0:00:39 > 0:00:42This week, the Antiques Roadshow comes from Tredegar House
0:00:42 > 0:00:45near Newport and I think you'll enjoy discovering it with us
0:00:45 > 0:00:49because not only is it one of the architectural wonders of Wales,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53but it's also one of the finest 17th-century houses
0:00:53 > 0:00:54in the whole of Britain.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07From the early 1400s the Morgan family have owned this spot.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12They were a cast of colourful characters including distant
0:01:12 > 0:01:16relative Captain Henry Morgan, who, back in the 17th century,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18earned a living as a pirate.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21No-one, though, could compete with the last Lord Tredegar
0:01:21 > 0:01:25to live in this house, who assumed the aristocratic mantle in 1934.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Evan Morgan was a flamboyant character who had the money
0:01:31 > 0:01:36to indulge his every whim and he was fascinated with the occult.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38If only the walls of this bedroom could talk,
0:01:38 > 0:01:43because hidden in here was a secret alcove containing an altar within
0:01:43 > 0:01:46which was a crucifix which could be turned upside down
0:01:46 > 0:01:47for occult rituals.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Alongside that, he was chamberlain to two popes in the Vatican
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and referred to himself as the Pope of Wales.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03Indeed, he was a man who led a gay life in both senses of the word.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05That didn't stop him marrying twice,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08including a turbulent four years to a Russian princess.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Fascinated by birds, Evan ran a pigeon service
0:02:15 > 0:02:18for military intelligence during World War II,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21but then he was court-martialled for revealing secrets
0:02:21 > 0:02:22to two Girl Guides.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Evan died in 1949 and after years of eccentric activities,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Tredegar House became a Catholic convent school
0:02:32 > 0:02:34of which some reminders still survive.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Owned by the local council since December 2011,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43the National Trust has been running it,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47reinstating the former grandeur of Tredegar House and gardens,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51where we now find our specialists primed and ready to go.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And if you'd like more information about the programme,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56go to our website at:
0:02:59 > 0:03:04This is the most lovely tooled leather box, isn't it?
0:03:04 > 0:03:07A beautiful, beautiful case for a little clock.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Lovely gilt flowers.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14This was a seriously expensive thing new. Tell me how you got it.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16My late brother-in-law,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20he had it given to him as a present off a lifelong friend
0:03:20 > 0:03:24and she wanted to make sure that he had it before she passed away
0:03:24 > 0:03:28and then when he passed away, he left it to my wife
0:03:28 > 0:03:34and she passed away nine months ago, so now it's been left to me.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38So how do you think the first person who handed it on, got it?
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Well, her father was a butler,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45so whether he had it from the big house, I don't know, I've no idea.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50I would imagine it was probably a gift after many years of service
0:03:50 > 0:03:52because it is an exceptionally lovely thing.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Look at that, it's magnificent.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And let's just look at the inside of the case to start with.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01"Le Roy et Fils to the Queen.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03"New Bond Street, London."
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Now, note that Le Roy is a Frenchman, but they had
0:04:07 > 0:04:12a shop in Bond Street and they had the warrant to Queen Victoria.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16It was the only foreign clockmaker that had the Royal warrant.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20The only sold the most beautiful things, this is no exception.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Good.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Now, is it a thing that you have running at home or not?
0:04:25 > 0:04:30No, it's been put away in a drawer ever since we've had it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Let's just consider it.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38It is absolutely typical late 19th-century,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41beautiful cast case, beautifully gilt,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45nice clear dial and then turning round,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48you've just got tiny little side panels there to let
0:04:48 > 0:04:50the noise of the escapement out.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Of course, it doesn't strike.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56And look at that, even the back door is cast with a lovely mask.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58It is the finest casting.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02It will have a very sweet little movement in there which it has
0:05:02 > 0:05:06with a lever platform on the top. A fantastic gift.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I mean, really, really, it's a fantastic gift.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12It sits in a drawer and you don't really love it and it doesn't go...
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Oh, I like it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Yes, I love it all right, but it's in the house,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21it's no good being an ornament, I could do with the money better.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23LAUGHTER
0:05:23 > 0:05:28- Is that why you've come today?- Yes, and so that my son can enjoy it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30OK.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Highly collectable by the best London retailer
0:05:34 > 0:05:36in the prettiest case and I'm going to say...
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- In the region of £2,000 plus at auction.- Good, very nice.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Is he smiling?- Yes.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47RICHARD LAUGHS
0:05:54 > 0:05:59- Now, apparently if you kiss a frog, he'll turn into a prince.- Really?
0:05:59 > 0:06:02I think I'd rather have him as he is.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06So what made you bring him along today?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Well, it goes back to 1947, really.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13My mother was managing a nursing home in Eastbourne
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and obviously the NHS came into being
0:06:16 > 0:06:20and the nursing home closed down and she then went to nurse privately.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25The first private patients that she had were two sisters
0:06:25 > 0:06:29for a number of years, and she was left this piece -
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Twinkle, he's called....
0:06:31 > 0:06:33The broach is called Twinkle?
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Twinkle. My eldest daughter, she used to play with him
0:06:36 > 0:06:39when she was little and she used to say,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42- "Mummy, this is Twinkle." - What a fabulous name for a frog.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48- Twinkle, that's because, probably, it twinkles in the sunlight.- Yes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And it's been now passed down to you?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Yes, and I've got two daughters and two granddaughters,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56so they're all going to have a leg, I think.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- Oh, no, you can't chop him up! Can't have frogs' legs.- No.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05You know, it is just absolutely beautiful in that it is very typical
0:07:05 > 0:07:12late-Victorian, made in England in about 1895 and it's in its box,
0:07:12 > 0:07:17which is the retailer, but the retailer doesn't exist any more.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And it's made in silver and gold, because you would always put
0:07:20 > 0:07:24the white metal around the diamonds to make them sparkle.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27And the Victorians were fascinated with insects
0:07:27 > 0:07:33and reptiles and bugs, and this one here is set with
0:07:33 > 0:07:37cushion-shaped diamonds and rose diamonds and it's a bit, sort of...
0:07:37 > 0:07:41I call it crazy paving because the stones don't actually...
0:07:41 > 0:07:43they're not all the same size,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46so they've used all the stones to sort of fill up the spaces -
0:07:46 > 0:07:51modern day jewels, you'll see a lot of uniformity in the diamonds -
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and it has fabulous character.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58I mean, this frog looks like it's going to jump out of its box.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00This is just magical,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and it's got beautiful little cabochon ruby eyes
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- representing passion... - Gosh.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11..and you've got the diamonds there which are forever,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14so, my passion for you is forever.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16And at auction,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20I would say this would go for around about
0:08:20 > 0:08:22£5,000 to £7,000.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25Gosh, wow!
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- I'm keeping him. - You're keeping him?- I think so.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Are you going to kiss him?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- I've got my prince over there.- Aww.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Fabulous, fabulous.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47- Do you know these are called bugbear flasks?- Bugbear flasks?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- Have you heard of that?- No.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I was kind of hoping you had
0:08:51 > 0:08:54because I don't know where the term comes from.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58But what I can tell you is that it's absolutely the best one
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I've ever seen. Where did you get it from?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Well, my father bought it in the '50s in Abergavenny Market
0:09:03 > 0:09:05for about...I think about five shillings,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07not a great deal of money,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09and he brought it home. He thought it was a water flask,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13- a military water flask. - And did he collect military items?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16No, he'd just come out of National Service and he was just,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19sort of, very keen on military type things, you know?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- It's not a water flask, it's a powder flask.- Powder?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Powder, for gunpowder.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And it is obviously coconut,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30but these would have been carved in the greens.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32So when the coconut was fresh,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34obviously they go rock hard once they've dried out,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37but they would have been soft and easy to carve
0:09:37 > 0:09:39and this one I think is French, so it would have come
0:09:39 > 0:09:41from the tropics. When you are out there
0:09:41 > 0:09:44serving in the military on board ship in the Navy,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47you would have had hundreds of hours to kill
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and this would have been a food source,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55something to do to occupy your time and then something which was
0:09:55 > 0:09:59- actually quite valuable to sell once you return back here.- Right.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04It would date from, in my opinion, early 19th-century,
0:10:04 > 0:10:081810 to 1815, around the time of the French Napoleonic wars.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12And the great thing about this one is the quality is so unbelievable.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I mean, I'm almost shaking holding it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Something like this needs to be held
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and felt to appreciate just how beautiful it is. The bugbear...
0:10:19 > 0:10:23I think it's just because obviously they carve through the eyes
0:10:23 > 0:10:27of the coconut and made a stylised grotesque mythical beast,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30- and it just gets better.- I know.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33You've got what I think is a French uniform of a soldier
0:10:33 > 0:10:38and I think this is a prison, you've got justice there
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- with the scales, can you see the little scales?- Oh, yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44It's unbelievable.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- Unbelievable.- Really? - I would absolutely love this.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50It's white metal mounted which again,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52all absolutely period for the piece,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56and I think that this piece being the best one I've ever seen
0:10:56 > 0:10:57at auction...
0:10:59 > 0:11:01..£1,000 to £1,500.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04I thought it was worth about £50.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07- £50?- Yeah.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- No.- Not bad for five shillings, then.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I think unbelievable.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21A wonderful little coffee set from Royal Worcester, isn't it?
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Indeed, yes.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- You use it for coffee? - Uh, no, this lives in its box,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30under the bed - not on display, so...
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Oh! It's such a shame, cos it's so gorgeous, isn't it?
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Painted with different castles,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37and I think they're all Scottish, are they?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- We think so, yeah. - It's absolutely wonderful,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44and the cups and saucers and the fitted spoons, the box as well -
0:11:44 > 0:11:48what more could you ask for? How did you come by it?
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Somewhere before about 1946, my great-grandfather had a greyhound,
0:11:53 > 0:11:59which he raced, and this was, in some way, a prize for some sort of race.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00We don't know what.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05Hopefully, by the date, we'd be able to work out hopefully when it was.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Fancy winning it for a greyhound! Oh, dear.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- So, the date is important to you, is it?- Yeah.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Well, if we have a look at the date...
0:12:14 > 0:12:17It's easy, with Royal Worcester, to give a date,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20because they used to have very elaborate date coding.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22There's a little symbol of three little lines -
0:12:22 > 0:12:24rather like a geometrical sign -
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and that's the mark for 1928.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29- Do you know which race...? - Not yet, no.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30We'll have to go back and look.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Oh, it'd be great to find it out, wouldn't it?
0:12:33 > 0:12:37But what beautiful painting. Painted by Raymond Rushton.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40There's his signature down there, quite clearly - "Raymond Rushton".
0:12:40 > 0:12:44He was a great, great painter and in those days,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46he'd be in his middle years.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50He lived on to paint right until the 1970s.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I knew Raymond Rushton - a wonderful chap,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55although he went badly arthritic
0:12:55 > 0:12:59and he used to have to have his brush poked into his hand like that
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and painted with it - still painted marvellously.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06A skilled, skilled painter. But they're gorgeous, aren't they?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08This is for mocha coffee - horrible stuff,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I used to have to suffer it when I was young, it was terrible.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But aren't they absolutely beautiful?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I wish I could have a set like that.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Well, it must have been a jolly good race,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20because even in those days, 1920s,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23the value of this was quite considerable.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26But now, I suppose you've got to put a value
0:13:26 > 0:13:29of about £2,500 on it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- Oh, wow! - So, it's a good race to win.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- Absolutely. - A wonderful little set.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Now, here in this glorious setting,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Tredegar House behind us, wonderful place,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47what we're in pursuit of today are the Morgan family.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51We need to find the traces of the great family
0:13:51 > 0:13:52who created that house.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55And of course, here, we're coming quite close,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59because here, we have the memorials of three members of that family,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01- in the 18th century. - Right.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04These are hatchments from a church.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Where do you fit in? What church is it?
0:14:07 > 0:14:11It's the church of St Michael's and All Angels in Lower Machen,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and I happen to be a church warden in that area.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- Right. How far is that from here? - About five miles at the most.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- But it's a church with good Morgan connections, isn't it?- Yes.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Many of the Morgan family have actually been buried there
0:14:23 > 0:14:26and they used to go to the services there regularly.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Right. What we're looking at are hatchments -
0:14:30 > 0:14:33a popularisation of the word "achievement".
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And these, in a sense, are death markers.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40They're from the collection of Morgan hatchments in the church.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- I think there are 11, aren't there? - That's right, 11.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47And what we've got here are three generations of MPs of Tredegar
0:14:47 > 0:14:49from the Morgan family.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Hatchments started really quite early on in Britain.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55They're quite common in various churches,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59particularly churches associated with various families.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02They were a way of commemorating members of that family.
0:15:02 > 0:15:03What are we looking at?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- We're looking at things that actually mark a death.- Yes.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08You've got a black frame.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12You've got a motto which says, effectively,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16"Rest in peace, in Heaven quiet."
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Um...you've got the skull and crossbones,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21which is a memento mori, a mark of death.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Now, of course, the great thing here
0:15:22 > 0:15:24is we've got three generations consecutively,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27all of whom were the local MP.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31We start with Thomas, who died in 1769.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33He was 67, so he did all right.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Next is Colonel Thomas who, presumably, was his son,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40who died in 1774 aged 44, so much younger.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45And then, finally, Charles, who died in 1787 - again, young.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48The key thing - and we've got a development here -
0:15:48 > 0:15:53is, of course, the coat of arms expands generation by generation
0:15:53 > 0:15:55as they marry.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59So here, we've only got a lesser number of elements
0:15:59 > 0:16:01in the coat of arms.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Here, it's getting bigger and steadily bigger
0:16:04 > 0:16:05as the family expands.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And so, in a way,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11they're like a sort of document of genealogical history,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14painted on canvas.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16They were usually done by local artists
0:16:16 > 0:16:17who specialised in such things.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19We don't know who they are.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21The other thing about them is they're very clean,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23they're in very good condition.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25They hang in your church, 11 of them.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27What do you think about them?
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Well, if you've never been there before,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34you go into the church, it is awesome to see what's around you.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And people come there from other places
0:16:37 > 0:16:39- just purely to look at them.- Right.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Because these are so good,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44so colourful and so detailed and so rich,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and because they are so locally connected,
0:16:47 > 0:16:48they're actually quite valuable.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49Um...
0:16:51 > 0:16:52An average price -
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and I haven't seen, obviously, the others in the collection -
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- would be £2,000 to £3,000 each. - That's lovely.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02So you're looking at £30,000 or something like that for the set.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04- Yes.- Now, I'm not suggesting you sell them.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- No, we don't intend to sell them. - Good, I'm glad to hear that.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Thank you very much.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16So, if there's two things that the Welsh are extremely famous for,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19firstly, it's rugby, and second, it's singing.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Obviously, we have a male voice choir here -
0:17:21 > 0:17:23very handsome they are, too.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25What's their story?
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Well, the man in the middle here is my great-grandfather,
0:17:29 > 0:17:30William Sargent.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32His brother was also in the choir
0:17:32 > 0:17:36and the entire choir chose to tour the United States of America
0:17:36 > 0:17:38several times in the 1900s.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40And I see it says in this photograph here,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43"White House, May 23rd 1913."
0:17:43 > 0:17:45So...the president at the time would've been Wilson,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48- is that correct? - Yes, Woodrow Wilson.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- And they went and actually played at the White House.- Yes.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53And you have a programme here of a farewell concert.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Was that to raise funds to go on the first tour of the States?
0:17:56 > 0:18:01Yes, it was. Um, they did two concerts, two farewell concerts.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04The first one was not received well because of the price of the tickets,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07so they did a second one at a slightly cheaper price.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09So then everyone could attend to help raise money.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12They were obviously enormously famous, locally.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And you have a record here from Columbia Records,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17it's of the March of the Men of Harlech.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Was this something they actually recorded
0:18:19 > 0:18:21whilst they were in America?
0:18:21 > 0:18:24As far as I know, they recorded three records while they were in America,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26which wasn't a cheap thing to do.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28I've managed to collect two of them.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30As far as I know, they were just for commemorative purposes.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- They weren't sold. - They weren't commercially sold.- Yes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Am I right in thinking there's a connection
0:18:35 > 0:18:36with the Lusitania?
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Yes - um, on their third tour,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41some of their choir members had become ill with the flu,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44so they had stayed back in New York and nine were on the Lusitania
0:18:44 > 0:18:45when she went down.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- Three were lost in total.- Really? And what about your grandfather?
0:18:49 > 0:18:51My grandfather was one of the ones with flu, so...
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Really? Oh, my goodness, wow! - Lucky he stayed back.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58With regards to price, we have to mention prices.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Obviously, it's really rather relevant to you
0:19:00 > 0:19:04because it's your family and it's local history.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06What sort of price could you put on it? I don't know.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Maybe £100 to £200, perhaps?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- Obviously, that's not the issue, here.- No.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13And I understand you've brought us an original recording
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- which features your uncle.- Yes.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18My uncle Frank sings the Welsh national anthem.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20He's the solo tenor.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25# ..enwogion o fri
0:19:25 > 0:19:31# Ei gwrol ryfelwyr
0:19:31 > 0:19:37# Gwladgarwyr tra mad
0:19:37 > 0:19:48# Dros ryddid gollasant eu gwaed. #
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Well, there's a photograph in this album
0:19:50 > 0:19:55which shows two tiny little figures in the distance
0:19:55 > 0:19:58and underneath the photographs, it says,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00"Somewhere in the Western desert
0:20:00 > 0:20:05"receiving MC ribbon from Field Marshall Montgomery."
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- That's right. - One of these figures is Montgomery.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10- Yes.- Who's the other one?- Me.- You?
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Yes.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14And why were you receiving the MC, the Military Cross?
0:20:14 > 0:20:22Because I'd cut two pathways through a minefield at Alamein
0:20:22 > 0:20:27under mortar fire for the tanks to go in and attack.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29And you were a mine specialist, were you?
0:20:29 > 0:20:34I suppose I knew as much about mines as anybody else did.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38And the photograph on this side, is that of you?
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Yes - that's me on my honeymoon.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46- Oh!- With my wife and my mother and father.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51Right. Now, here is something that I'm puzzled by,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53because it's an empty cigarette packet.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57But what is interesting is, underneath that, is written,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"Received with thanks
0:20:59 > 0:21:02"from Field Marshall Rommel."
0:21:02 > 0:21:09That's right. Well...I was doing raids on the French coast
0:21:09 > 0:21:13to look at the defences for D-Day.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- This isn't anything to do with Operation Tarbrush, is it?- Yes.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22This was a very secret operation to check defences
0:21:22 > 0:21:25a couple of weeks before D-Day.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27That's right. I was going to say.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30What was thought to be an unknown mine
0:21:30 > 0:21:34which would have been underwater at high tide
0:21:34 > 0:21:39so that the landing craft coming in lowering its door would get
0:21:39 > 0:21:45blown up, so the D-Day planners wanted to know what this was.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Funny enough, I found out that all it was
0:21:49 > 0:21:54was a block of wood with a German teller mine on top.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57An anti-tank mine on top?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59An anti-tank mine on top!
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- But they weren't waterproof. - I didn't have time to check that.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05LAUGHTER
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I said, "Great, we can handle this."
0:22:10 > 0:22:13So how many were in your team?
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Just myself and the Commando officer, George Lane.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23- He was captured. So, were you captured at the same time?- Yes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25- On that raid?- Yes. - And what happened to you?
0:22:25 > 0:22:32I was taken to a French chateau, Chateau La Roche-Guyon and
0:22:32 > 0:22:39shown into a big room, and standing there was Field Marshal Rommel.
0:22:39 > 0:22:45And looking out of the window was Field Marshal von Rundstedt.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Two of the most important officers,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51high-ranking officers in that part of the theatre at the time.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55- That's right. - I can't believe it.- Ha-ha!
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I couldn't believe it at the time!
0:22:58 > 0:23:01But what rank were you? Were you a senior officer?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I was a lieutenant, just a lieutenant,
0:23:04 > 0:23:10and I asked the German officer who was acting as interpreter,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14why was I, a mere lieutenant,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18brought to see the Field Marshal Rommel
0:23:18 > 0:23:20and Field Marshal von Rundstedt?
0:23:20 > 0:23:27And his reply was, "Well, we know that D-Day is pretty soon.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31"So you are a very important prisoner."
0:23:31 > 0:23:33They asked me two questions.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37He said, "Was I an engineer officer?"
0:23:37 > 0:23:42Well, I was, actually. But I reminded him of the Geneva Convention.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I could only give him my rank, name and number.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51And then he said, "Is there anything that you require?"
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So I said, "Yes. I'd like a pint of beer..."
0:23:54 > 0:23:57LAUGHTER
0:23:57 > 0:24:03"I'd like a packet of cigarettes, and I'd like a good meal, please!"
0:24:03 > 0:24:07And I was served in his mess
0:24:07 > 0:24:11and on the table was a stein of beer,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and there was a packet of cigarettes.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Not this packet?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20- That is the empty packet. - Good grief.- Which I kept.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23As a matter of interest, you've brought the miniatures with you.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24Do you have a full-sized medals?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- I have the full-sized medals.- You do.
0:24:27 > 0:24:33I think that the medal group plus the story, plus the objects you have
0:24:33 > 0:24:39are going to be worth somewhere in the region of £7,000 to £10,000.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Not for sale!
0:24:41 > 0:24:43LAUGHTER
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Good for you.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Not for sale!
0:24:46 > 0:24:49APPLAUSE
0:24:55 > 0:24:59The first thing I'm going to say to you about this picture is that
0:24:59 > 0:25:01I can only see 50% of it.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Because it's under this dreadful nonreflective glass which was
0:25:04 > 0:25:06- put in in the 1960s.- Not guilty.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- You are not guilty?- My father.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I am glad to hear you say that.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Because, I am going to take it out.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18And we are just going to see how much difference this makes.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And that is the difference.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24That is the classic thing that happens when you take them
0:25:24 > 0:25:26out of 1960s nonreflective glass.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29I've never seen it without that.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31The blues especially are far more brilliant.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- And it is a 50% improvement.- Yes.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Now, let's look at the watercolour.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Bottom right, monogram "EL".
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Well, I know who that is straightaway, Edward Lear.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- And do you know where the view is? - San Remo.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46And how do you know that?
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Well, in 1850, thereabouts, my great-grandmother contracted TB.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And therefore my great-grandfather at the time gave up his job.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57I think he was a teacher in Rugby.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00And took his wife, my great-grandmother,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and their two sons out to San Remo,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06because that was thought it would be better for her health.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Sadly, she didn't live all that much longer,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15but he settled down at San Remo and, several years after,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19he had his house in this position, I think this is from the garden,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Edward Lear came along and built a house next door.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26And, because of Edward Lear being obviously childless,
0:26:26 > 0:26:32he was very fond of my then-grandfather and great-uncle.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And so, for ten years, they lived very close to him.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38And it was sort of quite a very paternalistic relationship.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40That is fantastic.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42So you've got a picture here of your ancestors in the garden
0:26:42 > 0:26:44painted by Edward Lear.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45You're very lucky.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49I mean, Lear is a major figure in the 19th century,
0:26:49 > 0:26:54as a watercolourist, the Book Of Nonsense he wrote, the poems.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56I mean, he is so famous,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00he even taught Queen Victoria to paint in the 1840s.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01And he travelled widely.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05And he stayed in San Remo and lived there because he, also,
0:27:05 > 0:27:11had health issues. And was very happy there. And he died in 1888.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12It is a classic one by him.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15And I just love the blues here.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18The Mediterranean blues shining through, the wonderful,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21typical trees bending over.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It's a joy, it's an absolute joy.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And it's heightened with white, as you can see,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28because the background's slightly faded.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30But, probably, it could be cleaned.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And so that's why the whites stick out.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34But it's a great picture.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36And very desirable.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39And Lear, today, is highly collected.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44I think that the story, and it's such a personal one, would
0:27:44 > 0:27:50make in auction, probably somewhere in the region of £8,000 to £12,000.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Oh, well!
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Thank you very much indeed!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01- You brought me a donkey. - Yes, I have, yes.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Which might be a rather unusual name, you would think,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07for this table/bookcase.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08But, if you look at it,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12it's based on the four-legged beast of burden with two panniers
0:28:12 > 0:28:15on the side, holding books, and that's how it got its name.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- OK.- Is it something you've bought?
0:28:17 > 0:28:21No, this is something that my gran has bought from Belfast,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23which she brought back in the '60s.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26And it's been in her house ever since.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29- And she lives nearby now in Barry. - I see.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Because this is exactly the sort of thing
0:28:31 > 0:28:33a sort of trendy young thing like you might buy
0:28:33 > 0:28:35and I wondered whether you had bought this
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- for your modernist loft apartment or something.- I'm only 19.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41I haven't got that amount of money yet.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Or responsibility, for that matter.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- Do you like it?- I do, yeah. I love the lines, the clean lines
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and the way that it sort of sits with the sort of pannier effect.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Well, those clean lines are really important.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55If you like, I hate the term, but it's an icon of modernism.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59It was designed in 1939 by a modernist architect called
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Egon Reiss, and it was produced by a company called Isokon.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07The very first model that he designed was much more curvy,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- and it was released literally just before the war broke out.- OK.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14And, as a result of that, production completely ceased.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19In 1963, the company was revived and this was revived as well.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Redesigned, so the piece you're looking at here in this shape
0:29:22 > 0:29:25dates from the 1960s or '70s.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28You might have noticed that the shelves on the side are quite small.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31The original design caught the eye of Allen Lane,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33who was the publisher at Penguin.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36So this became known as the Penguin Donkey,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40to put his little orange paperback books inside.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43And he, just before the war, sort of promoted it with huge amounts
0:29:43 > 0:29:46of leaflets in books that he sold, so it's always been known as that.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49And I suppose that sort of retro, vintage style,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52if you stack those fantastic orange- jacketed paperbacks inside here,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54- it really does look rather smart. - Yes.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56- Does your grandmother use it? - She does.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58She uses the middle bit to keep magazines in
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and the outer bits as a table, yeah.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04As I say, this is exactly the sort of thing that trendy young people
0:30:04 > 0:30:08are buying and, for that reason, they keep their value very well.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- You can buy a new one, I believe, for around £600.- Wow!
0:30:11 > 0:30:13So, a piece like this from the 1960s and '70s,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15if you were to sell this at auction,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18you would probably get somewhere in the region of £300 to £400.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22- Wow! That's fantastic! - It's a super thing.- Wow, yeah.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31My son was Status Quo mad.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Absolutely Status Quo mad.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Every time they brought, in the old days,
0:30:37 > 0:30:38it was records they brought out.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40I remember those!
0:30:40 > 0:30:42CDs came later!
0:30:43 > 0:30:47And at the time, we had to go out and buy it for him,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51because he was disabled, he's in a wheelchair.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52He had an accident at 18.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55- Right, what sort of accident? - Motorbike accident.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59- Paralysed from the chest down. - Right, OK.- No feeling from here down.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03- So he didn't have the use of his limbs?- Well, he could move his arms.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06But he couldn't move his fingers, no use of his fingers.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Right, OK. That's a sad story.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12So, what's the connection with the tapestry, though?
0:31:12 > 0:31:15- He was told he wasn't capable of doing anything...- Right.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17- And he didn't, for five years. - Right.
0:31:17 > 0:31:23After five years, he started doing a few things - tapestry was one thing.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Every time we walked through my kitchen, his wheelchair
0:31:26 > 0:31:31was at my kitchen table, he would say, "Thread me a few needles".
0:31:31 > 0:31:36- Right.- He used his teeth to push this through the tapestry
0:31:36 > 0:31:40- and he would turn the whole frame over - it was on a swing.- Yes.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43- He'd pull it through with his teeth. - That is unbelievable.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Each stitch was pulled through with his teeth.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50So your son executed this entire tapestry with his teeth?
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Obviously, I can see that it lists all the albums, song titles,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57and it's quite clearly dated.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I think what would be fantastic would be
0:32:00 > 0:32:03if Status Quo actually got to know about this, as well.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07I think they would be absolutely massively impressed
0:32:07 > 0:32:12- by the devotion of a fan...- Yes. - ..who went to this kind of trouble.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14I presume your son passed away?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Yes, he had his accident when he was 18
0:32:17 > 0:32:20and he died when he was 39.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Right, OK. I see you have a photograph of him there.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25- Yes.- Let's have a look at that.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27He looks to be a happy soul.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Oh, he was a happy boy, yes, he was.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32He never finished it, did he?
0:32:32 > 0:32:36- I can see that it's not been finished.- No, it was never finished.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Lots of people have asked me if they could finish it for me and I said no.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42It's not finished because he died.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45It was only after he died that I actually looked at the titles,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and there's only once - he never repeated a title,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50but he did, towards the end.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52The title was, So Ends Another Life.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56- And I can see that final line at the bottom...- So he knew.
0:32:56 > 0:33:01- What was your son's name? - Colin Thomas Booth.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Colin Thomas Booth.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06I have to say, I'm so highly moved, it's all I can do to carry on,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08to be honest with you.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11The fact that you've come here today and talked to me about this
0:33:11 > 0:33:13I think is wonderful.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16It's testament to his achievement, producing something like this,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20- which I think is absolutely incredible.- Yes.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23This thing is priceless. I think it's an amazing thing.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I think also that you've been very courageous to come
0:33:26 > 0:33:28and talk about it, so thank you very much.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Thank you.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32- That's excellent, thank you. - APPLAUSE
0:33:32 > 0:33:35MUSIC: So Ends Another Life by Status Quo
0:33:35 > 0:33:40# And so ends another life
0:33:41 > 0:33:46# To let this world go on... #
0:33:49 > 0:33:52She really has the most beautiful, serene expression, doesn't she?
0:33:52 > 0:33:54She does, yes, she's beautiful.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57She's got wonderful downcast eyes and she is really
0:33:57 > 0:34:00an object of contemplation and when you're at a roadshow
0:34:00 > 0:34:03and there are thousands of people here, she's a perfect contrast.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- Relaxed, isn't she?- She's lovely.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- Do you know who she is?- No, I don't.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12She's a Buddhist deity, the goddess of mercy.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15If she was Chinese, she would be called Guanyin,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18if she's Japanese, she would be called Kannon.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Um... She has a number of different roles.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Goddess of mercy is the usual one, the protector of fishermen is one...
0:34:27 > 0:34:29But very often, she's also associated
0:34:29 > 0:34:31with the Taoist immortals,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34so she represents long life.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Well, there you are, you see.
0:34:36 > 0:34:41My grandfather was a sea captain on the clippers in the days of sail
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and it was he who brought this back.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48So that's the connection with the sea.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50So she was a protector of fishermen.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54This particular figure is a Japanese bronze, it's not a Chinese one.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- I love this bit, here. The Lotus. - The leaf.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01- It's a lotus leaf, which is a symbol of purity.- Yes.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04She's just a lovely contemplative object,
0:35:04 > 0:35:08and sitting on this rock work which has been so beautifully made.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12This one dates from the Meiji period, which is 1868 to 1912,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14so second half of the 19th century.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Well, she was brought back about...
0:35:18 > 0:35:20In the 1880s.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- Mm. So that fits very well.- Yes.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26There was probably a maker's mark on the base - yes,
0:35:26 > 0:35:31we have a three-character maker's mark from the workshop.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35She's just a lovely thing to see. I like her very much indeed.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36I do, too.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38As an object of contemplation.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41When it comes to the value, there are some issues.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44The lotus leaf here is loose, so it needs a little bit of repair.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46The Japanese market is not particularly strong
0:35:46 > 0:35:49at the moment, but I think if you put that into auction
0:35:49 > 0:35:53today, it would probably be in the region of £800, maybe 1,000.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Well done.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57But I wouldn't sell it!
0:35:57 > 0:36:02- I think that's very, very little for an object so beautiful.- Yes, yes.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10Now, I've seen people with framed football shirts, of course,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12I've never seen a framed pair of trousers
0:36:12 > 0:36:15brought along to the Antiques Roadshow and these belonged to
0:36:15 > 0:36:18that famous son of Wales, Dylan Thomas, the famous poet.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21How did you come by these trousers?
0:36:21 > 0:36:24My father was an historian and every year he used to go to Laugharne.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27And one year, probably over 40 years ago,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31we met an old lady and my father started talking to her and
0:36:31 > 0:36:35she said she was Dylan's housekeeper or had been his housekeeper.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38My father asked if she had anything she wanted to sell of Dylan's...
0:36:38 > 0:36:41- He was a big fan of his?- Yes.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44She said she had an old suit that she had stuffed into the trap door
0:36:44 > 0:36:47of the attic to stop the draft coming through, so off she went.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Came back, but she didn't have the jacket, just the trousers
0:36:51 > 0:36:56and my father asked her how she could say they were Dylan's trousers
0:36:56 > 0:37:00and she said they had the Boathouse Laundry number M66 on them.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04- What's the Boathouse Laundry? - The Chinese laundry in Carmarthen.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08You say it was a suit, do you know what happened to the jacket?
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Yes, the lady said that she buried her puppy in the jacket
0:37:12 > 0:37:15- over 50 years ago.- This is the daughter of the housekeeper?- Yes!
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- I don't think you'd want that now, would you?- I don't think so!
0:37:23 > 0:37:29Do you know, I've been looking at figures like these since 1971.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32That's when I started in the business.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36One of the very first marks I learned to recognise was
0:37:36 > 0:37:38a salmon pink triangle.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41When I see figures like this, I hesitate,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45because there are lots of optional makers,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49so the first thing I've got to do is make sure I'm looking at...
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Let me... I'm not very good at grabbing women!
0:37:52 > 0:37:54But let's have a look at that mark.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57There it is - let me twist it round like that.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01It says Royal Dux Bohemia.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05Today, we're probably talking about the Czech Republic.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09Tell me a little bit about where they've been living.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Well, in my youth,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15they just lived in the house that belonged to my great-grandmother.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18- And you've brought along a photograph today.- Yes.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Tell me who that lady is.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23That's Sarah Foster, and that's my great-grandmother.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26When do you reckon that photograph was taken?
0:38:26 > 0:38:28The 1920s, maybe?
0:38:28 > 0:38:31But we look over here, we've got...
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Is it the gentlemen I've got over here?
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Yes, they're both on there.
0:38:35 > 0:38:41So what is interesting, we see these figures now in the context of time.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45- Because they've passed through other people's lifetimes.- Yes.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48The remarkable thing is they've obviously been loved,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50- they've been looked after... - Oh, yes...
0:38:50 > 0:38:53..because they're in absolutely lovely condition.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55These come under the heading of Victoriana, although
0:38:55 > 0:38:57they could date to around 1910,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59but they are beautifully modelled.
0:38:59 > 0:39:05They're well executed, they've got extremely realistic flesh tones.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09The real trick is in this sort of matt or vellum type glaze,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13which works really well on realistic facial detail.
0:39:13 > 0:39:19And then, they take this green and dust it with a little bit of gilt.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22This actually, by the light of candle,
0:39:22 > 0:39:24would probably twinkle in the evening.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28These sort of figures, after the war,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30nobody wanted them.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36Victoriana was out and then in come the 1960s and Victoriana is in and
0:39:36 > 0:39:42as we're talking now, Victoriana is, as the youngster said, "so not now".
0:39:43 > 0:39:45That's right!
0:39:45 > 0:39:48So, in today's market, if I was to want to go out
0:39:48 > 0:39:52and buy these today, because they're big and because they're still
0:39:52 > 0:39:56together - this is a marriage obviously made in heaven -
0:39:56 > 0:39:58then the chances are,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02I'd probably be asked to pay about £1,500.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Yes. Whatever.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06"Whatever?"
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Yes! Sounds fine.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11I don't really want to sell them, I suppose they'd be passed on to...
0:40:11 > 0:40:15Well, to my girls, if they want them. They probably...
0:40:15 > 0:40:19I don't know, your children never seem to want things, really, do they?
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Sunshine, diamonds, platinum.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27A magnificent jewel, worn in this very house,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29but who actually wore it?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32My great, great aunt, who was born Lady Katherine Carnegie
0:40:32 > 0:40:35and married the first Viscount Tredegar and she left it
0:40:35 > 0:40:38to my grandmother, who brought me up,
0:40:38 > 0:40:40who was really like my mother.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42And then I got it when I was about 22
0:40:42 > 0:40:46and have worn it ever since at every possible occasion -
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- any black tie or white tie or wedding.- Yes.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52What do you feel like when you wear it? Is it like a glass of champagne?
0:40:52 > 0:40:54It's always admired by everybody.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57I get so many compliments about it.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Cos it's so unusual.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03It is unusual and the design is the point I think to focus on,
0:41:03 > 0:41:08- with these wings.- I've always thought they were angels' wings. - Yes.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12I think they're NOT actually angels' wings, these are Eros wings,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- the wings of love, frankly! - Oh, even better!
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Yes! And they appear constantly in jewellery
0:41:18 > 0:41:20and when they're set with diamonds, it's forever love.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25So this is a very personal gift and it might have marked a wedding or...
0:41:25 > 0:41:27- Sadly, that, I don't know.- No.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31- Could it be as early as the 1890s when she got married?- It could be.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33I'd like to think it was a little later than that,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35probably 1910, something of that nature.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Tell me about the pearl at the end. What's the story?
0:41:38 > 0:41:41The pearl used to be much bigger, a beautiful big drop pearl.
0:41:41 > 0:41:42Unfortunately, one day,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46shutting it in our safe - in our wall safe, I crunched the door.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Crunched the pearl and it shattered.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52We were quite young marrieds at the time
0:41:52 > 0:41:54and couldn't afford anything bigger than this.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56But the metaphor remains, because
0:41:56 > 0:41:58the pearl is born of the shell
0:41:58 > 0:42:01and the sea and is therefore one of the attributes of Venus,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05so we've got the wings of love set with diamonds, forever love...
0:42:05 > 0:42:07It is actually exactly the sort of jewellery that everybody
0:42:07 > 0:42:09wants today.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12They're not enormous diamonds - some of them are rose-cut diamonds,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15so it's not a flashy object, and it's a very poetic object.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17It's superbly made, probably by one of the great jewellers.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19You don't know who, I suppose?
0:42:19 > 0:42:21I can't guess at the moment, but it might be an English
0:42:21 > 0:42:25jeweller like Garrard, for instance, who were very prominent at the time.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29I have to tell you that the accident with the pearl is a problem.
0:42:29 > 0:42:30We have to face facts.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33But I'm going to tell you how much the necklace is worth as it is now.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Um...
0:42:35 > 0:42:37£30,000.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38You're joking! Really?
0:42:38 > 0:42:40I thought you were going to say five!
0:42:40 > 0:42:42That's what I had in mind.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Well, that's a surprise, yes!
0:42:45 > 0:42:48The worst surprise is that the single pearl hanging from there,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52if it was the size you've described in comparison to the necklace,
0:42:52 > 0:42:53might have been worth £30,000.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56- No, because I still wouldn't have wanted to sell it!- No.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59But still, when I'm in my old people's home
0:42:59 > 0:43:01and if I really need it... Thank you!
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Well, our day here at the Antiques Roadshow is drawing to a close
0:43:08 > 0:43:11and as usual, we've seen lots of dogs, but that's as nothing
0:43:11 > 0:43:13compared to the menagerie that used to be here
0:43:13 > 0:43:16with the last Lord that lived at Tredegar.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19He had quite a menagerie - Somerset, the boxing kangaroo,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Alice the honey bear...
0:43:21 > 0:43:23And when dinner parties got a bit tedious,
0:43:23 > 0:43:26he let loose Bimbo the baboon. What a guy!
0:43:26 > 0:43:29From the Antiques Roadshow at Tredegar house, bye-bye.