Glorious Georgian Flog It: Trade Secrets


Glorious Georgian

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Over the ten years on "Flog It!",

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we have valued thousands of your items

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and been with you as you've sold them at auction -

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sometimes for a small fortune!

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Sold, £30,000!

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During that time, we've learned a great deal

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about antiques and collectables

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and, as a nation, we cannot get enough of them.

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Now, I want to share some of that knowledge with you.

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So sit back and enjoy,

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as our experts divulge their trade secrets.

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In today's programme,

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we're celebrating one of my favourite design periods -

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the 100 years or so that came to define the Georgian style.

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The experts and I long for the day

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when a piece by Chippendale or Gillow

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appears at one of our valuation days.

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But aside from the celebrated makers,

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what should we be looking out for?

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Here's what you need to know.

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Coming up, we've got great tips on how to spot a Georgian gem.

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Philip tells us how to fall back in love

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with brown furniture.

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Let quality speak to you. And it always will.

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And then you've got to listen to what you hear.

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Charlie gets hot under the collar.

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It's quite a, dare I say, sexy thing.

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And Michael has got reasons to be cheerful

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when one item clocks up a top price.

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At £2,100, then, for the last time...

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We don't see that many Georgian items on this show,

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but we're all delighted when they do turn up.

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And sometimes, they can be quite valuable.

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I think the real good tip about the word "Georgian"

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is it's a great thing for an auctioneer to use,

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because it covers about 120 years.

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You're going from about 1710 through to about 1830,

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so you've got this huge chunk of time and you can call it "Georgian".

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So it sounds really knowledgeable - I like that.

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I think sometimes it's a mistake

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to think that just because something is old, it's going to be worth money.

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That never follows.

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So a lot of older things are actually very affordable.

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Buy a small walnut chest of drawers

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or a little cellaret - something small.

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A little side table that will go in anybody's home.

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I would say it's a great time to be buying Georgian furniture.

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It can only go up.

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Antiques are for everyone,

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and just because the word "Georgian" is attached to "antique",

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it doesn't mean that you can't afford it.

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You can buy a Georgian teaspoon for under a tenner.

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So go out there, find the things that you want and buy them.

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So, here are some of the best Georgian items

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that we've seen on "Flog It!".

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Charlie Ross was delighted

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when a quintessential Georgian silver piece crossed his table.

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I think every posh person in the Georgian period

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had a snuff box.

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-I think it's a snuff box.

-I think it's a snuff box, too.

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It's rather an attractive one.

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Snuff boxes come in all sorts of sizes and materials.

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Do you know what it's made from?

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-I presume it's silver...and ivory.

-It is silver and ivory.

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Absolutely spot-on.

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If it were bone, which might be another material,

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it would have a little black flecking through it,

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which you don't get with ivory.

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It's interesting that the colouring's going

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on the top there.

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-I thought that.

-I've opened it up and...

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What did you make of the inside?

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-I thought it was wood, first of all.

-You thought it was wood?

-I did.

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I can see why you thought that -

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-it's got a woody grain to it, hasn't it?

-Yes.

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You see, what's happened is that it's become discoloured,

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and the reason it's gone that colour is because it's been used for snuff.

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You need it to have that lovely, light ivory colour,

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and of course, things like smoke can discolour it.

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You can clean it.

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DON'T bleach it,

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because if you bleach ivory, or try to bleach it,

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you will lose the surface patination,

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and that's fatal.

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The inside, it appears, has been gilded at some stage.

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Right - why would that be?

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Um, for protection of the silver and also for quality purposes...

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So, what's the sort of person that would have a snuff box like this?

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Oh, quite a gentry.

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I mean, this is high quality in silver.

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If you were an important person and you wanted to be taking snuff

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and you wanted to pull it out of your pocket and take snuff,

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you really wanted to be having a silver one.

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Or, better still, a gold one.

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We can tell that it's George III,

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-because we've got George III's head on there.

-Yes.

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The date stamp is unclear,

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and I've come up with two possibilities -

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-1790 or 1810.

-Right.

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For the purposes of valuation, we'll call it 1800, George III.

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I'd give a wide estimate of £100 to £200.

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-Right.

-I think it's certainly worth £100

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-and I'd like to see it make nearer £200.

-OK.

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Strictly speaking, ivory that is pre-1947 is acceptable.

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But I think...it's almost true to say that all ivory

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is becoming less and less acceptable,

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even the very early ivory.

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So were the bidders put off by the ivory when it went to auction?

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Or did they go for a quality piece of Georgian silverware?

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Can I start the bidding at 100?

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-100...

-Ooh!

-130...

-That's good, we've sold it.

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At 130, at 40, at 140.

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150. 160. 170...

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That's good.

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-200. 210...

-John!

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210, commission bid.

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220. At 220 in the room, now.

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240. 260. 280.

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At 280...300.

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-Serious case of under-valuation.

-But then they come and buy it.

-Yes.

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At 300. At 300, then, we're all done, then.

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-At £300...

-Wow!

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They loved it! At £300, the hammer's gone down.

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With a sale of £300,

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the buyers clearly loved the finesse as much as we did.

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They connect you with history, with a bygone era.

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And they're quite often beautifully made.

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You think of someone like Nathaniel Mills,

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who made silver snuff boxes, the workmanship is superb.

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Keep in mind, snuff boxes come in many shapes and materials.

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The wooden ones are a great way

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for you to start collecting gorgeous Georgian at reasonable prices.

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But it's not just Georgian knick-knacks we come across.

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Philip Serrell is also a man with an eye for Georgian value for money.

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In 2003, he found a versatile piece

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of often-overlooked Georgian brown furniture.

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You see, I think, as tables go, it's a really useful little table.

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You've got a drawer at the front.

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You can use it as a side table up against a wall.

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It's a fold-over tea table.

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We can put that up against the wall,

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put little knick-knacks on it there, use it as a display table.

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It's about 1800, give or take ten years.

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-Timber - any ideas?

-I always thought it was mahogany.

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The real tip here is to go and handle as much timber as you can.

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Once you've handled it,

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you'll just grow to know more about it.

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It looks like it's mahogany. This grain here is mahogany.

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But it is... If you lift it, it's really, really heavy.

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Now, that could be for three reasons -

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first reason is that it might not be mahogany.

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It might be something like padauk wood,

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which is a really seriously heavy wood.

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A lot of these oriental planters that you see with marble tops on,

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the aspidistra stood on them,

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a lot of these are made from padauk -

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and boy, is it ever hard and heavy.

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Second reason is that a lot of these tables are actually veneered

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and this is solid, and because it's solid, it's heavier.

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And the third reason is I'm just getting weaker in my old age.

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Um... What have you had done to the top?

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There were some very bad marks on the top,

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and we've had an antique restorer sympathetically wash the top

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to try and take off some of the damage.

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Whoever's done it has done a good job.

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But you can tell the top has been washed out,

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and that is going to devalue it at auction.

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There's an expression in our business -

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if all you've got to apologise for is the price,

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then it makes it attractive to someone.

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If you say, "It's a lovely table, but the top's been washed out..."

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Now, if you've got a watermark on the top of a table,

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the correct thing to do is try and restore that mark

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to the same colour as everything else.

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The easiest thing to do is to strip the top clean, repolish it,

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and there you are - done.

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It's easier, but what you're then doing is renewing it,

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not restoring it,

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so in my eyes, a good restoration is always acceptable.

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You'd like to see it the way it was, but please, please, please

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don't strip things and repolish them.

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Don't renew things, because they're not antiques then.

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I think this in auction today will make £200 to £400.

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So we'll put a reserve on it of £200 and that should mean

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that it's heads, you win, tails, you don't lose.

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In this business, beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder,

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and a good piece of furniture

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can be a really good, classical piece of mahogany

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that was made for a London town house by a well-known maker,

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or it can be a stunning piece of 18th century yew wood

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that might have been made in the country

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for the local landowner.

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So I think what you've got to do is let quality speak to you.

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And it always will. And then you've got to listen to what you hear.

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So were the buyers listening to Philip's enthusiasm

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for bagging a Georgian bargain?

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£180, now.

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200. 220.

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240. 260.

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At £260, now. Telephone's up.

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At 280. 300.

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At 300. 320.

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340.

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At 360. 380.

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At 380... At 400.

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420.

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At £420, my written bids are £420 now.

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440 is a telephone bid.

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At £440 - where's 60?

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It's on the telephone at £440, now, and sells...

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-Neville, that's great, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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Top end of Philip's estimate, 440.

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Believe it or not, that table has come down even more

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since the auction day.

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It's probably worth no more than £200.

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But isn't it great value for money?

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We should all be aware of that.

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We're in the ultimate green business.

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Get out there and buy these things.

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Use them as a small dining table in a flat or whatever,

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but use them, buy them,

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because they're great value for money.

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You're not going to go and buy a new table for that sort of money.

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Here's one of my tips for you.

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If you're thinking of buying or bidding on something Georgian,

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make sure you ask if the item has been damaged or restored,

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because this can greatly affect the value.

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And remember, if you don't ask,

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the seller's not obligated to tell you.

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Philip seems to be drawn to the Georgian as much as I am.

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He was also presented with a piece of classic Georgian Delft

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that had seen better days, but he soon realised

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he had something really special in front of him.

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If we just turn it over,

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we see that the back's really rather typical of Delft.

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When I first looked at that plate, I and one of our backstage valuers,

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we thought it was probably continental.

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Now, it wasn't - in reality it was English,

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and English Delft is worth more than continental Delft,

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as a very broad term.

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This...almost pimpled body here and this creamy colour

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is typical of Delft.

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At some point in time,

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it might have had the dreaded wire hangers on it,

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because we can see a bit of a chip there.

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-Oh, yeah.

-Having said that, Delft is a very soft body.

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We're looking for things that are 200 and 300 years old,

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and in porcelain, damage is crucial.

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In Delft, in a way, because it's a much flakier glaze,

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damage is almost acceptable,

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but always try and buy as perfect a piece as you can.

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If we turn it over,

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we can see that this blue panel here is typical of Delft.

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What I find unusual is this colour around the border here.

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Normally with Delft, you'd expect it to be blue and white,

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occasionally you get flashes of yellow or whatever.

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But that manganese colour, for me, that lifted it up above the norm.

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In terms of date,

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I'd think it's probably about 1750 or thereabouts.

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It is Delft, and it'll have an auction value

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of around £200 to £300.

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-Oh!

-On a good day, it might do a bit more.

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Perhaps put a reserve on it at somewhere between £150 and £200.

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Fine, yeah.

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Richard brought Geraldine along to the auction

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to see if the unusual purple-manganese hue

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would cause a stir.

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475, 500.

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525, 550, 575, 600.

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625...625 anywhere?

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At six...625, 650, 675, 700.

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725, 750, 775...

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775, anywhere?

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You're finished at £750, all done and finished. All done...

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-That's fantastic!

-Yes. Very, very good.

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-750 quid.

-Didn't think it'd even sell.

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Not bad for a single plate.

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There's an expression in this business -

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"Let your eyes be your guide and your pocket your judge."

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When you pick something up, your eyes...

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Go by your first instincts.

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They'll tell you if it's old or not and tell you about the condition.

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Once you've established all of that,

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all you've got to let your pocket do is tell you how much to pay.

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Keep your eyes peeled for Delft in unusual colours,

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and buy British - it could fetch you much more.

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Michael Baggott knew exactly what he was looking at

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when this next item lay in front of him,

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and he was very excited about it.

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Well, the minute I saw the watch...

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First of all, it's solid gold. You don't make low-quality items

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in solid 22-carat gold.

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'Nicky, it's fair to say'

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-that my eyes popped out of my head...

-I'm very pleased!

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..when you opened your little box in the queue

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and I saw this magnificent watch.

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'It was set with pearls, the enamelling was perfect.'

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It was just absolutely as good an object of that type

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that you could make.

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We've got this beautiful gold case,

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set with half pearls all the way round the bezel on a blue enamel

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and white enamel crown, which is quite fantastic.

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And look at the back of this.

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I know. That's what I love. I love the colour of it.

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Classic Georgian design - very restrained, it's sophisticated,

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it's a neoclassical piece made to the highest quality.

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That's all the features you look for in good Georgian design -

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style, quality and proportion.

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It's an English watch, but it's a very French and Swiss technique,

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that they developed in about 1750, 1765, of engine turning.

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But the real joy of it should be when we get it open.

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There we go, that's the cover open,

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and then there should be another snib here.

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'It's always important to look inside a watch,

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'to make sure it's got movement.'

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Sometimes good cases and bad movements

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can get married together.

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Look at the craftsmanship in that -

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beautifully pierced, fan pierced.

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Hopefully, we'll have a maker's name on it.

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Right.

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Well, they're not watchmakers, but it's a very good name to have.

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It's Rundell and Bridge,

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and they were goldsmiths to George IV,

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and they actually provided most of the regalia for his coronation,

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they provided all the diamonds for his crown...

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Be aware that even prominent watchmakers,

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within their lifetime,

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had competitors who would copy their work

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and sign their name to their movements.

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So it's not as simple, I'm afraid, as looking at the name,

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opening a book and doing it that way.

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You've got to know something about the way the movement is designed

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and the quality you expect to see in there.

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If we close that up...

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I mean, the only flaw with this is the lack of the minute hand -

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not terribly useful like that!

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But otherwise, it's in lovely condition.

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I think it's a stunning watch,

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so I think, for the purpose of the auction, we'll put...

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..£600 to £800 on it, a fixed reserve of £600

0:16:310:16:36

and hopefully, if two people get behind it,

0:16:360:16:39

we could do very much more than that.

0:16:390:16:42

So, did the buyers come from all corners

0:16:420:16:44

to bid for such an exquisite Georgian piece?

0:16:440:16:49

950. 1,000. And 50.

0:16:490:16:52

(They love it.)

0:16:540:16:56

Already well over the estimate -

0:16:560:16:57

these bidders recognised Georgian splendour when they saw it.

0:16:570:17:01

1,900. 2,000. 2,100.

0:17:010:17:05

Commission bid's out, 2,100 in the room.

0:17:050:17:08

At £2,100, then, for the last time...

0:17:080:17:12

-£2,100, Nicky.

-I told you my eyes popped out of my head.

0:17:120:17:18

And my eyes are very rarely wrong!

0:17:180:17:20

Wow! They certainly weren't this time, Michael!

0:17:200:17:23

It's essential that you check out the inside of an old watch or clock,

0:17:230:17:27

because they both have mechanical moving parts.

0:17:270:17:30

Better still, get an expert to do it for you, because you may find out

0:17:300:17:34

it's worth a great deal more than you originally thought.

0:17:340:17:37

Here are a few more tips on what to look out for

0:17:370:17:40

for a good Georgian piece.

0:17:400:17:42

If you are buying any Georgian silver,

0:17:420:17:45

look for the marks of reputable silversmiths,

0:17:450:17:48

like Hester Bateman and Nathaniel Mills.

0:17:480:17:51

But beware of Georgian pretenders who copy them.

0:17:510:17:54

There's nothing better than looking for quality of workmanship

0:17:540:17:57

and doing your research.

0:17:570:17:59

You can expect some wear and tear on a Georgian piece,

0:17:590:18:02

which could be, after all, some 300 years old.

0:18:020:18:06

As a rule of thumb, buy the best quality you can afford.

0:18:060:18:09

And finally, Georgian brown furniture isn't dead,

0:18:090:18:13

it's just resting.

0:18:130:18:15

As Philip and I agree, it can often speak of quality craftsmanship.

0:18:150:18:18

So now's your chance to pick up a versatile piece at a decent price.

0:18:180:18:24

We have many things in common with our Georgian forebears.

0:18:270:18:31

Like us, they prized new technology, they appreciated the arts

0:18:310:18:35

and they loved a good party.

0:18:350:18:37

But there's one thing in particular

0:18:370:18:39

that does link us to Georgian England -

0:18:390:18:41

and that is our love of a cup of tea.

0:18:410:18:45

On valuation days, we get through around 700 cupfuls.

0:18:450:18:49

We see an awful lot of tea-related paraphernalia,

0:18:490:18:52

from tea caddies to tea services to teapots.

0:18:520:18:55

Christina Trevanion is an ardent collector of Georgian teapots,

0:18:580:19:01

so she went to meet a man

0:19:010:19:03

whose connection to the good old-fashioned cuppa

0:19:030:19:06

goes back ten generations.

0:19:060:19:09

We all think that the cafe culture is a very 21st-century phenomenon -

0:19:160:19:19

meeting up with your friends

0:19:190:19:21

in a local coffee house over a good cuppa.

0:19:210:19:23

But it's actually been going on for hundreds of years.

0:19:230:19:26

In the backstreets of London, around the Strand,

0:19:310:19:33

there was a thriving coffee house industry

0:19:330:19:36

at the turn of the 18th century.

0:19:360:19:37

I'm really excited, because I'm about to meet an ancestor

0:19:370:19:40

of one of the men who really shaped the whole British psyche

0:19:400:19:43

as we know it today - and that, believe it or not, was through tea.

0:19:430:19:48

-Hello. Hi, you must be Stephen.

-Indeed, welcome.

0:19:480:19:52

Thank you - Stephen Twinings, as of the famous Twinings dynasty.

0:19:520:19:56

Yes - I'm very proud to be the tenth generation of the family

0:19:560:19:59

to be in tea, and the gentleman behind me,

0:19:590:20:01

Thomas, was the one who started it all off.

0:20:010:20:03

And was instrumental in making us a nation of tea drinkers

0:20:030:20:07

by opening the world's first dry tea and coffee shop where you're standing.

0:20:070:20:11

-Fantastic!

-Shall we talk about it over a cup of tea?

0:20:110:20:14

-Why not? That sounds perfect!

-Come this way.

0:20:140:20:16

I would like to know why we drink tea in Britain.

0:20:160:20:19

The Portuguese and the Dutch had both discovered tea ahead of the British.

0:20:190:20:24

So in 1662, King Charles II marries a Portuguese princess,

0:20:240:20:28

-Catherine of Braganza.

-Yes, of course.

0:20:280:20:30

She is a tea devotee, an absolute tea lover.

0:20:300:20:33

She brings tea to London and makes it fashionable at the London court.

0:20:330:20:37

-Right.

-But not everyone welcomes the arrival of tea.

0:20:370:20:40

The brewers, who made what we drank for lunch, dinner -

0:20:400:20:43

and we drank beer for breakfast too - it was a threat to their business.

0:20:430:20:47

The clergy said it was a sinful drink

0:20:470:20:48

because it wasn't grown in a Christian country.

0:20:480:20:51

And the other people who didn't like tea were the doctors -

0:20:510:20:54

they immediately said, "This is bad for your health."

0:20:540:20:56

So those three lobby groups got together

0:20:560:20:59

and persuaded the government of the day to impose a massive tax

0:20:590:21:02

on this bad-for-business, bad-for-your-healh

0:21:020:21:04

and bad-for-your-soul drink.

0:21:040:21:05

This makes tea a status symbol drink.

0:21:050:21:08

Only the wealthy and the aristocracy can afford this drink.

0:21:080:21:12

100g of tea in those days, in today's money, allowing for inflation,

0:21:120:21:16

about £160.

0:21:160:21:18

SHE GASPS

0:21:180:21:19

£160?! Oh, my goodness, that's incredibly expensive.

0:21:190:21:23

So it was served once or twice a week,

0:21:230:21:26

-but at no particular time of day, and was a very special occasion.

-Wow.

0:21:260:21:29

So really, really high-end of society.

0:21:290:21:32

-Absolutely.

-Good grief!

0:21:320:21:34

And it's not until the tax comes down -

0:21:340:21:37

it was actually Thomas Twinings' grandson, Richard Twinings,

0:21:370:21:40

who persuaded William Pitt the Younger to reduce the tax on tea

0:21:400:21:43

and then we become a nation of tea-drinkers,

0:21:430:21:46

because everyone can then go out and afford to buy it.

0:21:460:21:48

Of course, yeah.

0:21:480:21:49

Our growing love of tea was reflected in a wealth of objects

0:21:490:21:53

to accompany a good cuppa, from tea caddies -

0:21:530:21:55

which were locked up by the mistress of the house

0:21:550:21:58

to keep out the hoi polloi - to teapoys.

0:21:580:22:01

Christina's passion is for teapots

0:22:010:22:03

and she couldn't resist the chance to show hers off.

0:22:030:22:06

I just wanted to know a little bit about what Georgian ladies

0:22:060:22:11

were putting into my teapots at that time.

0:22:110:22:14

Right. Certainly it was exclusively Chinese teas.

0:22:140:22:16

The Chinese tea had a monopoly until...

0:22:160:22:18

Well, the first Indian tea arrived in this country in 1838.

0:22:180:22:21

Is that why porcelain is known as "chinaware"? Absolutely.

0:22:210:22:25

The captains would put below the cargos of the tea,

0:22:250:22:28

in the area of the ship which would probably get flooded with seawater,

0:22:280:22:31

-this beautiful porcelain they'd discovered.

-In China.

0:22:310:22:34

-So this is Chinese porcelain.

-Real Chinese porcelain.

-Gosh.

0:22:340:22:37

That's fantastic. Ladies were introduced to drinking tea,

0:22:370:22:40

-but were they drinking tea from Chinese porcelain?

-Absolutely.

0:22:400:22:43

We had earthenware, we had pewter,

0:22:430:22:45

-but nothing as beautiful and delicate as this.

-No.

0:22:450:22:48

Because as much as we tried,

0:22:480:22:49

we couldn't replicate the thinness and the delicacy of this porcelain.

0:22:490:22:52

Not for a few years, is my understanding.

0:22:520:22:55

I've got some teapots here which span about 25 years,

0:22:550:22:58

maybe slightly more,

0:22:580:22:59

and I'm assuming the English got more confident with their patterns

0:22:590:23:03

and their shapes with porcelain

0:23:030:23:04

as they got more confident drinking tea in public.

0:23:040:23:07

-Yes.

-This is a Chinese version here,

0:23:070:23:09

then we get slightly more Anglicised with this floral spray.

0:23:090:23:13

-Then of course, we get polychrome decoration.

-Yes.

0:23:130:23:15

And then this, which is quintessentially English, really.

0:23:150:23:19

-Yes.

-And of course, think of the Georgian interiors at the time.

0:23:190:23:22

This sort of neoclassicism would perfectly match.

0:23:220:23:24

Absolutely. It's a beautiful example, isn't it?

0:23:240:23:27

It is, and it's the British embracing tea and embracing style.

0:23:270:23:31

Yes.

0:23:310:23:32

Can you show me exactly how my Georgian ladies would have

0:23:370:23:40

used my teapots to make tea? Is this exactly how we do it today?

0:23:400:23:43

Yes - the process hasn't changed because the principles haven't changed.

0:23:430:23:46

You need a clean, warmed teapot.

0:23:460:23:48

The old rule is one teaspoonful of tea per person and one for the pot,

0:23:480:23:53

but actually, it's the ratio of tea to water that determines

0:23:530:23:56

the intensity of the flavour.

0:23:560:23:58

You need water at the right temperature.

0:23:580:24:01

So if you're making a green tea or a white tea, it has to be slightly cooler,

0:24:010:24:05

so you'd let the kettle come to the boil, then leave it for a four or five minutes.

0:24:050:24:08

For black tea, it needs to be very close to boiling point.

0:24:080:24:11

Be patient with your tea - it takes time to give off its flavour.

0:24:110:24:15

Colour is not flavour - don't let your eyes deceive you about tea.

0:24:150:24:18

Allow it to brew, let the flavour come out, until three minutes...

0:24:180:24:22

-Three minutes?

-Three minutes.

-If I'm desperate for a cup of tea...

0:24:220:24:26

-You've got to wait three minutes.

-Oh, no!

-Absolutely.

0:24:260:24:29

-You've got to let the antioxidants out and the full flavour.

-OK.

0:24:290:24:33

But milk in before or after?

0:24:330:24:35

Historically correct to put the milk in first

0:24:350:24:37

if you've made the tea in the teapot.

0:24:370:24:39

If you're making it in a mug of tea with a bag in it,

0:24:390:24:41

let it brew with the heat, take it out and then add the milk.

0:24:410:24:43

Brilliant. I love it. Thank you so much.

0:24:430:24:45

-Do we really have to wait three minutes?

-We do.

-Oh, good lord!

0:24:450:24:49

So, my top tip for you,

0:24:530:24:54

if you're thinking of collecting tea ephemera,

0:24:540:24:57

if you're looking at a tea caddy, for example,

0:24:570:24:59

take a look on the inside.

0:24:590:25:00

Make sure that the foil on the inside shows signs of wear

0:25:000:25:03

that you would expect from 100 years of use.

0:25:030:25:06

My second tip,

0:25:060:25:08

if you're thinking about collecting 18th-century teapots,

0:25:080:25:10

if your pocket can afford it, that is,

0:25:100:25:13

make sure you choose examples with lids.

0:25:130:25:15

Unfortunately, most of mine don't have lids,

0:25:150:25:17

but they will retain their value

0:25:170:25:19

if they have all their component parts to them.

0:25:190:25:22

And my third, and top tip

0:25:220:25:23

is if you are thinking of collecting Chinese or English porcelain,

0:25:230:25:28

to tell the difference,

0:25:280:25:29

the Chinese porcelain will be an awful lot thinner.

0:25:290:25:32

So if you hold them up to the light,

0:25:320:25:34

you can almost see through the Chinese porcelain,

0:25:340:25:36

whereas the English example is slightly thicker-potted

0:25:360:25:39

and you can't see through it.

0:25:390:25:41

I've often noticed in auctioneers' catalogues

0:25:490:25:51

the term "Georgian" printed to describe certain lots.

0:25:510:25:54

Please, do remember, if you want to invest in this period,

0:25:540:25:57

the Hanoverian period, there were four King Georges on the throne,

0:25:570:26:01

spanning over 100 years.

0:26:010:26:03

George I came on the throne in 1714.

0:26:030:26:06

George IV took us right up to 1830.

0:26:060:26:10

If the auctioneer doesn't know which King George it was,

0:26:100:26:12

then do your own research, because the earlier the king,

0:26:120:26:16

the rarer, the older. It should be worth a lot more money.

0:26:160:26:21

Don't just settle for any George. Do your homework.

0:26:210:26:24

In Georgian England,

0:26:260:26:27

the lifestyle of the wealthy was one of elegance and refinement,

0:26:270:26:31

and entertaining became a way of showcasing one's wealth.

0:26:310:26:34

Seated here at this table, with its fine French dinner service

0:26:340:26:38

and its cut-glass crystal would be the country's aristocracy,

0:26:380:26:42

all dressed in their finest silks.

0:26:420:26:44

A lady's wig could not be too high or too heavy,

0:26:440:26:47

but she had to be careful

0:26:470:26:49

that she didn't catch it alight on the candelabra that lit the room.

0:26:490:26:53

An elaborate dinner of soups, meats, pastries and dessert

0:26:540:26:58

would be served on the finest china

0:26:580:27:01

and the meal would often take over two hours to finish.

0:27:010:27:06

And the Georgians loved their wine,

0:27:060:27:08

and hidden underneath this side server

0:27:080:27:10

is the grape juice that got the party started.

0:27:100:27:13

This is a superb example of a wine cooler,

0:27:130:27:17

and it's attributed to Robert Gillow,

0:27:170:27:19

master maker and designer.

0:27:190:27:21

Gillow was one of the first to recognise the strengths of mahogany.

0:27:210:27:25

It became fashionable and readily available from about 1720 onwards,

0:27:250:27:30

imported from the West Indies and Jamaica.

0:27:300:27:33

This wood had a wonderful, tight, straight grain,

0:27:330:27:37

with no knots, no saps.

0:27:370:27:39

It was just right for carving this wonderful, intricate detail.

0:27:390:27:44

And as you can see,

0:27:440:27:45

this cellaret is made up of component parts,

0:27:450:27:48

all beautifully carved.

0:27:480:27:49

But the wine would have been brought up from the ice house,

0:27:490:27:52

a stone-built building in the grounds of this estate.

0:27:520:27:55

Within that building would be one hole, dug into the ground,

0:27:550:27:59

six feet in diameter, 30 feet down, packed full of ice.

0:27:590:28:04

It would then be chipped off when required,

0:28:040:28:07

brought up to the house in sacks.

0:28:070:28:09

It would then be dumped into this chiller, which is lead-lined,

0:28:090:28:13

to keep that ice really, really chilled.

0:28:130:28:16

Incidentally, this holds 20 bottles of wine,

0:28:160:28:19

and if you count the chairs around this table, there's 20 of them.

0:28:190:28:23

That's what I call a great party!

0:28:230:28:25

As we've heard, the Georgian era has something for every pocket.

0:28:270:28:30

So get out there and get looking!

0:28:300:28:32

Well, I hope you have learned enough

0:28:330:28:35

to help you sniff out a few Georgian gems.

0:28:350:28:39

Good luck and join us again soon for more Trade Secrets.

0:28:390:28:43

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