0:00:50 > 0:00:53In this idyllic setting, it feels as if we've stepped back in time.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It's hard to believe we're only 15 miles from Birmingham.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00And the history of this picture-perfect moated manor house
0:01:00 > 0:01:02stretches back 800 years.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04But it was in Tudor times that things got really interesting.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07That's when the Ferrers family took up residence,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09and one of them, called Henry,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11earned himself the nickname The Antiquary.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13So I like to think he'd be pleased
0:01:13 > 0:01:15that the Antiques Roadshow has come to his home.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Welcome to Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25A 16th-century lawyer, Henry Ferrers had quite a passion for history
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and was very proud of his ancestry.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31He lavished a fortune on this house,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33making it a home he could be proud of,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35fitting for a man of his stature.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38He commissioned heraldic stained-glass windows,
0:01:38 > 0:01:39ornately carved mantles -
0:01:39 > 0:01:41he couldn't get enough of it.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43There are heraldic carvings everywhere.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Henry kept a record of his many purchases,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and he was particularly proud of this chimney piece
0:01:53 > 0:01:55he had made for the grand master bedroom.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Can't say I blame him. Certainly rather impressive.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00And Henry kept a list of things that he owned
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and things he'd like to own,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04and he placed them under certain categories. -
0:02:04 > 0:02:07for storage, for necessity,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09for profit, or for pleasure.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Sounds like a few of the antiques experts I know.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14By the late 1580s,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Henry was struggling financially
0:02:16 > 0:02:18and made the decision to lease out the house
0:02:18 > 0:02:20to an ardently Catholic family.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21Showing any Catholic leanings
0:02:21 > 0:02:24during the reign of the Protestant Elizabeth I was risky.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It was an act of treason to harbour
0:02:26 > 0:02:28a Roman Catholic priest in your house.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32But his tenants were undeterred.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34One day, in October 1591,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36a handful of Catholic priests were staying here
0:02:36 > 0:02:38when there was a knock at the door.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The priest hunters had arrived, and they wanted to search the house.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Quick as a flash, the priests ran for the privy,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48which gave access via its waste pipe
0:02:48 > 0:02:52to a well-concealed priest hole in the medieval sewer below.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Compared to the fate that awaited them if they were caught,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57this must have seemed like the preferable,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00if distinctly unpleasant, option.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Of the priests that hid at Baddesley Clinton,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05three were later executed for treason.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Although Henry Ferrers was dangerously close
0:03:07 > 0:03:09to these illegal activities -
0:03:09 > 0:03:11either due to luck, or friends in high places -
0:03:11 > 0:03:14he managed to escape any blame.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Successive members of the Ferrers family continued to live here,
0:03:17 > 0:03:18enjoying the building and possessions
0:03:18 > 0:03:20that were Henry's labour of love,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24until it was all handed over to the National Trust in 1980.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26We're hoping to see more fine antiques and artefacts
0:03:26 > 0:03:28at today's Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32I wonder which of them will be for profit or for pleasure?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Let's join our experts and visitors and find out.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40So, this is quite a heavy pedestal. How on earth did you get it here?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Well, we pushed it in the back of the car somehow this morning,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and when we got to the car park, there were some very nice gentleman
0:03:47 > 0:03:49that carried it all the way in for us.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51That's fantastic. Well, thank you for bringing it in.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52It's an interesting item.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Do you have any story about it? Do you know anything about it?
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It came from an old country house where my aunt was a housekeeper
0:04:00 > 0:04:0358, 60 years ago,
0:04:03 > 0:04:04and they were clearing it out,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08and this was destined to go on the bonfire
0:04:08 > 0:04:10because they considered it wasn't any good,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that it was plaster or something like that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16And my husband knew I liked things like this,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18and he said, "Could we have it"?
0:04:18 > 0:04:22So I've looked after it. In a fashion.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Saved from the bonfire.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Yes, it was before skips!
0:04:26 > 0:04:28LAUGHTER
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Well, OK. We've got to date this.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Do you know anything about the house at all?
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- Do you remember the name of the house?- Yes, it was Northwick.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37- Northwick.- Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Right. Well, if we could do some research,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42I think we could find out possibly who made this.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Have you any idea of what date it is?
0:04:44 > 0:04:46I just called it my Adam pillar,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50because it reminded me of the way Adams do their fireplaces
0:04:50 > 0:04:52so we just called it Adam.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54You don't need me at all here, do you, at all?
0:04:54 > 0:04:55- It's exactly what it is.- I do.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57You're going to tell me how badly I've looked after it.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Well, what have you done to it, then?
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Why are you so worried about it?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- Have you had it stripped or something?- Yes.- Ah.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05So, what colour was it?
0:05:05 > 0:05:08It was a sort of dirty grey-green.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Ah. You mean, it was the original Adam grey-green?
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- LAUGHTER - Probably.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19The Adam grey-green from the late 18th century?
0:05:20 > 0:05:231775, 1780.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24I don't know.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I just assumed that it was Adam.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Something to do with Adam and then...
0:05:31 > 0:05:33- Yes.- And you still had it stripped?
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Well, yes, because my father-in-law painted it again,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- and he painted it blue and white.- OK, OK, OK.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- Let's end that one.- Yes, I know, you didn't want to know.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46This is beautiful. It is a Adam-period pedestal
0:05:46 > 0:05:49of the 1770s, 1780, from a grand country house,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51possibly one of a pair, originally.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53What I love about it is the quality of this pine.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I know it's been stripped - so many of these pieces have -
0:05:56 > 0:05:58but just look here, the lovely, lovely straight-grained pine...
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- I think it's beautiful. - It's beautiful. But look at this.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03What do you think this is made of?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- Well, I'm sure it's wood.- Mm-hm.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09But everybody kept telling me it was plaster.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11But when little pieces come off, it's wood.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14It is, isn't it? You can see it's clearly wood. But not pine.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17It's probably a lime wood, which is the best wood for carving.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20And just look at the detail of the ribbon, the flowers.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22- Look at this. - It's gorgeous, the ram.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23And that's typical of Adam.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26The ram's head is so typical of Robert Adam, the architect.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29It would've been made, probably, for standing a candlestick on,
0:06:29 > 0:06:30a candelabra, for lighting.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I always thought it ought to have a bust on it.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- I don't know why. - I think candelabra.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36I think lighting, I think for lighting.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37It's a fantastic object.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So... Well, you clearly don't value it at all,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43if you had it stripped from the original Adam green.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45I just love it.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47And I wanted people to know that it was wood
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and not keep telling me it was plaster.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52It's carved wood, very special.
0:06:52 > 0:06:53Difficult to value.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57A minimum, I would say, of £5,000.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58- CROWD:- Oh!
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Thank you.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Thank you.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04LAUGHTER
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Perhaps my daughter will appreciate it a little more now!
0:07:10 > 0:07:12The sort of secret Catholics
0:07:12 > 0:07:14that would've lived in the house behind me,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16had they seen objects like this,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18had they been around at the time,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20they would have been deeply impressed.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23So, you're a vicar, and these are your saints.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Yeah, they sit in our church on a Sunday
0:07:25 > 0:07:27and just add to the beauty of the building.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29It's St Mary Magdalen's in Coventry.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33We're famously known as the church with the blue roof in the city.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34So, where do they come from?
0:07:34 > 0:07:36There's a little bit of a story
0:07:36 > 0:07:38that one of the early vicars went over to the Continent
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and brought them back to decorate the church for its worship.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43It's a 1930s building,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47yet there's something about them being 18th and 17th century.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49With this one,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51the story is that it's St Joseph
0:07:51 > 0:07:53with the toddler Jesus, from Germany.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57It looks to me as though it's St Christopher with his staff
0:07:57 > 0:07:58but you're the vicar.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00We just know it's roughly about 17th century,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02but that's what's in the church archives.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Well, I would put it a little bit earlier.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I would say it was late 16th, early 17th century.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I think you're possibly right, southern German.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Now, the one to the left of that, well, she's very different.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Of course, she's polychrome, she's painted,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and gives an idea of the extraordinary colour
0:08:18 > 0:08:20that would've been around in churches
0:08:20 > 0:08:22in the 16th and 17th century,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25that is so lost to us in many of them now.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30I would say, though, that it was 18th century, probably Spanish,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32and it certainly looks to me
0:08:32 > 0:08:35to be a good example of oak carving.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37This one is supposedly of St Anne,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and it's St Anne teaching Mary how to read.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42What a wonderful image.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And this is baroque.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45It's beginning to move.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47It's quite different from the one we've just seen.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Well, actually, not as active
0:08:50 > 0:08:53as the figure next to which it stands.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54St John, is that?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Supposedly so, yes.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59St John with a lamb that's jumping up at him.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02What I love, though, is this is full-blown baroque
0:09:02 > 0:09:03going into rococo.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06It's like a cloud that's fused with a human being.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09And I would say that was late 17th, early 18th century.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11I suspect, Spanish again.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16And a rather different image at the end.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Who are we calling him? Is it St George?
0:09:18 > 0:09:20It is, it's St George killing a dragon.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Ah, I see, he's wrestling with it.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24But how does he go down with the congregation?
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Well, he's started to cause a bit of problem with the congregation
0:09:27 > 0:09:28and worry a few of them.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30And that's because...?
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Well, it caused a bit of concern
0:09:33 > 0:09:36when it silhouetted against a window.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37Oh, I see, OK.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And so what's the solution for that one?
0:09:39 > 0:09:42He's been relegated to the organ loft nowadays.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- The organ loft?- Yes.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46I can understand where you're coming from.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Well, let's talk about some valuations, if we may.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52So, starting with, it could be St Christopher, at the end,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I would say somewhere in the region
0:09:55 > 0:09:57of £10,000 to £15,000.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58Wow.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03I think the 18th-century Spanish St Anne and Mary,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05I think that's £15,000.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09The St John, a little bit later, but with all of that animation
0:10:09 > 0:10:11and movement and twisting bodily form,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14again, something that attracts the eye.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17£10,000 to £15,000.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21And I've thought long and hard about the problematic St George.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I'm beginning to wonder whether he could be much, much later.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30But I'm going to say only about £2,000 to £3,000 for this.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- That's good! - So, a valuation for the group,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35somewhere in the region of about £50,000.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I think we'll have to have a meeting
0:10:37 > 0:10:39because we've lots of children running around,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41I think it's going to cause me a bit of a heart attack now!
0:10:46 > 0:10:48When I look at a pocket globe like this
0:10:48 > 0:10:51it immediately takes me straight back
0:10:51 > 0:10:52to the time that it was made.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55A time when it was about discovery.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58It was about discovery in astronomy,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00it was about discovery in geography,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02it was about discovering new lands,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06and a little object like this catalogues it all.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07How did you get hold of it?
0:11:07 > 0:11:09It belonged to my late father.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12I don't know where he got hold of it.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13He showed it to us
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and pointed out some interesting things about it when I was a lad,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18but in those days I wasn't terribly interested,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20and I probably shrugged my shoulders and walked off.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21But now I'm fascinated by it
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- and I want to know some more about it from you, please.- Very good.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Well, the first thing is,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- I'm going to be really pedantic and put on gloves.- Right.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Now, the reason I'm putting on gloves
0:11:32 > 0:11:35is that the acid in your fingers
0:11:35 > 0:11:39interferes with the coating over the globe.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42And, fine, you've been handling it very happily
0:11:42 > 0:11:44for the last I don't know how long,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47but what I would say is that, from now on,
0:11:47 > 0:11:48it would be really handy
0:11:48 > 0:11:51to use gloves, to stop anything happening.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- You know, it's in remarkable condition.- Yes.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57First of all, we've got the cartouche here,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and it says the name of the maker,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Nath Hill - Nathanial Hill - and the date, 1754.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Well, Nathanial Hill was a globe maker.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12He was thriving up until about 1768,
0:12:12 > 0:12:13about that period.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16But the interesting thing is, it's this particular globe,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20the 1754 globe, which seems to have been incredibly popular,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22judging by the number that have survived.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25And at that time in 1754,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27there were all kinds of stuff going on.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- How closely have you looked at it over the years?- Pretty closely.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31I always notice the fact
0:12:31 > 0:12:33that half of Australia hasn't yet been discovered,
0:12:33 > 0:12:34so it isn't on the globe.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Exactly, it's pre-Cook.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37It's pre-Captain Cook.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38Now, I've got my lens here,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and I'm just going to give myself a bit of an aid.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Yeah, you see, this is... This is fantastic.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50Up here at the top of America where Alaska, we now know it to be,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52it says, "Unknown Parts"!
0:12:52 > 0:12:54THEY LAUGH
0:12:54 > 0:12:57It's the parts that explorers hadn't yet reached.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59So, one has to remember,
0:12:59 > 0:13:00in the Age of Enlightenment,
0:13:00 > 0:13:07that this was a time when cultured people were encouraged
0:13:07 > 0:13:12to get a knowledge in the broad arts and sciences,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and this was part of that education.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17We have astronomy here, with the Northern Hemisphere
0:13:17 > 0:13:22and the Southern Hemisphere printed inside the cover of the globe.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And it would've been a conversation piece,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28you would have discussed it with your friends.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29"Ah, I've got the 1754 one."
0:13:29 > 0:13:31"Well, what's happened since the last one was printed?"
0:13:31 > 0:13:34"Well, look, they've discovered another little bit of X, Y and Z."
0:13:34 > 0:13:36So these were talking points,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40but also, they were educational amusements as well.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I would say, at auction, we're talking about
0:13:43 > 0:13:46between £7,000 and £9,000 on it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- CROWD MEMBER:- Wow! - LAUGHTER
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Don't fall over!
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Could you say that again, please?
0:13:54 > 0:13:55Shall I write it down?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57With all the noughts!
0:13:57 > 0:13:59£7,000 to £9,000.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00No question.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02It's a cracker.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Well, at first glance, this looks like it's a fairly typical
0:14:09 > 0:14:11little silver, late Georgian pillbox,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13maybe a patch box.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15But it's slightly more interesting than that, isn't it?
0:14:15 > 0:14:17You can see on the lid here,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- it's engraved with an eye and an inscription.- That's correct.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21What can you tell me about it?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24It's a small silver box
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and, inside it, it contains a wooden peg.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30The peg is about three quarters of an inch long
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- by about a quarter of an inch thick. - Little peg there,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- and it's beautifully attached to the box on a little silver chain.- It is.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39And around the outside,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41it tells a story
0:14:41 > 0:14:44of a young boy called Ben Taylor,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and when he was nine years old, he had a fall,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51and the peg that is in the box
0:14:51 > 0:14:53went into his eye.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58It was in his eye for around five months...
0:14:59 > 0:15:04..and then it was removed by a surgeon
0:15:04 > 0:15:08called Richard Sandbach.
0:15:08 > 0:15:15Now, I'm assuming that as the date of it was 1730-1731
0:15:15 > 0:15:17that this would have been a barber-surgeon,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21not a surgeon as we would know today.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Well, in fact, I had a quick look at it
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and the date on it is actually 1781.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27- Oh, right.- It's slightly...
0:15:27 > 0:15:29It's in old script,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31so it's quite difficult to see.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33I've spoken to our silver experts,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35and they agree that it is 1781.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38- I think it's just got a little rubbed.- OK.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39So he wouldn't have been a barber-surgeon,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42he would've been a pretty skilled surgeon
0:15:42 > 0:15:43to have done an operation like that.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So, how did you come to own it? Is it a family piece?
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It belonged to my late husband.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It was in a shop, possibly one of his father's shops,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54in the back of a cupboard.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58It was black...because it had obviously been there
0:15:58 > 0:15:59for many, many, many years,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03and didn't discover what it was until it was cleaned.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05So we don't know any history about it really at all?
0:16:05 > 0:16:06We don't know any history at all.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Well, I think it's a fantastically macabre little piece.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Probably a little pillbox, dated from the 1780s.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15No hallmark on it, and as a box,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- it doesn't really have a great deal of value.- No.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21But with the story behind it, and its beautifully engraved
0:16:21 > 0:16:25inscription giving us a detailed history of the story,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28it's something that would be really, really collectable.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30I would like to see it in a museum.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33And have you tried to research the name of the surgeon at all?
0:16:33 > 0:16:39Yes, but as I was looking for 1730 as opposed to 1780,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42that may be why I wasn't very successful.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Obviously, we have to talk about value.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46I think, if it came up for sale,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50it would really appeal to a doctor or a surgeon
0:16:50 > 0:16:53who collects things of a medical nature,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and in a medical sale, I think you'd be looking at a price
0:16:56 > 0:16:58of maybe £700, £800,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00something of that sort of order.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02That's more than I expected,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04but it's not for sale.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13Nowadays, I try and avoid using superlatives,
0:17:13 > 0:17:14but I have to tell you,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17this is probably the finest piece of electroplate
0:17:17 > 0:17:19I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20LAUGHTER
0:17:20 > 0:17:23What can you tell me about its history?
0:17:23 > 0:17:24Well, it's been in my family
0:17:24 > 0:17:27for as long as I can remember, obviously.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30My grandfather bought it originally,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33I believe from a country house sale not far from here.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35I think it was Wootton Hall,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- which I think might have been in the Guinness family.- OK.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I expect you might know also who might have made it?
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I know the top is Elkington.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45- That's correct.- And the base,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I've never been able to find a mark,
0:17:47 > 0:17:48but whether there is one...
0:17:48 > 0:17:54Well, Elkingtons were the great pioneers of electroplate
0:17:54 > 0:17:55in the 19th century.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57They didn't invent it,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59but they adapted the process
0:17:59 > 0:18:01to such a terrific degree
0:18:01 > 0:18:04that they went round museums all around Europe
0:18:04 > 0:18:07copying great works of art,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and they did this by a specific process,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and that's called electro-forming,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15or then it was called electro-typing.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17And, very oversimplified,
0:18:17 > 0:18:22electro-forming is building up layer upon layer upon layer of plate
0:18:22 > 0:18:23on top of a mould,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and it produces the most perfect copy.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Then, as with this piece,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32gold is used to just highlight it
0:18:32 > 0:18:36and make it, aesthetically, a stunning object.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- There's one thing I didn't say.- Yep.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41The family history also says that they believe it might have been
0:18:41 > 0:18:44an exhibition piece at the Great Exhibition,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46- but I've got no way of proving that.- OK.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49All right, well, we'll come to that in a moment.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Let's have a look at the decoration on the top here.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56We've got...astrological signs around the outside.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58For example, we've got October here,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02and then we've got the scorpion for Scorpio on the edge.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03In the centre,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06it looks like harvest time.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09The fruits of the earth sort of symbols.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11And in answer to your question about
0:19:11 > 0:19:15whether this was made for the Great Exhibition,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- I can tell you, no, it wasn't.- No.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Because this little mark here
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- is a registration mark.- Yeah.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And from that, I can tell you
0:19:24 > 0:19:25that the design was registered
0:19:25 > 0:19:29on the 5th of October 1869.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31So it should be an exhibition piece -
0:19:31 > 0:19:33that you are right about -
0:19:33 > 0:19:35but it's not for the Great Exhibition.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38You know, nearly 20 years too late.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I think we're looking at something between
0:19:41 > 0:19:42£7,000 and £10,000.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- CROWD MEMBER:- Gosh!
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- Very nice. Thank you. - Thank you so much.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- Wonderful. Thank you very much. - Great object.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- I think I've found the coolest item today.- Oh!
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Tell me about it.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03OK. My friend Tony give it to me in about 1985.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07He run a pub in Liverpool, someone come in the pub one day and said,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10"I was working in a cinema, I found this in the attic."
0:20:10 > 0:20:13And Tony says, "Oh, I like that," he says. "Come in the pub," he says,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15"you can have free beer for, like, two nights."
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It's just different.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22I like it on the wall, but the wife doesn't like it on the wall
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- so it's stuck in the attic most times.- Hence the dust!
0:20:25 > 0:20:26I was going to say...
0:20:26 > 0:20:28It's very basic in form
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- and, literally, to do what it said.- Yes.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's a sign to say, "This is a talking film".
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Yeah, that's correct.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39Get it up on the wall,
0:20:39 > 0:20:40cos it's worth £300 to £500.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44OK. You know, it's going to stop in the attic, unfortunately!
0:20:44 > 0:20:46LAUGHTER
0:20:54 > 0:20:58So, look, "The world of fashions and continental feuilletons.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01"A monthly publication dedicated to high-life fashionables, fashions,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04"polite literature, fine arts, the operas, theatres,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06"embellished with London and Parisian fashions."
0:21:06 > 0:21:07What a great thing.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- Is it yours?- It's my grandma's,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- and she had it when she was 15 from a family friend.- Right.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- And she's kept it ever since in her wardrobe.- Right.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Wrapped up nice and neatly.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18She used to read it when she was younger,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21and I've had a look at it and I think it's fascinating.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22It's wonderful, isn't it?
0:21:22 > 0:21:26I mean, it's got some fabulous drawings in, from back in the 18...
0:21:26 > 0:21:281832, it was.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Yes, these are engravings, so these are prints, engraved prints,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35but they're lovely because they've been hand-coloured at the time,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37- so the colours really leap off the page.- Yes.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- I suspect that's something that appeals to you?- Definitely.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41- I love anything with colour.- Right.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Colourful clothes, colourful pictures,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46so it's definitely appealing to myself.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47It's incredibly opulent, isn't it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:52These over-the-top gowns, fantastic fabrics, silks,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54lovely sequence of hats here,
0:21:54 > 0:21:55just on their own.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- Yeah, so quite an unexpected piece. - Yeah, it is.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I mean, it's a wonderful book, and to have kept it for that long,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03nearly 200 years, it's just wonderful.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- It survived very well.- It has. - It's lost its covers, unfortunately,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09and I think it may have lost a couple of pages, front and back.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- Here and there. - It's not a big problem.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It has a value.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16People will always love colour, people will always like fashions.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18So, what's it worth?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- £150, £200.- OK.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I wasn't expecting it to be quite that, worth quite that much.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26No, that's great.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30When I was told by one of my colleagues
0:22:30 > 0:22:31that there was an owner at the counter
0:22:31 > 0:22:34with an archive material relating to the Mayflower,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36from Plymouth to the New World,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39I thought all my birthdays had come at once.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41And then, subsequently, I heard that
0:22:41 > 0:22:44you had... It was his grandfather
0:22:44 > 0:22:46who'd been cook on board, I suddenly thought,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- "That can't be right." - Doesn't add up.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Doesn't add up. 1620? No!
0:22:52 > 0:22:56So it then clicked that this must have been a later voyage.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01It was. If you roll forward to 1955,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04they hatched a plan to recognise the close relationship
0:23:04 > 0:23:06between Great Britain and America
0:23:06 > 0:23:07during the Second World War
0:23:07 > 0:23:09by recreating the voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers
0:23:09 > 0:23:12from Plymouth to Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod, etc.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16And so they commissioned a builder in Brixton to build from English oak
0:23:16 > 0:23:18an exact replica of the Mayflower,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20called the Mayflower II.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22That was crewed by 33 men,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24went to sea for 50 days
0:23:24 > 0:23:26and the cook was my grandfather, Walter Godfrey.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28I mean, was he a ship's cook normally?
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Yeah, he was chief steward
0:23:30 > 0:23:33on the General Steam Navigation sailing steam vessels
0:23:33 > 0:23:35that went from Southend to Broadstairs,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and that was his living.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40He was 57 when he sailed on the Mayflower II.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44And one assumes, then, they lived the life on board, they...
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Did they dress in modern clothes or contemporary clothes?
0:23:46 > 0:23:48No, they had an outfit
0:23:48 > 0:23:51which was contemporary in 1620,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and he can be seen here wearing the outfit.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57One hears about the awful food
0:23:57 > 0:23:59they used to eat in the 17th century,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02you know, ship's biscuits with weevils in.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Did they have a modern menu?
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I think... No, they didn't have a modern menu.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07When you look at his menu book, which is here,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09it details everything that was served,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12three meals a day for 33 men, 53 days.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14And generally starts with rolled oats,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17so that was a sort of kick-off point,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20but the crew really appreciated the efforts he was making.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Some of the notable things he did was to issue lime juice,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25- which is, of course, a great scurvy inhibitor.- Yeah, yeah.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29So I think the crew really appreciated his efforts.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31And bobbing around in a ship like that...
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Yeah, interestingly, when you read his diary, his handwriting,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36when he says "a rough sea", you can tell!
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Because the handwriting...
0:24:38 > 0:24:40is almost following the waves!
0:24:40 > 0:24:42And did you know your grandfather at all?
0:24:42 > 0:24:44I knew him till I was about six.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45He was a bit of a character.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47This photograph here,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50when they arrived in America, they were feted.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Just tell me what's going on here.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53What's happening here, they arrived at Cape Cod
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and sailed up the Hudson,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57past Lady Liberty and landed at Manhattan
0:24:57 > 0:25:01and were given a ticker-tape parade through Broadway,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04celebrating the close union between the two countries.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06And they were welcomed very, very...
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Grandpa went on American TV shows
0:25:09 > 0:25:10doing cooking programmes,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13you know, met the President, and they had a fantastic time.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15They were welcomed with open arms,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and it was a celebration of a union.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19And a true adventure.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20And a true adventure, yeah.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I mean, they talk about lightning strikes,
0:25:22 > 0:25:23they had no fresh water to wash in,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25when it rained they all went on deck starkers
0:25:25 > 0:25:27and ran round cleaning themselves.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29So, they had a good, fun trip.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Monetary value - we have to talk about that -
0:25:31 > 0:25:35we're not talking about, you know, thousands of pounds.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37I think it's important, it must be kept together,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40to donate it to a museum would be ideal.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42And in real terms, it's worth, I don't know,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45maybe between £600 and £800 for the whole archive.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47- But that's not the point, is it?- No, no.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It's a reflection of his memory,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53of what was a daring and exciting voyage.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Well, thank you so much for bringing it and sharing it with us.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56It's a pleasure.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Well, antiques come with stories...
0:26:03 > 0:26:05and they come with other stories -
0:26:05 > 0:26:06and this one's a blinder.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08So, take it away.
0:26:08 > 0:26:14Well, my great-great-grandfather was in Paris, I guess, in 1848
0:26:14 > 0:26:16when the Revolution happened,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19and he somehow got a hold of this
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and, several years later, brought it out to Australia
0:26:21 > 0:26:23when he emigrated, with him,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and it's just stayed in the family ever since.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28So, what we have is a picture
0:26:28 > 0:26:31of your 16-year-old great-great-grandfather
0:26:31 > 0:26:33in Paris, tumultuous Paris,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36in the middle of yet another French Revolution
0:26:36 > 0:26:39in which the King, Louis Philippe, is deposed,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41and here we have a glass
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that I don't doubt is from his dining table.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45So how do you interpret that?
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Are we talking about a looter or...what?
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Erm...possibly he helped the King and maybe the King gave it to him.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I see. That's what it was - he was a royal servant aged 16.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- Possibly!- Very likely story, don't we think(?)
0:26:59 > 0:27:00Well, good on him.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03I mean, the idea that this has been
0:27:03 > 0:27:05transported from a royal palace in 1848
0:27:05 > 0:27:06through you, an Australian,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09to bring it here to the Roadshow is magic.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10You know, it's history come alive.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13So, what are they going to make of this in Australia when they see it?
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I haven't actually told anyone I was bringing it over!
0:27:15 > 0:27:17You spirited it out of the country?
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I'm sure nobody'll find out out there,
0:27:20 > 0:27:21nobody watches the Roadshow in Australia -
0:27:21 > 0:27:23you've got nothing to fear!
0:27:23 > 0:27:25It's only on eight times a day!
0:27:25 > 0:27:27So, I mean, it's a story piece, of course.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30I mean, value, not magnificent -
0:27:30 > 0:27:32not as magnificent as the story -
0:27:32 > 0:27:33£150 is about it.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36But please get it back to Australia,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39cos if you don't get it back in one piece, you're mince.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40Thank you!
0:27:54 > 0:27:56We've brought along a rather gruesome little object
0:27:56 > 0:27:59for you to look at for this week's Enigma Challenge,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01which is when our experts trawl the local museums
0:28:01 > 0:28:03to see what they can come up with
0:28:03 > 0:28:05and see if they can fox us - fox me in particular -
0:28:05 > 0:28:07as to what it's used for.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09And Marc Allum, you've brought this along.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11I say "gruesome" because it is a bit.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13You've got a few options as to what it was used for,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15only one of which is right.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- That's right, yes. - So let's hear them.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Well, the first one is that this is a prototype prosthetic hand.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24So it's a very early prosthetic hand,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and this one was particularly designed
0:28:26 > 0:28:29for a pilot who joined the First World War,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31crashed, and unfortunately lost his hand.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Where would this go? Up his arm?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Yeah, basically that was concealed up his arm
0:28:36 > 0:28:39and that's a number of levers and manoeuvrable sections
0:28:39 > 0:28:41that went on a belt inside his jacket,
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and he could operate those parts to make the hand move.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45Now, the hand was interchangeable.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49This is just one of the hands. But this was the first of its type.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52- What do we think of that? CROWD:- No.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54- No.- The date's about right.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57- I'm not sure about that. - Date about right? Yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- Well, just after the First World War.- Yes, absolutely.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Right. So, a prosthetic hand. What else?
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Secondly...
0:29:05 > 0:29:08..cars in that period weren't very well equipped
0:29:08 > 0:29:11with kind of indicator signals and things like that,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13and it became a bit of a problem on the roads.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16So they decided to make this object,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18which was a kind of an add-on indicator
0:29:18 > 0:29:21that you could clip on to the side of a car,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23and then the driver, as he was driving along,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25could operate the lever and the hand would go like that.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28- Or go like that, presumably. - Or go like that!
0:29:28 > 0:29:29Whatever you wanted!
0:29:29 > 0:29:32And would indicate that you were going in that direction.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36OK, so a hand indicator - literally - for a car.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Intriguing.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40What's your final offer?
0:29:40 > 0:29:42My final offer is, are you a member of the AA?
0:29:42 > 0:29:44- I used to be. - You used to be, OK.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Well, you're not old enough, Fiona, to remember that when AA repairmen
0:29:48 > 0:29:50used to ride motorcycles,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53that essentially there was a kind of camaraderie on the road
0:29:53 > 0:29:56between them and the people that were members of the AA.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58You would have an AA badge on the front of your car -
0:29:58 > 0:30:02many of you will remember those chrome and yellow badges.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05The AA man on his bike could see that badge on the grill of your car
0:30:05 > 0:30:08and, as he came towards you, he would salute you.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12- Everyone knows about the AA salute. - Yes.- Really?- Yeah.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16Now, the problem is that as the roads became busier and busier,
0:30:16 > 0:30:17it became a real problem
0:30:17 > 0:30:20because AA men were having to salute a hell of a lot
0:30:20 > 0:30:22and it was getting dangerous.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25They were taking one hand off their motorbikes,
0:30:25 > 0:30:26they were saluting,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30and this was made as the solution to that.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33- LAUGHTER - Flick the lever, the hand saluted,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35people got their salute and the AA man carried on.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37An AA saluting hand.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39So, what do we think, folks?
0:30:40 > 0:30:42You think it's the AA saluting hand?
0:30:44 > 0:30:46I think it's possible... I think I'll go for option three.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48You're going for AA saluting hand.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I was going for two, but I'm going for three now.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52OK, well, this is what I think.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55As a prosthetic hand, it's a bit useless.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57- I'm not sure I buy that.- OK.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00- Then the indicator...- Mm-hm.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03..you wouldn't just have one, would you? Cos you'd have to have two.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05You'd have to be driving along, you know,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07and pressing your little levers...
0:31:08 > 0:31:10- So we don't think that, do we?- No.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13I mean, I had no idea about the AA salute,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15- but I'm inspired by you, sir... - Yeah, so many people...
0:31:15 > 0:31:19..who remembers it, remembers the AA salute.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21That's what we think, isn't it? The AA salute.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23- CROWD MEMBER:- £3 a year to join.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25£3 a year to join!
0:31:25 > 0:31:29- A princely sum. AA salute. Are we agreed?- Yeah!
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Apart from you, in the bowler hat. The AA salute, Mark.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35Do you know, I am just SO pleased.
0:31:35 > 0:31:36No.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38- CROWD:- Aw!
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Really? Is it the prosthetic hand?
0:31:40 > 0:31:42I knew I would be good at Call My Bluff.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45It's number two.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49It's the transport semaphore direction indicator.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51- Really?- Yes.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53And it comes from the Coventry Motor Museum.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57I think it looks like a wholly unreliable object, I have to say.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59It's probably the reason it never really caught on.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01HE CHUCKLES
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Well...you foxed all of us, didn't he?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06- Well done.- Thank you, Fiona.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12We've got a bit of a blue thing going on today -
0:32:12 > 0:32:14our clothes, the brooch.
0:32:14 > 0:32:15How has this come into your...?
0:32:15 > 0:32:17It belonged to my grandmother,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20and it's passed down to me as I'm the oldest granddaughter.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21Lovely.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23My grandparents lived in Berlin
0:32:23 > 0:32:26and, in actual fact, they had to escape the Gestapo.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30- Gosh.- And she managed to take her jewellery with her.
0:32:30 > 0:32:31But, obviously, on their travels,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34she sold most of the pieces for them to live on,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36and this is the one that remains.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Oh. It all sounds quite dramatic, doesn't it?
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Escaping from the Gestapo and all that.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43But thank goodness that they had something portable.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46And she was a very stylish and sophisticated lady.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50- Was she?- So this is one of the pieces she kept.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54It dates, actually, from the 1925-1930 period.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57We've still got quite a bit of colour going on in it,
0:32:57 > 0:33:02which the 1920s Art Deco period was all about, colour and vibrancy.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06And then as we head towards the '30s, diamonds start to overtake,
0:33:06 > 0:33:11so this is a sort of crossover style, basically, between the two.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13Obviously it has been worn, which you can tell,
0:33:13 > 0:33:14because it's been abraded
0:33:14 > 0:33:17and it's been a little bit knocked around in the mount.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19But I love the colour, and there are some, what we call,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21inclusions or flaws going on inside it,
0:33:21 > 0:33:23which, in many ways, gives a little bit of character
0:33:23 > 0:33:26alongside the story, which adds to the fun
0:33:26 > 0:33:28of the piece of jewellery, really, doesn't it?
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Sapphires are beautiful.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35Unusual cuts of diamonds, cos we've got square step-cut diamonds
0:33:35 > 0:33:37which, again, takes it away
0:33:37 > 0:33:41from that very traditional use of brilliant, round diamonds.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44We've got a little bit of something exciting and extraordinary
0:33:44 > 0:33:45going on with it, haven't we?
0:33:45 > 0:33:48- Did you know your grandmother? - Yes, I knew my grandmother.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Do you remember her wearing it?
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Oh, yes, she wore it, and she was very stylish.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55Even in her 80s, she was always very elegant.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Fantastic. Elegance is the key, really, isn't it?
0:33:59 > 0:34:02As far as value is concerned, I'm sure you're never going to sell it.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- No, no.- It goes to the grandaughter. - That's the way forward.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09But should it appear in a saleroom environment,
0:34:09 > 0:34:10I can see this, at auction,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13fetching round about £2,500 to £3,500.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15Thank...you.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17On a good day, because it's Art Deco, you never know,
0:34:17 > 0:34:18it might fly a bit further.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24Here we are, in this beautiful Midlands garden,
0:34:24 > 0:34:28and what we were missing is some locally made garden ornaments,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30and then you arrived with this.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32What can you tell me about it,
0:34:32 > 0:34:33and how did you come by it?
0:34:33 > 0:34:35I found it underneath a stall
0:34:35 > 0:34:37at a Leicester antique fair.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41It was covered in about 30 shades of Dulux,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45and I decided that it was nice and I bought it.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47What I do know is, before we get going,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49- I know this is one of a pair. - That's correct.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52I don't think the car springs would've taken both of them.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55These must be displayed beautifully at home.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57- Where do you have them at home? - In the garage.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59LAUGHTER
0:34:59 > 0:35:01- And they've been in the garage for how long?- For 45 years.- OK.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03So they came home, they went in the garage,
0:35:03 > 0:35:04and that's where they've sat.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Well, that's a shame.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08They probably deserve to be out and enjoyed,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10they are marvellous things.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13What we do know about this is it's made, as I said, locally.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15It's made by the Coalbrookdale factory,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18very near to here in Ironbridge in Shropshire,
0:35:18 > 0:35:23and very famous for this type of iron production,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25garden furniture, garden ornaments.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27How do we know it's Coalbrookdale?
0:35:27 > 0:35:31It's very distinct in its look, but we do know it's Coalbrookdale
0:35:31 > 0:35:35because, if we look here, we can see it's got stamped "Coal" and "dale"
0:35:35 > 0:35:38and obviously the bit in the middle, we can't see, the "brook",
0:35:38 > 0:35:40because it's being blocked by that.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42What is it?
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Well, it's a curious thing, but actually what I think it is,
0:35:45 > 0:35:46it's a lantern base.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49So it would've had, on the top of it, probably a huge lantern,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51so it may have ended up standing...
0:35:51 > 0:35:53What have we got there? About three or four feet.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56With the lanterns on top, you could add at least another three feet,
0:35:56 > 0:35:58so it may well have ended up standing about...
0:35:58 > 0:36:01something around six or seven feet, which I would've thought
0:36:01 > 0:36:05would have stood rather nicely outside a grand house,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09flanking the beautiful stepped entrance coming in.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12What is nice about this one particularly
0:36:12 > 0:36:15is these cast dog-mask finials here
0:36:15 > 0:36:19with this lovely fruit hanging down in the mouth.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20I think they're going to date
0:36:20 > 0:36:24probably from around 1870, 1875, something like that.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26In terms of their value,
0:36:26 > 0:36:32I think, today, if those came up at auction as the pair,
0:36:32 > 0:36:33those would carry a presale auction estimate
0:36:33 > 0:36:35of between £2,000 to £3,000.
0:36:35 > 0:36:36Yes, yeah.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42And now you can tell us what you bought them for 45 years ago.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- £47.- That's not a bad return on your money.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Although, having said that, £47 was quite a lot of money.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50It was as much as I had at the time.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53That's the typical collector's story, "It's everything I had".
0:36:53 > 0:36:55The kids don't eat that night,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57but look at this wonderful pair of lanterns I brought home for you.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Thank you very much for bringing them down. Lovely.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06This was made for a Mr Plumb.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07Are you are Mr Plumb?
0:37:07 > 0:37:09I am indeed a Mr Plumb.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13- So this has been in your family since 1842?- It has. It has indeed.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17And did you carry this all the way here today?
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I did. Only from the car park,
0:37:19 > 0:37:20I'm pleased to say.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22It's the most magnificent jug.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25I mean, it really... It's a tour de force,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29and just before you put it on the table, I had a look inside.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31- This has actually been cast in a mould.- Right.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35So, if you can imagine, not only is this jug huge,
0:37:35 > 0:37:36when you saw the size of the mould,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39the mould would probably be that much bigger
0:37:39 > 0:37:40all the way around.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Can you imagine, not only pouring all the clay into it,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45but then tipping the clay out
0:37:45 > 0:37:48after the outside had dried?
0:37:48 > 0:37:51It would take, I don't know how many men - four, five men.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55So this was something quite special.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- And it was made for an ancestor of yours.- Yes.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59What did he do? Do we know?
0:37:59 > 0:38:03- My family were farmers. - OK.- So we were farmers.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05What we have to remember, in the 1840s,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09the birth of a son was much more important.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12It meant that the farm would survive.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15So this was a celebration, not only of the birth of a son and an heir,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17but the fact that the farm would continue.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Have you seen how it's a bit rough and a bit mucky?
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Yes, I've seen it's a bit mucky.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24- Do you know why that is?- No.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26That's because it had another name on it.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- Oh!- And that's been rubbed off with sandpaper.
0:38:29 > 0:38:30Oh!
0:38:30 > 0:38:33And the name of your ancestor has been painted on,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37- possibly by the local coachbuilder or the sign writer.- Oh.
0:38:37 > 0:38:43So this jug actually dates to 1820, 1830,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46so it would've been second-hand, I suppose.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50- And, not that you're ever going to sell it...- No.- ..but if you did,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I think you'd be celebrating to the tune of £3,000.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Because where would you find another one?
0:38:58 > 0:39:01This is the Rolls-Royce, to go with your Rolls-Royce, of tea sets.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04What do you know about it?
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Well, it's a travelling tea set.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I believe it was made in the late 19th century.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12My late mother saw it in an antique shop
0:39:12 > 0:39:15and she obviously thought it was very pretty,
0:39:15 > 0:39:17and bought it and brought it home, showed it to me.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I was very impressed, I thought it was lovely.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23You have a little silver-plated tray,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26then you have the teapot.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28And then you've got all the fittings inside,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32but then when you open up these pieces...
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Little jars, sugar.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36And the great thing is, it's crested.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Have you done any research on the crest?
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Yes, the crest is from the Monson family,
0:39:42 > 0:39:43Baron Monson.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46I think, from my research,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49the baronage was created in 1728
0:39:49 > 0:39:51and it's still alive.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52There is a Baron Monson now,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54but I've never had the pleasure of meeting.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59Well, that kind of sums up the type of wealth you need
0:39:59 > 0:40:01to have purchased something like this. This wasn't cheap.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Although it's silver-plated,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05you've got a gilt lining,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09you've got Leuchars and Sons, Piccadilly -
0:40:09 > 0:40:10that's the retailers -
0:40:10 > 0:40:14in this red, kid leather, or Morocco leather, case.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16It's just everything that you'd want.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18I think that, at auction...
0:40:19 > 0:40:21..because of the condition,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23and it's got a great crest and provenance,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25easily £1,500 to £2,000.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Good heavens.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Thank you very much.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Well, I have to say this is
0:40:32 > 0:40:35the most superlative collection of buttons that I've ever seen.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Somebody must have spent a very long time building the collection.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40What's their history?
0:40:40 > 0:40:45Yes. When I was a youngster, when I was about ten or 11,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47my mum and I started collecting buttons,
0:40:47 > 0:40:52and when I was about 15, 16, I got bored,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and she bought them all back of me
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- and she'd carried on collecting for years and years.- Really?
0:40:58 > 0:41:01So, where did your mum collect them?
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Well, every weekend, my dad and her were off to fairs.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- Local antique...- Always local.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10I wonder, did she divulge to him what she was spending on this...?
0:41:10 > 0:41:12Probably not.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14She'd probably just have a little bit of money
0:41:14 > 0:41:18and then just ask for a little bit extra to buy that last piece.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22She obviously didn't have any particular style or era.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Anything that appealed to her.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27This, I understand, is only a small part of the collection.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29- This is only a small part, yes. - Goodness. Right, OK.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Let's talk about a few of them, because obviously we have so many.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36The ones that immediately caught my eye
0:41:36 > 0:41:38were these little Essex crystal buttons here.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40They're actually cuff links.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And these are doubly good,
0:41:42 > 0:41:43because they're Essex crystal,
0:41:43 > 0:41:45which are very collectable,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47but they're also dogs, and people love dogs.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Other ones that particularly caught my eye were these French ones,
0:41:51 > 0:41:52mother-of-pearl and enamel.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55- They are French.- We wondered, we wondered which country.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Late 19th century.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59Had you ever considered these?
0:41:59 > 0:42:03Other than knowing that there's a date on them,
0:42:03 > 0:42:04we thought they must be gold.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06What they actually are,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09they've been made out of 18th century watch backs
0:42:09 > 0:42:13that have been cleverly cut and turned into a set of buttons.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15How amazing. We had no idea about that.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17That's incredible.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Again, you've got the cabochon amethyst there,
0:42:20 > 0:42:21with the silver mounts.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24- My favourite colour. - Fabulous things.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25And these here,
0:42:27 > 0:42:28these are Japanese.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32- Are they?- Ivory, with little silver backs on them.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Gosh, you know, I'm lost for choice on words here.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Another favourite of mine, I ought to point out,
0:42:37 > 0:42:39are these little Italian mosaics
0:42:39 > 0:42:42made out of tiny, tiny, little pieces of marble,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45made in Italy for the tourist market, essentially,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48in probably the 1860s, 1870s.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50She must have been quite an authority on buttons.
0:42:50 > 0:42:51- She was.- After decades...
0:42:51 > 0:42:55She was actually the co-founder of the Birmingham Button Society.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56What sort of date would that be?
0:42:56 > 0:42:58This is in the 1980s.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00They organised lots of events,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03and even just two weeks before she died
0:43:03 > 0:43:07the retirement home that she lived in had a summer fair
0:43:07 > 0:43:11and she was asked to do a little presentation of her buttons.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Everybody came and asked questions. They were fascinated.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18- So that was a really big day. - It was a nice legacy for her.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23There's a very big interest in buttons, as a collector's subject,
0:43:23 > 0:43:24and also in America
0:43:24 > 0:43:28there's a huge amount of interest in European buttons.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30Just to give you a little example,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32the Essex crystal cuff links,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35they would probably be £400 to £500.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40- Because they're dogs. - Gosh, that's just for a pair!
0:43:40 > 0:43:42Just for a pair!
0:43:42 > 0:43:44A little French set like this,
0:43:44 > 0:43:45again, would probably be...
0:43:45 > 0:43:49maybe £150, £200.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52And as this is only part of the collection, it's really kind of...
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Without going through it in great detail,
0:43:54 > 0:43:56it's rather unquantifiable, to be honest with you.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59But I would've thought, at a minimum,
0:43:59 > 0:44:01it would be £5,000 to £8,000,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03and more than likely more than that.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- Gosh, incredible.- Gosh.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Absolutely incredible.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12- Gosh. Thank you very much. - It's a pleasure.- It's a bit of a...
0:44:12 > 0:44:15It's lovely. It's so beautiful to see them all displayed.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17I've never seen them displayed like this. It's truly beautiful.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19It's a lovely legacy for your mother.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23Yes, just looking at it today, it looks beautiful for us.
0:44:23 > 0:44:24- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37So, you went to view an auction,
0:44:37 > 0:44:39you saw this in a corner,
0:44:39 > 0:44:41what happened next?
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Well, I saw it was a snuffbox,
0:44:44 > 0:44:49and I thought how well it had been sort of worked,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52and I was really interested in it.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54Then the lady who presented it to us
0:44:54 > 0:44:58said there's a secret picture in there somewhere
0:44:58 > 0:45:02and, to our surprise, there's a lovely picture of a lady there
0:45:02 > 0:45:04which sort of made it a bit special as well.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07With the ringlets down and that, she'd got such a pretty face.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10If you were a gentleman and you wanted to have a portrait done
0:45:10 > 0:45:13of your wife or your daughter,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16you may not walk around wearing them on your chest like this, all proud,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18you'd have them tucked away.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Pocket-watch cases, for example,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22or they'd hide them away under the lid of a snuffbox.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Women would wear them in a far more open way.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29They'd have them either at their breast on a brooch, perhaps,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31- or on their wrist. - They'd display it.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34They'd flaunt them a lot more than gentlemen would,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36who were, on the whole, far more secretive.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38So, what about the artist?
0:45:38 > 0:45:39Where did your research go after that?
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Well, I had it cleaned,
0:45:41 > 0:45:45and someone took the picture out
0:45:45 > 0:45:48and they advised me
0:45:48 > 0:45:49to check the artist out.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51It was Chalon,
0:45:51 > 0:45:54and it had got 1835 on it.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57And it had got RA after it, and that was Royal Academy.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59You showed me an image of the reverse
0:45:59 > 0:46:01when it was taken out the frame,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04and it's totally right, it's in his hand,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07that's how he would inscribed the reverse of his works.
0:46:07 > 0:46:08Arthur Edward Chalon.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10He was born in Geneva
0:46:10 > 0:46:15and he moved over to England in the late 1790s,
0:46:15 > 0:46:20and he really became one of the most important artists of that period.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Interestingly, with this, and given this is the original case,
0:46:23 > 0:46:27we should also probably look at what's on the top of it.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Given that we have this rose here in full bloom,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32it could be to celebrate their death.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35And given the black nature of the box at the bottom,
0:46:35 > 0:46:37the black colouring,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39it's quite possible that, in fact,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41this miniature was painted
0:46:41 > 0:46:44to record the likeness of a lost loved one.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46It's very personal with miniatures.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49You don't really have this as much in the larger oil paintings.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51They're very personal items.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54And actually, I think, if this were to come up at auction,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56it would sell for
0:46:56 > 0:46:59anywhere between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Wow.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05- Excellent. - Thank you for bringing it in.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Thank you.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13Before we really closely examine it, tell me what you know about it.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14Yes, it was given to me
0:47:14 > 0:47:18by my Aunt Minnie and Uncle Barney on my wedding.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21They bought it at an exhibition at Watches Of Switzerland.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26It was a brooch. It had a rather large, curved pin on it,
0:47:26 > 0:47:28and the pin would have done serious damage
0:47:28 > 0:47:30to any jacket that you wore it on.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33I know my aunt never wore it for that reason,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36and she gave it to me, and I had it made into a pendant
0:47:36 > 0:47:37which makes it more wearable.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41- We know that it's made of yellow gold and white gold.- Mm-hm.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46- We also know that it's in the shape of a Beefeater.- Yes.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49And what is really interesting, and it's very exciting for me,
0:47:49 > 0:47:50is that when you press
0:47:50 > 0:47:52this little button here,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54the drawbridge comes down
0:47:54 > 0:47:56and it shows the watch.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58I love that, I think it's absolutely brilliant,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01but it's upside down, so you read it like a pendant.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03- Don't you think that's the best thing?- Beautiful.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04I think it's just really cool.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06I've never seen the like before,
0:48:06 > 0:48:08and the jewellery department have not seen the like before either.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10I also thought it was quite fun,
0:48:10 > 0:48:12the fact that it's Baddesley Clinton we're at now
0:48:12 > 0:48:16and it's a moated house, and here we are with the drawbridge.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18- Don't you think that's just great? - It's wonderful, yes.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20- I think it's a beautiful piece. - It's really wacky.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22- Does everybody like it here? - CROWD:- Yes.
0:48:22 > 0:48:23Isn't it great?
0:48:23 > 0:48:27For me it dates in the 1960s, possibly 1970s.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30When, can I ask, were you...?
0:48:30 > 0:48:31It was 1990, I was married,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34and I know my aunt had had it some time before that.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36She'd had it for quite a while, I don't how long.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39But, obviously, it's got London written all over it.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41It's a Beefeater, the Tower of London,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44this wonderful drawbridge mechanism.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46This is a Swiss-made watch, which is almost irrelevant
0:48:46 > 0:48:49because it's a lovely piece of jewellery which is integral.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52Ruby set, a diamond set emerald set,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55but they're only tiny stones, they don't really add to the value.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57What I love about it is just its intrinsic quality,
0:48:57 > 0:48:58and the fun of it.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Fashionable? I don't know whether it's fashionable.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03- Do you think it's fashionable?- Um...
0:49:03 > 0:49:05- You either love it or you hate it. - It's so quirky.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07If you love it, you're going to want it.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09So, at auction, I would say
0:49:09 > 0:49:11probably between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Right, lovely. Thank you very much.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20This is a wonderfully detailed model
0:49:20 > 0:49:22of a 12-metre racing yacht.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful model.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27I really, really like it.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29I'm going to ask you a little bit about it first
0:49:29 > 0:49:31before I go into the history of it and things.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33What can you tell me about it?
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Well, it was donated to the London Model Yacht Club
0:49:36 > 0:49:38by Sir Thomas Glen-Coats
0:49:38 > 0:49:42when he was president of the club in 1937.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46Now, I know that name, Coats. That's Coats Textiles and Cotton.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Correct. Yeah, from Paisley in Scotland
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Very, very wealthy family.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53So wealthy that he never had to work in his life.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56And he, as a young man, loved boats and sailing,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58and he became a yacht designer.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01And he designed himself several yachts
0:50:01 > 0:50:05which were built by Mylnes, up in Scotland.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09And this particular yacht, Iris, in 1926, I think it was,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13which was an exact replica of his design,
0:50:13 > 0:50:15which is in this photograph here.
0:50:15 > 0:50:16I can see it flying the waves there.
0:50:16 > 0:50:17Absolutely beautiful.
0:50:17 > 0:50:23We can see the same 12-metre K6 class on the sail
0:50:23 > 0:50:25which is engraved into the top of the sail here.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29One of the most amazing things about this yacht is it's SILVER!
0:50:29 > 0:50:31- Yes.- It's beautiful, and I'm not going to pick it up,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34but I have picked it up, and it's very, very heavy.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36There's a lot of silver in it.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38And I can also see... I looked at it earlier.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41It's actually hallmarked along the front here for 1935.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46- It's a little bit later than its '26 building.- That's right.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49I think what I really, really love about it is the detail.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51It's an absolutely perfect representation
0:50:51 > 0:50:53of the full-sized yacht.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55What I really like about it as well
0:50:55 > 0:50:58is that it evokes a place in yachting history, doesn't it?
0:50:58 > 0:51:00In the early 20th century,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04this was the domain of royalty, wealthy people,
0:51:04 > 0:51:09and these beautiful, sleek yachts were just part of that world.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Something to a certain extent that's really disappeared now.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14I mean, we all go on about the America's Cup and things like that,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16but you did have to be very wealthy
0:51:16 > 0:51:19to build yachts like this and run them.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22You say he had several designed and actually had several built.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24He did, yeah.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26I think this is an absolutely beautiful thing.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I'm going to put a value on it,
0:51:28 > 0:51:30because there's a lot of history imbued in this.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33I think, if this came up for auction,
0:51:33 > 0:51:34that this would make
0:51:34 > 0:51:36£5,000 to £8,000 at auction.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Gosh, yes.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41It's a very treasured item of our club heritage
0:51:41 > 0:51:43and we will look after it very carefully.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- I'm not surprised. - It won't go anywhere.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52So, you've brought along this charming and small oil
0:51:52 > 0:51:54of what appears to be a castle in the countryside,
0:51:54 > 0:51:55with the sea beyond.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Obviously an amateur hand.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59Normally I would say, well, very pretty,
0:51:59 > 0:52:01obviously personal to you,
0:52:01 > 0:52:02but worth just a few pounds.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04But maybe it's more special than that.
0:52:04 > 0:52:05Tell me.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09This was given to me by my aunt in Ireland,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and it was gifted to her by a very special chap
0:52:12 > 0:52:14who was a bodyguard to Lord Mountbatten.
0:52:14 > 0:52:15Oh, right.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18And the painting is actually by Lord Mountbatten,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21and he gave it to him after many years of service.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25And I think he gave so much as a police guard,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28and I think that was his way of showing his gratitude.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30And on the back it, it actually says, I think,
0:52:30 > 0:52:32"With gratitude from Lord Mountbatten".
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Well, that is a story, isn't it?
0:52:34 > 0:52:36And suddenly that transforms what is an amateur oil
0:52:36 > 0:52:38into something much more personal,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41and I had no idea that he also painted.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44And this is of the castle and Mullaghmore.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47- And where's that? - In Sligo. County Sligo.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49That was his summer home,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52so he would have gone there to relax during the summer with the family.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54And then very sadly, in 1979,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57that's where, just off the coast there,
0:52:57 > 0:52:58he was assassinated.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Yes, that's right. Yeah.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02And apparently, the bodyguard was actually
0:53:02 > 0:53:04on another mission that day,
0:53:04 > 0:53:05so he wasn't there at the time.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09But obviously tragic and very distressing for everybody,
0:53:09 > 0:53:11and, yeah...
0:53:12 > 0:53:14I think it's a charming picture.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19And with the story associated with it, it comes to life, doesn't it?
0:53:19 > 0:53:21And here is the home he loved so much
0:53:21 > 0:53:24and the time he spent with his family to relax,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26so a lot of story there, a lot of emotion.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Please write it down and attach it to the base there,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33because I think it adds to the story and it adds to the value.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36Cos I think, if you ever did decide to sell it,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39because of its story, I think you're talking of a figure
0:53:39 > 0:53:42of, well, certainly between £600 and £1,000.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Wow. Wow! My goodness.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Such a little painting.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49- But a big story.- With a big story.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51- Thank you so much.- Thank you.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Diamonds sparkling in the sunshine here.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58This is almost Hollywood sunshine, isn't it?
0:53:58 > 0:54:02It is indeed, and that's exactly where this was bought.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Wonderful. Tell me every part of how you got it.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06It was bought in Hollywood Boulevard,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09and the lady who had the antique and jewellery store
0:54:09 > 0:54:11only opened on Saturdays.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13We were introduced to her.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17I knew her, then, until she passed away, for about 24 years.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19In fact, we used to go and stay with them in Miami.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22- It's always nice to have a jeweller as a friend.- Isn't it?!
0:54:22 > 0:54:25And I had an inheritance,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28so I thought I would put it into something
0:54:28 > 0:54:31that was tangible and also pretty,
0:54:31 > 0:54:36and also...probably a better investment than the bank.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Your best friend, a girl's best friend,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40all these cliches are tumbling out.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42And that was it.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43But it was 23,000.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46£13,500.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48But, in fact, it had belonged to Rita Hayworth.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51How marvellous. That's very good to know.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55It was given to her by her husband, Aly Khan,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57who was the son of the Aga Khan.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59So, Rita Hayworth was married in the '40s,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01but tell us a bit more about this wonderful star.
0:55:01 > 0:55:06Well, she was an amazing star and she was a real Hollywood A-lister.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09She acted with absolutely everybody in Hollywood at the time,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15She was in Only Angels Have Wings.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17- Much adored, much loved. - A very glamorous lady.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19And perhaps the only girl in the world
0:55:19 > 0:55:22- who didn't need the diamonds, but she had them anyway.- Absolutely.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26But this is '40s, American, fabulous Hollywood glitz.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29I've looked at many, many, many pictures of Hollywood and so on,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31but I can't find her wearing it!
0:55:31 > 0:55:35I will send you home to actually look for those photographs,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38- and maybe even her will would be interesting too.- Yes.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41You've got to go in for a bit of opencast archaeology here,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44because the provenance of these pieces is absolutely crucial
0:55:44 > 0:55:46in every sense of the word.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48Because they are heirlooms, they're talismans,
0:55:48 > 0:55:51and when you can associate them with somebody famous
0:55:51 > 0:55:54and somebody utterly glamorous like this, in lifestyle and in looks,
0:55:54 > 0:55:57then this adds hugely to your...
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Well, which was an investment, in some regard,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02but it's not only an investment cos you love it, don't you?
0:56:02 > 0:56:04We know the diamonds are really of very nice quality
0:56:04 > 0:56:05and they add up like mad,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07and I haven't made any calculations.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10- I know roughly.- Do you? Come on, then, how many carats?
0:56:10 > 0:56:12Roughly, they haven't been pulled away.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14- There's nothing rough about this.- No.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17- Roughly 54 carats.- 54 carats.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Well, I'm not going to base my valuation
0:56:19 > 0:56:20on any of that sort of thing,
0:56:20 > 0:56:26- because I think the idea of breaking it down is...- Sacrilege.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30Maybe, maybe, if you go home and do your Rita Hayworth thing,
0:56:30 > 0:56:32find a photograph of her wearing it
0:56:32 > 0:56:35under the most spectacular circumstances, with somebody famous,
0:56:35 > 0:56:36well, then...
0:56:36 > 0:56:38£80,000.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41- That's good! - SHE LAUGHS
0:56:41 > 0:56:43That was really quite a buy.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45But if we can't find that -
0:56:45 > 0:56:46and we never do -
0:56:46 > 0:56:48then it's not so much fun,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52it might be only a mere £45,000.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54- It's still good.- It's still good.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57It's still lovely! I'm delighted.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58- Brilliant.- Thank you.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03I'd love to find out if that lady does prove that bracelet
0:57:03 > 0:57:05ever did belong to Rita Hayworth.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09And if you compare the value to if it was Rita Hayworth's,
0:57:09 > 0:57:11and if, in fact, she never owned it,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14the difference in price, I guess, that's the value of celebrity.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17From the Antiques Roadshow, until next time, bye-bye.