0:00:46 > 0:00:48Today we're in Kent,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51at one of the oldest medieval manor houses in the land.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Knights, sheriffs, courtiers, MPs
0:00:54 > 0:00:56have all been past owners of Ightham Mote
0:00:56 > 0:00:58over the last 700 years.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01And it's against this magical backdrop
0:01:01 > 0:01:04that we raise our Antiques Roadshow flag.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Nestled in a valley and encircled by its very own moat,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19this manor house evokes a fairy tale picture of England past,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21though some of it of the rather GRIMM variety.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Now, every fairy tale worth its salt has a tower.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Though, thankfully, I'm no damsel in distress.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Well, not yet, anyway.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Rather like Jack's beanstalk, this tower grew and grew.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39You see, the base and the door frame, that's early 14th century.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Windows on the first floor?
0:01:41 > 0:01:42Tudor.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45The window on the next floor is Elizabethan, and then the turret,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47well, that's from the Victorian era.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52And some of Ightham Mote's past owners
0:01:52 > 0:01:55could easily fit into a fairy tale of their own.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Like this beautifully dressed lady, Dame Dorothy Selby,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01who was renowned for her fine needlework.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05But, unlike Sleeping Beauty, when she accidentally pricked herself,
0:02:05 > 0:02:06she didn't fall asleep for 100 years.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Her wound became infected, and, rather grimly, she died,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13without a handsome prince coming to her rescue.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Others have tales of mixing with royalty.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Such as Sir Richard Clement, who was knighted by Henry VIII.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Sir Richard was at Anne Boleyn's coronation,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27and just a few years later, he served on the jury
0:02:27 > 0:02:29that condemned her to death for high treason.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33But this story does have a fairy tale ending.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35The last owner of Ightham Mote,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38an American called Charles Henry Robinson,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41donated the house to the National Trust back in 1985.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And they have saved its many layers of history
0:02:44 > 0:02:46for us and future generations to enjoy.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Now we just need a sprinkling of our own magic,
0:02:51 > 0:02:52which we can leave to our specialists
0:02:52 > 0:02:54on this week's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Now, I've been doing the Roadshow for just over ten years now,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and this is the one thing I've always wanted to see.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05I know you're going to think I'm weird,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07but why have you got them?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Well, my dad bought a box of junk at a boot fair, he paid a few pounds,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12and they were in the bottom of the box.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And what have you found out about them?
0:03:14 > 0:03:18We know that the... One plate is gold, the springs are gold,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and the pins that hold the teeth in are gold.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Mm-hmm. Now, you were pretty wealthy if you had a set of teeth like this.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Like you say, they are in gold,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and the rare thing about them is they are porcelain teeth.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33And the history of anything like this is fascinating,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35because with teeth, during the 18th century,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38the wealthy obviously had vast amounts of sugar,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and generally their teeth were rotten.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Their breath stank, and they would lose their teeth,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and they needed something to sort that out.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47And they tried... I mean, surgeons tried everything,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51from implanting teeth into chicken's heads to see if it would take,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and you would pull out your tooth if you were poor
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and sell it instantaneously, and they would try and implant it.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59None of that really worked.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03So, when they came up with a set of teeth like this,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05it was the obvious solution.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Now, these are made of porcelain on a gold background,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11but the earlier ones from the Napoleonic Wars,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13they actually went round, say after the Battle of Waterloo,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16picked up the teeth from all the bodies and corpses, pulled them out,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18and then sold them to make denture sets like this.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23So English people were going around with French teeth in their mouth.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24- LAUGHTER - Fantastic!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26So, when porcelain came in...
0:04:26 > 0:04:28This is why I love it. I know it is disgusting and horrible,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but it's a fascinating history.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Because here... I would say they were, sort of, 1845, 1855 in date.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- Did you get a date on them? - 1850 to 1860.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41OK, so around that sort of period, mid-19th century.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45They're still... The fact that they're porcelain, I love.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48They are, I'm not going to say any jokes like "rare as hens' teeth"
0:04:48 > 0:04:51or anything like that, but they are incredibly rare.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55And the fact that they're gold, the fact that they're porcelain...
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Er...
0:04:57 > 0:04:59£2,000 to £2,500.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Whoa.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03- Wow. - LAUGHTER
0:05:03 > 0:05:04I'm amazed!
0:05:06 > 0:05:09- Wow.- So this is a rare survivor,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11which is why I say I've been waiting ten years to see a set.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- OK.- Thank you very much. - No, you're welcome, thank you.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21On a grey old day like today,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24what a joy it is to see a picture like this.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27In fact, I almost want to jump into the sea here.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32A lovely summer's day on the coast, and it could be by only one artist,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35by the way the children have been painted in this impressionistic way,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37which is Dorothea Sharp.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Have you had this a long time?
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Well, we started off with an aunt who bought it originally,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and then it was passed to my parents,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49and then my parents passed it to me about 25 years ago.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Is it a picture you love?
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I thoroughly enjoy it.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56It sits facing me in the sitting room,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00the light on it, and it's just... The shades and the colour...
0:06:00 > 0:06:01A glorious summer's day.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Now, I have here the label from the back,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and I know quite a lot about dear old Dorothea.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09She used to paint... Well, she lived in London,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11and she came from quite a wealthy family,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and she did a sort of tour in the summer around Chichester, Cornwall,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17back to London. She also went abroad.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20And this one is painted in Saint-Malo,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23and it's the first time I've seen a picture by her in Saint-Malo.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24What I can say about Dorothea,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26she didn't have any children, she never married.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And I often find this with female painters rather than male painters -
0:06:30 > 0:06:33they can actually paint children better than men.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36They've got some affinity.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And these young girls, here, and the boys, it's just fantastic,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41and it's so sensitively done.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Now, you say your aunt bought it.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Looking at this label, I think she must have bought this in the 1920s.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52I know this because I think this is Dorothea Sharp's best period.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55You know, I love the picture, it's got everything going...
0:06:55 > 0:06:58This little girl dragging the teddy bear through the water.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I mean, it's all about youth.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03And it's just beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- And you love it? - I thoroughly enjoy it, yes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Well, I just see on here that we've got the price that was paid for it
0:07:12 > 0:07:18at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters - £35.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21So what is that today going to be worth?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Well, Dorothea Sharp really is back in fashion,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27and people love this sort of picture,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31cos it's impressionistic, it's loose, it's got a nice feel to it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37And I think, if this came up for auction,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39it would make somewhere in the region...
0:07:39 > 0:07:42of £25,000 to £35,000.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47That's very nice.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49I think the children will love that idea!
0:07:49 > 0:07:50LAUGHTER
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Well, I hope they hold on to it!
0:07:52 > 0:07:54- Yes!- I certainly would!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01One of the most wonderful things about the Antiques Roadshow
0:08:01 > 0:08:04is that you see things that you hope to find, and this is one of them.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06It's such an unusual piece.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Tell me, where did you get it from?
0:08:07 > 0:08:12I've inherited it from my godmother, about two years ago,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but I've known it for about 40 years.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18It's just great. I mean, we know what it does,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20but let me just show the front here.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24This wonderful embossed leather, sort of Japanese aesthetic style,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27that helps me date it, possibly 1880, 1890, something like that,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30late 19th century. A little matching stool,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32which is incredible to have that with it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33That really is a one-off.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And these wonderful brass rods here, which articulate.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37So let's just show everybody,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40cos we've cheated and we know what it does.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Open it up...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44But look at the inside, it's just fantastic.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46We can see now clearly, it's used as an easel,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48but it's actually a writing desk.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Do you use it at home?
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Yeah, I've just begun to use it, but we have it in the main living room,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56and it's normally closed,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and when people come in they often ask about it,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01and then I can open it up and reveal the inside.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03They want to see inside, OK.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05But just look at the inside.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- Firstly, have you identified the view?- No.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Because I've tried to in the few minutes I've had, but I can't.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Is it French, is it German?
0:09:12 > 0:09:13Probably not Swiss.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Someone, someone out there can probably identify that view for us,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19it would be very interesting. It looks like a print,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21but it's very beautifully done, obviously,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23I'm sure from a famous painting.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And all this lovely mahogany framework.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27So we've got stationery compartments,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31a little articulated thing there. This is for pens, I suppose.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- And anything in here?- Yes.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- Oh, look.- And the same the other side.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Oh, in here?
0:09:38 > 0:09:40So these are hunting, a saddle, and then this is a dog.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43That's rather fortuitous, look.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45A horseshoe, and I'm wearing a horseshoe tie.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47That's serendipity for you!
0:09:47 > 0:09:51What I love to see is... Imagine how it was used originally.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53You know, what context was it used in?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Was it used in a home, like you're now using it? As a revered piece?
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Was it used...
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Somehow, I think a hotel, perhaps?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Can you see it in the reception of a big grand hotel,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- somewhere on the lakes in Switzerland? The Alps?- Maybe.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I don't know. You can see it's been well-used.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09This is the original velvet,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and it's been used a lot, for many, many years.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14And this is an expensive piece of furniture to make.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17We'll probably never find out exactly who made it or how much,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19but it would have been expensive, certainly.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20So 1880s.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I think it's French.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24I was hesitating between French and German.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26The clock, or timepiece, because it doesn't strike,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28is a French-made timepiece.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32So let's say French, 1880s, in this wonderful mixture of styles,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35aesthetic style, Moorish, very eclectic,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37typical of the late 19th century.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40The stool is great, just to have that together.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41So, value.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Have you had it valued?- No.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Not at all? So you're going to have to leave me to do the valuation.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Very, very difficult, cps it's getting on for unique.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Nothing's ever unique, but...
0:10:53 > 0:10:55I doubt I'll ever see another one in my career.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57In a shop?
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Minimum of £4,000.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- That sounds good.- It's irrelevant, the value, isn't it?
0:11:02 > 0:11:04But what a great piece of furniture.
0:11:04 > 0:11:05I love it, thank you.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13I love the juxtaposition of this.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15I love the fact you've got ballroom dancing
0:11:15 > 0:11:17going on inside a television.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21For me, it just sums up retro and vintage.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Certainly in a shop, they'd ask for £350.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- A very nice thing to be given.- Yeah!
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Well, he hasn't given it to me, I've got to take it back to him!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35So this was kind of like the Woolies version of Lalique!
0:11:35 > 0:11:38So instead up being worth a thousand quid, it's worth 80.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40But it's jolly pretty, and if this were lying around,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43any of us would be pleased to nick it, wouldn't we?
0:11:43 > 0:11:44LAUGHTER
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Well, a wonderful cameo necklace, meticulous craftsmanship.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52But tell me about it with you.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Well, originally this came into my wife's possession in the '60s.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I'm not quite sure how she got hold of it.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And I know not a lot about it at all.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- And that's why you've brought it, of course.- Absolutely.- Absolutely.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Well, we can date it, fairly conveniently.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09It's from the very early 19th century, sort of 1820, 1840.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And, the jeweller's work is undoubtedly English,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16but the cameos probably come from the Mediterranean countries,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19perhaps even from Naples, the great centre for shell cameos.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23And people went there to enjoy classical antiquity.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25They went to Rome, to Naples,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and then bring it back to the cold and damp England,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30as a sort of souvenir.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And the recipient of this would have understood it on many levels.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35The first thing about a gift of jewellery
0:12:35 > 0:12:37is that it's often a gift of love,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39but the message is written plain here.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Every one of them is a reference to love,
0:12:41 > 0:12:42and it's sort of covert, in a way,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46but a lot of these images are famous ones, for obvious reasons.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49This is called The Sale of Cupids, here,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and Venus is offering cupids that have been in a chicken cage.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55And, because they're winged, they're being allowed to fly out,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57and are offered to these ladies here.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59And here we see Mars and Venus,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and Mars, the God of War, is offering Venus -
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and she certainly looks the part, as goddess of love -
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and he's offering her Cupid, flying through the air.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10And even the shell itself is a reference to this,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12because Venus was born of the shell,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and so the fact that these are shell cameos
0:13:15 > 0:13:18underwrites this covert message.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21There's a lot of gods and goddesses here to unscramble.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24They're all neoclassical, some are based on Roman frescoes,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26some on Roman sculpture.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And so it really is a letter home from Rome,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31a letter home from Naples, if you like,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33to be unscrambled by this owner.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It's a very, very good thing.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36I am thrilled to see it.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38And I think it's very wearable, isn't it?
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Does your daughter wear it a bit?
0:13:39 > 0:13:41She may do after this!
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Yeah, I think she will! I wouldn't blame her if she did.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48But anyway, it's a very subtle, very fragile, very beautiful,
0:13:48 > 0:13:53very poignant object, and a poetic object in every sense of the word.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55And of course, a very desirable one,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58so you'll be jolly lucky to find it again for...
0:13:58 > 0:13:59£2,000.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Thank you very much, that's surprising.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Thank you.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I actually hate hearing the sound of my own voice,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16but you've got quite an interesting story relating to that,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and this rather blonde lady.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Yeah, Barbie doll, and she actually talks with my voice.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23She talks with your voice.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25My 18-year-old voice.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28So you are, effectively, Barbie?
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Um, I'm the voice of Barbie, she's the doll.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Tell me more, tell me how this came about.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37OK, right. So, I'd just finished at drama school, 1968,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39agent says to me, "Got something for you,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41"go in onto Greek Street Recording Studio."
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Recorded, I don't know, about 15 different sentences.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Forget about it until 1969, I was with Mum in Harrods...
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Hang on, hang on. Forget about it?
0:14:50 > 0:14:53You recorded the voice of Barbie, and you forgot about it?!
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Yeah. I didn't know. I thought it was just a doll!
0:14:56 > 0:14:59So when I saw her in Harrods, I said, "It can't be,"
0:14:59 > 0:15:00but it's a talking doll.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02If I hadn't have been in Harrods, I don't know,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06I probably would never have even thought about it.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08But when I saw it, my goodness me!
0:15:08 > 0:15:09I was excited.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13So pulling the flower-shaped ring on the back pulls out a cord,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16which operates a little spinning disk which is on an elastic band,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and that plays one of six different sayings, doesn't it?
0:15:18 > 0:15:22She said, "I have a date tonight," "Let's do some shopping,"
0:15:22 > 0:15:25"How shall I wear my hair?" "Let's play some records,"
0:15:25 > 0:15:27"What's playing at the cinema?"
0:15:27 > 0:15:29'Let's play some records.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Let's play some records.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I was given a doll in 1970, it was sent to my mother,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and she didn't mean anything to me very much,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and she just got lost in time.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43When it was Barbie's 40th birthday,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I thought, "No, I want my doll back!"
0:15:46 > 0:15:50And thank goodness that I actually managed to source another doll,
0:15:50 > 0:15:51and that she was still talking.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52So you bought a doll.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54For the 40th anniversary of Barbie,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57you bought your doll that you'd had as a child and been the voice of.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00And then she really meant something to me, and she still does.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Well, value-wise, she's in great condition,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04and that's what collectors are looking for.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Incidentally, did you know that
0:16:05 > 0:16:07she was the first Barbie with individual fingers?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Individual fingers, really?
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And what's great about her as well is her hair's in great condition.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Collectors really look out for that.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15And also, her limbs are intact,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17which sounds like an odd thing to say,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19but her arms and legs were often prone to falling off.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22So she's in great condition, original clothes.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Now, you bought her from a collector,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26so I'm guessing you'd have paid a sensible price.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I honestly can't remember, it wouldn't have been a lot of money.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Well, they're worth somewhere between £30 and £70,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33unboxed in original condition.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Sometimes they can go a little bit more,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and if you've got the box
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and the original packaging in great condition, too,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42you're looking at somewhere around maybe up to £300, £350 or so.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45- But in that condition, she's your doll.- Yeah.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47And, of course, that's what you remember.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51She's got to stay in the family, she's got to.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Well, thank you very much.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55- Thank you.- It is not often that you get to talk to Barbie!
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Thank you.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02So, as the Second World War in the Far East came to an end,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06those prisoners of the Japanese who had been in the jungle or in camps,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11in Hong Kong and other places, suddenly their world changed -
0:17:11 > 0:17:14the guards started to disappear.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Something had happened.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Now, these items here belong to...?
0:17:18 > 0:17:20My father-in-law, George King.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And he was in one of those camps?
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- Yep, he was.- Which camp was he in?
0:17:24 > 0:17:25That, I don't know.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29He was stationed out in Hong Kong
0:17:29 > 0:17:31and he was captured on Christmas Day,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33and he used to hate Christmas Day -
0:17:33 > 0:17:36it was a struggle, always, to get through.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37And he was held, I believe,
0:17:37 > 0:17:43in the hold of a ship for a couple of years, until it was torpedoed,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45and he was one of the very few survivors
0:17:45 > 0:17:48of that ship being torpedoed.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53Then he was moved to a camp where he was living
0:17:53 > 0:17:58in the roof of a building, it was used for storage underneath,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00where you couldn't stand up.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05And these things on the table are the things that he brought home?
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Yeah, I think the billycan and the food ones, they...
0:18:09 > 0:18:12At the end of the war, as they were repatriated,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14they met up with other prisoners of war,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and they formed strong friendships, and they swapped items.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20These few possessions that he has,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23actually, are an American water bottle,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25it's an American mess tin
0:18:25 > 0:18:29and it's an American knife, fork and spoon set.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32So I don't think he would have necessarily had them in the camp,
0:18:32 > 0:18:37but as he was being repatriated and he had nothing,
0:18:37 > 0:18:42those American servicemen who were liberating him, suddenly thought,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44"Mac, you need this more than I do."
0:18:44 > 0:18:48And they gave away their own possessions to him,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and probably all the others that they were picking up,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52so that they actually had something to eat with
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- and something to keep water in. - Oh, right.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I always imagined that there would have been a POW,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00sort of in the camp,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03sort of scratching and etching these things out.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06No, I think what you're looking at
0:19:06 > 0:19:10is very personal items of American marines and soldiers.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13I mean, the water bottle is a First World War water bottle.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Oh, right!- So that's been carried for a very long time by someone,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20and they gave that away to someone much more in need than them,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23in just a compassionate moment, I think.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25And what is this little bag thing?
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Well, at the end of the war,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30they would never have known that the war had ended.
0:19:30 > 0:19:37And the American aircraft carriers out at sea in Asia
0:19:37 > 0:19:41produced these Sea View... Like a newspaper,
0:19:41 > 0:19:46which they put in the canvas bags and dropped into the POW camps,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49to let the POWs know that the war had ended...
0:19:49 > 0:19:51- And this is the original. - ..and what they should do.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55- And this is the original... - That's one of the original papers.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58It's dated Monday the 3rd of September 1945.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00And I suppose the paragraph
0:20:00 > 0:20:04that would have set their hearts trembling
0:20:04 > 0:20:05would have been this one here that says,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08"The dramatic ceremonies aboard the giant battleship Missouri
0:20:08 > 0:20:12"reached a climax when representatives of Emperor Hirohito,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14"the Japanese government and Imperial headquarters,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17"signed the capitulation document."
0:20:17 > 0:20:20The war's over. That's the piece of paper that says,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23after all those years, actually, you're going home.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Would have been hard to believe.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Isn't it just?
0:20:27 > 0:20:32It's an incredibly fragile piece of paper, still in its airdrop bag.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Mm-hm.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39One of the odd things about this, I suppose, is that, um...
0:20:39 > 0:20:44my dad was in Burma in the Royal Air Force, and when the war ended,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46he and his crew dropped these bags...
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- Really?- ..into the camps in the jungles.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50So when I saw this today, I had to do this one.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52- So you knew about it? - I knew about these ones.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Isn't it fantastic? I've never seen one.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57But dear old Dad did tell me about them, and here I am holding one.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00What that meant to them, when that landed in the camp,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03is much more than any price can ever put on it.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06But, I don't know, I suppose if we did see it
0:21:06 > 0:21:08on a marketplace...
0:21:10 > 0:21:15..humble spoons and a tatty piece of newspaper,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I think we'd have to be looking at somewhere in the region of...
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- £800 to £1,000.- You're kidding!
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- No.- Good grief.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29- Incredible.- It's such a rare survivor from the Japanese camps,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32it's such a rare survivor from that part of the war,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34because they had nothing.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39George Frampton, Madonna of the Peach Tree bust,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41it's absolutely beautiful.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43He's one of my favourite sculptors.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Is this something you bought?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Well, my mother died recently, so we've inherited it from her.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Oh, wow.- She inherited it from her mother's cousin,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54a very wealthy lady who lived in Jersey.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56My mother picked it out
0:21:56 > 0:21:58as the one item she would really like to bring back,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00because she thought it looked like my daughter.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03I'm not surprised she picked this out, it's gorgeous.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- She chose well.- So do you know where it came from before that?
0:22:06 > 0:22:12Yes, the lady in Jersey is called Kay Monks-Hooper,
0:22:12 > 0:22:17and she was the daughter of a guy called Horatio Nelson Collingwood.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- Oh, Collingwood.- Who was a descendant of Admiral Collingwood.
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Nelson's right-hand man?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Absolutely, yes. We assume that he bought it from George Frampton.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- The dates work.- That Collingwood bought it from...?- Yeah.- Wow.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- So you've got the provenance right back to Frampton.- Yeah.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I think this one, the Madonna of the Peach Tree,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37is from a story by Maurice Hewlett.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41It's about an Italian maiden, who was wrongfully accused of something,
0:22:41 > 0:22:42and she escaped from the village...
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Having an illegitimate child, or something, yes.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46And when she appealed to the shepherds for help,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49they thought she was the Virgin Mary, and then...
0:22:49 > 0:22:50It's a fantastic story.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I know, yeah. Because they found her so beautiful,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and she is so beautiful.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59I'll tell you why Frampton's one of my favourite sculptors.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02He's the first sculptor that inspired me to want to sculpt.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06When I was seven, I used to walk through Kensington Gardens
0:23:06 > 0:23:07and gaze at his Peter Pan.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09You must know Peter Pan,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11standing on a mound with animals coming out.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13- We do indeed.- Rabbits and hedgehogs,
0:23:13 > 0:23:18and all the fauna and flora from the British countryside.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21And I used to be amazed by that sculpture.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25And I think he studied at the Royal Academy, he went to Paris,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28he came back, I think he taught at the Slade.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I think this was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1910.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37But it's got this very distinctive monogram here, "GF 1915".
0:23:37 > 0:23:43But on the back, it's got "Geo Frampton 1910".
0:23:43 > 0:23:48So it's slightly confusing whether this was a 1910 or 1915 edition,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51because it's got both on there. I don't know which came first.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Could it have been signed again when Collingwood bought it?
0:23:54 > 0:23:55That's possible. It's one or the other.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58It's a beautiful thing, and I think this sculpture,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00depending on the date...
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Now, if it's the 1915 date,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05if we can establish that, as a later piece,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08it's probably £8,000 to £12,000.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- OK.- But if this is the 1910 edition,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I think it's now £15,000 to £20,000.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15That would be wonderful!
0:24:18 > 0:24:21- Wow.- I mean, this is a first-class piece of British sculpture.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- It's lovely, isn't it? - I mean, it is divine.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25I mean, you must all love it.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26- CROWD:- Mm.- It's beautiful.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28What's not to love?
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Many years ago, I went to India for a day.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Crazy! In fact, I was on the way to somewhere else.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And I wanted a day in Delhi because I wanted to see New Delhi
0:24:41 > 0:24:45because I'm very keen on architecture of that period.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49So I saw it, and I know what I'm looking at here in this drawing.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52The great work of Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Wonderfully diverse architect.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Very good in what you might call imperial architecture.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59India House, Bank of England.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- South Africa House.- Exactly.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02- And so it goes on.- Yeah.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05He and Lutyens were both principal architects
0:25:05 > 0:25:07for the Imperial War Graves Commission.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Here is someone who's really shaped the modern world.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I know what I'm looking at. Where do you fit in?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Well, Sir Herbert Baker, the architect,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18is my great-great-grandfather-in-law.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Right. So you are the family.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- Yes. Yes, we are. - This is a wonderful connection.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So tell me what you know about this?
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Well, um, this is made as a mock.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29It was commissioned by Sir Herbert Baker,
0:25:29 > 0:25:35to sell the concepts to the Viceroy and to the Government of India,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37to have this built.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- This is one of three debating chambers.- Yeah.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44I think this is the Lok Sabha, which is the people's debating chamber.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46- Within the parliament? - Yes. That's right.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I mean, let us think, what is New Delhi?
0:25:48 > 0:25:54In 1912, Lutyens and Baker began to work
0:25:54 > 0:25:58on the building of what is, in a sense, a new city.
0:25:58 > 0:26:04But it was actually a new government structure for the whole of India.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06- Yes.- It was an imperial palace in every sense.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08The Viceroy would live there.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10It was the Parliament.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14This was, in a sense, the commission that launched Lutyens' career
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and, to some extent, Herbert Baker's career.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20They were both well known but they'd done nothing on this scale.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22So what we're looking at is a drawing,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24not by Baker, who's down there,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27but by Hepworth - quite a well-known architectural draughtsman.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- An architect's drawing is actually quite hard to read.- Yes.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33But this is a wonderful visualisation.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It's free, it's lively, it's a great image.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38You can see the Viceroy sitting down, thinking,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42- "Oh, yeah, it'll look like that. I see what you mean."- Yeah.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45The great thing to me is that Baker was very, very good
0:26:45 > 0:26:48at picking up what I would call local style.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- This is very Indian, isn't it? - Yes. Yes, it is.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- Without being a parody or travesty. - Yeah.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And I think this is... You know, he was very responsive to...
0:26:56 > 0:26:58to that local culture.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59You obviously never knew him,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- but what did you hear about him in the family?- Oh, lots.- Tell us.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07Well, every year, my father-in-law still organises a Baker Day,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09where we go as a whole family
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and visit one of the sites where he designed.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14So it's wonderful that the family still reveres
0:27:14 > 0:27:16the memory of somebody who was a great architect.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18- Yes. Yes.- Well, I think it's a fantastic drawing.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20It takes us, as I say, wonderfully
0:27:20 > 0:27:24into that sense of imperial splendour.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26We were a confident nation.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28We were building these great documents,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- and statements to our power around the world.- Yes.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34And it's so lively, it's so full of detail.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36It looks very good in daylight.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38We keep it dark, obviously.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40- Quite right. - Because it's a watercolour.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43When they brought it out here on the lawn, this sort of electric blue,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45- it's extraordinary. - It is extraordinary.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49In a sense, this is Baker's vision made real
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- by a very clever architectural draughtsman.- Yes.
0:27:52 > 0:27:53So what are we looking at?
0:27:53 > 0:27:56We're looking at a great drawing, a great bit of British history.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01It has a value, and a significant one, because of all those points.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05And so I'm going to say, if this came on the market,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09it must be between 3,000 or 5,000,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14simply because of its importance and its decorative quality.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17This could well go, if it was ever sold,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20could actually go back to India and be put into the building.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Wow.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24- But it goes back to your wall. - Yes, yes, it does.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Lucky you.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35But what a stunning fan!
0:28:35 > 0:28:38- What's the history? - I don't know the history of it.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I bought it in a market in Birmingham
0:28:40 > 0:28:43at seven o'clock in the morning for £8.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45The man in front of me put it down.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48He looked at it, shook his head, and said, "No," and put it down,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50and I picked it up and bought it for £8.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Well, thank goodness he did. Do you know anything about it, then?
0:28:53 > 0:28:54Well, I assume it's Chinese.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56No, you're absolutely right.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01What we've got is a stunning example of Chinese filigree work,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04combined with these wonderful enamels.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Each of these panels will represent something.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12So we've got all of that marvellous enamel work, gilding.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15That might even be a little plate of gold added at that point.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19So it's going to be somebody very high in Chinese society.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22You so rarely see things of this quality.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27- The Chinese market, of course, today, is hot.- Yes.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29And it's hot for this sort of piece.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33It has to be very Chinese, and this couldn't be more.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Dating, tricky. Um...
0:29:36 > 0:29:40I would have thought probably 18th century.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45- You paid £8 for it.- I did.- OK. I think, er, you reasonably could
0:29:45 > 0:29:47multiply that by a thousand.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50- Ooh! - LAUGHTER
0:29:50 > 0:29:52- Really?- Really!
0:29:52 > 0:29:54I'm staggered.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Really?
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Yes, 6,000 to 8,000.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Good heavens!
0:30:01 > 0:30:03I am... I'm speechless. Really speechless.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Wonderful!
0:30:18 > 0:30:20It's time for this week's Enigma Challenge.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23This week, it's Hilary Kay's turn to scour a local museum
0:30:23 > 0:30:24and bring along a mystery object,
0:30:24 > 0:30:29and supply us with three suggestions as to what it was used for.
0:30:29 > 0:30:30What's the first suggestion, Hilary?
0:30:30 > 0:30:33What you're looking at is a tongue clamp.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36Ow! That sounds very painful.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39It does. Dating from the latter part of the 19th century,
0:30:39 > 0:30:45and used in the diagnosis and the spotting of diphtheria, which is...
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Its first signs are a swelling in the neck and throat,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52which can then lead to suffocation. So it was very important
0:30:52 > 0:30:54to be able to get the tongue right out of the way.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59So you could get a clear view right down the back of the throat.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02So do that rather than just press the tongue down with something?
0:31:02 > 0:31:05- Exactly. Because you don't get a clear view, perhaps.- OK.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Perhaps.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08What do we think of that so far?
0:31:08 > 0:31:10- CROWD:- Mm.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- OK.- I'll try you with another then. OK.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Number two is it's a skirt-lifter.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20LAUGHTER Why would you need a skirt-lifter?
0:31:20 > 0:31:22- All right. Picture the scene. - I'm trying not to, but...
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It's raining - you have a long skirt.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32There is no little crossing sweeper to come and clear your path.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35You don't want to get the hem of your dress dirty.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38You clamp that onto it and then you pull it up,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- to keep it out of the way of the mud.- OK.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47Thirdly... It is part of an end-of-pier amusement machine.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Now, when I was a kid, I used to love something called the crane.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53Do you know what I mean by the crane?
0:31:53 > 0:31:56OK, so it-it has this arm.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00You've got a sort of window full of prizes.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02And it comes along and it grabs one of them.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05- You've got a sort of joystick. - Or lets it drop most of the time.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09The really expensive ones, the ones you really want, always drop out.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12This is a terribly fancy crane.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14I presume this is silver.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17It's silver-coloured, I think, is the best description.
0:32:17 > 0:32:18Right.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Do you know, I was assuming that the last definition, if you like,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24would be the most plausible cos I haven't bought the first two.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26But that's the least plausible of all.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29So what do we think, then?
0:32:29 > 0:32:33So, the only thing about a tongue clamp, hideous as that sounds,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36is surely to be able to see down the throat,
0:32:36 > 0:32:38you just need to put something on the tongue
0:32:38 > 0:32:41- to flatten the tongue. Don't we think?- It does sound sensible.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44- A skirt-lifter. - You think it's a skirt-lifter.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46The only thing about the skirt-lifter,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49is if you've got a long skirt on, you have to bend all the way down...
0:32:50 > 0:32:53..with these little, short handles, to lift it up.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56And then, unless you're going to lift it up to your knicks...
0:32:56 > 0:32:59You know, you'd have to walk around like that.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It's a dilemma.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07And then there's the very fancy amusement arcade crane.
0:33:07 > 0:33:08Which you dismissed.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10I just think they all sound ludicrous.
0:33:10 > 0:33:11Good!
0:33:11 > 0:33:15OK, show of hands for the first one - the tongue clamp.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19Show of hands for the skirt-lifter.
0:33:20 > 0:33:21I think that's more.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Show of hands for the amusement arcade thing.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25OK, we're forgetting that.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29With a heavy heart, cos I don't believe that, the skirt-lifter.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Is it the skirt-lifter, Hilary?
0:33:32 > 0:33:33I can now...
0:33:33 > 0:33:34It's true.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36It's a skirt-lifter?! CHEERING
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Really?
0:33:38 > 0:33:40- It's a skirt-lifter. - It seems so impractical.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Look! The thing is, we've been a bit naughty.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Oh? Have you hidden a really crucial part?
0:33:48 > 0:33:50It does have a bit of a cord.
0:33:50 > 0:33:51It's not the original cord.
0:33:51 > 0:33:52Oh, I see!
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Ah! Now it makes sense.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57So were we too naughty?
0:33:57 > 0:33:58So you would lift your skirt up
0:33:58 > 0:34:01but then you could hold it up with the cord.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02I see - ah, no, that does make sense.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05I so wanted you to have a tongue twister.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09We could demonstrate it, get deep into it.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11No, congratulations! Well done to you.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13I've got to tell you, I had no idea.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15And that's all thanks to you. So thank you very much.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Hilary, with your skirt-lifter...
0:34:18 > 0:34:19LAUGHTER
0:34:19 > 0:34:23Not something I ever thought I'd say in the same sentence. Well done!
0:34:44 > 0:34:46So, you were a 12-year-old
0:34:46 > 0:34:48with obviously impeccable taste.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Because you chose this sword.
0:34:51 > 0:34:52No taste at all.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56I just wanted to have a sword and show off to my friends at school.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58And then I wasn't allowed to take it to school.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00What made you pick this, though?
0:35:00 > 0:35:02I liked the shape of it.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04It was in an umbrella stand.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07We were on holiday in the Norfolk broads.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08It was a junk shop.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12And in this umbrella stand, with a lot of walking sticks,
0:35:12 > 0:35:13was this sword.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16What did you pay for it then?
0:35:16 > 0:35:17Seven and sixpence.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20- How much pocket money was that? - Seven shillings and sixpence.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Was that the entire week's pocket money?
0:35:22 > 0:35:23That was three weeks' pocket money.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- Fantastic! - I had half a crown a week.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Right, do you know what it is?
0:35:29 > 0:35:33Someone told me it's a shamshir, but you can tell me.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37It is a shamshir, but it's a shamshir shekargar,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39which means "hunting sword".
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Well, I'm not surprised, because there are hunting scenes on it,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45with people chasing animals.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50And there are lions and panthers, and birds, and deer, and rabbits,
0:35:50 > 0:35:51and I don't know what else.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54And we've got this fantastic blade.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57When I first bought it in this junk shop at Ranworth,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00- it was completely black.- Yeah?
0:36:00 > 0:36:05And I took it home, and scrubbed it with a scrubbing brush on the lawn,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07- and soapy water.- Right.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10And black waxy stuff came away,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13- revealing all these lovely golden animals.- Yeah.
0:36:13 > 0:36:14Imagine the excitement!
0:36:14 > 0:36:18It must have been fantastic. Because they are, indeed, gold.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20- They're not gold, are they? - Yes. That's inlaid gold.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23- I thought they were probably brass. - Nope. That's gold.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27- Good heavens!- Engraved on the back, it is a hunting sword.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32Bone handle. This incredibly distinctive shape.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34It's a cutting sword.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37- It's very sharp. - It's designed solely for a draw cut.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40It's Indo-Persian, early 1800s.
0:36:40 > 0:36:421820s, 1830s.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44It's fantastic. It's a beautiful thing.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46As I said, fantastic taste for a 12-year-old.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50We've really got to think about what it's worth now, though.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54So you paid seven and six, a princely sum.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Yes, equivalent to 37½p now.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Right. It's not...
0:36:59 > 0:37:02But it was 70 years ago, and there's been a bit of inflation.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06There has been a touch. A little bit. We'll factor that in as well.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11I would think I am holding...
0:37:11 > 0:37:13£1,200 worth of sword at the moment.
0:37:13 > 0:37:14Oh, really?
0:37:14 > 0:37:18So your seven and sixpence investment from your junk shop
0:37:18 > 0:37:21has proved pretty good. And it's just a fabulous sword.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23I really, really envy you.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33We have a lot of Young Masters on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:37:33 > 0:37:34from the 20th century.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37It's very refreshing to be bordered by two Old Masters,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40at least 400 years old.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Have you had them that long?
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Well, they've been in the family since about 1966.
0:37:45 > 0:37:46This one, '68.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- How did that come about? - Well, the Portuguese boy behind you
0:37:49 > 0:37:53was probably bought at a saleroom my father frequented.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57And this one, from the great sale of Luton Hoo, in the '60s,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01via a well-known picture restorer at the time, Michael Leslie.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04And he sold it to my father.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Well, let's start with the young man,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08because he's an early 17th-century portrait.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11I notice there's a label, rather usefully, on it
0:38:11 > 0:38:14which says Portuguese School, and a nice enough piece.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I don't think we need discuss that,
0:38:18 > 0:38:23as much as this rather more alluring, rather intense,
0:38:23 > 0:38:27but also captivatingly poetic woman next to us.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Now, do you know who she is?
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Well, she is Princess Mary.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34She's aged 12 in this picture.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37It's dated just here as 1641.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41She's the daughter of Princess Henrietta and Charles I.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45She later married Prince William of Orange,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49and they succeeded to the throne of England as William and Mary.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50What makes you think that?
0:38:50 > 0:38:54It's been examined, 50 years ago,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56by a number of people.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01It was verified by the Rijksmuseum, a Dr Hannema,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04who was the director of the Boijmans Institute at the time.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Who also appended the artist's name as well?
0:39:07 > 0:39:11Pierre Dubordieu, someone who worked with Rembrandt,
0:39:11 > 0:39:16and then started on his own in the 1630s and '40s.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18- Yes.- So, 50 years ago,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22- this was christened not only with an identity but a firm artist.- Yes.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25But art history moves on.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28This is no aristocrat, in my view.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30It doesn't have any of the attributes.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32She doesn't actually have the demeanour.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36I'm convinced that this is a Dutch, middle-class portrait,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38or perhaps upper-middle-class,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41if we want to try and elevate it a little bit.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Because certainly the dress suggests someone of taste and advantage.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47This is a merchant's image.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49I suspect a merchant's wife.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53She's got all the attributes of luxury -
0:39:53 > 0:39:56she's got gloves, hugely expensive things,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58which she's holding in her left hand.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01A rather beautiful, exotic fan in her right.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03That silver bow.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06But, more than anything else, in her expression, in her demeanour,
0:40:06 > 0:40:09you can feel the imprint of Rembrandt.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14Rembrandt, who managed to increase in a poetic and intense way,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17the whole language of communication.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22And, although she looks like a woman of her period,
0:40:22 > 0:40:23the more you look into that face,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26the more you can actually feel depth,
0:40:26 > 0:40:30a sense of communication, a subtlety,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33which is what Rembrandt brought to art.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36It is quite possible that it is by Pierre Dubordieu,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38because, certainly, there are characteristics.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40But when it comes to a valuation,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42I think I'll give you two.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47One which will be on the basis of what it is now in front of us,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50and the other on that little bit more work that we always need to do
0:40:50 > 0:40:53with these portraits to try to nail it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56So starting with the young man on my left...
0:40:56 > 0:40:59The condition is not great, the quality is not great.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01It's only worth about...
0:41:01 > 0:41:03£800 to £1,200.
0:41:03 > 0:41:04Mm-hm.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08Our woman is of a different order altogether.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12So, on the basis that we don't know who the artist is,
0:41:12 > 0:41:17I would say it was worth somewhere between £20,000 and £30,000.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20I think there would be people out there who would pay that.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Just because it's an alluring image from that period
0:41:24 > 0:41:28with a Rembrandt-esque look, and it's in superb condition.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33If we were able to attach with certainty
0:41:33 > 0:41:36the name that is written here, Pierre Dubordieu,
0:41:36 > 0:41:41then we could be talking about £50,000, £60,000, even £70,000.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44We, you, will have your job cut out doing that,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- but at least it's an indication. - Thank you.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53As far as carriage clocks go,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56this is an absolutely stonking clock.
0:41:56 > 0:41:57It's huge.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It must weigh two, three kilograms at least.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04It was given to my aunt in the '50s.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07As part of two presents, two different clocks
0:42:07 > 0:42:10that she got from her employer when she was in service.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14One was for long service, and the other one was when she got married.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17So she ended up with two beautiful clocks.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20She was very close to my father - her brother -
0:42:20 > 0:42:22and she offered him one of the clocks.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25And, at first, he had this one.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28But they used to regularly swap the clocks over.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31She was in Ireland, he was in England.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34If he went to Ireland, he would take his clock -
0:42:34 > 0:42:37whichever one he had at the time - over, swap them over.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41My aunt would also put a bottle of poitin in the package
0:42:41 > 0:42:45because it was the only way he could get his poitin back to England.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49And that's how they swapped them over for getting on for 20 years.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51After that, they did make the decision
0:42:51 > 0:42:53that my father would keep this one
0:42:53 > 0:42:57and then, when he died, I inherited this.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I was very happy to have it.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02I've got two children and they're both mad for it.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07So I think, when it comes to my passing it on to them,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11they'll have to share it, just like their grandfather did.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12I think that's a wonderful story,
0:43:12 > 0:43:18and I'm so glad that the clock is appreciated and coveted.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Do you know anything about the clock itself?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23I know a little, because, um...
0:43:23 > 0:43:27it was cleaned and regulated quite a long time ago.
0:43:27 > 0:43:33I know that one of the plates in it has got the date 1861 on it.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37There was talk about whether it was a French clock or an English clock
0:43:37 > 0:43:39because of the way it was inside,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41but I don't know much more about it than that, really.
0:43:41 > 0:43:47Well, from my point of view, 1861 is probably a good date for this clock.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49It's mid-Victorian.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53The question over English or French, there is no question in my mind -
0:43:53 > 0:43:56it's English through and through.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59This is so over-engineered, it's massive.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04There were makers like McCabe, Dent, all producing this style of clock.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And it is one of my favourite sort of clocks.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Carriage clocks are great, English carriage clocks are fabulous.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14You've got this wonderful, heavy case,
0:44:14 > 0:44:17with this wonderful moulded cast brass.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20But then you come up and you've got this beautiful, delicate,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24engraved dial mask with this inset dial.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27This is all gilded. The whole clock would have been gilded.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30When it was new, it would have been really bright
0:44:30 > 0:44:33and it would have said, "Look at me! I'm magnificent."
0:44:33 > 0:44:38Then you come to the top and you've got this wonderful, detailed handle.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41It's really, really a great piece of work.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44We can see inside, we have these heavy plates.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48These beautiful turned pillars that most people wouldn't really notice,
0:44:48 > 0:44:53and this lovely chain fusee movement with the platform on top.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56So this is a magnificent clock, and it is well loved.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58I can't imagine that you would
0:44:58 > 0:45:01ever come to sell it or part with it in any way.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04But if it was in an auction, I would say,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07it could easily sit with an auction estimate...
0:45:07 > 0:45:09of £5,000 to £8,000.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10Oh, my days!
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Mm.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I didn't... I really didn't expect that.
0:45:18 > 0:45:19I've had it...
0:45:20 > 0:45:23..valued once, and it was a long time ago, at 1,000,
0:45:23 > 0:45:25and I thought that was amazing then.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26But gosh!
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Yes, well, it'll get dusted even more often now, I think.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35There's something wonderful about a walking stick,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38in that you put your hand on it
0:45:38 > 0:45:42and you're shaking hands with the previous owner.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Now, tell me who the previous owner was.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48Well, the previous owner was Sir Walter Scott,
0:45:48 > 0:45:53and this was given to his friend, William Allen, the artist,
0:45:53 > 0:45:55the year before his death.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00Sir Walter Scott. He was THE perhaps best-known historical novelist
0:46:00 > 0:46:03of his day, in the early part of the 19th century.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07He wrote novels like Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Waverley.
0:46:07 > 0:46:13These novels that sort of created a heroic Scottish past.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15And this is his walking stick.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Well, how did you get it?
0:46:17 > 0:46:20My parents and I used to collect walking sticks in the early '90s.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23A walking stick dealer we used to buy the occasional stick from
0:46:23 > 0:46:27had this and offered it to us. It's a unique slice of history -
0:46:27 > 0:46:30it was an opportunity we didn't want to miss.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31No. Well, why would you?
0:46:31 > 0:46:35I'm going to actually read the little band on here,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39which says, "Given by Sir Walter Scott, Bart.,
0:46:39 > 0:46:45"to William Allan at Abbotsford, 19th September, 1831."
0:46:45 > 0:46:47It looks like a five on first glance
0:46:47 > 0:46:51but, looking closely, you can see that that is a three.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56Well, Abbotsford was the house that Walter Scott designed and built,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59where he in fact died the following year.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04And William Allan, president of the Scottish Academy of Artists,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07was perhaps... He was certainly a friend,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11but he was also responsible for creating
0:47:11 > 0:47:15some very memorable portraits of Sir Walter Scott himself.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Is that one? You're grasping a piece of paper.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21I'm not sure if that's one of his, but there are a number of paintings
0:47:21 > 0:47:23of Scott with the actual stick.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25First of all, it's made of malacca and it's in certain...
0:47:25 > 0:47:29a number of segments, which you can count on any of the paintings.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33It's then got this eyehole where a string would have gone through,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36which again you can see in the portraits.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39The other thing, of course, is it's a proper stick,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42because Sir Walter Scott needed a stick.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45This wasn't a dandyism.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47I believe he had polio as a child.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49That's what I had heard.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53This is a strong stick on which a man could have rested his weight,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55and I'm rather excited about it, I have to say,
0:47:55 > 0:48:00to hold it and to know what a part it played in a great man's life.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Would other people think the same, I wonder? What did you pay for it?
0:48:03 > 0:48:07In the early '90s, I believe it was £700.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12The profile of Sir Walter Scott waxes and wanes
0:48:12 > 0:48:18and there was a time when he was almost as popular as Robbie Burns.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20I have to say, that is not the case now.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24The big American institutions that were buying Robert Burns
0:48:24 > 0:48:26and Sir Walter Scott material
0:48:26 > 0:48:28are not so interested in Sir Walter Scott any more.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32So, I'm going to be a bit, um...
0:48:32 > 0:48:34conservative, I think, with the estimate.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37I'm going to put it at between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40- Oh, right. OK. - Because of who it belonged to
0:48:40 > 0:48:43and because of his profile in the literary world.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46- It is a remarkable survivor. - Yeah. Thank you.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54So you're becoming a bit of a familiar sight at the Roadshow.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Yes, indeed. Last year we were down at Walmer
0:48:57 > 0:49:00and we brought something along but today I've got something different.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04I wondered if you can give us some history, anything about it, really.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05We just know nothing about it at all.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Well, you must know where you've got it from.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09I inherited it from my granny.
0:49:09 > 0:49:10That's really all we know about it.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14It's probably been in the family about 100 years or so.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17One of the most familiar questions that's asked on the roadshow is,
0:49:17 > 0:49:19- how old is it?- Yes.
0:49:19 > 0:49:26A lot of stuff that we get, a lot of objects we get, are reproductions.
0:49:26 > 0:49:32The period that we're talking here is 1760, is the sort of date.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37The question is, is this one from 1760 or is this a later...
0:49:37 > 0:49:39- Copy?- ..copy?
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Well, actually, that's really easy with this one.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Now, if you look at that very carefully...
0:49:45 > 0:49:48You've heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51This is called the Leaning Glass of Ightham,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55- because, if you look at it, it's all over the place.- Yeah.
0:49:55 > 0:50:00Now, if we come round here, there's some stuff on here.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Yes. I've always wondered what that is. I have tried to rub it off.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07- It's called grot.- Oh, right. OK. - That's what it's called.- Excellent.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09And there's another bit here.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14Basically, that is telling you that it's old.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Now, when we look at 18th-century drinking glasses, you think,
0:50:16 > 0:50:17"What were they used for?"
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Well, they were just a single mouthful.
0:50:20 > 0:50:21They don't fit into modern life.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26Who drinks wine by the single mouthful before filling it up again?
0:50:26 > 0:50:29This one has an amazing asset, doesn't it?
0:50:29 > 0:50:31- Which is...- A huge bowl.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33- It's huge.- Lovely.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36This is, kind of, a third of a glass, isn't it?
0:50:36 > 0:50:38- Yes.- So have you never used it?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40No. I'm a bit clumsy. I daren't use it.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42I didn't actually wash it before I came here
0:50:42 > 0:50:45because I didn't want to break it or anything.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47It's just stayed in the cupboard out the way, safe.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49GLASS RINGS
0:50:49 > 0:50:53Lovely! 270 years old.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56It's got an OXO-engraved border.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58OXO, OXO, OXO.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00- You see how that goes round.- Yes.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02It has a faceted stem.
0:51:02 > 0:51:051760 to 1765 is the date.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09It fits into the modern drinking habit of big glasses.
0:51:09 > 0:51:15So your nice, little legacy is,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17um...
0:51:17 > 0:51:19350, 400 quid.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Ah! £350, £400 for that?
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Wow! I'd better not drop it now.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29Gosh! Thank you ever so much.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32I didn't realise it was as much as that. That is amazing.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Well, we're filming in the cricket season,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39when you will hear the sound of leather on willow.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42And you've come today with the most incredibly
0:51:42 > 0:51:43early-looking cricket bat.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48- Tell me about it.- It's a bat that we believe is made by William Pett,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51a local bat maker in Sevenoaks.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53It's owned by Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56and we can trace history of cricket on the Vine
0:51:56 > 0:51:58back to the 6th of September 1734.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Gosh! How fantastic!
0:52:00 > 0:52:03So wuite an illustrious cricket club.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Well, a bat of this age makes us speculate
0:52:06 > 0:52:09on how old the game of cricket actually is.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12It certainly stretches back many centuries
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and, like many games, has undergone different changes.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20From a distance, you'd think it was a hockey club, or hockey stick,
0:52:20 > 0:52:23because... Look at the sweep of it!
0:52:23 > 0:52:24No shoulders.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27We all get used to the modern, more modern, cricket bat shape.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31This was just made from one piece of willow from top to bottom.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34It's a lovely, curvaceous form.
0:52:34 > 0:52:40The name, "Pett", with the initials RT, appear on the top of the handle.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41And it's seen some action.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43We don't know who the owner was,
0:52:43 > 0:52:47but it is signed on the back there in 1745.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50So that gives some sort of a dating to it as well.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52This is clearly legible.
0:52:52 > 0:52:53- Richard Mitchell.- Yes.
0:52:53 > 0:52:551745.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59I mean...Jacobite rebellion and all that.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03It really does go back to the reign of George II.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06But it's a real, tactile thing.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Now, what about the ball?
0:53:08 > 0:53:12The ball is a silver snuff box, used at club dinners.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14After dinner, it would be filled with snuff
0:53:14 > 0:53:16and then thrown around amongst the members.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Anybody who dropped it had to buy either a round of drinks
0:53:19 > 0:53:23- or a bottle of port.- Oh! - So it's a bit knocked about.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24That's absolutely marvellous.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26Let's have a look! Are you aware of how old is?
0:53:26 > 0:53:30That dates, we believe, from the early 1800s.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33We can trace sort of comment to it back to 1818.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Sadly, there's everything there except the date letter.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40We have the duty head mark of George III.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43I think it's circa 1800.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45That's really quite a scarce piece as well.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49Well, having seen your bat,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52I just thought this could never be bettered on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56But, ten minutes later, along comes another cricket bat.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01- Hello.- Hello. - And here is the offending bat.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03This is a family piece, I understand.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07This has been in my family for 100... exactly 100 years.
0:54:07 > 0:54:08Fantastic. To the year.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10- To the year.- Great.
0:54:10 > 0:54:11- Great.- 1916.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13Yeah. And it carries the signature
0:54:13 > 0:54:18of perhaps one of the best-known cricketers of all time, WG Grace.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21- Yes.- What was his connection with you and your family?
0:54:21 > 0:54:25My great-grandfather, Charles Blundell, who lived at Halstead,
0:54:25 > 0:54:27was a farmer at Halstead near Sevenoaks.
0:54:27 > 0:54:32He became a friend of Grace in his later years.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Grace used to come down from Eltham to play...
0:54:35 > 0:54:40- Either to go shooting or hunting with beagles.- Yeah.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42That's, um, Grace.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44Yes, and wasn't he a big chap?
0:54:44 > 0:54:46That's my grandfather there. Well, he was huge.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49But my family were absolutely tiny.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53- So the contrast is quite extreme. - Yes.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57My aunt said you would expect him to have a voice like thunder,
0:54:57 > 0:55:00but actually he had a rather high voice.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04We mustn't forget just what a celebrity WG Grace was at the time.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07There wasn't a newspaper in the British colonial world
0:55:07 > 0:55:10- that didn't have his photograph in on a regular basis.- That's right.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12So quite an honour for your family
0:55:12 > 0:55:14to have been associated with the great man.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16WG Grace has signed it,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20- but do we know whether he actually played with it?- We do.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23He apparently played with it in 1912.
0:55:23 > 0:55:29- Right.- Because, after his death, his widow, Agnes Grace,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32donated it to a sale in Sevenoaks.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35In the letter, she says he played with it in 1912.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Fantastic! You have a letter in the family.
0:55:37 > 0:55:38We've got the letter, yes -
0:55:38 > 0:55:42with the black border, of course, because she was still in mourning.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44What I love is the fact there's impressions
0:55:44 > 0:55:46- of where balls have been hit. - I love that, too.
0:55:46 > 0:55:53To think that Grace himself perhaps took a six with this.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56So, really, the question is, what are they worth?
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Which is the most valuable?
0:55:59 > 0:56:04Who thinks the early one is worth the most?
0:56:04 > 0:56:08- Yes.- So, obviously, it leaves all the rest of you with the Grace.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11You think that's... OK.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12Well...
0:56:14 > 0:56:16This is an early one.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18They do turn up at sales.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20In an auction, that would carry...
0:56:21 > 0:56:25..an estimate of £3,000 to £5,000.
0:56:25 > 0:56:31Turning swiftly to the Wisden bat, with the Grace connections,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35this one's worth between £4,000 and £6,000.
0:56:35 > 0:56:42But, look, what's dividing the two bats is the toss-your-snuffbox ball.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45I might be putting my neck out on the line a little bit...
0:56:45 > 0:56:48£3,000 to £5,000.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- Don't want to drop it. - LAUGHTER
0:56:51 > 0:56:52So, howzat?
0:56:52 > 0:56:54Thank you.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00So, not one, not two, but three sporting treasures in one hit.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Before we go, here at Ightham Mote,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05I just wanted to show you this bottle of champagne.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08It's a 1921 vintage.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12It was bought by the parents of a young Alan Lundy in 1943
0:57:12 > 0:57:15for his 21st birthday the following year.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18He flew with the RAF
0:57:18 > 0:57:20and, sadly, he was killed
0:57:20 > 0:57:23before he managed to reach that important birthday.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28And his family have kept it and treasured it ever since.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31I don't know about you, but I find that really moving.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34From Ightham Mote and the whole Roadshow team, bye-bye.