Broughton Castle 2 Antiques Roadshow


Broughton Castle 2

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Today, the Antiques Roadshow makes a return visit

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to Broughton Castle, tucked away in the Oxfordshire countryside,

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near Banbury, home to the same family

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for 600 years.

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20 generations of the Fiennes have lived in

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and looked after this little-known jewel of a medieval mansion.

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And in case you're thinking, "That name sounds familiar,"

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that's because famous relatives include Sir Ranulph Fiennes,

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the explorer, and Hollywood stars Ralph and Joseph Fiennes.

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In the gallery, portraits mark out the centuries of the family

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at Broughton, from the 1500s, right up to the current Lord Saye and Sele.

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But Broughton Castle was nearly lost to the Fiennes

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because, like many wealthy families,

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they had one black sheep, who had a good go at squandering

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the family fortune.

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In the late 1700s, William Thomas wanted to be part

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of the in-crowd, hanging out with Prince Regent George IV -

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surely the most flamboyant and spendthrift man of his time.

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So, William Thomas embarked on a similarly gilded lifestyle

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in fashionable London. He'd have pheasant eggs for breakfast,

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threw lavish parties, would have two bottles of sherry at bedtime.

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That must have helped him drop off!

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The quiet country life here? That just wasn't for him.

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Broughton Castle was left closed and neglected until, finally,

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William was forced to sell off the contents, to pay off his debts.

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Everything went into this catalogue and, over eight days,

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went under the hammer. There was a Titian, a Veronese

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and even - the last entry here, from the moat -

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the swan, with her cygnets.

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The house was rented out in 1885 and it wasn't until 1912,

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when the Fiennes managed to move back in and gradually brought the house

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back to its pristine condition and opened it up to visitors,

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like those who have come for our Roadshow today.

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These are so sumptuous, so colourful.

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Something that you wear on those long, dark winter evenings?

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No, hardly! I found them in my dressing-up box, as a child.

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-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-The things we find in dressing-up boxes.

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I think they're fantastic.

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They really are. So, you've had them in your family

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-since you were a child?

-Yes.

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And did you wear them or were they too big for you, then?

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No, I couldn't get my feet into them, at the time.

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-My younger brother could.

-Oh. How did they come into your family?

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Well, my grandfather was an MP and he went out on trade missions.

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And I think that, probably, he was given them on one

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of these trade visits to Asian countries.

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And where do you think they are from in Asia?

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-Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.

-Which is part of the Ottoman Empire.

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-Yes.

-And they are beautifully lined here.

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Really nice-quality silk ikat weave material.

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You know about ikat?

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-No.

-It's made with... It's a resist dye.

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They'd tie bundles of threads together and dye them.

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Then, they take the bundles apart and weave these amazing materials.

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I love the main body of the boot, in this sumptuous green velvet,

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with a complementary red embroidery, there, and the metal thread.

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These are Ottoman. And you've got the typical tulips.

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But these are made for somebody of nobility,

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either for ceremonial purposes,

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for a wedding, for a procession, and they're in fantastic condition.

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I would say these are about 1890 to 1910.

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Yeah, well, that figures. He would have gone there in the 1920s.

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They're really nice. They would appeal to people

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that are interested in Ottoman textiles,

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and textiles in general, but they would also appeal to fashion people.

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I mean, they are fabulous. I would think a value of these

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-would be something like £800 to £1,000.

-No!

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That's amazing!

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Designs for silver spoons don't really get much more simple

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-than that, do they?

-No.

-I mean, that could be Art Deco.

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Yes, it could.

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-Do you know that it's not?

-I knew it was older than that.

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I know very little about its history or its age.

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But the only thing that slightly concerned me,

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it looks as though this is not quite the same as the bowl of the spoon.

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But whether I'm right or wrong I don't know.

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-I'm glad to say, you're wrong!

-Oh, good! Good, I'm so glad.

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-It's absolutely right.

-It is right?

-Absolutely.

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-It's like the day it was made.

-Goodness.

-It's a very simple spoon,

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because it was made for people that had very simple tastes.

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During the Civil War, the Puritans decided that putting apostles

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and other decoration on the top of their spoons was rather irreverent.

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So, they went for a more plain design, a very simple, plain design,

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which is what this is. It's a Puritan's spoon.

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-It was made in about 1660, 1670.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Gosh.

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Made for somebody who would not have been a Cavalier,

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would have been a Roundhead, would have been a member

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of Cromwell's band, rather than a royalist.

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This one was made in the provinces.

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It's, in fact, made by a fellow called Richard Kirby, in York.

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So, it was made for a Yorkshireman.

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That does make sense, because a lot of my family were from Yorkshire.

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So, one of them, you can rely on,

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was a Puritan, or had Puritan sympathies,

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and would have owned this spoon.

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Was his name...? Did his name, or their name, begin with T?

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I've got quite a long family tree of the Yorkshire side,

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so it would be worth my researching that.

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-That's the family initial.

-So, that's the family initial.

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The fact that it's made in York is a very good thing.

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If it were made in London, it would be worth maybe £1,000, maybe £1,200.

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The fact that it's made in York means it's worth about £3,000.

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You're joking! Really?!

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Well, goodness me. I'm absolutely amazed.

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Are you really...? It's just been lying out, you know.

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I'm speechless.

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Well, here we are, before a classic English country house,

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with the most beautiful piece of French Art Nouveau.

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At the end of the 19th century,

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Art Nouveau was a movement that was really taking Europe by storm.

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So, I've got to ask,

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what's your connection, how do you own such a beautiful piece?

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It has travelled

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a very, very long way. It comes from Kiev in Ukraine.

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And my grandmother bought it, I think, 75, maybe 80 years ago,

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before the Second World War.

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My mother and my grandmother went to the market, to the food market,

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just for a weekly shop.

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And when they were leaving the market,

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all of a sudden, they spotted this vase and they bought it.

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I don't know how much they paid.

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It's stayed in the family all this time.

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It survived the Second World War.

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My grandfather was fighting at the front, he survived.

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My mother was stranded with her relatives and she spent years

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under Nazi occupation. And then, when they came back to Kiev in 1945

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and they saw this big bundle and, inside the bundle,

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was all their crockery, and, on top of it, was this vase.

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So, it survived all those trials and tribulations.

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We actually discovered what it might be completely by accident,

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because I went to Berlin, for my friend's wedding,

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and I popped into a lovely little Art Nouveau

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and Art Deco museum there.

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Suddenly, I saw a vase that looked strikingly similar to this one,

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especially this amber colour and also the patterns.

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I thought, "What's going on there?"

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I looked at the artist and it was Emile Galle.

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So, I came back home to London

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and we did a little bit of internet research

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and we looked at the sign at the bottom

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and, apparently, one of Emile Galle's signatures looked like that.

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So your question, really, today is, are you right?

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-Yeah, basically.

-You're not sure, are you?

-No.

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You're right.

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When we look underneath... You mentioned this glorious mark,

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which you couldn't quite read. But actually, it's all there.

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And inside, we've got this wonderful, fancy signature

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which, the minute I saw it, I knew said "Galle".

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Emile Galle, at the end of the 19th century,

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was one of those artists who really took the movement of Art Nouveau

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in France to a whole new level.

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It is what we would term a "cabochon cameo".

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And by "cabochon", it has everything.

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I mean, this vase really isn't short of anything for you.

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You've got these applied pads of colour onto the centres

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of the sunflowers. Internally, they've included foil with each

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pick-up and colour of glass. And then, the whole thing has been

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carved and acid cut and worked and treated, to produce this beautiful

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piece that has influences of the Far East, influences of Japan.

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It's such a piece of aesthetic art, it's breathtaking.

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This piece is around 1890.

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-Well, it's good, but how good?

-Tell us, please.

-Tell us.

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Well, if you had to go out and replace this vase,

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you are looking at something in the region of £8,000 to £12,000.

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-CROWD:

-Oh!

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-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Very nice.

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"This doll belonged to your great-great-grandmother,

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"Viscountess Harberton". Just explain your link, then.

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Well, my great-aunt,

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she was one of the first missionaries, actually.

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And she gave this doll to my aunt, my mother's sister.

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-Having inherited, then...

-It would have been her doll, yes.

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-1800s or something?

-It certainly goes back to the 1800s.

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She's in her original costume, which is lovely,

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to start with. She's made of papier mache.

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Her head is a papier mache head.

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And her little arms and legs are carved wood.

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So, she's a mixture of two different materials.

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And papier mache was a material that was used

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in the German doll-making companies -

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or cottage industries, as we can call them -

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in the early part of the 19th century.

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When we get to the precise date,

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I'm going to link it in, in fact, with what's in this tiny little box.

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-Yes.

-This is the most delicious, delicious box, isn't it?

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It came from the same aunt.

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-Did it, did it?

-Yes, it was one of her treasures.

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Let's open it up. And here, it says,

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"The English Bijou."

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-So here, in a little slipcase...

-That's right.

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..is...an absolutely wonderful miniature book.

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We can see that it is... Gosh, it's a proper, proper book.

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-Yes, yes.

-Printed, with images.

-Yes.

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And what's interesting to me, it might have a date in it.

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And it does. Right at the bottom there, says "Bijou for 1840."

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Oh, yes.

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-It's so often the case that little books like this...

-Yes.

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..were bought almost as an accessory for a little doll.

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Oh, I see, yes.

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So, here we have the doll and her reading material for 1840!

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-Yes!

-So, an early 19th-century doll, in such good condition,

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I think would probably fetch between £400, perhaps £450, £500 at auction.

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-Yes.

-The little book. Her reading matter, if you like,

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complete in its original slipcase and in its original box,

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hugely interesting to collectors. And I would put even more on that.

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-Really?

-I would put between £600 and £800 on it.

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Really?! I wasn't expecting that!

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We love a mystery on the Roadshow and this is our mystery object.

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Now, this belongs to you, sir.

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Yes. Well, that's been in our family for about 150, 200 years,

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I'm not quite sure. It says on it "Waterloo."

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I've always wanted to know what was in it.

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And no-one has ever opened it, have they?

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No, not since it was put in that box, as far as I know.

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-So you brought it here today, to find out what's inside?

-Yep.

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I was having a cup of milk and I had a friend round to tea

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from school. And her father came to collect her.

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He was looking at me most strangely

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and he got a bit more and more agitated. Finally, he said,

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"That's very precious!"

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And my mother told me to finish my milk and she took the mug away

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and she washed it up and she put it to the back of the sideboard.

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As they say, this is a military object, as they say in the Army,

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"Righty tighty, lefty loosey." So, let's turn it to the left...

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Made at Worcester, it's...1770.

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-So, goes back a long way.

-Wow!

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Right, now do you want to hold this? And I'll lift the back off.

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This is exciting!

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-There.

-It's out.

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Worcester, in the Chinese manner,

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made as a simple drinking mug for strong liquor, or for milk -

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whatever you wanted to use it for.

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Here we go...

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That bit's empty.

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It's empty, but there's no name. No name, either!

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It's empty!

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Your little milk mug, when you were ten years old, is worth £400.

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No!

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LAUGHTER

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I might put something stronger in it!

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Do you know, I've done a few things like this on the Roadshow

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and each time, either it's been empty

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-or there's been something like...

-A Biro.

-..a Biro lid in or something!

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Oh!

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Martin, behind you is your family home, the castle.

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And, dare I say it, in the 18th century,

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you may have employed these two people either side of me?

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Absolutely. Indeed, yes.

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-So, these are servant portraits?

-These are domestic workers,

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so here we've got a hedge cutter and, I think, this one, this side,

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might be what they call a still man.

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The still man, the guy who deals with the booze?

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Exactly. And that's me being imaginative(!)

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Let's look at the man on our right

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because, am I right in thinking there's a fresh varnish on this?

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Has this recently emerged?

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They've both recently been restored, this winter,

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but that one we took out of the attic completely black.

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You could just see the shiny bit on the edge of his blade.

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But otherwise, completely black, with a large hole through his head

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and down through his chest. And so, that's been completely restored

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and now we have this wonderful chap,

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with this little tear on his right eye.

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I noticed the tear. It's rather astonishing.

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I imagine, from a hedge cutter, you'd have thorns constantly

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going in your eyes and it's probably from a thorn

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that left him with a runny eye.

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You've raised such an interesting point,

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because the 17th and 18th century - and I think these date from

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the 18th century - are awash with portraits of aristocrats,

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portraits of monarchy, portraits of clergy,

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given this full-length treatment.

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But you've got here two people,

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two domestic staff, who have been given the grand makeover

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and they've been given full-length portraits.

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And this one that's just emerged I find absolutely compelling,

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-because his declaration of office is a patchwork leather suit.

-Mm-hm.

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-Presumably to keep the thorns away?

-Absolutely.

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He's a hedge cutter, he needs protection.

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Portraits were commissioned by, particularly, humane employers

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of their staff and it goes back to the 17th century.

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Most unusual, on this scale.

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Now, starting with the man on the left,

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I would put him safely into the 1730s.

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The man from the attic, with his billhook and his leather jerkin

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and his leather suit, I would say was slightly later.

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I would say it was probably 1770s, 1780s.

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I think there's a very high chance that it's by one

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of the Barker of Bath family,

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who have a highly distinctive way of painting,

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who loved doing rustics, who are particularly good at it

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and setting the rustics in their natural setting.

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Who do we think, specifically, might have commissioned these

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-in the 18th century?

-It could have been John.

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So, John, the 12th Lord Saye and Sele, lived here 1730, 1765,

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something like that. So, that might tie in with the dates.

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What do you think this says about your family?

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Was it, particularly, a kind and generous one to the staff?

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Eh...some of the time!

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The first Lord Saye had his head chopped off,

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I think, for not being very nice to his tenants.

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And since then, there's been a great tradition of liberals in the family.

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Just the sort of people who might have commissioned

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giant-size portraits of the people who made their life work.

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-So, Martin, the subject of value comes up.

-OK.

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Well, these are very important sociological documents,

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particularly on this scale.

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I'd probably put a valuation of 60,000 to 80,000

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on the man with the wine.

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And...I don't know, I can see this over £100,000

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perhaps £120,000, for what I think is Barker of Bath.

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This is really important sociological painting.

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This is portraiture like we normally don't encounter it.

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Wow! My jaw has just... rested on the floor.

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Thank you.

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You know what they're for.

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They're pocket globes, and this would be for use in the local tavern

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or pub, effectively, and you'd impress your friends

0:18:340:18:37

by saying - it's the internet of its day -

0:18:370:18:40

where you would hold that up and say,

0:18:400:18:41

"This is where I've been or want to go.

0:18:410:18:44

"And this is where I've travelled to and from."

0:18:440:18:46

You've got the trade routes on there.

0:18:460:18:48

You've got New Holland, which is now Australia,

0:18:480:18:51

and then it gets better when you see inside the case.

0:18:510:18:55

You've got the celestial globe, showing the positions of the stars.

0:18:550:18:59

You know, what more could you ask for?

0:18:590:19:01

You've got the maker there.

0:19:010:19:03

Nathaniel Hill. "New Terrestrial Globe," 1754,

0:19:030:19:08

in the period of George II.

0:19:080:19:10

When I saw this a little while ago,

0:19:120:19:14

immediately, my suspicions are raised.

0:19:140:19:17

These are one of THE most faked antiques.

0:19:170:19:19

Please tell me you didn't pay a lot for it.

0:19:190:19:23

No, we didn't pay a lot, actually.

0:19:230:19:25

We've recently become custodians of it for a very dear family friend,

0:19:250:19:29

who we've known for over 30 years,

0:19:290:19:31

who's moved into a care home, and we've been securing his house

0:19:310:19:35

and he always told me about a globe.

0:19:350:19:38

Didn't really talk about it, but just said,

0:19:380:19:40

make sure we look after it. And we found it in a drawer upstairs.

0:19:400:19:44

-So, no, we haven't paid a lot of money for it.

-OK.

0:19:440:19:47

When I say "faked", for a long, long time, they have been faking these.

0:19:470:19:52

Look at it, it's, literally, like new.

0:19:520:19:56

Suspicions are raised.

0:19:570:19:59

You open it and...like new.

0:19:590:20:02

Again, suspicions raised. You have got

0:20:030:20:05

arguably the best maker there - Nathaniel Hill.

0:20:050:20:10

Worrying.

0:20:120:20:13

-Dated 1754. All these things are just too good to be true.

-Right.

0:20:130:20:18

-OK.

-What do you think?

0:20:180:20:20

I know it's been treasured and looked after

0:20:200:20:23

for the last 91 years.

0:20:230:20:26

-OK.

-How would it have been made?

0:20:260:20:29

This is a travelling case, so that in a fish skin.

0:20:290:20:33

These are made out of paper. They were made out of various skins.

0:20:330:20:36

I think even chicken skins were used, because they are so fine,

0:20:360:20:40

you could get that decoration on there.

0:20:400:20:42

All this is hand-coloured.

0:20:420:20:44

It's just... I think it's lovely.

0:20:440:20:47

What do you still think - right or wrong?

0:20:470:20:49

-Who knows?

-You are tempting us with...

0:20:490:20:52

-Teasing!

-I'm going to put you out of your misery,

0:20:520:20:55

it's absolutely right. It's just lovely and you see these,

0:20:550:20:59

-all day long, at £2,000 to £3,000 at auction.

-Right. OK.

0:20:590:21:04

-But this is WAY better than any I've ever seen at auction.

-Oh, OK.

0:21:060:21:10

-Wow.

-£8,000 to £12,000.

0:21:110:21:13

Oh, my goodness!

0:21:130:21:15

-How fantastic!

-It's just the best.

0:21:150:21:18

If you want one, this is the best you'll ever get, without doubt.

0:21:180:21:22

-The best I've ever seen.

-Thank you very much.

-Great, thank you.

0:21:220:21:26

What we have here looks like a pretty ordinary book, doesn't it?

0:21:290:21:32

Its title in French,

0:21:320:21:34

roughly translated, is The Grand Practical Encyclopaedia

0:21:340:21:37

Of Mechanics And Electricity.

0:21:370:21:39

But there's more to it than meets the eye.

0:21:390:21:41

-There certainly is, yes.

-Tell me how you came to have it.

0:21:410:21:44

I've known the book since I was quite young, actually.

0:21:440:21:47

My dad bought it at a second-hand bookshop in London,

0:21:470:21:50

probably 45 years ago. He died about 20 years ago

0:21:500:21:53

and left it to me, because I liked it so much as a child.

0:21:530:21:58

Let's look at what it does. So, it's a wonderful, wonderful book

0:21:580:22:04

from 1930, with these incredible parts, which fold out.

0:22:040:22:07

You can look right inside the workings of a train

0:22:070:22:11

and steam engines. Endless detail there, isn't there?

0:22:110:22:15

-Yes.

-Did he let you play with it?

0:22:170:22:20

He did, although I suspect he must have been over my shoulder,

0:22:200:22:23

because it's fairly fragile, as you can see.

0:22:230:22:25

It's all survived perfectly well, so obviously, I was careful enough.

0:22:260:22:31

-Why do you think he bought it?

-Well, he was an engineer,

0:22:310:22:35

ran an engineering firm, so he had a deep interest in engineering,

0:22:350:22:39

but also, he was an artist. I think the combination really appealed

0:22:390:22:43

to him and that's what attracted him to it.

0:22:430:22:45

This one's my favourite, the automobile. It's really fantastic.

0:22:450:22:50

-Yes!

-Incredible. You can go right inside the carriage of the car,

0:22:500:22:55

right inside to the plush interior, the engine,

0:22:550:22:59

and, I guess, in a way...

0:22:590:23:01

it was designed for engineers and engineering students

0:23:010:23:05

to have a look at what was inside.

0:23:050:23:08

In a way, one could say it is seriously collectable.

0:23:080:23:11

It's a movable book. This is the category that we call it.

0:23:110:23:15

And I would estimate the value at auction to be something

0:23:150:23:18

-like £200 or £300.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

-Well, that's nice to know.

0:23:180:23:22

More than your father paid?

0:23:230:23:25

Yes, I think there's a pencil mark somewhere in the front saying £25.

0:23:250:23:29

-Pretty good return.

-So, not a bad return, yes!

0:23:290:23:33

-Absolutely. Thank you for bringing it to the Roadshow.

-Thank YOU.

0:23:330:23:37

In the early '50s, my nan sent my grandad out to buy a blue vase.

0:23:410:23:46

-And he came back with this?

-He did.

-OK. Did it fit the description?

0:23:460:23:50

I think so. Probably a little bit bigger than she expected.

0:23:500:23:52

So, she was expecting that sort of size and it came back...

0:23:520:23:55

-That's it. Certainly, a surprise.

-So, whereabouts does it sit?

0:23:550:23:58

It's not going to fit on a shelf, is it?!

0:23:580:24:01

No, no! Unfortunately, tucked away behind the sofa.

0:24:010:24:04

Where did he go to find this blue vase this big?

0:24:040:24:07

It was Coundon Court, which is in Coventry.

0:24:070:24:10

The owner of Coundon Court was Henry Singer,

0:24:100:24:12

who was the Henry Singer of the motor vehicles and pushbikes.

0:24:120:24:17

We believe he bought this to furnish Coundon Court

0:24:170:24:21

when it was first built in the early 1900s.

0:24:210:24:24

My grandad's brother and sister,

0:24:240:24:28

one was a gardener and one was a chef at Coundon Court,

0:24:280:24:30

and I think they tipped him off there was a blue vase there.

0:24:300:24:32

-There was a blue vase going?

-A blue vase going.

0:24:320:24:35

We should look at it. It is the most magnificent thing.

0:24:350:24:37

This is Sevres, this is the royal French factory, or at this time,

0:24:370:24:41

during the Third Republic, the official state French factory.

0:24:410:24:44

We have these beautiful, almost Egyptian, duck heads here,

0:24:440:24:49

with this gilding. This vase is all about the porcelain.

0:24:490:24:52

Sevres are saying, "We can make a vase this big,"

0:24:520:24:56

and they want to show off the beautiful blue ground.

0:24:560:24:59

These vases, they were made, mainly,

0:24:590:25:01

as exhibition vases or for presentation.

0:25:010:25:04

We have got the inscribed date, when the actual porcelain was made

0:25:040:25:08

in 1870, and we have the printed mark, as well, for 1886,

0:25:080:25:11

when they decided to decorate it.

0:25:110:25:13

Have you ever thought of investigating this

0:25:130:25:16

and writing to the people who made it? Because the factory

0:25:160:25:18

is still going today and they have amazing archives.

0:25:180:25:20

Some time ago, my mum did write to Sevres,

0:25:200:25:23

and the information we got back, that it was made in 1886

0:25:230:25:29

and gilded for an exhibition in 1889, I think, in Paris.

0:25:290:25:35

And we think the person who laid the paint on was a lady

0:25:370:25:41

called Godding, an artist called Godding.

0:25:410:25:43

So, we think it was made for an exhibition.

0:25:430:25:46

So, as an exhibition vase, a one-off made for display,

0:25:460:25:50

you are going to be finding £5,000 behind your sofa.

0:25:500:25:53

-Lovely. Thank you very much.

-It's a pleasure.

0:25:530:25:55

We'd like your help for a special edition

0:26:000:26:02

of the Antiques Roadshow we're making with the assistance

0:26:020:26:05

of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

0:26:050:26:08

We've occasionally featured stories and objects owned by Jewish families

0:26:080:26:11

during World War II in previous editions of the Antiques Roadshow.

0:26:110:26:15

The father dug a hole in the yard and just put all

0:26:170:26:19

the family jewellery inside it and, hopefully, to return one day.

0:26:190:26:26

Jewels buried by families fleeing the Nazis.

0:26:260:26:30

That's my very precious remnant of this story.

0:26:300:26:32

'A precious watch that's a permanent reminder of a relative

0:26:320:26:36

'who lost her life in Auschwitz.'

0:26:360:26:38

This ring, for me, was a symbol of love...

0:26:380:26:42

and hope.

0:26:420:26:44

A ring, a survivor kept hidden through several concentration camps.

0:26:440:26:49

We are interested to hear more accounts that tell of

0:26:500:26:52

this dark period in history. As well as stories of loss and tragedy,

0:26:520:26:57

we know there are stories of hope and love to be discovered, too.

0:26:570:27:01

If you or your family would like to share your story,

0:27:010:27:03

please contact us via...

0:27:030:27:04

Broughton Castle is surrounded by the most beautiful countryside.

0:27:130:27:18

Of course, lambs are in the field

0:27:180:27:20

and if it wasn't for the telephone mast behind me and the odd car

0:27:200:27:24

going past, we could be

0:27:240:27:25

in the 19th century, it's that beautiful.

0:27:250:27:29

Of course, you've brought in a stunning watercolour

0:27:290:27:31

from the 19th century, by John Faulkner.

0:27:310:27:34

Of course, it was the British landscape,

0:27:340:27:37

the glorious British landscape, that inspired many thousands of artists.

0:27:370:27:41

Your watercolour is signed by John Faulkner.

0:27:410:27:43

And it's inscribed, "A Farm Near Pinner."

0:27:430:27:47

Now, I associate John Faulkner's work with Ireland,

0:27:470:27:50

particularly in the early part of his life.

0:27:500:27:52

-Yes.

-What's your connection to this watercolour?

0:27:520:27:55

Well, I'm originally from Northern Ireland.

0:27:550:27:58

My family had this in the hallway of our home and I grew up

0:27:580:28:03

with it, as a child. I always liked it, because it is

0:28:030:28:06

-a natural country scene.

-Absolutely. It's so beautiful.

0:28:060:28:10

As I say, nowadays, you visit the countryside in Britain,

0:28:100:28:13

it's inspiring. It's still very beautiful,

0:28:130:28:16

especially away from the urban cities.

0:28:160:28:18

Faulkner, right in the early part of his life - he was born in Dublin,

0:28:180:28:22

he was a precocious talent, actually -

0:28:220:28:24

he became an associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy at the age of 17.

0:28:240:28:28

Now, the RHA, the Royal Hibernian Academy,

0:28:280:28:31

is really the Irish equivalent of the Royal Academy.

0:28:310:28:34

It was a very serious academy in Dublin,

0:28:340:28:37

where all the main artists would aspire to exhibit.

0:28:370:28:41

But later on in his life, he painted pictures in Scotland and England.

0:28:410:28:43

I just really love the sort of narrative.

0:28:460:28:47

It takes you away from what was happening in Victorian England,

0:28:470:28:51

everyone moving to the cities to get jobs, and, of course,

0:28:510:28:54

this brings you back to the glorious countryside of England,

0:28:540:28:57

this lovely meandering road, and the artist Faulkner

0:28:570:29:01

tips in a little bit here with rooftops, suggesting a village.

0:29:010:29:05

So, their journey is going to take them all the way along this road,

0:29:050:29:09

off to the village. They might be selling these pots.

0:29:090:29:11

Lovely little church on the right-hand side.

0:29:110:29:14

And it's oversentimentalised, isn't it, with the lovely ducks

0:29:140:29:18

on the pond? It's a very pleasing picture.

0:29:180:29:20

He was very prolific. He painted a lot of pictures,

0:29:200:29:23

exhibited regularly at the Royal Hibernian Academy.

0:29:230:29:26

Your watercolour is in lovely condition.

0:29:260:29:28

Now, it probably dates to about 1870.

0:29:280:29:32

-Wow.

-He was born in 1835, died in 1894. It's later on in his life.

0:29:320:29:37

It's really in the 1870s, 1880s, he is painting more in England,

0:29:370:29:41

-rather than in Ireland.

-Yes.

-I noticed the frame.

0:29:410:29:43

What's happened to that?

0:29:430:29:45

Well, when I was a child, we had a fire in our home

0:29:450:29:47

and, fortunately, this was downstairs in the hallway,

0:29:470:29:53

-because everything upstairs got burnt.

-Yes.

0:29:530:29:55

There was a different frame on it, it was gilded,

0:29:550:29:59

but it was completely different to this one.

0:29:590:30:03

I think my parents got it replaced after the fire.

0:30:030:30:06

-Right.

-So...

0:30:060:30:08

-Well, the good news is the watercolour survived.

-Yes.

0:30:080:30:11

And, actually, this inset is also the original.

0:30:110:30:14

But a beautiful country landscape.

0:30:140:30:17

Its value - certainly £1,500 to £2,500.

0:30:170:30:21

-Mm-hm, yeah.

-Really beautiful landscape,

0:30:210:30:23

-thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

0:30:230:30:27

So we have a really wonderful selection

0:30:280:30:31

of French clocks, English clocks, we've got another French clock,

0:30:310:30:35

a little Swiss clock and you've got a selection of watches.

0:30:350:30:39

So how many do you have in total?

0:30:390:30:41

There's about 31 watches, 25 or so clocks,

0:30:410:30:45

so quite a lot more than this.

0:30:450:30:46

Do you wind them up, do you have them all running?

0:30:460:30:48

The clocks are usually running, but not the watches.

0:30:480:30:51

The watches get wound every now and again.

0:30:510:30:53

You must have quite a noisy household.

0:30:530:30:56

Well, I try to turn the chimes off on the clocks that I can,

0:30:560:30:59

but, yeah, it's quite...

0:30:590:31:02

Keep everyone awake at night?

0:31:020:31:04

I just shove tissue in the back.

0:31:040:31:05

ALASTAIR LAUGHS

0:31:050:31:07

But what got you hooked into collecting clocks?

0:31:070:31:09

Well, I used to have an interest in old cars,

0:31:090:31:12

but somehow it moved onto clocks, I'm not sure how or why.

0:31:120:31:17

Well, clocks are certainly easier to store than cars,

0:31:170:31:20

so I think your parents could probably thank that,

0:31:200:31:23

that actually you moved on to watches and clocks

0:31:230:31:26

because they're far more portable, far easier to maintain.

0:31:260:31:29

Tell me a little bit

0:31:290:31:31

about one of the clocks that you've brought along here.

0:31:310:31:33

So, this is a French carriage clock,

0:31:330:31:37

and below the platform there's an interesting escapement.

0:31:370:31:41

It's not a normal escapement wheel.

0:31:410:31:44

I bought it and I was very puzzled by it.

0:31:440:31:46

So, I was trying to read loads of books and find out loads about it.

0:31:460:31:49

You're right, this is French,

0:31:490:31:51

it's probably late 19th to early 20th century.

0:31:510:31:55

What did you pay for it? Do you remember?

0:31:550:31:57

-25.

-25, so that's a good price, I think.

-Yeah.

0:31:570:32:00

French carriage clocks

0:32:000:32:02

you generally sell at auction between £100 to £120.

0:32:020:32:06

What's the future for you?

0:32:060:32:07

I'd like to be a horologist, make and design watches.

0:32:070:32:12

So I'm going to have to be very careful about my position, am I?

0:32:120:32:14

LAUGHTER

0:32:140:32:16

Are you going to be standing here and doing what I do?

0:32:160:32:20

-Probably.

-LAUGHTER

0:32:200:32:22

I think definitely, absolutely.

0:32:220:32:24

I'll be very disappointed if you don't.

0:32:240:32:26

Well, it's a wonderful collection,

0:32:260:32:27

and long may you continue and learn more.

0:32:270:32:30

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:32:300:32:32

-It's a French turkey, it's a dinde.

-Oh, OK.

0:32:340:32:36

Well, it's iconic.

0:32:380:32:40

You know, it's Christian Dior, it's absolutely right.

0:32:400:32:43

It's just got everything going for it from the 1950s.

0:32:430:32:47

But this was just the French being funny, it's a French joke.

0:32:470:32:51

And you know, if I had a small waist, I'd love to wear it now.

0:32:520:32:57

You can imagine, he's got his hat begging, almost,

0:32:580:33:01

but he's very big and prosperous, but actually he's a turkey cock,

0:33:010:33:04

so he's like a French mayor or a functionary.

0:33:040:33:07

I'd say it would easily make anywhere between £800 and £1,200.

0:33:090:33:14

Wow.

0:33:140:33:15

And he's probably actually a tobacco jar.

0:33:150:33:17

-Make £200 or £300.

-Thank you.

0:33:170:33:19

So this wonderful collection that we have here on the table -

0:33:220:33:25

photographs, medals, paperwork.

0:33:250:33:28

You introduce me to this rather splendid and dashing young man

0:33:290:33:32

sitting in the back of this aircraft over here -

0:33:320:33:35

who is this gentleman to you?

0:33:350:33:36

Er, this gentleman here,

0:33:360:33:37

this is Harold Blackburn, who was my grandfather.

0:33:370:33:40

He was a bicycle maker from Doncaster

0:33:400:33:42

and, in 1909, he got the aviation bug

0:33:420:33:44

and he designed and built his own aircraft.

0:33:440:33:47

-He built his own aircraft?

-Yes.

0:33:470:33:49

Along the veins of the Wright brothers?

0:33:490:33:51

-Very much along those lines, yes.

-OK.

0:33:510:33:54

And he was a very active flyer in the prewar years,

0:33:540:33:59

and he flew the first scheduled air services in Britain in 1914.

0:33:590:34:04

A real pioneer of the flying era?

0:34:040:34:07

Yes. Absolutely, yes.

0:34:070:34:09

And, when war broke out,

0:34:090:34:11

he immediately joined up with the Royal Flying Corps

0:34:110:34:14

and his aircraft was requisitioned.

0:34:140:34:16

And we can see from this piece of paper here that not only did he

0:34:160:34:19

join very quickly into the Royal Flying Corps as an officer,

0:34:190:34:21

but the war starting on the 4th of August 1914,

0:34:210:34:25

there is your grandfather, already joined as a pilot,

0:34:250:34:27

on the 19th of August 1914.

0:34:270:34:29

Yes, so on the 19th of August, he's fully certified as a combat pilot

0:34:290:34:33

in the Royal Flying Corps, and he was 35 years old.

0:34:330:34:36

-And he went off and flew in France?

-He flew in France in 1914

0:34:360:34:39

and then everybody thought the war would be over by Christmas.

0:34:390:34:42

Obviously, it wasn't. So at the beginning of 1915,

0:34:420:34:46

there was a very big expansion of the Royal Flying Corps

0:34:460:34:48

and he was made a flight commander in one of the new squadrons,

0:34:480:34:51

Number 14 Squadron,

0:34:510:34:53

and they were sent out to the Sinai Desert,

0:34:530:34:55

and it was the only squadron that was sent there

0:34:550:34:58

and that was to defend the Suez Canal from the Turkish army.

0:34:580:35:01

And we have this photograph taken from his aircraft of a Turkish camp?

0:35:020:35:07

Yes, this is a Turkish camp at Bi'r Hasanah,

0:35:070:35:09

which is in the middle of the Sinai Desert.

0:35:090:35:11

There were 3,000 Turkish infantry stationed here,

0:35:110:35:13

and this is the water tank.

0:35:130:35:15

And it was deliberately built as a very, very long rectangle

0:35:150:35:18

because it's very difficult to bomb.

0:35:180:35:20

My grandfather designed a bombsight,

0:35:200:35:22

and an Australian pilot successfully dropped a bomb

0:35:220:35:25

right in the middle of the water tank.

0:35:250:35:27

And you can even see the marks in the sand where all the water...

0:35:270:35:30

-Where the water came out around here.

-..came out,

0:35:300:35:32

leaving these 3,000 soldiers in the middle of the desert

0:35:320:35:34

without a water tank.

0:35:340:35:36

And for these efforts he was awarded some quite special medals?

0:35:360:35:39

Yes, he was awarded the Military Cross

0:35:390:35:42

for his efforts in the Sinai Desert.

0:35:420:35:45

Then we have a newish medal,

0:35:450:35:47

because as the Royal Air Force was formed in April 1918,

0:35:470:35:51

they got their own medals, and he has the Air Force Cross here.

0:35:510:35:54

Yes, that's right. He remained in Egypt throughout 1917.

0:35:540:35:58

In 1918, he was brought back to France,

0:35:580:36:00

and he received that decoration.

0:36:000:36:03

Then he has a 1914 star,

0:36:030:36:06

just showing how early he went out to France.

0:36:060:36:08

-Yes, that's right.

-The British War Medal and the Victory Medal,

0:36:080:36:10

and I know that we've also got a mention

0:36:100:36:12

in dispatches for him, as well...

0:36:120:36:15

Yes, we have several mentions in dispatches certificates, yes,

0:36:150:36:18

and he stayed in the Royal Air Force after World War I,

0:36:180:36:22

and he retired in 1929, and he moved to Jersey,

0:36:220:36:27

because he was a keen sailor.

0:36:270:36:29

And, of course, when the war came along, they were forced to evacuate,

0:36:290:36:33

and all of these medals and all of this memorabilia

0:36:330:36:35

-went into a potato pot, which was buried...

-A potato pot?

0:36:350:36:38

That's a potato jar, yes, with a big lid on it,

0:36:380:36:40

and that was buried in the back garden of their house in Jersey,

0:36:400:36:44

and that stayed there, buried, for six years,

0:36:440:36:46

throughout the entire German occupation.

0:36:460:36:48

And when the Germans left, the medals were dug back up again?

0:36:480:36:51

They were.

0:36:510:36:52

You have a wonderful set of photographs

0:36:520:36:55

from the very earliest days of flying.

0:36:550:36:58

You have photographs of aerial combat,

0:36:580:37:01

aerial bombing missions, from the First World War.

0:37:010:37:03

Again, almost unheard-of from that time.

0:37:030:37:07

They are a superb set of medals, and we would have to say that,

0:37:070:37:13

to any collector, they would be very happy

0:37:130:37:17

to pay £6,000 for your medals.

0:37:170:37:20

They are...just stunning, from the very early days of the Flying Corps.

0:37:200:37:25

And what a collection. Thank you so much for bringing them along

0:37:250:37:29

-and telling us that wonderful story.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:37:290:37:32

Well, this is a seriously spectacular lump.

0:37:340:37:36

How does it fit into your life?

0:37:360:37:38

Well, I use it as a paperweight at the moment.

0:37:380:37:40

-Oh!

-THEY LAUGH

0:37:400:37:41

-How much paper do you have?!

-Oh, I'm on my GCSEs,

0:37:410:37:43

so I have an awful lot of coursework to keep on my desk,

0:37:430:37:46

and it keeps it all down, so, yeah.

0:37:460:37:47

-So tell me about it.

-Well, my dad and I went to an auction.

0:37:470:37:51

He is an art dealer, so he usually takes me along with him.

0:37:510:37:54

And I saw it and I just fell in love with it,

0:37:540:37:56

and I managed to convince him to buy it for me,

0:37:560:37:59

and he managed to get it for £70, which is...

0:37:590:38:02

-Good old Dad!

-Yeah, I know!

0:38:020:38:03

So what was it that grabs you?

0:38:030:38:05

I mean, you know, it's very subjective,

0:38:050:38:06

it's obviously a sculpture, a glass sculpture.

0:38:060:38:08

-At the time, it was very dirty.

-OK.

0:38:080:38:11

However, I just liked the look of it and shape of it,

0:38:110:38:13

and, even though it was kind of dirty,

0:38:130:38:15

-the light just shined through it and it just caught my attention.

-Yeah.

0:38:150:38:20

-Well, good old Dad for buying it for you.

-Yeah.

0:38:200:38:22

It's Italian.

0:38:220:38:24

There is a signature on the bottom, do you know who made it?

0:38:240:38:28

Lucio Zanetti, I think - that's what we read the signature to be.

0:38:280:38:30

Yeah, pretty good, pretty good.

0:38:300:38:32

So it dates from about the '70s, and it's a free-made piece of glass.

0:38:320:38:36

Most of the glass in people's homes is mould-blown,

0:38:360:38:39

but this is made by stretching a piece of glass,

0:38:390:38:42

and then immersed in acid,

0:38:420:38:44

in probably a tank, with something like sawdust,

0:38:440:38:50

that allowed some areas to remain blank,

0:38:500:38:53

and others to be attacked by this vicious acid,

0:38:530:38:58

-which gives you this kind of stubbly-chin feel.

-Yeah.

0:38:580:39:02

And it echoes a general movement

0:39:020:39:03

that started coming through in the '70s

0:39:030:39:05

of using glass as an artistic substance.

0:39:050:39:08

I mean, this is... It's pretty rubbish as a drinking glass, this.

0:39:080:39:11

-Yeah.

-It is an out-and-out art piece.

0:39:110:39:15

-So Dad paid 70 quid for it?

-Yes.

0:39:150:39:17

That's got to be a 300- or 400-quid piece, I reckon.

0:39:170:39:20

-Wow!

-I think you chose jolly well.

0:39:220:39:24

GENTLE LAUGHTER

0:39:240:39:26

-Good on you.

-Thanks.

-You're welcome.

0:39:260:39:28

So, in this beautiful garden,

0:39:310:39:33

it's a perfect place to find a fabulous garden seat.

0:39:330:39:38

Where did you get this?

0:39:380:39:39

It was my grandma's.

0:39:390:39:41

And after she died, it passed to my mum.

0:39:410:39:44

She's since died, and it's mine now.

0:39:440:39:47

It's yours.

0:39:470:39:49

So this is majolica, it became very, very fashionable,

0:39:490:39:51

and everyone was impressed with it, including Queen Victoria,

0:39:510:39:54

and a lot of factories produced it - Minton, Wedgwood.

0:39:540:39:58

To me, these tortoiseshell glazes look very, very like George Jones,

0:39:580:40:02

but I can't find the mark on it.

0:40:020:40:04

So I can only say it's an English pottery manufacturer,

0:40:040:40:08

who's, you know, in the late 19th century.

0:40:080:40:11

Unfortunately, a bit of damage here,

0:40:110:40:13

which often happens with a big piece of majolica like this.

0:40:130:40:17

And I've got...

0:40:170:40:18

-Really, I've got for you the bad news and the good news.

-Mm.

0:40:180:40:23

So I'll start with the bad news,

0:40:230:40:25

is that if I'd been talking about this ten years ago...

0:40:250:40:29

..I'd have said it was worth £2,000, £3,000.

0:40:300:40:34

But that's when the Americans were buying it.

0:40:350:40:38

So, unfortunately...

0:40:380:40:40

Not in fashion any more.

0:40:400:40:42

-LAUGHING:

-No!

0:40:420:40:44

-Typical!

-So, going from the 2,000 to 3,000,

0:40:440:40:47

I'm now saying sort of 800, 1,000, which is not...

0:40:470:40:50

It's decent. Yes.

0:40:500:40:52

-It's decent.

-Thank you.

0:40:520:40:54

Well, I love the spirit of this bronze horse study,

0:41:010:41:05

and what's its background?

0:41:050:41:07

Well, it was a wedding present to my late wife's grandparents.

0:41:070:41:13

And the photographs you're clutching?

0:41:130:41:15

-That's the bridegroom, Horace Dare Smith.

-Right.

0:41:150:41:19

And that's the bride, Jeanne-Marie Hubert,

0:41:190:41:24

and they both came from horsey families, and horsey businesses.

0:41:240:41:29

I think it's absolutely fantastic,

0:41:290:41:31

-and to think that they knew and loved this bronze.

-Yes, yeah.

0:41:310:41:37

But I understand you're not totally clear who it's actually by?

0:41:370:41:41

No, no, I've looked at the signature,

0:41:410:41:43

and it looks Italian,

0:41:430:41:45

but that's all I can say, yes.

0:41:450:41:47

Well, you're on the right track -

0:41:470:41:49

it is by an Italian sculptor who has an almost unpronounceable name,

0:41:490:41:53

it's Count Agostino Marazzani-Visconti.

0:41:530:41:57

Which does sound a bit like

0:41:570:41:59

a biscuit you would dip in your coffee.

0:41:590:42:01

But a very well-respected artist, working from the mid-19th century

0:42:010:42:06

through to the sort of beginning, really, of the First World War.

0:42:060:42:10

I think he died in 1914.

0:42:100:42:12

-And your bronze is dated - it's dated 1892.

-Yeah.

0:42:120:42:17

And this has a fabulous colour,

0:42:170:42:19

and you've looked after it in the right way.

0:42:190:42:22

You've not sort of polished it up.

0:42:220:42:25

Well, I listen to the Antiques Roadshow,

0:42:250:42:27

and I take note of all the comments about polishing them, so...

0:42:270:42:31

Good man, good man.

0:42:310:42:32

-..it hasn't been overcleaned, by any means.

-No, exactly.

0:42:320:42:36

But, looking at the detail, what I love is obviously

0:42:360:42:39

the detail of the groom - his clothing,

0:42:390:42:41

his hairstyle, even his boots -

0:42:410:42:44

-they're brilliantly observed.

-Yeah.

0:42:440:42:47

-But what I love most of all is this muddy base...

-Really?

0:42:470:42:51

..the way the artist has imitated liquid mud,

0:42:510:42:55

with all the hoof marks, and, to me, that just lifts the thing

0:42:550:42:59

into a liveliness that many bronzes of horses,

0:42:590:43:02

I'll be honest, lack.

0:43:020:43:04

-Bronzes are not selling especially well in the current market.

-Mm-hm.

0:43:040:43:09

So I'm going to be a little bit conservative.

0:43:100:43:12

I think, if this went into auction,

0:43:120:43:15

I'd be putting an estimate of between £2,500 and £3,500.

0:43:150:43:20

Mm-hm. It was worth coming!

0:43:200:43:22

LAUGHTER

0:43:220:43:24

My great-great-great-grandfather...

0:43:240:43:28

..came to this country from Germany in the 1750s,

0:43:290:43:34

and he was a court tailor to the Hanoverian royal household.

0:43:340:43:38

How interesting.

0:43:380:43:40

And this is a waistcoat of George III's that he made.

0:43:400:43:45

So he arrived in the reign of George II,

0:43:450:43:48

cos George III came to the throne in 1762, didn't he?

0:43:480:43:53

And he went right the way through till 1814.

0:43:530:43:56

Well, now, let's just think if that would stack up.

0:43:560:43:59

When we think about dress, men's dress,

0:44:000:44:05

in the late 18th and early 19th century,

0:44:050:44:11

this is so typical. It was...

0:44:110:44:13

Your dress would be breeches, shirt, waistcoat, overcoat.

0:44:130:44:19

And the waistcoat itself was an intrinsic part of that,

0:44:190:44:25

and it was also...could be quite a flamboyant part of your dress.

0:44:250:44:30

-The ancestor that you mentioned, do you know the name?

-Yes.

0:44:300:44:35

-Which is?

-Johann Francklau, F-R-A-N-C-K-L-A-U.

-Yeah.

0:44:350:44:41

Later Anglicised to Francklow - L-O-W.

0:44:410:44:45

And when he died, in the church registers of that time,

0:44:450:44:50

he was registered as a clerk of the King's German chapel.

0:44:500:44:53

Excellent, so that's great, so you've done the research.

0:44:530:44:57

Let me just talk about the waistcoat that we're looking at here,

0:44:570:45:02

because it's made of this fabulous - what do I call it? -

0:45:020:45:05

sea green, aquamarine satin, and embroidered with silks,

0:45:050:45:10

and it's got this fabulous shine to it, hasn't it?

0:45:100:45:14

It's been worn.

0:45:140:45:15

We can see it's been worn because we have here...

0:45:150:45:19

..perspiration marks.

0:45:200:45:21

What I find is slightly more tricky for me

0:45:230:45:26

is to link it absolutely 100% to George III.

0:45:260:45:31

So, value. There are two distinct values, aren't there?

0:45:310:45:34

There's one as it is, which is, what, £500 to £600?

0:45:340:45:38

And there's that fantasy "could it be, may it one day be proved" value.

0:45:380:45:44

What's that? Probably not as much as you think.

0:45:440:45:47

I would imagine about £1,200 to £1,500,

0:45:470:45:51

-if we could link it in to George III.

-Yeah.

0:45:510:45:53

George III had a LOT of clothes.

0:45:530:45:56

-I'm sure he did.

-This isn't unique!

0:45:560:45:58

LAUGHTER

0:45:580:45:59

Well, two partridge and a grouse.

0:46:000:46:03

Not quite the Christmas carol, and we don't really have the pear tree,

0:46:030:46:07

but what can you tell me about them?

0:46:070:46:09

Basically, they've been in the family for as long as I know.

0:46:090:46:13

They came to me from my grandmother, up in Scotland.

0:46:130:46:17

-I was told they might be French, but I'm not totally sure.

-OK.

0:46:170:46:22

What they are is, in fact, Austrian.

0:46:220:46:23

-It's a group of animalia bronzes called cold-painted bronze.

-Right.

0:46:230:46:28

But, at the turn of the 19th century,

0:46:280:46:30

there were almost 50 foundries

0:46:300:46:32

producing this type of cold-painted bronze.

0:46:320:46:35

Well, they're painted with this dust paint, layers of dust paint,

0:46:350:46:39

and, in fact, they've lost the technique

0:46:390:46:41

of making this particular dust paint.

0:46:410:46:44

Most of them were painted by women, at home, so a real cottage industry.

0:46:440:46:49

You can just see how realistically done that they actually are.

0:46:490:46:54

An incredible weight for this one.

0:46:540:46:55

I mean, they were very, very skilled at doing this wonderful plumage,

0:46:550:46:59

and the scale of those, in particular, is very good.

0:46:590:47:03

-They are remarkably accurate in the way they've been painted.

-Yes.

0:47:030:47:09

-Do you like them, do you enjoy them?

-Absolutely, yes.

0:47:090:47:12

I mean, I've had them, luckily, for a very long time.

0:47:120:47:16

They're very special to me,

0:47:160:47:18

because they've come down through the family,

0:47:180:47:21

and they will continue to go through the family.

0:47:210:47:24

Date-wise, I would suspect they're probably, you know,

0:47:240:47:27

just late, probably early part of the 20th century,

0:47:270:47:29

so just maybe just turn of the century.

0:47:290:47:31

That said, if they came up for auction,

0:47:310:47:33

I think those two you would sell as a pair,

0:47:330:47:36

-and would carry an auction estimate of between £1,500 and £2,500.

-Right.

0:47:360:47:40

Your little one in front, your little grouse,

0:47:400:47:42

possibly around £500 to £700, something like that.

0:47:420:47:45

Brilliant. Thank you.

0:47:450:47:46

If I was a small child, to be given a toy of this size,

0:47:490:47:52

I would have been delighted.

0:47:520:47:54

It's got lots of action.

0:47:540:47:55

It's American, and had you been living in New York,

0:47:550:48:00

you would have seen these horse-drawn carriages,

0:48:000:48:02

fire engines, dashing through the streets

0:48:020:48:04

in order to get to the fire as quickly as possible. And, er...

0:48:040:48:07

..here at the back, you can see one of the firefighters

0:48:080:48:11

hanging on for dear life,

0:48:110:48:12

cos you can imagine going down those square streets,

0:48:120:48:14

going round the corner, and he's nearly falling off.

0:48:140:48:18

And the horses, as you pushed it along, or pulled it along,

0:48:180:48:21

they were linked to this front wheel,

0:48:210:48:24

so they would have gone up, up and down, like that.

0:48:240:48:27

So how does an American toy come to be here in rural England?

0:48:280:48:32

-It belonged to my great-grandfather...

-Mm-hm.

0:48:320:48:36

-..who lived outside of the town of Llanelli.

-Right.

0:48:360:48:40

And, apparently, at some time or other, maybe 1890, 1900,

0:48:400:48:45

I'm not sure when, he went to America.

0:48:450:48:48

And this is one of the items he brought back.

0:48:490:48:52

It must have been quite a journey, actually, by boat at that time.

0:48:520:48:54

-Absolutely, a long journey.

-Yes.

0:48:540:48:56

And this is not the lightest thing to bring back, is it?

0:48:560:48:58

I know, it's extraordinary.

0:48:580:48:59

I played with it as a child.

0:48:590:49:00

-Oh, really?

-I was told to be careful!

0:49:000:49:03

I think this is probably made by a company called Hubley,

0:49:040:49:07

who were a Pennsylvanian company

0:49:070:49:09

who were making cast-iron toys from the 1890s.

0:49:090:49:13

And as this is horse-drawn, I would think it probably dates

0:49:130:49:17

from the first decade of the 20th century, so 1900, 1910.

0:49:170:49:21

Here in Europe, the major toy manufacturers

0:49:210:49:23

made everything in tin, in Germany, mostly,

0:49:230:49:26

so it's very rare to find a cast-iron toy here in the UK.

0:49:260:49:31

-So that's another thing that excites me as well.

-Oh, right.

0:49:310:49:34

So it is a rare piece and also it's in great original condition,

0:49:340:49:38

nobody's tried to restore it.

0:49:380:49:40

Needs a bit of linkage there, but apart from that...

0:49:400:49:43

-it's a good piece.

-Oh, right, right.

0:49:430:49:46

If you ever did decide to sell it,

0:49:460:49:48

I think it really should go back to the USA,

0:49:480:49:51

cos that's where the market is, that's where the collectors are.

0:49:510:49:54

If you sold it here in the UK,

0:49:540:49:56

-we're probably talking about a figure of up to £3,000.

-Gosh.

0:49:560:50:01

Wow.

0:50:010:50:02

But could be substantially more in America.

0:50:020:50:06

Well, thank you.

0:50:060:50:07

Well, it's the evening and we're going into darkness.

0:50:090:50:13

This piece of jewellery is about somebody that went into darkness

0:50:130:50:16

and it's a piece of mourning jewellery

0:50:160:50:17

and the most particularly beautiful piece of mourning jewellery.

0:50:170:50:20

Tell me about it, with you.

0:50:200:50:21

Well, I don't know much about it.

0:50:210:50:23

The only thing I do know is it came from some cousins of my grandfather.

0:50:230:50:28

But, other than that, I know nothing at all about it.

0:50:280:50:31

It's obviously a piece of mourning jewellery,

0:50:310:50:34

and we know that for a number of reasons.

0:50:340:50:36

The first is, it's laid onto a background of human hair.

0:50:360:50:40

The background?

0:50:400:50:42

The background is literally human hair,

0:50:420:50:44

beautifully arranged and glued to the background.

0:50:440:50:47

And then it's overlain with lilies.

0:50:470:50:50

But the lilies are made of the tiniest seed pearls imaginable.

0:50:500:50:54

It's breathtaking craftsmanship.

0:50:540:50:56

And they're significant because they're emblems of purity.

0:50:560:50:59

But not only that, they are full-blown lilies,

0:50:590:51:01

which are another emblem of death -

0:51:010:51:03

all plants full-blown are suggestions of mortality.

0:51:030:51:07

And here we have a jewel reminding us of our own mortality.

0:51:070:51:11

So this is an emblem of love gone beyond the grave.

0:51:110:51:16

-It's very romantic stuff, isn't it?

-It is.

-It's heartbreaking.

-It is.

0:51:160:51:19

And the strange thing is that, more often than not,

0:51:190:51:22

the background of these jewels, which is pure gold,

0:51:220:51:24

is engraved with the name of the person that's being commemorated.

0:51:240:51:30

In this instance, it's completely blank.

0:51:300:51:32

I have to say it's a very high-status object indeed, because

0:51:320:51:35

it would have cost an enormous amount of money to have it made.

0:51:350:51:38

It was made for a specific purpose,

0:51:380:51:39

for a specific family and there was no question

0:51:390:51:42

of it leaving the family.

0:51:420:51:43

-Probably hasn't left the family.

-No.

0:51:430:51:45

This is probably one of your ancestors.

0:51:450:51:48

But we're looking at craftsmanship,

0:51:480:51:50

almost certainly London craftsmanship,

0:51:500:51:53

of the highest possible calibre.

0:51:530:51:55

And everything about it suggests to me - the craftsmanship

0:51:550:51:59

and the meticulous craftsmanship - that it dates from about 1760.

0:51:590:52:03

Oh, goodness.

0:52:030:52:04

We know people were making these jewels in Central London,

0:52:040:52:08

up and down Regent Street, and they boasted of what they could do.

0:52:080:52:12

They made trade cards, saying how the hair of the beloved

0:52:120:52:17

could be arranged in the form of flowers, in the form of feathers.

0:52:170:52:21

And you'd take the hair of the deceased

0:52:210:52:23

to those people to work them up. And why did you do it?

0:52:230:52:27

The reason to do it is because death

0:52:270:52:29

was ever-present in the 18th century.

0:52:290:52:32

And commemoration was everything,

0:52:320:52:34

because it was an age without photography,

0:52:340:52:36

certainly without the moving image, and there was a terror

0:52:360:52:40

that people who had died, you wouldn't remember their face.

0:52:400:52:43

So you would take what is incorruptible from them -

0:52:430:52:47

their hair - and wear it.

0:52:470:52:49

So it's very macabre in its own way today, but not so,

0:52:490:52:53

it's social history at the highest possible level

0:52:530:52:55

and here we have an anonymous voice, a voice beyond the grave,

0:52:550:52:59

telling us all of this. Couldn't ask for more, could you?

0:52:590:53:01

-No.

-No.

0:53:010:53:03

And how to value it?

0:53:030:53:05

It's a very hard one to do because it's a family jewel.

0:53:050:53:09

It's part of your DNA, probably IS the same DNA,

0:53:090:53:12

and how are we going to put a price on that?

0:53:120:53:14

£800 for this, maybe £1,200.

0:53:140:53:18

-But you're not going to do it, are you?

-No.

0:53:180:53:20

I'm speechless, really.

0:53:200:53:22

I thought it would be worth, um...

0:53:220:53:25

I don't know, maybe £200, £300.

0:53:250:53:27

I can't believe it's worth that much.

0:53:270:53:30

Wow!

0:53:300:53:31

-What a tankard!

-Yes.

0:53:310:53:33

I am so jealous of you owning this.

0:53:340:53:38

I would love to have this in my collection.

0:53:380:53:41

How long have you actually had the good fortune of owning it?

0:53:410:53:46

Owning it, only since it was passed to me,

0:53:460:53:48

-but I've known it all my life.

-Right.

0:53:480:53:51

But I know little about it.

0:53:510:53:53

What we've got here...

0:53:530:53:55

The form is entirely European - very English, actually.

0:53:550:53:59

It's the form of a 17th-century tankard.

0:53:590:54:03

Right.

0:54:030:54:05

-But it's not English.

-Oh.

0:54:050:54:07

And, of course, when we look at the decoration,

0:54:070:54:10

we've got all this absolutely fabulous work,

0:54:100:54:14

where these have actually been made separately in pieces

0:54:140:54:17

and applied to the surface.

0:54:170:54:20

It's interesting how the animals and the various flower heads

0:54:200:54:23

have been picked out with gold,

0:54:230:54:25

which is actually known as parcel gilding,

0:54:250:54:28

which is a corruption of being partially gilt.

0:54:280:54:32

-Look at that dragon's head!

-Yeah.

-Ah!

0:54:320:54:34

You know, that is so wonderful.

0:54:340:54:38

-Of its type of work, it's the finest I have ever seen.

-Right.

0:54:380:54:44

-And it's not often you can say that.

-Oh, right.

0:54:440:54:46

So where does it come from?

0:54:460:54:48

-China?

-Well, yes.

0:54:490:54:51

Most likely over towards Batavia, because there's only one mark on it,

0:54:520:54:58

which is stamped on the base and just there.

0:54:580:55:01

-Do you see that little V?

-Yes, yeah.

0:55:010:55:04

-That's a Dutch verification mark...

-Oh, right.

0:55:040:55:07

-..that was put on in the 19th century.

-Right.

0:55:070:55:10

So, that would link up nicely with Batavia.

0:55:100:55:14

The market today for Chinese work, Chinese-related pieces,

0:55:150:55:21

-is very, very hot.

-Oh, right.

0:55:210:55:26

-It's an extraordinarily difficult piece to put a value on.

-Right.

0:55:260:55:30

There's been nothing as good as this on the market,

0:55:300:55:33

as far as I'm aware.

0:55:330:55:36

So when you've got something that's probably the best that there is,

0:55:360:55:40

how much do you put on it?

0:55:400:55:41

It's a guesstimate. I would think we're looking at

0:55:410:55:45

-between £20,000 and £25,000.

-CROWD GASPS AND MUTTERS

0:55:450:55:50

My word. That's fantastic.

0:55:500:55:53

And it could go more.

0:55:540:55:56

Really?

0:55:560:55:58

Right.

0:55:580:56:00

-LAUGHING:

-So...

0:56:000:56:01

Do you want to sit down?

0:56:010:56:03

He wasn't going to come in.

0:56:030:56:05

THEY LAUGH

0:56:050:56:06

-So you're pleased you came?

-Oh, I am. Certainly am.

0:56:060:56:10

Wonderful.

0:56:100:56:11

It's wonderful.

0:56:110:56:12

It's still busy here at Broughton Castle

0:56:140:56:16

as our day at the Antiques Roadshow draws to a close.

0:56:160:56:19

I wanted to show you one little item that had a lot of people puzzled.

0:56:190:56:23

What do you think this is?

0:56:230:56:25

Coat hook?

0:56:250:56:26

Weapon?

0:56:270:56:29

Any ideas?

0:56:290:56:30

Well, you put your fingers in these holes here...

0:56:300:56:33

..and, as you are reaping your corn or your crop -

0:56:360:56:38

and they'd have done a lot of that around here in Oxfordshire -

0:56:380:56:41

you pull it towards yourself and cut with your reaping hook.

0:56:410:56:45

And this protects your hands.

0:56:450:56:46

That is our best guess, and it's 19th century,

0:56:460:56:51

with the woodworm to prove it.

0:56:510:56:52

From Broughton Castle and the Antiques Roadshow team,

0:56:520:56:55

until next time, bye-bye.

0:56:550:56:56

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