0:00:46 > 0:00:49Today, a bit of a first for the Antiques Roadshow.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52We're celebrating a land that is far from Britain,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54but whose history is interwoven with ours,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57dating as far back as the 17th century -
0:00:57 > 0:01:01the Indian sub-continent and, no, this isn't Delhi or Jaipur,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05this is just round the corner from Wembley in north-west London.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Built in 1995, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16or Neasden Temple as it's more commonly known,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19was the first temple of its kind in the western world.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Every inch of it is encrusted with intricate Hindu carvings
0:01:24 > 0:01:28and reliefs, from the floor right to the top of the domes.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Inside, within the inner sanctum of the temple, it's even more dazzling.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55What's even more remarkable is that this entire temple
0:01:55 > 0:01:58was created in India before being put together here.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Over 4,000 tonnes of the finest Bulgarian limestone
0:02:04 > 0:02:06and Italian marble was shipped to India,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08where battalions of sculptors
0:02:08 > 0:02:11set about handcrafting all the pieces of this building.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13At its peak,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17over 1,500 stone carvers were working across west India.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21A new mini-town sprung up just to house all the workers.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28After two and a half years, 26,000 pieces of stone were numbered,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31packed and shipped to London and then here,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35they were assembled like a gigantic 3D jigsaw puzzle,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38the largest weighing 5.6 tonnes,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41the smallest just 50g.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46As well as serving a congregation of over 40,000 Hindus
0:02:46 > 0:02:50in the local area, this is also a busy hub of the Indian community.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Alongside the temple, this vast hall or haveli regularly hosts
0:02:55 > 0:02:59thousands of people for celebrations and festivals.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Today, we've some surprising stories of India's rich history
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and culture along with the odd Anglo-Indian revelation,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09like did you know that Britain introduced India
0:03:09 > 0:03:12to the custom of tea drinking, for example,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and helping us unfold these tales is Amin Jaffer,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16a specialist in Indian antiques,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19along with some of our regular Antiques Roadshow experts.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24They're eager to see Indian-made objects brought along in response
0:03:24 > 0:03:26to our appeal for family treasures
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and, alongside the exciting items brought today,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31we're also taking the opportunity
0:03:31 > 0:03:33to revisit some fascinating Indian treasures
0:03:33 > 0:03:35unearthed at recent Roadshows.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41This wonderful tea service puts me in mind of Edward, Prince of Wales
0:03:41 > 0:03:46going to India in 1876, representing his mother, Queen Victoria.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50He had a wonderful trip, he was given so many presents
0:03:50 > 0:03:55and his favourite was a silver tea service very like this.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00When it came time to go home, they had to charter a special ship
0:04:00 > 0:04:02to carry all his presents back to Britain.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04So, where do you fit into this story?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I've always understood that this was a retirement present
0:04:06 > 0:04:10to my grandfather when he returned from Madras,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14having been there since the late 1890s until 1923.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18He was director of a company in Madras called Spencer's
0:04:18 > 0:04:20- who ran a large department store. - Right.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22I mean, Spencer's was one of the most famous
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Indian department store chains.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I suppose it's a sort of Harrods,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31selling mostly things for the British community
0:04:31 > 0:04:38and this particular style of silver was known as Swami style,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and it was developed originally
0:04:41 > 0:04:43by a company called Peter Orr and Sons
0:04:43 > 0:04:48and Orr's became the great name in Madras, now Chennai,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51for that particular type of ware
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and that's exactly what Edward, Prince of Wales got.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56He got an Orr service.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02The style is 1860s to 1900 and this is just a great example.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04We've got the tiger hunt round the top
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and, here, we've got a wonderful series of scenes from village life.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11There's a well, there's a man doing snake charming.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14There's all sorts of little bits and pieces going on. Do you like it?
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I do indeed, yes, I've always liked it.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18- I've had tea out of that pot a number of times.- That's very good.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20I think it's a magnificent thing.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25This style of ware, though made entirely for the British market
0:05:25 > 0:05:29by Indian silversmiths, has actually become very desirable in India now.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33People who buy this today are not people like you and me.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35It's people in India who are buying back
0:05:35 > 0:05:37the products of their historical culture.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39A set like this,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43somewhere between £3,000 and £6,000.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- Really?- Yeah.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I'm surprised.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I'd have thought without the third nought on the end,
0:05:50 > 0:05:51but I'm delighted to hear that.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Well, without the third nought, I'll take it home with me.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55LAUGHTER
0:05:55 > 0:05:57It's certainly not leaving my possession at the moment.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- I hope not, it's a great thing. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Indian silverwork is renowned the world over,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and sometimes it takes some fairly unusual forms,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13as we've seen in previous episodes.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Well, this must qualify as one of the most tactile tea caddies
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It's made of a nut, the coco de mer.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27The archaic name for this nut
0:06:27 > 0:06:31actually translates as "beautiful buttocks".
0:06:31 > 0:06:33- LAUGHTER - Need I say more?
0:06:33 > 0:06:35This is not just an elephant.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38This is actually...
0:06:39 > 0:06:40..an ink well,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43which takes it into a new dimension.
0:06:43 > 0:06:49This is a really useful, interesting and collectible object.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51- I can tell you exactly where it comes from.- Right.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53It's covered in local symbols.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- Right.- It comes from Kashmir.- Right.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00The bowl itself is based on what's called a kashkul,
0:07:00 > 0:07:06which is a begging bowl which the Dervish monks used to carry
0:07:06 > 0:07:08to collect alms from the locals.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13This coco de mer has been found, sliced open
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and given the most fantastic silver-plated mounts
0:07:17 > 0:07:22to turn it from a nut into a two-division tea caddy.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27I actually think that the mounts of this piece were made in India.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- It has some considerable value, too.- Oh, right!
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It would cost you about...
0:07:34 > 0:07:36somewhere around the £4,000 mark.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Oh, right!
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Have you any idea what something like this might be worth now?
0:07:41 > 0:07:45- I thought perhaps £200, something like that.- £200.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- I would say nearer £3,000 to £4,000. - Good grief!
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I think if I was putting this in an auction,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00my estimate would be £3,000-£5,000.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03My God!
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Really?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06No, I really didn't think that.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08You think I'm a NUTCASE?
0:08:08 > 0:08:09LAUGHTER
0:08:13 > 0:08:15The inspiration for hosting a Roadshow
0:08:15 > 0:08:17dedicated to Indian antiques
0:08:17 > 0:08:19came about when we visited Walthamstow in East London
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and Marc Allum fell for a pair of Indian artefacts.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Do you know, my entire 16-17 year career on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:08:28 > 0:08:33there's one word I've been dying to use and that word is "palanquin".
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And here I have a palanquin.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38- In fact, I have two palanquins. - Two indeed, yeah.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I've got an interest in Indian antiques
0:08:40 > 0:08:44and I was just looking through an online auction site
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and came across one of these and I thought it was rather bizarre
0:08:47 > 0:08:51that these should appear online in the UK so I just had to have it.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Right, I mean, obviously, I know and you know
0:08:54 > 0:08:55that they're for carrying people.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Afterwards, it only seemed apt to invite the owner, Rizwan Osman,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02to bring other pieces from his collection of Indian antiques
0:09:02 > 0:09:04to our Roadshow at Neasden.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09What I really enjoyed about that day filming with you at Walthamstow
0:09:09 > 0:09:11was that I very soon became aware
0:09:11 > 0:09:12that you were quite a serious collector.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Well, I have an interest in Indian antiques in general
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and I've been collecting for about 20 years now,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and it started when I saw pictures of the Delhi Durbar of 1903
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and the pomp and splendour of the processions and the ceremony.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29So one of the things that you've brought along was this motif
0:09:29 > 0:09:34and it's a fabulous gold wire embroidered palmette,
0:09:34 > 0:09:35a processional palmette,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and I can imagine that there would have been several of these
0:09:38 > 0:09:40within the procession, held on big staffs.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42And look at it glinting in the sunshine.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45You can imagine a collection of these in processional use.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- They would have had an amazing impact, wouldn't they?- Indeed.
0:09:48 > 0:09:54And I think this is the most astounding ceremonial horse armour
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and it's very intricate. It's... I say ceremonial,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00because it's not actually a functioning armour as such.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03It harks back to the days when Indian horses perhaps
0:10:03 > 0:10:06would have had much more substantial armours in this sort of style.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Now, where did you buy this? How did you come across it?
0:10:08 > 0:10:13I've been buying things from a dealer in Jaipur for some time
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and he mentioned that he had this and I saw a couple of pictures
0:10:18 > 0:10:20and thought, "I can't let the opportunity go,"
0:10:20 > 0:10:21so I just had to have it.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Right, so it arrived in a cardboard box, did it?
0:10:23 > 0:10:26It did, wrapped in newspapers and there it stayed
0:10:26 > 0:10:29until about yesterday when I unwrapped it and finally saw it.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- So, really, this is the first time it's properly seen the light?- Yes.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34And it really is seeing the light, isn't it, cos look at it,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36it's glinting magnificently.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It's interesting that you said you bought it from a dealer in Jaipur
0:10:39 > 0:10:42because I actually essentially think that's exactly where it's from.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44- Right.- So, that ties in beautifully.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Look at the iconography, the work in it, these gilt finials here
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and all this metalwork we're seeing, really,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52it's almost certainly copper
0:10:52 > 0:10:56and you've got some kind of slightly fancier gilded studs as well.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58I think that this dates
0:10:58 > 0:11:02from around about 1900 or the early 20th century.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05That's my feeling with the style of the metalwork
0:11:05 > 0:11:06and things like that.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07And it would have been part
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- of some magnificent processions, I know that.- Sure.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13I wonder how you're ever going to display this.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I'm wondering the same thing. One day, maybe.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Well, I think this...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20And again this is, I think,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24probably mid to late 19th century, something like that,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- I think that that is worth about £600 to £800.- Right.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32And I'd really love to know how much you paid for it. Would you tell me?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I paid £500 for it.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40I think this is worth in the region of about £700 to £1,000 at auction.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41Right.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- I hope you're quite pleased with that.- I am, I am.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- Thank you very much, Riz.- Thank you.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48You know, in the wonderful world of jewellery,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51much of what I see is actually not particularly colourful.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53A diamond's a diamond - it's white.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Or a gold bracelet's a gold bracelet.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58But these, the first thing that's worth pointing out
0:11:58 > 0:12:00is just how extraordinarily colourful they are.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06They are two standing figures and then there is a face here
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and a face there.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11First of all, let me know a little bit about where they came from.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16My father bought them in the 1960s in an antiques shop in Old Welwyn.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18He was particularly interested in them
0:12:18 > 0:12:22because of the figure of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and, being a Sikh,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26he was drawn to them and he bought them as a gift for my mother.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29What would your father have paid for them in those days, do you think?
0:12:29 > 0:12:31I think he paid about £20, £25.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36OK. They're quite a pleasing shape. They're a teardrop.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They're mounted in silver with a miniature behind
0:12:39 > 0:12:45with a circular top section with a miniature behind rock crystal.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Clearly, the interesting component here is the subject matter
0:12:49 > 0:12:53because they're rather unusual. You said who this one is.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56It's worth... Shall we just discuss this?
0:12:56 > 0:13:03This figure here is Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07This was one of the great men of the Sikhs.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11This was the man who, if you like, gathered all the Sikhs together.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17He was the first really important Sikh ruler, sort of 1790s period.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20He didn't have a great start in life.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23You may notice, if you haven't already done so,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27that when you look at his face, he was blind in the left eye
0:13:27 > 0:13:30because he developed smallpox as a small boy
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and, actually, he's been painted with smallpox scars,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35so they're beautifully done.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The execution of the painting is fabulous.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41You know, we can pick up the highlights of the gold
0:13:41 > 0:13:42here in the coat.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47You can see the detail of the beards and the jewellery, the pearls.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Great, we like that.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Value - £20?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55£800.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00- Oh, right!- Very potent symbolism and that's why I wanted to film them.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Thank you! - Thank you very much indeed.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Thank you very much, thank you.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Like those miniature paintings on the earrings,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13it's often the detail of smaller Indian-made items
0:14:13 > 0:14:15that catches the eye of our specialists,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18making them into real objects of desire,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20as we've seen at previous Roadshows.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23My family came from India.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Which explains the retailer,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- Walters & Co of Calcutta.- Yes.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31It's a lovely thing.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35I really like it. I'm going to take it off its strap.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38What do you think is unusual about that?
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- Well, obviously, the little cover for the winder...- Exactly.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Absolutely right and we can unscrew that
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and access the winding crown there.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53This is just so charming.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55It looks like a little English country cottage.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57You've got this lovely little garden
0:14:57 > 0:15:00with a fence around the edge, which is superb.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01It's so beautifully made.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I mean, how they get the veneer of this ivory flat and you can see
0:15:04 > 0:15:07when you open it up that it's not solid ivory, of course,
0:15:07 > 0:15:08this lovely little thing.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11When I first glimpsed it, I thought it was going to be a tea caddy.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13No, it's a little sewing box, of course,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and we know where this is from - it's from India.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20My goodness me! I do get excited
0:15:20 > 0:15:23when I see a very large gemstone.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Do you know what it is?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I think it's a sapphire. I'm not sure.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31- It's my father's.- Right.- Um...
0:15:31 > 0:15:35And he calls it the Maharaja's Hatpin.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41The case, I see there, is very nicely hallmarked in 14 carat gold.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Wow!
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Well, I'm sure most wristwatch jewellers would very happily
0:15:47 > 0:15:51pay a minimum of £1,500 to £2,000 for it.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Wow, that's lovely!
0:15:53 > 0:15:55They're made in the 18th century.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- It's so rare to find one on the Antiques Roadshow.- Really?
0:15:57 > 0:15:59I absolutely adore it.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01It's got everything, it's a perfect little house.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Well, if I was putting this into an auction,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06I would say it's worth...
0:16:06 > 0:16:10at the very least, between £5,000 to £8,000.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Ooh, golly!
0:16:12 > 0:16:13Wow!
0:16:13 > 0:16:15This weighs about 90 carats
0:16:15 > 0:16:20and it's going to be in the region of about £12,000 to £15,000.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24Very good.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Well, this is a fascinating object.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35It's, of course, a Jain devotional sculpture -
0:16:35 > 0:16:38a portable altar from the Jain religion,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41which emerged in India about 500 BC.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45How did you come to own this rather esoteric work of art?
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Well, I've always liked India and Indian culture and philosophy.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I particularly like Jain pieces.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56They have a special sort of spiritual quality to them
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and, often, I find pieces are inscribed,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00they have an inscription on the side.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Well, this piece indeed has an inscription running
0:17:03 > 0:17:07all the way around the base and it's a dedication.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- What's fascinating is that it's actually dated.- Ah!
0:17:10 > 0:17:13So if we convert the date to our calendar,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- it brings us to about 1634. - Oh, wow, great!
0:17:16 > 0:17:19So it's almost 400 years old
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and Jainism was built on the precept of non-violence
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and when we think of Buddhism and Jainism,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30they emerge out of the same root, which is the sanctity of all life -
0:17:30 > 0:17:33human life as well as animal life as well as plant life.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38For example, Jain adherents would not pluck fruit from a tree
0:17:38 > 0:17:40because the fruit is a living being
0:17:40 > 0:17:45and the religion is really defined by 24 teachers,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46known as tirthankaras,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50and here we have a depiction of the 14th tirthankara.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55He's standing in a yogic meditative position - very austere,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58incredibly strong and, all around him,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02seated in more of a classic yogic lotus position, are 13 figures.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03Yes.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- And it's a portable altar. - Yes, this...
0:18:07 > 0:18:11I'm not sure what you call it, but this surround here lifts up
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and so that comes out and the figure itself just slides out
0:18:15 > 0:18:19so there you go, you've got the three pieces
0:18:19 > 0:18:21so you can carry it around.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25It's quite a convenient thing that would have been used
0:18:25 > 0:18:28in a domestic context for private ritual and for private worship.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Oh, OK.- It's a fascinating object.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34In terms of a value, do you have an idea,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36a sense of what it might be worth?
0:18:36 > 0:18:41I know what I paid for it! Whether that's the same thing, I don't know.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44I'm trying to remember. About £3,000, I think I paid.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Well, I think, at auction today,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- we'd put an estimate of about £6,000 to £8,000 on it.- OK, good.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53And I dare say that if we were selling it in a New York auction,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55we might have an even higher estimate because we have
0:18:55 > 0:18:58such a strong collecting base in America for Jain art today.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Great, well, that's fantastic.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- Congratulations, it's a great thing. - Thank you.
0:19:02 > 0:19:08Well, approaching me almost silently is this FANTASTIC vehicle.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Look at it glinting in the sunlight.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Wonderful! I think, probably, that's about it.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17SHE GASPS
0:19:19 > 0:19:23- You lucky man!- I am indeed! - I'm going to let you out this side
0:19:23 > 0:19:25cos, actually, you haven't got a door.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27I haven't, there's only three doors.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30This is absolutely glorious.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32And I have a wonderful history to go with it as well.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Well, that's the icing on the cake.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- First of all, it's a 40/50.- It is.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41- The 40/50 is what became known as the Silver Ghost.- That's right.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44And even though it hasn't got a Spirit of Ecstasy mascot
0:19:44 > 0:19:47on the front, we know it's a Silver Ghost.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49- I have a special mascot!- You do!
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Just explain what it is that you've got here, because this looks...
0:19:53 > 0:19:55I'll put my specs on.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57This is the original Rolls-Royce factory chassis cards,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01detailing who bought the car - the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03The coach builder - Barker and Company.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06How much he paid for it - £1,900!
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Wow!
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- And the date in... It was delivered in 1925.- Yes.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Well, the average wage in 1925 was £5 a week
0:20:16 > 0:20:21so that's about seven years' worth of earnings. Incredible!
0:20:22 > 0:20:25So let's talk about the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28He was a mad keen polo player, wasn't he?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31He was, and a mad keen car collector.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36- OK, so this is part of his stable of Rolls Royces.- That's right.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40This is my car, with the spread eagle mascot.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Mascot on the top.
0:20:42 > 0:20:49And this is the Maharaja at roughly that age, I suppose, in the 1920s.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Let's just talk for a minute about Rolls-Royce
0:20:53 > 0:20:54and the Indian maharajas
0:20:54 > 0:20:56cos they rather took a shine to them, didn't they?
0:20:56 > 0:21:00They did. They imported a lot of Rolls-Royce cars
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and nearly every maharaja is competing with the other ones
0:21:03 > 0:21:06to have the best and the biggest and the most opulent.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09So that was a huge market for Rolls-Royce
0:21:09 > 0:21:13and I suppose that there needed to be something
0:21:13 > 0:21:15to differentiate your Rolls-Royce
0:21:15 > 0:21:17from the maharaja next door
0:21:17 > 0:21:19and the Maharaja of Jodhpur, of course,
0:21:19 > 0:21:25chose the spread eagle mascot as his motif, really.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Yes, that's right.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It's a fabulous car.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34There are some things to say about the 40/50, the Silver Ghost,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38which is that the market is not what it was,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41but I hope that is not going to be news to you.
0:21:41 > 0:21:47As a three-door version, I'd put it at between £70,000 and £90,000.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50- Thank you very much.- Pleasure.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53It's been such a treat, thank you so much for bringing it in.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54Thank you very much.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57And I will listen for it purring its way out later on.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Amin Jaffer, it's great to have you here today
0:22:01 > 0:22:02as a specialist in Indian art.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06We've seen quite a collection of antique Indian objects today.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- Is there a real interest in India in collecting antiques?- Absolutely.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12The interest in India is burgeoning.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15We have auction houses that have developed,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18international auction houses, to private museums, foundations.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22It's a booming market, both within India and internationally.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25And what about art and antiques from the British colonial era?
0:22:25 > 0:22:28- What's the feeling about those? - Well, it's a really good question.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I think it's fallen between two stools
0:22:30 > 0:22:33because it's not completely British, nor is it completely Indian,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36but a whole separate school of collecting has developed.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38People who are fascinated by the cultural exchange
0:22:38 > 0:22:42and the fusion, we see an entire change in style
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and production in India and there are museums
0:22:45 > 0:22:47and collections devoted to British India.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50And what is your particular area of interest, would you say?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I love all of it, but I would say Indian jewellery
0:22:52 > 0:22:56is a big passion for me and I love modern Indian paintings as well.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58And obviously here in this setting,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01- we're seeing some of the best of Indian craftsmanship.- Absolutely.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04What's interesting is the continuity of craftsmanship.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07The fact is you can reproduce, in the late 20th century,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10a temple in a style hundreds of years earlier.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12India's still a place where things are made by hand.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15We still have a strong engagement with production
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and that's one of the things that makes Indian art so special.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25These are incredibly delicate
0:23:25 > 0:23:27and very intricate and very beautiful.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Now, how did you get them?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33They belonged to my grandparents, who were living in India,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37and it's probable that they were in the family before that
0:23:37 > 0:23:40because my family's been in India for a couple of hundred years.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43- A couple of hundreds years?- Yes. - Wow, that is a long time.
0:23:43 > 0:23:44I think that's very likely
0:23:44 > 0:23:46because that fits with what I think about them,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49which is that they were done between 1820 and 1840
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and they were done in Delhi or nearby.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- That would make sense, yes. - That fits?- Yes, that fits.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57So, we're looking at a very grand procession,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59an elaborately-caparisoned elephant
0:23:59 > 0:24:02with a very important person in the howdah
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and I'm pretty sure that this is the Emperor Akbar II.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Now, he was the penultimate Mughal emperor
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and the last flickerings of the great dynasty, really,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15and you can just discern his features,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19although there's a bit of damage around in the sky, which is a shame.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23But the rest of it's in spanking condition and it conforms -
0:24:23 > 0:24:26as do these, which we'll talk about in a minute - to an earlier type.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29There was more a less a sort of factory.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32They're hand-done, but a factory churning out these images
0:24:32 > 0:24:34- and they were for export.- Yes.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Now, these two, I think, are both of the same woman.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42An extremely beautiful woman and, of course,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45she's about the most famous Indian woman that there is.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49- I'm pretty sure it's Mumtaz Mahal. - Gosh!
0:24:49 > 0:24:51For which the Taj Mahal was built, of course,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56as a funereal monument, I think we'd call it that?
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It's an expression of grief in marble.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03It's a most beautiful thing and this is the very beautiful -
0:25:03 > 0:25:05"the most beautiful", that's what her name meant -
0:25:05 > 0:25:09girl that it was built for, his favourite of three wives.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11I particularly like this one,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13because it looks like there's a storm breaking behind her.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15It's got that dark, lowering sky
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and yet her face is brilliantly lit
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and you have a feel of the summer sun peeking through under the clouds
0:25:22 > 0:25:24and the light almost coming from her.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- It's rather effective.- Yes, she's so beautiful. I really love them.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Lovely things.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31They've been in your family forever
0:25:31 > 0:25:33and I don't suppose you know what they're worth.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I haven't the slightest idea, no.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Well, this one of the procession of Akbar II,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41if it hadn't been damaged would have been £2,000-£3,000,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43but, unfortunately, with the damage,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I think I've got to put it more like 1,000, maybe just under.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- It can be repaired, though. It can be restored.- Can it?
0:25:49 > 0:25:50There are some very clever people.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53You probably wouldn't even notice if it was done.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And the two of Mumtaz I think are so sweet.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59I mean, she was this kind of ideal of beauty so it's like Lady Di,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01you know, you'd have lots of images of Lady Di.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It's exactly the same idea.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05She's a type of beauty and you do see them
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and they'll quite reliably fetch about £1,000 each.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Well, well! The main thing is to know what they are.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13That's wonderful, thanks very much.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Not at all, they're really nice. - Thank you.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21A lot of people assume that we don't see much
0:26:21 > 0:26:23or many pieces of Indian furniture
0:26:23 > 0:26:26but, in this case, with these tables,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31we seem to see hundreds of them, whether in the West Country,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34in the Midlands or Scotland,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37there were so many of these tables brought over.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39How did you find this table?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I was having a look around Portobello Market.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47- I saw it and I just had to... It was an impulse buy, really.- Right.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51I'm trying to get an Indian theme in the house with tables such as this.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53This is the centrepiece of the house.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55So, when these tables were brought over,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58they were shipped over as flatpacks
0:26:58 > 0:27:03because they wanted to get as many in the boats sent over
0:27:03 > 0:27:07to Britain, over to the West, hence that's why we see so many.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11They were made in the Punjab area.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14They came over in the late 19th century.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Liberty's was selling them and, when Liberty's was selling them,
0:27:18 > 0:27:19they popularised them.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24One would like to paint the picture of it in the 19th century
0:27:24 > 0:27:30in a gentleman's smoking room with silk hangings and screens
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and banquettes and everything like that
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and they'd be laying down or sitting down as though they were in India.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38The wood is a hard wood called sheesham.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44It's a very, very dense wood, but it's the way it's been inlaid,
0:27:44 > 0:27:45it's beautiful.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49It is inlaid with bone and it's also inlaid with ivory
0:27:49 > 0:27:54and what I like about this particular one, which, to me,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57breaks the rules, is when we look in the front, it has a drawer.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04- And to have a drawer is, to me, an unusual feature.- Yes.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Is that the reason why you bought it?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Yes, that was one of the reasons, plus the inlay work on the top.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10The colour and condition is brilliant.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13In my opinion, it's a quality example.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15That's what you should aim for
0:28:15 > 0:28:18so I'm quite happy to put a value on this
0:28:18 > 0:28:21between £1,200 and £1,500.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Great, thank you. Thank you very much.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32One of the joys of Indian furniture is the sheer richness of decoration,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36and that's been apparent on every piece we've seen on the Roadshow.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40It's a fascinating coffer and I'll tell you why,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43because I've seen plenty of these over the years
0:28:43 > 0:28:46and, fundamentally, they're usually covered in these fabulous brass
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and copper plaques with all these kind of motifs and symbols,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52but there's something very different about this one,
0:28:52 > 0:28:53and you have to look very closely.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57It has these studs and these studs are very special
0:28:57 > 0:29:02because they're East India Company buttons and they're dated.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04My great-grandfather was a sea captain
0:29:04 > 0:29:10and he sailed in the 1860s through to the end of the 19th century.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11That figures, yeah.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15And went as far as the South Pacific and South America by the long route.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Is that where you thought this might have been from?
0:29:18 > 0:29:21We always imagined it came somewhere from the Far East.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Not specifically India, but that's an interesting...
0:29:24 > 0:29:26That's exactly what it is, probably south India.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31It belonged to a great-aunt of mine and came from north India.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33It's called a north Indian mantle.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36She kept it to the early '50s,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38and it was passed on to my father who was a publican
0:29:38 > 0:29:41and that used to have pride of place in several pubs that he managed.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42What, with all the glasses and...
0:29:42 > 0:29:45All the glasses on it, yeah, and that's where it was.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49And, of course, it has the Dutch East India Company acronym,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52VOC, on it. That is absolutely superb.
0:29:52 > 0:29:53Of course, we all know
0:29:53 > 0:29:55that they were one of the first multinationals.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58The Dutch government basically brought all of those
0:29:58 > 0:30:01merchants together, those spice merchants together
0:30:01 > 0:30:04who were competing against each other and they nationalised them.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06The reason I quite like this
0:30:06 > 0:30:09is not because so much it's a piece of furniture,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12but it's that I buy boxes that are carved in exactly the same style
0:30:12 > 0:30:14which were made for the English market.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15It's got a teaky look to it,
0:30:15 > 0:30:17but I actually think it's a type of rosewood.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20- It's very hard and dense, isn't it? - Yes, very solid.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23You must know cos you've probably picked it up and tried to move it.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25The condition, cos it's a little bit sore in places...
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- Has that happened over the years? - That's happened over the years.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30I suppose, in the bar, people threw things at it.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33What kind of pub were you in?!
0:30:33 > 0:30:37And I think at auction, putting all those things together,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40this is going to be worth £2,000 to £3,000.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Very good. Interesting, thank you.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Something like this...
0:30:45 > 0:30:48generally would make about £1,200 to £1,500
0:30:48 > 0:30:51because it's very useful, it's small, it's manageable.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53If this was the side of an English sideboard,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55nobody would be able to lift it.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57As it is, it's worth between £1,200 and £1,500,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01but when this is fully restored, I would put a value...
0:31:02 > 0:31:05- ..about £2,500 on this, plus. - Lovely!
0:31:05 > 0:31:07- Thank you very much!- Thank you.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17You have a connection with India, Rupert, yourself,
0:31:17 > 0:31:18but you only remembered it last night.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Yes, sadly, I'm a bit like that.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Do you know what it is? It's this amazing recipe book
0:31:22 > 0:31:25that I've got in my library that my mother gave me.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28It came down her side of the family to somebody called Benjamin Sealy,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31which was my grandmother's married name.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34I think they were doctors, so perhaps he was a doctor in India,
0:31:34 > 0:31:38- and it's 1767, so that's seriously early.- Wow!
0:31:38 > 0:31:39And we've worked out,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41with the help of a chap in the temple who speaks Tamil,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44that it must have been from near Madras
0:31:44 > 0:31:47and so if you look through it, there are several Indian recipes here.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51There's a receipt for chutney and you see here,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56you've got the names in Tamil of the ingredients here in English.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00So let's just list them - chillies, dry - sultanas - tamarinds -
0:32:00 > 0:32:03mango, green - ginger - almond - sugar - garlic - salt - vinegar.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Sounds pretty good.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Yeah, and on the right, you've got "bazaar weights" -
0:32:08 > 0:32:12they're the equivalent of the English weights here -
0:32:12 > 0:32:14and then the date of 1864,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18so it's clear that different members of my family have put recipes in,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21right the way from 1767 to 1864.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22And what else have you got in here?
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Well, you see, like a lot of these early recipe books,
0:32:25 > 0:32:26it's also got cures.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29I don't know if you've ever suffered from piles,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33but there's a sure-fire remedy here if you have.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36I'm not quite sure how you apply them, but here...
0:32:36 > 0:32:37"For the piles"...
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Oh, swiftly followed by a recipe for almond cheese cakes!
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Well, you mustn't mix them up, of course!
0:32:42 > 0:32:44So, what does it say? It's quite hard...
0:32:44 > 0:32:48"It is recommended as having cured..."
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Judge Epo, I think, or Tipo,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54"after much cost to no purpose on other medicines."
0:32:54 > 0:32:57"Take it when going to bed and rising." There you are.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00It's there should you ever need it. Well, I think you need to find out
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- more about your connection to India, by the sounds of it.- I will try.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15This is a very, very interesting ceramic figure, a Parian figure.
0:33:15 > 0:33:21Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, who was born in the late 18th century,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24so I want you to tell me how you come to have it.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Years gone by, we used to collect anything and everything
0:33:28 > 0:33:31and go round all the antique fairs we could
0:33:31 > 0:33:36and this was in an antiques fair in Exeter, probably 14 years ago or so.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, born in the late 18th century
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and his parents died when he was very young.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46He was little more than a street child, to be honest with you,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49but he was a very forward-thinking young man
0:33:49 > 0:33:52who basically saw a future in trading
0:33:52 > 0:33:55and he essentially started trading cotton,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58but he managed to build up a small and thriving industry
0:33:58 > 0:34:00which later got bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Now, the other interesting thing about him
0:34:03 > 0:34:07was that he basically was the first Indian in essence to be knighted
0:34:07 > 0:34:11and to become a baronet and if we look very carefully -
0:34:11 > 0:34:14you may not have noticed this - on that medallion on his chest
0:34:14 > 0:34:17is a very light profile of Queen Victoria.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Now, what do you know about him?
0:34:20 > 0:34:21Not a great deal,
0:34:21 > 0:34:26only that he was an incredible guy that made his fortune
0:34:26 > 0:34:32and gave a lot of it away and built hospitals, schools, museums.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36And even an art school in Mumbai or what was Bombay then.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Now, that's interesting because this statue itself is actually in Mumbai.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Now, this copy would, in fact,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45have actually been taken from a photograph
0:34:45 > 0:34:49and that photograph appeared in the Illustrated London News
0:34:49 > 0:34:52and, on the back, it's marked Copeland.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Copeland were a big manufacturer of Parian,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57their Parian figures are very well collected.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00They particularly specialised in notable people from history,
0:35:00 > 0:35:04but what I said to you earlier about this particular figure
0:35:04 > 0:35:07is I've never, ever seen one in the flesh before.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09There appear to be very, very few of them around
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and I don't think Copeland made very many of them.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15Now, what did you pay for this?
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Well, my wife actually paid for it for her Christmas present
0:35:19 > 0:35:23and we think it was between £70 and £80.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25OK, well, that was not bad.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30In this condition, it's probably worth about £600 to £800.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33That's still very good! I'm pleased with that.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35It's a great object, but the story behind it is amazing.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Yes, a wonderful story.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Of all the notable Indian names that have popped up at the Roadshow,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46there can't be any more important than Mahatma Gandhi
0:35:46 > 0:35:48and we discovered he actually visited the area
0:35:48 > 0:35:51near one of our venues in a remarkable story
0:35:51 > 0:35:53that came to light a few years ago.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57These are my two grandparents, Percy Davies and Kathleen,
0:35:57 > 0:36:03and my grandfather owned three cotton mills and, in 1931,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06he knew Gandhi was going to come over to England,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10and he wanted to invite Gandhi to come up to the cotton mills
0:36:10 > 0:36:13and look at the effects of the boycott the Indian government
0:36:13 > 0:36:16was putting on the Lancashire cotton mills,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18look at the effect on the workers.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19It was causing unemployment
0:36:19 > 0:36:22and so he came to stay in my grandparents' house.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26- So he stayed there?- Yes, he slept in my father's bedroom.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28The other one, I like very much this picture
0:36:28 > 0:36:30because, of course, this is about the change of idea.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Here is Gandhi meeting mill workers' families
0:36:34 > 0:36:38and he could see the hardships that his policy was causing.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Now, what's this?
0:36:40 > 0:36:43- That's the letter from Gandhi. - Signed by Gandhi.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46That's a wonderful thing. So, this is after he's stayed.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48"I have delayed too long in thanking you
0:36:48 > 0:36:51"and your husband for your wonderful kindness to me
0:36:51 > 0:36:54"and all my party whom you received as guests
0:36:54 > 0:36:57"in your beautiful farmhouse last Saturday and Sunday."
0:36:57 > 0:36:58So he stayed for the weekend.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01"I shall not forget the peace and beauty of that Sabbath,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03"and I deeply hope that its results
0:37:03 > 0:37:06"may lead to permanent goodwill and friendship."
0:37:06 > 0:37:08I think it's a great story.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13I think it's probably, to a collector, worth £5,000.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16In Indian history, this is important.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- Indians are great collectors.- Yes. - They would all buy this back now.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22It's their history as well as our history.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27So, you have this maquette,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29this preparatory bronze,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33for what is arguably the most famous image of Gandhi,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36the statue in Tavistock Square
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and I think it was unveiled by Harold Wilson, was it not?
0:37:39 > 0:37:42- Harold Wilson, yes. - And it's now a place of pilgrimage.
0:37:42 > 0:37:43I see it from time to time,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and there's quite often flowers in front of it.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47Yeah, that was the whole idea,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50that when Indians first came to England to live,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52the first thing they would do would be go to Tavistock Square
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and put flowers as a thank you for a safe journey
0:37:55 > 0:37:58or having arrived finally and on his birthday,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00there's a pilgrimage goes into Tavistock Square
0:38:00 > 0:38:03of the Indian League and other dignitaries
0:38:03 > 0:38:05and they lay all these flowers around him.
0:38:05 > 0:38:06Every year, they do this.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08It's rather thrilling to think
0:38:08 > 0:38:11your aunt, Fredda Brilliant, the Polish sculptress,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14has created such an emotive, almost divine image like that, isn't it?
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Yes, yes.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21Well, I think that this, as a one-off piece, must be worth...
0:38:22 > 0:38:25..given its significance in the history
0:38:25 > 0:38:28of the representation of this man, £20,000.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Yes.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32Thank you.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37We've kept our Roadshow filming to the outside of Neasden Temple
0:38:37 > 0:38:40because, inside, there are regular Hindu ceremonies.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42BELL RINGS
0:38:42 > 0:38:45We were given the chance to discreetly film
0:38:45 > 0:38:49one of the rituals when the deities are woken and prayers offered.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53The arti, or ceremony of light is one of the most important
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and is performed five times throughout the day.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00It involves members of the congregation
0:39:00 > 0:39:03receiving blessings infused within the flames.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06Neasden Temple is so renowned
0:39:06 > 0:39:10that priests from India regularly come to take part.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13The temple and ceremonies are free and open to everyone,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16attracting visitors from all over the world.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Well, this is an extremely desirable painting.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26It is, of course, a sequence from the great Hindu epic The Ramayana,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29which is a mythic story.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32It's really a battle of good and evil, isn't it,
0:39:32 > 0:39:33and, in the course of the epic,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37we have lots of episodes in which wondrous things happen.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Can you tell us a little bit more about it?
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Yes, this is from what's known as the Yuddha Kanda
0:39:42 > 0:39:45or the battle chapters of The Ramayana
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and this shows the demon Kumbhakarna,
0:39:48 > 0:39:53who is the younger brother of Ravana, who is cursed with a spell
0:39:53 > 0:39:56that he sleeps for six months of the year
0:39:56 > 0:39:59and then, because Ravana is losing the battle,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02he sends all these demons to wake him up
0:40:02 > 0:40:04cos he was a mighty warrior
0:40:04 > 0:40:08and this shows all the demons trying to wake him up.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10Someone is kind of banging the drums,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12someone is pulling his ears,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15but what happens is nothing wakes him up
0:40:15 > 0:40:20and, finally, they drive 1,000 elephants over his body.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Once that happens, he feels like someone is giving him
0:40:23 > 0:40:26a nice massage or something and he wakes up
0:40:26 > 0:40:30so this painting depicts that episode from The Ramayana.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32How did you come by this painting?
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Well, I've been interested in collecting artworks
0:40:35 > 0:40:38related to classical literature
0:40:38 > 0:40:41and this I got from an old Italian collector
0:40:41 > 0:40:44who had acquired them in India in the 1940s.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46It's a great quality work of art.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49What I really love is the freshness of the colours,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52probably painted by an artist in the generation
0:40:52 > 0:40:56after the master painter Nainsukh, working in northern India,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58we would say, in the second half of the 18th century.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02And highly desirable today in the market. What did you pay for it?
0:41:02 > 0:41:06I think at the most about £10,000 or £7,000, something like that.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- I can't quite remember. - Well, you've done very well.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10If we had a work like this at auction,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14we'd put an estimate of about £40,000 to £60,000 on it
0:41:14 > 0:41:20and we have seen works from this series go for over £100,000.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24- So, on a good day, you might achieve that type of result.- Thank you.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Thank you for sharing it. It's a fantastic thing.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33We often see fabulous old Indian artwork,
0:41:33 > 0:41:38but, recently, more modern works have been coming through our door.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Well, some people may think this is a bit of a racy subject
0:41:41 > 0:41:43to be brought to a cathedral
0:41:43 > 0:41:45so we have these beautiful cavorting ladies
0:41:45 > 0:41:48by an Indian artist. Tell me a little bit about him.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- His name was Avinash Chandra.- Mm-hm.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55He moved to England in the late '50s
0:41:55 > 0:41:59and my grandad met him in the early '60s.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03He was living in Guildford, didn't have much money
0:42:03 > 0:42:08and he wanted some chairs from my grandad's design shop
0:42:08 > 0:42:11and they exchanged the painting for the chairs.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13That's interesting
0:42:13 > 0:42:15because there were a number of struggling artists,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17especially from India,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20who were living in this country from the 1960s.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Probably the most famous is a chap called Souza.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27As you can see, it's signed up here Souza and dated 1963.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29- Do you know who Souza was? - I know he's Indian
0:42:29 > 0:42:32and I think brought up in Bombay,
0:42:32 > 0:42:36first exhibition 1949 and died just after 2000 in Mumbai
0:42:36 > 0:42:39so same place, different name,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42but spent 20 years in this country or even more so...
0:42:42 > 0:42:43Yes, about 20 years
0:42:43 > 0:42:47and then he went to New York after that before going back to India.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49So, there's no whiff of the colonial about this at all?
0:42:49 > 0:42:53The fact that his first exhibition was 1949 means he's...
0:42:53 > 0:42:54Post-Raj, post-partition.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58And, of course, he was at art school then, he was in Mumbai,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01as it's now called, and there he founded almost singlehandedly
0:43:01 > 0:43:04a new movement called the Progressive Art Movement.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Well, I think it's incredibly nice
0:43:06 > 0:43:11and because the Indian's market's changed so dramatically,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13if you'd brought it to me in 1963,
0:43:13 > 0:43:17- I have to say I'd have probably said £100.- Mm-hm.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21But today, I think this is worth sort of £5,000 to £7,000.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24- Oh, my God!- Not bad? - No, that's brilliant.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28What they were trying to do was bring in outside influences
0:43:28 > 0:43:30from all over the world.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32They weren't looking towards Britain and the Raj,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34but they wanted at last, finally,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38to establish a new mode of expression that is purely Indian,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40that is significantly nationalistic
0:43:40 > 0:43:43and, for that reason, now, Indians look at him
0:43:43 > 0:43:48really as their first painter, their first truly Indian painter.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51I think if this was at auction, I think it would be estimated
0:43:51 > 0:43:54at something between £60,000 and £80,000 and if it was retail,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58it would probably fetch about £100,000. It really would.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00Well, certainly, if the place burns down,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02it was always going to be the thing I rescued first.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04I might come back for my partner, but I'd take the Souza.
0:44:04 > 0:44:05RUPERT LAUGHS
0:44:05 > 0:44:08It's a terrific picture.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24It's such a beautiful and tranquil place here,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and one of the most extraordinary things about it
0:44:26 > 0:44:29is because it had to be constructed according to ancient texts,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32there could be no steel reinforcement
0:44:32 > 0:44:34to hold this whole place up.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36That's right.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40It's been constructed using marble and limestone,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43so we use limestone outside and marble inside
0:44:43 > 0:44:45and, like you said,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47it's been built according to the Shastras
0:44:47 > 0:44:49or the scriptures of architecture,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51the Shilpa Shastras,
0:44:51 > 0:44:55and they state the way the mandir should be facing,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57the way the devotees should be facing,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00the way the construction should take place -
0:45:00 > 0:45:03everything is written and that's how we've performed
0:45:03 > 0:45:04and built this mandir.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06You must have had a bit of a job
0:45:06 > 0:45:09persuading the building regulation people here,
0:45:09 > 0:45:11I would have thought, about that?
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Yes, it was a challenge, but it's just a matter of convincing them
0:45:16 > 0:45:19that this is going to be built and staying for 1,000 years.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Another wonderful thing about this place
0:45:21 > 0:45:23is that it was built by volunteers, so how did that work?
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Obviously, we had the skilled craftsmen to finish everything off,
0:45:27 > 0:45:29making sure that everything was right.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32The architects were here, the specialists were here,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36but it was just the volunteers who slaved literally
0:45:36 > 0:45:39because of their passion to please God
0:45:39 > 0:45:42and make this a phenomenal building
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and it was an absolute once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
0:45:45 > 0:45:47and everybody grasped it with two hands.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51- Well, you certainly succeeded. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58Although this is the first time we've visited an Indian temple,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01parts of other temples have visited the Roadshow in the past.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06I was digging in the back garden.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11We'd bought a house and it was very overgrown at the back and...
0:46:11 > 0:46:12I came across this.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16It was absolutely covered, so I gave it a good clean.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19What is a piece of eastern Indian Hindu art...?
0:46:19 > 0:46:23And, let me tell you, this is 12th century.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26What's it doing buried in your garden?
0:46:26 > 0:46:31I've got no idea, except that the house was built in the 1840s.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Perhaps somebody who lived there travelled around.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Let's have a good look at it,
0:46:36 > 0:46:41because the most prominent surviving part of it is this huge lotus
0:46:41 > 0:46:46and next to it, we have the earring of what would have been
0:46:46 > 0:46:50a large deity and because of the lotus,
0:46:50 > 0:46:54I think this must be Surya, who is basically the sun god
0:46:54 > 0:46:58and of course the lotus comes up from the mud of a pond.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00As soon as it comes through the blackness
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and senses the sunlight, it blossoms,
0:47:03 > 0:47:06so you've got this lovely petal depiction.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08What's it worth? Find me another one.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10I'm going to say...
0:47:10 > 0:47:12£2,000 to £3,000.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Very nice!
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Well, for something dug up from the garden,
0:47:18 > 0:47:19it's better than rhubarb, isn't it?
0:47:19 > 0:47:23Yeah, it's fantastic. Thank you.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Do you know, you two have really made me work
0:47:26 > 0:47:28to get these here, lugging them all the way from your car.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31They're really interesting things. Where did you get them?
0:47:31 > 0:47:34They came out of a house that we sold about four years ago,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38- actually, and they were in a porch. - She just chiselled them off.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40I just chiselled them off the porch.
0:47:40 > 0:47:41- You did not chisel them off the porch.- I did.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43- So you're a vandal? - Well, not really.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47- They belonged to me, so I took them with me.- Excellent, excellent.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49I mean, they really are very interesting
0:47:49 > 0:47:51and they are quite old, actually.
0:47:51 > 0:47:52If you go back in history,
0:47:52 > 0:47:57Alexander the Great marched into India in, I think it was, what,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01325 BC and he took a huge retinue of people with him,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05including craftsmen and sculptors, and a lot of them settled.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09These pieces here were made in a kingdom which was called
0:48:09 > 0:48:13the Gandhara Kingdom and, by about the second century AD,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16they had developed very much their own style of art.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18What you find is you find that
0:48:18 > 0:48:21the sort of Greco-Hellenistic sculptors,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24their style had become mixed with Buddhist sculpture
0:48:24 > 0:48:27and so you find really strange things happening in the art.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Have a look at this.
0:48:29 > 0:48:30We've got a figure here,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33- a Buddhist figure here with a halo behind, yeah?- Yes.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36- And we've got somebody here who looks like a Roman soldier.- Yes.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38I mean, this one here,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41the head is like a sort of Indian bodhisattva.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45The robes are like something you'd see on Hellenistic sculpture,
0:48:45 > 0:48:46something in ancient Rome.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51It's really curious and, yes, they have a value.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54I reckon it was worth chipping them off.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Don't say it like that!
0:48:56 > 0:48:58This little one here,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I think in auction today is probably perhaps £400 to £600.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06This one, maybe 1,000. This one, maybe £2,000, £2,500.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10That's fantastic. Really good!
0:49:10 > 0:49:12They're fantastic things and, you know what,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16if I'm really nice, I might lug them back to your car for you.
0:49:16 > 0:49:17- That would be great.- Thank you!
0:49:23 > 0:49:27So who is this gorgeous and powerful-looking figure?
0:49:27 > 0:49:33He's Tipu Sultan, about 1796 or 1797.
0:49:33 > 0:49:34Where does it hang?
0:49:34 > 0:49:38It hangs in a members' bar in the Oriental Club in London.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40And when did you get it?
0:49:40 > 0:49:45We got it in 1848, so it was given to us
0:49:45 > 0:49:46quite early on in the club's history.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48The club started in 1824,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51so a family gave it to us about that time.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53So why have we got an Oriental Club in London?
0:49:53 > 0:49:55We've got an Oriental Club in London
0:49:55 > 0:49:59cos army officers from the East India Company came to London
0:49:59 > 0:50:01and they felt a little bit that they weren't welcome
0:50:01 > 0:50:03in the very smart London clubs.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05- Slightly out of place. - Slightly out of place.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07They had a friend - the Duke of Wellington.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11He was one of them and he said, "Start your own club,"
0:50:11 > 0:50:14and then he gave them a famous piece of advice - "Buy the freehold."
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- A sensible man, that Duke. - Yeah, very sensible.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20So, Tipu Sultan, he was ruler in south India.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23His capital was Seringapatam and he was a thorn in the side
0:50:23 > 0:50:26of the British because he was militarily very successful,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28very clever, very brave.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30Moreover, he was allied to the French,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33and so he was a mortal enemy of the British
0:50:33 > 0:50:35and so the British decided to wipe him out.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Now, before they sent a massive army to take his capital,
0:50:38 > 0:50:43they made him out to be a vicious and tyrannical Islamic ruler,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46which turned out to be completely untrue.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49In fact, he was an intellectual, an aesthete.
0:50:49 > 0:50:54He was the person who brought the silkworm to southern India
0:50:54 > 0:50:57and established their thriving silk market.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59I think it might have been new
0:50:59 > 0:51:03- or perhaps even commissioned by the club in 1848.- Oh, right.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06A legendary figure like Tipu Sultan, there are so many images of him
0:51:06 > 0:51:09and so many prints in the early 19th century that this seems to me
0:51:09 > 0:51:11is a typical image that's been taken from a print
0:51:11 > 0:51:15- and worked up to an unusually large size by an English artist.- OK.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18His sign, his animal is the tiger.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20There's usually the tiger over everything
0:51:20 > 0:51:25and that sword hilt ought really to be the Tipu's tiger and he said,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29"I would rather live as a tiger for a day than a sheep for a lifetime,"
0:51:29 > 0:51:32- when fighting the British, you see. - Ah, there you go.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34So I think what's happened
0:51:34 > 0:51:36is because the prints are very, very small
0:51:36 > 0:51:40and the original image of him, which is in the British Library,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42is only about that high,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44that it's all been blown up and he hasn't noticed
0:51:44 > 0:51:48that it was a tiger's sword hilt and so he hasn't reproduced that.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51And also there's something slightly copyish about it.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54We, too, thought it might be a copy of something
0:51:54 > 0:51:57so we don't think it's very valuable, basically.
0:51:57 > 0:51:58We just think it's very lovely.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02What an incredible man he was! I mean, it's got that legend.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05It's a warm picture, it's an attractive picture.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08- It must look great in your club. - It looks fantastic.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12- £3,000 to £5,000, I should think. - Wow! Wow, fantastic!
0:52:13 > 0:52:16My father grew up in Deolali,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18he was born there and he was growing up there
0:52:18 > 0:52:21and he was about eight years old and he was playing out,
0:52:21 > 0:52:26as kids do, and it was kite-flying season.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Do you know about the kite-flying?
0:52:28 > 0:52:31The kite-flying, the competition with the kites?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34- Yeah, everybody flies kites... - You have to try and cut the kites?
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Yeah, and when somebody gets cut, everybody chases
0:52:37 > 0:52:40after where the kite is coming down to try and catch the kite
0:52:40 > 0:52:43and one got cut and it started to come down,
0:52:43 > 0:52:48so my father and his mates chased after it and they found it.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50So Dad picked it up, he was first to get there.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52He was proudly carrying it home,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55this splendid kite like he could never have bought for himself
0:52:55 > 0:52:57and, as he was walking home,
0:52:57 > 0:53:02this horsedrawn carriage came charging up, stopped by him
0:53:02 > 0:53:04and the little window opened
0:53:04 > 0:53:07and from behind the curtain, this lady said,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11"Little boy, I want that kite."
0:53:11 > 0:53:13So she pulled out some money and gave it to him,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15much more money than he'd ever had
0:53:15 > 0:53:18and more than the kite would have cost to replace,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22so he handed her the kite and she took the kite and said,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24"Thank you very much," and then, from her finger,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29she slipped off this ring and gave it to my father and said,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32"This is for saving my honour."
0:53:32 > 0:53:36Dad didn't know what it meant, so he took it home
0:53:36 > 0:53:37and found out much later
0:53:37 > 0:53:40that there were a couple of quite important people,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44sort of minor prince and princess or aristocracy or somebody,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and they were engaged to each other
0:53:46 > 0:53:50and they'd both come to Deolali on holiday before the wedding,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53living in separate places and they'd had this kite fight
0:53:53 > 0:53:58and he had cut her kite and he would want to get his hands on it
0:53:58 > 0:54:02as a sort of triumph over her, but she couldn't allow that to happen
0:54:02 > 0:54:06and because my father had found the kite and given it back to her,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08- he had saved her honour. - Saved her honour!
0:54:08 > 0:54:12Her honour cos she would have been dishonoured or teased or whatever...
0:54:12 > 0:54:14So, she plucks off the finger ring...
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Yes, and gives it to my father and this is it, I understand.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19And that is it.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23Now, the ring itself, let's bring it down to earth rather like the kite.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25OK.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28The ring, as you can see, horseshoe shape,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30set with a line of red stones,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33probably made around about 1910, 1915,
0:54:33 > 0:54:37so that corresponds with your sense of the date.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41- Mm-hm.- Now, I had a look at the stones underneath my lens.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44I'm not entirely sure that they're all real stones, actually.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46I think that they are probably a little bit of a combination
0:54:46 > 0:54:51- of real rubies and probably glass. - Yes.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54The mount, it's a dull red gold colour
0:54:54 > 0:54:58- and I would say therefore it's probably nine carat gold.- OK.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01Let me move on to this bracelet because there it is winking at me.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04You tell me a little bit about the bracelet now.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07This is from our play box so when we were dressing up,
0:55:07 > 0:55:11we would put on the princess ring and it was an armband,
0:55:11 > 0:55:12it would go around your arm
0:55:12 > 0:55:15and we would all dress up in Mum's old saris
0:55:15 > 0:55:18and, you know, wander about pretending to be mummies
0:55:18 > 0:55:22and whatever, aunties, and again it was tarnished and horrible
0:55:22 > 0:55:27and kind of dark brown and I had it cleaned and somebody said,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30"Oh, it's chips of uncut diamond." I was like, "OK."
0:55:30 > 0:55:32- I don't think so, but...- No.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36It would be very unlikely that your mother would have just said,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39"Let's put this into the toy box, let the children play with it,"
0:55:39 > 0:55:41if it happened to be anything but just brass and glass.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44- Brass and glass. - I think it's brass and glass.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46- Well, you're wrong.- Am I?- Yes.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50They ARE diamonds and they're very, very flat indeed.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53Typical cuts from the region.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Now, the interesting component for me is not the fact
0:55:56 > 0:56:00you've got these rudimentary cut diamonds, it's the red stones.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03- OK.- Because the red stones, they're not glass.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05- They're called spinels.- Oh, spinels.
0:56:05 > 0:56:11Spinels. And spinel is a gem that we see quite rarely.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13And, oh, I ought to say, by the way,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15you thought it was brass, didn't you?
0:56:15 > 0:56:17- Yes.- High carat gold.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22All right, so shall we move on to what they might be worth?
0:56:22 > 0:56:24The kite runner ring, as we'll call it,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28a bit of a mixture of stones, not all rubies, nine carat gold -
0:56:28 > 0:56:32the story's priceless, the sentimentality of this
0:56:32 > 0:56:35is worth a million rupees,
0:56:35 > 0:56:39but the value in commercial terms -
0:56:39 > 0:56:41- £30 to £50.- Fine.
0:56:42 > 0:56:48The "brass and glass" bracelet that you casually used as a plaything -
0:56:48 > 0:56:50£1,500 to £2,000.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52Wow!
0:56:52 > 0:56:55- That IS a surprise. - I know it is, isn't it?
0:56:55 > 0:56:57- It only goes to show.- OK.
0:56:57 > 0:57:02£1,500 to £2,000 for a dressing-up bracelet.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Our day here at the mandir or temple has drawn to a close
0:57:16 > 0:57:18and thank you so much to the volunteers
0:57:18 > 0:57:20and the team here who made it possible to come
0:57:20 > 0:57:24to what must be the most exotic location we've ever visited
0:57:24 > 0:57:27on the Antiques Roadshow - and just round the corner from Wembley!
0:57:27 > 0:57:29And, now, I'm going to leave
0:57:29 > 0:57:31in the style of the Maharaja of Jodhpur himself.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33Bye-bye! Off we go!
0:57:33 > 0:57:35HORN BLARES