0:00:47 > 0:00:48For this week's Antiques Roadshow,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52we make a return visit to Pembroke Castle in Wales,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54a medieval treasure in south Pembrokeshire.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Since its beginnings in 1093,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Pembroke Castle was an impregnable fortress, never conquered.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Until 600 years later and the Civil War,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06when a two-month siege
0:01:06 > 0:01:10by Oliver Cromwell and his troops took its toll.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12The castle was devastated.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Before long, the castle fell into rapid decline.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20The townspeople plundered its stone for their homes and farmsteads
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and the walls became completely overgrown.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Eventually, the castle attracted the attention
0:01:39 > 0:01:41of some of Britain's leading Romantic painters,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45including Richard Wilson, Paul Sandby and Turner.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48They found beauty in its decay.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50But what the castle really needed was someone to save it.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56That man came along in 1928.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59General Sir Ivor Phillips had served in the Indian Army
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and had fought in the First World War.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03A man who relished a challenge,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06he decided to buy the castle and save it.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09And this is the original receipt.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11So, how much for a castle?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13£3,000.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16In today's money that's about £160,000,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18which I think is a pretty good buy!
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Though the repair bill I, imagine, would have been horrendous.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24Under Sir Ivor's direction,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27the walls and towers of the castle were rebuilt.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29The overgrowth was removed from its walls.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31It took ten years.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36The Second World War stopped work on the castle in 1939
0:02:36 > 0:02:38and, sadly, Sir Ivor died a year later
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and never saw the completion of his project.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42But his family carried on his work,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and created a private trust that still looks after the castle today.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Pembroke Castle attracts tens of thousands of visitors.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Let's see how many have gathered down in the outer ward
0:02:54 > 0:02:56for this week's Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I can't help thinking that this is not always intended
0:03:05 > 0:03:06to be covered like this.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09It's a slightly unusual presentation. What's going on?
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Well, granddaughter Agatha,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15when we used to have Christmas dinner in the dining room,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20was rather upset by having a naked lady sharing the meal with us,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22so I had to crochet a shawl to cover her up.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- And you crocheted the shawl? - Oh, yes.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25Well, that's absolutely brilliant.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28But I think we need to unveil, don't you?
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- Are you ready for this? - Ready for this, OK.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32So...
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Well, here we are. And it's the most fantastic Virgin and Child,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39very reminiscent of the work of a man called Eric Gill,
0:03:39 > 0:03:40who I'll come on to in a minute.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41But tell me, who is it by?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44As far as we know, it's by a man called Walter Ritchie,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47who was a pupil of Eric Gill.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And she was owned by my mother-in-law,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and I'm not sure how she came across it,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55but mother-in-law also liked Eric Gill drawings.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- Right.- And there are several that look vaguely like this.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03OK. Well, Eric Gill, particularly for the BBC,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06is very well known, because on the front of Broadcasting House
0:04:06 > 0:04:10is a carved-stone figure of Ariel, and it's this kind of stone.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13And I don't know for sure what this stone is,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16but it'll be a Hopton stone, I expect, from the Midlands.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21And although Gill did work in Wales in the '20s,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23he went back to Warwickshire.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26And Ritchie lived in Warwickshire,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and they worked together for a period of time.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32And Ritchie's a most extraordinary man,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36because he doesn't appear to have actually ever really had exhibitions
0:04:36 > 0:04:37until right at the end of his life.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41And he worked in a completely different style to this,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43which is what's so interesting about this.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45This is clearly influenced by his master.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48He normally worked in brickwork.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50He did... He laid bricks which he then carved,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and there's a wonderful piece,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Len Hutton, at the Oval, for instance, by him.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00But this is a much more deep piece, I think.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02And, of course, it's a ubiquitous subject,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04the virgin mother and child.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08It covers all periods and all faiths, really.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11So, it doesn't specifically have to be a Christian thing.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12- No.- Although it probably is.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14She didn't come out of a church, then?
0:05:14 > 0:05:16No, she's never been in a church.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19I think this particular virgin may well not have been in a church.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22No, I think definitely not!
0:05:22 > 0:05:23And particularly if you go round behind,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25it's, you know, naked virgins...
0:05:25 > 0:05:27- She's got a very nice bum! - She has.- She has.
0:05:27 > 0:05:28LAUGHTER
0:05:28 > 0:05:32So, having covered all the subjects, erm...
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Ritchie dies in 1997 and has absolutely no form at auction.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43So, as a piece of domestic sculpture like this, it's a really rare thing.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And I think it's a very beautiful thing.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I also think it's probably worth quite a bit of money.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Probably would make somewhere between 2,000-3,000 at auction,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and possibly even as much as 4,000.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Yes, I'm sure Agatha wouldn't part with her.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58- Thank you. - With or without the shawl!
0:05:58 > 0:06:00With or without the shawl! Yes.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Thank you very much indeed.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Thank you.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Well, what a fantastic parquetry box.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It's almost like a patchwork quilt in box form.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- Yes.- What's its history to you?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Well, the history to us, my wife and I,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24is that we bought it on our 40th wedding anniversary.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26We were out for the day
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and found it in a dealer's shop,
0:06:29 > 0:06:30and just fell in love with it.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34We think it's very beautiful, but also it has a Welsh history.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Did you buy it as an anniversary gift?
0:06:36 > 0:06:37- Yes.- That's quite interesting,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40because undoubtedly it's actually a marriage box.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44You see, we have the little hearts on the lid and on the sides of it,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and we have a date on the front.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48And of course, you know, the Welsh have a tradition
0:06:48 > 0:06:51of making gifts for weddings and anniversaries,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54you think of sort of the tradition of lovespoons and so on.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55- Yes.- That sort of folk tradition.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58And this is, I think, very much in the same spirit, really.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02And it's a fabulous example of vernacular furniture.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05The top is all inlaid with all different types of woods,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I think this is oak which has been stained.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11We have this lighter colour here, is almost definitely sycamore,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and then these are various different fruit woods.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15But what's really interesting, obviously,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- is you've got all this little sort of peg decoration.- Yes.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21I think he didn't trust his glue!
0:07:21 > 0:07:24It could be that!
0:07:24 > 0:07:27But it's almost like dominoes on the top of the box.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- Yes.- And I have to admit, I've never seen anything quite like it.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Well, we love it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34You love it, and you obviously still love it now.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Yes, indeed. Yes, we have a number of boxes, but this is special.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39It's part of our married life.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Yes, yeah. Well, I think it's gorgeous.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I just would like to have a quick look at the inside as well,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46because what's really nice
0:07:46 > 0:07:51is it's got this original Victorian hand-blocked wallpaper...
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- Yes, it is lovely, yes.- ..which is almost sort of Puginesque in style.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55- It is, yeah.- Lovely.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59And it's nice that it still has that original lining to it as well.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Can I ask what you paid for it at the time?
0:08:01 > 0:08:02If it's not being too impolite!
0:08:02 > 0:08:04It was rather expensive.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08We didn't have a lot of money, so we had to write one cheque each.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09So we gave it to each other.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Oh, right, I see!
0:08:11 > 0:08:13- Well, that's a nice way of doing it. - It was £1,300.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Right, OK, which 20 years ago was...
0:08:15 > 0:08:17- It was a lot of money, yes. - It was a lot of money, yes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- But we just felt it was special. - Well, now, 20 years later,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I would think you're probably looking somewhere in the region
0:08:23 > 0:08:27of maybe 2,000 - 2,500, simply because it is rather a unique piece.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36So, you two ladies have both brought me a chicken!
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Or a cockerel, in fact.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41And, forgive the pun, but I'm wondering
0:08:41 > 0:08:42if you'd thought which came first -
0:08:42 > 0:08:44your chicken or your chicken?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48- Any ideas?- I don't know.
0:08:48 > 0:08:49I think this one came first.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51You think that one's the earliest?
0:08:51 > 0:08:54OK. Well, I think you're right.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Cos this one, this one is the later one.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And this is Llanelly Pottery, but I think you knew that, didn't you?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- Yes.- Yes. Do you know anything else about it?
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I believe all the outer border work was done by children.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10- Right.- At the pottery.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Right.- And there was a well-known artist
0:09:13 > 0:09:15who used to be called Auntie Sal.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17That's right. Aunt Sal.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Her proper name was Sarah Jane Roberts.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21But what this is
0:09:21 > 0:09:25is an absolutely classic piece of Llanelly Pottery
0:09:25 > 0:09:26from the later period.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30So it dates from about 1910, that kind of date.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33And if you had to imagine a piece of Llanelly, this is it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35So this is local pottery.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Could this be a Welsh chicken, or a Welsh cockerel?
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Well, I've got to be perfectly honest, I know very little about it.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- Right.- All I know is that it belonged to my husband's grandfather
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and has been handed down through the family.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51My husband and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum
0:09:51 > 0:09:52a good few years ago
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and we actually saw one similar to this.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58So it's because of that that we've brought it today.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00You brought it here today. Well, you're absolutely right,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04cos this is the chicken that came first.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08And this chicken came first in about 1800 or 1810,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11about 100 years before the Llanelly chicken.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And rather than being Welsh, it's probably a Yorkshire chicken.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21And the colours here, these colours which we call Pratt colours,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24they're associated with the Yorkshire potteries.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27It's a wonderful thing. I mean, it's not just the colouring,
0:10:27 > 0:10:28I noticed here in the sunlight
0:10:28 > 0:10:33how the feathers are delicately incised on the surface of the beast.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36So there's a big contrast between these two.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Although this looks naive, it's actually quite sophisticated.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41How beautifully the feathers are done.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44And this is simply naive, isn't it?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And the next question is, out of these two chickens,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50which one do you think is the most valuable one?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- I think that one. - You think this one is worth more?
0:10:55 > 0:10:57- Well, I thought that. - You think that one's worth more!
0:11:00 > 0:11:03OK! You're right.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- Am I?- Yes, you are.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- Yes.- Because the lovely Pratt chicken
0:11:08 > 0:11:10is going to get people really excited.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15It's quite rare. The Llanelly plate, as I said, it's a standard example.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17So, this is worth £200.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Thank you.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24And this is worth £800 to £1,000.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Oh!
0:11:26 > 0:11:28And I'm holding it.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29It's not safe!
0:11:31 > 0:11:33That's one pricey bird, isn't it?
0:11:33 > 0:11:34It certainly is.
0:11:38 > 0:11:39Now, I can see we're here
0:11:39 > 0:11:42right at the very beginning of popular travel.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Thomas Cook, that great name.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Back to the 1840s.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50The world's first-ever excursion tour,
0:11:50 > 0:11:51a temperance group,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I think from Leicester to Loughborough,
0:11:53 > 0:11:54or something like that.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57That was the launch of this great international company.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Where do you fit in?
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Well, it's the story of Donald White.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07He was my uncle by marriage, he was born in 1876,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09left school at 14,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11trained as a chef.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13While he was waiting for a job,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16he got a short-term commission with Thomas Cook
0:12:16 > 0:12:19to show one of their guests around London.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and he loved it so much he stayed with them - for 69 years.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Gosh. So a pure-chance connection?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Pure chance.- And he became a great figure in that history?
0:12:27 > 0:12:31He did indeed, he became their chief uniformed representative,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33based at Victoria Station.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35And, of course, it was there
0:12:35 > 0:12:37that he met everybody who came through Victoria Station.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40What does that job really entail?
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Well, he was the fixer, if you like.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45They expected Thomas Cook representatives
0:12:45 > 0:12:48to organise everything for them when they were in London.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49And he would do that,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52he would organise theatre tickets for them,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54taxis wherever they wanted to go.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57And I suppose some who were regular visitors became friends?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Oh, absolutely, yes, he knew them very well.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01I think we've got to go back slightly
0:13:01 > 0:13:03to a period in our history which is now long-forgotten.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05A, everyone travelled by train.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- Indeed.- And B, train travel was very smart.
0:13:08 > 0:13:14And, of course, visiting royalty and visiting film stars, sports people,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18always arrived in London, from Europe, into Victoria Station.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- Absolutely.- So he was there?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23He was there. And I remember him well because, as a boy,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25I went and stayed with him
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and he would take me to Victoria Station.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32And for a boy of seven eight, nine years old, it was absolute magic,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36because I could go on to the platform to see the Golden Arrow
0:13:36 > 0:13:37and the boat train -
0:13:37 > 0:13:39it was wonderful.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41And he was there on duty?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- On duty.- Looking, as one can see, magnificent.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- Absolutely.- Did he talk about the famous people?
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Yes, he did. He met most royalty from Europe.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54One of his favourite people that he dealt with
0:13:54 > 0:13:55was Sir Winston Churchill,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and he always said his favourite lady was Lillie Langtry,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00who he met many times.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Gosh. I think what we forget is how important these people were.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06You know, they were not just the face of Thomas Cook,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09it was about the whole ritual of travel and smart travel.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11I mean, we have a medal here
0:14:11 > 0:14:15awarded to him by the King of Tunisia in 1922.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Presumably for services to Tunisian -
0:14:17 > 0:14:21or rather French, as it was then - French travel to North Africa.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26- Exactly.- We have even him as a cigarette card.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Now, what greater fame can there be than that,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32to be an image in a set of cigarette cards?
0:14:32 > 0:14:33What was the set called?
0:14:33 > 0:14:34In Town Tonight.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Well, there you are. So he was a great figure in London.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43When it comes to valuations, it's primarily a family story.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46But, of course, there is value - the poster, 1930s,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48is an original Cook poster.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50A rare survival. Not the most exciting,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52but it's still going to be a couple of hundred pounds.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58The medal, very important part of his life, £500 to £700.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01You know, so you're looking at £1,000 or so for the collection.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Today, we travel all over the place,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05we don't really care who we travel with.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08This was the day when it did matter.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09You went to Thomas Cook's
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and, if you were important, you got Donald White.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14- Exactly.- Thank you.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Thank you.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33I love vernacular furniture,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and it's a real joy to be able to film a chair like this.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40And what's more of a joy is the fact that it's a Welsh chair.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- Yeah.- Here it is, at home,
0:15:42 > 0:15:43in Pembroke Castle.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Tell me something about it.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46It was in my mother and father's house.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- Right.- I always remember it being at the bottom of the stairs.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- Right.- No-one really sat on it, because it's always at a bit of an angle.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- Right, yes!- But it came from my father's house in Milford Haven.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Right. But you think it's been generationally handed down?
0:15:58 > 0:15:59- Yes.- Good. OK.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00Well, that's nice to know.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I don't know how much you know about this type of furniture.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05It's made, essentially, of elm and ash.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07In fact, I mean, look at it.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09It's very basic, isn't it?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11It looks like a child could have made it.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14And, in fact, actually, that's really part of its attraction,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18because what this is is kind of forest-made furniture.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Greenwood, wood-turner's furniture, made with the most basic of tools,
0:16:22 > 0:16:23out of the most basic
0:16:23 > 0:16:26of bits of wood that were available, in essence.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Have you ever wondered about this hole here?
0:16:29 > 0:16:32I did, and then someone told me it was a three-legged chair.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34You're absolutely right.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35It has four legs now,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38but originally it started off with three legs.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Do you know why pieces of furniture had three legs?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I did, yeah, it's uneven ground.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Absolutely. They stand up far better on uneven ground
0:16:46 > 0:16:48than four-legged chairs do.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52I think this chair dates from the early 19th century.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54We can see that it's got some damage, obviously,
0:16:54 > 0:16:55and we've got this bentwood back
0:16:55 > 0:16:57which has broken and become disconnected.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Quite an unusual design, that.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Again very, very basic.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Do you like it? - Yeah, it's sort of quirky.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05It is quirky, isn't it?
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It's in the window of the house, the bay window,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11it's usually got a couple of cushions sitting on it.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12I love it.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Given it's got a little bit of damage
0:17:15 > 0:17:17and it needs a little bit of work on it,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18let's think about a value.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22If this were to come up for sale at a really good vernacular auction,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24this would sell for £2,000.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Really?
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Honestly?- Yeah. Absolutely.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30Well, no, I didn't expect that.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32A bit of a cliche, but I didn't!
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It's a really glorious little item.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35It really is.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41At the Antiques Roadshow we like to put a value on things,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44but there are many people who would look at this
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and think that was just a sacrilege.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49And you've come along today
0:17:49 > 0:17:52with what you say is the zucchetto or skullcap.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- Zucchetto. - Zucchetto, worn by a Pope?
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Yeah, Pope Pius XII.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Who was a Pope during the Second World War?
0:17:59 > 0:18:00During the Second World War.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Now, how do you come to have such a thing?
0:18:02 > 0:18:07Well, my wife's aunt's husband
0:18:07 > 0:18:09became a Roman Catholic.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And he worked for
0:18:12 > 0:18:15the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom in London.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17And what was his name?
0:18:17 > 0:18:19John Silverlock.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24And the Master of the Guild was Monsignor Filmer,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28and they started the Million Pound Club for poor parishes.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31And this was raising money for poor parishes?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Raising money for poor parishes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36And for all that he'd done,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38he was made a Knight of St Gregory.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- This is your Uncle John? - My Uncle John.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45And, in due course, the Monsignor went to Rome,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50and, while there, he was in the refectory with the Mother Superior,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and in walked Pope Pius XII.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53So, this was at the Vatican?
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Yes, at the Vatican itself, yes.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01And he came in, and spoke to the Mother Superior,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and asked, "Have you got my zucchetto ready?"
0:19:04 > 0:19:06and she said, "Yes."
0:19:06 > 0:19:08And he took that one off,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11was given a new one, and out he went,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13and the Monsignor looked at it,
0:19:13 > 0:19:18and picked it up, and the Mother Superior said, "Do you like it?"
0:19:18 > 0:19:21And he said, "Can I have it?"
0:19:21 > 0:19:23"Yes," she said, "take it."
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And then, at a dinner in London, because of Uncle John,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28all the work he'd done,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30and was being made a Knight of Saint Gregory,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33he presented it to him.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36And, sadly, in due course,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40he died, and this was left to my wife and I.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Sadly, my wife has died, I've got it now.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And you've got a note here, which is written by the Monsignor.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47That's correct.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Saying "this zucchetto was worn by his Holiness Pope Pius XII,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54"and given to him by the Reverend Mother General."
0:19:54 > 0:19:56- Are you a Catholic yourself, Frank? - Yes, I am, yes, yeah.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58So, what does this mean to you?
0:19:58 > 0:20:03Well, you know, I felt honoured to have it,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07but if anything happened to me, I would give it to the church.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10I have to say, in all the time I've been on the Roadshow,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12which is not that long, nine years,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15compared to the enormous time we've been on air, I don't think...
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I can't think of another time when we've had something from a Pope.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Thank you, Frank, thanks for bringing it in.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21You're very welcome.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27Do you know what this is?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32As far as I know, it's Satsuma,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and I thought it was some sort of incense burner.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And how did you work it, if it was incense?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Well, thinking about it, it's glazed inside, so it probably isn't.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Yeah, you're right, it's an incense burner.
0:20:47 > 0:20:53- OK.- It's a koro, in Japanese - because it is Japanese.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Satsuma, yeah, it would have been called Satsuma.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00And we've got...
0:21:00 > 0:21:03a maker's mark in gilding,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06which is Kinzan,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10which means gold mountain.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12That's the man's name.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16In the early 20th century, you have Taisho.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20One of the characteristics of his reign
0:21:20 > 0:21:24is the obsession with dots.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Oh, OK.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29If you can put a dot somewhere, why not do it?
0:21:29 > 0:21:33And you can see it particularly on these roundels.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- Yeah, he went a bit crazy!- Yeah.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40So I would put this around Taisho, the beginning of the 20th century.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42This was made for export.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46This was not made for domestic use.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48This is western taste.
0:21:49 > 0:21:55The westerners are impressed by meticulous little detailing.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- Yes.- But the thing that grabbed my attention on this one,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02not something I've ever seen before,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05are three figures...
0:22:05 > 0:22:09who are taller than the rest.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- OK.- And they have beards.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- OK.- Do Japanese have beards?
0:22:15 > 0:22:17- No.- Nope.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19And their hats are a different shape.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23These are a throwback.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25I don't know why they're here,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29but Dutchmen have been depicted on Japanese works of art
0:22:29 > 0:22:33since they arrived in Japan in the 17th century.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40And when they arrived, the Japanese thought they were hallucinating.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43What were these immensely tall figures
0:22:43 > 0:22:46with their ginger beards and this weird clothing?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49What were they? Some sort of god?
0:22:49 > 0:22:53I've never seen them done on a bit of Satsuma before.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58And I don't know, it just makes it stand out
0:22:58 > 0:23:01above the usual run-of-the-mill koro.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06Well, if it didn't have those plus features...
0:23:06 > 0:23:07Right...
0:23:07 > 0:23:11..with a market which is slightly down a bit now,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I would think probably 400 to 600.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20- OK.- But because it's got a raft of specials,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23as my cats call the little biscuits,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28I would think you're probably looking more like 1,000 to 1,500.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- Very good.- OK?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Well, this is a turn up for the books -
0:23:41 > 0:23:44it's not often you see works by Austin Osman Spare.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47And, forgive me, you're of a mature age,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and most of the people I know that like Spare are young,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52and sometimes a bit weird.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Yeah, well...
0:23:55 > 0:23:57perhaps I'm quite the opposite.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00It's not a very well-loved painting.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02For a long time, the last 20 years or so,
0:24:02 > 0:24:03it's just been in the wardrobe.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06How did you get it, then?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Well, it was my father, in 1937,
0:24:09 > 0:24:15he read an article in what was then the Herald Daily newspaper.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19My father thought, well, he'll have one of those,
0:24:19 > 0:24:25and we went to his studios in Elephant and Castle.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Oh, yes. Is that the catalogue to it?
0:24:27 > 0:24:28- Indeed it is.- Cool.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Can I have a look?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32You've got, is the picture in here, isn't it?
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Yeah, there it is.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Self Janus Combined, that's its title.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40- Yes, yes, that's right. - And you paid the princely sum
0:24:40 > 0:24:41of three guineas for it.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43That's right, well, my father did.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45And took it home,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and my mother wasn't very...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Not pleased!
0:24:50 > 0:24:54No, she said, I like the artist, but...
0:24:54 > 0:25:00She was rather a lady of Victorian ideas, and unclothed bodies...
0:25:01 > 0:25:03..wasn't quite her style.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06OK. Because you know what's happening here, don't you?
0:25:06 > 0:25:10- No.- Austin Osman Spare often drew himself,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13and there's always a spirit dimension to his pictures.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15He's not of the mainstream.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17He believed in the occult,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- he was a friend of the warlock Aleister Crowley...- Oh, really?
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- ..who was a very nasty piece of work, I think.- Yes, yes.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Yeah, and not for long, I might add.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29But this drawing underneath, which is connected by the frame,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31by the artist, he did that...
0:25:31 > 0:25:35- He did, indeed. - ..is the Janus, the two-faced god.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Yeah.- You can see the two faces of Janus here.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40What he's doing is he's getting in touch with the spirit world,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43in his mind, and a direct conduit is established,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47and he produces this, which he called an automatic drawing.
0:25:47 > 0:25:48- OK.- So it's all a bit weird.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52And this relates to him, it's almost what's going on inside his body.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54You see the way the frame is constructed?
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Yes, indeed. - This is his psychic reality.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- Yes.- And this is his physical reality.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01Yep, oh.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02That's the point of it.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- Ah.- And this is actually what he looked like.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07It's done very quickly in pastel,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and he's got a really immediate effect,
0:26:10 > 0:26:11with the hair just "voom" like that.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13It's a very good likeness.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Yes, except he was going slightly to seed by now, I think,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17drinking too much beer, yeah.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20When he was young, he was very, very good-looking,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and quite lionised by society.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24George Bernard Shaw thought he was a child prodigy, a genius.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- The greatest hope of British art.- Ah.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30And indeed he is a great draughtsman,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but the problem was with all this, frankly, slightly kooky stuff,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36he loses out in the market these days.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Although there is a devoted group of followers,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41of which I would number myself.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- Really?- And this means money!
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Really?
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Yeah.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It's worth £4,000 to £6,000.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Oh, really? Oh, well, that's very nice, yes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Well, that's appreciated somewhat.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59So does that mean you're going to sell it?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Probably.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04It tends to be rather unloved,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07but I'm beginning to love it now.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14OK, so we're going to start with a bit of a quiz question.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19What is one of the main things that helps a cheetah to run so fast?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21OK, I'm going to give you a minute
0:27:21 > 0:27:23to think about it.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27So, we see all sorts of amazing things on the Roadshow,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30and then something like this comes in,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32quite an ordinary sort of pair of running shoes.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Tell me what you've got here.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39They are my running spikes that were made for me by my uncle,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and his claim to fame is that he made the running spikes
0:27:42 > 0:27:45that Sir Roger Bannister wore
0:27:45 > 0:27:50when he first ran under the four-minute mile.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53- So...- That's where it becomes so cool.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56The great thing with something like this, you've got all the proof,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59we've got the name on the running shoes,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01and the photograph of your uncle -
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- and his name was? - He was George Thomas Law.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08George Thomas Law. And what a claim to fame to have that,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10to have made the running shoes,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12not just A pair of running shoes,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16but the shoes that he was wearing when he broke the four-minute mile
0:28:16 > 0:28:17at Iffley Road in Oxford,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19and by a second, or something ridiculous like that.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Yes, yes indeed.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22Tell me you've got a second pair
0:28:22 > 0:28:24that he made for Roger Bannister at home?
0:28:24 > 0:28:27I wish, I only wish.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29My uncle believed that they had been lost.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Oh, really?
0:28:31 > 0:28:33And then I read last year
0:28:33 > 0:28:36that Sir Roger had put them up for sale.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39OK, so put them up for sale, and do you know how much they made?
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Well, the auction taxes and everything,
0:28:44 > 0:28:46I think it was around about a quarter of a million.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Exactly, 260-odd-thousand pounds.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52- Yes, yes. - OK, so, all that being said,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55you've got a pair of running shoes from roughly the same period,
0:28:55 > 0:29:00which were yours, made, no argument there, by the same firm.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02- You've got the photograph. - Yes. Him as a young man.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04So, potentially, are you thinking
0:29:04 > 0:29:08you've got one of the highest valuations on the Roadshow?
0:29:08 > 0:29:11I wouldn't think that, I just think they're...
0:29:11 > 0:29:13I'm so glad I've kept them.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I'm so glad you kept them, because, to me,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17it's just lovely to have that connection.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21They're sort of £100 or so, just because of their coolness.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24But thank you. Oh, and - the answer?
0:29:24 > 0:29:28A cheetah will run with its claws out.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31- Oh, of course!- Which is where running spikes are developed from.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33- Oh, yes!- Thank you.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34I think that's good!
0:29:40 > 0:29:44- A jawbone. - But, like, what animal is it?
0:29:44 > 0:29:45It's not a cat, is it?
0:29:45 > 0:29:47It's not a Welsh cat, no.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50It's a bit too big even for a Welsh cat, I would say.
0:29:50 > 0:29:51Yeah.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54But where did you find this?
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Well, I went home from school,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58I used to go to Monkton School, over there,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and I saw this bit, because I saw that tooth there,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03so I had a dig around, and there it was.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09What I love about this is the Scrimshaw work.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Right in the very centre, we have an elk.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15It's 17th-, 18th-century, so it goes back some years.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18- Right!- So you did save this one for the Welsh nation
0:30:18 > 0:30:20by excavating it at the time!
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Value-wise, very little, very little, I mean less than £100.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26But a charming piece.
0:30:26 > 0:30:27Brilliant!
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Well, here we are, sunshine, blue skies
0:30:38 > 0:30:40and, in front of us,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42some wonderful blue glass.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Mdina glass, made in the island of Malta,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49which we do get on the Roadshow, a lot, single pieces.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51But here we've got a bit of a cavalcade.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53- These are yours.- Yes.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- You're a collector? - My mother-in-law was, yes.
0:30:56 > 0:30:57OK, do you like them yourself?
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Yes, I do like them, they are on show.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03I mean, the first thing I think you really notice with Mdina glass
0:31:03 > 0:31:06is this wonderful, vivid, blue-green colour, this turquoise,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10which is there to evoke the blue of the Mediterranean Sea.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12To look at this, we've got to go back
0:31:12 > 0:31:14to London and the Swinging '60s.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17This is where this glass originates, in essence.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Michael Harris founded the Mdina Glassworks.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24He studies at the Royal College of Art in 1967,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28when glass-making is being introduced as a subject,
0:31:28 > 0:31:29which is revolutionary.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33His teacher is a man called Sam Herman, who really is the creator,
0:31:33 > 0:31:35the father of modern studio glass.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39He's an American, he's spearheading what we call the hot-glass movement.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43This is taking glass out of those very controlled, cut, polished,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46very sleek Scandinavian forms that have been glass for so long,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49and taking it into something that's pure art, really expressive.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52This is what glass can do when it's in its hot state.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55It folds, it moulds, it's like wine gums,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57it's not controlled, it's its own thing.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59He's really exploring these things.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04This is the era of Sgt. Pepper, and that's Sgt. Pepper in glass form.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Michael Harris opens the Mdina Glassworks in Malta in 1968,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11stays there till 1972, but after he leaves,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13they keep his designs in production.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17These are actually 1980s designs, but still as he designed them
0:32:17 > 0:32:19ten-plus years before.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Well, let's take a look, a close look, at one of these.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Now, this is the one that I'm immediately drawn to,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26a big piece here,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29this is known by a lot of people as the axe-head vase.
0:32:29 > 0:32:30- The what, sorry?- The axe-head vase,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32so it's a bit like the end of an axe,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35and you chop it. They're wrong.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37It's not the axe-head vase,
0:32:37 > 0:32:39it's the angelfish vase.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40- Oh, nice!- Can you see?
0:32:40 > 0:32:42- Yes!- There you are.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45So, what are we talking, value-wise?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Had you given much thought to value?
0:32:47 > 0:32:50No idea at all. This one I bought at a local antique auction,
0:32:50 > 0:32:52oh, many years ago, for about £5.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54About £5, OK.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57That's going to be £30, £40 at auction,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59so a good return on your £5.
0:32:59 > 0:33:00This one here is a sort of take on,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03a similar take on the angelfish vase,
0:33:03 > 0:33:07and that's going to be about £120, £140.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10This one, my favourite - and I have to do this,
0:33:10 > 0:33:11because I like doing this -
0:33:11 > 0:33:17the angelfish vase, that's going to be £150 to about £180 at auction.
0:33:17 > 0:33:18So, a nice collection.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Nice collection. Thank you very much.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23- It brings us thoughts of sunnier climes.- It does, yes!
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Tell me about these.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Well, I don't know a huge amount
0:33:31 > 0:33:33but, when my mother died,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36she left them to me, with a couple of other ones.
0:33:36 > 0:33:43And I do know that when Dad was in India and Sri Lanka
0:33:43 > 0:33:46he bought the sapphire and the diamonds,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and he brought them home to England,
0:33:49 > 0:33:54and they were set, back in this country, as far as I know,
0:33:54 > 0:33:55likewise that.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57And then my mother used to wear them.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59They were made for her.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02And when she died she left them to me,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04and I have to admit that I have never worn them.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09I'm too frightened to wear them, really, and they look so nice,
0:34:09 > 0:34:11but I should do.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16Well, I have been in gemological heaven.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18What do you think this is?
0:34:18 > 0:34:19I think it's a citrine.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21- OK.- Mum told me it was a citrine.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Right.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It seemed awfully heavy to wear that.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Well, I have some good news for you,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31and that is it is a sapphire.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Is it? Good Lord!
0:34:33 > 0:34:35I'm so excited!
0:34:35 > 0:34:38I'm so excited - it's a sapphire!
0:34:38 > 0:34:40- Really?- Yes! Isn't that exciting?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Yes!
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Yes, it is!
0:34:43 > 0:34:47And how I know is because it's got this wonderful,
0:34:47 > 0:34:51like a fingerprint inclusion, just underneath the surface.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- Good Lord.- And that is telling me
0:34:53 > 0:34:56that it is a sapphire.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01It's not the best colour at all of a yellow sapphire.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Yellow sapphires, to command high prices,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07have to be sort of really quite a vibrant yellow.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12But nevertheless, it's nearly 100 carats.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16- Right.- Now, I'm just... While I was cleaning it,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18I was cleaning this one as well.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21- Right.- It's a beautiful colour, sort of blue, isn't it?
0:35:21 > 0:35:25- It's really lovely.- Sort of this really wonderful, vibrant blue.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29But this was in artificial light,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32and this went purple.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Totally purple.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40It is a colour-change sapphire.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Never heard of that!
0:35:43 > 0:35:47Well, I've certainly never seen one on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49and I can't tell you, I was so excited!
0:35:50 > 0:35:53People have been saying to me, "Have you had a good day?"
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Good day?!
0:35:55 > 0:35:56I've had the best day!
0:35:56 > 0:35:58I'm having quite a good one, too!
0:36:00 > 0:36:02But it is just extraordinary.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07Now, it is something that does happen with sapphires.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11I mean, sapphires, we think of them as blue - they can be all colours.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Except, of course, when they turn red,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and then that's when they're a ruby,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19because rubies and sapphires are the same, it's corundum.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Aluminium oxide is the chemical composition of a sapphire,
0:36:23 > 0:36:28but it is the trace elements that make the colours different.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32Now, there's more iron in the aluminium oxide,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34which makes a sapphire more yellow.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38With this, it's chromium.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Chromium is making the absorption bands change
0:36:42 > 0:36:45in different light sources.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49They are both stones from Sri Lanka, or Ceylon.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51These would have come from an area called Ratnapura,
0:36:51 > 0:36:53and I've been to Ratnapura,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55and I've been down those sapphire mines,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59and they're still done by artisan mining now, by hand,
0:36:59 > 0:37:00they're still cut by hand.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04These have been native-cut, or they've been cut without machines,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06it's all been hand done,
0:37:06 > 0:37:08and these are a wonderful indication
0:37:08 > 0:37:11of what you find in that country.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14I mean, if a yellow sapphire, if it was brighter,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16because it's all about the colour,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20this hasn't got the vibrancy of that colour, but still, I would say,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23at auction, you would be looking in the region
0:37:23 > 0:37:26of around about £5,000 to £7,000.
0:37:26 > 0:37:27Well, that's jolly good, isn't it?
0:37:29 > 0:37:32And this one here, it's quite deep, the stone,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35but I love the fact that it's a colour-change sapphire.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37It's about 11 carats,
0:37:37 > 0:37:42and that's going to be in the region of about £4,000 to £6,000.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Oh, lovely, thank you very much.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46They're not going anywhere.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Well, thank you so much for bringing them.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50- A great pleasure, thank you for your help.- Thank you.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55We've got three dogs here.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59- Yes.- And they couldn't be more different in style,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01and substance, and value, as well.
0:38:01 > 0:38:02Are you a dog collector?
0:38:02 > 0:38:06I'm not, personally, but my aunt was,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and, in fact, all of these three dogs came from her house.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11OK. Well, as I said, they're all very different.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15This one, to all intents and purposes, it looks like bronze,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19it's patinated to look that way, but it's actually cast resin.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21And if you feel it, it feels very warm to the touch.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23If it were bronze, it would be a lot colder.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27And also it's got almost like a soapy sort of texture to it.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30- Right.- And it's meant to look old, but actually it's not terribly old,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32- it's probably maybe 30 or 40 years old.- Right.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36This one, again it looks like bronze, it's actually brass,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38probably from the very early 20th century,
0:38:38 > 0:38:42probably of French manufacture, on a little marble base.
0:38:42 > 0:38:43And then this one,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45which is my favourite one,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48this one is Austrian coal-painted bronze,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52dating probably from the 1870s, 1880s.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54- Oh, right.- The big name, of course,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58in Austrian coal-painted bronzes from this period is Franz Bergman,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00but his pieces are always generally signed.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Sometimes they're actually signed backwards,
0:39:03 > 0:39:04but this has nothing on it,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07so there's no indication of who actually made it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:08You couldn't attribute it to him?
0:39:08 > 0:39:10It's not really attributable to him.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12So, three different prices.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14- Right.- So, let's start with this one.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19Resin, not terribly old, probably £30 or £40.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- Right.- The French brass one, nice enough,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26but maybe sort of £80 to £100 or so, on that one.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- Right.- So you know where this is going, don't you?
0:39:28 > 0:39:32This one, completely different kettle of fish, very desirable,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35probably somewhere in the region of £500 to £700.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Wow! Thank you very much indeed.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44We've all heard of the Royal Yacht Britannia, haven't we?
0:39:44 > 0:39:46But, to be honest with you, this is a different royal yacht
0:39:46 > 0:39:49to the one that we're used to talking about.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53- Yes.- And this is a royal yacht that was built in 1893
0:39:53 > 0:39:56for the then Prince Albert, who was a bit of a playboy.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Now, we've got various items on the table here,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01but one thing we've got is a photograph,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04and I want you to tell me what your association is with the yacht,
0:40:04 > 0:40:06and who the people are in this photograph.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11My great-aunt's husband crewed for King George V, who's there.
0:40:11 > 0:40:12That's George V there, yeah.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14And that's my great-aunt's husband.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16- What was his name?- James Cousins.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19James Cousins. Was he a naval man,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21were they naval men that were employed on the royal yacht?
0:40:21 > 0:40:22Yes, he was in the Royal Navy.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- Right.- And just like on the later yacht, Britannia,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29they were chosen from the Royal Navy
0:40:29 > 0:40:30to crew in the races.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33OK, right. Well, this particular royal yacht
0:40:33 > 0:40:35was something pretty special.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38It was what was called a gaff-rigged cutter,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41and we've got a picture of it here on a postcard.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43There's an incredible sail volume there, isn't there?
0:40:43 > 0:40:48- Yes, wonderful. - Built in 1893 by DW Henderson,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50and, to be honest with you, yacht-racing at this point
0:40:50 > 0:40:53really was the sport of kings, wasn't it?
0:40:53 > 0:40:56- Absolutely.- Enormously expensive, carried an awful lot of prestige,
0:40:56 > 0:41:01as well, and I think if you were a crew member on that yacht,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- that must have also carried a great deal of prestige.- Absolutely.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07Do you know what sort of period he served on the yacht?
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Right through to the 1920s.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11He died in 1933, so...
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Right, well, it was a legendary yacht,
0:41:14 > 0:41:20in that in its first year it made 43 starts and won 33 of those races.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23And we're up against other really, really good yachts.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25I believe that George V
0:41:25 > 0:41:28used to race his cousin, the Kaiser.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31- That's it.- And there was a great deal of competition involved there,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33and huge amounts of money spent.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36I see we've got some objects here on the trunks,
0:41:36 > 0:41:37and I presume that these are items
0:41:37 > 0:41:39that are actually related to the yacht?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41- Can you tell me about those?- Yes.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Well, this beautiful Irish linen damask tablecloth
0:41:44 > 0:41:46came from the yacht,
0:41:46 > 0:41:48and it's woven with all the emblems,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50the anchor, the royal crown,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53the thistle, oak leaves,
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and these are items of cutlery.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Obviously, I can see the anchor insignia
0:41:58 > 0:42:00on the cutlery there as well.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03As a kind of strange epitaph to this story,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06we've got to talk about actually what happened to the yacht,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08because people are probably wondering what did happen to it.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12- It's very sad.- You know, where is HMY Britannia?
0:42:12 > 0:42:14The fact is that it's at the bottom of the ocean, isn't it?
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- It is.- Just off the Isle of Wight.
0:42:17 > 0:42:18- Yes.- And why is it there?
0:42:18 > 0:42:22It's there because George V decreed, after he died,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25- that he wanted it scuttled. - Absolutely.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26And isn't that a strange thing?
0:42:26 > 0:42:27- Yeah.- So I suppose, really,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30we need to talk about the value of some of these objects.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Quite a difficult one to do, really,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34because there's nothing enormously tangible
0:42:34 > 0:42:36and individually valuable here.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37What am I going to say?
0:42:37 > 0:42:40I suppose, if a little package came up for sale like this,
0:42:40 > 0:42:41with some original photographs,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44some cutlery and this beautiful damask tablecloth,
0:42:44 > 0:42:45I think it would probably make
0:42:45 > 0:42:47around about £300 or £400 at auction,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50but the value to me is very much in that history and in that story.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Yes. Thank you.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59Wendy, we saw you in Aberglasney,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01and you brought along an armorial plate.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04- I did, yes.- And John Axford had a look at it.- Uh-huh.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07It was quite an exciting moment for us at the Roadshow,
0:43:07 > 0:43:09- and for you too, I would imagine. - Yes, absolutely.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13We finally had to ditch the rain outside
0:43:13 > 0:43:15and come in to this cloister,
0:43:15 > 0:43:17but anyway, what a dish, fantastic.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19I'm glad you like it.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23This was made in China, in a city called Xinxiang.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25There's usually nothing on the back of them.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29It's unmarked, roughly finished,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32which is ever so typical.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33But what's really interesting...
0:43:33 > 0:43:34HE TAPS
0:43:34 > 0:43:37..is all of this. We've got, what have we got there?
0:43:37 > 0:43:40We've got a monogram, and it's FR.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44That's for Fredericus Rex,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46that's Frederick II
0:43:46 > 0:43:48of Prussia.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52- Ah.- Not many bits of this come onto the market.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55It is fairly unusual, but there was a soup plate
0:43:55 > 0:43:58which sold last year for £31,000.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- What?- Good gracious.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04This has got to be, what, £80,000, £100,000?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06- No!- I don't believe it!
0:44:06 > 0:44:07Are you sure?
0:44:07 > 0:44:10How amazing, my son will be simply thrilled.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- Have you got any more? - His children will be...
0:44:13 > 0:44:14No, I haven't got any more,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18and I certainly won't be putting it on that rickety stand any more.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20John Axford valued it at £80,000,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22which was tremendously exciting for us,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25because we had never seen a ceramic item on the Roadshow,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28in what was then 30 years, as valuable as that.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30It had a Prussian connection, didn't it?
0:44:30 > 0:44:34Yep, it was part of the Hohenzollern dinner service,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36and it was made for the King...
0:44:36 > 0:44:38King Frederick of Prussia.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41So we're talking about, what, mid-1700s, I suppose.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44What happened to it afterwards?
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Well, it was sold, not quite for the £80,000,
0:44:47 > 0:44:49but I think it was round about 65,000,
0:44:49 > 0:44:53which was still an amazing price for what is just a dish, basically.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54I mean, a special dish, but...
0:44:54 > 0:44:58A very special dish! And do you know who bought it?
0:44:58 > 0:44:59I don't know exactly who bought it,
0:44:59 > 0:45:01but I know it went to a foreign royal family.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03- Ooh, which one?- I don't know.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06- It's a mystery. - Well, one we'd like to solve.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08But thank you for solving part of the mystery,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11at least what happened to the plate and what it eventually sold for.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13- Wendy, thank you so much. - Thank you very much, Fiona.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20I think it looks like Charles Montagu Doughty.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24- Oh!- Charles Montagu Doughty was a poet and a traveller
0:45:24 > 0:45:26in the late 19th century.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30- But...the thing about Doughty...- But!
0:45:30 > 0:45:32..was that he was a very successful man.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35This chap looks as miserable as sin!
0:45:35 > 0:45:36He does, yes!
0:45:39 > 0:45:41I know what you're going to say,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43it actually came from a tobacconist shop, aren't you?
0:45:43 > 0:45:46- Poor chap.- Have you smelt him?- No!
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Well, it's such a breezy day, I can't...
0:45:51 > 0:45:52I can't smell anything!
0:45:54 > 0:45:56But he does need touching up very carefully,
0:45:56 > 0:45:57but it's very finely modelled.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Value. What do you think?
0:46:04 > 0:46:06I haven't the faintest idea.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Well, if it's Doughty,
0:46:08 > 0:46:09which we doubt,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I think it's worth a lot of money.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14But if it isn't...
0:46:14 > 0:46:15That's more like it, yes.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19That's more like it! It must be worth at least £500.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22Good gracious! Thank you very much indeed for your pearls of wisdom.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31So, portrait miniatures really are,
0:46:31 > 0:46:35I think, one of the most intimate forms of portrait painting.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Unlike big oil paintings,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40which were sort of intended for public display,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43or for display in a dining room or on your wall at home,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46miniatures were far more personal, and actually far more intimate.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Let me just turn over this top one here -
0:46:48 > 0:46:52and look at this, this is intricately wound, plaited hair,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54and this really is what miniatures are about,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56this adds that extra personal dimension to them
0:46:56 > 0:46:59that you just don't have in other forms of painted portraits.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03I mean, these would have been tucked away under a jacket pocket, perhaps,
0:47:03 > 0:47:06or they would have been handled. There was this idea that
0:47:06 > 0:47:08you sort of catch a glimpse of them throughout the day
0:47:08 > 0:47:10as a sort of reminder of your loved one away.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12I mean, they're the precursor
0:47:12 > 0:47:15to the screensaver on your smartphone, really, I think.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17So, who are these people here?
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Who's the chap at the top, for example?
0:47:19 > 0:47:22That's John Adams, in my mother's family.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24There were 19 generations altogether,
0:47:24 > 0:47:26my mother being the 19th down here.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28He's actually about the 13th,
0:47:28 > 0:47:31so they started way back in the 1300s.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34And do you know anything about this man in particular?
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Well, what I can tell you about him is, yeah,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40he lived at a house called Holyland House on the edge of Pembroke
0:47:40 > 0:47:44and, sadly, he was drowned at the age of 29
0:47:44 > 0:47:46off Linney Head.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Fortunately, he had married, and had a son, another John Adams,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53who kept the line going.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Well, this is actually by an artist called Philip Jean,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59and Philip Jean was born in Jersey
0:47:59 > 0:48:01and he joined the Navy,
0:48:01 > 0:48:02and he then soon left the Navy,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04and turned to portrait-miniature painting,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07which is a bit of a change in career.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Now, his work's very, very distinctive,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13and this is a really nice example by him.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18So, what is the relation between these two subjects to the man above?
0:48:18 > 0:48:21I think the answer to that is they would have been in-laws,
0:48:21 > 0:48:25because John Adams' son married Anne Gibbons,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27who was their daughter.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29So, the artist is William Wood,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32and he was a very, very, very well-known,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35celebrated and successful painter.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39For me, these look like typical of his work in the mid to late 1790s,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41when he was at his most confident.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45- Yes.- This work, I think, slightly earlier.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47The way in which they're painted is actually very different.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49If you look at William Wood, for example,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52his strokes are far broader than Jean,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55who is a much finer painter.
0:48:55 > 0:48:56I mean, with Wood, for example,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58you can sort of almost, up close under magnification,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02looks like an oil painting, with the brisk, thick brushstrokes.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I mean, he was a very bold painter.
0:49:04 > 0:49:10Now, Philip Jean isn't as quite in-demand as William Wood is.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14This work, I think, if this were to come up at auction,
0:49:14 > 0:49:19you would expect to see it sell for somewhere in the region
0:49:19 > 0:49:21of £2,000 to £3,000.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25The William Wood pair, however, I think are much nicer, and I think,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28if they were to come up, you should expect to see them sell
0:49:28 > 0:49:31for somewhere between £6,000 and £8,000.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33- Thank you. - Thank you for bringing them in.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38I'm really impressed with your taste.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43You've brought in a couple of really nice things that show a good eye.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46So, where are you finding these bits?
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I've been, kind of been watching you for a number of years,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52I've been inspired, learning and listening to what you've been doing,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55and so I just started going out to a few boot sales
0:49:55 > 0:49:58to see what I could find, and this is the result.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01OK. So what are you looking for, when you go out?
0:50:01 > 0:50:03Where's your track?
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Generally, my passion has been 20th-century glass.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08I love the colours, I love the names,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Scandinavian, Czechoslovakian.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12OK, so let's examine what you've got.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16Well, what we have here is a very scruffy lamp base.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18This is Italian, it's 1950s,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21it's what's called sommerso technique,
0:50:21 > 0:50:25where the glass-blower picks up successive layers of glass.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29So, what it's done is that you pick up the first gather of glass,
0:50:29 > 0:50:33then you roll it on a table, on a marver, to cool the surface,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36and then you dip it in again, pick up some more.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38And what's interesting in yours
0:50:38 > 0:50:40is how you can see the lines
0:50:40 > 0:50:44of how the successive layers have been picked up.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45You can really see that.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47This weighs a tonne.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50You will know that I love holding stuff - but I try and hold this,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53it's going to bust my arm off!
0:50:53 > 0:50:58The guy who developed this was a guy called Flavio Poli, in Murano,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Venice, in the late '40s.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02He never signed anything,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06so it's very difficult to attribute to Flavio Poli.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Now, how much did you pay for this?
0:51:08 > 0:51:10So, that I found locally for £20.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12£20, right, well, it's a bargain.
0:51:12 > 0:51:13First of all, it's a bargain.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15Let's talk about the downside.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17You've got a bit of damage, it's very scruffy.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Restored, this is worth some money,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21and the way I do it, as a tip to you,
0:51:21 > 0:51:24is I get airgun pellets, which you can drop in, one by one,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26put some washing up liquid in,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30stir it up a bit, and then tip it up and empty it,
0:51:30 > 0:51:31that's just a pro tip for you.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36The other thing that you brought in is these...which...
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Well, it doesn't take a genius to work out who made them,
0:51:39 > 0:51:45who designed them, because the words R Lalique France are on them,
0:51:45 > 0:51:48which suggests that they might well be Rene Lalique designs,
0:51:48 > 0:51:49which they jolly well are.
0:51:49 > 0:51:541930, 1935, and what they are is menu stands.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57You'll see, there's a cut, down here,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00where you put your place setting or your menu stands.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03- How many of these have you got? - I've got a set of 12.- You're paying?
0:52:03 > 0:52:04£15, I paid for them.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07- 15 for 12 of these.- Yeah.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Well, I reckon that,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13chippy as they are, they are 20 quid.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16So you paid 15. 20 times 12 is 240.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18This is pretty good going.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20This lamp here, Flavio Poli,
0:52:20 > 0:52:23it has a little bit of work to do -
0:52:23 > 0:52:26I would spend 20, 30, 40 quid on having this restored,
0:52:26 > 0:52:28get the scratches out, they're the worst.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32But that, retail, is 400 quid!
0:52:32 > 0:52:33Whoa!
0:52:33 > 0:52:36400 quid! And you, how much did you pay?
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Well, I've learned from the master.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Hey, put it there, baby, you're doing well!
0:52:40 > 0:52:42That's fantastic, you're doing great.
0:52:42 > 0:52:43Thank you very much indeed.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49What most audiences at the Roadshow don't know
0:52:49 > 0:52:52is that, at the end of the day, you, our steward,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55have been working incredibly hard marshalling the crowds and so on.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57But, at the end of the day when your work's over,
0:52:57 > 0:52:59you can bring stuff to us to value,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01and that's what you've done with these.
0:53:01 > 0:53:02And they look fantastic.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04They're Anglo-Indian, aren't they?
0:53:04 > 0:53:06They are, yes, indeed.
0:53:06 > 0:53:07And they're very early, aren't they?
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Yes, they're about 1780.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13They belong, actually, to my wife's family,
0:53:13 > 0:53:18and one of her ancestors was a Major in the Indian Army,
0:53:18 > 0:53:19and, in Bengal,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and he was commissioned
0:53:22 > 0:53:25to do a survey of India.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28- A modest job! - A modest job, absolutely!
0:53:28 > 0:53:32So, anyway, he got going with it and, whilst he was doing it,
0:53:32 > 0:53:35he was doing the ornithological survey of it, as well,
0:53:35 > 0:53:38and he commissioned local artists
0:53:38 > 0:53:41to do these paintings as he was going round.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42As a matter of record?
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- Yes.- Just to record the species of flora and fauna as they went.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49- Yes, yes.- Where have they been since they were done in 1780-whatever?
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Well, they've been with the family ever since,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54and they were out in India for about 200 years.
0:53:54 > 0:53:59And then my wife's grandfather came back from India,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01and he came down to this part of the world,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03and he brought the collection with him.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05And there's a very large collection,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09and they were in the attic in his house, down near here.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12- He didn't even hang them? - No, but they were here in Wales,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15and they weren't really displayed at all.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19And then my mother-in-law, when she was young,
0:54:19 > 0:54:21she discovered them in the attic,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25and so she took some of them out and decorated the Scout hut with them.
0:54:25 > 0:54:32And so it was obviously appreciated by the local...
0:54:32 > 0:54:35- The boys?- ..boys, yes, and she was Akela or something...
0:54:35 > 0:54:36But they survived that ordeal to here.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Yes, in the Scout hut, which was a wooden hut,
0:54:39 > 0:54:42and then got discovered again, and here they are.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Well, I think they're the most extraordinary fusion
0:54:45 > 0:54:48of sort of Western ideas of what they wanted,
0:54:48 > 0:54:50and Indian ways of painting.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53I mean, this, I suppose it's either a heron or a stork,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56I'm not really an aficionado,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00but the detail on it is quite astonishing.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Of course, in the West, we want to have volume, and perspective,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05and all these new-fangled ideas about art,
0:55:05 > 0:55:09but the Indians want to flatten it in that ancient Mughal way,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11and so they're really quite silhouetted,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14and it's the same with these wonderful plants,
0:55:14 > 0:55:16done in a very restricted colourway.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19But, when you look really carefully,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22you can see that whoever this artist was, and they're often anonymous,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26you can feel confident that he's got everything, you know,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29that he's recorded them perfectly, in an almost scientific way.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32And then when you come to this extraordinary bird,
0:55:32 > 0:55:37with its feathers individually painted with the finest of brushes,
0:55:37 > 0:55:40and the most extraordinary detail
0:55:40 > 0:55:43of colour and variation of tone,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I think that's an astonishing achievement, I really do.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47They're wonderful things.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Ah, now, they've been sort of languishing
0:55:50 > 0:55:53in attics and Scout huts and things,
0:55:53 > 0:55:55and we've got to value them.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57- Yes.- I think that India,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00which, of course, is going through its own renaissance at the moment,
0:56:00 > 0:56:04you might say, discovering its own culture,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06there are quite a lot of Indian collectors who are very interested
0:56:06 > 0:56:09in the synthesis between British ideas
0:56:09 > 0:56:13and Indian ways of painting, and culture, generally.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17And these, I think, represent that synthesis
0:56:17 > 0:56:19in the purest form.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23So, I think that these, they work wonderfully as three,
0:56:23 > 0:56:27but they might be sold separately, £8,000 to £12,000 each.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29- What?!- £8,000 and £12,000, each of them.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31- Each?!- It's worth that, yes, absolutely.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34Yep. They are astonishingly beautiful.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37I think anybody would see that.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Right, right, yes, right.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42- Right.- The bird is fantastic!
0:56:42 > 0:56:45I mean, admittedly, there's a bit of a sort of condition issue,
0:56:45 > 0:56:46but it's not serious.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49The colours are as good as the day it was painted.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51It's astonishingly beautiful.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55I think that's worth between £15,000 and £18,000.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Oh, Lord, we've got more of them at home!
0:56:59 > 0:57:00LAUGHTER
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Oh, I wish you'd brought them!
0:57:02 > 0:57:06Oh, Rupert, thank you very much indeed!
0:57:06 > 0:57:08That is absolutely...
0:57:08 > 0:57:10No, that is astonishing.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Our lovely steward, who had been working hard for us all day,
0:57:18 > 0:57:20and what a great way for him to end it.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24And I think that collection will be coming out of the attic pretty soon.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28Now, all our venues for our next series, our 40th anniversary series,
0:57:28 > 0:57:29are on our website, so have a look,
0:57:29 > 0:57:33see if you can join us for our ruby anniversary.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36From Pembroke Castle, and the whole Antiques Roadshow team, bye-bye.