Balmoral 1 Antiques Roadshow

Today, the Antiques Roadshow comes from a very special location.

Balmoral. Home to the Royal family here in the Scottish Highlands.

For 150 years they've enjoyed the stunning beauty

and quiet of the Cairngorms.

In 1842, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made their first visit

to Scotland and fell in love with the country.

Particularly the Highlands.

The young couple were so taken with the idea of living in this part

of Scotland that they bought Balmoral Castle

without actually seeing it.

Luckily, it was love at first sight.

The landscape reminded Albert of his home in Germany.

And Victoria just loved walking in the hills.

And who wouldn't?

But once they moved in,

their impulse to buy turned out to be a bit of a problem.

The pre-existing castle just wasn't big enough for a queen who still

had to accommodate visiting ministers, guests, friends,

and a growing family and staff.

They were going to need a bigger castle.

And sticking on an extension just wasn't going to be enough.

So Albert got stuck in. He rolled up his sleeves

and worked with the architect to design a brand-new home and gardens.

And Victoria laid the foundation stone with all the coins of the realm

and a signed letter tucked underneath.

When it came to interior design,

the royal couple wanted all things tartan.

Even creating two of their own tartans - Hunting Stewart

and Balmoral - for the carpets, curtains and upholstery.

Some called it, rather disparagingly, tartan-itis.

Together, Albert and Victoria made Balmoral into their ideal

Highland retreat.

It wasn't a big move though.

This stone marks where the front door of the old one used to be.

But it does mean we have a castle fit for a queen

as our specialists get ready to greet our visitors

from Aberdeenshire and beyond.

One tiny little box, two cultures,

and they've collided with one another.

But what does it mean to you?

It means romance to me.

To be able to buy a box where it's part of Imperial Russian time,

and just the thought about who's held it, who's touched it.

And it's just such a romantic period of history.

Well, it most definitely is.

And it does represent two cultures,

because the top of the tea caddy is based on Russian textile

and the base of it is based on Japanese art.

And I've never ever seen in my experience of Russian works of art

the two decorative schemes brought together.

-Mm-hmm.

-But where did you find it?

-It was in a local auction house.

-Yes.

-And it just caught my eye.

And did they give the maker or a time or anything?

They did. I can't pronounce the name.

-THEY LAUGH

-No, but it's a very difficult name.

It's made by a man called Pavel Ovchinnikov,

-which sounds like a nagging cough. But it's Ovchinnikov.

-Right.

And he's a very famous firm

manufacturing usually silver in the traditional Russian taste.

And showing in fierce competition to the most famous

goldsmith in the world, who is, of course, Carl Faberge.

But in a funny way, this is coming close to Faberge's work because

it is based on Japanese lacquer and Japanese metalworking technique.

And the return to nature is so powerful with the dragonfly

flying around over the water, which is absolutely magic stuff.

And we can see underneath here Ovchinnikov's signature.

But it also tells us Ovchinnikov had the Imperial Warrant.

The Imperial Eagle is above it.

And that he was a supplier to Nicholas and Alexandra.

-Which is rather good.

-Quite exciting.

-And it's made between 1908 and 1917.

-Right.

This is a very enviable object indeed. I want it.

The whole world wants it. And so...

£1,250.

-SHE GASPS

-My goodness!

That's amazing. That's fantastic.

I absolutely love miserable pictures.

THEY LAUGH

Just as well really, isn't it?

-Well, we love it too.

-Obviously, a great drama is being enacted here.

Have you got a title for it in your family?

No, we haven't.

But we have speculated as to the story behind it.

Obviously the couple are distressed.

And we wondered if they've received bad news.

Maybe about a previous child.

Cos we noticed, for example,

the chest open and they are looking at that.

There are quite a few clues as to their predicament.

I think that's a deed box, actually.

-That's what you keep your family papers in.

-Indeed.

And there are two other books on the windowsill here, the window ledge.

And a half burnt candle. And a broken window.

There are some remnants of better times.

There is a nice piece of china here

but I noticed that bowl has got a big crack in it.

So that tells you something too, in Victorian speak.

Then you've got this meagre fire with this pot

that's probably got a couple of turnips in it or something.

I think it's bankruptcy. I think they've simply run out of money.

-Ah, yes.

-The signs are all about poverty.

The idea that they once did have something and it is now gone.

And actually, it's heartbreaking.

You've got to remember that this is social commentary in paint.

It's a bit like Dickens, you know.

You took notice when Dickens wrote about poverty in London.

You took notice when you saw a picture like this.

It tugs at the heart strings.

We can see from the signature that it's by Paul Shirreffs.

And it's dated 1892. Now, that's a Dutch name.

-And this is what we call a Hague School...

-That is news to us.

And it's absolutely typical of the kind of pictures that were

coming out of Holland in the 1880s. Having said all that,

I'm afraid it doesn't add up to very much in terms of money.

-Probably about £300-£400 in this market.

-Yes. OK.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

Here we are in the Highlands

where binoculars are a very good idea,

but you seem to have taken it to extremes.

And I've noticed they are Japanese.

Why have you got a set of enormous Japanese binoculars?

They came from Hong Kong.

The Japanese invaded Hong Kong on the 18th December 1941.

They landed at Taikoo Dockyard.

Japanese ship was there during the occupation. Bombed by the Americans.

Dockyard's staff came out a prison camp.

Salvaged the binoculars. Passed them to the manager at that time.

They were passed from manager to manager.

I happened to be in the hot seat

when Taikoo Dockyards closed in 1973.

And I inherited the binoculars.

It's like pass the parcel but you got the right bit.

-I was in the right place at the right time.

-Yeah.

Japanese naval binoculars. Very heavy-duty.

And they're built that strongly to cope with sea conditions.

It's very harsh, saltwater, everything.

But they are just really good quality and fantastic optics.

Japanese optics are still some of the best in the world.

Have you ever wondered what they were worth?

Not at all. No.

Well, they are hugely collectable.

I mean, they are collectable as binoculars,

but as binoculars with this amazing story to them...

-Right.

-If they cropped up at auction...

I would think you'd have to pay in excess of £1,500 for them.

Goodness gracious me!

Right auction, you might pay even more.

So your "manager pass the parcel" bit, I think has paid off.

-Good.

-They are splendid.

-Yes, they are.

-Really like them.

I don't know many collectors of miniature silver railway lamps,

but I do know a few that collect propelling pencils.

-May I operate the voice?

-Of course.

-Because...

COW MOOS

-It's got a great moo.

-Hasn't it?

-Let's see that again. It's too good.

COW MOOS

But the thing I like the best is if you rotate the top,

we get red and green.

Just like a real railway lamp.

-At the top here is a little hole.

-OK.

And you think, "What's a hole doing there?"

-But down at the bottom, you can milk it. You really can milk it.

-Yes.

-It's the bizarrest thing.

-Isn't it? That's why I like it.

I think this is probably the best propelling pencil I've ever seen.

-Value, I would put it at perhaps 600 or 700.

-Mm-hmm. OK.

I'm going to put a figure of...

-£1,500.

-Wow! Great.

-What's her name?

-She hasn't got a name. Perhaps Hilary.

THEY ALL LAUGH

No. Surely not.

Thank you. It's got a certain ring to it, hasn't it?

A cow called Hilary.

-Thanks very much indeed for that.

-COW MOOS

I cannot think of a better venue to see a tiara than at Balmoral Castle.

Absolutely. And it's been worn here.

Well, tell me about that.

There's a Ghillies Ball that's held here every year.

And the Ghillies Ball is for all the estate staff here.

And we've been to many of them.

And I've worn it as a necklace not as a tiara.

The Queen always wears a tiara but not the guests usually, no.

-You wear it as a necklace.

-Yes.

But it has a frame that can be put on it so it can be worn as a tiara.

-Yes.

-And I think you have this wonderful photograph.

I have a photograph of myself.

At my wedding. 52 years ago.

And I remember the hair dresser coming to fix it on very securely.

Cos with the veil, it had to be really firmly in place.

And what did it feel like wearing this?

Oh. Wonderful. Wonderful.

You feel like a fairy princess, you know?

Absolutely just... It's the icing on the cake.

-My daughter also wore it at her wedding.

-Did you?

-Yes, I did.

-And my younger daughter wore it to her wedding.

-It was lovely.

-Yes.

It was made in about 1900. So have you had it in the family since then?

We are not absolutely certain, but certainly since the '20s,

when my husband's great-grandfather we believe bought it.

Of course, this is made of platinum.

And you've got these delicate little intricate settings, which is

called a milgrain setting.

-Oh, right.

-Which is very indicative of the 1900s.

-Yes.

And, of course, with the history, with the occasion...

And we all love occasions.

To put a price on it.

Well, you know, I can see this being very sought-after

-because tiaras are still very popular.

-Yes.

With the right auction, I would say this could be in excess of £60,000.

Really?

We might have to up the insurance.

But it lives in the bank when it's not being used.

-Good.

-It's the only safe place, isn't it?

-Well, enjoy wearing it.

-Thank you.

-And for the future generations as well.

-Yes. Thank you so much.

Here we have a book that often comes in to the Antiques Roadshow.

Summoned By Bells by John Betjemen.

He, of course, was the poet laureate to the latter end of his life.

And one of the most popular poet laureates there were.

It's a very common book

but here we have the most uncommon inscription I've ever seen.

Forgive me if I read the whole thing out.

"To Edwin Adam - the best hotelier in Scotland.

"And with the most varied cellar of beautiful wines

"it has been my pleasure to enjoy. Scotland forever.

"In gratitude, Iain MacBetjeman.

"(John Betjeman - the Saxon Scottish Nationalist.)"

And then down the side he says,

"Always have champagne for breakfast. Stirling, 1963."

What's the story?

My father obviously was a hotelier.

-John Betjeman came to stay in the hotel.

-Right, where was this hotel?

-It was in Stirling.

-In Stirling.

-In Stirling, The Golden Lion.

And John Betjeman was a bit of a bon viveur.

So was my father. And so they sat up drinking, tasting the wine.

Tasting the wines, of course.

-..my father had in the cellar.

-In the cellar. Yeah.

Which seemed like a good idea.

But my father also was a bit of a lad

and had some nice blue movies that he'd brought from Paris.

-Because he spent a lot of time in Paris and in France.

-Tasting wine.

Tasting wine. Yes, what else?

So he and John sat up all night, hence the champagne for breakfast.

I'm surprised he was able to write this after he'd had a night

-with your father.

-Yes, well, I don't think he did it on the night.

On the morning. I think he sent it to my father the following week.

Well, I think it's wonderful.

It shows John Betjeman I suppose at his best. It really is.

And obviously he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

-Oh, yes.

-And who could send himself up like John Betjeman?

-Oh, yes, he was very good at it.

-Absolutely perfect.

-The book, not desperately valuable.

-No.

-But with the inscription, £500.

-Yes.

Oh lovely! That's nice. I can give it to my children.

LAUGHTER

I'm so excited that you've brought these along today

in this resplendent setting here at Balmoral.

And what more appropriate item could we have brought along than

a pair of solid silver stags?

So tell me how they came into your life.

My grandparents were given these for their wedding present

by the Duke of Atholl. There were four of them on a big mount.

-And they were in the middle of their dining table.

-Yes, as they would be.

That's what you'd expect.

But I never saw them because it was long before I was born.

-So there were four of them?

-There were four of them.

So it's like a small herd at home.

But I think, from what I gather, one was running, one was sitting,

one was standing and there was one doing something else,

but I'm not quite sure what.

It's interesting you say that cos this is the model that

-I have seen before, the standing stag.

-Yes.

-The lying down stag, you don't see so many of.

-No.

And also you mentioned there, which was interesting, that they

had different bases, because these bases do look slightly later.

The idea, of course,

was that they'd make a huge statement on a big dining table.

-Yes.

-Usually in a shooting lodge or a big country house.

-Yes.

And, you know, it provoked conversation almost.

And that's why they were made.

What I can tell you about them is they were made by a very

famous firm called Garrard & Co of London.

-Circa 1870.

-Right.

And they were so good at making lifelike-looking models.

Not just of stags,

they did...you've probably seen pheasants, partridges, game birds.

-They come in various sizes, but these are the large size.

-Yes.

You get small, miniature-sized ones as well.

The hallmarks you may not have seen, but one of them is on here.

-On his hoof, I think.

-On the hoof, yes. You spotted that one. Yeah.

And you reckon that they were gifted when?

-Probably late 1890s?

-1890s, yes.

Yeah, well, that would tie in very nicely with the period they're from.

-Yes.

-So we have to come to the valuation.

And it's quite tricky, actually,

because they don't turn up on the market very often.

-I've seen a few over the years but not many.

-Right.

They are extremely desirable.

I can think of many people around the world who would be

interested in owning these.

They are spectacular. They are by the top maker.

Garrards of London.

You'd pay a premium price for anything by Garrards.

They are solid silver.

They are Victorian ones, so they're not modern ones.

So, taking all that into account, we are talking big bucks for these.

LAUGHTER

-Wow.

-We're looking...

CROWD LAUGH

We're looking at - comfortably and conservatively

I would say £15,000 each.

What?!

-SHE GASPS

-Dear!

Goodness me! That's amazing.

And there's two more somewhere and we don't know where they are.

-LAUGHTER

-You don't know where they are?!

-No.

I suggest you have a closer look and see if we can locate them.

Well, yeah. It would be lovely if you could find them for me.

LAUGHTER

Today, I'm working on the miscellaneous table.

So that means you've got to know a little bit about everything.

Before I go on and on and on,

are these objects that you live with on a daily basis?

-Yes, they are. They are all up in the house.

-They are.

-Yep.

So are they things that you personally collected or are they...?

They've been in the family for generations.

So they are basically family heirlooms.

Well, the thing is, you see, I can read quite a lot

about a family's history just by the objects that they bring along.

I think your family in the past have been quite well-connected.

Because when it comes to a leather fire bucket like this,

-you've got it with the Royal Arms on it.

-Yes.

So this lends me to believe that it just might have

been in a royal palace at some stage.

-Now, in all fairness, it's too early for this place.

-Right.

Because what I'm looking at here should date to

around about 1800 or maybe 1820.

-OK.

-So have you got royal connections?

Should I have curtsied when we started this recording?

-You should have but I don't have royal connections, no.

-You don't?

OK. So there is an object that if I want to go and buy,

an interior decorator would go for it big time.

And they would probably be happy to pick that up

in this present condition for around £400.

-Right.

-And then...

What a charger!

-I mean, you must live in a big house.

-We live in a big farmhouse.

-A big farmhouse.

-But it's not quite as big as this one.

No, I realise that.

But this copper charger tells me

more about you than money ever can, doesn't it?

I mean, first of all, we are moving forward into the 19th century.

So we know that this is probably dating from

let's say around about 1850 and 1870.

-OK.

-But who made it? I don't know.

This is the sort of thing that was made for big baronial houses

that were being built in the 19th century by industrialists.

And the subject is quite strange, isn't it?

We got what appears to be Father Time.

There is also this winged figure with an hourglass.

And then all around you've got these signs of the zodiac.

So what's that worth? I would hazard that

if I want to buy that I would have to pay around about £800-£1,000.

-I'm thinking on my feet here. But I love your...

-Yes, he's nice.

Wait for this, your sulphur-crested cockatoo.

Oh, my goodness.

Now, just think, once you've bought it, you don't have to feed it.

-And it's there. It's made out of porcelain.

-Uh-huh.

Again, I'm not certain who made it. I think it's Continental.

-Dating from around about 1890.

-OK.

And I think, together with its original hoop, if I wanted to buy

that I'd be being somewhere in the region of around about £600-£800.

Right.

So is your house full of all this stuff?

Yes. It's got character.

Listen, I've got nowhere to stay tonight...

LAUGHTER

If there's a bed going, I'd be very grateful.

In return, I'll just go through the rest of the stuff in your loft.

-Is that fair enough?

-Excellent. Deal. Yep.

-It's a deal.

Put it there. OK.

So, clearly not a ladies watch. What are you doing with this?

This was my grandfather's. He was Colonel of the Scots Greys.

And his name was William Duguid McCombie.

The crest is the Duguid one and the McCombie one.

So we've got the dove and the wildcat there.

Well, let's just start by looking at the lid of the box. Barraud & Lunds.

London. Great makers.

So let's have a look at the watch.

As we've said, these two lovely enamel crests.

And it's hunting cased,

in other words, enclosed on both sides.

The movement hopefully will be signed.

It is fully signed. There we are.

Barraud & Lunds. Bishopsgate, London.

And the amusing thing is there it says, "Partly Swiss."

Because by the sort of first few years of the 20th century

they had to declare the country of origin.

So the escapement will be Swiss.

Just looking very briefly at the case, the hallmark - London 1914.

And the casemaker, very importantly, a man called Thoms.

So this is a great quality item by Barraud & Lunds,

but the casemaker Thoms was the last great English casemaker.

Unusually, it has a funny little what we call a slide on the side.

-Do you know what that does?

-No.

What we'll do with a watch like this is to advance the time

to say a couple of minutes before 11.

And then I'm going to pull the slide in a second.

And you can see and hear what happens.

And if you haven't seen this before, here is your first go.

WATCH CHIMES

SHE LAUGHS

Isn't that great?

-That's wonderful.

-This is a minute repeater.

So it's doing the hours. Ding-dong.

-Those are the quarters.

-WATCH CHIMES

-And then ding, ding...

-WATCH CHIMES

..on a smaller gong for the minutes.

So he could have had that in a pocket or something or in a

dark room and just moved that slide and it would have told him the time.

-Wow.

-But what he would probably more like they have done is to have had

the slide like that and said to some youngsters, "Blow on this watch."

WATCH CHIMES

And there it is starting to repeat.

That's the sort of party trick he might have done.

-He wasn't very like that.

-Was he not? OK.

Well, listen, the main thing is, it's a cracking good watch.

Lovely family history.

And the finest quality English watch just before that firm

finished business.

Wonderful.

So...

I'm here to tell you the price.

-Do I want to know?

-I hope you do.

It's everything you'd want of a really nice quality English

watch, one of the last examples.

Minute repeating, beautifully enamelled crest on the front.

It would have no problem at auction making between £4,000 and £5,000.

-LAUGHING:

-Goodness me!

-Happy?

-Well, it won't be sold.

-I'm very glad to hear it.

It's time to see if you can spot the impostor.

It's our regular challenge set by one of our experts.

This week, we have four campaign medals, war medals.

Three of them are genuine, one of them is a forgery, an impostor.

Mark Smith, you are our arms and military expert.

You have brought these four medals along.

And I have to say, we are used to seeing fakes in paintings

and ceramics, in all sorts of antiques,

but there is something particularly shameful about faking a war

medal when it represents a battle in which men have been injured

-and lost their lives.

-Absolutely.

The thing about medals is, is that particularly for the British

ones, 90% of the British medals have got a name on.

Therefore you can put your man in one moment of time

on one battlefield.

So what you're looking at with a British medal is like a little

time machine that takes you from here to there.

The thing about it is, is because the people who were in those

battles are known, there are medal rolls with their names on,

what you've got is,

you've got an opportunity to enhance the value of your medal by changing

the name of the man to someone who is more well-known in the battle.

So the more well-known the battle,

the more involved in the battle that he was,

the higher the value of his medal.

In a way, that makes it even worse,

-because then you are ranking a kind of hierarchy of valour.

-Yes.

Someone who fought in that war might have their name taken off

-and someone else's put on.

-Absolutely.

-That's really shameful.

And so you have to be aware of the tricks that you need to look for,

for what people will do to medals to make them worth more money.

Well, talking of tricks,

Mark has some clues here to help you spot which of these is the impostor.

This medal was issued to Sergeant Charles Augustus Gully

in recognition of his part in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854.

But is his name spelled correctly for the period?

Fakers have been known to make mistakes.

Over 36,000 Waterloo medals were issued after the battle in 1815.

This one is M Ross of the 21st Foot.

But is it the real thing or has a faker reworked

and renamed a far less valuable piece?

Known as the Zulu medal and dating between 1877 and 1879,

this South African medal

was presented to those who fought at Rorke's Drift.

Does it have the width of a genuine medal or is it suspiciously thin?

This Khedive's Sudan medal

was awarded to a squadron sergeant major

wounded in the charge at Omdurman in 1898.

Has it got the age and wear of an original,

or could it just be a modern copy?

-Well... This is what I think, Mark.

-OK.

-This is so beautiful.

-It is.

The ribbon is either genuine or certainly made to look very old.

Mm-hm.

-I can't bear to think that this is a forgery.

-OK.

I thought this might be

because it is considerably lighter than these three.

-I am wondering about this one.

-OK.

It is very dirty.

-It is the oldest one.

-And so one would expect that.

-1816.

When I looked at the side,

-and I looked at the carving on there...

-Yes.

..it is very rough under the fingers,

-and I wonder if that is done recently.

-OK.

So I am going for this one

being the impostor.

-You are correct.

-Yes!

-And that is why, is it?

-Yes.

It has been renamed around the rim.

If you look...

..it's smaller.

So it is. Only a little.

Only a little, but that means that it has not been pressed by the mint.

Someone has actually taken an original medal

and then cast one from a sand mould.

-Which is why it is that tiny bit smaller.

-Yes.

And then it has been renamed around the edge in very crude lettering.

So, what are these medals worth then, Mark?

If this one was genuine...

£2,500 to £3,000 for the Waterloo.

This one...

Probably £150.

However, because this one is named

to a man called Squadron Sergeant Major George Veysey,

who charged with the 21st Lancers at Omdurman with Winston Churchill,

we are now looking at £1,000 for this one.

This one, with four clasps,

on the open market, as it stands, £800.

But...

This one is named to Charles Augustus Gully,

who charged with the Light Brigade.

£6,000.

The Zulu medal...

This one particularly is to a man who fought not at Rorke's Drift

or Isandlwana but at a battle called Ulundi, which ended the Zulu War.

This one would be £600.

If he had fought at Rorke's Drift,

-£60,000.

-60,000?!

-Yes.

That is why it is worth renaming.

-It is all in the name.

-It is all about the name, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Well, I am thrilled that for once I actually got this right.

-Well done.

-You can come back again.

-Thank you.

And if you have any medals - unusual medals or military -

do bring it along to the roadshow

cos Mark, for one, would love to see it.

Well, it is a group of interesting looking boxes.

-And I love a box, so may open it?

-Please do.

Oh, my goodness! It is a telescope.

Looking very much as a professional telescope would.

It is not a plaything. This is a professional astronomer's telescope.

And it is in its box. Now, why have you got it?

Well, it was actually installed in a school I went to,

a long time ago now - in the 1980s - which is now shut down.

And about the year 2000,

I found out the school had shut.

I was always wondering what happened to the telescope,

-so I spent a couple of years tracking it down.

-Wow.

And I think we have got some photos here.

-Oh, hang on, was at the school?

-Yeah, this is it here.

So this is the school here. And in 1932, they built this observatory.

-Ah!

-And they put this telescope in there.

And, yeah. So we tracked it down over a couple of years.

And in 2002, we eventually located it at a place called

Hope University in Liverpool.

I think this one here is how we found it.

-Well!

-They didn't have a need for it or a use for it.

But this dome, we found this in Northern Ireland

at the Armagh Observatory, and they were demolishing it.

So we went over there in 2003 and dismantled it.

I am taking it that you and your daughter are absolute

sky-at-night aficionados.

-Yes?

-Not really.

-Not really, no.

-OK.

This is more a labour of love.

We saw it like that and we couldn't leave it like that.

-And this is, of course, how it should be.

-Exactly.

-On its equatorial mount.

-That was from a school magazine from 1932.

-Let's just go back. You've had it for 12 years.

-Yeah.

And it is still not assembled. Have you got a time limit on this?

-Have you set yourself one?

-Well, the plan was... Kathleen is 15 now.

The plan was to do it before she leaves school.

Well, let's just talk for a moment about astronomical telescopes.

-This is the business end. This is the lens.

-Very much.

-Which looks great.

-I haven't touched that at all.

What I did read about it is - don't touch them

-until you need to do what you need to do to them.

-Exactly.

-Do you know who the telescope was made by?

-Thomas Cooke.

-OK.

I have actually found an inscription on the end there, where the

-eyepiece is.

-Very good.

-And it is dated as well.

-Excellent.

Well, Thomas Cooke - good maker, based in York,

produced all kinds of telescopes, surveying equipment.

He is very much a name to be conjured with.

He moved to York in the 1850s and went in business right

the way through into the early 20th century.

So a very good, well-known maker.

And when it was bought, I mean,

it would have been an expensive piece.

They probably would have sold something like this for £400, £500.

-Today, it has a limited value.

-Yeah.

And I would say, with its stand,

lens obviously, carrying case,

-I'd put it at between £4,000 and £6,000.

-Oh, my!

-Which I hope is more than you paid for it.

-Yeah. It is more, actually.

It is not for sale. It's something we're...

We're custodians of it, you know, for the next generation. So, yeah.

And the fantastic thing is, it is going to

-be your hobby for the next 30 years.

-Very possibly.

And you will not be able to leave home until it is done.

-Or maybe her grandchildren.

-Yes, exactly!

-Where have you been shopping?

-Um...

I actually picked it up on my way home from the Borders one day

in a small antiques shop down there.

I know next to nothing about it, just caught my eye

-and I thought, "I can't leave that in the shop."

-A recent purchase?

-No, about ten years ago.

-OK, OK. Well, it is fascinating.

I think this is a really, really interesting piece of furniture.

-Do you know what the wood is?

-Not really. Possibly camphor.

-Camphor would be too soft for this.

-Too soft.

-This is a hardwood.

I think it is padauk, a type of teak, which is really,

really very nice indeed. Which leads me to where it was made.

When you look at the whole shape of it, it is a very weird shaped.

Kooky shape. A bit like a Scottish shape, actually.

It has that slightly

Edinburgh look about it.

But it is actually made in the Far East.

So I'm almost certain it has been made in Canton,

either for use there, in China, or for shipment back to here.

Let's just show quickly what it does,

because this beautifully swivels round,

of course, for you to use it as a writing table, a tea table...

If you'd just take that end...

This wonderful surface here, just glorious.

The grain of the wood here. Look at the knot. It is just beautiful.

Lovely colour. Faded a bit over the years, of course.

We'll just shut it back up again.

I like this piece of furniture, I really do.

I've always had a little soft spot for this colonial type furniture.

Let's explore it a little bit more.

How are the drawers made? Let's have a look at that.

Ah, that's camphor. You know the camphor test, don't you, everybody?

-Give it a smell.

-Yeah.

That lovely smell of camphor wood.

Camphor wood is not usually used for furniture,

certainly not for drawer liners. You see it in chests.

But it is often used inside as a way of keeping moths

and spiders away, cos they don't like the smell of it.

I love it, but...

They made this out of camphor just cos they could.

Slightly crude dovetailing.

Yeah, that is not London or Edinburgh.

-I could do that.

-LAUGHTER

Ah, now, what have we got here?

Well, has the other drawer got anything on it?

-I'm not sure, I haven't looked.

-OK. Oh, you haven't looked.

Well, I know what that says because I've seen Chinese furniture before.

-OK.

-It says "on the left".

So the man who made this knows

to give it to someone to put it on the left.

Here we go.

So we have a Chinese piece of furniture

in the English, Scottish Regency style.

Possibly 1840 or even '50, we don't know.

We have no idea who made it.

But it is a lovely piece of furniture.

Did you pay a lot of money for it?

I paid 1,100 for it, which I thought was a fair price

for what I thought was an English tea table at that time, but...

Well, who are the buyers today?

The Chinese.

Right.

So today, 2,000 to 3,000?

-Not bad at all.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

So, a beautiful painted

Swedish clock.

Probably Gustavian, so circa 1800. But obviously,

-the decoration isn't.

-It is not, no.

So you tell me the story about your clock.

Well, my grandfather, he collected clocks.

He was a farmer in the southern part of Sweden. And he had several.

He had them repainted in the 1960s sometime.

I understand that is probably not the best thing to do,

is have something repainted and restored, but that is what he did.

Well, it is very interesting. People often say that.

But when you see people say that it is original paintwork, that is

really very, very rare because the whole reason you had painted

furniture was that you could repaint it.

And the whole thing about King Gustav,

at the end of the 18th century,

-he made a trip to France...

-Right.

..and found the wonderful gilded furniture in France.

And he came back and he wanted to do it in Sweden.

But they weren't as wealthy as the French, so they started painting.

The wonderful thing about this clock, it actually has all

the colours that would have been traditional

-in the early 19th century.

-Yes.

-This pink.

I mean, I've seen lots of houses that are painted in Sweden, and they

tend to have these wonderful ribbons with this particular pink.

And it is this lovely shape.

It is very typical of that period in Sweden.

So beautiful paintwork outside,

but it is very simple pine inside - not an expensive wood.

I mean, it was made to be painted.

-It was much more about the external decoration and the shape.

-Mm-hm.

I mean, if you take this to a clock person,

-they are not going to be incredibly impressed with it.

-No.

-Because it is a very, very simple movement.

-Right.

-So this clock would really appeal to more an interior designer.

-Right.

More for its decorative appeal than actually for its...clock.

And how did it come to Scotland?

Well, my father brought it over in his car.

It looked a bit like a coffin in the car,

and he brought it over on the ferry from Sweden.

But he had to also have a special permission,

because you're not allowed to export these types of clocks from Sweden

unless it is for yourself.

You can't export to sell. That was in 1999.

And it has been in our dining room ever since.

So it is a beautiful piece of furniture. And incredibly stylish.

Mm-hm.

In value,

I would say that it is going to be £1,000, £1,400.

Really? As much as that?

-Simply because of its decorative appeal.

-I will not part with this.

In fact, both my girls are very interested in

in inheriting it from me. They say, "Mum, when you die, I'll have it."

-SHE LAUGHS

-Both of them?

Well, that is up to them.

Well, what a bruiser. Made of wrought iron.

It's...not a lightweight.

We are very grateful for you humping this one into the roadshow.

Well, I think you know,

-these are called armada chests.

-I do, yes.

And, I mean, in a way, it is the precursor of the safe itself.

So it is sheer quality in weight.

It was obviously useful for containing everything

from jewels to a banker's deposit.

And what is incredible is this is 17th century.

So it has quite an illustrious life.

-It has not had a bad life, has it?

-No.

And exactly where did you get it from?

I, in fact, inherited it from my mother.

Originally, it came from my mother's great-grandfather up in Glasgow.

And it is going to be passed down through the family after

-I have gathered, as they say.

-Very nice, too.

And, I mean, what is lovely about this wrought-iron chest -

and you'll see that it is made basically of interlaced straps

of iron - is that it retained some of it original painted decoration.

We have got little depictions of single boats, little cottages,

very typical of the period.

Other things you see are painted grotesques, that sort of thing.

-But this was built - look at the quality - built in Germany.

-Yeah.

And I am pretty sure this comes from Nuremberg.

And how do I know, or think?

Because this one retains - and it is quite unusual - the two padlocks.

And the actual arm of this padlock

is stamped with the letter N for Nuremberg.

-Have you ever noticed that?

-Never noticed that.

-Right, well,

there it is.

Come on then, show us how it works.

These enormous hasps.

Now, obviously, you'd think it goes in there.

Unfortunately, it doesn't.

-It's the dummy.

-It's a dummy. It is up top here.

-OK.

A little concealed lock there.

In it goes.

-Look at that, keep you fit.

-HE GROANS

OK, I'll give you a hand.

And it just gets better, doesn't it?

A fantastic, engraved, pierced lock-plate - complex mechanism.

And you have actually got ten shooting bolts,

which just fit under the lip of the chest.

So...

They obviously didn't want anybody who wasn't supposed to

-getting into it.

-Well, exactly.

Now, they are called armada chests, but this was made over 100 years

after the Armada, so it is more a 19th-century name we give to them.

So heavy-weight piece. Value...

..£600, £800, something like that, just for the two padlocks,

which are quite unusual in their own right.

So let's add in the value of the coffer itself.

And that is another £3,000 to £4,000.

-So you're looking at a £3,500 to £4,500...

-Very nice.

-..piece.

So, Sheena, you're a housekeeper here.

And you brought me this massive mini mountain from inside the house,

-haven't you?

-Oh, yes, yes. It stays in the castle.

-It weighs about 50 pounds.

-And it is a natural crystal of quartz.

A massive cairngorm, a stone from the Cairns.

Tell me all about its history.

Well, there was a gentleman called James Grant who found in a pothole.

I don't know what he was doing down in the pothole.

-LAUGHING:

-No, no. Had a wee dram, perhaps.

Maybe.

And then he decided to put it on his horse

and present it to Queen Victoria.

So he came over all the mountains

and came down here to the castle and presented it to Queen Victoria.

-And Queen Victoria thought it was wonderful.

-Yes.

And she gave him one pound of money for every pound in weight.

Which was a fortune, wasn't it?

It must have been back in Victorian times, yes.

You could buy a house, I think, in Scotland with that.

-Oh, I should think so.

-Perhaps he did, we don't know.

But I'm having a hard time holding it up.

-Well, you are.

-It is an absolutely massive thing.

We are going to lie it down on its side.

You can see the effort I am making in stabilising it.

-That feels better, suddenly.

-Yes.

-HE SIGHS

-So it is a mini mountain, isn't it?

-It is. It is.

-But it is a huge piece of crystal.

-Isn't it?

And both the Queen and Prince Albert were very fascinated

by the natural sciences.

And this is a very remarkable object because this beauty out of chaos.

This is igneous rock that comes from the very foundation of the world.

-Oh, yes.

-And it is billions of years old.

-Yes.

-And they had a very strong sense of that.

Prince Albert was very excited by these things, and wrote about them

and studied them, to the extent that he was made an honorary fellow

of the Geological Society...

-Oh, yes.

-..in London, in Burlington House.

And they collected natural pearls, Scottish gold, amethysts,

and above all, cairngorms.

-And you brought me another cairngorm here, didn't you?

-Yes.

-To think that this beautiful piece here comes from this.

-I know!

It is a lighter colour, but it is exactly the same material.

-Tell me about that one.

-This belonged to Prince Albert.

He would wear it on top of his Highland dress.

And it is worn on the shoulder,

on top of the plaid to keep it in place.

So the great thing about silver objects, too,

-is they are hallmarked. This one is made in 1847.

-Yes.

And it is the early days in Scotland, isn't it?

Yes, very much so.

And there are Scottish swords and canons and pennants and flags.

So in every way, it's a completely Scottish object.

And so for the Prince to have something like that to wear

very close to his heart is very emblematic of what this whole house

-is about, isn't it?

-Oh, yes, very much.

They just loved, loved Scotland.

And wanted everything from it, to understand it.

But they are haunted objects, aren't they?

We know for absolute certainty...

I am brushing it with my hand,

but the Queen herself had done this, and Prince Albert.

I find it extraordinarily moving, really.

I mean, there is something very haunted about both of them.

And somehow or another,

you've got to get your ghosts back in there, haven't you? Marvellous.

We all but will. I'll have to look for a strong man to lift this.

Unless you are going to volunteer...

Well, I am very strong, but I'm not sure I'm strong enough.

Now, most people would look at this

and think...

It looks like perpetual motion.

And this is why, as you probably know, it is called a mystery clock.

-I did know that, yes.

-And do you know how it works?

Well, if you remove the lady,

it doesn't work. It is somehow,

magically, connects below, and it works.

I'm delighted to say there is nothing magic about it.

THEY LAUGH

-No, no. What it is, is that the base plate...

-It rotates slightly.

-Yes.

It is very, very gently moving. Let's just take this off.

And pop it down there.

And looking at the base plate, it is numbered.

1063.

Hopefully, this is the same number.

It is - 1063.

-So we know it is all original.

-Yeah.

And what happens is that she is indiscernibly just going from side

to side like that. So, again, I am just going to pop that there

and turn the clock round for you.

And we will be able to see the man who made it.

And the man who made it is a very clever Frenchman called Guilmet.

Now, Guilmet signed his clocks with a little sign saying GLT.

-Oh, I had never seen that before.

-No?

He did all sorts of wonderful, complex things.

Rocking ships, all sorts. Some weird and wonderful optometer.

But the joy of this is that it looks

like pure perpetual motion.

What a great object.

-It dates about 1885 to 1890.

-Right.

Do you know what the case is made out of?

-Not really, no.

-No thoughts at all?

Well, someone once said to me that it was limestone,

but I am disinclined to believe that.

It is, in fact, Belgian slate.

-It is polished slate.

-Right.

And the French clocks that come to the UK are either Belgian slate

or very often Welsh slate.

But this is Belgian slate.

It is a good commercial item.

Price at auction at the moment...

Around £2,500.

I don't think I am selling it.

It was left to my mother by her uncle,

and he was fascinated by this movement.

And I can remember him taking it off and saying, "Look at this."

One of Guilmet's weird and wonderful things but not magic.

But not magic, right.

The silver is made by Joseph Pozzi.

And John, my husband,

-is his three times great-grandson.

-Really?

It could be a little embarrassing

because it actually sat in my sister's bedroom.

And then when the house fell to be emptied, I'm afraid I took the

little pieces of furniture, and this just happened to be one of them.

Well, my mother gave it to me maybe 20, 30 years ago, said,

"You need to keep this."

-Because this is not some piece of junk.

-No.

This is a lovely small piece known as a Wellington chest.

But what I love about it is its size.

-But it's the marks here.

-Yes.

-It has got Joseph's Pozzi marks.

It has got ELN, the abbreviation for Elgin.

And that's what makes them collectible.

This is by the famous French glass works of Daum.

-You would be looking at about £250 per spoon.

-Yep.

-Do you use them?

-BOTH:

-No.

THEY LAUGH

You put this into auction, what do you reckon you're going to get?

Maybe a couple of hundred or something?

-Three grand.

-No!

-Three grand!

So the moral of this story is, listen to your mum.

I'm going to put a figure of £1,500 on this.

Oh, dear.

That could cause terrible family ruptures.

THEY LAUGH

Native North American beadwork, Balmoral -

Very interesting conjunction. Must be a story here.

My father worked for the Hudson Bay Company

from 1923

for about three or four years,

because they recruited in this area for the Hudson Bay Company.

I'm interested he went to the Hudson Bay Company

so late, cos the Hudson Bay Company is the great trading company

in the development of early Canada.

They were fur trappers, they were traders. And of course,

dealing with the native tribes was their key activity.

And fur was the great price commodity upon which the wealth

of the Hudson Bay Company was based.

-So why did he go out?

-He was a single man, he wanted it new life.

-So he was out in the wilderness...

-Trapping.

-As a fur trapper?

-Yes.

-And so, did he talk about it much?

-Not that much.

I have learned more since he died.

-And so what we're looking at is, in effect, what he brought back.

-Yes.

-I think he sent them back for his mother.

-Yeah.

We're looking at two stories here.

One is traditional, native North American beadwork,

which is linked to particular cultures and tribes,

and the patterns reveal those.

And there is a certain point, late 19th century, 20th century,

when making traditional things for visitors and for tourists

becomes very important.

And I think what you have got here is an interesting mixture

of the two. What are the ones that particularly appeal to you?

-I prefer this.

-The Bible bag.

-The Bible bag.

-Why do you like it?

-Colour?

-Just the colours.

-It is wonderful, isn't it?

I mean, the combination of the beadwork,

the wool bordering makes it a fairly late piece.

The traditional pieces, like the boots and the gloves,

-in a way, are much simpler.

-Yes.

Dear skin, you know, is the usual material.

Now, this is something I haven't seen for.

What is that?

-It is a husky whip.

-Of course. It is a wonderful thing.

It is a combination of function and decoration,

which so many of these things are.

-Maybe it's something you need here in the winter?

-I don't think so.

-You never tried it?

-We weren't allowed to play with it

because it had lead shot down the centre of it.

-To give it weight.

-To give it weight.

What are you going to do with it all?

Well, I have got nobody to inherit it, so I have decided that...

I've made inquiries with the native Indians,

and they are hoping to get up a museum

to bring all the traditional patterns back that have been lost

-over the years.

-In Canada?

-In Canada.

-Yeah.

And they are desperate to get some of the stuff back...

-So that is where it is going?

-..to teach the juniors.

That is very good.

We are looking at something that is very collectible.

It is a wonderful range of pieces.

What is it worth?

-Well, you're not interested in selling.

-No.

But you're looking at...quite a lot of money here.

We are looking at several thousand pounds,

£5,000 or £6,000 worth of stuff.

-You're joking.

-I'm not joking.

He had a good eye, your dad.

-They're wonderful things.

-Thank you.

-And it is a great story.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Fred's performing jointed puppets.

Now, who was Fred? Are you Fred?

No, Fred was a gentleman

that had, at one stage, lived in our house.

And we bought the house in 2009.

And after a bit of hunting around, we found these in the attic.

Well, let's have a look at Fred's performing puppets.

And they are mighty fine. Lots of different characters.

We have got a policeman.

We have got Charlie Chaplin, he is instantly recognisable.

We've got a guardsman. A chauffeur.

Airman. Really an interesting lot.

I'm going to take one out.

Let's take her out.

And if we look underneath her dress there, we can see it is a metal

pressing. And there is writing on there saying made in Switzerland.

And the joints are actually a bit like action man joints.

Where can I find one? Here we go. Let's go down to her leg now.

Down at the bottom here, there is a ball joint.

And that is how it moves. And you can pose them very realistically.

As I can demonstrate. There we go.

She is performing now.

The company name is Boucherat & Co.

A Swiss company.

And they sold these little figures under the sort of trade name

of Saba, S-A-B-A.

And they made about 160 different heads.

The bodies were all basically the same.

The company was in business from about 1921

to 1935. Now, does that fit in with the Fred that you know?

He would probably have been a young child at that sort of time.

I can imagine Fred had quite a lot of fun with...

He probably did.

But fun in the 1930s meant

playing with them and then putting them safely back in the box,

because there they are, in great condition.

Prices.

They have different levels of price.

Charlie Chaplin is a particularly valuable one. So is the airman.

-They're going to be worth about £500 each.

-OK.

And the rest of them, I mean, altogether,

I would have said, what you have got here is between £2,500 and £3,500.

-VOICE CRACKS:

-Right. That is slightly more than we expected.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Yeah.

-So, does it now make the house look quite a good buy?

-Um...

-LAUGHTER

-Possibly.

Possibly.

Somehow, I get the impression that you thought long and hard today

about which three pots you were going to bring along

to the Antiques Roadshow. Am I right?

To be perfectly honest, you are, but simply because my husband's

aunt died in the autumn and she left these three pots behind.

Ah-ha.

And I know nothing about them, which is why I thought today was ideal.

OK. So... Do you find these two pots...

-endearing?

-Not at all.

-No?

But I know they mattered very much to my husband's aunt.

But from where they have come from, I have no idea.

But she did love them.

Well, what can I tell you about them?

Apart from the fact that these two

are being made in Austria.

And they are being made by the same person. If we can turn one over...

Let's turn this one over.

You'll see there's a little crown. But you've got the initials EW.

-Uh-huh.

-And EW is a man called Ernst Wahliss.

And all these three pots

are from the early and the mid-20th century.

So it just shows you how,

you know, design and style change so dramatically

from the Art Nouveau years to where we...when we arrive

at a piece like this. This fellow is a different kettle of fish

because if we turn it upside down,

we'll see that it says in here

"Edition Picasso, 137"

from a limited edition of 200,

"Madoura."

And this little impress mark there simply says Madoura.

And, um...

And so on one side, we have got the owl.

And if we turn it round,

on the other side, we have got a mask. OK?

So it's...

it's an interesting piece.

Now, the actual sort of designs were created by Pablo Picasso.

And this potter started making designs by Picasso

from around 1948, or thereabouts.

Madoura, by the way, is near a town called Vallauris,

which is in southeastern France. So I've not sold those before.

But I think I know what they're worth.

But I once sold this vase 25 years ago,

and I remember exactly how much it fetched.

So if we are going to put a price on the Art Nouveau pieces,

this one is worth possibly around about £300 to £400.

This one is possibly worth around £400, maybe up to £500.

-(Gosh.)

-This one,

let me tell you, dates to 1958.

The pot that I sold 25 years ago made...

£2,500.

But things go up and things go down.

So...

You know, I have to tell you that the last example of this that

I saw turn up three months ago,

it had actually gone up a bit more

to - believe it or not, including the buyer's premium at auction -

£25,000.

-WHISPERS:

-No!

Gosh! Bless her.

LAUGHTER

Bless her.

She's a Deeside lady

and she came back here for her last five or six years. And she...

We moved her 18 months ago into the nursing home that she chose.

And these three pieces had to go with her.

And then we had to move her for her last six weeks into a secure

-unit for dementia care.

-Oh.

And these three pieces she recognised,

and they went with her too.

So they mattered enormously.

Amazing.

What a moving end to an amazing day here at Balmoral.

We were hoping some royal memorabilia would turn up today here at Balmoral.

And look at these -

spades with an A for Albert

and a V for Victoria.

Just going to pass one to my assistants here. Boys.

Thank you very much.

Now, these would've been used as part of a tree planting ceremony,

so you can imagine Victoria, tiny as she was,

moving a teeny weenie bit of soil.

And for royalty, only a velvet handle would do.

I don't know about you, all my gardening tools have velvet handles.

From the Antiques Roadshow here at Balmoral, bye-bye.