Bowood House 1 Antiques Roadshow

Bowood House, near Chippenham in Wiltshire,

is just bursting with treasures.

Enough to thrill every single one of our Antiques Roadshow experts.

This pretty Robert Adam building has been home

to the Marquises of Lansdowne for almost 300 years.

In the 18th century, the first Marquis set up a laboratory here

and supported two of the most groundbreaking scientists of the age.

One went on to discover oxygen gas here in 1774.

While the first Marquis was keen to encourage the sciences,

the second Marquis was rather more adventurous.

In a scene that could have come

straight out of The Scarlet Pimpernel,

he rescued a young boy and his mother

from the clutches of the French Revolution.

They were aristocrats and in real danger of being executed.

And he secretly whisked them off to England.

The boy's stepfather wasn't so lucky.

He lost his head to Madame la Guillotine.

The boy was Charles, the Comte de Flahaut.

In a romantic turn of events,

his daughter went on to marry the fourth Marquis of Lansdowne.

Quite a surprise, considering Charles fought on the wrong side

in the Napoleonic wars.

He was Napoleon's aide-de-camp and served alongside him

until the defeat at Waterloo.

Years later, the Comte left the family some remarkable heirlooms.

Rare Sevres porcelain

and a portrait of Napoleon, given to the Comte by the man himself.

One of the most unusual items surely has to be this -

the bronze death mask of Napoleon.

And it was taken from the original plaster of Paris cast

made by Napoleon's doctor in 1821,

just after his death on St Helena.

They're very rare, these,

and very valuable.

I have to say, it's a very strange thing to be holding in one's hands.

So, before our experts invade the house to look at all these treasures,

let's catch up with them outside,

as they meet our visitors at today's Antiques Roadshow.

Well, there's a certain theme around here, which is car mascots.

And somehow, you don't really look much like a car mascot yourself.

Although, you'd obviously look gorgeous on the front of my car.

Thank you very much.

So what's the connection to you with these?

Well, what it was, bit of a funny story.

I was northbound on the A1, going up to Alnwick, Northumberland,

queueing to pay for a pasty, got talking to a fellow traveller

and he started mentioning that he had a small shop

fairly local to here, where he was dealing with Lalique.

We went along, had a look and the rest is history, really.

Started buying one or two pieces and, like everything else,

you think, "Well, we'll just have the one."

And that becomes two and that becomes three...

-What's it become now?

-I have eight pieces now altogether.

-Eight pieces?

-Yeah.

And what is it that you find compelling about them

that's leading you to splash some serious cash here, I presume?

I just liked the way they look. It's the car mascot,

being a bit of a car buff myself in the past, as well.

And it's just the way they're constructed.

They're just amazing.

I mean, what it would take to make something like that,

I can only begin to imagine.

Well, that is what you're talking about.

And I think it's pretty clear to see, from everybody's viewpoint,

that's a pretty stunning piece of glass.

And the idea that this is a car mascot,

you say, "Well, what the hell are you on about?"

Well, what you did is that these were let

into the brass radiator cap of your car.

So, instead of the Spirit of Ecstasy on a Rolls-Royce, for instance,

then you have that.

And some of these had lights underneath them.

-So if we look at yours, one of these is not a car mascot.

-No.

This one here, with the square base, that's a figurine.

But the others here are all car mascots.

This is Le Coq Nain.

This is the Perche.

And that, believe it or not, is called "un elephant".

Incredible. I'll translate that, because you're obviously struggling.

We call it an elephant.

So, look, you know, these are, what, late '20s,

-I suppose is their approximate date.

-Yes, I think so.

-Late '20s, early '30s.

-And they're kind of sought after. They are.

But the value depends on a letter.

And the letter we're talking about is the letter "R".

And what's in a letter? Well, an awful lot.

Because the "R" means they were made during Lalique's lifetime.

And if the "R" is absent, they were made posthumously.

And that's a huge impact on value.

Like...ten times.

So what have you got here? Let's have a look.

They're all "R".

They're all made during Rene's lifetime.

So we can go on your purchases...

-Well, you'd better tell us how much you paid for them, actually.

-I...

-HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

-Throat's gone really dry now. Sorry about that!

I think, in total, I suppose that would be 2,800-ish,

-give or take, um...

-OK, well, we'll just do a gallop, won't we?

We'll just go...800,

1,000...

..1,600 to 2,000.

That's rare. Elephant's rare.

That's 1,500.

-Really?

-1,500.

Basically, your 1,800 quid...

..is magic, magic, magic...

..4,000 to 6,000 quid.

That'll do for me, sir.

Start the car!

-It's a silver honeypot.

-Yes.

-We think it's by Philip Storr.

-Right.

And we think it's about 1800.

-Or something like that.

-Very good.

And how did it come into your possession?

It came to me about 30 years ago

-from an aunt.

-Uh-huh.

But it had been in the family for a long time.

In fact, I think all its life.

Well, I think the aunt must've liked you rather a lot.

Because this is a pretty good thing.

Well, I was quite polite to her.

Well, let's have a look at the marks.

What you say is pretty close.

It's got a nice set of marks on the bottom.

It's got the maker's mark "PS" for Paul Storr.

And a date letter "D" for 1799.

And it's what they call a honey skep or a honeypot.

Paul Storr not only was the greatest maker of the 19th century,

he ran the workshops for the greatest firm of retailers

called Rundell, Bridge & Rundell before going off on his own.

And they were the biggest firm at their time in the whole country

-for retailing fabulous silver.

-Oh, really?

So he's a top man. He's hugely collected,

especially in America. They love Paul Storr.

It's got a crest at the top. Is that a family crest?

Yes. It is. It's on my mother's side of the family.

Fantastic.

Well, by an extraordinary stroke of luck,

I bought the almost identical piece at an auction very recently.

-Oh?

-I bought it for a client.

Do you know what I paid for it?

I'm hoping you're going to tell me.

A little over £20,000.

Wow.

-I had no idea.

-So your insurance figure...

-I had no idea.

..should be quite a lot more than that.

Well, that's very, very interesting.

Thank you very much indeed. I'm quite chuffed by that.

Yeah.

This is a very grand portrait.

I'm guessing it comes from a very large house

and looking at the boys here, with Devizes School on,

-I presume it's a school.

-It is a school. Yes.

-What do you do at the school?

-I'm headteacher at the school.

Now, I notice on this picture, first of all, it's in very good

original condition. Because it's never been cleaned.

But being in original condition, I see there's some marks here.

And there's a mark here. Do you know what this is?

Oh, well, a student, he put a bit of wet paper on the painting.

-And how did he put it on?

-Um, I think he must have shot it...

Shot it? How did he shoot it?

Er, through a pipe thing.

Well, it's a pretty good shot, actually.

He's got her right here.

Now, what do you boys think of the picture?

Well, she represents the Grey Lady

and she haunts the school.

Can I stop you there? Who's the Grey Lady?

Her. She's the person in the painting.

-And have you ever seen her?

-No.

Not me. But loads of people have.

-So it's a bit of a rumour that she comes around occasionally?

-Yeah.

And do you know who this person is?

Yeah, this is Maria Heathcote,

who used to be the owner of the house that is now the school.

And do you know who it's by?

Vanderback?

It's by John Vanderbank.

And it is signed J Vanderbank, fecit 1725.

Right.

Now, John Vanderbank was a pupil of Sir Godfrey Kneller.

Kneller was a very famous artist in the late 1600s, early 1700s.

And he had a lot of pupil students working under him,

so that's how he would have learnt his ability to paint.

Also, with a name like Vanderbank, it's not English.

And it would've come from Dutch descent over here.

But he was recorded as working in London.

When we look at this, we see that she's holding here a shell.

Almost like an oyster shell. And do you know what that represents?

No.

Fertility. That's what it is.

But it's very typical of the period, the early 1700s.

It's classical,

you've got the wonderful cherub here with the fountain.

It's a very, very smart picture.

When you're at school, do you see it as well as this

or is it in a dark corner?

-No, it's in reception.

-It is?

-Yeah, and everyone can see it.

-And do you all respect her?

Er, yeah.

-Apart from this one!

-I want to know his name.

But now, we have to put a value on this.

I think it's fantastic.

And I've seen quite a lot of John Vanderbank's work.

And this is amongst the best I've seen.

And I think that, if this came up at auction,

it would make the minimum of £8,000-£12,000.

Wow.

Gosh.

So I hope you will show it more respect as you walk past.

We probably will!

I'm looking at a rather interesting archive.

It seems to relate to the Beatles in Melbourne in 1964.

Now, what's your involvement with this collection?

Well, I am Australian

and my father was Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 1964,

at a time when the town hall was a very sober place,

normally for dignitaries from overseas.

But my father was very taken with this young group of musicians,

the Beatles, and decided he'd give them a reception.

And as you can see from this invitation that he issued,

it was to meet Mr John Lennon, Mr Paul McCartney,

Mr George Harrison and Mr Ringo Starr.

Well, everybody was full of enthusiasm.

For the morning, I was given John Lennon to look after.

And he was wearing a leather jacket.

And I had never touched a man in a leather jacket before.

So I had my arm through his for the morning,

walking around, introducing him to everybody.

My sister had Paul McCartney,

because she'd been out with him the night before for a cup of coffee

and he'd held her hand.

And Paul said to her, "Tomorrow morning,

"we've got to go and meet some old codger at the town hall."

And my sister said, "Well, I'd like you to know that's my father."

So it was a really extraordinary experience.

And after it was over, we walked outside and saw the crowds.

We were on the balcony - like the Queen is!

And we saw hundreds of thousands of people lined up outside.

So that's how it came about.

That is the most remarkable story.

Well, look, the first thing I have to say is,

look, we've got all these photographs here. Which one is you?

Oh...

I have to say, there were hairpieces around in those days

-and that's what that is.

-That is such a smart up-put, isn't it?

So how old were you then? May I ask?

I was 23 and I was given John

because he was married and I was married.

And the rest of my family weren't

and neither were the rest of the Beatles.

OK, so it was felt that the two marrieds could look after each other

-and Paul was fair game for all the other sisters.

-Exactly!

So this is what you said.

-You all went out onto the town hall balcony. Oh, is that you there?

-Yes.

That looks like you, yes.

And I forgot to say, my father gave the Beatles...

had for them upstairs, where we were playing the music,

boomerangs and a didgeridoo to give them.

And so, that's what that's all about.

Well, now, this is the main event, of course.

The signed invitation.

Signed beautifully by all four Beatles very clearly.

These are good things. They are good things here.

They're even better, perhaps, in Australia.

But there is certainly a worldwide interest in them.

When we comes to value,

we're certainly talking between £5,000 and £8,000.

What's that in dollars?

Dollars about two to the pound now, so that's about AU10,000-AU15,000.

-Brilliant object.

-Well, thank you very much indeed.

And thank you for having me on this show, all the way from Australia.

It's great. It's been lovely to hear your experiences. Thanks so much.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Lord and Lady Lansdowne, it's an absolute pleasure to be here today

at your wonderful home. Thank you for having us.

But it's even more of a pleasure to have an item out of your collection.

And we have Napoleon's death mask.

I actually have a version of this hanging on my own wall at home.

And I suppose that's really why I'm going to be talking to you about it.

But I know that a lot of family history is imbued in this item,

so perhaps you can explain some of that to me.

Well, as you know, Napoleon died in May 1821

and my great-great-great-grandmother

married Napoleon's ADC.

Charles de Flahaut.

Sorry, that's the aide-de-camp?

-IN FRENCH ACCENTS:

-Aide-de-camp.

-Aide-de-camp!

Thank you!

ADC, aide-de-camp.

And went on that dreadful campaign to Russia,

-which was Napoleon's downfall.

-Yeah.

So when Napoleon died... Actually, imagine the scene.

He was surrounded by a lot of people

and one thing that was traditionally done

is that facial casts were taken - death masks.

And all of that surrounding Napoleon at the time is very complicated,

when it comes to us talking about

the amount of death masks that were actually cast.

Some people say that three originals were done

and these were wax casts or plaster casts.

Some people say four were done.

But it's contentious.

What we have here is a cast in bronze

from one of those original casts.

And in 1821, when he died in May, basically,

one of those people was his doctor - Antommarchi.

Or one of several physicians that apparently attended.

And that's one of the signatures that we can see

on the side of this bronze death mask here.

We've also got foundry marks.

It says "Fondu par L Richard et Quesnel a Paris."

So we know who the founders are and everything. It's all documented.

And also, we have this little cartouche,

signifying that it is actually Napoleon.

Now, my version at home on the wall is a plaster version.

And in fact, actually, it looks slightly different to this.

And that proves the point that the various versions

that there are around do differ facially.

I think the profile...

And you look at, actually, some of the oil paintings of Napoleon,

it's remarkably good.

That nose... He's got a beaky nose, Napoleon.

That is a Napoleonic nose.

Let's talk about some value on it.

They are very, very sought after.

We can talk about one plaster cast,

that sold the year before last, which is called the Boys cast.

And Pastor Boys was also one of the people

that was next to Napoleon's deathbed.

And apparently, a cast was taken from the original

soon after by Boys.

So we know that it's very close to that original cast.

Now, that cast sold the year before last for 170,000.

What does that mean this one's worth? Well, of course...

-Well, we don't know.

-Absolutely.

It's not quite that close to one of the original casts.

What I do know is that, when these do come up for sale,

which is very infrequently,

they usually make around about £15,000 or £20,000 at auction.

But we have all that extra added heritage

and provenance that goes with this one.

How do you put a price on that? Very, very difficult.

One thing I do know is that it's going to be snugly secreted

back in its beautiful cabinet in your museum.

It's an amazing story.

And I have to say, it's made even more emotive

by the fact that we're in the bi-centenary year

of the Battle of Waterloo.

Thank you very much.

What a beautiful day.

And the sun is shining on the righteous.

Because this is all about John Wesley,

the great Methodist preacher.

-It is indeed.

-Is there a connection with you?

There is a connection with me.

The gentleman in the photograph was my father.

And he was a Methodist minister, but he collected this pottery,

-some pictures, as well.

-Yes.

So who was John Wesley?

John Wesley was the son of an Anglican vicar.

Born and brought up in Lincolnshire, in Epworth,

went to Oxford University and became a preacher.

And in 1739, he had what he called his "heart-warming experience",

when he really trusted in God.

And from then on, he began preaching all over the country.

And Methodist Societies sprang up all around the countryside.

He lived to a ripe old age - he lived to be 88 -

and was still preaching a week before he died.

Wesley had a great connection with Stoke-on-Trent,

so many of the works are done at Stoke-on-Trent,

-including these two busts.

-Yes.

This one is a beautiful bust, isn't it?

-It is. Obadiah. Yes.

-Obadiah Sherratt.

He was a great Staffordshire potter.

And the Wesley bust over there is one of the Wood family potters.

-It is, it's an Enoch Wood...

-Enoch Wood, yes.

-..who had John Wesley sit for him in about 1780-81.

-Yes.

-And these busts were produced in John Wesley's lifetime.

-Yes.

-And they are just so beautiful.

-They're beautifully made.

And the colours on the face. You know, the painting.

Absolutely wonderful, yes.

-He must've been a famous person in his time.

-Yes, I think he was.

He'd travelled the country.

-Travelled thousands of miles each year.

-Yes. By horseback.

-On horseback.

-Because, in those days, no cars or bikes.

And usually sitting reading as he rode, you know?

-Or even writing sermons, I think.

-I know people to go on bikes reading.

-It's very dangerous.

-On horseback.

-But to do it on a horse, it's not so bad.

-No.

-And this strange model here...

-Yes.

That is actually a caricature of John Wesley.

I've no idea how many were produced,

-but it was made out of the vertebrae of a horse.

-Vertebrae of a horse?

Good Lord. I've never seen one before.

He was a great, great, great man.

So, values...

Well, the Wood bust, it's probably going to be £1,000.

And the Obadiah Sherratt bust, several times that.

-Really?

-Yes.

The other pieces, not so greatly valuable, but all very personal.

Together, the whole collection is going to be valued

at thousands of pounds.

Look after it. Guard it.

And pass it on to the next generation.

I hope I shall be able to, yes. Yes.

-Well, it's a great treasure in our house.

-Yes.

Thank you.

Well, I recognise this immediately, because it's my local church

and this is the original design

by CR Ashbee, one of the most important leaders

of the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century.

-And it's a design for an organ case.

-That's right. Yes.

The organ case was commissioned by the Harris family.

Of course, of the Harris meat products of this area.

But Ashbee, he went on in the 20th century

to develop this school of Arts and Crafts,

designing jewellery,

he had a printing press - the Essex House Press -

and, obviously, in the Cotswolds, where they produced

all sorts of lovely pieces of furniture and things like that.

Where did you find this?

-It obviously looks as though it's been in the wars.

-It has.

Well, it was bought...

I'm the parish administrator for the parish of Calne and Blackland.

This is St Mary's church, actually.

And because the humidity levels in the church

were not doing the picture any good, it was brought over there.

So here is the early-20th-century design of the organ case

and this is what it's like in all its glory today -

beautifully restored, in absolutely immaculate condition.

It's an important piece.

I don't know of any other organ case or piece of art

that Ashbee did that is quite like this.

I can see a piece like that, it's £20,000-£25,000.

My word!

-Goodness me!

-It's a wonderful piece.

-Thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Gosh.

Oh...!

Speechless. That's rare for me!

-THEY LAUGH

-Thank you.

These Chinese jade carvings, I like them,

because they all have a very specific meaning.

This one here,

which is a small boy on the back of a large bottle gourd

represents having many sons.

But I particular like this one here, which is a monkey and a peach.

-Do you know much about this one?

-No. I don't.

Except, I believe it's a token for longevity.

You're absolutely right. And it's...

Actually, it goes back to a sort of 16th-century

Chinese mythological story about the Monkey King.

It was in The Journey To The West.

The Monkey King, who was called Sun Wukong,

he gatecrashed a party and he ate all the peaches of longevity

and ever since then, the monkey, together with the peach,

-in Chinese mythology, has been used to represent longevity.

-Lovely.

I think they're great things. They are made to be handled.

They are made by scholars. Where did you get these from?

We bought them in Singapore, when we were there in the 1970s.

We were always told they were sleeve pieces. What did that mean?

Well, that's one way of calling them, sleeve pieces.

They could also be called handling pieces,

because they were designed specifically to be picked up,

handled and turned over.

The idea of them being a sleeve piece,

if you are wearing a long Chinese robe,

you'd be able to store them turned up in your sleeve.

So they become a handling piece or a sleeve piece

and they are to be picked up, touched.

And so, how tactile they are is very important to them.

-How glorious.

-It is. It's a lovely idea.

These all date from the reign of the Emperor Chien Lung.

That's what we were told.

Do you remember how much you paid for them in Singapore?

These were all under 100 Singapore.

-Under 100 Singapore dollars?

-Yeah.

I don't know the exchange rate.

At that time, it was eight to the pound.

Nowadays, I don't know if you follow the market in Chinese jades,

but they really are quite sought after.

In auction today, you are probably looking at £5,000 here.

-Goodness.

-Maybe a little bit more here.

Maybe 5,000 to 8,000 here.

This one here...I don't actually know the iconography.

This is a mythical beast. It's a very curious animal.

But the Chinese particularly like this stone,

which has these brownish inclusions in it

and I think this one could easily top £10,000 at auction.

So I think you've got more than £20,000 here.

I think I'd better up the insurance.

Lovely to see them. But thank you for coming.

Thank you, sir. Gosh, that's a shock.

This week, our regular challenge to Spot The Impostor

has been set by Will Farmer.

Now, normally, of course, you'll find Will talking about ceramics.

But this time, he's brought along four vintage film posters.

Except one is a more modern reproduction.

The question is...

which is it?

If you're sitting at home wondering what you should be looking for,

Will has some clues for you.

This Lawrence Of Arabia poster has barely a crease,

so has it come straight off the presses in the 1960s

and been preserved in what we now call "rolled condition"?

Or has it come straight off a modern laser printer?

This classic Carry On poster has signs of wear and tear.

So is it an original that was folded up to post to the cinema

or a novelty reproduction that's been made to look old?

Is this gorgeous image by British illustrator Tom Chantrell

an original movie poster

or a much later copy made for the Marilyn Monroe market?

Was this iconic sci-fi poster pinned up in a cinema foyer in the 1950s

or is it just a copy

that's been stuck to the wall of a student house?

So, Will, are you a fan of these vintage posters, then?

Oh, I absolutely love them.

I mean, what we're looking at here are just four examples of,

really, the golden age of Hollywood.

You know, it's that cinematography, that films all over the world.

And these would have once sat in the foyers of the great movie houses

to promote the films that were coming up.

-The question for you is... one of them's not right.

-I know!

I mean, just looking at them...

I mean, Carry On Cleo is famous for,

-"Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" Isn't it?

-Absolutely.

Lawrence Of Arabia I've seen.

And of course, what you see there is the lashings of eyeliner

that Peter O'Toole had on. Do you remember that?

And these two... I know War Of The Worlds.

I don't know that Marilyn Monroe movie Let's Make Love.

What we're looking at here, to start with, are all classed as UK quads.

But when you're looking at movie posters,

there are a couple of things

that really stand out for anybody entering into it.

Number one is the printing technique.

Original, genuine posters of this age should be done

through either a stone or offset lithographic process.

And when you look at the way it sits on the paper,

-it's very different to a modern digital image.

-OK.

On top of that, you're looking at the size of the poster.

Now, there are lots of websites out there

that will help you check that your size for each poster is right.

The paper they're printed on.

Now, the modern reproductions are painted on

this sort of slick, glossy paper that you can't fold,

you can't do anything with it.

Whereas the original posters, when they were issued,

were sent folded in envelopes to the theatres.

And on top of that, I think the big thing is, look at the poster.

Is it too good to be true?

And spot for things like Academy Award nominations,

which are what we call re-issues.

Because, of course, when a film came out, it was before the awards.

And then, often, a poster will then be reissued

saying how many awards it achieved.

OK, but, Will, everything you've said there therefore points to that.

Clearly, because it's not been folded,

it's got winner of Academy Awards.

But knowing you as I do, I'm just wondering,

because I know you very well, Will, if you're bowling me a googly.

I mean, this has got a massive fold through it.

This...has not, actually.

And that has.

Yeah, I can't tell the difference between the techniques.

I mean, they've all got this border on, except that one.

-Decision time.

-OK. I think you're trying to put me off the trail

by making that too obvious.

I'm going to feel a complete idiot if it is indeed that one.

So I'm going to say...

Except, that does look more recent.

OK, I'm going to go...

Otherwise, it's this one.

-I'm going to say that is the impostor.

-Final answer?

CROWD ALL MAKE SUGGESTIONS

Go with it. OK. It's not my decision, it's theirs.

We're going for that one.

So we're saying Lawrence Of Arabia, in rolled condition, no creases

is the impostor.

Yes, we are.

Oh, hang on...

As a consensus, we are.

Fakes and forgeries should be destroyed.

You would be destroying a poster worth £5,000.

EVERYONE GASPS

Why do I listen to you?!

I'm blaming them.

I knew, I knew...

Oh, I don't know why I believe a word you say. OK...

You were right on your second choice. It's War Of The Worlds.

Right. Don't give me that now!

This falls into the prime category...

if it's too good to be true.

Nobody has ever found a UK quad

for War Of The Worlds up for sale ever.

One has never been found.

I mean, the key thing is I wish the poster was real.

Because this poster, if it was real,

would be worth in excess of £100,000.

Well, if you have any vintage movie posters,

I hope you have better luck with them than I just have.

We'd love to see them at the Roadshow.

Will would love to see them. So do bring them along.

I'm going to call this a tale of two dishes.

Because, two dishes, they look

as if they're from different planets, don't they?

They are totally different.

-Can you tell me anything about them?

-Not a lot.

They've been in the family for a couple of generations, I suppose.

I remember them in my grandmother's house.

But I think they probably came from a great-uncle,

Great-Uncle Douglas, who travelled a lot.

This green thing here...

-By the way, I must admit first, I like this one.

-Yes.

That's why it's nearest to me.

But this green one is Chinese.

And it's really quite old.

-It's late-Yuan, early-Ming Dynasty.

-Wow.

And that will date it from about 1300 to 1400...

Good gracious!

..and make it 600 years old.

700 years old.

-Isn't that incredible?

-It is. And it survived.

-It survived.

But it's a real piece of Ming.

You know, the old joke about the Ming vase. You've got real Ming!

-But this is the one I like.

-Yes.

Have you noticed how it was made,

the technique that was used to decorate it?

Well, I see that it's raised and it slightly worries me

-that the little cherubs are caught in the web.

-Yes.

Well, it's raised because it's raised white clay

on the surface of the plate.

And because it's porcelain, and porcelain is translucent,

the thickness of the clay varies across the figures,

giving a different amount of shading.

And that technique, a technique of building up liquid slip,

-is called pate-sur-pate.

-Oh, yes.

-You've heard of that?

-I have.

And that was developed in France, at the Sevres factory

and brought to England by a man called Marc-Louis Solon,

who worked for Minton.

This plate isn't Minton.

It has a very indistinct mark on the back.

It took me some while to see what it was.

-But it's the mark of a factory called George Jones.

-Oh, yes?

George Jones were a great factory in Staffordshire

and the only artist at George Jones who could've created this

wonderful, humorous, silly scene

is a man called Frederick Schenck.

And Frederick Schenck was influenced by Solon,

influenced by the humour of this kind of decoration.

It dates from about 1880, 1885.

So here we have a dish from 1300, 1400.

And here we have a dish from 1880 to 1885.

And I suppose we need to talk about the value.

I suppose we must.

This is worth £1,500-£2,000.

This is worth £1,500 to £2,000.

Well, fancy that!

That's excellent. Thank you very much.

Right, here's an intriguing pair of pistols in a French fitted case.

-But they're not French.

-They're not?

No. They're Belgian.

Oh, gosh. I had no idea.

And family pistols?

Yes. Although, I'm not too sure,

because my father didn't tell me exactly where he got them from.

-Probably his father's.

-Right.

-So, mystery.

-Yes.

They are very interesting because they're dual-purpose.

You have the long barrel,

which you screw on,

with a hidden trigger. Watch...

Oh, right. Oh...

Percussion cap.

And we're good to go.

Now, that's quite a long barrel and you can target shoot with them.

However, they also, if we take this barrel off...

..and put this barrel on...

Exactly the same.

But now, it's short, handy and can fit into a pocket

to stop ne'er-do-wells, in case they're after your loose change.

They are very, very pretty.

Nicely engraved.

Brass and silver inlay. We say they're Belgian.

-We know that because...

-Yes, that tiny... That intrigued me.

That is "ELG".

That is the mark of the Liege Belgian Proof House.

About 1850.

-Right.

-Very interesting with the two sets of barrels.

It really is quite unusual.

I would think that's about £800 worth of pistols.

-Very nice they are, too.

-Very nice.

When I first saw this, I got very excited,

because I and my husband keep bees.

And it actually is a French skep,

which is used in France

to collect bee swarms.

It's also got another name and I think you probably know it.

-Etui.

-Etui, yes.

Which is French for keeper, or keeping sewing items.

So it is the most enchanting thing.

And here we have a complete set for sewing.

They're gilt metal.

A thimble.

This is very, very, very sharp.

And a wonderful little pair of scissors.

Again, incredibly beautifully done, possibly in Paris.

And you've had it for how long?

It belonged to my aunt

and I remember it as a child in a cupboard,

but never really asked her enough about it.

Or anything about it, which is rather a shame.

-Did you ever open it?

-No. Never opened it.

Oh, what a lovely surprise.

After she died and we were clearing out the house, we found this.

And so I was able to have it and opened it up

and found all that inside.

I can understand how exciting that was, because it was for me.

You know, you brought it to me and I thought,

"That is enchanting on its own."

And then, to open it up and find this is so unusual.

-How clever of the French to think of something like that.

-Yes.

And it's circa 1825.

-So, a lot older than your aunt.

-Yes, yes.

And I would put a value on it of £800-£1,200.

Right, right. Gosh, that's amazing.

Yes. Yeah, lovely.

Well, here we have The Exploration Of Kina Balu, North Borneo,

by John Whitehead.

This wonderful late-Victorian, lovely, decorated cover.

I'm just absolutely blown away by this particular item.

It's something that on a Roadshow anybody would want to do.

This is just the most fantastic thing.

John Whitehead, a very important plant hunter,

a bird hunter of the late-19th century.

-Indeed.

-And you have brought in his book, given to his sister,

-and all the original illustrations to this book.

-Right.

-Who is John Whitehead in relation to you?

-He was my great-uncle.

-And his sister was my grandmother.

-His sister was your grandmother?

And here is the presentation copy.

Here is the inscription...

"Lucy Boosey from John Whitehead, July, 1893."

Now, he was a great fan of Darwin, wasn't it?

And Alfred Wallace, of course.

Must've been people he had looked up to all his life.

Oh, indeed, yes.

The Origin Of Species came out in, what, 1859.

And he was born in, what, 1860?

And so he went out to Borneo and Southeast Asia

and he looked for animals and plants

and preserved them and brought them all back to England.

At the request of the Zoological Society.

At the request of the Zoological Society.

And here is a wonderful, wonderful view here

of Kinabalu from Gaia Island,

-one of his illustrations.

-Yes, indeed.

And you have got the original illustrations here.

In fact, I can hardly believe it, because you've got more than one.

These all appear in the book,

-but some of them have not been published at all.

-No, that's true.

I mean, there are just wonderful, wonderful pictures here.

Scenes of people and all this sort of thing.

I'll just turn this around.

I can hardly bear to show just a bare few items here.

There are just so many of them that are just absolutely so good.

-So, you've got everything here from this expedition?

-Yes.

There are some very humorous ones coming.

Yes.

-Well, I think that one is quite humorous there.

-Yes, it is.

But, you know, all these lovely birds...

Presumably, he collected them all.

-Well, they were all because they were suitable specimens.

-Yes.

I've turned over here, because we've got this wonderful picture.

Look at that. Now, if that isn't humorous, I don't know what isn't.

"A black hornbill, young," it says.

"Young."

From North Borneo. I think that's absolutely tremendous.

And this lovely, lovely picture here.

This is of Kinabalu, isn't it?

Yes, it is. Yes.

The famous peak of Mount Kinabalu.

And he was, of course, a naturalist.

And so he would have seen this wonderful sacred mountain

-for what it was.

-Indeed, yeah.

But the colouring is so beautiful.

And the colouring is so good

because it's been kept in this album, of course.

It hasn't been out in the bright sunlight.

One thing is you can see why the place is sacred

-to the people who live there.

-Absolutely.

It's a wonderful-looking mountain, isn't it?

So, this album...

-You've got another two or three albums. I've got to value them.

-Yes.

I find it incredibly difficult, actually.

But there are pages and pages and pages of watercolours.

You must stop when you feel right.

I mean, when I get up to a reasonable height, yes.

Well, I'm going to value this collection at...

..£35,000.

Gosh!

Is that enough?

I'm...

No! Nothing's enough!

It's lovely to share them.

Well, you've shared them with me and I'm too excited.

I've got too many pages that I want to show and not enough time.

But thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure for me.

I found this at Roundway Hill, summer last year.

It's a Civil War site.

We were just having a look around with the children.

And this was just sticking out of the earth.

So this watercolour is signed JMW Turner.

And on the back of this we've got "assumed to be Constable".

Where did they come from?

Well, some years ago I was at an auction

and there was a large box of about a dozen old pictures.

It's not Civil War, actually.

-And I'm pleased to say that I think it's Viking.

-Lovely.

So I think this thing goes back well over 1,000 years, potentially.

Fantastic.

Did you pay much for them?

-The whole thing was about £40, I think.

-Oh, well, nothing, really.

So the sad news is,

we do see lots of pictures with Turner and Constable on.

This one, this lovely atmospheric watercolour,

it's not by Turner, unfortunately.

And he's not by Constable, either.

Now, it's silver or base metal.

Such things, you really have to declare them, of course,

because of their age.

-And you have to go through that process.

-I did tell my wife.

Right.

-She's not the coroner, though.

-No.

But certainly this watercolour, it's in the style of another artist

called Edmund Morison Wimperis.

It's probably worth £150-£200.

And the picture not by Constable,

perhaps in the style of Reynolds, is worth about £50-£100.

You've done pretty well, anyway.

But they're not the two great artists.

Being silver or pewter, we would need to test it.

Still looking at probably

something in the region of £400 or £500 for it.

-Fantastic.

-So that is a really special find.

-Sticking out of the ground?

-Yes.

It was meant to be, wasn't it?

-It was, yeah.

-There it is. Thank you.

Wow, this one really is all singing and all dancing.

It's the craziest stick I've ever seen.

Yes, it is a bit unusual. That's why I brought it up.

I've been trying to find out, you know, where it's from.

-It belonged to my mother.

-It belonged your mother?

She bought it in an auction in the 1950s

for a couple of pounds, I think.

-And it was in her wardrobe for many years.

-Really?

Languishing there.

Yes. At the auction, somebody came up towards the end,

a notable person, and said, "If I'd come to the auction a bit earlier,

"you wouldn't have had that, my girl."

If I'd have been at the auction, nobody would have had it!

Because I just love it.

Well, it's got everything going on all at once.

And, obviously, he's used the shape of the branch to depict this...

-At first, I thought it was a swan. But I think it's a goose.

-Right.

With diminutive little, tiny webbed feet

that could never carry it through the water.

It's got a stag's head here, eating some foliage.

It's got two snakes, winding down it. Both with glass eyes.

These little red beads, by the way, are called white hearts.

-These beads are from Italy.

-Right.

They're Venetian.

Then down here, you've got someone on horseback...

..which tells me where it's from.

You've got pugilists down here.

Two sparring and two waiting at the back.

You've got birds in flight being frightened by a dog.

It's just all going on.

You've got a cockerel. Now, where do you think it's from?

My mother seemed to think it was from India.

She thought, you know, it was from the British Raj in India.

and she thought it was perhaps a sergeant major's stick.

-No, nothing like that.

-No?

-Not from that part. It's not that far east.

-Right.

This is St George and the dragon. He's saint of where?

-England.

-And Greece.

And you've got here, as well,

to back up my point about it being Greek,

a Greek soldier. You know, the little pleated skirts?

I've seen them parading around the palaces and so on there.

So it's definitely Greek.

And it's 19th century. And it's fantastic.

The depth of carving is unbelievable.

And things like this have a value, certainly to me,

and collectors like me.

And I think one as good as this would make £1,500-£2,000.

Oh, gosh.

Right, OK.

I thought it might be a couple of hundred, but nothing like that, no.

The market for this has really risen in the last few years

and people really love folk art walking sticks.

-And this is really as good as it gets.

-Right.

Well, thank you very much. I brought it all the way from Wales

-to try and find out what it was.

-Well, there's your answer.

-I've worked it out.

-I'm very impressed.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you very much. I really want you to give this to me.

LAUGHTER

This little box is just so intriguing.

It's gem-like, jewel-like,

the way it just sits here on the table.

-How did it come into your life?

-It's my grandmother's.

She was Russian. She was Baroness Kozlovska.

And she went through two Russian revolutions

and lost everything twice.

And then fled to Vienna, which is where my grandfather had parents.

And he bought that for her, I think,

partly as recompense for having lost everything in Russia.

And so they bought that in Vienna.

And it's been in the family since then.

So, with such, you know, upheaval in their lives,

it makes you wonder how on earth did they manage to hold on to objects?

-Anything, even like this?

-Horse and cart.

It was literally sort of coming out from,

whether it's from Russia to Vienna or from Vienna to Danzig

or Danzig to Rome, essentially what came in a suitcase

and what you could fit on a cart and that was it.

And it was basically small things.

So we've got some clocks, small pictures, everything like that.

The only big thing we have left is a desk. But that's it.

The rest of it is just little trinkets like this, you know?

Well, you have an incredible background with your family.

Incredible travels. Incredible stories.

And also that sense of money and wealth.

And that would fit in,

because this little box is as well travelled as your grandparents were.

This little box will have actually travelled all the way from New York.

-Right.

-And there's a little clue for that.

Because, as exquisite as it is on the top,

it actually belies what's underneath,

which is just a very simple

little three-letter monogram - "LCT".

Which, of course, is Louis Comfort Tiffany.

And when we say that name,

it just conjures up the most wonderful creator.

I mean, one of America's greatest leading lights

in the field of applied arts.

Of course, he's known predominantly for his glasswork.

Everyone knows the stunning stained-glass windows.

And his key years, really, are from the 1870s to the 1920s,

when he was regarded so highly by everybody in America.

They knew he was one of their gems.

In around 1899, he actually moved away from the glass

and started to develop a passion for working in enamel.

And that's what this is.

This is enamelwork onto a metal ground.

But you know what? This man was a genius.

He understood applied art.

He understood the beauty of an object.

And no matter whether it was a lamp

that would stand this high on the table

or this exquisite little pillbox,

it was done with the most refined finesse

that designer could come up with.

And, of course, it made its way, where else,

-into the hands of a Russian baroness.

-Yes, it did.

It seems appropriate, really.

Well, stylish and elegant is as stylish and elegant does.

And when we look at this, we have to think about the money side of it.

Well, today, if you had to go out and replace it...

-..you'd need £3,000.

-Wow!

That's brilliant.

-Well, I hope that your grandmother is looking down...

-I'm sure she is.

..ever stylish and now knows...

I should have brought a photograph, shouldn't I?

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

Beautiful surprise.

This is a great tin-plate car

and on the front of the box here we see Captain Malcolm Campbell.

Now, what do you know about Malcolm Campbell?

Well, not that much, really.

I know he did the land speed record, but that's about all, really.

Well, I think, you know, most people think about Bluebird

and they think about the land speed record

and they think about his son Donald and his water speed record.

But it was this extraordinary family of sort of speed merchants.

And Malcolm Campbell, he had this extraordinary car, Bluebird,

which he christened Bluebird, after he saw a play in the West End

and he thought, "Oh, that's a good name for a car." So, there it was.

And he went through all kinds of records,

a lot of them in the UK, in Wales.

And then, to really hit the high point, he went over to America.

And that's where this extraordinary record was made of the 245mph.

And we know the date of that.

It was in Daytona and it was in 1931.

Another interesting thing happened in that time,

is that when he came back from Daytona, he was knighted.

But he's called Captain here.

So it's in that tiny window, I think.

I think this dates really precisely to 1931,

between the time that he got the record

and the time that he was knighted. A great thing.

It's made by a company called Guntermann of Nuremberg.

So, why did you buy it?

I didn't.

Oh!

I didn't buy it.

It actually belongs to my partner and it was his father's

and his father was given it as a birthday present

when he was about 10 or 11.

-When was he born?

-He was born in 1920.

Yes!

It works! It works!

And it's been a treasured item in the family all that time.

Great.

In my mind, when I look at an object on the Roadshow,

I have a series of boxes that I like to tick.

And do you know what? This ticks all those boxes.

-That's fabulous.

-And it also ticks the value box,

because it would fetch at auction between £1,000 and £1,500.

Oh, wow...!

Crikey!

That's amazing.

You do surprise me.

Yeah, that's wonderful.

Say it again!

Well, what a fantastic crowd we've got here today.

And they're expecting to see something truly exciting.

And, wow, you have brought something truly exciting.

This all relates to the most famous ocean liner in the world -

the Titanic -

and its sad demise in 1912, just over 100 years ago.

It all relates to, I believe, a relation of yours. Who was he?

-Yes, he was my great-uncle.

-Your great-uncle?

-Yes. Yes.

-And his name was?

-Herbert John Pitman.

He was an officer or...?

Yes, he was the Third Officer on the Titanic.

And when he died in 1961, it was left to my father.

And when he died in 1997, it was passed on to my brother and myself.

Now, obviously, he was one of the survivors.

But how did that come about?

He was put in charge of one of the lifeboats

and they lowered it and that's all I know about it.

Fantastic. Well, a photograph.

And these are the surviving officers from the Titanic.

And going from left to right, it's, I think,

Harold Lowe, Charles Lightoller

Joseph Boxhall

and then there's Herbert Pitman just seated in the centre there.

One of the more important things is his certificate of discharge.

There's his name.

Now, this was hugely important

to anybody who had a career on ocean liners,

because it listed every single vessel you ever served on

and if you had good conduct or bad.

So it's basically like a school report.

And if we just open it to the relevant date...

You can see that he was on the Oceanic

and then, in April 1912, he joined the Titanic.

Now, this was all in manuscript.

-Presumably, the original went down with the ship?

-It did. It did. Yes.

So when he then rejoined the Oceanic,

it then gets stamped

-and he gets the various comments against it.

-That's right.

-And he had a long career?

-Yes. He retired in 1947.

He sailed straight through all that time.

-How amazing.

-It is. It is.

-And did you ever meet him?

-I did. Yes.

He used to come and stay and have a holiday with us.

My father used to take him out.

He enjoyed cricket and they used to go and watch cricket.

-And did he ever talk about his experiences?

-No, he didn't.

He didn't talk to me or my father. He didn't like to talk about it.

-Understandably. It must have been quite traumatic.

-I would say.

Although he didn't talk to you about it,

-he actually wrote it in here.

-He did.

I'm just going to read an extract,

which I think is particularly poignant.

At this stage, it's 2.20am in the morning.

He's been lowered from davits in the lifeboat, a full lifeboat,

and this is his comment...

"At 2.20am, 15th of April 1912, (by my watch),

"all lights on board disappeared

"and in a few moments, the vessel's stern was in the air.

"The next moment, she was gone.

"Within the next ten minutes or so,

"it was truly heartbreaking to hear the cries

"coming from the hundreds of drowning people

"and we could do nothing about it as my boat was full."

I mean, how awful.

And he couldn't do anything,

-because it would have endangered the people on board.

-Yes.

Very poignant.

So, we have to think about values.

The photograph has been published before.

-You'll find it in several books on Titanic.

-Oh, OK.

I have seen it before.

-And that's only because I could then identify who they were.

-Right. OK.

But even so, it's contemporary. Presumably done...

Obviously, they're not in their uniforms,

but probably not long after the event. Maybe in the 1920s.

Right. OK.

So that's going to be worth maybe sort of £1,000-£1,500.

Wow! Really?

The manuscript...£2,000-£3,000.

Wow.

However, the discharge papers...

They weren't on board, but it's the whole of his life and his career.

And I would think, certainly at auction,

you'd be talking between £6,000 and £10,000.

Wow!

Amazing.

Wow!

But, I mean, it's family.

It is, yes. Yes.

We shall be keeping it for a while.

And how proud to have that man as part of your history.

And I'm sure it'll remain in your family for a long time to come.

-I think so.

-But thank you so much.

-Were you excited by that?

-ALL: Yes!

-I was. Thank you so much.

-OK.

Well, how fascinating.

And how moving to hear that account from the Titanic.

It's so rare to hear from someone

who was there to witness it first-hand.

And other than the family,

you know, you, we are the only people to have heard it.

And the family have no intention of publishing it,

so we may be the last to hear it, as well.

Just remarkable.

From Bowood House and the Antiques Roadshow team, bye-bye.