family's?
0:52:18 > 0:52:22No. I was given that as a wedding present.
0:52:22 > 0:52:23Dare I ask how long ago?
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Er... Well, yes, quite a long time ago, er...
0:52:27 > 0:52:30- OK, we'll leave it at that.- Yes.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32OK, all right. But, I mean, you know,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34these things were rare then, weren't they?
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Yes, but I was working at Glasgow University,
0:52:38 > 0:52:40cataloguing the Whistler letters...
0:52:40 > 0:52:42- How extraordinary. - ..and it was fascinating.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46Whistler made this etching, in about 1879-1880
0:52:46 > 0:52:49when he went to Venice in order to try and recuperate
0:52:49 > 0:52:52and do some work after this ghastly experience he'd had with Ruskin,
0:52:52 > 0:52:57the famous critic, who had accused him of flinging a paint pot in
0:52:57 > 0:53:01the public's face with his painting called "The Falling Rocket".
0:53:01 > 0:53:05So Whistler sued him for libel, and won,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07- but he only got a farthing's damages.- Yes.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09And it really did sort of dent him
0:53:09 > 0:53:12and he was really downcast and his pictures weren't selling,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15so the Fine Art Society - his dealers - sent him to Venice
0:53:15 > 0:53:17to go and do some etchings,
0:53:17 > 0:53:19and he was only supposed to go there for a few weeks,
0:53:19 > 0:53:20but he took a year and a half.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23He visited all the cafes, he knew all the boatmen, he would
0:53:23 > 0:53:26drink with them, eat with them, and got himself thoroughly into
0:53:26 > 0:53:29the life of Venice. I think that shows in his etchings, because that
0:53:29 > 0:53:33is not an immediately recognisable Venetian view to most people, is it?
0:53:33 > 0:53:35No, no, it's not.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Well, Whistler came back with 100 etchings and lots of paintings.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41The Fine Art Society had an exhibition of his work
0:53:41 > 0:53:43and it went incredibly well.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Over 40,000 paying visitors came to look at it,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49and he came back triumphant. It was the launch of his career
0:53:49 > 0:53:51- and, commercially, he never looked back.- Yes.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Now, who was Whistler, and what makes him so important?
0:53:55 > 0:53:57Well, first of all, he was American.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Second of all, he brought a breath of fresh air into English art.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04But his famous painting of "The Little White Girl",
0:54:04 > 0:54:08or even his portrait of his mother, have become icons in our time now.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11You love it. It might be a valuable thing, do you think?
0:54:11 > 0:54:15- I hope so.- Oh, do you?- Yes. - Is it your retirement?
0:54:15 > 0:54:18- No, I wouldn't sell it.- No, no.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20How much were they worth when you were given it, do you think?
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Oh, £30 or £40, or something.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24- That was quite a lot then, wasn't it?- Yes, yes.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28Well, if I said it was worth between £10,000 and £15,000 now...
0:54:28 > 0:54:31My goodness, gosh!
0:54:31 > 0:54:33I never thought it was as much as that.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Well, yes, you see, collectors are mad for them and they do have
0:54:36 > 0:54:38this peculiar delicacy, and I think you can see it in this one.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41- It's a very nice one.- Thank you.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46I'm absolutely speechless.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47Where has this come from?
0:54:47 > 0:54:48Oh, it's an old family piece
0:54:48 > 0:54:52that was commissioned,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55we think, for a wedding in 1838.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Presumably, it's unique, it has the family crest here.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00So, 1838, that's the date on the...
0:55:00 > 0:55:03- on the silver caddy here, is it? - Yeah.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07And BS for Benjamin Smith - even I know him, a well-known maker.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10It's a tea caddy, it was clearly an important family piece.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13- What is the family? - We are the Cornwallis family.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15Historically, we go back to
0:55:15 > 0:55:19Archbishop of Canterbury, in the 1200s.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24Then my ancestor was responsible for surrendering America in 1781,
0:55:24 > 0:55:28which has always made us very popular over there.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31And one of his children had this commissioned.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33That's as much as I know, really.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36So that was a wedding, 1838 is a wedding date, OK.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Well, I'm going to disappoint you - it's not 1838 at all.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45It's George III, the 1780s, well, the outside is.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48This is one of the most wonderful tea caddies
0:55:48 > 0:55:49I've ever seen in my life.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53It's the most extraordinary rectangular Bombay shape -
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Bombay being this curved ogee shape - on all four sides,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59with the most incredible marquetry.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04Just take the front here, these lovely flowers, all hand-cut,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06on what's called a harewood or sycamore ground.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10This sort of fiddle back here, like the back of a violin.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12It's the most expensive wood you could imagine.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14On the sides and top, we've got a little bit of ivory,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16little flowers, just to enliven it a little bit.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19We're seeing it in its old, rather, shall we say,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22sad, deteriorated condition. It's very faded.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24When it was made originally, it would have been
0:56:24 > 0:56:26very bright colours, and I think probably, we wouldn't like it.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I think it would have been far too bright, far too colourful and gaudy.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32There's no doubt that the silver lid has been put in later,
0:56:32 > 0:56:34perhaps to commemorate a marriage, that makes sense.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37- Right.- Let's look at the box itself.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Well, with time, I could probably find out exactly who made it,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43but my initial reaction would be a firm, a London firm called
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Mayhew and Ince, very important makers, the same time
0:56:46 > 0:56:49as Thomas Chippendale, or slightly later than him.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51I think Mayhew and Ince, with this wonderful marquetry.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54When people recognise me on the Antiques Roadshow, they say,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56"What's the best thing you've ever recorded?"
0:56:56 > 0:56:58I've never really been sure -
0:56:58 > 0:57:00I've come up with one or two wonderful things,
0:57:00 > 0:57:02I've seen many wonderful things over the years.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05This is, without doubt, the best piece I've ever seen
0:57:05 > 0:57:08- on The Antiques Roadshow.- Good Lord!
0:57:08 > 0:57:13It appeals to me academically, aesthetically and historically.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Well, as an object with a crest,
0:57:17 > 0:57:21dare I say £20,000 to £30,000?
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Good Lord!
0:57:27 > 0:57:29Hmm!
0:57:29 > 0:57:31Thank you very much.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43A glance at the time on this handbag tells me
0:57:43 > 0:57:45it is about time to end the programme.
0:57:45 > 0:57:46Look over my shoulder here -
0:57:46 > 0:57:49the experts are just sitting around, exhausted.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52We don't normally show you what it's like once the public
0:57:52 > 0:57:54have started to leave, but we've had 2,500 visitors
0:57:54 > 0:57:55to the programme today,
0:57:55 > 0:57:59here at the Palace of Scone, in this glorious sunshine,
0:57:59 > 0:58:01and everyone's feeling just a little worn.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04So when I saw this handbag that was brought along by
0:58:04 > 0:58:07one of our visitors, I couldn't resist having a little look at it.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09One, it matches my outfit.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12And two, looking at that watch tells me it's about time to go home.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14So, from the Antiques Roadshow
0:58:14 > 0:58:17and the team - what's left of it - bye-bye.