0:00:51 > 0:00:53Today, we're at Arley Hall and Gardens in Cheshire,
0:00:53 > 0:00:58home to the Warburton family and its descendants since the 15th century.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01On the Antiques Roadshow, we're often surprised by the drama
0:01:01 > 0:01:03and intrigue revealed by the objects
0:01:03 > 0:01:04brought along by our visitors,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07but today, I've uncovered one of my own,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10because buried within the walls of this estate was found
0:01:10 > 0:01:13a love token with a tragic tale.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18The token belonged to Rowland Egerton-Warburton,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21who inherited this grand home in 1831.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24In fact, the house as we see it today is mainly down to Rowland,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and his new wife Mary.
0:01:26 > 0:01:27They rebuilt the house,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30bringing back the grandeur of Elizabethan style.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Rowland was also a poet,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35and among his published works are love poems to his wife.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41"If there wouldst a form behold, cast in beauty's rarest mould,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45"every virtue there enshrined, which a husband's heart combined,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50"seek that form where Mary's bower midway lies, within this tower."
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Rowland and Mary were so happy together,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and they spent their years here redesigning the house and garden,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00and then, as their 50th wedding anniversary approached,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Rowland commissioned a special bracelet for his wife.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Look at that.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08That is a serious piece of gold.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14Sadly, Mary only had a brief time to enjoy her gold bracelet.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15She passed away just a fortnight
0:02:15 > 0:02:18after their golden wedding anniversary
0:02:18 > 0:02:20and the bracelet was forgotten about for more than 70 years.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It wasn't until the 1950s that the then lady of the house,
0:02:25 > 0:02:26Elizabeth Viscountess Ashbrook
0:02:26 > 0:02:29was stripping back some of the panelling on the walls
0:02:29 > 0:02:32when she discovered a secret compartment
0:02:32 > 0:02:34and, hidden within it, the bracelet.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36It must've been quite a surprise.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39One can only assume that Rowland, heartbroken,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41decided to take the bracelet
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and bury it within the walls of his house.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48So we have a story of lost love and a remarkable find,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51all locked up in one beautiful bracelet.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56I wonder what other secrets we'll uncover
0:02:56 > 0:02:57on this week's Antiques Roadshow,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00which is under way in the grounds and magnificent gardens
0:03:00 > 0:03:01surrounding the house.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07So, this fine thoroughbred bronze
0:03:07 > 0:03:09looks perfectly at home in this setting.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11How did it come into your life?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13From my grandfather,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16who I think must have bought it between the wars sometime,
0:03:16 > 0:03:17when he went to house sales
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and collected quite a few interesting items.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I remember it as a child, and always loved it because it's a horse.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27And then when he died in the early 1960s,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29I acquired it as a memory of him.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33I remember sitting and talking about it, looking at it with him,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35looking at the detail of it.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39And you can tell that it's been sculpted by someone very good.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I mean, he comes from Vienna,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and was sculpted by somebody called Franz Bergmann.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50He was working around the turn of the century, so around 1900,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- into the 20th century.- Right.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55And this was one of the things he was absolutely known for,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58were these marvellous, marvellous horses.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It looks so alive,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03it looks as though it could just walk off there and whinny at you!
0:04:04 > 0:04:08All the details are so accurate, it's a real horse.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12- It is. Just all the sinews and everything about him...- Yes.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15..is just marvellous.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17This is a particularly fine example.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19It's highly desirable,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22it's desirable for people that collect Austrian bronzes.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25It's also desirable for people who are interested in racehorses.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- And you've even got the original box.- I have, yes.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Which I've never seen before.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35A lot of these bronzes have gone down in value, recently,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37but interestingly, not so the horses.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41- Oh, right.- So, I would value this...
0:04:42 > 0:04:45..at probably £3-5,000.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Oh, right! Well, that's more than I was expecting, yes.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Very nice, thank you.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Well, there are people watching this programme at this moment in time,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00looking at these two pots thinking, "I've got one of those,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02"I'm sure I've got one of those".
0:05:02 > 0:05:03And you've been looking at
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- a similar pot on a previous programme.- That's right, yeah.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- And you were thinking the same thing?- Yeah, I saw something similar
0:05:10 > 0:05:11a couple of episodes ago,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14somebody popped up with a Chinese brush pot
0:05:14 > 0:05:16and that intrigued me to bring mine along,
0:05:16 > 0:05:17because they weren't dissimilar,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and I thought there might be some value there.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Are we looking at an inheritance, or what?
0:05:22 > 0:05:26No, I bought these at an auction, not too far from here,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28in Northwich about 25 years ago.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29OK. So, this design.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32First of all, what I like about it
0:05:32 > 0:05:35is that the carving is quite shallow.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- Yeah.- Which is nice.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39You've got this chap here.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40There's his horse...
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and there he is with his bow and his arrow.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And if we look at the top of here,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48we can see there's a little cartouche with a goose in it.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50And that's basically what he's aiming at.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- I love that little waterfall.- Mm.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Now, with the other one, we've got this...
0:05:56 > 0:05:58What appears to be a Daoist immortal.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01He's one of the sort of eight gods of happiness
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and he's carrying various baskets.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06There is a little bit of symbolism in here.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09You've got what appear to be lingzhi fungus sticking out,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11which is a symbol of long life.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14They've had interesting lives, these two pots,
0:06:14 > 0:06:20because they would have stood on a Chinese scholar's table.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25So they would take brushes, that's why they were called brush pots.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30This one nearly didn't make it through to the 21st-century,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32because as you can see, it's scorched.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35I can't help but think that this chap got a bit sleepy
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and let a candle get too close to it,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40which hasn't done it any real favours,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42you know, cos...
0:06:42 > 0:06:44collectors are looking for perfection.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45So, what date?
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Well, I'm tempted to think they're 1690
0:06:50 > 0:06:52to maybe 1750.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Really?- And when it comes to value,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57it's a little bit of a gut reaction.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00So I'm going to tell you what I think, and afterwards,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02you're going to tell me what you paid for them.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- Don't tell me now.- OK.- OK.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07So, the good one, £3,000.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09- Seriously?- Mm.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I think this one may be £1,000, because of the damage.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15- Right.- That's what I think.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Would you like to tell me what you paid for them?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I paid £3 a pot.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21LAUGHTER
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- Not a bad return! - That's pretty good.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- £3 a pot.- Yes, £6 as a pair.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- 25 years ago.- Yeah, yeah.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Take into account inflation, I've done quite well on them.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33I think you've done very well!
0:07:33 > 0:07:36But we're in Cheshire and money comes to money!
0:07:37 > 0:07:39That's very true.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Well, now, this picture is signed
0:07:43 > 0:07:45by an artist called Kurt Schwitters,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and it's dated 1942.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Do you know about him at all?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Only what we've researched on the internet.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53So you'll know he was an early
0:07:53 > 0:07:55- Dadaist in Germany.- Yes, yes.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58And I love the origin of the word Dada.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Did you know they looked through
0:07:59 > 0:08:01a French dictionary,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and just put a pin down where haphazardly it fell.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And it was on the word Dada. It means hobbyhorse in French.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10It means nothing, in other words. It's all about chance.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12- Yeah.- And this is what Schwitters liked.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13He liked chance.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16The whole idea of machines was the other thing he liked.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19He thought that the spirit of man had somehow entered machinery,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22so the machine age was important to him.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Chance, dreams, all these things coming together in a picture.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27That meant that he liked collage.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30He'd pick up bus tickets, he'd pick up bits of ephemera
0:08:30 > 0:08:32and stick them on and then paint around them
0:08:32 > 0:08:33and then draw around them
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and made these extraordinary objects
0:08:35 > 0:08:38that are almost more sculpture than painting.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Fleeing the Nazis, he came to England and was interned
0:08:42 > 0:08:45in the Isle of Man, went to live in Ambleside thereafter.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47- So this is a wartime picture.- Mm-hm.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49What's its provenance?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Well, my husband, who's American,
0:08:52 > 0:08:57bought a house in San Francisco in the '80s
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and it belonged to an Italian lady.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And when she died, her family just wanted to sell everything.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So it had been there for a long time.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Well, I'm not quite sure how long it had been there.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13There was a sticker on the back that said it had been shown in '79
0:09:13 > 0:09:15in a gallery in Germany.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- Yes.- But when someone tried to research it for us,
0:09:18 > 0:09:19they could find no trace of it,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21and said it might just have been
0:09:21 > 0:09:23a small gallery that's no longer there.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26So not quite sure how long it was there.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Well, they do turn up on the market, occasionally,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33but the problem is, so do a huge amount of fakes.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35- Mm-hm.- And, I'm afraid...
0:09:36 > 0:09:37Oh!
0:09:38 > 0:09:40- It's a fake?- I think so.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42I'm sorry to say.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I think there was...
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Some people said the K wasn't right on it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Yeah, you can look at the signature,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53but the signature's the easiest thing to fake.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I think really, looking at the picture,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59what's harder to fake is just the sheer sort of built-up nature
0:09:59 > 0:10:01of a genuine Kurt Schwitters.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- It's just a bit too careful, somehow, for him.- Yeah.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Were that original, thousands and thousands of pounds, of course.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- Yeah.- But it isn't, and instead,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13you're looking at about 20 quid on a good day,
0:10:13 > 0:10:14- with the wind behind it!- Oh!
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Now, you are Lord and Lady Ashbrook,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and this is a piece that was discussed
0:10:23 > 0:10:25at the introduction with Fiona.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28It's a box, and within the box,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30it contains a piece of jewellery,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- doesn't it?- That's right, it does.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Tell me a bit more about it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's a bracelet which was given by
0:10:37 > 0:10:39my great-great-grandfather,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42who was called Rowland Egerton-Warburton,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45he gave it to his wife Mary on the occasion of their golden wedding
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- in 1881.- 1881.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50So there we are. 50-year span,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52very typical Victorian leather box.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54But within...
0:10:56 > 0:10:59What word would we use to describe that? Spectacular?
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- Amazing.- Visual, to say the least.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It's discovered in a niche in a wall.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Behind a panel, it was your mother that found it.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11My mother found it in the 1950s,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13and I think she was fairly amazed.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- Anyone would be, wouldn't they? - I think so.- All right.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Now, such a very personal piece has got a background to it.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21A very personal story.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Tell me a bit about it, then.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Well, it was rather poignant
0:11:26 > 0:11:30in that they had their golden wedding in that room over there.
0:11:30 > 0:11:31Mm.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And, a fortnight later, she died,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36exactly a fortnight later.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38So 50 years, big celebration,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40two weeks later, she passes away,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44which might explain why it became too unbearable to look at it.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Well, that's what we think.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Now, it's this rather beautiful blue velvet lining.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55In the lid we see it's by a company called Phillips.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Phillips were one of the top London jewellers, goldsmiths.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01So that's a good start, isn't it?
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- It is, very good.- Now, the bracelet itself is a very, very broad,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07thick meshwork strap.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08- High carat gold.- Yes.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- Have a look at how very flexible that is.- Mm.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17But that's only one feature, isn't it?
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Because there's a far more interesting feature about this.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23And for that, I need a good old-fashioned pin.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27If I put the pin...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30into this little tiny hidden hole
0:12:30 > 0:12:31at the front,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33the lid flips open,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35and there within,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38a little rectangular plaque.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44Now, if I pop that out, and put the bracelet back in the box,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46it's a miniature gold book,
0:12:46 > 0:12:52engraved all over the surface with individual pages,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56all engraved with names and dates.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01For each of the decades up to 1881,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05there is a short little synopsis of important events
0:13:05 > 0:13:06which had happened in that decade.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09For example, their daughter so-and-so was married,
0:13:09 > 0:13:10that sort of thing.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13All right, well look, let's put the book back in its case.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14In its locket. Now,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17let's talk a little bit about the potential value for such a piece.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22First of all, let's make no bones about it, it is absolutely unique,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25this piece. There's a couple of components about it
0:13:25 > 0:13:27which do affect the value.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29- Yes.- It's got a monogram on the front,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32which limits its appeal purely to within the family.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35- Oh, right. - But there's another factor.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40Bits of the bracelet itself have been cut off to shorten the length.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44If I put it back into the box,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47you can see quite clearly that it is much shorter.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- Yes.- That, I'm afraid, does affect the potential value.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54If it were not cut up,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56it would be worth £10,000.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57Really?
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Because of the fact that it has been cut and shortened,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03because of the monogram factor,
0:14:03 > 0:14:04£6-8,000 for it.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06That's very helpful.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Well, I noticed you in the queue eating a bit of pork pie.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17You'd brought your own sandwiches along.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And in the other hand, you were clutching what I recognise
0:14:19 > 0:14:21as a bizarre mousetrap.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Where did you get it from?
0:14:24 > 0:14:28First thing I can remember of it, my uncle took me into a...
0:14:29 > 0:14:31..dark cellar room in his house...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Right!
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Switched the light on, and then showed me this mousetrap.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Every time I went, he'd get the mousetrap out.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43And it's just been...
0:14:43 > 0:14:44part of my life!
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Well, it's a curiosity,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50it has a certain Heath Robinson look about it.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- That's right, yes.- This particular type has been used
0:14:53 > 0:14:55since the medieval period,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and the design is pretty much unchanged.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I reckon your example's
0:15:01 > 0:15:03probably 18th-century,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05but you know it's had a little bit
0:15:05 > 0:15:07of work done in the 19th century,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12because it's somehow acquired the handle of a chest of drawers.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14And these two little cruciform mounts,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16they're almost certainly Victorian.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Someone said to me that it could be a church mouse trap,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22because of these... brass pieces here.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26God bless them, every one!
0:15:27 > 0:15:28But let's have a look.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32You get the wooden block, it's made of oak and ash.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34There's weight to this block,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36they've put sort of metal inserts into it.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39There's a little pulley at the top,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41connected to a little catch.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44And, of course, the crucial thing for the mouse is what's on this,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46which is called the bait nibbler.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- That's it.- So, get a bit of cheese or a bit of peanut butter...
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Bit of pork pie!
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Bit of pork pie, yeah, we could have primed it!
0:15:55 > 0:15:57And, of course, there's almost like a little dished effect,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00so before the mouse has chance to make a dash...
0:16:02 > 0:16:04..down comes the weight. Shall we give it a go?
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Do you want to trigger it off, Alan?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09There we are. Yeah!
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And it's funny because the weight of this is precisely measured
0:16:12 > 0:16:17to kill a mouse, but it's the poshest mousetrap I've ever seen
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and I'm so glad you brought it!
0:16:20 > 0:16:24I know it's a bit rustic and not everybody likes rodents,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27but it's still a couple of hundred pounds' worth.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- Is it?- Yes.- Right.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41A time capsule, who doesn't love a time capsule?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43The mystery of it all.
0:16:43 > 0:16:44And where did you find it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47In the Old Cottage Hospital.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54So this has not been opened since 18...
0:16:54 > 0:16:55..86.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Do you want to pull it out?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I really don't know what this is...
0:17:12 > 0:17:14- Oh!- Look at that!
0:17:16 > 0:17:18So it's coins!
0:17:22 > 0:17:26I'm looking at the most delightful bronze of a beautiful girl...
0:17:27 > 0:17:29..pretty watercolour,
0:17:29 > 0:17:30some photographs.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32So where does it all hang together?
0:17:32 > 0:17:36This bronze has always been in my family's living room
0:17:36 > 0:17:37on the sideboard.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41And as a child, I must be honest, I thought it was a bit rude,
0:17:41 > 0:17:42because she's naked.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Was this the conventional thing of children being embarrassed by
0:17:46 > 0:17:47- their parents?- I think so, yes.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49No-one else's parents would have
0:17:49 > 0:17:52a statue of a naked woman in the living room,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55but I must admit, as time went by,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- I realised just how beautiful it actually is.- Yes.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I was dusting it one day
0:18:00 > 0:18:02and I found this signature.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06And then I thought, well, perhaps there's a little bit more to it.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And when I spoke to my mother about it,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14she said that it was actually given as a prize to my grandmother
0:18:14 > 0:18:19for painting. She was an amateur painter, but a rather good one.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21OK, so this is one of her works.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22This is one of her works.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Well, it's a great painting.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28I mean, it's a lovely composition, still life, really good watercolour.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30She was obviously very good.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Now, this is your grandmother we're talking about.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- My grandmother.- So, I've got photographs here.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- This is her, is it? - Yes.- She's got two children.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39Do you know the date?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Well, my father was born in 1916
0:18:43 > 0:18:45and he looks about one on there.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- He's that one?- Yes.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51So, this is 1916-17, your father is one.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55And so she is...in her 20s, I suppose, by then.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Yes, that's Gertrude Dees.
0:18:57 > 0:18:58That's Gertrude Dees.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00- Yes.- So, she is the artist of that.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- Yeah.- And, so, the prize comes to her at some point,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08- we don't know when.- We don't know when.- Let's think about this.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10I mean, I think it is the most spectacular thing.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13I mean, it's wonderful, it's sensual
0:19:13 > 0:19:15and, of course, that takes us into the period when it was made.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17You know the artist?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- I do.- Well, it's signed on the back.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20So, Bertram Mackennal. Now,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24he was actually born in Melbourne in Australia in 1863.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27- Oh, right.- And in fact, he's probably the greatest
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Australian sculptor ever,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31although much of his work was done in London.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33He was one of a generation of sculptors
0:19:33 > 0:19:35who was very influenced by people like Rodin,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37you know, the way the figure is presented.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The naturalism of the nude comes from French art
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and Rodin of that time.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45He became very famous.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48He did the medal for the 1908 London Olympics.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52You know, he was a really big-time, universal name.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55And what he was best known for
0:19:55 > 0:19:59was a sort of sequence of wonderful nudes.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Often classically inspired.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And this is absolutely classic of him.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- So you're not embarrassed by it any more?- Oh, no, not at all.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11She looks good anywhere!
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- Without clothes!- Well, that's a good thing to say,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- isn't it? We can't say that about everybody.- No!
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- Would you be embarrassed by the price?- I haven't
0:20:22 > 0:20:25even thought about it as being of any value,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27because it's always been with us.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Well, if I say 8,000 to 10,000...?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Right.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34That's a lot.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36A lot to have on your sideboard.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38- Thank you very much. - Oh, thank you.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44So what sort of clock do you think this is?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Well, we use it as a mantelpiece clock.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49It's used every day to tell the time,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52but I did wonder whether it was a travelling clock,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54because of the fact that
0:20:54 > 0:20:56this isn't attached to the base.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59And I'm not sure whether the base actually is the same as
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- the clock.- OK, well, you're absolutely right.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04It is, basically, a travelling clock.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08It's what we call a carriage clock. So that is the bit
0:21:08 > 0:21:11that you would take away in your box,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15so when you went on any journey, long weekend,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18you'd have this and you'd pop it down by your bedside.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23And then, of course, this base is 100% right.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Oh.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27It is absolutely lovely.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28And it really makes it
0:21:28 > 0:21:31from just a fairly, well,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34better-than-average clock, to something
0:21:34 > 0:21:36- really very, very much nicer. - Yeah.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40So, had you had any thoughts on dates?
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Well, we were told by the person
0:21:42 > 0:21:44that actually cleaned it quite a few
0:21:44 > 0:21:47years ago that it was about 1900.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50- Right.- And we think it's French.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53You're absolutely right about the French.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Stylistically, it should
0:21:55 > 0:21:57be closer to 1875, 1880.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00But I notice that
0:22:00 > 0:22:02it has a very high serial number
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and the reason I know that is because the serial number
0:22:05 > 0:22:08is also on the key and that's a five-figure serial number.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- Oh.- Can I just
0:22:11 > 0:22:14whizz that round? And we will just see that that
0:22:14 > 0:22:17number is exactly the same as that number there.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Now, I think there is every
0:22:20 > 0:22:23probability this clock was made by a factory
0:22:23 > 0:22:25called Drocourt.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27I can't see their stamp, but I just
0:22:27 > 0:22:31think that that is the sort of quality they
0:22:31 > 0:22:32would have produced.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34You probably also know,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- but never used, the alarm. - No!- Never tried that?
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- No. Which is the alarm? - This little disc down here.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Yeah, I don't think that's ever worked.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45So you set it there and then
0:22:45 > 0:22:49up there, you've got the little barrel for the
0:22:49 > 0:22:52winding of the alarm.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54The type of case is a cannelee,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58it's an engraved cannelee, which is one down from
0:22:58 > 0:23:00the gorge, which is if you like the top quality.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03So I love it. You love it.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05And, realistically,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08you're not going to replace it retail for anything
0:23:08 > 0:23:10- under £4,000.- Really?
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Oh, dear.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13You say, "Oh, dear."
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- Shall I reduce the figure?!- Yeah.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18THEY LAUGH
0:23:24 > 0:23:29Please tell me that you were in a band in the 1970s.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30I wish I could!
0:23:30 > 0:23:33If it had been, it would have had to be Abba, wouldn't it?
0:23:33 > 0:23:35It would have been Abba, definitely.
0:23:35 > 0:23:36So whose shoes are they?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Well, they're mine now, but I don't know who they
0:23:40 > 0:23:42belonged to originally.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I was passing a charity shop in Knutsford and I saw them and just
0:23:46 > 0:23:49spontaneously went in and bought them.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52They were £5. I just had to have them.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55And they're by a designer called Terry de Havilland.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Even without the name printed inside,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01I think they're such statement shoes, aren't they?
0:24:01 > 0:24:03- They are.- They're made of snakeskin.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07They've got this sort of foil covering in bright turquoise,
0:24:07 > 0:24:12- a sort of orangey-red silver, and I see purply-blue.- Yes.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16£5? They're now worth about 150.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Right, good.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20But they're not going anywhere.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- So when did you tread on it?- Well, I didn't and I'm glad I didn't.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29I found it in the river bank at Chester.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32- Ah...- So they were doing some building work there,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- putting a new river bank in.- Yes?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38And I heard about this, thought, "I'll pop down there.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"See if I can find any early bottles being dredged out of the river."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44And then I saw that sticking out of a mountain of soil.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46- Wonderful.- Yeah.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47Oh, gosh, I wish I'd been there.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50To me, it was just a humble thimble at the time.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Well, it's more than a humble thimble.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It's actually a very early thimble.
0:24:56 > 0:24:57Um...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Date-wise, we're looking, I think,
0:25:00 > 0:25:05at certainly 17th century, might be as early as 16th century.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Base metal ones turn up
0:25:07 > 0:25:10fairly regularly, but to find a silver one,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13which, of course, there is every probability
0:25:13 > 0:25:15that it was actually made in Chester.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- Wouldn't that be nice? - Unfortunately, no marks on it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- Oh.- But what there is, is an intriguing inscription.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24There's a strange word at the beginning
0:25:24 > 0:25:26which looks a bit like "juicier",
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but I don't think that can be how it reads.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33"Is thine for..."
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Then we've got...
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Might be "cuthis", it's C-U
0:25:38 > 0:25:40then "this", T-H-I-S,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43that runs round here.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Very difficult to work out what its full meaning is.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Well, over the years, I've shown it to a few people
0:25:49 > 0:25:51- since the 1980s, since finding it.- Yeah.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53And it's flummoxed them, as well.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So, had you thought about value?
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Erm, well, when I realised that it
0:25:58 > 0:26:01wasn't a Victorian thimble, as I was originally told...
0:26:01 > 0:26:03- Right.- ..that it was probably 17th century,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06well, I thought, well, they're quite rare,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08and it must be worth £200 or £300,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I would have thought.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13I think you need to go a little higher than that.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14- Right.- 800 to 1,000.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16At auction, could go more than that.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- But a humble thimble.- Yes. Well done finding it in the mud.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24So are you going to tell me
0:26:24 > 0:26:27that you picked this up recently at some car boot?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30No, I'm not going to tell you that at all, no!
0:26:30 > 0:26:34All right, give me a little bit of its history as you know it.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Well, it was my mum's
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and it was, I think,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42in a cupboard for as long as I can remember from being a child.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Whereabouts in the world was that cupboard?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47In sunny Rotherham.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49In sunny Rotherham?
0:26:49 > 0:26:50Sunny Rotherham, yes.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52OK, all right.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54The reason I said,
0:26:54 > 0:26:55"Did you find it at a car boot?"
0:26:55 > 0:26:58is that I see vases like this from time to time at car boots.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00OK.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02The initial excitement is dulled
0:27:02 > 0:27:05by the fact that I know there are so many fakes, so shall we have a look
0:27:05 > 0:27:07at this one and shall we decide?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Yes, please.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12The first thing I want to do is turn it over,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15because on the base there,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19you will find that this has a nicely polished pontil mark.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23The good news is that this is the sort of feature
0:27:23 > 0:27:26that you don't find on the fakes.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27OK?
0:27:27 > 0:27:30So, that is a good sign.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32The other thing I'm going to look for is...
0:27:32 > 0:27:34the signature.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Because...
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Here it is.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Can you see that?
0:27:39 > 0:27:41I'm looking around here for any
0:27:41 > 0:27:44bit that might be ground away, because the copies
0:27:44 > 0:27:47that I've found have got the word "TIP" on there,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51which I think might be the Romanian word for type,
0:27:51 > 0:27:56because the copies, I'm told, have been made Romania.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Well, Emile Galle, he's working in Nancy, down there
0:27:59 > 0:28:02in north-eastern France and it is
0:28:02 > 0:28:04the centre for all things Art Nouveau.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05You get the Paris School,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09you get the Nancy School and he's a leading light of the Nancy School.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11He produces two types -
0:28:11 > 0:28:12he does the studio glass,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15they're all individual pieces
0:28:15 > 0:28:19and then he produces glass like this on an industrial scale.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23He's got several hundred people working in his glassworks.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25This is cameo glass, so this is
0:28:25 > 0:28:27one layer of coloured glass
0:28:27 > 0:28:30laid on top of another, carved through.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33The execution is very good,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36but you can't really see that properly, so I've got a little gizmo
0:28:36 > 0:28:40here to give us more of an idea of the sort of colours
0:28:40 > 0:28:43that we're dealing with here.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- Wow!- So often he made table lamps
0:28:46 > 0:28:49with that type of vase as a base and
0:28:49 > 0:28:51they were illuminated on the interior
0:28:51 > 0:28:55and that is really when they do come alive. So...
0:28:56 > 0:28:58I think that's passed three tests so far!
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Um...
0:29:01 > 0:29:06I suppose we're going to have to talk about money, honey, yes?
0:29:06 > 0:29:09OK, if it's real.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Well, it's a nice example.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14It's in nice condition.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16It's as right as rain
0:29:16 > 0:29:18and I know for a fact
0:29:18 > 0:29:20that if I went to buy that,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23I'd have to have at least £2,000 in my pocket.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Oh, my God!
0:29:25 > 0:29:26You're joking?
0:29:29 > 0:29:30Well done, Mum!
0:29:30 > 0:29:32LAUGHTER
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Now, these are two of the brightest pictures we've seen all day.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52They initially look like portraits,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54they're painted in oil with
0:29:54 > 0:29:59charcoal and whilst I'm drawn in by both of their eyes,
0:29:59 > 0:30:05I then can't help but notice the incredible clothes they're wearing.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07This necklace and this amazing
0:30:07 > 0:30:10sunflower brooch on this lady,
0:30:10 > 0:30:11and then in the girl's portrait,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14you've got two very stylish buttons
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and she's wearing a chequered shirt
0:30:17 > 0:30:21and a very, very well proportioned cardigan.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25If we look, both of them are signed, M Pemberton -
0:30:25 > 0:30:28someone who's not initially well-known as a portrait artist.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30She was actually Muriel Pemberton.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Well, I've always known her through my mother as Miss Pemberton,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38because my mother went to Saint Martin's School of Art in London
0:30:38 > 0:30:40in the 1950s, late 1950s,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43and was taught, or the Head of Department was Miss Pemberton.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48She was taught partly by Miss Pemberton and when my mother graduated in 1959,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51she was then taken straight onto the teaching staff, so she was then
0:30:51 > 0:30:53working under Miss Pemberton
0:30:53 > 0:30:56throughout the '60s in London into the early '70s,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59until I was born, in fact, which was when she left there.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04My mother has always regarded her as her mentor and liked her work.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06It's really exciting to hear you
0:31:06 > 0:31:09talk about Miss Pemberton as a mentor,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13because that's exactly what she was for an entire generation
0:31:13 > 0:31:15of fashion students.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21Muriel Pemberton is really important because she was the first teacher
0:31:21 > 0:31:25of fashion as a degree course in Britain
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and she created that department at Central Saint Martin's.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30All the great names - Stella McCartney,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Alexander McQueen - studied at Central Saint Martin's.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37If we look a little bit closer, the outline is all in charcoal
0:31:37 > 0:31:39and she was clearly a very,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41very confident draughtsman,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44because to portray someone with quite such bold eyes
0:31:44 > 0:31:48and reducing the nose to this very minimal outline
0:31:48 > 0:31:51and then this incredibly fashionable hair,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55which is again amazing strokes of charcoal.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59She knows how to make both a model and the clothes look good.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04Now, we don't know the titles of the portraits, but to me
0:32:04 > 0:32:06it looks like this could be
0:32:06 > 0:32:10an incredibly fashionable mother and her daughter,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14who Miss Pemberton might have known and in terms of date...
0:32:15 > 0:32:18..to me, they feel '60s.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Because she wasn't known to work in oil,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23I think these were probably quite major pieces
0:32:23 > 0:32:27and I think if we were able to do a little research, we'd probably find that these were exhibited
0:32:27 > 0:32:29in quite a main exhibition place,
0:32:29 > 0:32:30possibly like the Royal Academy,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33because she was known to show there.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- Have you ever had them valued before?- No, as I say,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38they've been up in the loft for at least the last 25 years.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41I don't even remember that one, I was surprised when it came out.
0:32:41 > 0:32:47That one, only when I saw it did I re-remember it so, no - not at all.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51Because for things that have been hiding in the loft for 25 years,
0:32:51 > 0:32:52they are the kind of things
0:32:52 > 0:32:55that if we were to put them at auction today,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59we'd really hope to put on an estimate on each of them
0:32:59 > 0:33:03for about £1,000-£1,500 each.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Oh, wow, yeah.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It's time for this week's enigma,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24a challenge set by one of our experts who,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26with fiendish cunning and trickery,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28tries to deceive us as to the meaning and use
0:33:28 > 0:33:30of a particular object
0:33:30 > 0:33:31purloined from a local museum.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Paul Atterbury, it's your turn this week.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35You've brought this along.
0:33:35 > 0:33:36Where does it come from?
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It comes from a local museum called Cuckoo Land,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41but it's NOT a cuckoo clock.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43This is all about the bird.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46You've got three suggestions as to what it could be.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50- What are they?- Imagine you're a Victorian photographer
0:33:50 > 0:33:54and you're taking pictures of children who keep wriggling around
0:33:54 > 0:33:59and don't stand still with a long exposure, what do you do?
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Well, you have a device that will help you
0:34:03 > 0:34:05and you have this.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08BIRD "CUCKOOS"
0:34:08 > 0:34:09And so,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13you can say to the children, "Watch the birdie."
0:34:13 > 0:34:15- This would entertain them and keep them still?- Hopefully.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18So you wouldn't end up with a smudge instead of a child's face
0:34:18 > 0:34:19- on the photograph?- Exactly.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22That seems the most natural thing that it would be,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- but you've got a couple of other suggestions as well?- I have.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Imagine you're a comedian,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32a performer on the stage in the Victorian music hall,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34and it's not going very well
0:34:34 > 0:34:36and the audience are getting pretty restive.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41The whole thing is falling apart and before it gets any worse,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44a stage manager comes on,
0:34:44 > 0:34:49this device is hanging there and before you can say another word,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52- he's done that... - BIRD "CUCKOOS"
0:34:52 > 0:34:55And it means that you leave the stage immediately,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57you've been given the bird.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Oh!
0:35:00 > 0:35:05Don't you think, the thing about Paul is, it's the way you speak,
0:35:05 > 0:35:06you just believe every word.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08- OK, last one?- Last one.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Now, you're in a golf club in Scotland.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Well, there's a few of those don't allow women, but assuming I COULD get in...
0:35:15 > 0:35:18- This is a golf club that DOES allow women, all right?- Right!
0:35:18 > 0:35:22You've had a very good round and you've beaten your opponent
0:35:22 > 0:35:24and you've come in under par.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Oh, I see where this is going, obviously.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29What you have to do then is,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31you go to the bar
0:35:31 > 0:35:34and your defeated opponent has to buy you a drink
0:35:34 > 0:35:38and so this is by the bar and so you press that...
0:35:38 > 0:35:40BIRD "CUCKOOS"
0:35:40 > 0:35:42..and what you're going to be given
0:35:42 > 0:35:47is the birdie round because you've just done a birdie.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50You see, what Paul's done,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53he's thought of all these expressions with "birdie" in them
0:35:53 > 0:35:57and devised the explanations around them.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I think the golf club idea,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03so a golf-score keeper, effectively, is very tempting.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05The thing about the comedian, I would think,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08if people were either applauding, or booing, more likely,
0:36:08 > 0:36:10I'm not sure you'd hear.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12The point is, it's sitting there and they know what it is.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17- Right.- You, the performer, know if you fail, that this will be sounded.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19I'm not convinced.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21I'm not convinced. My great-great-grandfather
0:36:21 > 0:36:24used to be a photographer in the very early days
0:36:24 > 0:36:26- of photography. - Did he have one of these?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I've no idea if he had one of these.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31He was also a bit of a rogue and he would take the money from his
0:36:31 > 0:36:33apprentices and then not teach them anything. He went to prison and it
0:36:33 > 0:36:37confirmed what people thought about photographers in the early days, that they were rogues.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40- They were pretty dodgy people.- But I like the photographer's explanation.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45What do we think? For my scoundrel of a great-great-grandfather,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50I'm going to go for the photographer's "smile for the birdie" contraption thing.
0:36:52 > 0:36:53Well, it's very sad...
0:36:56 > 0:36:57- ..but you're right!- Oh!
0:36:59 > 0:37:01It's in the genes, Paul, that's what it is!
0:37:01 > 0:37:03You cheated, I didn't know that.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06An enigma no longer.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11BIRD CUCKOOS
0:37:13 > 0:37:16This vase was clearly designed to impress
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and seeing it here glinting in the sunlight -
0:37:19 > 0:37:21it's almost dripping with gold -
0:37:21 > 0:37:23it really impresses me.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25- Does it do it for you? - It's beautiful, I love it.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27- You like it?- I do, yes.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Right, where does it come from?
0:37:29 > 0:37:33It's been in my family for probably three generations now.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35I remember it on my nan's sideboard.
0:37:35 > 0:37:36So, third-generation?
0:37:36 > 0:37:38- Yes.- Isn't that wonderful?
0:37:38 > 0:37:42The signs of quality are all over it.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44This border here with these little...
0:37:44 > 0:37:47I suppose they're like little pearls applied around the side,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50each one of those pearls is rolled individually
0:37:50 > 0:37:52and stuck on one-by-one.
0:37:53 > 0:37:59But even more amazing is this panel here which depicts a rather sort of
0:37:59 > 0:38:02interesting scene, which, when we pick the vase up,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05is revealed to us and it says there
0:38:05 > 0:38:07in lovely handwritten script,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12So here's a scene from that play.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14What's also interesting is there's
0:38:14 > 0:38:17a dirty great big bolt in the middle of it!
0:38:17 > 0:38:20- There is.- That shows us that the vase was made in two pieces
0:38:20 > 0:38:22and has been bolted together.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27But the bolt obscures this rather interesting mark.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30When we had it recently restored,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33we had the bolt tightened because it had become loose.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37That was the first time we found there was writing underneath that bit of it.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39- So you don't know, essentially, who made it?- No.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43We were told it came from the Great Exhibition,
0:38:43 > 0:38:44the Crystal Palace Exhibition,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47and that has been the story in the family.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51Well, that's wrong, because the Great Exhibition was in 1851,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and this vase is earlier than that.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56- Is it?- It is.- OK.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59That script mark partially concealed
0:38:59 > 0:39:02by the bolt said something along the lines of
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Flight, Barr and Barr,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07number one Coventry Street,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09and what that is about is
0:39:09 > 0:39:11a list of the proprietors
0:39:11 > 0:39:15of the Worcester porcelain factory in the period
0:39:15 > 0:39:18from 1813 to 1840.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23- OK.- Number one Coventry Street was their showroom in London,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25- just off Piccadilly.- OK.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27To confirm it even more,
0:39:27 > 0:39:33there's an impressed mark there, a crown and then FBB,
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Flight, Barr and Barr.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38So the good news is,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42if there's one Regency porcelain factory which gets hearts pounding,
0:39:42 > 0:39:45it is the Worcester factory run by Flight, Barr and Barr.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48The quality of what they made is breathtaking.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52I'd like to own it and I know lots of other people who would want to
0:39:52 > 0:39:56own such a classically wonderful and grand Regency object as this.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02So, I think it's worth £2,500.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04No? No!
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I would never sell it though, it's about the family history.
0:40:12 > 0:40:13Well, I'm always intrigued
0:40:13 > 0:40:16when I see something bound in vellum like this.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Vellum is a skin of an animal,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21normally calfskin or something like that,
0:40:21 > 0:40:25that has been scraped down right so it's pared completely white.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- I didn't know that.- It has obviously been used, it's grubby,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30and the name is Rupert on the front.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34- Tell me about it.- Well, the book belonged to my grandfather.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36It's been passed down through the family.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40It was my great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- and Rupert is a family name that's been passed along with it.- Yes.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Now, I noticed in the front here, it says, "John Flower Coppey,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49"November 19th, 1830."
0:40:49 > 0:40:52- That's right, yeah.- So, Flower was obviously a member of the family?
0:40:52 > 0:40:55We think he was an uncle, a great-great-great-uncle.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00And this is a recipe book with delightful recipes for a family.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01Very unusual ones!
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And also for animals, as well.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I mean, you go through from lovely things here.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10It's for a cold, spelled C-O-U-L-D,
0:41:10 > 0:41:12and it says, "Balsam of violets,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16"the finest medicine for the cough and the violent cold,"
0:41:16 > 0:41:18which is absolutely wonderful,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21but the nice thing about it, it's all in the same handwriting.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24It hasn't been added to by Tom, Dick or Harry, or anything like that.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27It's one person going all the way through
0:41:27 > 0:41:29and you have 154 recipes here,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33for all sorts of things - to kill rats, to get rid of this,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36to get rid of that. "The bite of a mad dog.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40"As soon as possible after the bite has been received,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43"let part of the wound with a knife
0:41:43 > 0:41:45"and then put in a pinch of gunpowder."
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Well, a pinch of gunpowder, not into the dog,
0:41:49 > 0:41:52this is into the wound of the person who's been bitten by the dog.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56"A pinch of gunpowder and then immediately explode it."
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Now, most of us would be absolutely on the floor,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03we wouldn't care about the bite of a dog, but...
0:42:03 > 0:42:08"..immediately explode it and then treat the wound as a common burn."
0:42:08 > 0:42:11You would be treating somebody for shock, I should think,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13having exploded them, but I suppose
0:42:13 > 0:42:15it's a form of cauterisation.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17- Yes.- Now these things aren't rare,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20they're quite common, but yours is beautifully done.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21Lovely copperplate handwriting.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23We have to put a value on it.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25What sort of idea have you got?
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I don't think it's worth anything, really,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31- it's just something that's so lovely to have.- You've had it...?
0:42:31 > 0:42:34All my life I've looked at it, I've been fascinated by it.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36You haven't been poisoned by it?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- Not yet, no!- The value of it in pounds, shillings and pence,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43I'm afraid I have to say somewhere between £500 and £800.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45- Wow!- It's a lovely thing.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49- I can't believe it. - Something I suppose you could
0:42:49 > 0:42:52read at Christmas instead of playing silly games.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55It's staying in the cupboard where it lives for ever and ever.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Well, thank you for bringing it in.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59Thank you very, very much. Thank you.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05We all know that the British are a nation of dog lovers.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Is that why you have this bag?
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Yes, it is. It caught my eye because
0:43:11 > 0:43:14it's a 1940s bag and anything to do
0:43:14 > 0:43:20with 1940s that features a Scottie dog, and that just shouted at me.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23And how do you know that? Why do you know about that?
0:43:23 > 0:43:25We used to do a lot of the '40s re-enactments
0:43:25 > 0:43:28and we tried to dress and
0:43:28 > 0:43:32have all the accessories as near as possible to 1940s.
0:43:33 > 0:43:34Everything that you look at,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37any films or posters, anything,
0:43:37 > 0:43:38features a Scottie dog.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41It just was there and it just shouted at me, "Buy me!"
0:43:41 > 0:43:43It's ingenious.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45It is the most beautiful novelty clasp,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48made of an early sort of plastic.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52And it's complete - eyes, everything.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56The quality of the leather, it's so supple and soft, isn't it?
0:43:56 > 0:43:58So, that is one of the bags.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03This doesn't look as smart at all from the outside,
0:44:03 > 0:44:04does it?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Can I reveal what's in here?
0:44:06 > 0:44:09This was a surprise to me.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12I thought that all gas masks came...
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Usually you just see the cardboard boxes, don't you?
0:44:15 > 0:44:20That looks to me like it's a going out, lady's handbag type gas mask.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22Yes, you'd be going out and you
0:44:22 > 0:44:27wouldn't want to have a cardboard box slung over your shoulder
0:44:27 > 0:44:30and so you would have this bag here.
0:44:30 > 0:44:35If two handbags ever tell a tale,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38this was sort of pre-war almost,
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Britain, designed as a cheerful novelty.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44- That's right.- This was
0:44:44 > 0:44:50a slightly more sinister side of what was going on in 1939.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51What did you pay for them?
0:44:53 > 0:44:57This one, I picked up for £15
0:44:57 > 0:44:59and this one was £25.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02So, I was quite happy with the prices of those,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05considering how much you can pay for original '40s bags.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08Absolutely. It's a piece of history, isn't it?
0:45:08 > 0:45:13- It is indeed.- I think the gas mask is a real novelty and must be worth
0:45:13 > 0:45:16double your 25, at least 50.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18Maybe to an enthusiast like yourself,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21would you have been prepared to pay up to £100 for something like this?
0:45:21 > 0:45:24- I would, yes.- And this
0:45:24 > 0:45:27is just such clever design.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31I've had a look and I can't see a maker's label in it, but it's just
0:45:31 > 0:45:33gorgeous design and in a vintage shop,
0:45:33 > 0:45:37I can imagine that being sold for well over £100.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Yes. You can easily pay that for any 1940s bag
0:45:40 > 0:45:43that's not half as nice as that. Yes!
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Well, I've seen a picture of one of these, but I've never handled one.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53So, how does it fit with you?
0:45:53 > 0:45:55Well, it fits nicely with me.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58It fitted even nicer 40-odd years ago when I found it
0:45:58 > 0:46:02against the side of a Bronze Age trackway.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04The sun was shining and I saw...
0:46:05 > 0:46:07..it glinting off the top of the thing
0:46:07 > 0:46:11- and I just thought it was a piece of glass.- Glinting off what?
0:46:11 > 0:46:14- The rim.- So how much of it could you see?
0:46:14 > 0:46:17- Just about that much. - So, we're talking about that?
0:46:17 > 0:46:21- Yes.- OK.- I thought it was just the neck and nothing else.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24I went up to it and grabbed hold of it
0:46:24 > 0:46:28and then put my hands down the side of it and it all came up in one.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31For the last 40-odd years,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33it's sat on the top of a cupboard at my mother's.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39Well, what we're looking at is an onion bottle
0:46:39 > 0:46:42and what's interesting about it is, of course, that it's a miniature.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45When we say miniature, what we're talking about is 25%
0:46:45 > 0:46:49of normal capacity and thus it's a quarter of the size of a normal one.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52This one is English.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54The Dutch made a lot of them,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56but this pontil mark here
0:46:56 > 0:47:00is done with a large pipe rather than a bar.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04The Dutch used... The pontil tends to be in the centre,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07so you've got a little bit of quite
0:47:07 > 0:47:09pretty iridescence in there and so you
0:47:09 > 0:47:12have an evolution of the bottle
0:47:12 > 0:47:16that starts in 1750, which is the shaft and globe,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18and ends up in 1760
0:47:18 > 0:47:21with the Bordeaux bottle that we know today for red wine.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25We are almost exactly halfway through the bottle story
0:47:25 > 0:47:27with the onion.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Your little thing found in a byway
0:47:30 > 0:47:33up to its neck in mud
0:47:33 > 0:47:37is a £750 piece of mud.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42That's excellent. I didn't expect it to be that much.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Rupert, I know we've got to talk in whispers about this, because the owner is nearby.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49Why are you so excited about this picture?
0:47:49 > 0:47:51It doesn't look like much, does it?
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Perhaps it isn't. It's just a guide to an engraver to show him how to do
0:47:54 > 0:47:57the engraving and it's by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59He is a very important person.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02He's a wonderful Victorian neoclassical painter.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07He's the single most valuable artist that there is in Victorian times.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10I was talking to the man who owns it, who brought it in, and he told me,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13"Actually, I've got his portrait, the engraver's portrait."
0:48:13 > 0:48:14That's what this is, is it?
0:48:14 > 0:48:17We sent the van and we've got it and it's coming up on camera
0:48:17 > 0:48:19and we're about to record it.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22He is SUCH a good painter and when he's not doing
0:48:22 > 0:48:25sort of neoclassical ladies in togas,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27he does a portrait for his own purposes.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31- This wasn't for sale.- So this is Alma-Tadema painting his engraver?
0:48:31 > 0:48:35Yes, he's off his pitch, but it is the most wonderful portrait and I'm
0:48:35 > 0:48:37very excited about it. I've never seen it before.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40- Could be very valuable?- I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see on that.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46Well, a beautiful, elegant form,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48fantastic whimsical trees
0:48:48 > 0:48:52in this fantasy landscape with birds in flight at night.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54How did you come to own it?
0:48:54 > 0:48:58I inherited it from my mother and it was bought by my grandfather,
0:48:58 > 0:49:00I THINK. This is my grandfather.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03He owned a tannery in Alderston
0:49:03 > 0:49:06and made a lot of money making leather
0:49:06 > 0:49:09for army boots for the First World War,
0:49:09 > 0:49:11so he had plenty of money to buy things.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15- So, he would have been out there, spending, investing.- Yes.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17This is one of the things he acquired?
0:49:17 > 0:49:20- I presume so, yes.- So, in your family memory of it,
0:49:20 > 0:49:21what was it always called?
0:49:21 > 0:49:23- Did it ever have a name?- Yes,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27it was called the Moorcroft vase and my mother used to call it that and I
0:49:27 > 0:49:29had no idea whether it was or not.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31When she gave it to me, I said,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33"Mum, it can't be a Moorcroft vase," cos, as you know,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36it's not got a signature on the bottom.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39It's glazed. So, that's what I need to know,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41is it or is it not a Moorcroft vase?
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Let's look at it, let's just take a second to look,
0:49:44 > 0:49:49because what we've got are characteristics of a ceramic vase
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- made at the beginning of the 20th century.- Mm-hm.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56- The form is hand-potted.- Yeah.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59- The decoration is tube-lined.- Mm-hm.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02We've got these wonderful, fantastic sort of trees,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05this dark, midnight-blue landscape.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08- Very dark, yes.- You said there was no signature?
0:50:08 > 0:50:09- No.- Well...
0:50:10 > 0:50:12Let's just have a little closer look,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15because actually, if we do turn it up
0:50:15 > 0:50:17and if we get it in the right light,
0:50:17 > 0:50:21and let's hope that it can be seen by all,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23just sweeping across the underneath,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26under that thick, blue glaze
0:50:26 > 0:50:30is a green signature, that to me, clearly sings
0:50:30 > 0:50:31W Moorcroft.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33Good grief!
0:50:33 > 0:50:34I mustn't have very good eyesight!
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Trust me when I say it's there, honestly!
0:50:37 > 0:50:43I know the colour is actually a very dark, inky blue all over,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47but we actually affectionately call these the black landscapes.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49They're from an early collection
0:50:49 > 0:50:51of experimental wares that he was doing,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55testing out new ideas, but this for me is a really early example.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57What sort of date would that be?
0:50:57 > 0:50:59We're going to be looking early 1900s.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02- Really?- Maybe something between 1903,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05maybe even up to as late as 1910.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09There's only been a handful of them ever come to market.
0:51:09 > 0:51:14- Right.- So, all of that adds together to say that your mum,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16you know, everyone was right.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18They were right, they knew what they were talking about!
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Remember, always trust your mother.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25- That's right.- Maybe whilst not as valuable as maybe ten years ago,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29I still think today you're looking at a piece of Moorcroft
0:51:29 > 0:51:32worth in the region of £5,000 to £6,000.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Really? That much? Gosh!
0:51:34 > 0:51:37I'll have to be more careful when I dust it!
0:51:41 > 0:51:42Now, it really isn't often
0:51:42 > 0:51:44that I get a picture like this
0:51:44 > 0:51:45on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47This is an artist I know very well.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49His name is Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
0:51:49 > 0:51:53and it's a portrait of your great-great-grandfather
0:51:53 > 0:51:55and he was Leopold Lowenstam,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57a very important man to Tadema
0:51:57 > 0:51:58because he was his engraver.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04If you could say that 20th century British artists got rich,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07that's nothing compared to the Victorians and one of the ways
0:52:07 > 0:52:10they got rich, one of the main ways was the sale of engravings.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13This man, Lowenstam, your great-great-grandfather,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16was incredibly important to Tadema
0:52:16 > 0:52:18through his dealer Gambart,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21about whom, incidentally, my father wrote a book.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24So, this is really a sweet spot for me.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27I think the etchings were sold for, er...
0:52:27 > 0:52:31three guineas each and there were runs of about 1,000 or so.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34It adds up and I know that the copyright to Tadema's paintings were
0:52:34 > 0:52:37sometimes sold for more than the paintings themselves,
0:52:37 > 0:52:38it was SO valuable.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41So that's just some measure of the Victorian print trade.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43When you first came in,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46I was talking to Fiona about it earlier and I got very excited, because you
0:52:46 > 0:52:48brought this, this small picture here,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50which is actually just painted over
0:52:50 > 0:52:52in white over a photograph.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It's done by Tadema for your great-great-grandfather
0:52:55 > 0:52:59as an aid, so that he could see how to make his engraving.
0:52:59 > 0:53:00It's an essay in tone,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03rendering colour into black-and-white
0:53:03 > 0:53:07so that Lowenstam could understand it and make his plate.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09What I like about the portrait of him is
0:53:09 > 0:53:13here he is actually making the plate from a painting by Tadema and he's
0:53:13 > 0:53:17got the copper there. He's got a rest made out of wood for his hands,
0:53:17 > 0:53:19so he doesn't have to touch the copper
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and he's got the stylus or burin there
0:53:22 > 0:53:25and here in this jar, I think some kind of volatile,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28some acid or something that he can wipe across the plate
0:53:28 > 0:53:29to see how he's doing.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33A magnifying glass and then the light has been diffused by this
0:53:33 > 0:53:34wonderful paper screen
0:53:34 > 0:53:38that's set at an angle against the window, so that
0:53:38 > 0:53:40the light is non-directional.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45He's done the same by tilting the picture that he is engraving forwards slightly
0:53:45 > 0:53:49to get the reflection off the glass and so he can really look at it.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51The eyestrain must have been extraordinary!
0:53:51 > 0:53:53But what a wonderful portrait.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56This is what the French call contre-jour,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58when the light comes from behind.
0:53:58 > 0:53:59It casts his face in shadow
0:53:59 > 0:54:02that gives it a peculiar emphasis and gives an opportunity
0:54:02 > 0:54:07to really show off about the way he's painted this material of his
0:54:07 > 0:54:09working coat here.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11What an amazing portrait.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13You must know something about it?
0:54:13 > 0:54:14It was a wedding present, um...
0:54:15 > 0:54:20..and I think the wedding was in 1883 and then it was...
0:54:20 > 0:54:22That's the date of the picture, it's up there.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Yes, and it was displayed
0:54:24 > 0:54:28in the Royal Academy a year later in 1884, at the summer exhibition.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31In fact, it's actually inscribed with a dedication here
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and the dedication is to MRS Lowenstam...
0:54:35 > 0:54:37of her husband aged 41 years
0:54:37 > 0:54:39and this painting, I think,
0:54:39 > 0:54:40we know what that painting is.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44That's also dated 1883, so it's also the year of his greatest success.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46He'd only just been made a Royal Academician,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49he'd just moved into this massive house,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52he was making tonnes of money, he was very happy.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54We're talking about Tadema here, not Lowenstam.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58He was a very happy, jovial man, he liked to drink, very charming.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01Was he charming to your great-great-grandfather?
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Yes, well, they were close family friends and I think my
0:55:04 > 0:55:10- great-great-grandmother might have been the governess to their children as well.- Oh, how interesting.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13That I didn't know, because I know that Lowenstam's daughter,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16who may be your great-grandmother, Millie?
0:55:16 > 0:55:20- Yes.- She recalled that Tadema was beastly to Lowenstam.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22- OK.- Beastly.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24There's a letter in which Tadema...
0:55:25 > 0:55:28..really lectures him and takes him
0:55:28 > 0:55:31to task and castigates him and calls him names.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34I mean, it's unbelievable and it's because the painter himself was
0:55:34 > 0:55:37a perfectionist and he expected his engraver to be as well.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41And yet there seems to have been this really intimate bond.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44You can't paint a portrait of somebody you don't respect
0:55:44 > 0:55:46in this way, can you?
0:55:46 > 0:55:50- That's interesting. - So, in terms of value,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53I think that's just white over a photograph
0:55:53 > 0:55:56and so you wouldn't say it's actually properly a painting,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59but it is by the hand of Tadema, so I'm going
0:55:59 > 0:56:01to say £1,000 to £2,000 on that.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04Tadema, a very valuable artist in his own day
0:56:04 > 0:56:08and in recent times, he's become very valuable again.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11In fact, he holds the record for a Victorian painting
0:56:11 > 0:56:15at 36 million for an enormous picture
0:56:15 > 0:56:17sold in New York a few years ago.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18This one doesn't quite reach that,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22because it's not of a neoclassical subject and it's not huge,
0:56:22 > 0:56:24but it is very, very good.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Er, I'm going to put it at £200,000 to £300,000.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34(Yeah.)
0:56:38 > 0:56:39Oh!
0:56:42 > 0:56:46- The trouble is, it would never be sold.- No, of course not.
0:56:46 > 0:56:47What a wonderful thing!
0:56:47 > 0:56:51Actually, you know, I think this might be one of the best pictures we've ever seen on the Roadshow
0:56:51 > 0:56:53in its entire history.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58You know, a palpable sense of excitement
0:56:58 > 0:57:00goes round the whole Roadshow team
0:57:00 > 0:57:03when something like that painting is brought in.
0:57:03 > 0:57:04You could hear the intake of breath
0:57:04 > 0:57:07from all the crowd around when Rupert put that valuation on it.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10And one of my favourite artists, too. What more could you ask for?
0:57:10 > 0:57:13From Arley Hall and the whole Roadshow team,
0:57:13 > 0:57:14until next time, bye-bye.