0:00:40 > 0:00:43This week the Antiques Roadshow comes from a house built
0:00:43 > 0:00:47fit for a queen, the majestic Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49And here in the great garden,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51where we'll soon be welcoming our visitors to the Roadshow,
0:00:51 > 0:00:56stands this little-known house, the most beautiful of ruins.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Take a look around and, sadly, you can
0:01:02 > 0:01:06see most of it is an empty shell, an echo of its glory days.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09When it was built in the 16th century by Sir Humphrey Stafford,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Kirby Hall was regarded as one of the finest houses in the land.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17It was considered a great privilege if Queen Elizabeth came
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and stayed with you on one of her tours of the countryside,
0:01:20 > 0:01:25and Sir Humphrey really wanted a Royal visit.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28He used the latest architectural styles from the Continent,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32with masses of fine stonework and all set in beautiful, formal
0:01:32 > 0:01:36gardens in the hope of attracting Elizabeth for a stay.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38But, sadly, it wasn't enough.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Sir Humphrey died in 1575, the house unfinished,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47without the merest sniff of a visit from Elizabeth.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50The next owner, Sir Christopher Hatton, also wanted the Queen
0:01:50 > 0:01:53to come and stay at his house, so he added some fabulous updates
0:01:53 > 0:01:57like these glorious bay windows - the height of fashion at the time.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Kirby Hall looked a dead cert for a Royal drop-in.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05After all, this handsome young man was the Lord Chancellor
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and one of the queen's favourites.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Apparently, he'd caught her eye with his flamboyant dancing
0:02:10 > 0:02:13and shapely legs.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Rumour has it that Hatton and Elizabeth were more than just
0:02:16 > 0:02:20good friends, but whatever the state of their relationship,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23it was never enough to lure Elizabeth to Kirby Hall.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24She never came here.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29And I have to say, I think she missed out, because this is
0:02:29 > 0:02:32a beautiful place, one of English Heritage's hidden gems.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35I'm sure our visitors agree as they come to join us
0:02:35 > 0:02:38here at the Roadshow at Kirby Hall.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And if you'd like more information about the programme,
0:02:41 > 0:02:42please log on to our website.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Of course the sheer size of it, it's a whopper.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Imagine that full of wine.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55- Cor, that must have been a weight. - Absolutely, absolutely.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57What's the history?
0:02:57 > 0:03:03Erm, my dad - I'm sure it was in the 1980s - he bought it from auction.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06He was into collecting everything - bottle-digging Saturdays
0:03:06 > 0:03:08and Sunday mornings.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10So he used to dig bottles himself.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Oh, yeah, absolutely, the house was full of them,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14ginger beer bottles, cod bottles - the ones with
0:03:14 > 0:03:18the marbles in, and then he used to go to auctions
0:03:18 > 0:03:23and he bought this one, like I say, in the early...well, about '85.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I mean, obviously he was attracted to the fact it's got
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- the seal on the front which tells us who it's made for.- That's right.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- And there we are, "C Shirreff, 1783".- That's it.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37And the family crest - I guess that's a unicorn, isn't it?
0:03:37 > 0:03:38It looks like a unicorn, yes, yeah.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Do you know anything about C Shirreff?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Well, the only thing I know about a C Sheriff,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47we searched on the internet.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53We found a C Sheriff from Edinburgh in Scotland, was born in 1750,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58so 1783 would put him at 33 years old,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03- about the right time to start drinking lots of red wine.- Yeah.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Now, he was a painter of miniatures, and I think he was quite famous,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09so I don't know if it ties into the same one.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13I've had a word with our picture specialists here and they've been
0:04:13 > 0:04:16telling me about Charles Shirreff, and it would seem to fit in.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- He was quite an eminent painter... - That's right.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21..Of portraits in miniature.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25- Yeah, yeah.- He was born in Edinburgh but worked in London.- Right, OK.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28And particularly painting characters from the London stage.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- OK.- And it seems he was deaf and dumb
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and communicated with sign language.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34That's right, yes, yeah.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38But was a really skilled painter, and can you imagine him
0:04:38 > 0:04:40entertaining at his home, famous actors,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44inviting them to drink wine from his bottle?
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Absolutely amazing.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Because these were things to be functional,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51you kept your wine in a cask in the cellar
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and you filled the bottles up and served them at dinner.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56That's it, yeah.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Of course, the seal on a bottle adds enormously to the value
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- and to the collector's interest.- Yeah.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04That's why your father, I'm sure, paid lots of money for...
0:05:04 > 0:05:06- I would have thought so, yes. - ..For a sealed bottle.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- Do you know what it cost him? - I believe it was about 650.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Which then was a fair bit of money, then.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Absolutely, yeah.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19What you've got is... The size makes this one special,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21- it's the date is important. - Yeah, yeah.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I mean, here, the capacity,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I suppose that's more than two bottles, four bottles,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28it's a jeroboam, isn't it?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- I mean, it's a real whopper. - Absolutely.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- And that sort of lifts it.- Yeah.
0:05:34 > 0:05:41So...I suppose today, a bottle like that, 6,000, 7,000?
0:05:43 > 0:05:49Really?! There you go, thank you very much.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Even empty.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56Brilliant, I want to have a glass meself now. Brilliant.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00I think it's safe to say these are show stoppers.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- Yes.- Do they stop your show?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05You could say that.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08They've been in the attic for quite a while,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11we don't know anything about them, they're pretty gaudy.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14So they're not at home on these tables?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16No, they're not.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Um, they're a bit damaged
0:06:18 > 0:06:21because they were bombed in the war in Margate.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Shouldn't they have glass domes over the top as well?
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- Well, we've got those at home.- Right.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So these were in an old family home in Margate,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30without their glass domes.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32And the next-door house was bombed.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Right, so that's when the duck lost its wing and he lost his thumb?
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Yes, yeah, yeah.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38It's amazing they survived.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Would it have been a bad thing if they hadn't survived?
0:06:41 > 0:06:42SHE LAUGHS
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Probably, yes.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Because I get the impression you don't like them.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48You've probably got the right impression, yes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52But I would like to know, you know, - why I don't like them.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Well, let's talk about them.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57They are French, very much in the style of Paris porcelain.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59but these were actually made by a firm outside of Paris,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02north of Paris, and there is actually a mark on the bottom.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Oh, is there?!
0:07:04 > 0:07:06You'll have to trust me on this -
0:07:06 > 0:07:08when you get home you can look - but there's a mark of L&M,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12- which is Letu and Mauger, which are a French maker.- Yeah.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14They were working north of Paris in the 1850s, 1860s,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and they made these very typical bisque porcelain figures,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22so this is fired once, not glazed, and then decorated,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26so you get this lovely, naturalistic, realistic look.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- Yes.- And, of course, the colours are as fresh as they are today,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and the reason they were under glass domes is
0:07:33 > 0:07:36because when you feel the surface, I mean, you can see here,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38she's a little bit on the dirty side.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40That's because it is rough,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- not glazed smooth like a normal piece of porcelain.- Yes.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45So, under the glass domes,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48of course, the dirt would have been kept away,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50- apart from when they were in Margate when the bomb went off.- Yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55It's interesting to note, although these are Native American figures,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59he's definitely red-skinned and his lady is...she's been a bit
0:07:59 > 0:08:03air brushed and a bit Europeanised, so she is pale-skinned and obviously
0:08:03 > 0:08:06appealing to a European market, which is what they were made for.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Right.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10But today these would appeal to a Middle Eastern market or a
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Far Eastern market and if these were to come to auction, they
0:08:14 > 0:08:19- would sell for £2,000 to £3,000 for the pair, domes included.- Yep.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21So, do you like them any more?
0:08:21 > 0:08:22No.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24SHE LAUGHS
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Well, here we are, in the middle of Northamptonshire,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and you come in with three fantastic marines by Samuel Owen
0:08:34 > 0:08:36of the Battle of Camperdown.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I'm very interested to see the boats, I see the Director, and
0:08:40 > 0:08:44it's got "Captain Bligh", and that's Captain William Bligh, I presume.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46It is indeed, yes.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48And he was captain of the Director at that battle.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50At that time, yes.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- And we were fighting, then, the Dutch, and we won.- Yes.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- Outright.- Yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59So how come you have personally inscribed pictures here to
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Captain Bligh?
0:09:01 > 0:09:04He is my ancestor,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and he had these pictures commissioned after the battle.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12For Samuel Owen to paint them, and he, of course, had them
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and they've stayed in the family and came down to me, finally.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19He was the most extraordinary man, Captain Bligh,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23from the 1770s, he was with Captain Cook on the Resolution.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25On the Resolution, yes.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30And then, in 1789, he was captain of the Bounty.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Yes.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33And then there's the mutiny.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- Yes.- Fletcher Christian chucks him off the ship...
0:09:36 > 0:09:38And all that, yeah.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40..Into the 23ft boat with 18 other people,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- and off he goes.- And across the Pacific, two or 3,000 miles...
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- To Timor. It's extraordinary. - It was, yes.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50And all he had for guidance was a sextant and his watch.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Indeed.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53And that was it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I know, and he made it.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57What an extraordinary life, to have done that,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00to be with Cook, then the mutiny on the Bounty. And then
0:10:00 > 0:10:02the battle of Camperdown,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05where he was commander of this ship, fantastic.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I know, amazing, yes, it was an amazing career.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Now, we'll look at this top one here, because here
0:10:10 > 0:10:14we have HMS Director firing broadside and it's signed
0:10:14 > 0:10:21by Owen, and it's 1798, in fact, so it's the year after the action.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Yes.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24And these probably could have been
0:10:24 > 0:10:27exhibited at one of the exhibitions about that time.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I think in 1798 at the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- Was it really?- I think so, yeah.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34That's fantastic, because he only exhibited a few times there.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37And, you know, he painted for a fairly short time
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- but he was a very good marine artist.- Yes.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42But what I'm amazed by these is the size.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45A lot of the Samuel Owen's I've seen are tiny, about this size.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Really?- Yes. And these are really big. I think, looking at these
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and the family connection, first of all,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54if they hadn't had "Bligh" on them, what would they have been worth?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Well, I would have said to you, each one of these,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01maybe £4,000 to £6,000 each, for each one, OK?
0:11:01 > 0:11:07But, looking at these with his name on, I think I would put
0:11:07 > 0:11:10these in at £20,000 to £30,000 for the three.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Oh, my goodness! Oh heavens!
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Well, quite frankly, he was such an amazing person.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19- Yes, yes.- And it's such a great story.- Historically.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20And also the provenance.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Yes, and I am just so pleased that I am the custodian of them
0:11:24 > 0:11:28at the moment and eventually my son will get them.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31And they'll stay in the family for many more generations.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32- Mm.- Fantastic.- Absolutely, yes.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Well, we've just seen this lovely pair of tables with those
0:11:37 > 0:11:40ceramic figures and they were your figures, were they?
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Yeah, they were, yes. Or are.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- Can you imagine these in the house here?- These, yes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47They'd look great, wouldn't they?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49They're lovely tables. Yes. I love them.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51What can you tell me about them?
0:11:51 > 0:11:55I can tell you absolutely nothing, zilch, about these tables.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58They were bought by my great-grandparents, or grandparents,
0:11:58 > 0:12:03in a house sale or an antique shop
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and we've had them for donkey's years.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10So, zilch, donkey's years, antique shop,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13possibly parents or grandparents or an auction - that's a good
0:12:13 > 0:12:16start anyway, we are narrowing it down a little bit.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- So you've had them for a long time? - Yes.- OK, do you use them?
0:12:19 > 0:12:21- Yes.- In the house somewhere.- Yes.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23What I love about these are two things.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Firstly, the size, they're a very nice, small size
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- and small is beautiful, it really is.- Yes, yeah.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33But in terms of beauty, what do you think about the marble?
0:12:33 > 0:12:34I love it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36- So do I, isn't it great?- I love it.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38I'm rather jealous. I want some marble this colour.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40- Yes. - It's got a nice French name.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43- Breche violette.- Ah!
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Breche violette, so it's a type of marble,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50a sort of mixture of purple and sort of yellowy, peachy colour.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51- And the strong veining.- Yes.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56This has come from a French quarry, but when? When?
0:12:56 > 0:12:57How old are they?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59You're going to tell me that!
0:12:59 > 0:13:02SHE LAUGHS
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I've had a jolly good look at them underneath.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I was looking for a signature, but they're not signed,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09I can't find one, sadly.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13There are one or two names I'd like, because this is
0:13:13 > 0:13:16the sort of thing made, copying the 18th century style of Louis XVI.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- So the Neo-Classical style of the 1780s.- Right.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- So it's made about 100, 110 years ago.- Yeah.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23So they're not that old.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- No.- They're made in the luxury market of Paris,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30so they're really sort of important French makers.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33There were thousands of furniture makers in Paris around 1900.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37- Yeah, yes.- A very important centre. Everybody wanted French furniture.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40That was the big important fashionable thing at the time,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43for many years. What I love are little things like this,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46this capital, this Ionic capital here.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48What's this made of? Have you any idea?
0:13:48 > 0:13:51No, it's light, isn't it? The wood is light.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Mm, mm, so the weight is in the top, isn't it?- Yes, yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55It is carved wood, though.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57It is wood, yes.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Almost certainly beech wood and underneath,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01this is actually real gold.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02- Is it?- Gold leaf, real gold.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- Oh, great, oh, right.- But I don't think it's worth melting it down
0:14:05 > 0:14:07- you wouldn't get very far.- No.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I think they're very pretty tables, they're very interesting.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13The size, as I've just said, is the best thing for them
0:14:13 > 0:14:15because people can house something like this.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16So, really, valuation.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The pair of these tables, lovely pair of tables,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21worth at least 4,000 to 6,000.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Wow, well that's a lot more than I thought they were worth!
0:14:25 > 0:14:27They're very pretty, thank you very much.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- Well, thank you. - Covet them.- Thank you.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33So, this morning you've brought me in one of the very earliest TV
0:14:33 > 0:14:39sets, made by Marconiphone just prior to the Second World War,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42so we think 1937-1938.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Uh-huh.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46And in addition to the TV, you've also kindly brought me
0:14:46 > 0:14:48in the brochure that comes with it.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50- Yes.- And it very proudly states that,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54"Although the picture is of relatively small size, it
0:14:54 > 0:14:58"will be quite adequate and suitable for rooms of average dimensions."
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Well, look at the size of the screen.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04It's only what, three-and-a-half, four inches-square?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Yes, yes, small rooms.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Small rooms, and if you just notice at the bottom, it cost 29 guineas.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Well, pre-war, 29 guineas was a huge amount of money.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16This wasn't for your average guy in the street, you could
0:15:16 > 0:15:19have bought a sizeable car for 29 guineas,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22so a very high-end luxury item.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25But also here is a lovely family group and they are all ranged
0:15:25 > 0:15:31around the TV, enjoying an afternoon cup of tea and watching the TV.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32How big is your TV at home?
0:15:32 > 0:15:3440-inch.
0:15:34 > 0:15:3640-inch?! So you obviously don't use this one any more.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- No, no.- Who did it belong to?
0:15:38 > 0:15:39It belonged to my father.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44We didn't know he had it, and three years ago,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47he had to go into a home and we were clearing out his flat,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52and he had a large collection of memorabilia from military,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55light aircraft and John Constable, his two passions, and when
0:15:55 > 0:15:59we finally removed the final box, we found this tucked in the corner.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Well, it's a fabulous piece, it's in lovely original condition,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06you've brought it with its brochure.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Quite a collectable piece today.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13At auction, probably a figure of between £5,000 and £7,000.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Well, that's one more nought that I thought it was going to be!
0:16:19 > 0:16:25Good grief! Oh, Dad, what were you sitting on?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Bless him, he was on Pension Credit.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Time for our regular catch-up on items that we've seen in the past
0:16:38 > 0:16:42on the Antiques Roadshow, and back in 2010 our art specialist, Philip
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Mould, saw a fragile devotional object that could have been
0:16:46 > 0:16:53as much as 500 years old, but was in need of some serious TLC.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Often with an object as beautifully painted as this,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00and also as dirty as this, only a torch can show up the detail,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and I have to say, the more I look at it, the more I find it exquisite.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Yes, yes, it's lovely, isn't it?
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Every time I look at it and use it, I spot something different,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11despite the dirt.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I mean, am I right in thinking that for you this is
0:17:14 > 0:17:15an object of devotion?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Yes, I'm a retired priest and it lives in a little oratory that
0:17:18 > 0:17:22I have in my house alongside the altar there against the wall.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24So you have a little chapel?
0:17:24 > 0:17:28I have a little chapel and it's part of the furnishings of the chapel.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31I think this is something that requires more detailed
0:17:31 > 0:17:33research and also deep cleaning,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37because we just get a little hint here of that blue in the sky.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Yes.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I mean, this is going to radically transform and, with it, all sorts
0:17:41 > 0:17:45of signature details, one hopes, by which we can arrive at an artist.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Reverend John Allen, welcome back to the programme.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Philip, this has undergone an extraordinary transformation,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56so what have you done since we last saw you?
0:17:56 > 0:18:00At Philip's suggestion, it went to a restorer in London
0:18:00 > 0:18:02and she had it for over a year, about 14 months,
0:18:02 > 0:18:08and she took off all the old varnish, there were one or
0:18:08 > 0:18:13two holes in it which she was able to patch with pigment that
0:18:13 > 0:18:18matched the original pigment, and cleaned it under a microscope
0:18:18 > 0:18:22so that she could see all the detail of it, and it's transformed it.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24If you look at the two pictures at the bottom,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I originally thought that that, which is actually
0:18:27 > 0:18:30a painting of the circumcision of Christ, I originally thought
0:18:30 > 0:18:34it was the dinner at Emmaus with the disciples after the Resurrection.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Gosh, that's a very different social gathering, isn't it?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39And that, which is actually the baby on the ground, you can see,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and is a Nativity,
0:18:41 > 0:18:46as it was before, looked like Christ coming out of the tomb.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47Goodness me.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It's completely transformed one's understanding of it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- But it's not just the detail, is it? It's the colours.- Yes.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Just astonishing. I mean, it's sublime, the transformation.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And looking at this and looking at the intensity of the colours,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04one gets an idea, I think, of those often small, rather dark,
0:19:04 > 0:19:05- small-windowed rooms...- Yes.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09..Where something like this private devotional object would have
0:19:09 > 0:19:12been, very little light, possibly a bit of flickering candle,
0:19:12 > 0:19:17and the spiritual intensity of these wonderful original colours...
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Yes.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- ..Now communicate themselves to us. - It's completely transformed it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24That can't have come cheap, I imagine.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26This is the most expensive person I've ever met.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28THEY LAUGH
0:19:28 > 0:19:33Now, you valued it at the time at about what, 50,000 or 60,000?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Well, 40 to 60 is what I think I put.
0:19:36 > 0:19:3740 to 60.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41And at that point, and I have to say still at this point,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43we don't know who the artist is.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47What we can say though, I think, with absolutely certainty is that it
0:19:47 > 0:19:52belongs to the Northern Netherlands, probably about 1510 in date,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55reminiscent of that famous and rather terrifying artist,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Hieronymus Bosch, in the handling of some of the figures.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01But as to a clear attribution, do you know?
0:20:01 > 0:20:04I don't think that's really what's so important about this.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08What has come out of this is its quality, its colour,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12its intensity and I think it's increased its value, as well.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Go on.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Well...
0:20:15 > 0:20:17THEY LAUGH
0:20:17 > 0:20:18Put him on the spot.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Well, clearly, I mean, I know this was very expensive for you to
0:20:22 > 0:20:23do, and so it should be.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I'm pretty confident that a Continental museum would pay
0:20:26 > 0:20:29anything up to £80,000,
0:20:29 > 0:20:31£90,000 for an object like this.
0:20:31 > 0:20:37The condition is much better than I thought, the quality is finer,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39and can we just open the doors?
0:20:39 > 0:20:40Yes, do.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45These are such delicate hinges, here we go, look at that.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49And the carving probably a little bit later, 1520s.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52I think so, it's obviously a different artist, isn't it?
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Yes, it is, it's more mannered, it's more sophisticated,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57it doesn't quite have that early primitive
0:20:57 > 0:21:00clarity that the doors both front and back have.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02So John, what do you propose to do with it?
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Because I know for your father it was a devotional object,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07you are a man of the cloth.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10It's very personal to you, isn't it?
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Yes, it's still being used now,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15as it was designed to be used 500 years ago.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18We've actually left it to the Bowes Museum.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19Oh, to the Bowes Museum, have you?
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Yes, we're northerners and therefore it seemed right that,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and they've got a lovely collection of triptychs, but nothing like this.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29I don't think anybody's got anything like this, to be truthful.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31That's fantastic, that's wonderful.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34And let's hope also that its original function will not be
0:21:34 > 0:21:36- lost there, either.- Yes, yes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Getting you closer to God.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Well, I hope so, in the North, naturally.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45THEY LAUGH
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- So, you've brought me three little books.- Indeed.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52On the left here - in a way it's hardly a book,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54it's more like a folder of loose notes in this very rough
0:21:54 > 0:21:57leather binding, obviously quite old.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01In the middle here is a notebook which has the title in manuscript,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04"The Journal Of John Matson Of Bridlington Who Was Trepand,"
0:22:04 > 0:22:10which I think means kidnapped, "From London Bridge, August 1780".
0:22:10 > 0:22:16And finally, an even smaller book, a little bit later,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18which has the title "Indian Warfare,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20"Or The Extraordinary
0:22:20 > 0:22:23"Adventures Of John Matson, The Kidnapped Youth".
0:22:23 > 0:22:27So, these are his loose notes, this is a journal he wrote up,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and this is a book published from the journal.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32That's right.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Tell me a little bit about them and how you relate to them.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Well, he was my great-great-great grandfather,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42he was trepanned and taken on a ship to India,
0:22:42 > 0:22:48having been round the Cape of Good Hope, to South Africa.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52He couldn't escape, he was tied up quite a lot
0:22:52 > 0:22:57and then he walked across India, west to east.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00I know no more, I'm afraid, apart from the fact that this has been
0:23:00 > 0:23:04in the family now for many, many years, it's been carefully
0:23:04 > 0:23:08put away, and I've just come upon it, it's now come to me.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Let's have a little look at it.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It's a wonderful journal because the way he writes it,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15it's actually very useful because he picks out all the important
0:23:15 > 0:23:18names of the places he goes to, in large letters.
0:23:18 > 0:23:19Yes.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Here we are, look,
0:23:21 > 0:23:26The Cape of Good Hope, the island of Joanna between the coast of Africa
0:23:26 > 0:23:31and India, all these wonderful words coming off the page at me.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Here we are, negro slaves,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- presumably he's off the coast of Africa here.- Yes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Arabia, he's talking about the weather,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41he's trying to describe the people he sees.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Here he is, he arrives in Bombay.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Further down the page, he seems to be in Calcutta.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49So this is somebody doing unimaginable distances by sea
0:23:49 > 0:23:54and by land, and then he seems to get involved in a siege
0:23:54 > 0:23:58and he's captured in India, and he's imprisoned,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02not just for a few weeks but it seems for a very long time.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Yes.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06"We were coupled two and two together and marched up
0:24:06 > 0:24:10"the country to different forts and kept on, one poise a day,"
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I think that's a ration. "..Which is about the weight of a halfpenny,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17"and a quart of flour which is made of a sort of white seed".
0:24:17 > 0:24:22- Yes.- It's an amazing story.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24It does seem to have a happy ending.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28We can continue going through the journal, but when we get to the
0:24:28 > 0:24:34end, lo and behold, we find him back at Gravesend and Chatham Barracks...
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- So he finds his way back to Britain alive.- Unbelievable.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And yet, throughout the narrative, I've seen references to people
0:24:41 > 0:24:45being thrown overboard, dead, many hundreds of people being killed...
0:24:45 > 0:24:46Yes, yes.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- ..His fellow soldiers, and he came through.- He did.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52They're very exciting, so I think I'd quite happily put
0:24:52 > 0:24:55a valuation of £8,000 to £10,000 on these.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Goodness me! It is not for sale in my lifetime.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Usually when people bring in sheet music, I have to say,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10my heart does slightly sink, but you've brought in a collection
0:25:10 > 0:25:16of sheet music, but with wonderful cover illustrations on them.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18How did you get this little collection?
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Inherited it, really, in that my great-uncle owned a music
0:25:22 > 0:25:27shop in the Lewisham High Road, which subsequently closed
0:25:27 > 0:25:30and the stock needed to be sorted out, which fell to my mother,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34who was a musician, so she had an interest there.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Yeah.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38My mother subsequently died, and that's
0:25:38 > 0:25:42when I really discovered them, but I could see immediately that these
0:25:42 > 0:25:48were a little bit apart from, you know, just your normal sheet music.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Yeah. So how many have you got altogether in the collection?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I stopped counting at 500.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55OK, that's a lot!
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Um, yes, it's in excess of 500.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01So they're lithographed, they're all lithographed covers.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04And the ones that we've selected, as you say,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07out of your big collection - the framed ones, particularly,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09wonderfully decorative - the mad bull gallop
0:26:09 > 0:26:11you know, it's fantastic.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15And this one here showing the train coming, I'm not quite sure
0:26:15 > 0:26:20what this poor chap's doing here, the celebrated song of Tommy Dodd,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25but this would be of real interest to railway enthusiasts.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Oh, really?
0:26:26 > 0:26:28And I love this one in particular,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32The Girls of the Period Polka, with these wonderful vignettes
0:26:32 > 0:26:37on the lithographed covers, this one showing Hyde Park, this one
0:26:37 > 0:26:41showing some cricket, a cricket match, and then we've got the
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Derby down here and the Boat Race, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And this sort of thing would really appeal to, you know, to
0:26:49 > 0:26:51four different types of people.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55And it is actually a piece of music.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Inside there's sheet music.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59This one dates from about, I think it's 1869,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02there's a date on the back that says 1869.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Yes, probably, yes, I like that one, it's one of my favourites.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07It's lovely, it's fantastic.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11I think in general, an ordinary one would be worth about £3 or
0:27:11 > 0:27:16£4, maybe £5 for a very ordinary lithographed cover.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19These ones that I've selected, I think
0:27:19 > 0:27:23you could easily be putting somewhere between £50,
0:27:23 > 0:27:28maybe higher than that, and for something, you know,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32where you've got a very, very specific area of interest, such as
0:27:32 > 0:27:36railways, such as your cycling, such as cricket, I could easily see a
0:27:36 > 0:27:40collector paying well over £100 for something like that.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- Good grief!- Just one thing.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45So if you've got 500 of them, say, maybe more, I think
0:27:45 > 0:27:50you're looking at easily £3,000 to £4,000.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Oh, my goodness!
0:28:12 > 0:28:15One ring, one owner, where did it come from?
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Well, I found it in 2012.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22I borrowed my brother's metal detector and it was the first
0:28:22 > 0:28:24time I'd gone out with it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25No!
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And within about two hours of using this metal detector,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30that popped out.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32And I should think he wanted to kill you, didn't he?
0:28:32 > 0:28:33THEY LAUGH
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- Well, I nearly do, so he surely did! - He wanted to go halves on it.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39So I went straight out and bought the same metal detector
0:28:39 > 0:28:42- and have been going mad ever since. - And you've found other things.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46But anyway you brought this today and this ring is,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48in my opinion, 500 or 600 years old, it's a
0:28:48 > 0:28:51late-medieval ring and it's a cabochon sapphire.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54And had I been there to find it, I think
0:28:54 > 0:28:56I would have practically fainted with excitement
0:28:56 > 0:29:00because these objects are very redolent, they're very strange, they
0:29:00 > 0:29:06are intensely personal objects and this one has a magical talismanic
0:29:06 > 0:29:10function which is interesting to think about for a while, because
0:29:10 > 0:29:15every precious stone has a specific meaning in the lore of the lapidary.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18And the sapphire, one of its properties is to protect
0:29:18 > 0:29:21the owner from the falling sickness, from epilepsy,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and from a thousand other threatening parts of life.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But we can't really guess quite what that meant to the owner,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31but we know that the owner was living in a near colourless
0:29:31 > 0:29:34world in comparative terms.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38There were no hybrid plants, there were no noisy coloured motor
0:29:38 > 0:29:41cars, there was no paint in the way that we understand it,
0:29:41 > 0:29:46and so, when a pure bead of unadulterated colour came across
0:29:46 > 0:29:51the water from the extreme Orient into medieval society and it was
0:29:51 > 0:29:56hard and enduring and set in gold, it was a very potent thing indeed.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59And it fell off his finger and his loss was exactly
0:29:59 > 0:30:03comparable to the amazement and joy of you finding it.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05HE LAUGHS
0:30:05 > 0:30:07But there is one thing to say amongst all this amazing
0:30:07 > 0:30:10excitement is that if you find such an object, there is
0:30:10 > 0:30:14an obligation to report it to the Portable Antiquities Scheme
0:30:14 > 0:30:18to make sure that you're not infringing the Treasure Trove Act.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21And single objects that are found in this way, are very seldom viewed
0:30:21 > 0:30:25as treasure trove, but it is an obligation to do it, and once you've
0:30:25 > 0:30:30done that, it's yours and therefore can enter the commercial world.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33I hardly dare mention the commercial world in respect of this,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36because it's almost a sort of sacred object, really, isn't it?
0:30:36 > 0:30:39- Yeah, I can't imagine ever selling it.- No, something very dear
0:30:39 > 0:30:42to your heart and I can quite understand that, I mean,
0:30:42 > 0:30:43just looking at it now,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47I feel the same, and it is an extraordinarily valuable object.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50This object is worth...
0:30:50 > 0:30:53£10,000.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Oh, very nice. I think that was well saved, then, wasn't it?
0:30:56 > 0:30:57THEY LAUGH
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Very well saved.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Wow, that's amazed me, actually, fantastic.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Well, who could imagine that two dresses could possibly
0:31:05 > 0:31:07be by the same designer?
0:31:07 > 0:31:10- We are of course talking about Jean Muir.- Yes.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12What can you tell me about them?
0:31:12 > 0:31:13How do you come to have them?
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Right, well, my aunt gave me
0:31:15 > 0:31:19these dresses as she knows I've got an interest in fashion history
0:31:19 > 0:31:24and this dress she wore to the first night of the opera at the
0:31:24 > 0:31:31Metropolitan in New York and because she was going to such a sort of a
0:31:31 > 0:31:36posh event, my grandpa gave her some money to buy some clothes so that
0:31:36 > 0:31:39she would feel like she was fitting in, but what she didn't tell him was
0:31:39 > 0:31:43she spent all of it on this dress and even had to top it up herself.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46So when was this?
0:31:46 > 0:31:48I'm assuming this was in the very early 1970s.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53Yes, about - I think it's 1974, '75, '76 something like that.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57- Well, she was obviously a very fashionable woman.- Definitely.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Jean Muir, she's a very interesting British designer,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03born in the late 1920s, died in 1995, and I think she was
0:32:03 > 0:32:07totally self-taught, didn't go to art school.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11She started her career as a sketcher for Liberty in their lingerie
0:32:11 > 0:32:13- department.- OK.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16She then went on to work for Jaeger, as a designer for many,
0:32:16 > 0:32:20many years, and I think she started her own label in the mid '60s
0:32:20 > 0:32:25and her work is very minimalist, very precision, attention to detail.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29She's often kind of considered to be the designer's designer,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and I think she did actually describe her own work as being
0:32:32 > 0:32:34engineering in cloth.
0:32:34 > 0:32:39But she's very...I still think she's kind of slightly under-rated
0:32:39 > 0:32:43in many ways, comparatively towards other designers of her
0:32:43 > 0:32:47generation, and so of course you're wearing one of the dresses today.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49- Yes.- Do you wear it very often?
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Do you wear all the pieces that you have?
0:32:51 > 0:32:56Unfortunately, my aunt is a little bit smaller now than I am,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58though I have worn this dress out
0:32:58 > 0:33:01and unfortunately I didn't realise you're not meant
0:33:01 > 0:33:04to dance in suede so I nearly passed out because I was so hot in it.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07But it is gorgeous and an absolute statement.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Well, with regards to prices, I think the suede dress,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15which is slightly more typical of her work, I think
0:33:15 > 0:33:18if you were to buy that, you would probably at auction,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21you'd probably be looking at maybe £200 to £300 on that one.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Really? OK.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28This one, even though it's very untypical of Jean Muir, I think
0:33:28 > 0:33:32this would certainly have more appeal because of that,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and you know, I can see this in an auction perhaps making
0:33:35 > 0:33:38somewhere in the region of perhaps £400 to £600.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43Wow, OK, that's, that's quite a lot just for a bit of a crazy dress.
0:33:45 > 0:33:51I absolutely love quirky objects. Have you ever used it?
0:33:51 > 0:33:56No, I tried to find out what it does but I've never used it.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58I put some water in it and...
0:33:58 > 0:34:00- Well...- At some stage.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02And...? Did it work?
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Well, I thought it worked, yes.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08OK, so let's have a look, see what happens.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11Won't put too much in, there we go,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14so all the water now is just spraying out.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Yes.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Right, I'd better stop that, actually.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25We're going to need the fire brigade soon, I think,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28to pump up all the water.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Before any more comes out, I think I'll just quickly do that.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34OK, so, yes, it's a fountain.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35Right.
0:34:37 > 0:34:38What's lovely with this,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41it goes back to the period before television -
0:34:41 > 0:34:44how are they going to entertain themselves
0:34:44 > 0:34:46in the 16th and 17th century?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Well, they produced all sorts of novelties, amusements,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53and this fits very much into that sort of category.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57And what happened in the 19th century, when this one was made,
0:34:57 > 0:35:01was that they were getting 17th-century design books
0:35:01 > 0:35:06and they've found the design for this and decided to make it.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08- But how long have you had it? - A few years.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10But what made you buy it?
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Well, a friend of mine
0:35:12 > 0:35:17knew that I collected unusual bits of silver.
0:35:17 > 0:35:18And this is certainly unusual.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21And he phoned me and said, "I've got this item.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24"I don't know what it is. Would you like to have a look?"
0:35:24 > 0:35:25I said, "Yes, I would have a look."
0:35:25 > 0:35:26And I said, "I don't know what it is,
0:35:26 > 0:35:29"you don't know what it is, I'm going to buy it off you," and I did.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Well done, well done.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35I've only ever seen one before, but it's silver gilt,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39as I'm sure you realise, and you can see some of the silver
0:35:39 > 0:35:43coming through there, and it's interesting as well
0:35:43 > 0:35:47because just looking here, we've got Lamberts of Coventry Street.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53So Lamberts were important retailers.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Not only were they actually selling antique pieces
0:35:56 > 0:36:01and second-hand pieces but they were commissioning pieces to be made
0:36:01 > 0:36:07from the antique, and it was made in London in 1875.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Now the actual maker...
0:36:12 > 0:36:14- George Angel? - Not George Angel, no.
0:36:14 > 0:36:15Oh, right.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18I think it's someone more important than George Angel,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21much better - George Fox.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24- Ah.- George Fox and the Foxes were an incredible
0:36:24 > 0:36:29family of silversmiths and they were producing these absolutely
0:36:29 > 0:36:32marvellous pieces from all different periods and so on.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Whereas so many Victorian makers mixed up design,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40the Foxes stuck to a pretty pure form
0:36:40 > 0:36:43and that's what we're seeing here.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46So I would think in today's market for such an unusual piece
0:36:46 > 0:36:51we're looking £2,500, £3,000 quite easily.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54It's interesting to know its function
0:36:54 > 0:36:58because I thought it was probably people having fun,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01they fill it with wine and then they put their glasses underneath there.
0:37:01 > 0:37:02Well, you could try that.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04- But then...- When you've got this there and there...
0:37:04 > 0:37:07..how are you going to collect it from there going out?
0:37:07 > 0:37:08It's coming out, yeah, yeah.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11But it never crossed my mind that it's a fountain.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Yeah, but that's really all it's about.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16Shall we put it on again?
0:37:16 > 0:37:22I'm dying to have another go with it, so let's fill it up again.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Get a bit of pressure behind it and away we go.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Why did you bring this bowl in today?
0:37:34 > 0:37:39Well, it was left to me by a godmother
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and she used to use it as a butter dish
0:37:43 > 0:37:45until somebody came for tea and said,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48"I wouldn't use that as a butter dish if I were you.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50"It might be quite valuable".
0:37:50 > 0:37:56So she died about 1998-99.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58You know that it's jade, presumably.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59Yes, I do.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Butter dish, erm...
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Is not what it is.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09It's not a butter dish but it did have a lid.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13- Yes, oh, right. - We have this step going round here.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- Yes. - And that would have taken a cover.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21- Yeah. - It's lost that. Half of it has gone.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Half the value has gone too.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Um, where do you think it was made?
0:38:28 > 0:38:33Well, as I'm not an Orientalist, I don't know whether it was Chinese
0:38:33 > 0:38:37or Japanese, but the joke was it's got Chinese writing on its bottom.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39OK, let's take that in order.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42The problem with your attribution to Japan
0:38:42 > 0:38:46and it having Chinese characters, not Japanese,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51- is that they're the same characters. - Ah, silly me.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The Chinese invaded Japan at various points
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and they brought Buddhist monks in.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Yes.- The monks converted the Japanese
0:38:59 > 0:39:03and they brought the characters that they used - which were Chinese -
0:39:03 > 0:39:05and the Japanese adopted them, so we've got the same characters.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06Oh, right, yes.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I doesn't mean that a Chinese man can read a Japanese newspaper,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12or vice versa - it's more complicated than that.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Anyway, irrelevant.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17- It's got Japanese/Chinese characters on the base.- Yes.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20We'll come to that in a minute.
0:39:20 > 0:39:25The Japanese also - leaving aside the characters on the bottom -
0:39:25 > 0:39:27- did not carve jade.- Oh, OK.
0:39:27 > 0:39:34So, the Chinese appreciate jade not only according to the carving,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37but also according to the colour.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41And this is quite a good colour - it's white, which is what
0:39:41 > 0:39:47they like best, and it's got brown infusions in it, and they like that.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52- Oh.- So that's good news. Anyway, that's not the joy, the joy is
0:39:52 > 0:39:59in the outside with borders and with here, what we call t'ao-t'ieh masks.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04- This pattern of an archaic face... - Yes.
0:40:04 > 0:40:11..has been taken from Shang dynasty - that's about 1500 BC - bronzes.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14- Yeah. - And they've copied that on to here.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16Oh, gosh.
0:40:16 > 0:40:24And that archaism is common in the 18th century and that's when...
0:40:24 > 0:40:26So, it's an 18th-century...?
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Well, maybe the mark will confirm it, or not.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, sorry. I'm too excited.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39OK, there's the six character mark.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42- Now, the six character mark is standard.- Yeah.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46It would say - if we were in the middle of the 18th century
0:40:46 > 0:40:48when the Emperor Chien-lung reigned
0:40:48 > 0:40:50- if this were the standard mark
0:40:50 > 0:40:56it would say Ta-ching - that's the great Ch'ing dynasty.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Chien-lung - that's his name. Nianzhi - made in the reign of.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03- But it isn't standard.- Oh.
0:41:03 > 0:41:10Instead, it's got a four-character mark, Chien-lung Nianzhi.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11Yeah.
0:41:11 > 0:41:18And then the characters Zhuan-gu and that means "in archaic style".
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- Ah. Like... - Very unusual to find.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24- Oh, wow. - Very unusual.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28And that is - the Chien-lung emperor was a man of exquisite taste
0:41:28 > 0:41:32well, actually some of his taste was ghastly but he, he...
0:41:33 > 0:41:35But some of it was very exquisite.
0:41:36 > 0:41:41Very nouveau riche, some of it, overblown and blingy,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44but when he got it right, I mean commissioning things every day,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47ten, 20 things he was commissioning.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50- Yes.- They all ended up in the Summer Palace and then they were,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52of course, nicked by the Brits.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55- Oh.- And the French. That's where that came from.
0:41:55 > 0:41:56Ah, it was nicked.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59That was nicked from the Summer Palace, I bet you.
0:41:59 > 0:42:05- Oh, gosh.- So, we've got a mid-18th century bowl, lost its cover,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08copying.... in the style of a archaic.
0:42:11 > 0:42:1430 to 50...
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- Not...- Thousand pounds. - ONLOOKERS GASP
0:42:17 > 0:42:20I think that was...
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Oh, wow, gosh, 30 to 50.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Gosh, I've come over all unnecessary.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I didn't think it was worth that, gosh, thank you very much indeed.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Well, for something which is minus its lid,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34it's a fair whack, isn't it?
0:42:34 > 0:42:36It's absolutely beautiful, though, isn't it?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Yes, so take a lot of care.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43I mean, you can use it as a butter dish, no problem, but don't tell me.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47I don't think I will, no, but thank you very much indeed,
0:42:47 > 0:42:49that was lovely.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51- That's great, I'm glad you came. - Thank you.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56It's rather appropriate that we've seen
0:42:56 > 0:42:58so many treasures here at Kirby Hall
0:42:58 > 0:43:01because although it's a bit of a ruin now, in its day
0:43:01 > 0:43:02it was home to sumptuous wealth
0:43:02 > 0:43:05and Sir Christopher Hatton, who lived here and who was
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11was so wealthy that he could fund the voyages of Sir Francis Drake,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14who of course, circumnavigated the globe.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17So there you are - maybe something you didn't know.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19From Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire, bye-bye.
0:43:43 > 0:43:48Subtitles by Ericsson