0:00:38 > 0:00:40Today, the Roadshow makes a return visit
0:00:40 > 0:00:44to Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46By the 16th century, when Kirby Hall was built,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48it was regarded as one of the finest,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51most chic houses in all of England.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Sadly now though, most of it is a ruin.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56That part there has no roof.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59That corner there has been partially restored.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02By the mid-1800s, the family that lived here had packed up and gone,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06and the only person that lived in it was a shepherd and his flock.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07WOODWIND INSTRUMENTAL
0:01:07 > 0:01:10But like the valuables we see brought to the Roadshow,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12you only need to look a little closer
0:01:12 > 0:01:16and a place like this soon starts to breathe, come to life.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20- STRING INSTRUMENTAL - This is the Long Gallery.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25It was once a beautiful, long corridor filled with paintings
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and wall hangings and the Hatton family,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30who owned Kirby Hall for most of its history,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33would stroll up and down here
0:01:33 > 0:01:36if it was too rainy or cold outside.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39A kind of luxurious exercise track.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Though I doubt anyone broke into a sweat.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Some parts of the house have been partially restored by English Heritage,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49meaning it's a little bit easier to imagine what went on here.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Visitors would be met here by the owner in the Great Hall,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59while musicians played up in the minstrels gallery.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02And with its high walls and ornate ceiling,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05it was room designed to impress.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07And give guests a crick in their necks.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12King James I of England was so impressed,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15he stayed at Kirby Hall four times, no less.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19He would greet his visitors here in the Great Withdrawing Room
0:02:19 > 0:02:22under a starry white canopy,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25surrounded by gold and silver cushions.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27You have to imagine it.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30And special guests like the King
0:02:30 > 0:02:33were invited to take a tour of the gardens,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35which were a big status symbol.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37They would slowly perambulate,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42discussing important matters of state, fashion, court gossip,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and stop occasionally and admire the statues and the exotic plants,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48which were gathered from across the globe.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Today the garden is open to our own special guests,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56who are here to admire and discuss antiques,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59as Kirby Hall plays host to the Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02And if you want to get involved with the discussions,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04why not play along with our valuation game?
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Press the red button on your remote and test your antiques knowledge.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Standing with her hand on her hip like this, I get the impression
0:03:14 > 0:03:17that this woman is trying to look distinctly saucy, don't you?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Yes, definitely.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Yes, she came from, as far as we know,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27from Yates's Wine Lodge in Leicester, from the owner.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- Which is like, what, a vintners, or a wine bar?- Yes, it is.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Yes, it was a wine bar,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33but it was very well known in Leicester in those days,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37in the 1950s and it was given to my grandfather
0:03:37 > 0:03:43as part of a payment for a debt that the owner owed my grandfather
0:03:43 > 0:03:47and then in the 1980s when he died, he passed it on to my father.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49So, the question is was the debt worth it?
0:03:49 > 0:03:52It's signed at the bottom right, Adolphe Piot.
0:03:52 > 0:03:59Piot was a reasonably prominent late 19th century French artist,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02more in the academic tradition than the impressionist counterparts
0:04:02 > 0:04:05who were working in the late 19th century.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08But the question is, is it an original?
0:04:08 > 0:04:13Because he is much copied and I would hate to think that it isn't.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I mean, have you speculated on the quality of the picture?
0:04:16 > 0:04:20No, not really. I'm not really very well up in art.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23No, I just know what I was told about it
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and it was just passed to me when my father died.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Well, she's in sort of traditional Italian garb,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- isn't she, really, I suppose?- Yes.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34I mean, she doesn't really look particularly French.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37She looks deliberately exotic. I love those earrings.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41And when one is trying to determine whether a picture is an original
0:04:41 > 0:04:44or a copy, very often the thing to do
0:04:44 > 0:04:46is look deep into the paint surface.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Try and find out if the glazes, the layers of paint have been worked up.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I've been looking at that hand there
0:04:54 > 0:04:58- and I have to say, it's quite encouraging.- Right.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02I mean, as an artist he's not the greatest of painters
0:05:02 > 0:05:05but he does have a way with flesh.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I can imagine this is just the sort of woman that would have been
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- toasted in the wine bar.- Yes.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I mean, she does have that look.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16She looks as though she would, you know, encourage a bit of bottoms up.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21- Yes.- I also rather like the way that her eyes are done.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I mean, they're done with a sort of touch of a brush,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25rather than overly emphatic.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29And when one is trying to work out what is a copy from an original,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33very often with copies you get a hardness, a simplicity.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Something that just doesn't quite work.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42So I'm sort of moving away from thinking that this is a later copy.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45The question is, is it by him?
0:05:45 > 0:05:49If it's not by him it's worth, I don't know, £1,000,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51because it's a very nice looking image.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56If it is by him it's worth probably £6,000 to £8,000.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58And now, with the benefit of the sunlight on it -
0:05:58 > 0:06:03I can't tell you how useful a bit of glare from the sun is -
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I'm coming down clearly on one side.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09This is an original.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- Oh, great.- And therefore I don't know quite how much the debt was for
0:06:13 > 0:06:18but I hope £6,000 to £8,000 covers it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I hope so too! Yes. Thank you.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29- Well, what have we got here? You tell me.- Well, it's a Chinese bowl.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33- I was given it by my uncle as a wedding present in 1979.- Oh, right!
0:06:33 > 0:06:36He, I think, inherited it from his grandmother
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- who used it as a dog bowl for the Dandie Dinmont.- Wonderful!
0:06:39 > 0:06:44- Which is why it's been known in the family as Dandie's bowl.- Lovely!
0:06:44 > 0:06:48There is a family story that a diplomat in the family
0:06:48 > 0:06:51looted it from the Summer Palace in Beijing
0:06:51 > 0:06:54but I have no idea if that's right or not.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Let's just see how correct you are.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Yes, it's Chinese.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Yes, it's a bowl.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08The age, of course, one can't actually determine
0:07:08 > 0:07:11by how many generations it goes back.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13That's a common mistake.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15But it is old.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It was made during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22who reigned from 1662-1722.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- Gosh!- So this is a late 17th century dog bowl.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28THEY LAUGH
0:07:29 > 0:07:32This has been entirely decorated by hand
0:07:32 > 0:07:36in a palette we call fan hiver, named by a Frenchman
0:07:36 > 0:07:40back in the 19th century and we've stuck to it.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46It shows, most importantly, two redheaded Manchurian cranes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53Now, those cranes disappear in autumn. They fly away.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56And in spring, back they come.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59They mate for life so in Chinese it's symbolic of spring
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and of marital fidelity.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04So it's an appropriate wedding present.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09It is. You've also got pine, which is symbolic of long life.
0:08:09 > 0:08:17- Oh!- So that's quite good too. And finally, the sun indicated...
0:08:17 > 0:08:20or the moon, with a single line around it.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- I think it's a lovely thing. - I do too.
0:08:24 > 0:08:31Despite the flaking, I think it would sell for probably £2,500 to £3,500.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- That's quite a lot for a dog bowl. - It is! Thank you!
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- It's really quite large, this table, isn't it?- It is.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43It's very big. Very long.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47I'm interested to know where it's come from and basically who made it.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Do you have any family history at all?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53My uncle bought it in a house sale in Allington
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and we believe he paid less than £10 for it.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- OK. So it wasn't last week. - No. A good 50 years ago.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Right. OK. So, where does it come from?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Well, I can't tell you the house it's come from.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08- I can tell you the country it comes from.- Right.- It's English.- Super.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- But in the French style.- Right.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12So, the whole of this decoration here,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15this leg here is actually an Italian form leg
0:09:15 > 0:09:18but what became a cabriole leg was used in the French style
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and all of this very effuse carving here on the frieze
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- is typical of the rococo period of about the mid 18th century.- Right.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- But is it 18th century? - You tell me.- No.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- It's 19th-century and it's Victorian.- Right.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- 1860 or 1870.- Yeah.- I don't know where this has come from.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40A big house like Kirby Hall possibly.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42When the extra wings were added on to the Victorian families,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45we'll probably never find out where it was made for.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47What I think is interesting is this carving, as I called it,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50it's not the right word because if you look at it carefully,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54can you see it's got splits all the way along on this foliage?
0:09:54 > 0:09:58- That's because it's not carved wood. - Yeah, plaster.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Plaster, it's composition, which obviously will affect the value.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- Yeah.- There's another thing here, which I've noticed,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06which may or may not affect the value. What have you been doing?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Well, that was my uncle.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12He wanted to fit it around a skirting board, so he got his saw out.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Well, he's done it quite neatly, hasn't he?
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Yes, he's a good carpenter.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19But you can see the raw pine of the frame where he's cut it,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21but what's interesting is, if you look at the top of the legs,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23you can see these two holes on either side
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and that is exactly what I was expecting to see
0:10:25 > 0:10:28cos I'm sure there is a huge, great mirror,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30again composition plaster mirror,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33great big one, probably six-foot high.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35There is one in the hallway, actually.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36Oh. From this, do you think?
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Probably not from this, but, yeah, there's two six-foot high mirrors.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Well, it's the sort of thing... It may well come from this.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45I bet there was a pair of tables in a big ballroom, a big house.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49And strange enough, there were some big houses of this Louis XIV style
0:10:49 > 0:10:51on Clapham Common that had this type of furniture
0:10:51 > 0:10:53in the 1850s and '60s. And you are using it today,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55it's in the house, is it?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- Yes, it's just... It has pictures all over it.- In the hall or something?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- Yeah, it's in our living room. - The living room.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Yeah, well, it's perfect.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It's a perfect thing with this lovely white Carrara marble,
0:11:05 > 0:11:06really very good quality marble.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- This was quite an expensive thing at the time.- Right.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12- So, well, it's big, isn't it? - It's... Yeah.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And big isn't necessarily beautiful, but what's good about it
0:11:15 > 0:11:17is that it's not too deep, that's the important thing.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19It fits well in the room, actually.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Yeah, that's the good thing, in a big room. So valuation...
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Under... Under £10 50 years ago.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Auction today...
0:11:28 > 0:11:32- Easily 3,000 - 4,000.- Oh, really? Really? I'm surprised. Yeah.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35- And pleased, I hope.- I am. I'm very pleased.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It's... Yeah, I do like it.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- It's a bit garish, but I do like it.- Bling!
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Well, normally, whenever I hear anything buzzing,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I run a mile and my family are in hysterics,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49but this little bee brooch
0:11:49 > 0:11:51is something I'm not going to run away from.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53How did it come into your family?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55It was my grandmother's
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- and I think probably purchased after the First World War.- Fantastic.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And how have you ended up with it?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Then her jewellery was split between my mother and her sister
0:12:05 > 0:12:09and then I've looked after it because my mother is in a nursing home,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- so it will end up with my sister, probably.- Yes.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14But it's just been sat there, not being admired or anything?
0:12:14 > 0:12:17My mother used to wear it a lot and my sister used to wear it.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Oh, that's lovely to see. In the Victorian...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- I don't!- No! - LAUGHTER
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Maybe you should! It would be great!
0:12:24 > 0:12:28In the Victorian period, bees, particularly, were seen as
0:12:28 > 0:12:32a sign of reflecting the ideas of virtue and working hard.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33The queen bee and all that.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37So it's really fabulous to see such a good example,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41which is all set with these beautiful old cut diamonds
0:12:41 > 0:12:46and dainty little ruby eyes, so really quite fun.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Now, I'm not sure how much time you've spent looking at it,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52but you've probably noticed that, if you turn it over,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55we can see that there is a brooch pin fitting,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58which is actually detachable.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01You unscrew it here and then take that off
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and you can actually put in a hairpin
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and then wear it in the hair, so great fun.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11So it's actually yellow gold on the bottom and then silver on the top,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15which was typical of the way that Victorian jewellery was made,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18so it's nice to see the two contrasts
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and the silver on the top helps to keep the diamonds nice
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and white because it's the whiteness in diamonds
0:13:24 > 0:13:28that we like to see, so it's beautifully made, really gorgeous.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29But late Victorian?
0:13:29 > 0:13:36Date-wise, round about 1860-1870, so mid-Victorian
0:13:36 > 0:13:38and reflects the love and passion
0:13:38 > 0:13:42that, particularly, Queen Victoria had regarding nature.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- No markings on it.- No markings.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48We didn't have to have markings on jewellery in the Victorian period,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52not until the 20th century that we start to see that come in.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55So attributing it to a maker is very difficult,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57but it probably would have been a good-quality maker.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02- In England?- In England, yes, absolutely. No, great fun.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Now, value-wise, of course, if it appeared at auction,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09we'd be looking in the region of, probably,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11£6,000 - £8,000.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- Very good.- Yeah.- Thank you very much, that's wonderful.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16My pleasure. Thank you.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Now, this is a very strange shape, isn't it?
0:14:20 > 0:14:24- It's a bit like a slipper gone wrong from Ali Baba's cave, isn't it?- Yes.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27What do you know about it?
0:14:27 > 0:14:28I love it. I love it.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I inherited it from a friend who died a couple of years ago
0:14:31 > 0:14:37- and I do know that it is Russian. It's got a date on it.- Yes.- 1750.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38Yes.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42And it also, I think, has a coin at the bottom
0:14:42 > 0:14:46and I don't know if it was made into a bowl from a coin,
0:14:46 > 0:14:52but the coin, I think, is Elizabeth, who was the wife of Peter I.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53Yes, absolutely.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Well, that's absolutely bull's-eye,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57but it's a complete red herring!
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Oh! Right!
0:14:58 > 0:15:02No, it's brilliant research, but it is actually very, very much
0:15:02 > 0:15:04later than that. It's almost certainly made in the 20th century.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Oh, good Lord!- Yes, but that's not a problem because, in fact,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10it rather raises the stakes
0:15:10 > 0:15:14in that this is a piece of Russian silver in the Slavonic taste.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17It's called a kovsh and it's a great word.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19It's a Slavonic wine-tasting vessel,
0:15:19 > 0:15:24but its shape is secondary to the evocation of Russia.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Really, this is a patriotic object and the sight of it would
0:15:28 > 0:15:31bring on sort of the evocation of old Russia,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34terribly important to the imperial family
0:15:34 > 0:15:35before the Russian Revolution,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38when they became particularly self-conscious about their role
0:15:38 > 0:15:43as successors to the Romanovs, so a very exciting object indeed for me.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48- Oh!- Yes, and in order to evoke this past even more clearly,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51there is a coin from Empress Elizabeth in the base.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56And so it's a bit of a sort of confection, if you like, but also,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00it's in a technique which is very rare in this sort of enamel work.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03More often than not, this is cloisonne enamel.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08- Cloisonne means a bee's cell and the enamel is held in it.- Yes.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09And it is blind, usually,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12but in the case of yours, against the brilliant sunshine,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14we can see the colours coming through,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18the blue and the green, and we actually this plique-a-jour enamel
0:16:18 > 0:16:23and it's a corruption of applique a jour, applied to the day,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and it's a very rare and very hazardous technique of enamelling.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- Hazardous? Why? - Well, because it's hard to achieve.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The silver has to be pierced and then it has to be backed with,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38perhaps, copper and then the enamel fired into it
0:16:38 > 0:16:43and then the lining removed, leaving the enamel like stained glass.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45And we can add even a little bit more knowledge
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- because it is actually signed with a hallmark.- Yes.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Which not only tells me this is 20th century,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52but it also tells me that it was made by
0:16:52 > 0:16:56a cooperative silversmithing group called the 11th Artel
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and the 11th Artel were...
0:16:58 > 0:17:00- It's all very mysterious, isn't it?- Yes! It is!
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- And I'm not making it all up, either.- It's fascinating!- And...
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Fascinating!
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And the 11th Artel supplied the great houses
0:17:07 > 0:17:10who were retailing silver of this type,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14that included firms like Ovchinnikov and Khlebnikov
0:17:14 > 0:17:16and, in competition to, of course,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20the greatest goldsmith of the time, Faberge.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23But Faberge wasn't terribly keen on these old Russian-style things.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26He preferred to get his sources from elsewhere
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and it couldn't really be more...
0:17:28 > 0:17:32more desirable and I think this is a very rare expression
0:17:32 > 0:17:36of this genre of enamelling from Russia and...
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and I think, without a shadow of doubt, that it would fetch
0:17:39 > 0:17:44- £2,500 - £3,000 under the hammer. - Heavens! Oh, wonderful!
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Thank you very much! Excellent!
0:17:45 > 0:17:48But you're never going to part with it because it's...
0:17:48 > 0:17:49- No, no, I love it.- Exactly.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54I love it and it is souvenir of this friend, so I will keep it.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I hadn't expected, when I turned up at the Roadshow today,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01that I would see a massive political statement in the form of a chair.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Now, you carved this chair,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08which is all about the MP's expenses scandal back in 2009. Why?
0:18:08 > 0:18:12I chose it to commemorate my 30 years in business,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15but I just thought it was a good story
0:18:15 > 0:18:18and I wanted to spend the time and make something
0:18:18 > 0:18:23that showed something of our political system, really.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25It's quite something! I was so interested to see this
0:18:25 > 0:18:27because obviously we did so much about this on the news
0:18:27 > 0:18:29and I had long conversations
0:18:29 > 0:18:31with the editor of the Daily Telegraph about it.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34The Telegraph, you've got the newspaper there,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36broke this story in May 2009.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I noticed you've put one of the more arcane things,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42which was the duck house that an MP
0:18:42 > 0:18:45certainly put down as an expense, it was deemed as not allowable.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Of course, you might think!
0:18:47 > 0:18:49But the duck house was the one
0:18:49 > 0:18:51- that really sticks in people's minds.- Yes.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52How fantastic!
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- You must get a very strong reaction whenever people look at it?- I do.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59People are a bit amazed because you can't buy this in the High Street.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I think Paul Atterbury is probably the man he needs to look at it,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05our expert Paul Atterbury. I can't wait to see what he says about it.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Neither can I!
0:19:08 > 0:19:11I'm looking at a group, spread out here,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15of toys and books from the mid 1920s to about 1930,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18obviously much too old to be yours.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21But they are all of the same date,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24so were they from one generation in the past
0:19:24 > 0:19:26or are they things that you've collected
0:19:26 > 0:19:28particularly with that date in mind?
0:19:28 > 0:19:34Well, all of these toys belonged to one little boy and the...
0:19:34 > 0:19:39the story really started in 1930 and my mother,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42who was 10 at the time, and her sister, who was 15,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47took their little brother, Eric, who was seven, to a wedding
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and when the bride came out of the church,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53there was a sort of surge of people on the pavement
0:19:53 > 0:19:59and the two girls crossed the road to see the bride better
0:19:59 > 0:20:03and they shouted for Eric to cross and, unfortunately,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07he did cross and there was a van and he was killed.
0:20:08 > 0:20:15And, em, my grandmother, who obviously never ever got over that,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19just put all his toys together in a box.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21What a dreadful story!
0:20:21 > 0:20:27Extraordinary! Incredibly moving. Your poor grandmother. Em...
0:20:27 > 0:20:30And... Well, I'm...
0:20:30 > 0:20:35I'm slightly sort of taken aback now because it seems rather...
0:20:35 > 0:20:43sort of crass to start talking about...Eric's objects.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47But...I think we should.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50I mean, I think that Eric lived, he played with the toys,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53he read his books and he had a life
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and obviously he had a very happy life
0:20:56 > 0:20:58if these were the things that he left behind.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05I mean, the thing to talk about really are two German toys.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10The first is this lovely little car in a garage
0:21:10 > 0:21:15and, if I take it out of its little garage,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17we can see...
0:21:17 > 0:21:21on the side here, there is something that looks a bit like
0:21:21 > 0:21:24a dumbbell or a press or something.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27In fact, you can see it even better on the back there
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and it's made by a company called Lehmann
0:21:30 > 0:21:34and Lehmann were a company who produced a lot of these rather...
0:21:34 > 0:21:37When I say "lightweight", they weren't...
0:21:37 > 0:21:39They were actually physically quite light
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and they were also sort of novelty toys
0:21:41 > 0:21:43and they were known for that
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and each of their toys has a number on it,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49which, during the 1990s and 2000s,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53meant that there were lots of people who collected Lehmann by number
0:21:53 > 0:21:58and they'd say, "Oh, I'm missing a 765, I must look out for a 765.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02"Oh, my goodness! Is this a 765? Yes, it is! Well, I must have that."
0:22:02 > 0:22:05So there are a lot of people who collected Lehmann by number,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07there was a lot of information on that company.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11The other toy that I want to talk about is this,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16which, looking at it, it in fact doesn't have a maker's mark on it,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20but I think that it can probably be linked to a company
0:22:20 > 0:22:24called George Levy, another German company
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and what I love about this is this three-up, the family...
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Or four-up if you count the teddy bear!
0:22:30 > 0:22:34You've got the driver, his missus, the child
0:22:34 > 0:22:38and the child holding the bear, it's absolutely wonderful.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43They wouldn't have been cheap toys in the 1920s and 1930,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46they would have been something that you probably saved up for
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and maybe Eric knew that they were expensive
0:22:49 > 0:22:51and played with them very carefully
0:22:51 > 0:22:54because they are in really good condition.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59The Lehmann toy here, a company that was in big manufacturing mode
0:22:59 > 0:23:02in the 1920s, having started in the 1880s,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06that toy, I would put at between
0:23:06 > 0:23:08perhaps £300 and £500.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And the toy here, for various reasons,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I think first of all because it's a motorcycle
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and there are lots of boys out there who collect motorcycles
0:23:17 > 0:23:21AND it's by a good maker AND it's in good condition
0:23:21 > 0:23:23AND you've got this teddy bear element as well,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25I'm going to put that at around
0:23:25 > 0:23:29£1,500 - £2,000.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32SHE LAUGHS Gosh!
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Yes.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I suppose, from my point of view, perhaps the one thing
0:23:37 > 0:23:41that this collection is missing is a photograph of Eric.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And we do have a photograph of Eric.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47In that case, Eric needs to be reunited with his toys
0:23:47 > 0:23:52and then the collection becomes totally anchored into the family,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56it's not anybody's collection, it's Eric's collection.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00- And he deserves to be remembered. - Mm-hm. Thank you very much.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04That's really lovely and really good to hear the background to it,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06- so thank you very much indeed. - Pleasure.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Now, the minute I saw this enamel miniature,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- I started hearing music. This happens to me.- Does it?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Do you know what I'm hearing?
0:24:17 > 0:24:22I'm hearing Rimsky-Korsakov, I'm hearing Sheherazade,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25I've lived with this music since I was about ten.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27We had an old Dansette record player
0:24:27 > 0:24:31and we had about half a dozen albums that we bought at the local Co-op,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34cut price, and that was one that has always stayed with me.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And why oh why should that be?
0:24:37 > 0:24:42Because we are looking at a pair of very exotic-looking dancers.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Just fill me in a little bit.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48It was given to my maternal grandmother by Laura Knight,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50who she knew.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Why she gave it to her, I don't know,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56just probably as a friendship gift, I suppose.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58And that's all I know.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00It's always been at home and it's known as "the Laura Knight".
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Well, it's interesting because you also brought along
0:25:03 > 0:25:05your grandmother's address book
0:25:05 > 0:25:10and I flicked through and there is a name I came across right away.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12- Mr Harold Knight, husband of Laura.- Yes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I've had a bit of a look through this
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and there are quite a few names of well-known artists,
0:25:17 > 0:25:22so I think it's fair to say your grandmama was quite well connected.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- Yes.- So, it's only tiny in scale. I mean, there are my fingers.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28It is not just enamelled on copper,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32but when you get into the subject matter,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36you can see that there is little foil inclusions.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40But, again, it's in the subject. Why am I thinking Scheherazade?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Because I think I'm looking at two members of the Ballets Russes.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49I've got a character here who could or might be Anna Pavlova,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53or could be maybe even Ida Rubinstein,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56but we've got this very dark character in the back.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00He's been made up to look like... like a Moor.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I can't help but think that must be Vaslav Nijinsky.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07- We were always told it was Nijinsky and Pavlova.- Oh, were you?
0:26:07 > 0:26:11- That's what the story was. - OK, well, I can't be specific.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16- And I know, on the back, that it's actually dated 1915.- Yes.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Which is remarkable because the Ballets Russes, at that time,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25were certainly in Paris, performing Scheherazade.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26- Oh, I see!- So it all...
0:26:26 > 0:26:30- It all fits in very nicely. - Yes, yes.- So what do I think?
0:26:30 > 0:26:35I think that if I wanted to go and buy this today,
0:26:35 > 0:26:41I don't think I'd get any change out of around about three...
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- Possibly £3,500.- Yes.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Thank you. It's lovely.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54MUSIC: Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I never know whether they should be standing on all fours like that
0:27:16 > 0:27:20or upright, sitting upright. How do you have him?
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Well, usually, he usually sits just standing,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27sort of looking out at the room. Yeah, like that.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32- Whoops.- Of course, well, the head comes off and there is...
0:27:32 > 0:27:34- Well, that's the drinking cup.- Yes.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36So you put strong liquor inside the belly
0:27:36 > 0:27:41and then you pour it into the head and drink it back that way.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I haven't tried to do that, but I may now.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Well, it's worth trying out, but of course, the problem is
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- that they are very vulnerable and they get broken very easily.- Yes.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53There's a...
0:27:53 > 0:27:55We often, on the Roadshow, say
0:27:55 > 0:27:58that if a thing looks too good to be true, it probably is,
0:27:58 > 0:27:59but this is just...
0:27:59 > 0:28:03- I can't see anything wrong with it! - Really?- So, that's always a worry.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Yes, so there must be something wrong with it somewhere.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Because it's, what, 250 years old,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13it was made 1740s, something like that.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18- Really?! Do you think so? As old as that?- Well, that's what it should be.
0:28:18 > 0:28:24- But tell me, is it?- Holding it here, I think he's absolutely OK.- Do you?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28He's made in Staffordshire, it's a material we call salt glaze,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33which is a hard pottery with a durable glaze that does last
0:28:33 > 0:28:37and, if you're careful, then this is what it looks like.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Yes, I know, I'm interested in ceramics. I know about that.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43A bit of folk pottery, a bit of fun. Just a joke.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47A bear, sitting there, fine, crushed-up clay decorating his fur
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and the chain on the end. There's not a chip on it! It's lovely!
0:28:51 > 0:28:53No, I know.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58So I'm always worried because there are so many fakes of these about.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- They have been copied for a long time.- I know.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01But, em...
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Looking at him there,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06he has lasted well, so a good object
0:29:06 > 0:29:13and so, what's he worth as a happy bear from Staffordshire?
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- Shall we say £4,000? - Oh, no! Really?
0:29:17 > 0:29:20- That's good, isn't it? But... - Get a taxi home!
0:29:20 > 0:29:23LAUGHTER Oh, my goodness!
0:29:24 > 0:29:27There are many things in life I've wanted to be and never will be
0:29:27 > 0:29:29and one of them is a woodcarver.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32And, of course, I'm reminded about that
0:29:32 > 0:29:37by this wonderful set of chisels in a chest.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Tools have a particular appeal because, in a sense,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43they carry the history of all those who have used them.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- Now, are these yours?- They are indeed.- So, you've used them?
0:29:47 > 0:29:49I do use them, yes.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53So, when I take one of these out, and this is a rather magic one,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56which has an engraving of a lady on it,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59I can think of all those people who have used it.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01- Do you feel the same? - Oh, yes, absolutely.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03So you are, in a sense,
0:30:03 > 0:30:08- carrying on a very personal line of dedicated craftsmanship.- Absolutely.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- So, you're a wood carver? - I am indeed, yes.
0:30:11 > 0:30:16This is a very specific statement, this chair. What drove you to do it?
0:30:16 > 0:30:22I wanted to try and elevate woodcarving to...
0:30:22 > 0:30:27to a more modern audience and woodcarving, really, for me,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29hasn't been popular.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31You don't see it in the High Street
0:30:31 > 0:30:36and so I wanted to show what could be done in our age
0:30:36 > 0:30:41and I chose the MP's expenses scandal
0:30:41 > 0:30:43as a good story to illustrate that.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Now, of course, you are following a very, very long tradition,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49as you are probably aware.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54Artists, craftsmen, commenting on political activities
0:30:54 > 0:30:57- and shenanigans is as old as politics.- Yes.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59I'm sure the ancient Greeks were doing it,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02but in Britain, you can certainly go back to the 17th century
0:31:02 > 0:31:08to find political cartoons, to find grotesques and caricatures
0:31:08 > 0:31:11and it's a long tradition that goes on and on and on.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16What it tells us is that, by and large, we have been ill served
0:31:16 > 0:31:19by badly behaved politicians for ever, nothing changes.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23- But it's more about human nature. People ARE greedy.- Yes.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26They have a choice, whether to be right or wrong,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29and so that's also what it shows.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32And those with their noses in the trough tend to be greedier.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34- Absolutely.- Let's look at the chair.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39- So we've got Cameron, Brown and Clegg...- Yes.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41- ..in rather embarrassing positions...- Yes.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45- ..exposed by the malpractice of their colleagues.- Yes.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Let's remember the history of that occasion.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50The Daily Telegraph ran a series of stories
0:31:50 > 0:31:54- thanks to the Freedom Of Information Act.- Correct, yes.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57This was all information that had been kept very quiet.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Thanks to that act, it came into the public domain
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and I remember, day after day after day,
0:32:04 > 0:32:09they ran these revelations about misuse of expenses,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13but one of the great features of it was Sir Peter Vigger's duck house,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16which was an ornament for his garden,
0:32:16 > 0:32:21which apparently he may or may not have claimed expenses for.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24- Does this reference to it? - This is a reference, yes.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26- And does this reference to it? - It does.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29So you need to know the iconography of the occasion, don't you,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33to pick up the messages? The other thing was about switching houses.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- Flipping. - Flipping, that's the phrase.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40And, of course, we can do it. We can turn a little cottage into a castle.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44- Yes.- And back again...- And back again.- ..if you need to.- Yes.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48And you can do it again that side. I think this is a great reference.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50So you're making all those points.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52I am, in a very physical way.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55You can't get away from this chair, unfortunately.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59- No. It lives with you?- It does. - It's at home?- Yes, yes.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01- You sit on it?- I have done.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03How long did it take?
0:33:03 > 0:33:07There are over 500 hours tied up in this chair,
0:33:07 > 0:33:09- so about three and a half months of my life.- Right.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11And how did you pick the woods?
0:33:11 > 0:33:15I wanted to use traditional English timbers
0:33:15 > 0:33:17and we've got a mix of normal oak.
0:33:17 > 0:33:23We have a wood called tiger oak, which is this part, or brown oak.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27And then the suits are actually made from 2,000-year-old bog oak,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29found on the Fens,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32so it is this rich black colour all the way through.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35- So it's a very British statement? - Oh, yes.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37But anyway, I think it's great.
0:33:37 > 0:33:43It's a very important record of a political drama of recent times.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44You're in a good tradition.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47It's an extraordinary thing to make
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and it's also an extraordinary thing for me to think about valuing.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54If this appeared, let us say, conventionally,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58it turned up with no history at auction, as a curiosity,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02it might fetch £2,000, £3,000, £4,000, even £5,000,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05but of course, because of its political resonance,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07in a sense, the sky is the limit.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11If you can find the right political buyer who wants to celebrate,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14if that's the right word, that dreadful moment,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16then 10,000 and upwards.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20- Right.- There is no price I can put on it for that reason.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23In the right context, with the right buyer,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25it's an extremely valuable object
0:34:25 > 0:34:29and maybe getting worth all those hours you spend on it.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32- LAUGHING: Yes!- It should be sitting in the Palace of Westminster
0:34:32 > 0:34:36to remind all those people about how they should behave.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38- Yes.- Well done.- Thank you.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44You definitely win the prize for smallest pet of the day.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47What is it and why, more importantly?
0:34:47 > 0:34:52Well, it's something I spotted in auction a few years back.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56And I guess I just wanted a low-maintenance pet.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00You certainly got low-maintenance! Have you found out what it is?
0:35:00 > 0:35:05The breed is a black-and-tan terrier, which I believe to be extinct now.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10- Yes.- I've got the original nameplate and it is dated 1866.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Dated 1866, this was at the height of the Victorian collecting market
0:35:14 > 0:35:16for this type of miniature animal.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18I know it's a bit ghoulish,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21but in Victorian times things were different and they would use
0:35:21 > 0:35:25stillborn puppies to make these taxidermy specimens.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30- Have you done your research as to its size?- I've done a bit of...
0:35:30 > 0:35:31a bit of research.
0:35:31 > 0:35:32I've not done too well,
0:35:32 > 0:35:34but there's not a lot of information out there on them,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36but I believe it to be,
0:35:36 > 0:35:38if it is genuine, I believe it to be
0:35:38 > 0:35:43probably the smallest recorded dog, it's about ten centimetres tall.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46But that's the key, you see. The SMALLEST recorded.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48I know the one you are referring to
0:35:48 > 0:35:50and that is about ten centimetres high.
0:35:50 > 0:35:56- If yours is even a TINY bit smaller, then this is quite a find.- Yes.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59But you do have to be really careful when buying this sort of thing
0:35:59 > 0:36:02because there were fakes made, even in Victorian times,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05so a bit more research, really check it out.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08If it is, and you should do your research,
0:36:08 > 0:36:112,000 - 3,000, easily.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Wow. Wow. That's a surprise.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15But even if it isn't the smallest, it still has a value,
0:36:15 > 0:36:21- which would be £1,000 - £1,500 quite comfortably.- Yeah, that...
0:36:21 > 0:36:25That's great. That's still fine.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28How many suitcases have you brought?! How many suitcases?!
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Is there anything left in your house as we speak?
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Yeah, there are a few things. There is the kitchen sink.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Well, there's some great things, but I mean,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39there's one thing that stands out and it is that. It's that vase.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44- So, where did that come from? - That came from a friend.
0:36:44 > 0:36:50His auntie had died and he had all his friends come around
0:36:50 > 0:36:54and, you know, sort of help themselves to what they wanted
0:36:54 > 0:36:56and that was the last thing, but I loved it. I loved it.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00I saw it and I thought, "How beautiful! I really love it!"
0:37:00 > 0:37:03And I also knew about Clarice Cliff
0:37:03 > 0:37:04and I had a look at it
0:37:04 > 0:37:09and I thought, "You know, that is so reminiscent of Clarice Cliff,"
0:37:09 > 0:37:11although I had a look and I didn't see a signature.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14In fact, I have been looking for a signature ever since.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16- Yeah, there's nothing on it. - It has not got a signature.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18So, would you be really pleased if it was Clarice?
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- I would be overjoyed!- Really?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24And, you know, I would be able to get one up on my children!
0:37:24 > 0:37:26LAUGHTER
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Well, then, when you go home, you can get one up on your children
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- because there's nothing wrong.- Oh!
0:37:30 > 0:37:32That is a Clarice Cliff vase.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35SHE SHRIEKS EXCITEDLY
0:37:37 > 0:37:40LAUGHTER
0:37:40 > 0:37:44- Oh, that is...- Out of all your boxes...- All my rubbish!
0:37:44 > 0:37:47LAUGHTER
0:37:47 > 0:37:49It was worth it! It was worth it!
0:37:49 > 0:37:52All your dishes, all your plates, all your pots, or your crocks,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55right in the middle you've got a great piece of Clarice.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- Oh, fantastic!- There's nothing wrong with it, it's absolutely perfect,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00it just left the factory without a mark on the bottom.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05It dates from about 1936, it's in a pattern called Taormina Pink
0:38:05 > 0:38:10and today that vase is worth around £150 - £200.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12That's better than a smack in the face!
0:38:12 > 0:38:15LAUGHTER
0:38:15 > 0:38:17- And thank you. There you go!- Oh!
0:38:17 > 0:38:21- Oh, brilliant! It was well worth it.- Good.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26This is an easy one for me because it is what it says on the box!
0:38:26 > 0:38:28It is famous football teams
0:38:28 > 0:38:31and it's made by the manufacturer William Britain.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34William Britains were known for making lead soldiers
0:38:34 > 0:38:38and they produced them right the way up into the 1950s
0:38:38 > 0:38:40and they must have made millions
0:38:40 > 0:38:43because we see them all over the place.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Football sets, though, are quite rare.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48So, let's see who is inside.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Can I ask you just to hold that? Oh!
0:38:50 > 0:38:53So, unusually, you've got two teams here
0:38:53 > 0:38:56because they normally were just sold with one.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Now, my knowledge of football strips is limited,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01so I'm going to have to ask for your help.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Can you identify which teams they are?
0:39:03 > 0:39:04I think that could be Aston Villa.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08That's right, and the other team is Blackburn Rovers, I think.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12- Two of the main teams in the 1930s. - And are you a fan?
0:39:12 > 0:39:17I'm a fan of football, yeah, but I don't support any of those two teams.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19So, how did they come into your possession?
0:39:19 > 0:39:21They are my partner's late father's.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23He was born in 1924,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28so sort of mid '30s he probably would have had them.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- Was he an Aston Villa or...? - Yes, he was an Aston Villa supporter.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35He was born quite close to the ground in Aston, in Birmingham.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Yeah, he was a very avid football fan and sportsman, actually.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44- These were made in 1935-ish, so he would have been about ten?- Yes.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48An ideal age to be playing with your...football team.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Well, as I say, rare, but what you've got is two teams here.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55They were only sold, normally, one team per box,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59so he obviously got two boxes and amalgamated them into the team.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02And remarkably, not only does it have the goal posts
0:40:02 > 0:40:06and the corner posts and the referees and the linesmen,
0:40:06 > 0:40:09but the rarest thing, and the thing that always goes missing,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12- is the football!- Yeah. - And you've got two!
0:40:12 > 0:40:13THEY LAUGH
0:40:13 > 0:40:16So, not in the greatest condition, obviously well played with,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19but should you ever decide to sell it, today we'd be thinking about
0:40:19 > 0:40:24a figure at auction of between... probably £1,500 and £2,000.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Oh...yeah, that's good, yeah.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29quite shocking, really, I didn't realise they'd be that...
0:40:29 > 0:40:30you know, that collectible.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35Very collectible, and should you sell them, that'll get you into
0:40:35 > 0:40:39- at least four or five Premiership games!- Yes, it would!
0:40:42 > 0:40:46It was given to me by a very close friend as a birthday present.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49I don't know where it came from, but we were in London,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51and lived near Portobello Road,
0:40:51 > 0:40:57so it could have come from there, but I am not sure.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Well, there's a newspaper on the back, you showed me,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02- which has a date on it.- Yes.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06- So do you think it's that date, 1827?- I don't know.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10- Well, it's not.- It isn't.- No.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13It's known as a stumpwork picture,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17which really started in the sort of 16th, 17th century.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19And it was a way of having
0:41:19 > 0:41:21a three-dimensional needlework picture,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25so you would have layer upon layer of felt,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and then they would have metal thread
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and gold thread, silver thread,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33on top of the felt.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36And it gave you this wonderful three-dimensional look about it.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39- Um, it would have been made somewhere in Britain.- Mm-hmm.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42It could have been commissioned by a very rich family -
0:41:42 > 0:41:45it was a very expensive piece to have made -
0:41:45 > 0:41:47to hang on their wall.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52And it would be somewhere in the region of 1650 to 1660.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54Somewhere in that region.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58It's got a background of silk satin,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01and it would have been bright, bright colours.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Fantastic colours. And while we're talking about colour,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08I don't know whether you've noticed that right, right down here,
0:42:08 > 0:42:11there's the remains of some very bright red in the background.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Oh, yes.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17The red tends to go first, then the blue.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19- You can see a little bit of blue here.- Yes.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22But what I love about it is the whole story,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24and every time you look at it...
0:42:24 > 0:42:26- There's something else. - There's something else.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29I mean, there's two people fishing here,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33and it's totally out of proportion with a fountain there,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36and there's a baby here...
0:42:36 > 0:42:40- Anyway, the whole thing is so exciting.- Oh!
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Do you know what the story is?
0:42:43 > 0:42:48Well, luckily, I found out from a very dear friend I rang
0:42:48 > 0:42:51who is a vicar, and I talked her through the scene,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and she recognised it, and she told me what it was.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58It's Elijah, who's given up, he's lain down under the tree,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02and the angel comes along and says, "You can't die, you get up now,"
0:43:02 > 0:43:07and this widow, who's the widow of Sychar, with her child,
0:43:07 > 0:43:09comes along to give him sustenance.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Gives him a loaf of bread - there are two loaves in there -
0:43:13 > 0:43:18- and oil. And you see that chain round her neck?- Yes.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23She's got oil on her back. And from then on, having given Elijah
0:43:23 > 0:43:25the oil and the bread,
0:43:25 > 0:43:29- she has oil and bread for the rest of her life.- Ah!
0:43:29 > 0:43:32- Isn't that wonderful?- It is indeed.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36So it's just the most fantastic scene.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40I would happily say it's worth £3,000.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42Even in that condition.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Gosh, yeah.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Well, well, well.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52It's not often in English art that you get something so pure, crisp,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55abstract, modernist as this.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59And I'm right in thinking the name Ben Nicholson is attached?
0:43:59 > 0:44:02It is indeed, yes. It's the Ben Nicholson wall
0:44:02 > 0:44:05that was at Sutton Place, and still is,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08and my father constructed it.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12So this is the maquette, then, a preparatory work,
0:44:12 > 0:44:16for a very famous piece of sculpture, in a garden,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18- and I think you've got a photograph of it here.- I have.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21- You've been to visit it. - We have, yes.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Erected in the early 1980s,
0:44:24 > 0:44:29and by one of the most important international abstract painters,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33and sculptors, at work in England in the 20th century, Ben Nicholson.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36- Mm-hmm.- So how did your father get involved?
0:44:36 > 0:44:41Well, my father came from Ireland with the family in 1957,
0:44:41 > 0:44:45he'd worked at Harland and Wolff shipyard as a marble mason,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48came to work at Whitehead & Sons in London,
0:44:48 > 0:44:54and the company was commissioned to make this sculpture for...
0:44:54 > 0:44:57To create this big piece of garden sculpture.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01It's stunningly beautiful, and absolutely enormous.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05I mean, it must be 15 feet high and about 30 or 40 feet wide.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Now, there's an image beneath it of a man at work.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13- Yep, that's my dad.- So this is him working on the actual original?
0:45:13 > 0:45:16That's him actually working on the original sculpture, yes.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19And they used diamond-toothed saws, I believe,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22because that's the only thing that will cut marble.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26And then we have something else here behind - what is that?
0:45:26 > 0:45:30That's Prince Charles and Lady Diana - later Princess Diana -
0:45:30 > 0:45:33being photographed in front of the wall.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36You can see how it relates in scale to people.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39It's really useful seeing a piece of sculpture like that.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41And they're a long way forward,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44so you can really see the size of the piece,
0:45:44 > 0:45:46because that is an awful long way back from them.
0:45:46 > 0:45:4920, 30 yards, probably.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52And amazing when you think of your father's contact
0:45:52 > 0:45:55- with such an important 20th-century sculptor.- Yes.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57I mean, he worked with Barbara Hepworth,
0:45:57 > 0:46:02he settled in St Ives, but he went on in his art, in his sculpture,
0:46:02 > 0:46:07in his ideas, to be a truly international modernist artist.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10- Yes.- You know, someone of whom Britain is inordinately proud
0:46:10 > 0:46:12- in the 20th century.- Indeed, yes.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16And my father said that there were three maquettes made,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19one of which Nicholson family had,
0:46:19 > 0:46:22one of which the Whitehead & Son family had,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25- and my father was given this one. - So this is one of the three.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28- It was.- Well, what a wonderful thing to own!
0:46:28 > 0:46:33- Fantastic.- So we ought to think about a valuation for it.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Well, the value's immaterial to me,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39- but...- Well, unfortunately, it's boringly material to us!
0:46:39 > 0:46:41THEY LAUGH
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Er, so, I can see this being worth
0:46:44 > 0:46:46- £20,000 to £30,000.- Good God.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50You will need to dust very carefully!
0:46:50 > 0:46:51LAUGHTER
0:46:51 > 0:46:53Good Lord.
0:46:54 > 0:46:55Amazed.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00This is all looking terribly dull.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Er, what do you think it's made of?
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Er, I was hoping it would be silver,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08but I have a feeling it could be tin?
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Well, I can give you some good news - it is silver!
0:47:12 > 0:47:15- Oh, fabulous, great. - Do you know where it was made?
0:47:15 > 0:47:19- No, I don't. No, not...- OK, well.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22I have an idea it could be Germany or Russia,
0:47:22 > 0:47:24- but I'm not...- Second time right.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27It's Russian.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30And this is a particular trompe l'oeil effect
0:47:30 > 0:47:33that you get being produced in Russia,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36this wonderful sort of folded cloth.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40But as it is now, because it's covered in all this powder,
0:47:40 > 0:47:45we're not really seeing properly the magnificence of it.
0:47:45 > 0:47:50Now, what I want to do is actually just go over it with a cloth.
0:47:51 > 0:47:56OK, now the effect actually of doing this should be quite dramatic.
0:48:00 > 0:48:01And can you see...
0:48:03 > 0:48:05..what's happening here?
0:48:05 > 0:48:10That we've got the silver with all this wonderful detail
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- against the gilding on that side? - Oh, wow, lovely.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15And so we've got this wonderful contrast
0:48:15 > 0:48:18- between the gold and the silver.- Wonderful.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Having said it's from Russia, are there any family connections?
0:48:22 > 0:48:25My great-grandmother was German,
0:48:25 > 0:48:29but she was, well, we think she was born in Russia, in Archangel.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33So we've kind of connected the two. Er...
0:48:33 > 0:48:36and then they moved to London,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38and this came too.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Which is absolutely splendid.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44I mean, they are such lovely things. By the time that's clean,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47it is going to look stunning with the contrast between the two.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51This trompe l'oeil effect that they wanted to achieve.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53What would you put on it?
0:48:53 > 0:48:56I don't know - it's a very unusual shape,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00and with the little serviette, I wouldn't have a clue.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03- Well, it had a very specific use in Russia.- OK.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07- And that was for bread and salt. - Oh, right!
0:49:07 > 0:49:10This is what you would serve up your bread and salt on.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12OK?
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Now, we do have marks, as well.
0:49:14 > 0:49:19And the marks read Moscow, 1883.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23- Ah, OK!- Now, those initials, do they mean anything to you?
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Yes, they're my grandmother's initials.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30There's a C and an M for Clara...Mormon, I think her name was.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33She was the German lady.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37Well, it's a delightful object, it really is.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39You don't see that many of them over here,
0:49:39 > 0:49:43although there's a lot of Russian work in Britain.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46But, um, we do of course have to think about the value.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Yeah.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51And...I would suggest today
0:49:51 > 0:49:55it should be selling for in the region of £1,200, £1,500.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Wow! That's lovely.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Better than a bit of old tin!
0:50:00 > 0:50:03That's wonderful, thank you very much. That's lovely.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07Now, I saw you with this stretcher in the queue,
0:50:07 > 0:50:09and sometimes people have to wait a while to see an expert so they
0:50:09 > 0:50:12bring along a chair - I thought this was taking things a bit far!
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Tell me about this stretcher.
0:50:15 > 0:50:20Er, it was purchased by me approximately 30 years ago
0:50:20 > 0:50:24at a small military show.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28And the person that I bought it off, he said it come from the local area,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31and it was in someone's shed or barn or something.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34- That's all I really know about it. - And it's Second World War.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38It's a Second World War stretcher, and it's American.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40And do you ever use it as a stretcher?
0:50:40 > 0:50:44Er, I've never actually used it, no!
0:50:44 > 0:50:46Well, I was speaking to one of our experts,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50who said...I mean, it's quite rare that this has survived,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53because usually the mechanism was used for wheelbarrows
0:50:53 > 0:50:55and carts after the war.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58And the stretcher bit got thrown away.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01So it's great that you've still got it. You've never used it?
0:51:01 > 0:51:03No, I haven't, no.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Well, it's valued at about £100, um...
0:51:07 > 0:51:10I thought we might give it a go. What do you think?
0:51:10 > 0:51:12I'd be willing to give it a go, yes!
0:51:12 > 0:51:14Now, I'll need a volunteer.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Shall we use the more strapping chap? Do you mind, madam?
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Do you want to grab that end? Let's see if it still works.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22- It's Frank, isn't it? - It's Frank, yes.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24- Do you want to get on?- I will!
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Come on, let's risk it for a biscuit!
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Right.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32That way? Come on then! Oof!
0:51:32 > 0:51:34LAUGHTER
0:51:34 > 0:51:36- Well, it works!- It does!
0:51:38 > 0:51:40So, what a beautiful scent bottle,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42and it's glowing in the sunshine here.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45And it's glowing because it's gold and hardstone.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47But tell me about it with you.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53I inherited it from my cousin, whose miniature I have here,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56and it was he who left me this beautiful scent bottle.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59And it is utterly beautiful, and it's quite surprising, I think,
0:51:59 > 0:52:01what a luxurious object it is.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Because the conjunction of precious metalwork and stone
0:52:04 > 0:52:06is something incredibly ancient
0:52:06 > 0:52:08and was a status symbol since the Renaissance.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11And here we have mid-19th-century lapidary work
0:52:11 > 0:52:13and gold-mounted scent bottle,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16um, but the message is the same,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18that it's for a rather high-status person,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21somebody who could actually afford an object of great luxury like this
0:52:21 > 0:52:23in the 19th century.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26And of course it is a conventional scent bottle here,
0:52:26 > 0:52:28but it's made by a firm called Sampson Mordan,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32who were enormously sophisticated engineers in this sort of work.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36And there's a loaded, um, stopper here, with a spring,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38so that when you close it down,
0:52:38 > 0:52:42inside, it makes a perfect seal, so the scent can't come out.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44And the other end, it has the vinaigrette.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46Yes, it does. And let's have a look.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48And a vinaigrette isn't something everybody encounters
0:52:48 > 0:52:52on a daily basis, but it's another way of taking scent.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55And there would be a little sponge underneath this grille,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57which would be loaded with rose water,
0:52:57 > 0:53:01and you'd use it when there was sort of unpleasant effluvia
0:53:01 > 0:53:04around and about, which there certainly was in the 19th century,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06and perhaps if you were in a coach or something like that
0:53:06 > 0:53:10and you wanted to smell that to mask an unpleasant associated odour,
0:53:10 > 0:53:14well, that's great. But the point about it is
0:53:14 > 0:53:16its function is almost secondary
0:53:16 > 0:53:18to the fact that it is a luxurious object.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20It's carved, hollowed from stone.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22- It's nice to hold. - Very tactile, isn't it?
0:53:22 > 0:53:24but it is jasper, it's called bloodstone,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28and it's called bloodstone because it's green flecked with red.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32And there are collectors of scent bottles, thematic collectors,
0:53:32 > 0:53:34and they would be jolly pleased to find that.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38And there are people interested in goldsmith work and lapidary work,
0:53:38 > 0:53:40so I'm thinking somewhere in the region of £2,000,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43- possibly even £3,000.- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46- But you don't care, do you? - It's very nice!
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- No, it's nice to know! Yes, yes. - I don't care that much.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52But I think you care even less than me!
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It's absolutely brilliant to meet you,
0:53:54 > 0:53:58- and you brought wonderful things, and thank you very much.- Thank you!
0:53:58 > 0:54:00- It's an electric lamp.- Yes.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04- Did you convert it?- No. - Well, that's a relief!
0:54:04 > 0:54:09- But who did convert it? Do we know? - Um, I'm not quite sure.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11It belonged to my great-aunt.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I think they bought it in an auction
0:54:14 > 0:54:17and probably bought it as a lamp.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19At what time, do we know?
0:54:19 > 0:54:21- Er, 1950s.- Right.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24- So it was probably old when it was bought.- Yes.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27But how old is it, that's the question we need to ask.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Because it is an Italian majolica drug jar.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35But is it an old one or is it a newer one?
0:54:35 > 0:54:38I think it was certainly old when they bought it,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40because actually it started life as an oil lamp. If you look in,
0:54:40 > 0:54:45- here is the well...- Oh, yes!- ..where the oil would have been kept.
0:54:45 > 0:54:50So from a drug jar, it's been made into an oil lamp,
0:54:50 > 0:54:51and this here actually comes off
0:54:51 > 0:54:54and that's where the oil burner would have been,
0:54:54 > 0:54:56and the flue and the shade.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59And then probably in the 1920s they've converted it,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02you get conversion kits, for the newfangled electricity.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Which you still use today.
0:55:05 > 0:55:10- Right.- But was it new when it was bought? That's the question.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13I suppose we should look at it first.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15It's got the splendid decoration round the front, "Mostarda F",
0:55:15 > 0:55:18which I think stands for "mostarda di frutta,"
0:55:18 > 0:55:22which is a North Italian fruit conserve with mustard extract in it.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25And it's great that we've got all these sort of quinces
0:55:25 > 0:55:28and figs and different fruits which probably were the fruits
0:55:28 > 0:55:30that were inside this jar And it was obviously,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34we call it a drug jar, but it's a storage jar in effect.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37- And obviously it was quite a lot of jam!- Mmm, yeah!
0:55:37 > 0:55:41Um, have you ever looked into its date, or...?
0:55:41 > 0:55:45Um... Well, my husband and I were at the Victoria & Albert last year,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48and we saw a jar exactly the same size
0:55:48 > 0:55:52which looked as though it could have been made by the same potter.
0:55:52 > 0:55:59That was, I think, a 15th-century Italian drug jar.
0:55:59 > 0:56:0115th century.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03Well...
0:56:03 > 0:56:09as a 19th-century jar, it's £400 to £600.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12Very nice.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14But it's not.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16It's Venetian.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19- It's about 1520.- Wow!
0:56:19 > 0:56:20And it's worth £10,000.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23GASPS AND LAUGHTER
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Oh, my goodness!
0:56:25 > 0:56:27So I think you should stop using it as a lamp!
0:56:27 > 0:56:31- Yes - it's got a hole in!- It has, a hole and a couple of cracks,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35but it is, I'll say it again, Venetian, 1520.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38- £10,000.- Wow!- I think you should stop using it as a lamp,
0:56:38 > 0:56:40beautiful as it is!
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Well, thank you very much, that's amazing!
0:56:43 > 0:56:45- I hope it's a pleasant surprise. - It is!
0:56:45 > 0:56:48I almost feel I should cut the flex off and stop you now!
0:56:48 > 0:56:51LAUGHTER Oh, bother! What am I going to use?
0:56:54 > 0:56:57We're so grateful to everyone who's come to see us at Kirby Hall today.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00But I don't know what one of the owners would have made of it
0:57:00 > 0:57:02when he was here. Sir Christopher Hatton,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I. When he bought the house,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09it overlooked the medieval village nearby, and he was so horrified
0:57:09 > 0:57:12that he had to look at the riff-raff through his window
0:57:12 > 0:57:15that he had the village razed to the ground, and all that's left of it
0:57:15 > 0:57:18are sort of bumps and lumps in the grass.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21So heaven knows what he would have made of us here today!
0:57:21 > 0:57:24We've enjoyed it, though. From Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire, bye-bye.