0:00:46 > 0:00:48For this week's Antiques Roadshow,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50we're travelling to the southernmost area of the UK,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54to a destination that lies along the banks of the River Fal in Cornwall.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58People have been crossing the River Fal at this point
0:00:58 > 0:00:59for thousands of years
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and, these days, a lovely, clinky, chain-link ferry
0:01:02 > 0:01:05is the perfect way to come across the water.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07And this route forms part of the Pilgrims' Way.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11That way, travellers went to Glastonbury in Somerset.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15But today, I'm heading south in this gorgeous 1926 Bentley
0:01:15 > 0:01:18to our idyllic venue for today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow's pilgrimage
0:01:35 > 0:01:38to Trelissick House and Gardens here in Cornwall.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Since the 1600s, there's been a house on this site,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46owned by various families involved in agriculture, tin, copper,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49but, more recently, in fine porcelain.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50Ronald and Ida Copeland
0:01:50 > 0:01:53owned the Spode Copeland China factory in Stoke,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57but lived at Trelissick, a house with an extraordinary view.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03The house was given by the Copeland family to the National Trust only
0:02:03 > 0:02:08recently, so the bit of wear and tear you see now is how it came.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Actually, that's rather exciting,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13cos we don't often get to see country houses au naturel
0:02:13 > 0:02:16before they've been rather grandly reupholstered.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19For instance, climbing the lovely wooden stairs,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22you might notice the rather warped banister rail.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24It's been so damp,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28the wallpaper and paint are peeling from the walls and ceiling.
0:02:28 > 0:02:29There's quite a bit to do.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33The sunroom is cracking up and condemned,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35the exterior portico is crumbling,
0:02:35 > 0:02:36and the roof leaks.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40The whole place is ready for a country house makeover.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41I wouldn't mind having a go!
0:02:44 > 0:02:45If you look into the distance,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48you can just make out the port of Falmouth.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And from there, a specially commissioned ferry service
0:02:51 > 0:02:55will bring our visitors all the way here to Trelissick.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58It's a different way to travel to the Roadshow!
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Let's hope it's not too choppy
0:02:59 > 0:03:03as our visitors from Truro and beyond come to meet our experts
0:03:03 > 0:03:05in this wonderful setting.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Let's see what they've discovered.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12What a classically inspired house
0:03:12 > 0:03:14and a classically inspired brooch.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16How did it come into your family?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Well, my mother passed it down to us.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Originally it came from her cousin,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24who passed away, I think, in the early '90s.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I don't know its full history.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30I believe that cousin originally purchased it in Italy.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Probably in the 1940s.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- Right.- I believe it's called a micro-mosaic.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40It's made of extremely intricate, tiny pieces of I don't know what.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- Yeah.- So apart from its value at the moment,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45I'd like to know more about it and in particular how it was made.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47I gather it's 19th century.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Date wise, we're looking at between
0:03:50 > 0:03:511860 and 1865 as the period
0:03:51 > 0:03:53that it was probably made.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56What's fascinating is that it was actually bought in Italy,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00which is wonderful, really, because there was a very important family
0:04:00 > 0:04:05of jewellers who were based in Italy, called the Castellani family.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07They were a father and son set-up.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11There was Fortunato Pio - what a great name - and his son Alessandro,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13who came into the business.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Now, as a family, they started off in Italy
0:04:16 > 0:04:19but then came over to England and were very influential
0:04:19 > 0:04:21within our market over here as well.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And every jeweller throughout the Victorian period
0:04:24 > 0:04:26would look at them for inspiration.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28So would this be a copy?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Well, this is where it becomes a little bit tricky
0:04:31 > 0:04:33because we've had a really good look at this piece.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36You've had it for years, you've had a good look at it as well, I know.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38And we can't find any markings on it.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43So it is in their style, but not necessarily by them.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47But it is of a quality that is really quite exceptional.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51And the micro-mosaic, which are these tiny, intricate pieces,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53are what we know as tesserae,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58which are made up of a glass compound and a paste compound.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03And each of those individual pieces are hand applied and built up,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05rather like a jigsaw.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07But in such detail.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11The patience, really and truly, it's quite, quite extraordinary.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Of course, the subject matter is quite sorrowful, really, isn't it?
0:05:15 > 0:05:20It's this young lady looking lost and forlorn and sitting by an urn,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and is naturally to do with mourning,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and she's obviously lost somebody very close to her.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29But that was a theme of neoclassical inspiration
0:05:29 > 0:05:31which started in the Georgian period.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35We were reviving this idea of going back to the classics
0:05:35 > 0:05:38and getting a feel for what they had been producing
0:05:38 > 0:05:40back in those ancient times.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And I just think it's inspiring, isn't it,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44that things like this could be made?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Is it a subject matter that sort of upsets you, or...?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50No, it's just a bit drab, I think!
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And I wouldn't wear it.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55You're absolutely right, it is a rather dark, sort of sombre mood
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and colour, isn't it, with the grey and the black?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00But to brighten things up,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03the gold mount is something quite extraordinary.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05If it went into an auction
0:06:05 > 0:06:10then I would expect it to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- Really?- Wonderful. Thank you very much.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13It's been stuck in a drawer!
0:06:13 > 0:06:15THEY LAUGH
0:06:19 > 0:06:21That is hideous.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23It's a monstrosity.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Why on earth have you bought that?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27They're the sorts of things my mum would have said to me
0:06:27 > 0:06:29if I'd have turned up at home with this!
0:06:29 > 0:06:32We're looking at a nail sculpture art piece
0:06:32 > 0:06:35by the Danish artist Oluf Gravesen.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38And it's signed just down here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Why did you buy it?
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I didn't buy it. I actually came across it.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45- OK.- I'm a carpenter by trade
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and this was on another job just past my job,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52left in the garage with all other stuff that was being abandoned
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and I happened to see it and asked if I could then take it.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59They said, "Yes," and then I owned it, basically.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01So presumably, if you're a carpenter,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03the whole idea that somebody had used nails,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05which are very much the tools of your trade,
0:07:05 > 0:07:06to create a piece of art?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Yeah, made it all the more appealing to me.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Do you know anything about it? Have you done any research?
0:07:11 > 0:07:13All I know is what the owner of the house told me.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- OK.- That it was commissioned for the director of EMI
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and this was apparently done for either his birthday,
0:07:20 > 0:07:21I'm not too sure on what the occasion was,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24but basically commissioned for him to replicate an LP.
0:07:26 > 0:07:27He then gave it to his producer
0:07:27 > 0:07:31and the producer obviously had the holiday home where I got it from.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Well, I suppose you can see the sort of record shapes here,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- that are undulating. - Yeah, the shimmers and... Yeah.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38It's also a little bit sort of moon landing-like as well.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- Yeah.- Especially with these craters.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Gravesen's an interesting guy.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46He was born in Copenhagen and he was one of the youngest artists
0:07:46 > 0:07:50to be invited to exhibit at the Copenhagen Royal Academy.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And during the 1960s and '70s, his profile sort of grew.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56He exhibited in Paris and in New York
0:07:56 > 0:08:01and he led quite a colourful life, let's say, in New York,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and died relatively early, sort of in his early 40s, in 1987.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I think there's just so much going on here.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- Yeah.- I mean, for me, I love it.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13It does exactly what you should see from the 1960s and '70s.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15A sort of size and monumentalism.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18As well as being sculptural, sort of almost tribal arty.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- Yes.- So I think it's got a sort of incredible amount going on.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- Yes.- But it isn't everybody's cup of tea.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27- Probably not, no! - Are you married, girlfriend?
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Girlfriend, yes. Likes it, loves it.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- Seriously?- Yeah, yeah.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33This is our kind of era, I suppose.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- OK.- So, yeah.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40- I love it.- His pieces at auction are slightly sporadically priced.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44I've seen them sell for as little as sort of a couple of hundred pounds
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and my feeling is that with that provenance and with that connection,
0:08:47 > 0:08:53you're looking at somewhere between £800 and maybe even £3,000.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Oh!
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- Very nice. - Not bad for a garage find.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Not bad for a garage find, not at all!
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Well, you've brought some interesting glasses along here
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and I'm wondering what your focus is, why you're here.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Well, they're my father's collection.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15My father died three and a half years ago.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18He started collecting them back in the early '60s
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and as a child I remember some of them out
0:09:21 > 0:09:23and breaking one
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and absolutely all hell being let loose
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and they were rapidly packed away and put back in the loft.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31You stopped him in his tracks!
0:09:31 > 0:09:36- Yes!- He used to hide in the loft to look at his glass.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- He would disappear up the step ladder...- He would disappear, yeah.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43..crawl in there, and unwrap his glasses and admire them?
0:09:43 > 0:09:46That's right, yeah. Because he liked handling them, actually.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I'm quite proud of the fact I've got them here all in one piece today!
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Well, well done, you.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53And presumably he'd be made up that we're all sitting here...
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- He would be thrilled. - ..appreciating his collection
0:09:56 > 0:09:57- and giving it a critique. - Absolutely.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04So, let me examine these glasses that he bought in 1968, etc.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09He got a lot and we have his buying book here and I've separated them
0:10:09 > 0:10:11into sort of run-of-the-mill
0:10:11 > 0:10:15and interesting, for various reasons.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Let's do a turkey shoot first.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18And it's interesting...
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- That is one.- ..that that's a turkey.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- I know. But he liked it. - So this one...
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Would you like to tell him? - Tell him.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Hello, Dad, I'm really sorry to break the news to you,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31that is actually a 20th-century copy.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Yes, as we thought.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38This is in the manner of 1750, but actually 1925.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41This is an "if only" glass.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43An English glass of that form,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45with that stem,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48would be £2,500.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- Oh, I wish.- It's not, though!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Absolutely correct.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57It's a Dutch one and thus is worth 70 quid.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00That's great, it can go in the glass cabinet at home now and enjoy.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Go in the glass cabinet.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05The earliest and nicest glass here, in my opinion,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07is this flamiform ale glass,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09dwarf ale glass.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13This dates from 1725, it's really early,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and it's a really interesting academic glass.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18Let me see how much he paid.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20He paid for that...
0:11:20 > 0:11:24This one he bought on the 18th of January 1968.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27It's a dwarf ale, two-piece, moulded gadrooning,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29set directly onto a domed and folded foot,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31circa 1700.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Well, he was out by 20 years
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and he paid 15 quid for it
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and then later, when he went up into the loft,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41he said that he reckoned it was worth 100.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45So he's actually bumping up, he's appraising his collection.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48So I'm illuminating what he did up in the loft.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50He was going through and writing down
0:11:50 > 0:11:52- how much he reckons they're worth now!- Yes!
0:11:52 > 0:11:58Well, now that's 350, 250-350.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00So he's done OK on that one.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01This is a firing glass.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05It's called a firing glass because if you are at a function
0:12:05 > 0:12:07and there's a toast and then the cheers...
0:12:07 > 0:12:13Well, the firing glasses, if you get 100 blokes doing that on a table,
0:12:13 > 0:12:14then it sounds like cannon fire.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18That one today, 400 quid, thereabouts.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And that one, which is really the prettiest,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23the most commercial glass.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- It is beautiful.- Lovely.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Look at it, that stem in the light.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29It's a bit chippy, the foot's a bit chippy, I'm afraid.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Going to cost you 50 quid to get it fixed
0:12:31 > 0:12:33and then without the chips,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36600, 700, 800.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39So there you are, Dad. And we're happy to talk about your glass
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- and I'm just sorry you're not here to be with us.- Yes.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Thank you very much.- Thank you. He would have loved to have met you.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51Many years ago, I bought a wonderful bowl and sold it,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54made of serpentine, and I thought I'd collect it.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57But I found it so hard to do that
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and find the good pieces. And now I know why,
0:13:00 > 0:13:01cos you've got them all!
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- Not quite!- I mean, these are fabulous examples
0:13:07 > 0:13:09of Serpentine carving.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13- Thank you.- Have you been collecting, were you bequeathed them?
0:13:13 > 0:13:17No, I spent the first 58 years of my life at the Lizard,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20which is where all this stone comes from.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22The most southern tip of Cornwall.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Being associated with the Lizard,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I started about 40 years ago collecting.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31First of all buying odd bits and pieces from the local turners
0:13:31 > 0:13:35and then auctions, junk shops, so on and so forth.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37- So, how many pieces do you have? - About 180.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38No!
0:13:38 > 0:13:40That's extraordinary.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Well, you know that obviously serpentine is the name
0:13:43 > 0:13:45for a group of minerals, don't you?
0:13:45 > 0:13:46And you get various serpentines
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and it's been used all over the world for about a thousand years,
0:13:50 > 0:13:51a couple of thousand years.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54The Aztecs loved serpentine, the very green stuff.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58The Indians use a translucent type of serpentine called bowenite,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02which they called false jade cos it looks a bit like jade.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06But it's funny that you've got this natural material here,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09so you can see how it carves and polishes up.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- That's right.- And this has got lizards on it.- That's right.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14- And it's from the Lizard. - And it's from the Lizard.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16- And there is a type of serpentine called lizardite.- There is.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18- Did you know that?- Yes, I did.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20And that's one of my favourite pieces here.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24And it's not uncommon, serpentine,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27you can find it readily.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But these pieces are amazing examples.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Those candlesticks are fantastic.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Which is your favourite piece?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- That one.- I love that little font.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- Little font. - Do you know where that was made?
0:14:40 > 0:14:44It's probably made at the factory at Poltesco.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46And do you know when?
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- Late-19th century? - Yeah, I would have thought that.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Most of these pieces are late-19th century.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54And, of course, this has a practical use, with the infant mortality,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58children dying and so on, so they were christened
0:14:58 > 0:15:01with actual serpentine fonts.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Yes, and that tazza, that bowl, the footed bowl over there,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06the size of it!
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Well, that's one of the reasons why I bought that,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10because you just cannot get that size now.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- The size of the material.- Yeah.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Do you know why it's called serpentine?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16I don't know why it's called serpentine.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Well, because a thousand years ago or so, they thought
0:15:20 > 0:15:23the surface of it looked like the surface of a serpent.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Let's get down to value here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30I think the most valuable piece here is probably the tazza,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- the footed bowl.- That's interesting.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Because of the size of the material and the quality of it.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37You see, all these pieces are perfect.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I would value that at, in auction, if two people wanted it,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43a good £500-£600.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Is that right?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Those candlesticks, I think, are magnificent.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53They really do make an impact and I'd value those at about the same.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57This beautiful little font,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59about the same again.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04So I think on this table we've got £2,000-£3,000.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10- Oh, dear...- But if you've got 170 pieces,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12that's something like...
0:16:12 > 0:16:15No, no, no, they're not all of this quality, I would hasten to add.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18It's still something like £10,000-£12,000,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20from what you've told me.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22LAUGHTER
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Is it really?! Don't tell my wife, will you, please?!
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Now, I'm used to filming
0:16:33 > 0:16:35and valuing dolls on the show
0:16:35 > 0:16:38but, I must admit, I've never filmed
0:16:38 > 0:16:41or seen a silver doll.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Tell me, where did you get it?
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Well, my dad was a butler
0:16:47 > 0:16:51for people called Sir John and Lady Tremayne
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and they lived in a place called Croan, a big house,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56which is near Weybridge.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02Lady Tremayne gave it to me when I was five as a toy to play with.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- Goodness. - And, of course, I've broken...
0:17:05 > 0:17:06Oh, you did the breaking, did you?
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- Yes.- Naughty girl!
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I think I must have, you know,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15but it's been in the cupboard and I don't know what it is, Bunny.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16Well, I'm very glad you brought it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- I don't know.- Now, she or he... Do you think it's a she or a he?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- Well, I would say she, of course. - She, OK.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Well, she should have a companion.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31- Oh.- Because she's not really just a doll.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- Oh.- She is a pepper.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37- Oh, she's pepper!- Pepper.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40So she should have a salt.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42What did you think it was, snuff?
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Just thought years and years ago
0:17:44 > 0:17:46when people used to write with quills,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49they used to have something on their desk, like sand or something,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51to dry it, didn't they?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Oh, that's a very good idea. So it's extraordinary,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58but it's so unusual because it's articulated and, I mean,
0:17:58 > 0:17:59so you can play with it.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02She's got wonderful articulated legs,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and the thigh, and the knee,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07which is so unusual. It's a lot of work in there.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10The head is not made of silver.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12- No.- It's made of porcelain,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15so basically the head screws onto the body.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20- Yes.- It was made, almost definitely, by Sampson and Mordan,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23who worked in Birmingham and in London.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Sampson and Mordan made propelling pencils, all sorts of things,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29but novelty things. They're very proud of themselves,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34cos they put the silver mark all over one arm, all over the back,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and on the back it says, "Percy Edwards".
0:18:37 > 0:18:39That is the retailer in Piccadilly,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42so they were the shop that sold these novelties,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45made by Sampson and Mordan.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- Right.- They started in 1883 in Piccadilly,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51so we're talking about...
0:18:51 > 0:18:54probably about 1890 for this.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56- Oh, right. - So it's quite old, isn't it?
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- Yeah, yeah.- Isn't she?- Yes, she.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Anyway, have you any idea what she's worth?
0:19:02 > 0:19:04I'm not really worried what she's worth,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- I just wanted to know what she was. - You're not worried?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- The trouble is, I've got to give you an idea.- Oh, have you?- Yes.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Right, I would say...
0:19:12 > 0:19:14..£100, perhaps.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17Two?
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Three?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23No, no, no, no.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24Even with the damage.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Even with the damage!
0:19:27 > 0:19:28800.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30Oh, my gosh.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34No! 800?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39- Oh, my gosh.- You'd better go and look for the salt, hadn't you?
0:19:39 > 0:19:41- I've gone all hot! - LAUGHTER
0:19:47 > 0:19:50So, you've brought me this rather intriguing figure of Churchill.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It was actually in a lake, and the level of the water had gone down,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and just his head was poking above the water.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01So it was a question of going in, not far, and retrieving it.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Well, it's signed F Belsky,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07who was the artist Franta Belsky,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1921.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15He actually fled to Britain when the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16He had kind of rather a sad life.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Most of his family had died in the Holocaust.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24To all intents and purposes, it looks like it's bronze,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26but it's actually a resin maquette.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Bronzes would have been cast with this,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and he did a number of different bronzes of Churchill,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33both whole figures and busts,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36but obviously, this being the resin maquette, it's the original.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40I would have thought it might make 1,000-1,500 if it came up for sale.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Really? Crikey.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- So what's your gut instinct? - That it's a knock-off.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- OK, wrong.- Oh.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53The hieroglyphics on it all look right.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56I think it's about 1500 BC.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- That's pretty odd. - Pretty old, isn't it?
0:21:00 > 0:21:01What about this?
0:21:03 > 0:21:04Yes, my brother hardly even noticed
0:21:04 > 0:21:06it had been broken and glued back together.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I think this is broken,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I don't think it's an accident.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- Really?- On the better pieces, what you'd do, you'd break into a tomb,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15a tomb robber...
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Because obviously a lot of the tombs were cursed,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19it was a way of protecting them,
0:21:19 > 0:21:20to release the spirit
0:21:20 > 0:21:21they would snap it
0:21:21 > 0:21:23and then re-glue it.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26That released the spirit, which meant you weren't cursed.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27I never heard of that.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I think at auction, £1,500-ish.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Really? That is a surprise.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Now, how many people have got a little sketch
0:21:42 > 0:21:46done by their kids on their fridge at home?
0:21:46 > 0:21:48This looks fresh and new,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52as if one of your two boys could have sketched it yesterday.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56But there's a little giveaway, which is the date here, 1874.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02And it's a tale, really, that this gets us into, of two families.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04There's one family,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06the family that was responsible for the sketch
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and then there's the Durrant family, which is what all this is about.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Now, who is Captain Durrant?
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Captain Durrant, he was my grandfather's great-uncle.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21He eventually became Admiral Durrant
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and he was Commander of the Royal Yacht Osborne
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and also he was Governor to Prince George and Prince Edward.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31We have some of the memorabilia that I've been aware of,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34but only recently, within the last couple of years,
0:22:34 > 0:22:35when unfortunately my dad died,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38that we found some of these extra little bits and pieces,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40that have obviously really interested us in the family.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43We're not actually talking about Edward VII
0:22:43 > 0:22:45or the child of Queen Victoria
0:22:45 > 0:22:47that went on to be Edward VII,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51we are talking about Edward VII's children.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54We're talking about Queen Victoria's grandchildren.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58- Yeah.- So, we've got here Prince Albert Victor,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Eddy as he was always known,
0:23:01 > 0:23:07and his brother, George, who went on to become George V.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Now, there was only a year's difference between them,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12- probably a bit like these two.- Very much like these two.- There we go.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15You should have christened them Albert and George really!
0:23:15 > 0:23:19It's dated 1874, so he was about 10 then.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21- How old are you?- I'm ten.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26You're ten, OK. So that's the sort of date that Eddy was drawing this.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29It's a picture, I think, of the Royal Yacht.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31There's the captain at the helm
0:23:31 > 0:23:33and turn it over
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and there's a fabulous picture of...
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Well, it looks like a soldier
0:23:39 > 0:23:40sticking his tongue out,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43- which I'm sure happened a lot. - LAUGHTER
0:23:43 > 0:23:45And along with all that,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49there's a lovely continuum of letters as they get older,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53but also a lovely letter here from Queen Victoria,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57a cable message, dated 1884, saying,
0:23:57 > 0:24:02"Delighted at good news of dear George passing his examination.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03"The Queen."
0:24:03 > 0:24:06They went on wonderful journeys...
0:24:06 > 0:24:10- Yes.- ..to visit, of course, all their aunts and uncles.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Western Europe was governed by Queen Victoria's children.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Nine children, she had.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- This is in Durrant's hand? - It is, yes, yes.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23"The Duke of Edinburgh arrived on board shortly after 11am
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"and the Tzar accompanied by the Tzarina the Duchess of Edinburgh
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"and all the grand Dukes came at a quarter to one,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30"and shortly after sat down to lunch."
0:24:30 > 0:24:33There we go. A party of around 40.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38So you can see he was part of this extraordinary world,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- governed by... - A very different world.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43It's a different world and it's a really collectable world.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46The little sketch, I would say,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49is going to be worth perhaps £1,500.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52The little letters,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56the young letters from the young princes, again I would say
0:24:56 > 0:24:59they'd probably be £1,500, maybe even £1,800...
0:24:59 > 0:25:00- Blimey.- ..for the two.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04The letter from Queen Victoria which everybody would probably go,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06"Ooh-ah, a letter from Queen Victoria!"
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- actually she was a great letter writer.- Yeah. Quite a few, then.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10There are quite a few around.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14So that's going to be in the sort of £300-£400 bracket.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16But putting it all together, I would have said,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19we're certainly talking about £5,000-£7,000.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- Wow!- And I know that there's more in your bag.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- Yeah. - So it is a remarkable collection
0:25:26 > 0:25:31and I think a great archive to hand on to your two boys.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Family history, we are immensely proud, all immensely proud.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36- Yes.- Brilliant. - Thank you ever so much.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38- All of that is brilliant. - Lovely, thank you.
0:25:42 > 0:25:48Eight medals here, which show a man who has served from the Boer War,
0:25:48 > 0:25:531899-1902, all the way through the First World War,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and then through the Second World War.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Now, that is an impressive row of medals.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- It is, isn't it? - And from a military perspective,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05that's really quite unusual. That's at least
0:26:05 > 0:26:0945 years' service and most of it on what we would call active service,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11so this man isn't just in a garrison,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13he's actually out there fighting.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Yeah.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18But these medals have a social story as well, don't they?
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- Yes.- Cos these medals belonged to someone in your family.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26- And who was that person? - He was my grandfather.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29John Jackson. He was a company quartermaster sergeant
0:26:29 > 0:26:31in the King's Rifle Corps.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36He was wounded during the defence of Ladysmith in the Boer War.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39When he left the Army in 1919,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44he found it hard to get work and he eventually ended up
0:26:44 > 0:26:46having to pawn his medals to raise a loan
0:26:46 > 0:26:49to buy clothes for his children.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52And, incredibly, you've still got the pawn ticket here.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57- Yes.- Dated the 30th of June 1924.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And he pawned them for 15 shillings.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- That's right.- That's about 75p... - Really?- ..in today's money.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Is that right? - Yeah. What happened then?
0:27:06 > 0:27:09He received a letter for the interest on the loan
0:27:09 > 0:27:13which he couldn't afford to pay, so he lost the medals.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17He kept the pawnbroker's ticket and the letter all his life,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19which I still have, of course.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21He was obviously very proud of these.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- Yes.- Because he had served in some amazing places.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I mean, the Boer War here with that defence of Ladysmith,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29where you say he was wounded.
0:27:29 > 0:27:321914-15 Star, British war medal, victory medal.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37But he has here the quite rare thing called the Delhi Durbar Medal...
0:27:37 > 0:27:39- Yes.- ..of 1911, for the coronation.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43So the big procession held in Delhi for the Emperor of India
0:27:43 > 0:27:45as King George V came to the throne.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And then he has his long service and good conduct,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52which for him in those days was 18 years' unblemished service.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Yes.- So he was very proud of these medals.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57He then went off and served in World War II.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58What did he do in World War II?
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Well, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1929.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07He put his age back ten years to enlist as a patrolman
0:28:07 > 0:28:09in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And that's the uniform that he's wearing in this picture here...
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- That's the uniform. - ..as an airman in World War II.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- Yes.- So, World War II finished.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Did he claim his medals?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22No, no, he didn't.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24No, he'd lost his others,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26so he didn't claim those two.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28And when did we get these two?
0:28:28 > 0:28:31My father, as next of kin, he claimed them in 1980.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It kindled an interest
0:28:33 > 0:28:35as to what had happened to the rest of his medals.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I hunted around antiques shops
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and with collectors and dealers and so on for years
0:28:41 > 0:28:46until I advertised in a medal finders service
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and an American collector responded.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51When I contacted him, he said he did own the medals
0:28:51 > 0:28:56and he was willing to sell them to me as I was the man's grandson.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58- Isn't that amazing? - It is amazing, yeah.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01- After, what, 75, 80 years...? - 75 years.
0:29:01 > 0:29:0575 years of them not being in the family, there they are,
0:29:05 > 0:29:06proudly displayed,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10as they should be. And they are a superb set.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14And an auction valuation for these in British money
0:29:14 > 0:29:15would be between £500 and £600.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17- Really? That much?- Yeah.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19- Definitely.- Really? I'm surprised.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It's a very lovely set of medals. Well done in finding them.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Thank you very much.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28This is absolutely gorgeous.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32- Where did you get it from?- I got it in an antiques shop in Oxford.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35- About four years ago. - You lucky person.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37I'm so jealous. It's so charming.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39- Obviously a little milking stool. - Yes.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42This to me, I've never seen this before,
0:29:42 > 0:29:44but I think almost certainly,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47- you would just tie that with a sash to your waist.- Oh, OK!
0:29:47 > 0:29:49I'm sure. That's why you've got these two little lugs
0:29:49 > 0:29:51and this shape here.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52But there's so much...
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Look at this. The colour here.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Look at that. Now, you know what that's from.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58That is patination.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01That is to me half the value of this piece of furniture.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05When she's been milking, she's got probably dirty, sticky hands,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08from the teats, you pick it up like that
0:30:08 > 0:30:11if you're right-handed and tie it to your body.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14- Ah!- And then you do that day after day.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16This is 1840, 1850.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Mid-19th century.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Elm top, and the sticks...
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Look at these. They're just sticks.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25From the hedgerow. Still got the bark on them.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Made by a local chap, probably for his daughter, the farmer's daughter,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32to go milking. It's a wonderful icon of 19th-century life.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And probably English. Did you pay a lot of money for it?
0:30:35 > 0:30:37It was on sale for £225
0:30:37 > 0:30:40and I managed to get it for 175.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Which is quite expensive, but it was worth it.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It is expensive for a little milking stool, isn't it?
0:30:45 > 0:30:46But I really wanted it, so...
0:30:46 > 0:30:50Well, if I tell you that is now worth £400 or £500...
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Ooh! Wow!
0:30:53 > 0:30:55I'm very, very jealous.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58Thank you, I'm delighted, because I really didn't think
0:30:58 > 0:30:59you'd be very interested in it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01I love it. I want to keep picking it up.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18This week's Enigma has to be, I think, one of our strangest yet.
0:31:18 > 0:31:19So perhaps it's no surprise
0:31:19 > 0:31:22that it's been brought along by Ronnie Archer-Morgan.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24You've been trawling the local museums
0:31:24 > 0:31:27and you've brought along this intriguing little thing.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29What could it be?
0:31:29 > 0:31:31I think it's an amazing object.
0:31:31 > 0:31:32It's so surreal.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34It's like conceptual art.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37It's from the Boscastle Witchcraft Museum.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Oh, it's the witchcraft museum, is it?
0:31:39 > 0:31:40Can I know what's inside it?
0:31:40 > 0:31:42I believe that's mercury.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44And what are these things here?
0:31:44 > 0:31:46They look like whelk shells.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49- They're shells, anyway. - Talk me through the options, then.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51What's my first option?
0:31:51 > 0:31:55Does it contain the spirit of a sailor lost at sea?
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Someone who has lost their husband at sea or a loved one at sea
0:32:00 > 0:32:03might go to a wise woman.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06The wise woman would say, "I'm going to put the soul,
0:32:06 > 0:32:11"the spirit of your loved one in a bottle to protect him."
0:32:11 > 0:32:14And then the person would take this home and keep it with them.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Yes, keep it with them to protect a loved one's soul.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20You've got another option, about the weather, haven't you, Ronnie?
0:32:20 > 0:32:22So explain that then.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Well, you would go to the wise woman again and you'd want something...
0:32:26 > 0:32:29- The wise woman plays a large part... - Well, it is a witchcraft museum.- OK.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34I mean, the wise woman is another name for someone who uses witchcraft
0:32:34 > 0:32:35to help people.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39So you'd go to the wise woman, you would say, I need something
0:32:39 > 0:32:41to tell me about the weather because when I go out to sea,
0:32:41 > 0:32:42I need to know what's going on.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44And she would say, take this little bottle
0:32:44 > 0:32:48and put it on your windowsill. And when something might happen,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50you'll know what the weather is going to be.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53The thing is, with wise women, and with witchcraft,
0:32:53 > 0:32:58the more that is explained about how it works,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- the less it's supposed to work. - The less magical it is.- Yes.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03- That's rather convenient for you right now.- Exactly.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Which is not going to help you.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09So, we've got the soul of a lost sailor,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11something that helps you tell the weather,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15- and what's the last option?- A sailor's friend.- A sailor's friend.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17So if you're bringing contraband up the estuaries,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20like this beautiful estuary here, at the dead of night,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24and you don't want to be stopped by the customs officers,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28you hang this over the side of your boat to make yourself invisible,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31so you believe, so that Customs can't see you.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34- A form of invisibility cloak. - Absolutely.- OK.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36What does everyone...? What do you think?
0:33:36 > 0:33:39- The weather.- It's nice. - It's nice!
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- Good answer.- The weather, cos the mercury rises.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45You think weather cos mercury rises.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47So, who thinks it could be the spirit of a lost sailor?
0:33:47 > 0:33:49- Anybody?- I think so, yeah.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50- You think it could be?- I do, yes.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52- Does that appeal to your sense of...?- Yes. Yes.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- Of romance and witchcraft. - Oh, yes.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57I mean, how long ago would something like this be used?
0:33:57 > 0:33:58It's about 100 years old.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Maybe the beginning of the 20th century.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I think it's got to be the weather.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Because it contains mercury.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06Yeah...
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Don't you think that's too obvious, though?
0:34:09 > 0:34:12- Yeah.- That's why I like it. I think that's why we like it.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15OK, do you know what, I'm going to not go with the majority view
0:34:15 > 0:34:17cos because this came from a witchcraft museum.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20So why would a barometer type object be in a witchcraft museum?
0:34:20 > 0:34:22So, let's go for...
0:34:22 > 0:34:24the spirit of a lost sailor.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- Yes.- That's what we're going for.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- Come on.- You're so...
0:34:30 > 0:34:32- Fickle.- Wrong.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Oh!
0:34:34 > 0:34:36- Is it the weather thing?- We had you.
0:34:38 > 0:34:39You were so on to it.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43So why have something like this than just a common-or-garden barometer?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45Well, maybe someone that believed in witchcraft
0:34:45 > 0:34:47didn't want a common-or-garden barometer,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50so the wise woman saw an opportunity to make some money.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Yeah. Well, you've worked your magic here, Ronnie.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56Well, it's the first time I've won with you.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58So...
0:34:58 > 0:35:01All the other ones I've done with you, you've won.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03And I've been very happy for you.
0:35:03 > 0:35:04- So be happy for me.- Well done.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Well done.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I mean, the quality of this is absolutely astounding.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16It's unbelievable. And if you turn it over,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18it gets even better.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22You've got this fabulous water dragon rising out of whirlpools
0:35:22 > 0:35:26and foam and waves and even the eyes, they're picked out,
0:35:26 > 0:35:28I think, in silver.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31When objects like this
0:35:31 > 0:35:33arrived in the West
0:35:33 > 0:35:37from Japan in the 1870s and 1880s, Western collectors were entranced.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40They were amazed. But where did you get it?
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Well, my great-grandfather went out to Japan in 1864.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48I think he'd had an argument with his father,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50who was part of Hunt and Fry's, the chocolate...
0:35:50 > 0:35:54- Oh, the chocolate makers. - So he went off to make his fortune,
0:35:54 > 0:35:59he became a dealer in tea and a tea exporter
0:35:59 > 0:36:03and eventually formed his own company in Japan.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05And before he retired,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09he collected a whole lot of bronzes and inro, netsukes,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12ad things which belonged to the family then.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- So, you have a whole collection of Japanese...?- No, unfortunately,
0:36:15 > 0:36:17the family was rather large and it split up.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- We have a few.- Well, this is a fabulous little piece.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23It's a very interesting time in Japanese history.
0:36:23 > 0:36:29You have the Meiji restoration, took over from the Shoguns.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34The Court moved from Edo, which is now Tokyo, back to Osaka.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36But this little box, I'm sure you know what it is,
0:36:36 > 0:36:39it's called an inro. It's made in lots of sections,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42which, they are very tightly fitted together, but they can come apart.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47And it was designed to hang from your belt and your robe
0:36:47 > 0:36:50and supported by this toggle, which is a netsuke.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53This netsuke, it's a flattened one,
0:36:53 > 0:36:58but it's also reticulated and they call it a ryusa netsuke.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02And there's also the gold lacquer made from the sap of trees -
0:37:02 > 0:37:05you've got a raised lacquer, called maki-e,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07and then we've got this gold sprinkling,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09which is nashiji lacquer.
0:37:09 > 0:37:10It's a fabulous technique.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13How they perfected it, I do not know.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15And they would have kept their medicines in it?
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Well, realistically...
0:37:17 > 0:37:21I think this was made for a Westerner.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23I don't think this was ever used.
0:37:23 > 0:37:24It's in fabulous condition.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27So many things were made in the Far East for Westerners,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30this was made for a wealthy Westerner.
0:37:30 > 0:37:31It was your grandfather, you said.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34- Great-grandfather. - Great-grandfather.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36- Well, he was obviously very successful.- Yes.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40Because he bought some of the best things
0:37:40 > 0:37:41that could be bought at the time.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44The value of something like this... It's slightly disappointing,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48they were worth more years ago, but I think, at auction today,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50it's in the region of £1,500.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Good heavens! I never realised that.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56- That's amazing.- I don't think it's that amazing, for the quality.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I mean, look at it. It is staggering.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05When you brought this clock to me,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08the first thing I noticed was the name Robert Philp on the dial.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10What do you know about it?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13It was my father's. He had it, virtually,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15as far as I can remember, all his life.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18And it never ran.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Ever.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22And after his death, I inherited it
0:38:22 > 0:38:26and I discovered in fact that it had a broken mainspring,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28which was the reason why it never ran.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33I had it fixed, but the restorer said at the time,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37this clock has hardly ever run through its life.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40How long the mainspring had been broken, I have no idea.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43But he said it's in almost pristine condition.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Well, that's one of the things that I particularly liked about it.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49In fact, probably the bit that I most like about this clock
0:38:49 > 0:38:52is not so much the dial, but the backplate.
0:38:52 > 0:38:53What I really like is the fact that
0:38:53 > 0:38:56the pendulum is the original pendulum.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59It's been cut off just here so the door can fit when it's snug.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02It looks a bit strange like that, but it's been done on purpose.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Right.- And the other thing that everybody will notice
0:39:05 > 0:39:07- about the backplate is that it's beautifully engraved.- Mm.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10And you've got this lovely scrolling foliage
0:39:10 > 0:39:12with the central urn issuing flowers and husks
0:39:12 > 0:39:13and all sorts of things going on.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16But actually, that isn't particularly unusual.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19This is a typical type of engraving
0:39:19 > 0:39:23for an English table clock of the third quarter of the 18th century,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26so we are talking about 1770-1780.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29So, as you pointed out, it hasn't been used very much.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33And you often find alterations to the pendulum and the escapement.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35But this one is exactly as it was made.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39In fact, this part here, which is the pulley for the alarm system -
0:39:39 > 0:39:41so it's got an alarm, which is slightly unusual -
0:39:41 > 0:39:43has the original engraving on there
0:39:43 > 0:39:47and as soon as you see the original engraving on the barrel cover there,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49you tend to realise there's very little been done to this.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Because often the alarms get pulled out by clockmakers
0:39:52 > 0:39:54in the 19th century because it's such a pain,
0:39:54 > 0:39:55- because they never work properly.- Right.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58I've always thought it slightly strange to have an alarm
0:39:58 > 0:40:00on a table clock. I mean, when are you going to need the alarm?
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Are you going to take this upstairs and have it in your bedroom?
0:40:03 > 0:40:04I suppose you could do. I mean,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07it's an enormous thing to carry upstairs every time, isn't it?
0:40:07 > 0:40:10It's strange. So, just turn it round.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12It's a very simple plain dial.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14Silvered brass.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16Ebonised fruit wood case.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Typical of its type.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23With a bell top, bracket feet, it's quintessentially typical.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26But Robert Philp was well known for his musical clocks.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Right.- And this is not one of them. I mean, were it to be that,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32we'd be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, perhaps.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34But he was capable of making clocks of that quality.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36This is one of his more simple clocks,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39but I like it because of the cleanliness of the movement,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43the originality, so let's put a value on it.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46I doubt it'll be a surprise to you, but at auction today,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50it's got to be worth between £3,000 and £4,000.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- Right. OK.- Which I suspect is where you thought.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56Yes, probably. Yes. I haven't really thought about its value.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58I've always just simply kept it.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- Well, thank you very much for bringing it in.- My pleasure.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Now, Stoke Mandeville Hospital is world famous
0:41:09 > 0:41:11for the work it's done on patients
0:41:11 > 0:41:14who've got spinal and other injuries.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17But what's your association with the hospital?
0:41:17 > 0:41:22My mother as a young lady became the medical photographer there in 1954.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26So a lot of her work was involved in taking the photos of
0:41:26 > 0:41:29the disabilities of people that had been maimed in accidents.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33- And who is this here?- This is my mum, Margaret Bennett.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38In 1955, she was there, they held the Stoke Mandeville games.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41- Right.- And so she took a lot of photographs for that.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44And any occasion that happened at the hospital,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48she put herself in the position of taking the photographs for it.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50And here we've got an aerial view of the hospital.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54- Yes.- And that was founded in, well, 1944...
0:41:54 > 0:41:58- Yeah.- By, I believe, a Dr Guttman.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00- Yes.- Who himself had a spinal injury.- That's right.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04- And he started, you know, this fantastic history...- Yes.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07- ..that's gone on to the present day. - Yeah.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10And here we start the Stoke Mandeville games. August 1955.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Eight years after the very first one.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16So, the Paralympic Games all started
0:42:16 > 0:42:19way back in the 1940s by Dr Guttman -
0:42:19 > 0:42:21there he is, at the prize-giving.
0:42:21 > 0:42:26And it's expanded into this major media and sporting event
0:42:26 > 0:42:29that we see today. Here are the games very early on...
0:42:29 > 0:42:32- Yes.- Netball, javelin throwing...
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Table tennis. And here is the very famous Roger Bannister.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39Yes. Yes, indeed.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42For the march-past, I believe.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44- And now today...- Yes.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48..it's the second most popular sporting event in the world.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52- Yes.- And 4,000 athletes,
0:42:52 > 0:42:54160-odd countries.
0:42:54 > 0:43:00- Yes.- And it is estimated at 1.5 billion TV viewers.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Oh, it's just become phenomenal, hasn't it?
0:43:02 > 0:43:08Since 2012, it's just become such a fantastic showcase
0:43:08 > 0:43:12for people with a can-do attitude.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15And what was interesting, in my mum and my father's case,
0:43:15 > 0:43:17my sister was born with a disability,
0:43:17 > 0:43:21so a lot of our life as children, and as my parents,
0:43:21 > 0:43:27was involved in promoting equality and searching for opportunities.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30So exciting to see an archive like this
0:43:30 > 0:43:32that obviously has never been published.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35And I think, you know, from a historical point of view,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38I'm sure that people would be interested to see.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39- All the history is here.- Yeah, yeah.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42And it's in fantastic condition and she was a great photographer.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44- Yes.- So, you've got all those elements.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Now we have to think about price.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48I mean, when you're thinking about the Olympic Games,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51everybody wants the gold medal.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55This is rarer in many ways, but it's not going to be as valuable.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59For the social history of it, you can't do better,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02in Paralympic terms. So I would have thought
0:44:02 > 0:44:04if you ever did decide to sell it,
0:44:04 > 0:44:09it would fetch certainly in excess of £1,500, maybe as much as £2,000.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12Wow! I had no idea it would be that sort of thing.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Gosh.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Do you know what this is and where it comes from?
0:44:21 > 0:44:24It's a gold box, that's about all I know about it.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28My sister found it in a car-boot sale in France.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32You're having me on.
0:44:32 > 0:44:33No, serious, yes.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36She picked this up in a box of bric-a-brac and...
0:44:36 > 0:44:38About 20-odd years ago, and it's just been sat at home,
0:44:38 > 0:44:40and when we were coming down to Cornwall,
0:44:40 > 0:44:42we said we were going to go to the Antiques Roadshow,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44she said, "Take it and see."
0:44:44 > 0:44:46- So here we are.- Right!
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Well, it's a snuffbox.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52It was made in France, in about 1785.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57It's got this delightful little cameo on the front here.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59We've got a dove
0:44:59 > 0:45:01sitting next to a flaming heart.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05And then another dove holding a ring above the heart.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09So I suggest this was probably made as a wedding present.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12- Oh, lovely. Romantic. - The condition is outstanding.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Absolutely stunning.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16If we open it up,
0:45:16 > 0:45:22we see it's got some marks right tucked in the corner down here.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Oh, yes.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27And the French actually marked things
0:45:27 > 0:45:29when they are in their constituent bits,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32before putting them together.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34So it ends up with the maker's mark being unreadable,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37and I can't actually tell you who made it.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41But this is, I have to tell you, a real collector's box.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Wow!
0:45:42 > 0:45:44- She'll be chuffed.- Yeah.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48And a collector would probably pay...
0:45:48 > 0:45:50£15,000.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Oh, wow!
0:45:52 > 0:45:54That's brilliant. Wow.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Not bad for a box of bric-a-brac.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59No. Gosh. She'll be well pleased.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02So, you're going to have a good visit back to your sister
0:46:02 > 0:46:05and tell her it's worth £5 and you'll buy it off her.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07- LAUGHTER - Wonderful.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10- Thank you. Lovely object. - Fantastic.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Well, Mr Sandon, you're a ceramics expert -
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I have a test for you. Do you know the name of this pattern?
0:46:20 > 0:46:21It doesn't look familiar.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Oh, it's Sandon, the family china! How wonderful.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Sandon Hall was close to the potteries,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30so a lot of factories call their patterns Sandon.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31And mostly, they are awful.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33But that's a really pretty one.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36You're trying to dig yourself out of a hole now. But anyway.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38- All yours. - Isn't that great?
0:46:38 > 0:46:41You can imagine having breakfast on that, sprinkling Worcester sauce...
0:46:41 > 0:46:43That'd be lovely.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51I discovered this under my front doorstep in my cottage.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56It was up like that, in the ground, all I could see was that.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59And as I picked it out, it came out like that.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01It's half a bottle of something.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04I would really like to know how old the bottle is,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07and more or less, what's in it.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Well, old bottles are not all that rare.
0:47:10 > 0:47:16But finding old bottles with their contents still in is pretty rare.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19And what was revolutionary about the cylindrical bottle
0:47:19 > 0:47:22is that by making it having straight sides,
0:47:22 > 0:47:26you could stack them, and secondly, you had a cork,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28and the act of keeping the cork moist
0:47:28 > 0:47:32kept it expanded, which prevented air from going in,
0:47:32 > 0:47:34which would spoil your wine
0:47:34 > 0:47:35and turn it to vinegar.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38This bottle dates from 1800,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42but the idea that it's still got its contents in,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46I want to find out if this worked as a concept.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50I know bottles have been found from 1650 by the Museum of London,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53where they have tested the wine and it has been found to be good.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59CROWD "OOH"S
0:47:59 > 0:48:01How brilliant!
0:48:01 > 0:48:04It's very brown.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17LAUGHTER
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Down it!
0:48:21 > 0:48:22Have a smell.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Oh, it's really rank, actually.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30- I'm not going to go...- Yeah.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34It doesn't taste bad, but...I think it's port.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38It's port or red wine, it's one or the other.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Or it's full of rusty old nails, and that's rust.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46You've been really good... You've been really game about this.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48Thank you very much indeed.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51What it proves, actually, that could be worse...
0:48:51 > 0:48:55It proves that not all corks worked all the time, I suspect.
0:48:55 > 0:48:56But at 200 years old...
0:48:56 > 0:48:59I wonder what we'd taste like when we're 200 years old.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Anyway, thanks very much.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04- No problem.- It's been great. Lovely. Thank you.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30The first thing I do when I see a really nice handbag
0:49:30 > 0:49:34is grab it. Tell me about it.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36Well, I organise,
0:49:36 > 0:49:39or am involved with organising, an annual fundraising event
0:49:39 > 0:49:41and this year I thought, for a change,
0:49:41 > 0:49:43we'll have a hats and handbags stall.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46So I put the call out to friends and family,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49and a friend of my mother's said that she had a couple of things
0:49:49 > 0:49:50that she would like to donate,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53one of them being "some old handbag with a light in it".
0:49:53 > 0:49:55And I didn't really know what she meant.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58And it wasn't until I saw it that I thought,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01"This is more than just an ordinary handbag."
0:50:01 > 0:50:04And there was no way I was going to put it on the stall
0:50:04 > 0:50:08with a £2.50 ticket on it. I wanted to find out a bit more about it.
0:50:08 > 0:50:14Well, it's brown and it's got this little diamond-shaped thing there.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16You know, not very inspiring so far.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19But then you open it up
0:50:19 > 0:50:21and, oh, my goodness.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Straeter, so Dutch.
0:50:24 > 0:50:261950s.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30And my goodness, have we gone downhill since then!
0:50:30 > 0:50:35Because look at this. It's got a light for your make-up...
0:50:35 > 0:50:39A light that shines down in your handbag, how clever is that?
0:50:39 > 0:50:43It's got somewhere for your lipstick, your perfume.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Not that we do it any more, but a little place for your cigarettes.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50And in 24-carat gold.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52Amazing.
0:50:52 > 0:50:53I mean, this is it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58You know, I think this is something that some handbag designer today
0:50:58 > 0:51:00could take a patent out on.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03- I think you're right. - Because, look, it's amazing.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06It's really well thought out.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08And amazingly, it was designed by a man.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- Oh, right! - So... I know!
0:51:11 > 0:51:13I know.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I mean, what can I say?
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Now, the bad news.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19- OK.- It's not leather.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22- Oh!- They were often in, you know,
0:51:22 > 0:51:26leathers and crocodile and various things, but this isn't.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28This is synthetic.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33Why would you put 24-carat gold in a non-leather bag?
0:51:33 > 0:51:35- Exactly.- But they have.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39But it's still, you know, a fantastic piece of design.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44And, you know, it's good vintage, vintage is in.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49- Mm-hm.- So I'm very glad you didn't put it on your stall.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51- So am I, now.- For £2.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56Because I think it's very, very easily
0:51:56 > 0:51:58£150, £200.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01OK. Thank you so much. Very much. That's fantastic.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07When I knew I was coming to Trelissick, which, as you can see,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10couldn't be much closer to the sea itself,
0:52:10 > 0:52:11I was hoping beyond hopes
0:52:11 > 0:52:15that I would find things that came with a great maritime history.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18And well, thank you very much,
0:52:18 > 0:52:20because certainly you have not let me down.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24So, we've got a life ring and a life belt
0:52:24 > 0:52:28- relating to the Flying Enterprise, the SS Flying Enterprise...- Yes.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31- ..on its way from Hamburg to New York.- Yes.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Heading out across the Atlantic, and then what happened?
0:52:34 > 0:52:37The story is that the Flying Enterprise in 1952
0:52:37 > 0:52:40sank about 40 miles south of the Lizard, really bad storm,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43and it's thought that she struck a rogue wave -
0:52:43 > 0:52:45or vice versa, the rogue wave struck her,
0:52:45 > 0:52:48raised her up and broke her back.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52Her framing was broken, there was a crack across the weather deck.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56And the cargo shifted and she was then listing in bad weather.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00And the captain, Captain Kirk Carlson, stayed aboard that vessel,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03refused to leave it, would not give up salvage of that vessel
0:53:03 > 0:53:06until that ship slipped below the waves.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10- I love this image here...- Can you just quickly identify who is who?
0:53:10 > 0:53:11Yes, certainly. On the right,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14wearing the cap, is Captain Dan Parker.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16He was the master of the salvage tug, the Turmoil.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18On the left, wearing the beret,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21that's the first mate of the Turmoil, Ken Dancy.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25He's the guy that jumped aboard to help Captain Carlson,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27who's seen pictured there in the centre.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31So it was in trouble, it sent out distress messages...
0:53:31 > 0:53:34- Yes.- And the tug came from not a million miles away, did it?
0:53:34 > 0:53:36The Turmoil was often berthed in Falmouth...
0:53:36 > 0:53:38- Just over there.- Just over here.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40We're looking right down the river Fal.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43And they would react to any maritime maydays
0:53:43 > 0:53:46and they would go out to bring the salvage back to port.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49So, on their way back, it slipped its tug...
0:53:49 > 0:53:51It slipped its line or...?
0:53:51 > 0:53:54They got a line on it, bad weather hit them again.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56The tow parted. Her back was broken
0:53:56 > 0:53:59and there was no way she was ever going to make it back to port.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02And it was at that stage that Dancy and Carlson realised
0:54:02 > 0:54:06that she had listed so far over that she was about to sink.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10They called the Turmoil alongside and Captain Carlson,
0:54:10 > 0:54:14wearing this life jacket, and Ken Dancy, carrying that life ring,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17ran along the now-horizontal funnel,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20jumped into the sea, and for about five to ten minutes,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23swam to the Turmoil and were then hauled aboard
0:54:23 > 0:54:26and fortunately given some rum and dry clothes,
0:54:26 > 0:54:27they were healthy and happy.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Carlson went back to New York, where he was...
0:54:30 > 0:54:34Although he was Danish, he was a resident in New York
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and he was given a ticker-tape parade welcome.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41This had become such an international media event.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Ken Dancy was honoured,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45as was the captain as well.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48But it was really the bravery of Carlson
0:54:48 > 0:54:51that captured the public imagination.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52There's also, you know,
0:54:52 > 0:54:56a conspiracy theory about, why was there so much interest in the cargo?
0:54:56 > 0:55:00I mean, it was meant to be pig iron and cocoa, or something like that.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02The conspiracy theory was that
0:55:02 > 0:55:05she was actually carrying, covertly, zirconium,
0:55:05 > 0:55:08which was going to be used to make nuclear fuel
0:55:08 > 0:55:11for the first American atomic submarine, the Nautilus.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15And in fact, the launch of the Nautilus was set back a year,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17coincidentally, from this disaster.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20So, these things were saved,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23and how do they relate to you and your family?
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Well, the man you can see here in this photograph
0:55:26 > 0:55:29is Jock Drennan, and he's my grandfather.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33He ran what was at the time the most famous maritime, mariner's pub
0:55:33 > 0:55:35in the world, the Chainlocker in Falmouth.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39Ken Dancy, the family friend that he was, brought both of these items in.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42He'd been given the life jacket by Captain Carlson.
0:55:42 > 0:55:43He brought them in to my grandad,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46my grandad had them cased and put them on the wall.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50After my grandfather died, his son Bob, my uncle Bob took over the pub.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Sadly, Bob died and then when his widow retired,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54she sold the pub and its contents.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58And I just happened, just by pure chance, to see these
0:55:58 > 0:56:02in a local auction room at St Day, a few miles down the road.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05And I couldn't stand to see them go completely out of the family,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09so I just had to go and buy them and bring them back in.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12I think you'll all agree that is an amazing story.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15And Hollywood couldn't have made a better one out of it.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16They are poignant items.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20The conspiracy theory sort of adds speculation to it all.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23But more than anything, his bravery, or their bravery,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26- I mean, that was truly amazing. - Definitely.
0:56:26 > 0:56:27So, what do we say?
0:56:27 > 0:56:29Difficult because they're unique,
0:56:29 > 0:56:33but certainly I would think, if you ever did decide to sell them,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36in an international saleroom, I would see them fetching
0:56:36 > 0:56:39certainly between £10,000 and £15,000.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41Wow!
0:56:41 > 0:56:43Seriously?
0:56:43 > 0:56:44Oh, I'm very serious.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48I'm amazed.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- Thank you very much indeed. - Thank you!
0:56:51 > 0:56:53APPLAUSE
0:56:59 > 0:57:01All day I've been watching the yachts
0:57:01 > 0:57:03coming and going in the estuary there
0:57:03 > 0:57:04and thinking about that shipwreck
0:57:04 > 0:57:07that Jon Baddeley was talking about, back in the early '50s.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Just as the waters closed over that ship,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12the years have folded over that story
0:57:12 > 0:57:14and it's been largely forgotten now.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16But that's the great thing about the Antiques Roadshow -
0:57:16 > 0:57:18we can bring these stories back to life.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21From Trelissick House and Gardens, until next time, bye-bye.