Crathes Castle Flog It!

This is one of the best preserved castles in Scotland - Crathes,

and it's been deeply rooted in Scottish history for over 400 years.

It's our nerve centre for today's programme. Welcome to Aberdeenshire, welcome to Flog It!

Crathes Castle is renowned worldwide for its fabulous gardens

and today they do look absolutely stunning.

It's not the blooms we're interested in. It's all the collectables

that the good people of Aberdeenshire have brought along.

And there's always one question on their minds.

-What's it worth?

-Let's find out.

-'Digging about in the queue ready to answer that question are today's lead experts.'

-Very comfy.

-'Scotland's own Anita Manning.'

-Hello.

-I feel like you're a friend.

-That's so nice of you to say so.

-You've got a lot of bits and pieces. Once we get you to the tables, we'll have a closer look.

-Thank you.

-'And visiting Englishman, Adam Partridge.'

-What do you have?

-Monart fruit bowl.

-That's what we want.

-Where is that Adam Partridge?

-Quick, before that Anita comes! Yeah, very nice.

'Both highly skilled auctioneers and valuers, they'll certainly root out those prized pieces.'

-It's a game pie dish, is it?

-A pie dish.

-And you're game to sell it?

-I'm game to sell it.

'On today's show, we have lots of interesting items that fetch lots of money at auction,

'but which one of these is the only one not to go for over £1,000?

'Anita's silver tea service?'

Their company was in Rhode Island in New York, so this was as good as it got.

'Adam's whist markers?'

These are circa 1900. I'm pleased to see these here. You don't see them very often.

'Or my apothecary cabinet.'

Some old boy brought this in. He got this for next to nothing and he's used the top as a bit of a worktop.

'Keep watching and you'll find out.

'But we're going to start with something Scottish. No, it's not Anita Manning.

-'It's the Monart glass bowl Adam discovered in the queue.'

-Welcome to Flog It, a beautiful sunny day here.

-How are you doing?

-Fine, thank you.

-Thanks for coming along.

-I'm Adam. What's your name?

-Janice.

-And?

-Lynn.

-And your relationship?

-We're sisters.

-Sisters. Excellent.

Thank you for bringing along this lovely bowl which is glistening in the sun today.

Can you tell us anything about it, where it came from? Who's going to start?

It belonged to our parents. They received it as a wedding present.

-And when were they married?

-1951.

-1951. Gosh, 60 years ago now.

-Yeah.

-Do you remember this from childhood?

-Definitely.

-Yeah, it used to sit on the table in the window

-with the fruit in it.

-Right.

-Who does it belong to now?

-Jointly.

-Jointly, yeah.

So it's not something you can cut in half or have a month for you and a month for you.

OK, so you've decided to put it on the market and then split the money afterwards?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Do you like it?

-I do, yeah. I love it.

It certainly looks its best today. It's a lovely sunny day here in Aberdeen.

A lot of people will recognise this as a Monart bowl,

a Scottish glassware founded by a Spanish chap called Ysart and they called it the Moncrieff Glassworks.

The combination of Moncrieff and Ysart made the word "Monart".

It's that pale blue colour so often associated with the Queen Mother.

That's true, yeah.

It's got these little gold flecks,

so you've got the traditional Scottish shapes with a bit of Spanish flair added to it.

-Any idea what it might be worth?

-Not really, no.

We see quite a bit of Monart through the salerooms.

It's a good place to sell it. It's a regional collector's item.

Perthshire was the factory which isn't miles away.

-They had relatives in Perth.

-I wonder if any of them worked at the factory?

-I don't think so.

-No idea.

Sometimes they've still got the paper label on the bottom as well.

-It's missing.

-Yeah, that's probably...

-It's been regularly washed.

-Exactly.

We're not a slovenly household.

How often do you buy something now and think, "I'll keep that label on it"?

-The first thing to come off is the label.

-It's bought to be used.

Exactly, bought to be used, but clearly treasured because it's in lovely condition.

So down to the value... It's not a hugely valuable example of Monart.

It's a relatively standard model, if you will.

-A lovely thing, but value-wise, about 50 to 80 estimate.

-Mm-hm.

-Disappointed?

-Not really.

-No.

-Hopefully, it'll make towards 100.

I doubt it'll make much more. I think we should put a reserve on it,

just in case no-one turns up which would be horrible.

-We wouldn't want it to go for 20 quid.

-No.

-Definitely not.

-I love the way you answer simultaneously!

-We're thinking the same.

-Synchronised sisters.

I think we put a reserve of 50, estimate of 50 to 80, and fingers crossed, it makes three figures,

so you'll end up with a decent amount each.

-I shan't ask what you'll do with the money because it's not a huge amount.

-No.

-It's been nice to see something of regional significance.

-Thank you.

'Adam's not the only one to find something Scottish. So have I.'

I'm looking at the most fabulous hand-written journal. It belongs to Veronica who I'm standing next to.

I've decided to whisk you off to the June Borders. What do you think? You've seen these before.

-Yes, it's a lovely place.

-We got away from the crowd on the main lawn

because we deserve a bit of colour, looking at this tiny little book.

It's beautifully written.

What can you tell me about this? The book is from the 1700s.

All I can say is my father used to work in Edinburgh and he'd go down every lunchtime to the Grassmarket

which was a very sort of "antique worldy" place.

And he would have bought it there back in the mid-'70s.

-It's quite hard to read.

-Yeah.

-It's been rebound.

It's titled Walker's Natural History. Obviously, it's written by Mr Walker in the late 1700s,

but looking at the index here, he's writing about geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, you name it.

He was a very, very clever man. Have you done any research on him?

I did a little on the internet and discovered that he was a clergyman

and professor at Edinburgh University.

-There's a museum in Edinburgh - I filmed there - dedicated to the Royal College of Surgeons.

-Yes.

-This is mentioned in the book.

-Anything else mentioned about Edinburgh?

-This is building provenance.

-The Botanic Gardens.

-The Botanic Gardens.

And some dates about the Botanic Gardens and some specimens?

No, it actually just mentions part of it.

And it mentions the Royal Infirmary which ties in nicely as my father worked there.

-Maybe that's why he bought this book.

-It could have been.

I love the way he puts the word for the next page at the bottom.

-So you can carry on reading.

-He's annotating it all.

-It's beautiful.

Have you taken this to anybody to have a value before?

I haven't taken it, but a gentleman came round

and he sort of said maybe around 200.

I'm fascinated by this. There's a lot of history related to Edinburgh. We're not far from Edinburgh.

I think the local newspaper could do a spread on this. We should get the auction room to do some homework,

put some feelers out, tell the local newspapers

and hopefully, get a little bit of free publicity

because something like this could be worth £400 or £500.

Well, that would be nice.

-What do you think we should put this into auction with?

-Well, I did have the 200.

As far as I'm concerned, if that's the value, that's the value that I would be happy to sell it at.

I think we get the auctioneer to earn his commission out of this,

let him do all the research and homework for us and maybe readjust the valuation accordingly,

-but if we put it into auction with a reserve of £200 and see what happens...

-That'd be brilliant.

There's a lot of history here.

'With any luck, the auction research will provide added value, but we'll find out later on in the programme.'

Arlene, welcome to Flog it and thank you so much

for bringing in this beautiful piece of Carlton Ware. Where did you get it?

I was up at my aunt's, she was tidying out, was going to throw it out.

I said, "You can't do that." "If you want it, have it," she said. So I got it.

-She was going to throw that out?

-Throw that out. She was tidying out.

-Did she have it on display or was it tucked away in a cupboard?

-It was in one of the outhouses.

Yeah, it was tucked away.

So you rescued it really?

You could put it that way, yes.

-Do you like it?

-I like the colours, but I'm not over-fond of decorated items.

-You prefer simpler...?

-Simpler ones, simpler taste, but I do like the colours of it.

That's a very modern way of thinking because the fashion is away from highly decorated items

to more minimalist or more monochrome forms and colours,

but in something like that, it's a wee bit special and it's very beautiful.

-Yeah.

-This was made in the 1930s by Carlton.

It's one of their best ranges and many factories will make a range of ranges

where you have less expensive items up to the very best of items

and this was at that time one of the best ranges for Carlton Ware.

It was called the Lustre range where we have this really lustre effect.

And this is particularly nice because of these iridescent blues and greens.

I don't know the pattern. I'm hoping that the auctioneer gets the pattern name of this

because I think it's important, but what I like about it

are these wonderful, stylised plant forms.

-Yeah.

-It's almost science fiction.

And they seem to be emerging from a female figure,

so it's an imaginary landscape

and very beautiful because of that.

What they were trying to do was they were trying to copy...

I don't mean in a bad way. In a respectful way.

..the wonderful Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre.

And this was Carlton's answer to Fairyland Lustre.

Let's look at the backstamp here, Arlene. We can see the mark for Carlton Ware here.

And we have a decorator's mark here.

All these things can be accessed. We can find out who did it.

But it's a particularly pretty pattern with particularly pretty colours.

-And it appears to be in perfect condition.

-Mm-hm.

-Do you have it on display, Arlene?

-No, I don't.

-So you just took it away?

-I took it away. It's in my...

-You rescued it.

-You rescued it.

-Yeah.

-Well done on that.

-But it's not for you.

-It's not for me, no.

If you don't like a thing, I think it should be passed on

-to someone who will love and admire and enjoy the item.

-I quite agree.

I would put an estimate between 80 and 120.

-Would you be happy with that estimate, Arlene, if we put it into auction?

-Yes.

I think that it will do better than that,

but I would suggest that we put a reserve of £70 on it.

-Would you agree?

-Yeah, that sounds reasonable.

-That's good.

So if we sell it, what would you do with the money?

I'd probably treat the family to a dinner, a meal.

-That would be a nice thing to do, a nice memento.

-Yes, it would be.

'We've served up our first three items, so it's time to put our valuations to the test

'in the saleroom, but here's a recap of what we're taking with us and why.

'Estimated at £50 to £80,

'Adam thought the Monart glass bowl was smashing

'and a great item to find because of its regional significance.

'I found a wonderful 18th century natural history book, brought along by Veronica.

'It was tricky to put a price on something that needs research.

'We'll discover the true value in the auction.

'And finally, that canny Anita valued the Carlton Ware vase at £80 to £120.

'Not bad for something that was going to be thrown away!

'We're in Aberdeen at John Milne Auctioneers.

'Graham Lumsden is our auctioneer, but before we throw ourselves into the cut and thrust of the saleroom,

'I caught up with Graham on the preview day to hear what he found out about the natural history book.'

I remember this little journal. It was brought in by Veronica, a lovely lady.

It's that wonderful natural history journal.

I said, "This is not my field of expertise. Let's hand this over to Graham, the auctioneer.

"That's how they earn commission." She wants a £200 reserve on this.

-This gentleman, Professor Walker, Natural History at Edinburgh University...

-Yeah.

He was also a Church of Scotland minister which is interesting.

-I think this work has been written by a student of his.

-Not by his hand?

-No, not by his hand.

-And maybe from a book or his lecture notes.

-Was this a common thing to do back in the early 18th century?

-Yeah.

-You couldn't afford to buy the book, so you copied it.

-It must have taken him hours.

-There's 260 pages of hand-written...

-Beautifully hand-written.

-A few colour illustrations might have helped it along the way.

-Yeah.

-It's been rebound. It's 1780-ish.

-We'll see how it goes.

-What's your gut feeling?

-I believe there's a reserve of £200 on the book.

-Yes.

We've estimated it at 200 to 250 to encourage some bidding,

but I think we might be around 150, 180.

-I think we might just struggle to sell it.

-OK, fingers crossed.

'We won't have to wait long

'and you can never predict what will happen in an auction room.

'First, it's Janice and Lynn with their Monart bowl.'

-Good luck. The problem will be now solved. You've been left this Monart vase, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-Now it can be divided up and split up.

-Yes.

There are plenty of collectors of Monart around and I'm sure there'll be a few here today,

-so I'm quite confident for a market value, hopefully a bit more.

-Yeah, fingers crossed.

Let's find out what it's worth.

Monart glass bowl. Blue, decorative Monart glass bowl.

£80? Monart glass bowl for 80? 60?

I'm bid 40.

Any advance now on £40, the Monart glass bowl at £40?

I've got one... 42. 45. 48. 50.

The lady's further back at £50.

Any advance now on £50?

It's going to be sold for £50. All finished now at 50?

-Yes.

-Oh!

-Late legs. Just.

-Do you want to go to 55?

55. 58.

60. At 60 back on my right.

Any advance now on £60? The bid's back on my right at 60.

Gosh, that was hard, wasn't it? That was hard work.

Thank goodness for Graham! He worked them. We got £60.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Well done.

-Thanks for bringing it.

-That's lunch out, really, isn't it? I think, really.

-Yeah.

'Adam was bang-on. It's the natural history book next.

'I really don't know how this one is going to go.'

Veronica, I had a chat to the auctioneer yesterday.

I said, "Let's let the auctioneer do the work."

He's done some research and he said the book is by John Walker

and it's possible that it was copied in the 18th century,

because the dates are right, by a student of his.

And it was a familiar practice, so he tends to think it's not John Walker's hand.

He's had other academics look at it and they concur.

-It won't affect the value. We've still got that £200 reserve on it. OK?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-But it's a lovely story.

-It is.

-It really is a nice story. Let's see, shall we?

This one volume book of natural history by John Walker.

It's about 1780.

This book, one volume, it's been rebound, £300?

It's with Steve. £300?

250?

£200?

One volume of natural history by Professor Walker.

-I'm bid £160.

-Come on, we need a bit more.

Any advance on this volume at 160? It's not enough at 160.

It's beside me at 160.

-We're not going to find a buyer, are we?

-No.

Any more? It's at 160...

-I'm ever so sorry, Veronica. He didn't sell it.

-Never mind.

-Never mind.

-But you wanted that protected with a £200 reserve.

-Yes.

-It means something to you, doesn't it?

-Yes.

Maybe just enjoy it and read it.

Yes, I'll maybe try and read a bit more of it.

'We weren't far off the reserve, but those student notes didn't quite make the grade.

'Next up, the Carlton Ware vase.'

-Arlene, you've brought in some Carlton Ware.

-I have.

-This was going to be thrown away, but now it will be recycled.

-Yes.

Isn't that fabulous? That's the great thing about antiques.

And this is particularly beautiful. Imagine throwing anything out as beautiful as that!

-Why was it going to be thrown?

-My aunt had things like that and threw everything out.

-Hopefully, someone is going to enjoy this now.

-Yes.

-And it'll last another 200 years.

-Hopefully, hopefully.

Let's find out what they think it's worth, shall we?

It's a blue and green Carlton Ware vase. £120?

I'm bid 100.

Any advance now on £100 for the vase?

-I'm bid 110.

-110.

-120. 130. 140. 150.

-This is great.

-160. 170. 180. 190...

-Keep going, keep going.

220. 230.

240. 250... At 250 in the seats.

-Any advance on £250 in the seats?

-That's bonkers, isn't it?

-260.

270. 280. 290.

What have we missed on this?

-I didn't miss anything.

-It will be sold for £290...

£290! That's absolute bonkers!

It was one of the top of the range Carlton Wares.

-It was a beautiful lustre...

-What was that estimate again?

-LAUGHTER

-I was a wee bit concerned.

-Mind you...

-It didn't stop the bidding.

That's an auctioneer's trick. It encourages everybody to think they can own it for next to nothing

and before you know where you are, half a dozen hands have gone up and bingo!

-Well, well, well!

-That was good.

-Are you happy?

-I am.

-I'm happy too.

-I really enjoyed that.

-That was good.

-It was good.

-And to think that was going to get thrown away!

-I know.

'She's a cheeky one, that Anita, but a fantastic result for our first visit to the saleroom.

'Before we head back to Crathes Castle,

'there's a 19th century Aberdonian artist I'd like to tell you about.'

We've all heard of the Arts and Crafts Movement

which flourished in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century

and you may be familiar with the great names like William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh,

CR Ashby, Archibald Knox, but there were other lesser known artists

that were producing the most stunning work.

One of them is James Cromar Watt

and here, in the heart of Aberdeen in their art gallery,

it contains the largest single collection of his work.

It's well worth a look, so come with me.

Born in Aberdeen in 1862, James Cromar Watt trained as an architect.

His earliest drawings were studies of Scottish religious buildings

like King's College Chapel at Aberdeen University.

He achieved great acclaims and won awards

from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural School of the Royal Academy.

So this enabled him to take study trips around Europe, Egypt and the Far East.

His sketchbooks from those trips begin to illustrate a change in direction

from architectural work to a love of decorative detail.

And from decorative detail, he became increasingly fascinated with crafts,

which he'd have seen a great deal of whilst on his travels.

He was largely self-taught and tried to master several genres.

Two techniques fascinated him. The first was gold granulation.

This is a very delicate procedure fusing minute, miniscule little gold granules together

on a surface to create a texture. I've been allowed behind the scenes

to show you some of his test pieces which were done originally on card.

I've got my white gloves on.

It all starts really right here. The whole thing required a deftness of touch and a sureness as well.

Somebody with a lot of confidence. Watt's used dental equipment, in particular, a small glass blowpipe.

You can see his architectural background with his wonderful sense of symmetry and proportion.

I do know that he worked with some kind of apparatus on a headband

with a piece of wire and a large optical lens magnifying everything.

Such skill.

The process was practised from 300BC by goldsmiths of the Eastern Mediterranean,

however the method was lost until the 19th century when an artist in Rome, Castellani,

revived and rediscovered the craft.

The pendant itself shows how he really mastered the technique.

It also shows the second technique he mastered - enamelling. The central circle there combines them.

You've got wonderful little enamelled motifs, bordered and decorated with gold granulation

in the form of stylised leaf work.

From the tiny samples here, he went on to produce the finished item.

The museum have kindly got some out of the store to show you.

Just take a look at this.

Look at that.

Wonderful piece of enamelling. The process involves taking some powdered glass,

the colour of your choice, and fusing it at high temperature onto metal.

This was fused onto foil, which creates this crumpled texture.

This is the technique he used most and he had great success with it.

Absolutely beautiful.

'Watt used the technique to its full advantage in necklaces and pendants,

'achieving a variety of shades from the palest white to deep ruby reds to vibrant sapphires.

'He became a real master of his craft, but I'm keen to find out more about the man

'and what other works he produced. Kate Gillespie, the curator of decorative art here,

-'has agreed to talk to me.' Hello, Kate.

-Hi, Paul.

-Thank you for letting me go behind the scenes.

He's clearly a talented artist. Why wasn't he as well known as some of his contemporaries?

We believe he actually enjoyed working by himself.

He was well acquainted with some other Arts and Crafts artists, but he enjoyed

finding a unique type of art that he pursued.

What else did Watt do?

He carried out a lot of commissions for private patrons

and also for churches, but he was also very active in the art world in Aberdeen

and sat on a lot of committees and he organised for a lot of artists to come up to Aberdeen and exhibit.

-He was a key figure.

-A mover and a shaker, yeah.

-Promoting art in the city.

A lot of artists were working in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Aberdeen was more on the periphery.

What about the direction from let's say from architect to artist?

Really the change in direction comes from his trips abroad.

Rather than looking at the buildings as a whole, he looked at details - cornicing and foliage

on columns, et cetera. And you see more and more preoccupation with this detail.

-I think that's where he gets this interest in the decorative.

-OK.

I've just seen some lovely jewellery and I was aware of his plaques. Talk me through some of these.

Well, this first piece is actually his earliest piece that we have, from 1898.

It actually depicts his mother. It may have been part of a pair with a plaque of his father,

but we don't have that. Next we have a mythological piece.

We don't know who the sitter is, but he was very interested in Renaissance sources.

-This is a new acquisition from the States.

-A private collection?

-Yes.

We do know it was exhibited in the Aberdeen art gallery about 1900,

-so it's come home, which is nice.

-That's been away for a few years.

-He obviously framed them himself.

-That's right.

-And the last one?

It's the latest piece, we think from about 1902.

This is his most technically accomplished piece. He's really refined his technique.

It's a portrait of a young girl, which may have been one of the grandchildren of his friend.

-A lot of history there.

-Absolutely.

-It's nice that it's come back here. Why is it here in the first place?

When Watt died in an accident in 1940, prior to that he'd arranged for a lot of his private collection

to be bequeathed to Aberdeen Art Gallery. So that came to us.

Since then, curators have made a real attempt to buy items by him when they come up.

Is this the same technique as I've just seen? It doesn't look like it.

Parts of it are the same, but here in the face is a technique called grisaille,

where the enamel is finely layered with a graduation in tone,

so you get this light and dark. Greys and whites are used to build up this depth.

-The result is a really photographic depiction.

-Yes, there's a lot of chromatic hue.

-Absolutely.

-But you've almost got that sort of... It's like a negative.

-It is.

It's very nice. Was he at the peak of his career when he died?

Em, no. He actually undertook some secret service in the war

and when he returned from war he stopped working altogether.

We don't know if his eyesight had deteriorated or if he just decided he didn't want to continue making,

but from that period he stopped. We know that he didn't marry, he didn't have any children,

but he had a close circle of friends and he enjoyed hosting parties.

-They remember him fondly.

-This is a great part of Aberdeen's heritage that we've got here.

-Absolutely.

He's really an unsung hero. There's not a lot known about him,

-but his work is exquisite.

-It's opened my eyes. Thank you very much.

-You're very welcome.

We're back in the beautiful grounds of Crathes Castle where Anita, Adam and our off-screen valuers

are still busy searching for those treasured items. Adam has come up trumps first when he spotted Maureen

with her two whist markers.

-Are you a card player?

-Not really. Just the odd game now and again.

-Because these are antique scoring indicators for the game of whist. Ever played whist?

-I have, yes.

-I played a bit with my grandmother, but I've forgotten all about it. It's all aces and trumps.

-Yes.

These are circa 1900. I had a collection recently in my auction room.

-You don't see them very often.

-How did they work?

-I'm not sure. They're for indicating scores.

I don't understand the game enough to be able to explain,

but I do know that they are scoring indicators for card games. And they're made from rosewood.

These are little ivory tabs with little coloured inlays which are in the Japanese style.

A lot of Japanese ivory is called Shibayama style when it has coloured inlays of mother of pearl.

-How did you come to own them?

-I found them in a display cabinet when I was clearing my mother's house.

-Oh, right.

-Last year.

-And you thought, "What are these?"

-Exactly.

-And you brought them back to your house?

-Yes.

-Where do they live now?

On a window sill where they can be seen. They're quite attractive.

-And no one's ever told you what they are?

-People ask, but I can't help!

-Well, now you know, but it's too late - you're selling them!

-Yeah.

They're turn of the century and there isn't much more to say,

-but value-wise. Have you got any idea?

-Not really. Haven't a clue.

-They're typically about £40-£50 each.

-Oh, excellent.

So I would put £50-£80 estimate on the two. We've got a little bit of inlay missing out of that one.

-I would suggest £50-£80 as a guide price to get people interested. And a reserve of £50.

-OK.

So they don't go for less. They're certainly worth that.

Hopefully, they'll make about £100, £120, something like that.

-If they didn't make the reserve, I'd keep them.

-Exactly.

-You can use them as a mystery object to test all your friends.

-Test my guests.

-Test your guests.

Pass them round and say, "Guess what these are for." Or you could work out how they work

-and if you do find out, do give me a ring!

-I'll let you know!

-Thanks for coming. If they made £100, is there something you'd do with it?

-Nothing specific.

-Maybe add it to the next holiday fund.

-That's better than nothing.

Did you know what they were? That's what I love about the programme.

We get to see such interesting things.

Jane, I like a cup of tea, but this would serve a magnificent cup of tea.

It's a wonderful silver tea service. Tell me, where did you get it?

We got it from my mother-in-law who lives in Georgia in the States.

She had basically got fed up cleaning it and decided to pass it on to us,

-so it came over in the mail...

-In the post!

-Yes. In the post.

-Oh, dear.

-It really is a wonderful thing. So you now have to clean it.

-Yes, probably, but I don't use it.

-It's just taking up space.

-Taking up space.

-What about the next generation? Are they interested in it?

-No.

-They don't want to clean it either!

-No!

-Well, let's have a look at it.

-OK.

-If we look at the base

of this teapot here,

we can see the mark for Gorham and Company.

This was a most prestigious silversmiths. Their company was in Rhode Island in New York.

So this was as good, really, as it got.

If we look at this pot here, an interesting little feature is these porcelain spacers.

We always find this in pots of quality. It stops the heat

of the liquid conducting through to the handle, so the handle will always remain cool.

It's early 20th century. It has this very pretty embossed decoration

with the tea pot, hot water, slot bowl, sugar and cream

and this magnificent tray. And in the tray we have a combination of styles.

I think the tray is looking forward to American Art Nouveau. Silver is good just now.

The price of the metal is bringing up the price of the items,

so this is a good time to sell this. Have you had it valued before?

-Only for insurance purposes.

-And what was the insurance value?

-Between £2,000 and £3,000.

-Insurance value is often

three and sometimes four times the resale value.

-So we're having to think down from the insurance value.

-Right.

If this was coming in to sale, I would estimate it in the range of £1,200-£1,800

-and I would expect it to go in that range.

-Mm-hm.

-What I haven't done

is to weigh it out and the weight value is a contributory factor...

-Right.

-..in the resale value of it.

Would you be happy to sell it within these estimates?

-Yes, I think so.

-You want to go for it. You're just not going to take it out the cupboard again.

-No.

OK. Let's put it in at £1,200-£1,800.

-Right.

-Now we must establish a reserve price.

My recommendation would be in the region of £1,000,

but I only want it to be at that if you're happy and comfortable with that price.

-Maybe 12?

-Shall we try 12?

-Yeah.

-We'll try 12.

And let's hope that it sells at that because it is quite a magnificent service.

-And it's by one of the best American makers.

-Yeah.

So what would you do with that amount of money, Jane?

-It's a wee bit more than taking the family out for lunch.

-Yes. I have absolutely no idea.

-Well, I always advise people to just buy something extravagant.

-Something silly.

Don't pay your electricity bill with it. Buy a nice piece of jewellery or something.

Anyway, I'll see you at the auction and thank you very much

-for bringing it along again.

-My pleasure. Thank you.

That tea service is a real show stopper and it's our last valuation.

We've had a fabulous day here. A marvellous turnout.

Everybody's enjoyed themselves and we found some wonderful treasures.

Now it's over to the auction room for the very last time, but will we get a surprise? Let's find out.

First, it's those two rosewood and ivory whist markers, which Adam valued at £50-£80.

Maureen isn't a player and since she had no idea what they were,

it's not much of a gamble letting them go under the hammer.

Finally, it's that head-turning silver tea service. Surely somebody will take a shine to it

with a £1,200-£1,800 estimate.

So we're back at John Milne Auctioneers in Aberdeen with auctioneer Graham Lumsden.

Before we sell our lots, I've something to show you.

It caught my eye on the preview day and it's something I couldn't miss - literally!

Yes, there is a lot of it, isn't there? 120 drawers, to be precise.

And it's all made of mahogany. It's from an old chemist's shop.

It is fabulous. It's one of the biggest ones I've ever seen!

Not practical to put in a house, but I can see this in a haberdashery shop or into a bygone museum.

Somebody will clean this up and polish it and love it, but leave all these little stickers

exactly as they are. There literally is something for everybody here.

From Gum Shellac to Suppositories.

The auctioneer has told me some old boy brought this in,

he did a house clearance 20 or 30 years ago and got it for next to nothing and it was in his garage.

Each drawer has contained different-sized screws and nuts and bolts and washers.

He's used the top as a worktop. And here it is back into auction with a price tag of £600-£800.

I can see this doing around £1,000 because it's quite unusual. It really is.

Unusual and big! Let's see how it sells a little later. But first...

If you play your cards right, you could own this next lot. Maureen, I like this, so does Adam.

-I'm sure someone will snap them up.

-It's those whist markers.

Even the auctioneer, I had a chat to him, and he thoroughly loved them.

He said, "This is the kind of thing I'd like to sell every day."

-There's one little bit of damage.

-One of the butterflies, wasn't it?

Yeah, the mother of pearl was missing. Nevertheless, quality.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

We have the pair of rosewood coloured inlay whist markers.

£150?

120?

£100? 80?

60?

-We're going the wrong way!

-Turn round!

The whist markers at £60. One bid at £60.

-It's on my right. 65. 70.

-There we go.

-75. 80.

-Now we've changed direction. We're going back up.

Now at £85. Any advance on £85 for the whist markers? At 85.

-That's OK for those.

-At £85.

Going to be sold for £85.

-That's gone down. That was a good result.

-Yes.

-I'm happy. Are you?

-Yes, I am, yes.

-That was a good result.

We had a slight condition issue, but they're lovely things. And you're smiling!

Certainly no poker face on Maureen. Now it's that massive apothecary cabinet.

It's going under the hammer right now. Catalogued at £600-£800. Let's see what it makes.

Whose house is big enough?

A large apothecary's cabinet. And for this cabinet, £1,200. I'm bid 1,000.

Any advance on £1,000 for the cabinet?

1,100. 1,200. 1,300.

And 50. 1,400. 1,500.

1,600. 1,700.

1,800. 1,900. 2,000.

It's going to be two one.

Two one. Two two.

Two three. Two four. Two five.

Two six.

Two seven. Two eight. Two nine.

3,000. Three one. Three two. Three three.

Three four. Three five.

It's now £3,500, which is incredible, isn't it?

It had a £600-£800 valuation. It's so hard to put a price on things.

All finished now at 3,500? Going to be sold. Three six.

-At three six.

-3,600.

-Any advance now on three six?

It's outside the door at 3,600.

That's incredible. It just shows how hard it is to value something.

If two people really want it, they'll fight for it.

Our final lot is certainly not one to fade into the background.

-There's a lot of money at stake here.

-Perhaps.

-You changed your mind, but I totally agree with you.

Since the valuation day, the price of scrap metals has gone up and the melt value is £2,000 now.

You've done the right thing. We've got a new reserve at £1,800.

We're thinking of weight value, but that's only part of the equation.

What we have here is one of the most prestigious silvermakers in America.

Indeed, there is silverware in the White House by this maker,

-so we're not just...

-Will we find some American buyers, I wonder?

-Barack Obama!

-We are on the internet here. Can you imagine that? "Cup of tea, President?"

Let's find out what happens. Let's see exactly what it's worth.

This five-piece silver tea service and tray. Gorham silver.

Approximately 140 ounces.

And for the service...£2,000?

Silver service for £2,000.

1,800? 1,500?

With me at £1,500. Any advance? Here we go again!

16. 17. 18.

-19. At 2,000. 2,100.

-We've done it.

I've got to go more. 2,150.

2,200. At 2,250.

-Your bid at 2,250.

-There.

-Oh, wow, yes.

2,350. 2,400.

-Gosh. Jane! What's happening?

-At the door, 2,500.

-This is what auctions are about.

-The bid's at the door at £2,500.

-Yes!

-The hammer's gone down with a whack! £2,500.

-Are you happy?

-I can go away for the weekend now!

-That will be a good weekend away!

-I'm tingling!

-It's great.

-Gosh!

-Great.

-What a nice result.

-Yeah, it sure was.

-Have you got any more at home?

-Some more.

-Have you?! You're hanging onto that?

-Now that this has gone, who knows?

-Well, enjoy the money.

What a wonderful way to end. I told you there was a big surprise.

See you next time for many more.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2012

Email [email protected]