Gloucester Flog It!

CHORAL SINGING

From outside, Gloucester Cathedral is a late medieval church,

which doesn't quite prepare you for what's inside.

The first thing that strikes you are the gigantic

Norman columns lining the nave,

which take you back a further 300 years

to when the church was first built.

For a building that's witnessed so much history,

it's quite appropriate that

we are adding a little bit of our own here today.

Who knows what ancient stories or treasures of antiquity lie

hidden within all of these bags and boxes for our experts to muse over?

The lucky ones will be going off to auction

and hopefully home with a small fortune.

Sharing their knowledge of antiques with us today

are experts Catherine Southon, who looks to be multi-talented...

-You are a good little mover, aren't you?

-I am a good little mover.

..and Michael Baggott, who knows what he likes...

If any of you have got a gold bar, just wave it in the air.

It's the sort of thing I don't want to miss.

..and what he doesn't.

-Oh, don't like clowns!

-No, nor me.

-I'll leave that to Catherine.

-No, don't leave it to me!

-I'm frightened. I'm frightened.

Let's get this extraordinary queue inside.

Nothing can quite prepare you for the sheer scale

of this incredible building.

Your eyes are naturally drawn to the ceilings as if

up to the heavens in awe of its beauty and construction.

But right now, it's back down to earth with a thud,

as we look at our first valuation.

And first, we have Michael with a teapot that looks a

little cut above.

Yvonne, thank you so much for coming along today

and bringing this wonderful teapot.

Before I tell you anything about it, what do you know about it?

Where did it come from?

It came from my mother. I come from an aristocratic family.

And that was part of the items that we had.

-So this is noble family silver?

-Yes.

It's a beautiful teapot.

If we turn it over, all silver should have marks.

-And, of course, you being French, it is a French teapot.

-Yes.

We've got the French fineness mark there,

which is the Roman Minerva's head.

The only difficult thing we have is the French didn't institute,

as we did, a date-letter system.

So we have to go sometimes by the maker

and sometimes actually just by the style of the object to date it.

What's marvellous here is we've got a maker's mark,

and the maker's name stamped underneath it. Odiot.

And that has to be one of the premier silversmiths in France.

Really?

Originally, they made silver for Napoleon.

-We are looking at something here that's 170 years old.

-Yes.

Would have been made in about 1840.

And we've got all of this decoration underneath the handle here.

The leaves and fruit.

And even that little acanthus which, on an English one, would be

quite nice, there it almost comes alive.

And those, I assume, beautifully engraved there are your family arms.

-No.

-Are they not?

-I don't think so.

I don't think so because in fact there is a marking, "Zittol",

-on the top there, and I don't know what it is.

-Oh!

-It's definitely two coats of arms.

-But whose, I don't know.

-You don't know?

-No.

It would have been for a wedding. It would have been as a marriage piece.

-Right.

-Two noble families marrying together.

Maybe it was an extinct line.

Value... Let's put £500 to £800 on it.

Yes.

And let's put a fixed reserve £500.

And all we need is someone on the internet that recognises

the name Odiot and understands the quality, and we might have a little

bit of a bidding war in the room, but it's a stunning piece of silver.

Thank you.

A collector's dream. Thank you so much for bringing it in today.

-Thank you, Michael.

-Thank you.

What a good start for Michael.

And now over to Catherine for her first item.

This is a real chunky piece that you've brought along to "Flog It!".

Where did you get these scales from?

They actually belonged to my father, who has been dead now for 20 years.

Right, and where did your father get them from?

He bought them in an auction in Hereford, when we lived in Hereford.

Did he buy them to use or for decorative purpose?

No. Just because he liked them, I think.

Do you know if he paid a lot of money for them?

I was given to understand he'd paid about £500 for them.

-But I don't know whether that is true or not.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Wow, that's actually quite a lot of money for them.

Going back how many years ago?

-47, probably...

-40-odd years ago.

-Yes.

-Right.

Essentially, what we've got here is a set of Victorian parcel scales.

And we have a lovely set of weights here, ranging from a great, big

four pound here, right down to the half an ounce.

So this is for your parcels and your letters.

Unfortunately we can't see any names here.

I suppose that where it's been cleaned, it's been rubbed out.

It has been rubbed out a bit. It would be nice to see a maker's name.

But nevertheless, they've got a good look about them.

I see quite a lot of scales coming up for auctions,

particularly the smaller ones, and they don't make big money.

But this is a really impressive set.

And lovely. And importantly, you've got all the pieces here.

You've got all the weights, which is essential.

Where is it now?

Just upstairs on the desk. And I'm downsizing.

-That's why I want to get rid of it.

-You want to get rid of them?

-Yes.

OK. So you think that your father probably paid around the £500 mark.

They are an excellent example, but I'm a bit concerned

that your father paid that sort of money for them.

Because I would value them at around £100-£150.

-Right.

-Would you be happy to put them back into auction at £100-£150?

-Yes.

-We will put a £100 reserve on,

just to make sure they don't go for nothing.

-That would be fine.

-A great example, in good condition.

Thank you for bringing them along to "Flog It!".

Thank you, thank you very much.

Well, Catherine weighed that one up in a very balanced way.

Thea, I was slightly disappointed to see this in a box

and you not wearing it in the queue.

It's a wonderful thing. Where did it come from?

My mother left it to me when she died.

-She spent a couple of years looking for it.

-Yes?

-Yes.

She didn't want just any old cameo, she wanted something spectacular.

Normally, of course, they are shell cameos.

And we have that slightly pinky-orange background

and white shell, which are carved out of the large conch shell.

-Yes.

-Of course, you can also get cameos and intaglios -

-these carved portraits - done in hard stone.

-Yes.

But there is another material, and I know you know what this is,

but this is probably the most unusual material,

and once you've seen it, you will never forget it.

It is, of course, lava.

-Yes.

-And, of course, it carves extremely well.

It's actually, I mean, we think of lava and the heat

and the furnace of the volcano. The stone is very light.

So you can wear it comfortably on a garment without it falling off.

It is also quite fragile.

It's marvellous that it has survived.

Did your mother give you any idea when it was carved

or where it was carved?

I was told that it was lava from Vesuvius.

It is indeed.

And about 1845, something like that.

At the height of the classical revival.

Because this is particularly well modelled,

it's in a lovely unmarked but low carat gold mount.

It could be nine, it could be ten, 12 or 15 -

different carats of gold used in Italy,

-which is where this was carved.

-Yes.

-The only shame is that sometimes

when they are this good, you will get an artist's name on the back.

-Right. Yes.

-You sometimes do with shell cameos.

I don't think this one has.

No. It's a lovely thing. Have you ever worn it or do you wear it?

I haven't worn it, no, but my mother used to.

It did look lovely.

Any idea of what the value might be?

Not really, no.

I think we'd be sensible

putting it into auction at £150-£250...

-Right.

-..and hoping that it goes on from there.

-Yes.

-We will put a fixed reserve of £150 on it.

OK, that sounds fine.

That's wonderful. Thank you so much for bringing it in.

Thank you very much.

What a great turnout we've got here today.

I'm sure it's got something to do with our magnificent host location.

Everywhere you look, we are surrounded by history.

And hopefully we can make some history of our very own today,

as we are off to auction for the very first time.

Here is a quick recap of the items that are going under the hammer.

Let's hope the bidders take a shine to Yvonne's superb silver teapot.

Lynn is downsizing, so the parcel and letter scale needs a new home.

And who couldn't fail to be impressed by Thea's lava brooch?

From the valuation day in the heart of the city,

we have come to the auction room in the heart of the countryside.

There aren't many salerooms that have a view like this.

This one does, though - Moore, Allen and Innocent,

situated just outside of Cirencester.

This is where our lots are going under the hammer.

Let's get inside and catch up with our owners

and get the sale under way.

The man on the rostrum is Philip Allwood,

and the commission here is 15% plus VAT.

First up, Yvonne with her delightful teapot.

Going under the hammer right now, we have a continental teapot.

It's silver and it's Michael's thing and belongs to Yvonne,

-who looks absolutely stunning today.

-Thank you.

And thank you for bringing that in as well.

Right, will it get that top end or will it get that lower end?

Fingers crossed we'll sell it. This is it.

It's going under the hammer now.

Lot number 270. It's the 19th-century French silver teapot.

300 to get off. At 300.

At 300. 320. 340.

360. 380.

At 380. 400. 420.

440.

This is good. We are getting the top end. Come on!

500. At £500. On my right now at 500.

At £500. Selling in the room here now then.

Selling on estimate. Just there.

-Sold at 500.

-Just on the reserve.

-Just on the reserve.

-It scraped in.

-Yes, just.

-That was close, wasn't it?

-Very close.

-But it's gone. We are pleased, are you pleased?

-Very.

Good. Thank you for bringing that in. Well done, Michael.

A stunning piece of silver like that is never going to be out of fashion.

The next item could be described as made-to-measure.

Right now, you could say it's in the balance.

Oh! Very clever.

Which brings us to the set of Victorian scales belonging to Lynn.

One way or another, I think we will let the bidders decide.

It's going under the hammer now.

Starting at 100. That would be cheap, wouldn't it? £100.

It would be very cheap.

I'm going to start you here on the book at a mere 55. 55.

We want a lot more than that, don't we?

60. Five. 70. Five.

80.

-We are getting there.

-At 85 here. 90. Five.

-100.

-Yes!

110, if you like, on the net.

£100. On my left at 100.

Sold. Hammer has gone down. Look, we are happy.

Yes, so am I.

You didn't want them, did you? You are downsizing.

£100 is better than nothing.

And £100 is always worth having.

Michael has pinned his hopes on our next item.

Going under the hammer right now, we have a 19th-century tourist

piece from Naples. It's a lava brooch.

Unfortunately, we do not have

our owner, Thea, she can't make it today. But here we go.

It's going under the hammer.

100. The best one I've seen in a long while.

110 if you like. 110.

120.

130. 140. 150. The book is out at 150.

160 on the net.

170. 180.

190.

At 190.

-I think to the top end.

-Yes.

At 220. 240. 260.

At 260, the lady's bid.

-At 280.

-This is good. This is really good, actually.

-Are brooches back in fashion?

-I think they are, Michael.

At 320. The gentleman has bid at 320.

340.

At £340. At 340...

Hammer has gone down. £340.

I think they are back in fashion. I think that's quite showy.

-It's quite large.

-It's showy, and I wouldn't be surprised

if that was an Italian bidder.

They are big money over in Italy and not much to post, is it?

No, no, exactly. A bit of bubble wrap.

Thank goodness for the internet. Online bidding. There you go.

Excellent result. Thea will be pleased with that.

Now, it looks like Catherine has found us a rainbow.

Kathleen, what a collection of scarves.

These are absolutely amazing. Where did you get them from?

-Jumble sales.

-Right.

Charity shops. And people give them to me because they know I collect.

How long have you been collecting for?

Since I was 11.

But you've got a collection here.

You've got polyester ones and some are silk. So you collect all sorts.

-I really go by either the name that's on it...

-Right.

..or the story it tells.

Let's look at a couple of them.

-First of all, this one caught my eye.

-Mary Quant.

Because this is by Mary Quant.

When did you get this one?

It came from a jumble sale.

Oh, did it? How much did you pay for that one?

Probably 20p for that one.

20p?! Wow! I mean, Mary Quant, fantastic name.

-But it is quite plain as Mary Quant scarves go.

-Yes.

And then this one over here,

that's really the one that I want to focus on.

And the reason I want to focus on it is because of this name

right at the bottom. Hermes - Paris.

Hermes, the French designer, started making scarves in 1937.

They are beautifully made. They are 90cm by 90cm.

Each one weighs exactly 65g.

I didn't realise that!

I've been so boring, I've weighed this.

-And it does weigh exactly 65g.

-I never knew that!

Do you have other scarves as well?

Yes, I have about 200 or so.

200?

Did you want to sell the other scarves as well?

I would like to, yes.

If you are interested in selling the other scarves, I think

what would be best is to take all the scarves off to auction

and then leave it up to the auction house to divide them

into separate lots, making sure that all the designer ones are kept

together as individual lots.

This one by itself would make £100-£200 at auction.

What did you pay for it?

50p.

Can I come with you when you go to these jumble sales?

-That's about the most I've ever paid.

-What, 50p?!

Yes.

I've never bought one out of a shop, just, you know, normally.

That's amazing. What I would suggest here is probably selling this

as a collection. Because the other ones, although they are jolly nice,

there's no big names.

We've got the Jacqmar, the Hermes and we've got the Quant.

If we put this all together with an estimate of £150-£250

and a reserve of 120, how does that sound to you?

That sounds fantastic.

I'm sure it does sound fantastic after you've been paying 20p

here and there.

I've really enjoyed looking at the collection. Thank you, Kathleen.

-I'll see you at the auction.

-Thank you very much.

Now, I bet you've never seen one of these before.

Well, Monique,

we've seen some wild and interesting things on "Flog It!",

but I think this wins, this takes the biscuit.

In 13 series, I don't think we've seen anything as macabre

and bizarre as this. What do you know about it?

Nothing, unfortunately.

My mum gave it to me on Sunday to take to a car-boot sale,

didn't want to take it to the car-boot sale

and I knew you were here, so I've literally brought it.

More than anything, I wanted to know what it was.

Good grief! First of all, we've got no provenance to go back

and say it belonged to your great, great, great grandfather.

So we are left with the object itself.

-First of all, it's a bone.

-Yep.

-And I'm fairly sure, 95% sure, that it's a human bone.

-Right.

Probably a leg. This is really quite a deep colour.

If I relate that to other objects I've seen with that

sort of patination,

we are certainly going back at least 300 or 400 years.

And we've got these little fittings made.

But most curiously, at the end, the joint here has been hand-stitched

and covered with possibly leather, to form a membrane.

And then we've had two holes cut and these copper mounts on it.

It's a bizarre thing. I can't think of any practical use for it.

We were saying, could it possibly be for tribes, like a weapon or not?

You see, if it were a weapon

you would want the bone of a larger animal.

That could hurt you. But it couldn't do any serious harm

-because it would probably crack and spring open.

-OK, yeah.

I mean, there are obviously Tibetan cultures where they mount skulls.

Is it possible that this is Tibetan or far Eastern?

But what it is is absolutely fascinating.

You could have...

I would think there are a lot of people that would recoil from it,

but there's also a lot of people

and antiquaries that would love this, just to discuss.

Try and find out what indeed it is.

That'd be very interesting, wouldn't it?

-I don't think it's wildly valuable.

-Yep.

But I would defy anyone to put an accurate valuation on it.

-It's almost impossible.

-Yep.

-Because, you know...

-Yeah, yeah.

If you don't know what it is, it's difficult to value.

-I would say, let's put £100-£200 on it.

-OK.

And we'll put a reserve of something like £60-£70 on it.

If you are happy with that?

Yeah, yeah. No, like I say, it was going to be sold for £1.

So that's a bonus, isn't it?

I hope it's not like one of those Victorian stories where

I am now cursed.

-And have to return it to the tribe before I'm 60.

-No, no, no.

When the hammer comes down and we are both struck by lightning,

yeah, it was cursed.

Hopefully not.

Fingers crossed. Thank you so much for bringing it in.

Thank you very much indeed.

Well, that is a mystery that deserves some detective work.

Catherine has now set up under the beautiful fan-vaulted ceiling.

Karen, the word that springs to mind

when looking at these two necklaces is elegance.

Can you tell me a little bit about them?

I think they are French because my relatives who left them to the

family, they came from France and they left a collection of jewellery.

We could choose our favourite pieces. And I chose these two.

Why were you drawn towards these in particular?

I like the shape. They seem sort of Art Deco or that sort of era.

And I like the shapes of them.

They are not quite Art Deco, they are Art Nouveau.

-Oh, Art Nouveau.

-So slightly earlier.

I was probably confused about both of them.

Date-wise, we are looking at about 1900 to 1910, that sort of period.

This one in particular, if you think about Art Nouveau,

which goes back to nature, this is wonderful because you've got

the wheat here which has been incorporated into the design.

I'm guessing this is 18-carat gold.

And I love the little seed pearl drop at the end.

This reminds me very much of Edwardian jewellery that we

see in 1900 and 1910.

But this is actually a French piece.

And what we've got here are seed pearls.

However, we have got two missing. Did you know that?

Is there two missing? I thought there was one.

There's one over here. And then one on the other side.

And we've got this coloured gold.

I'm guessing again this is probably 18-carat gold.

And it's real quality.

-It's very intricate.

-Absolutely superb.

Well, price-wise, this one,

-you'll be looking at about £200-£300.

-Right.

But this piece, this is a little bit special.

Oh, really?

And I would say...

This would make somewhere between £700 and £900.

Lovely, yes.

Thank you so much for bringing along such elegant necklaces.

You've really made my day. It's been lovely to meet you.

Thank you very much. It's been lovely to meet you, too.

Those two are absolutely glorious.

Sadly, it's time to say goodbye to Gloucester Cathedral -

our magnificent host location for today.

As we go over to the auction room for the very last time, we've got

some unfinished business there.

Here's a quick recap of the items we are taking with us.

I imagine that Kathleen's collection of 50p scarves should raise

a little bit more than that at auction.

Who knows how valuable Monique's mystery bone will turn out to be?

Pure elegance is the only way to describe the two gold

Art Nouveau necklaces.

Without further ado, let's see how they do at auction.

If you love Art Nouveau, you will love this next lot.

We've got some jewellery belonging to Karen. Two necklaces.

-Yes.

-Do you like the Art Nouveau period?

I do like Art Nouveau.

Hopefully we can get top money. Two lots going under the hammer.

Let's see what the first one does.

It's going under the hammer right now.

Start here at 100 on the book. £100.

110. 120.

130. 140. 150. The book is out at 150.

160. 170.

180 if you like it. 170. 180.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

190. 200 if you like now.

At £190. Selling at 190.

-Fantastic. That's very good.

-190. Happy with that?

-Very happy with that.

-Well done. That's great, actually.

It was really, really pretty. Very elegant, wasn't it?

We're doing the next one now.

Very pretty piece there. Where are you going to be for that?

Should be 1,000 really. Where are you going to be for this?

Who will start me? Start me at 800.

-That's a low start.

-Five!

At £500, thank you. At 500. 520. 550.

580.

600. At 600. 620 now?

At £600. 620 anyone?

All sure at 600...

-That one, I'm afraid, needs a little bit more than that.

-That's a shame.

-So close as well.

-That was, in my mind, the better piece.

And as he said at the beginning, it should be worth £1,000.

And if it doesn't sell for six, then forget it.

Sell it somewhere else on another day, because it's worth it.

It's a nice thing.

There has to be another day in the auction room

for a necklace like that.

Now, time to unravel the mystery surrounding that curious bone.

Our research suggests it's a Tibetan kangling -

a ceremonial horn or trumpet

which is indeed made from a human thigh bone.

Going under the hammer right now, we have a human leg up for grabs.

I was going to say break a leg, but, hey,

we don't want to break this one.

290 is the Tibetan Buddhist kangling. The human femur flute.

There we go. Every house should have one.

Where are you going to be? Is that a couple of hundred?

100 to get on. 100?

Dear, oh me, oh, my.

50, then, to start. There must be 50. £50 bid.

Five. 60. Five. 70. Five.

80. Five. 90. Five anywhere? Five.

At 95. 100 now?

100. At 100. 110? At £100. Thought it might make a little more.

At £100 right in front of me.

All sure at 100?

You've sold it. 100.

Thank you for bringing that because I've never ever said,

"Going under the hammer right now is a human leg bone."

-So that's a first.

-First for you.

-Thank you so much.

No problem at all.

We are not quite on the last leg. One more item to go.

So far, so good.

Going under the hammer right now, we have quite a collection of scarves.

-Some of these I know caught your eye.

-Oh, yes.

Kathleen, thank you for bringing them in.

But you went home after the valuation day, had a forage,

found a load more and brought them in.

Philip has kindly lotted these one after the other

after our particular item.

We are going to put these valuations to the test.

Starting with our lot now.

250 is the collection of scarves including the Hermes scarf

and all sorts of things there.

£50.

£50 bid there. At 50 on my right. Five.

60. Five. 70. Five.

80. Five. 90. Five.

100. And five.

110. 120.

Right, look at this.

At 120 here. 130. 140.

-This is more like it.

-At 140 here.

-Beautiful scarves.

-£140 right in front of me here. At 140...

-Sold at 140.

-Sold.

-Happy?

-Wonderful.

-One down and we've got four more lots, haven't we?

And here is a quick look at the hammer going down on the rest of

Kathleen's collection of around 250 scarves, divided into the four lots.

This is the first.

In front of me, then at £80. 80 it is.

Good investments there, I must say.

This is the second.

140. It's at 140 on the net.

140 it is.

This is the third.

Gentleman's bid then. All done at 55.

55 it is.

This is the fourth and final one.

At £80. It's yours right in front of me. At 80.

Yes, they sold! Well, that's a grand total, I think, of around £495.

-Well done. That's fantastic.

-That's brilliant.

-Very good.

-Thank you so much.

-That was hiding under the bed.

-I know, can you believe it?

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-Thank you both.

-Thank you, Kathleen.

And what a way to end today's show, as well.

Really, it doesn't get any better than that, does it?

That's what this business is all about -

collectors and learning something.

And we have today. So fingers crossed.

Join us again next time for many more surprises, but until then,

from Cirencester, it's goodbye from the three of us.