Derbyshire 7 Flog It!

Today we're in the heart of the Peak District in beautiful Bakewell,

famed for its markets, this Grade I listed medieval bridge

and, of course, the legendary Bakewell puddings

but it's the antiques we're here for

and just two miles down the road

is one of the most stunning manor houses in the world

and, for one day only, it's ours.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

The fabulous landscape and the chocolate-box towns and villages of the Peak District

attract millions of visitors every year,

making it one of the most visited National Parks in the world.

Today every view is picturesque and inviting

but the Peak District was once a wild and dangerous place.

Manor houses were built in the valleys to allow rich landowners to protect themselves.

Haddon Hall is one of our finest examples of a fortified manor house.

Its turrets and towers loom high over the valley below

but there's no defence against this lot.

Our "Flog It!" crowd have turned up in their hundreds,

carrying bags and boxes full of antiques

to be valued by our team of experts

and, of course, the best items will be taken off to auction

where, hopefully, they're going to make a small fortune.

And already getting a taste of what's lurking in those bags and boxes is Michael Baggott.

-Nice gift.

-Thank you very much.

-It's lovely to be given things that you can sell at a later date, isn't it?

-Yes.

But the competition has already started.

Hoarding some treasures of her own is Caroline Hawley.

Oh, Michael, I've come in at a very good time to catch you stickering somebody.

I was just eyeing this up.

With our experts poised and the doors open,

we're ready to start valuing.

The items that really tickle our experts' taste buds

will be put under the hammer at auction later on in the show.

But which of our items is going to outshine the rest

by reaching almost double its valuation?

Will it be this ancient collection of ivory?

Or this oriental silver bowl?

Or could it be this well-loved early clockwork toy?

You'll need to keep watching to find out.

Well, the fires are on and the crowd are warming up

and waiting patiently and our experts have taken centre stage

so let's now join up with them

and take a closer look at what they've found.

And first to our valuation tables is Caroline

with what looks like an interesting piece of Derby.

What a spooky looking lady! She really is extraordinary, isn't she?

I think she's Sarah Gamp from Martin Chuzzlewit.

She was actually an alcoholic nurse and layer-out of the dead

so that probably explains her rather spooky look.

So tell me, what do you know about her?

All I know, or I believe, is she's possibly made by Derby

and that I actually bought her in Derby.

Oh, did you? That's interesting.

Which is not far from us at the moment, is it?

Very interesting indeed.

-Now, you know she's a candle snuffer.

-Yes.

She's basically in very good condition

apart from a tiny little chip here.

Damage, condition is everything.

Now, I've had a close look at this base and at a very close look,

I can see it's been restored.

-How do you know it's been restored?

-Right, I'll tell you how I know.

First of all, by feel

and then I got my eyeglass to look closer

and I can see there's the remains of a hairline there

that's been filled in

and then when I look closely at the Derby mark here,

that's been repainted as well

and that affects the value as much as the damage.

They were made in various colourways from 1862 onwards.

This colourway is the darker, more vibrant colour

and therefore the more expensive, the more collectable.

Tell me, how did you come by it? Do you collect candle snuffers?

I don't collect candle snuffers.

I bought it at an antiques fair in Derby

and I sort of kept looking at her and she just sort of drew me towards her.

Jumped out at you.

And were you aware of the restoration when you bought it?

No, I wasn't, the person didn't tell me that.

-So they sold you it as perfect?

-They sold it to me as near-perfect.

I realised there was a tiny chip on it but other than that.

Right, which brings us nicely to value.

-What did you pay for this, do you remember?

-It was over £100.

-Was it?

Sadly, with the restoration and the little bit of damage,

you paid a good retail price for it, so I think, if we were to put it

into auction now, if we put an estimate of 80-120.

With a fixed reserve of £80, would you be happy with that?

Yes, because I've decided I don't want to keep her any more

and I want to spend money on something else.

What do you want to spend money on instead?

Well, I've got an ambition to buy a book

that was written by John Parkinson

in about 1640 all about plants and things.

Oh, what a lovely thing to put it to.

Right, well, we'll do our best, 80-120, 80 reserve.

And I hope it gets on the way to the book!

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Martin Chuzzlewit is one of my favourite Dickens novels.

Now over to Michael, who's found something with real poignancy.

John, thank you for bringing these. Lovely group of medals.

-Are these family medals?

-No, they're not.

My daughter found them when she was moving into a new house

and was clearing the attic out

and we came across those in a box.

Good grief, just left or maybe forgotten, who knows?

More likely to be forgotten, I think.

Well, what we've got is a standard group of First World War medals.

We've got the Great War medal, the Victory medal,

these are more standard.

-This one is normally the 1914-15 Star.

-Right.

This is the 1914 Star on its own.

-And this is a little bit more uncommon, especially with the bar.

-Right.

And this basically means that the person to whom this medal was awarded

and we've got here Private F Harrison,

the Notts and Derby Regiment.

He was probably one of the very first soldiers to go out

-and engage the Germans at the start of the war.

-OK.

It also probably refers to the fact that he was,

before the war started, a serving British soldier.

-Right.

-Or as they were known, an Old Contemptible.

Oh, that's where they get the name from.

So what we've got is a more interesting than standard group of First World War medals.

They're all named which means that people who collect medals can do a lot of research in them.

-This is why First World War medals and earlier are much more popular than Second World War.

-Right, I see.

-So they were found in the loft.

-Yeah.

So they either cost the price of a house or they were free,

depending on how you look at it.

They're not worth the price of a house so let's go with free.

-Any idea what they might be worth?

-I've no idea at all.

Well, I can tell you that five or six years ago, which isn't that long ago,

-you'd have been struggling to get £25 or £35 for them.

-Right.

Because you can research these officers online now through the websites,

the whole system of research has become much easier and much more accessible,

which has made these medals more desirable.

I think, conservatively, we'll put £100-£150 on them

and on a good day, if you get two people particularly interested in the Notts and Derby Regiment,

it might go on from that but you know.

They're a nice group of medals

and if you're happy we'll put a reserve of £100 on them.

-Yes, that's absolutely OK, yeah.

-That's marvellous.

You can go back home now without your medals

and tell you daughter the good news.

Well, it's been very interesting, thank you.

I didn't know anything about them until today.

Well, it's fascinating for me as well, I'm not a medal expert

so whenever things like this get brought in I learn as well

and it's marvellous to do the research and find out about these things.

-So thank you so much indeed, John, for bringing them in.

-Pleasure.

-Thank you.

Another example of the internet creating added value.

It's wonderful to have such a truly historic setting for our "Flog It!" valuation day

and I've found it impossible not to snoop around.

This house is just full of treasures.

And it's here in the old milk larder that you'll find

a collection of dole cupboards,

possibly the finest collection of its kind, dating back to the 1500s.

These cupboards you'll find in all the great houses throughout the country, houses like Haddon.

Particularly in the sort of jetted porches of the Elizabethan houses

and they were there to feed the estate workers and passing traders.

Loaves of bread were put in them and the bread was known as doles

and this and this is where we get the term from 'on the dole'.

I must say I am rather jealous of this collection.

There is so much history here in this room and I'm in awe of it.

I really am.

Back in the house, the fires are still roaring

and the valuations are in full swing

and it looks like Caroline has found something very special.

Wow, Mike, I think it's over to you to tell me a bit about this history.

It came from the family in Ireland

and I know we've had it for about 100 years.

It was used for christenings in the family

and I think I was the last person to be christened in it.

-Oh, were you?

-In 1940.

-So you have an attachment to this.

I do have an attachment to it.

Well, I'm sure you looked handsome and charming in this.

-I had more hair then.

-Did you?

It's the finest silk you can imagine, it's absolutely beautiful.

It dates from around 1900. Does that tie in with your...?

-That ties in, yes.

-Around 1900. So it's well over 100 years old now.

It's in very, very good condition.

There's a few tiny rust marks and a few tiny staining areas inside.

This is beautiful, machine-made lace all the way around it

and the embroidery. Beautifully, beautifully made.

This is obviously the christening cape.

Do you have a christening gown that went with it?

There may have been one but I've no knowledge of it.

-But you've kept this.

-Yes.

And why do you now feel the time is right to sell, Mike?

I'd like to see it go to somebody else and be used, really,

because it won't be used in our family again because the family has their own traditions

so it won't carry on to another generation.

I mean it's a family heirloom of yours

and the value is beyond counting, sentimental value,

but what sort of value would you be happy to sell it for?

I've no idea, I'd really just be happy with the idea that it's used.

Well, I would put a valuation - to me it should be worth an awful lot more, we'll start by saying that -

but a realistic valuation for auction I think

would be £40-£60,

-with a fixed reserve of £40.

-Yes, that's fine.

-And I'm sure that will go to a home and be used.

-Absolutely.

It would be nice to see it used in the future.

Well, I'm sure it will be for at least another hundred years.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much, Mike, let's go and flog it.

I can imagine some new parents being absolutely delighted to find that in the auction.

Well, we've now arrived at that moment,

it's time to put our first set of antiques to the test

over in the auction room and here's a quick recap

to jog your memory through the items that are going under the hammer.

Will the Derby and Dickens collectors be there to fight over

the little Sarah Gamp candle snuffer?

Or will Michael be right about the internet

fuelling interest in the World War I medals?

And surely someone will fall in love

with the exquisite hand-stitched christening gown.

Just a mile away from Haddon Hall is the picturesque village of Rowsley,

made up of historic pubs and cottages

that were once part of the Haddon estate.

It's also home to Bamfords Auctioneers

and the man in charge of today's proceedings is auctioneer and "Flog It!" expert, James Lewis.

And he has unearthed some interesting information regarding one of our lots.

The three World War I medals belonging to John.

Now his daughter found them in the attic not so long ago

so there's no sentimental connection

to the officer involved to the family

-and we've got a value of £150 on these.

-Yeah.

-It's a really interesting trio of medals.

-What have you found out?

Well, they're World War I, all of them,

awarded to a chap called Harrison

who enlisted in the Notts and Derby regiment in 1911

and he was actually discharged in February 1918...

-Right.

-..for shell shock.

The interesting thing is,

when somebody was discharged in the First World War,

it's very unusual for it to actually list why,

especially for shell shock.

He was awarded a Silver War Badge that he could have worn,

because obviously if you've lost both legs or you've lost both arms,

it's quite clear why you're not fighting on the front

but shell shock, when it's something mental,

-or it's something to do with your brain...

-Yeah, you look quite healthy

and people would assume you're a conscientious objector.

Exactly, so he was awarded a Silver War Badge so that

when he was walking the streets people would know.

He could say "Look, I've been out there fighting for our country."

What do you think these will be worth later on

when you put them on the rostrum?

I hope to get above top end, so towards the £200 mark.

It's not hugely valuable but it's just a lovely story.

The auction house is packed and ready to go

so let's get moving with our first lot of the day.

It's a family heirloom.

A Victorian christening cape belonging to Mike

who actually wore it, didn't you?

I wore it when I was christened when I was two days old.

-Aw! Fantastic. This is incredible really, I mean this is your own social history.

-Yes.

We did consider having it conserved but it would cost a fortune.

-How you do feel...?

-And where would it go in the future?

-Is this going to be a sad moment?

-No, not really.

I'd like to think that it was going on to somebody else.

-To a collection.

-Yes.

OK, we're going to find out right now.

It's now down to the bidders.

Lot number 561, Victorian silk christening gown.

There we are and I can start he bidding here at £30.

30 and 5 now, 35, 40, 45.

At 45, 50 now.

At 45 and 50 anywhere?

At £45, do I see 50? At 45.

It's away.

-45.

-And the hammer's gone down, £45.

It was short and sweet.

Blink and you'll miss that.

Well done, good valuation, that was right on.

-Hopefully it will go to a collection.

-Yes or to be worn again.

Yes, that would be nice.

And going under the hammer right now, a group of World War I medals

belonging to John

and I know you've also brought in a small little Bible.

Yeah, that's right. We found this Bible and it's got his name in it

and the date that he was in Plymouth.

Well, isn't that touching?

That just rounds the story off of a soldier's life,

to have his little Bible there. That's what collectors want.

Absolutely. Yeah, I'm glad we've brought it in.

It's a wonderful piece of history

and hopefully its going to add to the value

because it certainly adds to the providence and that's what it's all about.

We're going to put that to the test right now.

It's up for sale and here it is.

I can start the bidding at £100, straight in.

At £100, 110 do I see?

At 100, 110 now. 110. 110 online.

110, 120, 130. 130, 140, 150.

At £140. At £140.

Absentee bid at £140, 150, do I see?

Going to keep going online.

All the bids, incidentally, are online

they're going to collectors all over the country.

170 for you, 180. 190 for you.

We're slowly, slowly creeping up.

190.

At £180, two of you hovering online.

It's worth an extra £10.

At 180, all sure.

Gavel's ready, it's at £180. Are we all sure?

-Sold, £180. Thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

And what's more important is that they've gone to a collector.

-They'll be looked after, preserved now, forever.

-That's brilliant.

Next, the little piece of Derby.

You bought this here in Derbyshire at a fair.

Yes, I did about ten or more years ago.

But I've enjoyed it for those few years

but I want to downsize a few things

and, shall we say, collect other things.

OK, well, I don't blame you,

as you grow older your tastes change anyway, they evolve don't they?

-Absolutely.

-And they get better, let's face it.

Right, let's see what the bidders think, shall we? Here we go.

And a classic Derby snuffer and £80 for it,

please, 80's in, 80 and 90 now.

At £80, 90, 90 and 100?

110 at the back, 120, 30, 40, 50...

This is great!

140 here and 50, do I see?

At 140 seated, to the left at 140, internet.

At 140, 150, 160. 160, 170.

-Wow.

-Yes, James is working his magic.

£160 to the left and 70 now.

One more, you might get it.

At £160, 170 now. 160!

-Yours in the room.

-Done! Hammer's gone down. £160.

The Derby snuffer I think is staying here in Derby.

-Thank you so much, Anne, and I hope you get your book.

-Thank you.

And thank you for your help.

A pleasure, thank you.

Now that was a nice surprise.

Well, there you are,

that's the end of out first visit to the sale room here today.

We are coming back, later on in the programme.

Right now, I'm going back to Haddon Hall

and back to the Middle Ages to find

out more about the nation's favourite beverage.

Beer.

We drink around 22 million pints of it every day.

It's part of our national identity and heritage.

It remains the most popular alcoholic drink among British men.

MUSIC: "Just The One" by The Levellers

We drink it and we make it by the barrel load

in breweries both large and small, all over the country

but commercial brewing is a relatively recent part of the story.

Home brewing goes back centuries.

Monks had been brewing for generations

although it wasn't until the Middle Ages that ale became the most common drink of the day.

Water was impure so drinking it carried a high risk

whereas ale was boiled up as part of the brewing process

so it was a much safer bet.

It was the obvious choice and it was drunk with every meal.

But I don't think many of us today would recognise the ale of the Middle Ages.

It was often flavoured with herbs and spices, making a unique brew,

and some of it was very weak so everyone could drink it,

even children.

Large estates like Haddon would have been self-sufficient and made their own.

In the brew house, sadly now destroyed,

there would have been three large containers,

one ready to drink, one half ready

and one at the beginning of the new brew.

This was how they made sure there was always plenty of ale available.

Now Haddon Hall would have brewed up around 1,800 gallons of ale per month

and it's quite easy to imagine the great feasts that would have taken place here,

after all, it was a communal space, a place of entertainment.

But the booze wasn't always free-flowing.

Over the ages, there would have been various ways devised to control how much people drank.

In the 10th century, King Edgar ordered all wooden tankards to be fitted with pegs,

each peg marking one measure.

When you had drunk your peg, you passed it on

and if you'd drunk more than your share,

you were taking the next man "down a peg or two,"

a phrase still used today.

Now Haddon Hall had its own way of rationing by way of this iron manacle and lock

which was all part of the punishment if you didn't play by the rules.

You see, if you drank too much, or didn't drink enough,

then your arm was locked here, behind that,

and the rest of your ale poured down your sleeve. Let me explain.

If you drank too much, that was looked upon as being greedy,

more than your quota, but if you didn't drink enough,

that looked suspicious.

Remaining sober meant you were probably plotting evil acts of wrongdoings against your hosts.

Thank goodness times have moved on.

And so has ale and that's largely thanks to the introduction of hops from Holland in the 16th century.

We now have a more rounded flavour and the beer lasts longer.

Haddon Hall no longer makes beer but the Thornbridge Brewery

a couple of miles down the road is the next best thing.

The machinery may have changed, but brewing beer remains an ancient art.

I caught up with brewer Keilan Vaughn

to find out how they achieve the flavours in their beers.

I can recognise the hops. What's that?

OK, what we have here is roasted wheat.

So that's used to impart big, rich, dark malt. Roasted flavours.

-If you want to have a little taste, please do.

-OK.

So it's just got to have a nice sort of roasted, chocolate, sort of burnt flavours.

Ooh, that's nice.

So you use that in, like, just small quantities to impart large amounts of flavour into the beer.

And here we have pale malt, so that's the main base malt.

That's the food source or the sugar source we actually get the alcohol from which comes from malt.

So you don't want anything to be too sickly sweet

so you want to have a little bit of balance between the alcohol,

the amount of residual malt sweetness and, of course,

the hops, which provide that nice aroma of bitterness and flavours.

Beer has never tasted as good as it does today.

By providing a range of beers,

this small, modern brewery is following in the same tradition

as the medieval brewers of Haddon Hall by producing good, local ale

and now, time to try some.

You've selected two beers for me to have a sip of. I can clearly see the difference.

Which one do you want me to start with?

I think we should taste Jaipur first.

So this beer, you can see it's a lot lighter,

it's going to have really nice sort of citrus aromas to it,

nice bitterness, at 5.9%, it's a nice beer. A beautiful beer.

It's refreshing

-and it tastes like a modern beer.

-Absolutely.

-It really does.

A modern interpretation of a style.

This is beer to be sipped and savoured.

Very intense sort of roast malts like we saw before.

-Clearly a lot different.

-Very different.

I do prefer this, I must admit.

It's got a wonderful lingering taste of sort of chocolates and roasts and coffees.

But then when it does die down,

you can taste the sort of hop in it, can't you?

Yeah, absolutely, once that malt sweetness dies off

you get that nice sort of bitter finish towards the end.

It's really nice, actually, I've got to say.

-I'm not a big beer drinker but that's gorgeous.

-Yeah?

-Cor!

-I'm glad you think so.

Welcome back to Haddon Hall.

As you can see, it's still packed full of people,

all wondering what their antiques are worth,

and they're just about to find out as we now catch up with our experts

and take a closer look at what they've found.

And we're kicking off with Michael who has made an oriental choice.

Nicky, what a wonderful selection

and very unusual selection of carved ivories.

Can you tell me, where did they come form?

Well, I'm a volunteer at the local museum in Bakewell, the Old House Museum,

and I'm a council member at the Bakewell and District Historical Society

and they were left to us, part of a much bigger bequest,

and some of the things we've been able to take into the collection at the museum

because they've got a local connection but these particular items we can't do anything with.

We can't put them on display and so I've been asked to bring them to "Flog It!"

Oh, marvellous.

-Yes, there isn't much of a Derbyshire flavour about any of these objects, is there?

-No.

And we must also say that all of these items I've looked at predate 1947.

Good, I was hoping.

This little turned powder box is typically 1915, 1920

sort of Art Deco and that would have been part of a large travelling set.

Because it's damaged, it will probably be bought by somebody

who wants to use the ivory in restoration.

Oh, I didn't realise.

Then we move of to these two slender pieces here.

This piece I think is part of a sceptre

and I would think that this dates from the middle of the 19th century

but it is only a part of something else.

-So it's not connected with the dragon.

-Nothing to do.

Different country, different function.

The dragon I'm almost certain is a parasol handle.

If you think of holding a parasol,

that's about the right length for a fitting.

This is very much Chinese and this is tremendous fun.

To think of a whole scaly dragon

with his head crooked round for a handle is just wonderful.

This would have been a bit of Chinese export

carved in about, again, 1870, 1880.

And it's very fine work, beautifully done.

I think that's my favourite.

I absolutely adore that, that is lovely.

This large figure group is somewhat later than these two pieces,

I think this is about 1920, 1930.

And it's very much made for export maybe to British diplomats,

British civil servants working in India at the time.

It's the Hindu figure of Lord Krishna with one of his lady attendants.

It's beautifully done and beautifully carved but the base is a little bit...

Just lets it down slightly.

And these figures are less sought-after than these figures.

This of course is Japanese. It's immediately recognisable.

Two young boys playing around on a horse.

If we turn this over,

-you see this sort of decorative carving here, like a lily leaf?

-Yes.

That's done because this is an ivory outer

but this is a soft, spongy core

and this means that this is walrus ivory.

So there are different sources of ivory.

Certainly when we used ivory in Sheffield in cutlery,

a lot of that would come from hippos' teeth,

so it's not necessarily elephants.

In this case, I have to say, the carving isn't terribly good

and that's why they're using a walrus tooth

-because it's a less expensive material.

-I understand.

It's quite difficult when we think of values

because we've also got to think how we sell them.

And I think, we would be remiss to put them all together.

-Any idea of what the values might be?

-Absolutely none at all.

I think we have to be cautious with this because even though it's beautifully carved,

it's not dreadfully commercial.

Let's say, I mean, I'll be very cautious actually

and say £80-£120 and put a fixed reserve of 80.

This figure again, if it were in elephant ivory

and if it was good quality, would be in hundreds but again £100-£150.

Fixed reserve of 100.

And then the oddments, let's say another £100-£150 for those

and a fixed reserve of 100.

That gives us three bites at the cherry

and hopefully one of them will make substantially more than that estimate.

That sounds fantastic.

And then that money can get ploughed back into the museum

which is the point of it in the first place.

-A fascinating group.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

Gosh, when you think of the work involved, that seems very cheap.

Caroline next, who's found a rather fun thing.

Dorothy, tell me, this is a delightful little toy, thank you so much for bringing him.

Tell me, where have you got him from?

It was given to my son 25, 30 years ago

for helping an old lady clear a house and move into a warden-controlled bungalow.

-Oh, what a nice young man.

-Yes.

We all helped her as a family

and she found that as we were moving and gave it to him.

Well, it's a German toy made by Lehman Brothers

and they made them in fairly high quantities,

but they were never cheap things.

They would have been looked after and as I say,

he's in very good condition.

-He dates from just before the First World War.

-Right.

-So when you consider...

-He's a good age.

..he's 100, he is a jolly good age.

-Yeah, I hope I look as good at that age.

-Yes, so do I.

But he's tin-plate and it's a wind-up.

The reins are there, the tail,

his little tassel on his hat,

-he looks a little bit spooky, doesn't he?

-Yeah, he'd frighten a child these days.

He's almost a sort of Pierrot-looking clown.

It's altogether a nice collectable thing.

And I think I would be happy to put in to auction

-with a valuation of 80-120, then, how's that?

-That's fine, yes.

-That would be lovely.

-Great.

We'll put a fixed reserve of 80 just to make sure, as a safety net,

and let's hope he kicks off to a new home.

-Let's hope so.

-Thank you from bringing him, Dorothy.

Thank you very much.

I agree, on closer inspection, he did look rather spooky.

And now for a little bit of local culinary history,

a Bakewell pudding.

Always a good thing, mid-afternoon.

Well, most of us have heard about the Bakewell tart,

and as I found out ten years ago

when I came to Derby to do one of our first valuation days,

I found out in fact it was the Bakewell pudding up here

that everybody's familiar with and I got told off.

What is basically the ingredients of a Bakewell pudding?

OK, well, the Bakewell pudding back at the beginning of the 19th century

used to have candied peel in it, raisin, dried cherries, lemon peel.

I like the sound of that.

Some had lemon brandy in, different things like that.

There was quite a rich one and food is passed down from mother to daughter.

It's changed a little bit.

Our pudding is the first one that was a translucent pudding.

The young lady that made it we think made it by mistake,

there was a misunderstanding.

So none of the fruit went in

and what came out was the Bakewell pudding

that we've been making for the rest of the time.

And what are the ingredients in there?

Well there you've got ground almonds, eggs, butter and sugar.

-Something else?

-A secret ingredient.

-Go on, tell me.

-(Can't tell you).

Can't tell me. I thought not.

And this recipe came about, what, ten years after the...

Yeah, around about that, it was made by mistake

but became very popular in the town.

And now time for the Bakewell challenge.

Right, who wants to try one?

You've gone for the special recipe.

You've gone for the special recipe.

Oh, look! One of each left. It's a nation divided. Well, there you go.

HE LAUGHS

They're mine.

Well, I enjoyed that.

Now, back to Michael who looks like he's also having fun.

Hazel, Claire, thank you both so much

for struggling up the stairs with this absolutely magnificent bowl.

Before I go into rapture over it, can you tell me

how you both came by it?

Well, father died recently and this was left in his house,

-basically, he had it on display and he's got four daughters.

-Ah!

And we have to divide it up.

We can't really chop it into four so I think it's got to be sold.

Sold and the money divided, I think that's very sensible.

Is it something that your father inherited through the family

or did he buy it or...?

When we were young we always had holidays in Cornwall

in a little village called Gorran Haven,

and my father used to go round the little antique shops

and he picked it up there.

-Good Lord!

-Many many years ago.

I though you were going to tell me he was the captain of a ship

and stopped off in Hong Kong and loaded it with cargo.

I've been musing over it.

We've got this hexagonal bowl, chased and cast and applied

with this very bold dragon and it's supported,

not with feet as we would normally see,

but these little cast devils or oni.

And I think that very much makes it,

together with its double-walled construction,

a Japanese bowl rather than a Chinese bowl.

Oh, we understood it was Chinese.

Well, if we turn it over,

we've got "Ladies Purse, Spring Meeting, 1895"

and then we've got a six character signature on a seal on the base

and often, if this were Chinese,

you'd expect it to have a standard mark of 90 stamped onto it.

I mean, it's difficult to tell sometimes

because they use the same motifs which are dragons.

Dragons are the most popular.

We've only got one dragon running around and sadly

one of the little devils, one of the little oni,

has lost a foot.

But basically, it's in very good condition.

I think I pretty much know what it's worth today.

We'll put a broad estimate on it,

because it's a broad collecting base.

We want to interest people, but we don't want to give it away either.

So we'll put one to two thousand pounds on it.

And we'll put a fixed reserve of £1,000 on it, if that's...

Well...

We were looking at £1,500 for a reserve price.

-You wanted £1,500? I can understand why.

-Can you?

-And, yeah, I can go along with that completely.

-Good. That'd be nice.

-So, £1,500.

-Yeah.

-And, you know, we'll put £1,500 to £2,500 on it.

Jolly good, that'd be very nice.

Because I think your father had an exceptionally good eye

for these things, at a time when they were completely out of fashion.

-Yeah.

-But the one thing that this screams is quality.

-Good.

-It's been absolutely wonderful to see it today.

And I very much look forward to seeing what it makes at the auction.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you very much for your help.

-Pleasure.

-OK.

Well, what a marvellous day we have all had here at Haddon Hall.

Everybody's thoroughly enjoyed themselves

and we've found some fantastic items worthy of our historical setting.

But right now, it's time to put those final three choices

up for auction.

Will our experts be on the money? We're just about to find out.

While we make our way over to the sale room,

here's a quick reminder, just to jog your memories of the items

that are going under the hammer.

Ivory from India, Japan, or China.

How will the bidders choose between them?

The slightly spooky mechanical toy

is just what the collectors like,

but will they be out in force on the day?

And the final beauty is the silver bowl.

But will the increase in the reserve hold it back?

Well, you'll have to stay with us to find out.

We're back in the auction room in the Peak District,

ready to put our next set of valuations to the test.

Before the sale gets under way just remember, there is

commission to pay if you're buying or selling at any auction room,

and the rates do vary so check the details in the catalogue.

Well I've just been joined by Nicky and we've got three separate

lots here which we're going to add together.

-All the money is going towards the local museum.

-That's right.

-In Bakewell.

-Yes. The old house museum.

Preserving the heritage of the county.

The first lot is the carved Indian ivory figure of Lord Krishna.

Just about to go under the hammer.

-We'll find a buyer hopefully at the top end.

-I think we will.

And I have two bids on it, one of 80 and one higher.

£90, last bid. 90 and 100 do I see?

100 at £90, and 100, 100 by the cabinet, 110, 120 sir.

130, 140, 150, 160,

170, 180, 190, 200, 220.

-Wow.

-220 online at 200 in the room, 220 online.

220, 240, 260...

It's small, it's postable. But it's quality as well.

280, 300...

300...

300, 320, 340...

Oh, I'm so thrilled.

At 320 in the room.

340, 360...

At 340. Online now at 340 against you in the room.

£340.

-340.

-The hammer's gone down, that's the first of three lots,

and here is the second,

the Japanese okimono walrus carving

which I think could fly again, Nicky.

The first one did so well, we never know do we?

Yes, let's find out what the bidders think. Here we go.

Here's the second of the three.

And little bit of interest here,

and I can start at £80, 80, and 90 now,

£80, 90, do I see?

90, yes, 90, 100, 110,

110

110 bid. 120, 130,

At £120, 130 now.

And 120, absentee bid. 130 do I see?

Are you out online?

And 120, not as good as the last but there we go.

Are we all sure?

120.

-120.

-Well, we expected that. Yes. The quality was down but still...

Still the top end.

Two down, one more to go, and already we have a total of £460.

-That's absolutely brilliant.

-Isn't this good?

-Really good.

-More than what you thought?

-Much more, yes.

-And one more to come.

-I know, I can't wait.

It's adding up.

507 is this Chinese ivory walking cane or parasol handle.

And the circular box.

And £80 bid, 80 and 90 now.

-It's worth all that.

-Yes, this is real quality.

And 80, do I see 90 now?

At £80, 90...

All done. At £80, do I see 90?

At 80 then.

Are you sure?

At £80, do I see 90?

At £80 only, I'm trying.

No.

Not sold, I'm afraid.

James was calling for 80 in the room,

and we had a fixed reserve of £100. He didn't sell it.

I think it's worth £100 all day long.

Do you know what I think it was?

Putting it with two other items made it look a bit bitty.

Yes.

If the charity re-offers that, on its own...

Then you'll be fine.

-..I think you'll make that all day long.

-Well we can do that.

Nevertheless, two out of three, as they say, ain't bad.

And excellent results for the first two, making £460.

And now, something for the collectors.

Dorothy, good luck with the tin plate toy. Absolutely lovely

little donkey, and the clown. It could be so rare, I'm not sure.

How many are surviving and how many are working?

We'll see.

We'll find out. Let's put it to the test.

Lot 557, is the Lehmann clockwork tin plate toy clown,

and one, two, three bids on it,

and all the bids are absolutely identical, they're all £80.

£80 bid, 85 now.

At £80, 85 anywhere?

At £80, 85?

85 will beat them, it's short and sweet otherwise.

All three bids exactly the same.

-That's interesting, isn't it?

-Yeah.

At £80. Are we all sure?

Gavel's raised, at 80.

Wow. I'm surprised. I thought it might do more.

-Short and sweet.

-It's better than being in a drawer.

Yes. It was a great thing. I love those early tin plate toys.

Well, I'm sure there are many collectors out there

who wished they'd got that one.

Next, Michael's exciting find.

The splendid silver bowl.

Hazel and Claire, you've made the front page news.

Well, you have on the catalogue, look at that.

And I know the two other sisters are here today, aren't they?

Let's give them a wave. There they are. Hello.

And it's her birthday. Happy birthday.

-Happy birthday. 65th birthday today.

-Oh, wow.

Whatever you do, don't go away. Keep watching, here we go.

It's going under the hammer now.

The Japanese silver dragon bowl, and loads of interest.

Straight in at £1,500. 1,600 do I see?

At 1,500, 1,600 in the room first.

You coming in? 1,600 in the room, I'll come to the phones, 1,600.

1,600, 1,700, 1,800...

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

1,900, 2,000 now.

1,900, 2,000 bid.

2,000 on the phone. 2,100 on the internet.

-2,200.

-This is great.

-2,300.

-Phone and internet, international bidding.

2,300, 2,400.

2,500, 2,600.

2,700, 2,800, and the internet's back as well, 2,800.

2,900, 3,000.

-3,100, 3,200.

-This is incredible.

This is what auctions are all about. This is why they're so exciting.

Absentee bid. At 3,100. 3,200 in the room now.

3,200, 3,300...

3,400

3,500, 3,600...

3,700, 3,800.

-Is it 84 ounces?

-It is.

3,800.

At 3,700. 3,800 do I see?

3,700.

3,700. Phone's out, room's out. Internet's out. All sure?

Yes. £3,700.

I told you there was going to be a big surprise, and we delivered.

How do you feel?

-Excellent.

-Over the moon.

What a lot of money, and what a surprise.

That is what auctions are all about. Come on in, sisters.

Look, not one, not two, not three but four sisters.

Well that's a nice family reunion, isn't it? Hmm?

-Yes.

-Well done all of you.

-And a very special birthday present.

And what a way to end to the show here in the Peak District

in Derbyshire.

If you've got something like that, we want to see you.

But until the next time, it's goodbye.