0:00:06 > 0:00:08Birmingham's famous throughout the world for its gold
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and silver wares, and what better symbol than this sparkling gem
0:00:12 > 0:00:15of a piece of architecture, its new library,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19to put contemporary Birmingham well and truly on the international map?
0:00:19 > 0:00:24It's a city rich in history, and now a first-class cultural destination.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25Welcome to the show!
0:00:49 > 0:00:52For the past 250 years, Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter
0:00:52 > 0:00:56has been the epicentre of the country's jewellery design,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01with the historic square mile itself being declared a national treasure.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05This city's certainly not shy in promoting its glittering heritage.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Even the statues are gold-plated.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Our venue today is Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15It's a beautiful Victorian building,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17a work of art in its own right,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and it's situated right in the heart of the city's civic centre.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22And the last time they saw a crowd as big as this
0:01:22 > 0:01:25was just after the incredible discovery
0:01:25 > 0:01:28of the Staffordshire Hoard, found by a local man,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31the largest and most valuable Anglo-Saxon treasure
0:01:31 > 0:01:32ever to be discovered.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35But today, it's a blockbuster of a different kind.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38We're looking out for treasures from the world of art and antiques,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and there's only one question on this lot's mind, which is...
0:01:41 > 0:01:43ALL: What's it worth?
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Stay tuned and you'll find out.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56Hunting for their own treasure today are experts James Lewis
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and Christina Trevanion.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- It doesn't have a mark! Does yours have a mark?- Yes!- Ooh!
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- Hang on a minute, what does yours say?- Nine carat.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- What does yours say? Nothing. - Doesn't say anything.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09- I'll swap you. - THEY LAUGH
0:02:10 > 0:02:14'Later in the programme, I find out how one lucky metal detectorist
0:02:14 > 0:02:17'got in touch with his inner Midas.'
0:02:17 > 0:02:18- You've got a mantra, have you? - Oh, yeah.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22"Spirits of yesteryears, take me where the gold appears."
0:02:22 > 0:02:24- That was it, really, was it?- Yeah.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'And I take a closer look at some of the museum's own treasures.'
0:02:28 > 0:02:29That's real history.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36As you can see, we've taken over the museum's Rotunda Gallery
0:02:36 > 0:02:39for our valuation day tables, and our experts are hard at work.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42And here in the centre is the archangel Lucifer
0:02:42 > 0:02:44by modernist sculptor Jacob Epstein,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48and it looks like Lucifer's just about to step off the plinth
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and help out with our valuations.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51We might need him later on,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53but right now, James Lewis is over there,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55he's at the Flog It! tables, he's spotted a real gem.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Let's catch up with him.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01When I was a little boy
0:03:01 > 0:03:04with my mum and dad at the weekend on a Saturday night,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06I used to be given a treat.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Instead of sitting round the dining table,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11we would have our tea on our knee in front the TV
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and it used to be Harold Lloyd or Laurel & Hardy
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and I loved Laurel & Hardy, absolutely fantastic.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Were you a fan when you were...? - Big fan.- Still a fan?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Still a fan of Laurel & Hardy, yes.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Is this something a relative of yours collected?
0:03:27 > 0:03:29No, I was a delivery driver
0:03:29 > 0:03:31and I used to deliver to one of the Dudley hospitals,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and the fella in the goods-in department
0:03:34 > 0:03:38was talking about actors and film stars and said he had an autograph
0:03:38 > 0:03:43of Laurel & Hardy. I said, in a Black Country term, "Yo ay!"
0:03:43 > 0:03:44He says, "I have!"
0:03:44 > 0:03:47So, he asked if I was interested in buying it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I agreed a fee with him and I bought it off him.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- OK.- And apparently, his sister used to go with a fella named Eddie
0:03:55 > 0:03:58who played the piano at the Wolverhampton Hippodrome,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00so he got the autograph off of Laurel & Hardy
0:04:00 > 0:04:02cos they were appearing there in Wolverhampton.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04OK, let's have a look.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Here we have a page from a programme.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10It appears to be signed by Laurel & Hardy.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The big question is, is it right or is it wrong?
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Because the bigger the name,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and you don't get much bigger than Laurel & Hardy,
0:04:18 > 0:04:19the more common the fakes.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23And we see an awful lot of fake Laurel & Hardy signatures.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25So one of the most important things is to have that provenance,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27to have that confidence,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30that we know how the person came by it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34Anybody who was a friend of Eddie, and Eddie was the piano player
0:04:34 > 0:04:36and therefore worked with them,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38- is a great provenance.- Right.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40It's almost as good as seeing them sign it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44There are various things you look for with a Laurel & Hardy signature.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48You see that Stan Laurel has signed in fountain pen...
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- Yes.- ..and Oliver Hardy has signed in ball pen.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Well, after 1947, Oliver Hardy always used a ball pen,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02but Stan Laurel continued to use a fountain pen to sign
0:05:02 > 0:05:05all of the time, he never converted,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08so you expect Oliver Hardy to be in a ball pen, and he is.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12You expect Stan Laurel to be in a fountain pen, and he is.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14The other thing they always did
0:05:14 > 0:05:18was they always signed their name on the side of the image
0:05:18 > 0:05:22where their image was, so here we have Stan Laurel on the left
0:05:22 > 0:05:24and Oliver Hardy's signature on the right,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26so another telltale sign that it's right.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And if you were going to fake something like this,
0:05:29 > 0:05:30you certainly wouldn't fake it
0:05:30 > 0:05:34and then put a great, big crease down it, because that devalues it.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy signatures
0:05:38 > 0:05:41almost always have a set value,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44so auction estimate - £200-£300.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46And I'm confident it'll do well.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Oh, thank you.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- Is that all right?- I'm pleased, you had me sweating for a bit.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- HE LAUGHS - No, I think it's OK.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Not sweating, Will, laughing!
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Along with our own favourite slapstick double act.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Ollie, is that really you?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- Of course it's me. - Gee, I'm glad to see you.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Well, they don't make 'em like that any more,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and here's another fine mess for Christina to untangle.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27So, Mary-Ann, here we are in the Industrial Gallery
0:06:27 > 0:06:31and it's stacked full of just the most beautiful things, isn't it?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Just like this little bag of tricks that you've brought in to me.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I haven't actually opened the bag yet, but it looks intriguing.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41- My aunt gave it to me about 15 year ago.- Right, OK.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And it's obviously got a good jumble of opals in it, hasn't it?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- Is this how you got it? - Yes, it's in the same bag.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So we've got a bracelet, which is very pretty.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55And we've got a necklace that is slightly worse for wear
0:06:55 > 0:06:56going on here.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But nonetheless, very pretty.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01So did Aunt ever wear them?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- I'm not sure if she ever wore them. - Right, OK.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But my aunt, she raised us,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10and I used to stay with my aunt a lot,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- and we come from a travelling community.- Right, OK.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Erm...
0:07:16 > 0:07:19And she was the first one ever to put my sticky-out dress on
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- and put my hair in rag curls. - Oh, really?!- Yes.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25And she just wanted me to have these,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28but I don't think she ever wore them.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31This is a perfect illustration of why people think
0:07:31 > 0:07:33that opals are unlucky,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37because so much of their composition is made of basically a gel,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39so much of it is water,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41that they dehydrate, they shrink,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43and they fall out of their settings.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45And that's exactly what's happened here, isn't it?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48So we've got one missing off this bracelet here,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50we've got a lovely row of opals
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and then this beautiful fringe necklace,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- but unfortunately, it's not very fringe-y any more.- No, it's not.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58We have got some loose stones and things here,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00which obviously would have been part of it here,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and we've still got some of them, so that's the main thing.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04When we look at valuing jewellery
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and look at valuing opals specifically,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10we look at the colour and the play of colour that's in the opal,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and these do have a particularly nice play of colour.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I would say that the pieces are quite contemporary in date,
0:08:16 > 0:08:191880-1890, late Victorian in era.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22They're obviously set in a yellow gold.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Have we got any marks on here?
0:08:24 > 0:08:27We've got a very faint nine-carat mark there
0:08:27 > 0:08:29just on that little ring there,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31which is very, very faint but still there nonetheless.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33If they're in good condition,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I would have suggested putting them separately,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38but they're not, and I think to sell them
0:08:38 > 0:08:40really we'd be looking at selling them as one lot here.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Yeah, that's fine.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46I'm going to say at auction, I would hope that the two of them
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- would fetch somewhere in the region of £200-£300.- Yep.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Maybe with a reserve slightly lower, sort of the 160 level,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and let's just hope we've got some opal lovers in the sale room.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And I think opal is the sign for Libra,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02so let's hope we've got some Librans in the sale room as well!
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Librans or not, those opals are sure to brighten up the sale room.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I've got a story for you...
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Now, have you ever wondered why Birmingham silver, and I've got an example here,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17has the assay mark of an anchor stamped on it?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20You're completely landlocked, you're in the middle of the country,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22yet you have an anchor as a hallmark.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Well, there is a rather simple explanation.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Matthew Boulton, the famous silversmith and manufacturer,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31was lobbying for an assay office in Birmingham,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and also in Sheffield at the same time.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Now, he went down to London to do this,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39and with his colleagues, they got granted the rights for one.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43So they went off to a pub called the Crown and Anchor,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and legend has it, that's where they tossed the coin,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48and Birmingham got the anchor,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50which you can quite clearly see here,
0:09:50 > 0:09:51and Sheffield got the crown.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56We can hardly move for treasures today.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Let's see what James has netted himself.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Are you a gin drinker?
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- Erm, a little bit.- Enough to empty four bottles?- No, not really, no.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10- These are classic Dutch 19th-century gin bottles...- Wow.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12..that we see a little bit in England,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but you see a lot more on the Continent,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18very few arrive here in England.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20So is there a history behind these?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23There is a history. My family are from Guyana...
0:10:23 > 0:10:29- Right.- ..and my nan bought them in a place in Georgetown in 1980
0:10:29 > 0:10:31for 200 Guyanese dollars.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- So what does that equate to? - About £10.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- OK.- So that's a lot of money in those days, especially for Guyanese,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41and they were found by somebody else on a beach.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43You can understand the Dutch being there -
0:10:43 > 0:10:44the Dutch had colonised Guyana,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the Dutch were big traders,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53gin was used in huge quantities to bargain for all sorts of goods.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56These are square for one very simple reason -
0:10:56 > 0:10:59that they were much easier to transport and pack.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01So they would have gone in the crates like that,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03side by side,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and that's the way they logically fit.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Gin was traded for slaves as well in the 19th century,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15so gin was always seen as the evil drink.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Even Hogarth painted a series of pictures about drinking,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25and Gin Lane - if you saw the illustration of Gin Lane by Hogarth,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27it's a not a great scene,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- it's not a, "Darling, shall we have a gin and tonic?" as it is today.- No!
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Gin was not a great thing to be drinking in the 19th century,
0:11:34 > 0:11:35or the 18th century.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41So - we've got bottles dating to about 1820, 1850.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45That one is worth about £40-£60,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49that one is worth another £20-£30,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and these are worth 10, 15 each, something like that.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57My recommendation would be to sell them as a group
0:11:57 > 0:11:59and put an auction estimate of £80-£120 on them,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- something like that.- OK, thank you.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04- How do you feel? Is that all right? - That's excellent.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- It's better than £10, isn't it? - Definitely.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09So 30 years ago they paid 10, they're now worth 100,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- that's not a bad investment. - No, no, that's better than
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- the Stock Exchange. - You need to go beachcombing!
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- I certainly will! - See what else you can find.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Thank you very much indeed, James. - Well done.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23MUSIC: Message In A Bottle by The Police
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Christina knows how to keep it simple,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30as she uncovers a very special little party piece.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35So, Kath, this little box is quite intriguing.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38And I saw you in the queue and I had a little look at this,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and there's coronation commemorative wares
0:12:41 > 0:12:45and then there's EXCITING coronation commemoration wares.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46I got quite excited about this.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Cos when you think of coronation commemoratives
0:12:48 > 0:12:50you think of mugs - mass produced,
0:12:50 > 0:12:55limited edition of 100,000, which isn't a very limited edition...
0:12:55 > 0:12:58You don't think of little medallions like this.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Was there a relative at the coronation in 1911?
0:13:01 > 0:13:02I think it's possible, yes.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06I think it was probably presented to a member of the family who went
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- so that's where I think it came from. - I would agree.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10It's intriguing in many respects.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Let's take it out of its little box,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14which I think may have been the original box.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I think it might have had a fitted case originally,
0:13:16 > 0:13:17but let's have a little look at it.
0:13:17 > 0:13:18So we've got here
0:13:18 > 0:13:21what I initially thought was a coin set into a mount,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but it's not, it's a little presentation medallion
0:13:23 > 0:13:24and it says...
0:13:24 > 0:13:27"Coronation Reception", in white enamel, "June 1911."
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So it's the coronation of George V,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and inevitably you would have had a reception for heads of state,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35for important dignitaries,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37and I think that this was possibly given out
0:13:37 > 0:13:39to somebody who went to that.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- And the reason I say that is because it screams quality.- Yes.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45The fact that it has all this enamelling work to it
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and these wonderful armorials here,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51which unfortunately we haven't been able to trace,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54but I think we could, given some more time.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56And also this wonderful little coronet surmount
0:13:56 > 0:13:58which is set with these stones.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- It's really, really beautifully made.- Yes, it is.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04And it doesn't surprise me that when I turn it over
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and look at the back...there we go, we've got a wonderful mark there
0:14:07 > 0:14:11for the company Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company Ltd.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Now, they were brilliant makers
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- and they had a royal warrant to obviously the King and Queen.- Right.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21So this sort of quality I would expect to find of those makers.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24So a really, really beautiful thing.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Although it looks gold...
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- unfortunately it isn't! - It isn't. Never mind.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32And we've got a nice silver hallmark here, and we know it's silver
0:14:32 > 0:14:35because it's got the standard sterling silver mark
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- which is the lion passant. - Was it London?
0:14:37 > 0:14:41It is, yes, London, which was where Goldsmiths and Silversmiths were based.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43And of course a contemporary hallmark for 1911
0:14:43 > 0:14:45which you would expect.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49And if only it could talk, it could tell us a few things.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Can you imagine the gossip from that reception?- Yes, gosh!
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- I wonder what it could tell us. - All the amazing things that went on.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00- What everyone wore! - Yes, the costumes and outfits.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Absolutely, and if you think of the reception itself,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06this piece was potentially quite an important part of that history.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Yes, it is, isn't it?
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Value-wise, at auction,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- I've not seen one of these sell in recent years.- Right.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We've seen them sell about 10 or 15 years ago for sort of £30-£40,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- and I would hope obviously that we can improve on that.- Yeah.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24- I would like to put a conservative estimate maybe of £60-£80.- OK.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I think it would definitely appeal to
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- a royal memorabilia collector... - Yes, definitely.
0:15:29 > 0:15:30..and I it's quite an interesting piece.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- It's quite unusual. - It is quite unusual.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34So I think £60-£80,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37with a reserve of £50,
0:15:37 > 0:15:38and I think hopefully
0:15:38 > 0:15:41it will fly away for you.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44- Thank you.- Thanks so much for bringing it in.- Thank you very much.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Before we head off to auction, there is something I would like to show you.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02The 18th century was the age of invention,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04discovery and expansion
0:16:04 > 0:16:06on a level that had never been seen before.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10So it's no wonder that it became known as the Age of Enlightenment.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16In Birmingham, one of the leading lights of the British Enlightenment
0:16:16 > 0:16:19lived here at Soho House in Handsworth.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28When Matthew Boulton moved to Soho House in 1766,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32it was at the centre of a vast 200-acre estate
0:16:32 > 0:16:35overlooking his famous Soho Manufactory,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39the most complete manufacturer of metals in England.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It was just the first of a long line of visionary
0:16:42 > 0:16:44accomplishments that he achieved,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46giving him international fame during his lifetime
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and lasting fame in the history books
0:16:49 > 0:16:53as one of the founding fathers of the Industrial Revolution.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Boulton inherited his father's buckle and button business in 1759.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05And within a year, he had started building his great,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08one-stop Soho Manufactory
0:17:08 > 0:17:12that was to revolutionise production methods.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Within a few years, it was turning out jewellery, coins, medals,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20decorative objects, fashionable ormolu
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and of course silver tableware -
0:17:22 > 0:17:23not to mention Sheffield plate -
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and exporting them all over the world.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29And here is a wonderful marble bust of Matthew Boulton himself.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31But this is a Boulton masterpiece.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Boulton's greatest skill was as an entrepreneur.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40He could spot talent and an opportunity at distance.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44He didn't need to think twice, he struck when the iron was hot.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46And his greatest partnership was with James Watt,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49the Scottish engineer and inventor.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Recognising the potential in Watt's early designs,
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Boulton brought him to Birmingham,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59and the resulting Boulton and Watt steam engines
0:17:59 > 0:18:01became the driving force for much of the emerging
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Industrial Revolution.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Boulton's wide-ranging and prodigious talents
0:18:09 > 0:18:11attracted fellow enquiring minds.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And amongst them, they managed to:
0:18:14 > 0:18:16discover oxygen,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19harness the power of steam...
0:18:20 > 0:18:23..pioneer the theory of evolution...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27..and revolutionise the British pottery trade.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34In 1766, this elite group of friends
0:18:34 > 0:18:36founded the Lunar Society,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38with the intention of meeting each month
0:18:38 > 0:18:41by the light of the full moon.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Alongside Boulton were some of the leading thinkers of the day -
0:18:45 > 0:18:46James Watt,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Erasmus Darwin,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Joseph Priestley
0:18:50 > 0:18:51and Josiah Wedgwood.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56To tell me more about this extraordinary group
0:18:56 > 0:18:57is Professor Jennifer Tann.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02So how and why did the Lunar Society start?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06The Lunar Society was a group of friends.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It started with just three or four people
0:19:09 > 0:19:13who were local to Matthew Boulton, in this place.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15They were all hugely intelligent
0:19:15 > 0:19:18in different trades and so on,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21and they liked being sociable.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25The 18th century was a coffee house society.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And it was a society where their business papers
0:19:28 > 0:19:31were full of personal reminiscences as well.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Much more fun to work on than later times.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37So, apart from their obvious intelligence and curiosity,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40what sort of people were they? What sort of chaps were they?
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Remembering that some of them were Nonconformists,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45so they didn't belong to the established Church of England,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47so they couldn't have gone to university,
0:19:47 > 0:19:48to Oxford and Cambridge.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53Er, others were sons of tradespeople,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55like Matthew Boulton himself.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00But it was a time when people could be very upwardly mobile socially.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04And Boulton opened this house
0:20:04 > 0:20:07to visitors from overseas
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and, er, the nobility from here.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12He courted them for his own business.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- Sure. They were clients? - Yes, indeed.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17But he also loved it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19They played, they had fun.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Sure. And bounced ideas, as you say, off of each other.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- Indeed, I think they BUILT on the ideas of each other.- Yes.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28There was a little bit of teasing about competition
0:20:28 > 0:20:31between Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, and Matthew Boulton,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34because Boulton wanted to make cameo brooches.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37And he said something like,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39"Well, I think I might become a potter, too."
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And Wedgwood sort of said, "What?!"
0:20:41 > 0:20:45But this didn't happen, and they remained the best of friends.
0:20:45 > 0:20:46Sure. All very successful men.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49So, set the scene, OK? Let's say the Lunar Society are meeting -
0:20:49 > 0:20:51it's not quite the full moon today,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54but paint the picture of supper time here.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Well, they'd start about two o'clock in the afternoon.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59So they'd arrive in daylight in their carriages,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and would travel really some distance -
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Erasmus Darwin came from Lichfield,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06which would have taken a while to get here.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08But they rolled up about that time.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Dinner was a sort of three o'clock in the afternoon onwards kind of meal.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Lasting right through to the early hours...
0:21:15 > 0:21:17I think the "onwards" was the operative word.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18- Lots of fine wine.- Yes,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Boulton had a wonderful cellar.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23But they'd sit round here and share ideas,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27building on, "Have you heard about this? What about the other?"
0:21:27 > 0:21:31For instance, when the Montgolfiers in France sent up the balloon,
0:21:31 > 0:21:36Erasmus Darwin tried to send Matthew Boulton a balloon from Lichfield
0:21:36 > 0:21:39but it got blown some distance to Hagley Hall instead.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Fabulous, really, isn't it, to think that, you know,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44some of the discussions and inventions that took place
0:21:44 > 0:21:48from here have really shaped Britain's history in some way.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Yes, it has. It's made a huge contribution.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53There were lots of other coffee clubs,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56but nothing quite like the Lunar Society,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58which was deliberately kept informal,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00no minutes,
0:22:00 > 0:22:01no membership list,
0:22:01 > 0:22:02nothing.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Just a network of friends who had fun,
0:22:06 > 0:22:07who played,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10who sparked off each other intellectually.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13And had huge, huge curiosity
0:22:13 > 0:22:16about life and the external environment.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19They were really extraordinary people.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23And when Boulton died and it had really fizzled out,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27and some of them had died already and left the area and so on,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30it just got left as a sort of...
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- ..episode in time.- Which is lovely, isn't it?- Yes.- It really is.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Since those heady days nearly 250 years ago,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Soho House has been a vicarage,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50a girls' school, a hotel and a police hostel.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53But thankfully, it's now been returned to its former glory,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55when it entertained a group of friends
0:22:55 > 0:22:58who would help shape our future.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01And Josiah Wedgwood summed up the Lunar Society by saying,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03"We were living in the age of miracles,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06"in which anything could be achieved."
0:23:14 > 0:23:17This gallery is a perfect example of industry and art
0:23:17 > 0:23:20working together in harmony.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23All the elements are here creating a dynamic,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and when you put them together, it really is something special -
0:23:26 > 0:23:28the wonderful vaulted iron girders here,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31natural daylight flooding through the ceiling,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33lighting up all the objects,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and of course the original gaslights and this wonderful balcony,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39so you can see everything going on below.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40And talking of visual treats,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43it's now time for our first visit to the auction room.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Well, it's another fine mix of items we're taking with us,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54starting with William's Laurel & Hardy signatures
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and their airtight provenance.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Someone in Kath's family
0:24:00 > 0:24:03was a guest at King George V's coronation reception.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08If only we knew who - but all royal memorabilia IS highly collectable.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Mary-Ann's dazzling jewels from down under...
0:24:14 > 0:24:16and will Raymond's bottles,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18with their mysterious stories of far-flung oceans
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and shipwrecks bewitch the bidders?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31We've travelled to the market town of Stourbridge
0:24:31 > 0:24:33and Fieldings Auctioneers,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37where we're always assured of a warm welcome from the proprietor,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39our very own Nick Davies.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42The great thing about the antiques market is
0:24:42 > 0:24:43it's all about fads and trends -
0:24:43 > 0:24:46getting in at the right time, and making that profit.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50What's hot right now? What does everyone want around Birmingham?
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Well, the word everyone's using at the moment is "vintage".
0:24:52 > 0:24:55So '50s, '60s, that type of thing's very popular,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58especially with young professionals.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01We have a couple of design sales a year to incorporate that.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02That's what you're doing.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04So you're encouraging the younger buyers in?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Absolutely, yeah - got to have fresh blood, keep it going.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Course you have. Cos they grew up with that,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- so they're going to want a piece of it back.- Nostalgia always sells.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Well, talking about nostalgia, great comedy double acts,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Laurel & Hardy - that's proper nostalgia, isn't it?
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Proper nostalgia, proper slapstick.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22One of the best. Two of the best!
0:25:22 > 0:25:24- Now, this belongs to William. He paid £120 for this.- Right.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27We've got it valued at 200-300.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29I think that's about right. I don't see there's a problem with it.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32- Will we get 200-300? - I've sold them before,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I've got another couple actually in this sale.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36And are these better than your other examples
0:25:36 > 0:25:38- because they're on a little programme card?- They are.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41The others are on little bits of paper, so that always helps.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Good, good. Because we don't want someone buying the other lots first
0:25:44 > 0:25:46and then running out of money to get to this one.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Does this one come up first?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- This one does come up first, actually.- It's sold.
0:25:51 > 0:25:52For how much, we don't know.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Whatever you do, don't go away - this could get quite exciting.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01And don't forget, there's the auctioneer's commission to consider.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Here at Fieldings, the seller's commission is 18%.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Did you know, there were two other lots in the sale room
0:26:08 > 0:26:10- both with Laurel & Hardy signatures? - Really?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Yeah, so there are three lots of signatures here.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Now, I had a chat to Nick at the preview day yesterday
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and he said your lot is the best.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- It is.- It really is, yes. The others are on scraps of paper.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Yours is on something quite official.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Can I ask why you're selling?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I've got a few jobs on my car to be done.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- A few jobs on the garden? - On the car.- On the car?- Yes.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Make it last another 12 months.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- Oh, yeah. You need your wheels, don't you?- You do, yeah.- OK.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37We'll make sure that happens.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41The signatures are going under the hammer right now. Let's see how they do.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45284, the Laurel & Hardy programme.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47This is nice, from the Wolverhampton Hippodrome.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52£230 takes the underbidders out, just above bottom estimate, 230.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Couple of people interested. Do I see 240 anywhere else in the room?
0:26:55 > 0:26:57We're at 240. 250?
0:26:57 > 0:27:01You're out and done with 240 in the room now. 250 anywhere else?
0:27:01 > 0:27:03At £240 for the Laurel & Hardy,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05at 240 all done...
0:27:05 > 0:27:10- £240. You're happy with that. - I'm happy, yeah.- I'm happy with that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12- Thank you.- Well done.- Thank you so much for bringing that in.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17It's put a smile on everyone's face - the greatest comedy duo ever.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21William doubled his money, and he's very happy with that.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Is this the beginning of a winning streak?
0:27:24 > 0:27:26..620, all done?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Mary-Ann, you inherited these, what, 15 years ago?
0:27:29 > 0:27:30- Yeah, I did.- Never worn them.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Never even tried them on? Did the girls dress up and try them on?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35- No.- No? Aww!
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Look, hopefully somebody will today. Someone's going to buy them.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Let's put them to the test -
0:27:40 > 0:27:42they're going under the hammer.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47£200, starts the underbidders at £200. Do I see 210? 220, 230,
0:27:47 > 0:27:48240, 250...
0:27:48 > 0:27:50260, says no.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53250 in the room, 260 anywhere else?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Right, we're in... - £250, in the room at 250.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59260 anywhere else? At £250, seated in the room...
0:27:59 > 0:28:00HAMMER FALLS
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- What did you think of that, girls? - Was that good?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- Good?- Yeah?- It's quick, isn't it? - Good?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08- Thumbs up?- Well done.- Job well done.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I'm sure that'll pay for a wonderful family event.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15Going under the hammer right now -
0:28:15 > 0:28:18four Dutch gin bottles belonging to Raymond, and the gin has gone
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and there wasn't even a message in the bottle, was there?
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- No, there wasn't.- Nevertheless, nice-looking bottles.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I like the square ones - quite rare to this country.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Why are you selling these?
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Well, we had them in our family since 1980
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and we bought them in Guyana, in Georgetown,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35and we just wanted a little clearout.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36OK.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I just thought, as a sort of a prop, you're a chef...
0:28:39 > 0:28:42- Yes...- ..have them on the kitchen shelf somewhere, looks good.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46- Well, we've got a few more bottles. - Put some olive oil in there?
0:28:46 > 0:28:49- Genius!- There you go. - I don't like food.
0:28:49 > 0:28:50You can tell!
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Here we go, we're putting it to the test. This is it.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02£80, we're off and running at £80. 85 anywhere else in the room?
0:29:02 > 0:29:05£80 on commission, 85, 90, 5.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08You sure? £90 on commission. 95 anywhere else?
0:29:08 > 0:29:10- Well, they've gone, Raymond. - 95 anywhere else?
0:29:10 > 0:29:13On £90 on commission, the four bottles are going to sell at 90...
0:29:13 > 0:29:1495, he's back.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16You're out now.
0:29:16 > 0:29:1995, he's back. You're out at 100.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21Does anybody else want to jump in at £100?
0:29:21 > 0:29:25We're £95. All sure and finished at £95 for the bottles...?
0:29:28 > 0:29:30- Yes, £95. Well done. Put it there. - Thank you very much.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33- Job done as well. - Thank you very much.- Great.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Now, that proves there's a buyer for everything.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41I'm sure there'll be a good reception for our next item.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42Kath's coronation reception brooch
0:29:42 > 0:29:44is just about to go under the hammer.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47It's seen the light of day! We've rescued it.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Now, why has it been in that cupboard?
0:29:50 > 0:29:51It's not something I'd wear.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53No. I know how easy it is to put things in the cupboard
0:29:53 > 0:29:55when you don't really want them
0:29:55 > 0:29:58and you forget about them over the years, don't you?
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Yes, I just felt it would be nice to see
0:30:00 > 0:30:02if I could find a good buyer for it, somebody might want to buy it
0:30:02 > 0:30:06- and add it to their collection of royal commemoration things.- Sure.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09- And there are collectors out there for that.- Oh, hugely, yeah.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Coronation and royal memorabilia is a huge collectors' field
0:30:12 > 0:30:14so hopefully...
0:30:14 > 0:30:16It's been on the internet so hopefully it's been viewed
0:30:16 > 0:30:19by a good wide audience as well so hopefully it'll sell well.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22- We're just about to find out. Are you ready for this?- Yes.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24It's going under the hammer now.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27A silver gilt enamel George V and Queen Mary coronation pendant.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Really sweet little brooch there, bids with me at 40 and 45
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and 50 I look for in the room. 45 with me and the lady's bid at 50.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- It's gone.- Brilliant!- 50, 55 anywhere else? At £50, 55 anywhere?
0:30:38 > 0:30:39Come on, come on!
0:30:39 > 0:30:43She'll take it with her at £50 if we're all sure and done...
0:30:44 > 0:30:49- £50.- There we go. Somebody wanted it.- You've done it!
0:30:49 > 0:30:52It's not going back in the cupboard, that's a good thing.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- And thanks for bringing it in. - Thank you.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Yes, it was a really interesting thing.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04At £200 all done.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07We all dream of finding something in an auction,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10buying it for next to nothing and selling for an absolute fortune,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13that sleeper, or finding something in a car-boot sale,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16the garden shed, or digging something up in the garden.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18For most of us, that is a dream,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22but for the lucky few, that dream has come true. Take a look at this.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29BEEPING
0:31:33 > 0:31:34Let's face it -
0:31:34 > 0:31:37people that use metal detectors get a tough time from the rest of us,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41and I know this for fact because my dad had one of these in the '70s
0:31:41 > 0:31:44and we all took the mickey out of him.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48But for the lucky few, the last laugh is on us,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52because back in 2009, in a muddy field in Staffordshire,
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Terry Herbert struck gold,
0:31:54 > 0:31:59and I mean he literally struck gold. Not one piece, not ten pieces,
0:31:59 > 0:32:00but hundreds of pieces!
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Terry had lifted the lid on a treasure that had lain undisturbed
0:32:06 > 0:32:08for over 1,300 years.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15Within days, a professional archaeological dig had been set up.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Soon, Terry's 300 pieces of gold
0:32:17 > 0:32:21had turned into a staggering 3,000 individual pieces.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24It was the largest haul and the most valuable haul
0:32:24 > 0:32:27of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered.
0:32:29 > 0:32:30Dating from the sixth century,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34these glittering Anglo-Saxon jewels were from the Dark Ages,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38when Britain was made up of several warring kingdoms,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40a brutal and bloodthirsty epoch.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44STEEL CLANGS AND MEN SHOUT
0:32:44 > 0:32:46The Staffordshire Hoard, as it became known,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48made headlines around the world.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54The biggest haul ever found of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57shedding new light on one of most mysterious times in British history.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59..treasure that's been lost for more than 1,000 years.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02There's so much gold, it'll be worth millions.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05When the treasure went on show at the museum,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09a record-breaking 40,000 people came to see it.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Absolutely fantastic. It hasn't disappointed one little bit.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15- It's been brilliant. - I'm a jeweller,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18so it's quite a thrill to have a look at it, to be honest.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23The treasure was valued at £3.3 million,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27which was shared between the owner of the land on which it was found
0:33:27 > 0:33:28and a delighted Terry.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Talk me through exactly what went on that day.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36I got out into the field about quarter past 11.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39I did a bit of metal detecting.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Nothing was coming up so I had my little saying...
0:33:43 > 0:33:47You're got a mantra, have you? What is it?
0:33:47 > 0:33:50"Spirit of yesteryears, take me where the coins appears."
0:33:50 > 0:33:54- But why on this day I changed it, I still don't know. - Changed it to what?
0:33:54 > 0:33:57"Spirits of yesteryears, take me where the gold appears."
0:33:57 > 0:33:58HE LAUGHS
0:33:58 > 0:34:04- Really?- And within half an hour I suddenly found this piece.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08I thought it was off a jewellery box or something. But when I looked
0:34:08 > 0:34:12at it with my magnifying glass I thought, "Could be a piece of gold."
0:34:12 > 0:34:16So that went in my pocket and I carried on.
0:34:16 > 0:34:22- The next thing to come off was a pommel off a sword.- Wow!
0:34:22 > 0:34:26On that day I found 25-50 items.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29But I didn't realise how much was on that field.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32That was the big shock, that was.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Does this bring back lots of memories coming in here today?
0:34:35 > 0:34:37- It's been a few years for you. - It has, yeah.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43But it's nice to see what I'd actually found.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Terry wasn't the only one excited by the find.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52For the museum's archaeology department and its curator,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56David Symonds, it was as if all their Christmases had come at once.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58It's absolutely astonishing.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02I never, ever in my career thought I'd be holding this kind of treasure.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07To think that these are 1,300 years old is unbelievable.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11What was it like when you realised the true extent of the hoard?
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I think the only word is unbelievable.
0:35:14 > 0:35:15I mean literally unbelievable.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18Because nothing like this had been found before
0:35:18 > 0:35:22and you just looked at it and more and more of the most incredible
0:35:22 > 0:35:25items appeared and you could not believe what you were looking at.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28When you look at Anglo-Saxon Britain you think of the Dark Ages and a
0:35:28 > 0:35:32sort of brutal feudal society but you don't necessarily think of
0:35:32 > 0:35:36exquisite craftsmanship and I have been blown away by looking at this.
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Especially the filigree work.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40They must have had wonderful workshops back then in order
0:35:40 > 0:35:44to twist these fine threads of gold, weave them together and plait them.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48The workmanship is incredible but I think the thing about
0:35:48 > 0:35:49dark ages is they're only dark
0:35:49 > 0:35:51because we don't have the written history.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54It doesn't mean the people weren't capable of producing the most
0:35:54 > 0:35:56incredible things like this.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59But, yes, the workmanship is literally astounding.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01And just talk me through the bulk of the hoard.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Was it weapons or things to be worn?
0:36:04 > 0:36:07That was one of the shocks with the hoard
0:36:07 > 0:36:11because it's overwhelmingly what we recognise as military kit.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15But it's not straight pieces of military equipment.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17For example, a lot of the things we see here.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20This is a reproduction Anglo-Saxon sword.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24If you look at the handle you'll find we've got a pommel cap
0:36:24 > 0:36:28and these pieces here are pommel caps.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30You can see they've all been torn off the sword.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33We don't have the sword blades. That's the really interesting thing.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36The good quality Anglo-Saxon sword blade was probably
0:36:36 > 0:36:38worth as much as the gold on the handle.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40So it's very interesting they're not there.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42- So it was just the gold ripped off? - Yep.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44That's what makes me thing it's a treasure find.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47It's actually the gold and silver they're interested in.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50- And I think this lot was destined for the melting pot. - You do?
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I don't think anybody cared how lovely it was.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Talk me through some of the pieces anyway.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57I'll start you with one pommel cap over here.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01This is the gold and garnet work complete with the gold pins
0:37:01 > 0:37:06- that fixed it on.- Gosh. I'm surprised they're still intact.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08We're very lucky with this bit.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11- If I just move this in the light. - It does catch the light beautifully.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13When you see that shine you think
0:37:13 > 0:37:16they must have looked magnificent with this kind of kit on.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18It's very intriguing because if you notice in this piece,
0:37:18 > 0:37:22- you see that stamped gold foil in the middle?- Yes, it's cross-hatched.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26That's what's making these other little garnets shine so much.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29It's very much as if you're making a bicycle reflector.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32You have to have something shiny behind the red glass
0:37:32 > 0:37:34so the light goes through and then shines back again.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38One suggestion is it's meant to look like an eye and the shape is right.
0:37:38 > 0:37:39It could be, couldn't it?
0:37:39 > 0:37:42This is another really intriguing piece.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45If you look carefully you'll see at one end that it's meant
0:37:45 > 0:37:47to have a little snake head.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48Oh, yes. I can see that.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51So the whole thing is the interlaced body of a snake.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- Yes!- We've seen nothing like these before.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57I'm not an expert but I'd say the people that owned this
0:37:57 > 0:38:00sort of thing were the upper echelon of society?
0:38:00 > 0:38:03You're absolutely looking at elite warriors.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06If I'm the king of one of the local Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
0:38:06 > 0:38:07I want really good warriors around me
0:38:07 > 0:38:11because they are the men who will help me keep power and basically
0:38:11 > 0:38:13beat up my neighbours until they give me treasure to go away.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16The best description I've heard of one of these type of people
0:38:16 > 0:38:20are that they're the psychopathic peacocks around the throne.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22And you have to imagine them
0:38:22 > 0:38:25decked out in all this finery going into battle looking like this.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30People sometimes say, "Is this parade armour or parade weaponry?" No.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33This is deliberately there to show how important you are
0:38:33 > 0:38:34and how dangerous you are.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39This is a once-in-a-lifetime find for Terry but for you
0:38:39 > 0:38:43- and many other academics this is the rest of your life, isn't it?- It is.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47It's fair to say it changed my life in the past five years
0:38:47 > 0:38:50and I know that long after I'm gone from the museum
0:38:50 > 0:38:52people will be arguing about this find.
0:38:52 > 0:38:5530, 40 years down the line those arguments will be going on
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and it's wonderful to know you've been part of that story.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02What does it feel like to be the person
0:39:02 > 0:39:05responsible for all of the experts all over the world
0:39:05 > 0:39:09in Anglo-Saxon artefacts to come here
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and pit their wits against each other and look at this in awe?
0:39:12 > 0:39:14It feels fantastic.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18To find something like this... Cos it's gone on display
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- so everybody in the world now can see it.- Exactly.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24- Do you think there's a lot more out there still?- Yes.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Around the UK there's got to be another one of these somewhere.
0:39:27 > 0:39:28There's got to be.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32- Are you still actively looking? - I'm still looking. Still looking.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40# Like finding a needle in a haystack
0:39:40 > 0:39:43# Like finding a needle in a haystack
0:39:43 > 0:39:46# Yeah, yeah, shadoop. #
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Welcome back to Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery,
0:39:49 > 0:39:51where our valuation day is in full swing.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Hundreds of people are turning up throughout the day.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56We've taken over the Industrial Gallery,
0:39:56 > 0:39:57which is housing our queue.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Hundreds of people waiting to be filmed.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03- You having a good time, everyone? - ALL: Yeah!- Good luck later on.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Anyway, it's lights, camera, action
0:40:05 > 0:40:07in the Rotunda Gallery through there.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Let's catch up with our experts
0:40:09 > 0:40:11and see what else we can take off to auction.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14# Like finding a needle in a haystack. #
0:40:14 > 0:40:19And after all that dazzling gold it's a relief to see some silver.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22When I came here this morning I really wanted to see a nice
0:40:22 > 0:40:24couple of bits of Birmingham silver.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27It's such a great historical assay office.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29And you haven't brought me Birmingham silver,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32you brought me Sheffield silver.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33Sorry.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Not to worry. I'm not disappointed.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37But we can tell, we've got the hallmark
0:40:37 > 0:40:40and the maker's name, which is George Howson.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42"GH" for George Howson.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45We've then got a crown, which is the symbol of the assay office
0:40:45 > 0:40:47of Sheffield.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51We've got a lion passant mark, which is the standard for sterling silver.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54And then we've got a little letter which is the letter Y,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58which in this case is for 1916.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- Right, OK.- So a lovely pair of silver candlesticks.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Tell me how you've come by them. How have they come into your possession?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09When my mum passed away I inherited a few things
0:41:09 > 0:41:12myself and my brother sort of split between us.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15I particularly liked the look of these so that's why I chose them.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17OK, so what is it that drew you to them?
0:41:17 > 0:41:19I think it's the shape. They're quite simple.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20They're not too elaborate.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24They're just very stylish and I just like the look of them.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27They're very elegant, and I think that's...
0:41:27 > 0:41:29so typical of that time.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32If you think about that First World War era
0:41:32 > 0:41:36this is very much what we call the Adam revival style.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Adam was really an 18th-century furniture designer
0:41:40 > 0:41:44and we often think of Adam interiors which were very classical.
0:41:44 > 0:41:49He often used harebell and swag details in his design.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54And these are hugely in that style. Very restrained yet elegant
0:41:54 > 0:41:55on this wonderful plinth base.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58You can almost see statues standing on it, can't you?
0:41:58 > 0:42:00It's quite monumental in a way.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04- Timeless, really, aren't they?- Yeah, I'd say so.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07The only thing really that's a bit of a downside about them is...
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- A bit skew-whiff.- A bit skew-whiff, sadly.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12So we've got one that's doing a bit that way
0:42:12 > 0:42:14and one that's doing a bit that way.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16They look like they're having a bit of a dance.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Have they been damaged in your possession?
0:42:18 > 0:42:22They've been packed away for a few years now.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25- So it may have just happened at a wild dinner party?- Possibly.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29A bit of a while ago possibly.
0:42:29 > 0:42:30If we look at the construction
0:42:30 > 0:42:33we can see why this has happened, as well.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35When you look at silver candlesticks we turn them
0:42:35 > 0:42:39upside down to see whether they're solid silver or filled.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42We can tell by looking at the bottom, we can see that
0:42:42 > 0:42:45this metal plate is actually holding in the fill.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Either plaster or wax or a composite.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50If they'd been solid silver they would have been worth
0:42:50 > 0:42:52an awful lot more.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57- Yeah.- But we're looking somewhere in the region of £200-300.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00With a reserve possibly at 180.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02- Right.- How would you feel about that?
0:43:02 > 0:43:05- I think I'd be quite pleased with that.- Yeah?
0:43:05 > 0:43:08- That would tie in more or less with what I was thinking.- Super.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10And we'll hope that between now
0:43:10 > 0:43:13and the auction silver price starts going up a little bit.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15- Definitely. Thanks a lot.- Thank you.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Mm, a very nice pair.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21But James can double that with a quad.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Andrew, when I saw these in the lines outside,
0:43:25 > 0:43:28you'd been queueing up nice and early.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30And I just fell in love with them.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33A lot of this business that we're in is all about value
0:43:33 > 0:43:37and really there's far more to it than that.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40It's personal attraction really and I just love them.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45It reminds me of times in Africa and the animals I love to watch.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48For me, I did a basic animal tracking course when I was out there.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52It just brought back happy memories. So, what memories are they for you?
0:43:52 > 0:43:53Where did they come from?
0:43:53 > 0:43:56I purchased them about 15 years ago at a car boot.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58And I just liked them, like you said.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Other people have looked at them and seem attracted to them as a group.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04- And they're so well modelled. - The casting is brilliant.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08- The great thing is that these are cast in solid bronze.- Yeah.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11- And they weigh a ton, don't they?- Yeah.
0:44:11 > 0:44:12When I first saw that
0:44:12 > 0:44:15and picked it up I was shocked at how heavy it was.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20Most of the modern things like this that we see today are a bronze
0:44:20 > 0:44:23- and resin mix.- Yeah. Some are lead-filled, as well.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26Some are lead-filled but that's as heavy as anything you'll find.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Really, you've got a lot of scrap bronze there
0:44:29 > 0:44:32if anyone wants to melt it down, which would be horrific.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36But there we go. They're modern. There's not a lot of age to them.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40- Yeah.- They're probably, 20, 30, 40 years old. Something like that.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42They could have been made in Africa
0:44:42 > 0:44:46but they're not traditional African works of art.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48We turn one over, we've got a mark underneath.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Which is a very modern looking mark, as well.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54But basically, they're post-war.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57- So why are they here?- We're selling the house at the moment
0:44:57 > 0:44:58and downsizing, like a lot of people.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01And we don't really know what to do with them now.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05Well, I think they should make £60-100 at auction.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08I would hope they'll make the top end.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11- Around £100 or so. What did you pay at the car boot?- 30.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16- You've done all right.- We liked them for 15 years so £30 over 15 years...
0:45:16 > 0:45:18Not bad, is it?
0:45:18 > 0:45:21I look at him and I think, "What would I give?" £30 for him.
0:45:21 > 0:45:27So you think 30, 60, 90 and a little one an extra tenner. Should be £100.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31- Shall we say £60 on the lot as a reserve?- Yep, that sounds fine.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33Take your little pod of hippos to the auction.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36Lovely to see you. Thanks so much for bringing them. You made my day.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38- I love them.- Good, great.
0:45:38 > 0:45:39Thank you.
0:45:39 > 0:45:45# Am I a toy or am I a treasure? #
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Our experts really do have their work cut out today.
0:45:50 > 0:45:51Hundreds of people are here.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54It looks like all of Birmingham and the surrounding areas have
0:45:54 > 0:45:58turned up, laden with their unwanted treasures. That's caught my eye.
0:45:58 > 0:45:59- What's your name?- Karen.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02- Karen, are you a local lady? - No, I'm from Coventry.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04- Have you come for the day? - Yep.- Bless you.
0:46:04 > 0:46:05Can I have a look at this?
0:46:05 > 0:46:09Because just down the road in Stourbridge, that was really
0:46:09 > 0:46:13the centre of glass-making in this country back in the 18th century,
0:46:13 > 0:46:14second to Bohemia,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16when they made things like this.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Little paperweights.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21And I love these little canes bursting full of colour.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25- Can you tell me much about this? - We think it's a Paul Ysart.- Yes.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29- That's all I know.- And whose was it? - My mum's.- Your mum's.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32- And it's been in the family all that time?- Yeah.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35It's a shame it's been dropped. Can you see that?
0:46:35 > 0:46:37I think if this hadn't been dropped
0:46:37 > 0:46:40and badly damaged, you're looking at £80-120.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45- But in its present condition, maybe £20-30.- Is that all?
0:46:47 > 0:46:49That's what an auctioneer would put on it.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51And then he'd hope people would fall in love with
0:46:51 > 0:46:53the decorative quality of it.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55Personally, I'd hang on to it.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58- It's nice to know something about it, really.- Thank you for coming in.
0:46:58 > 0:46:59Thank you.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05And that brings us to our final valuation.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09These little guys are from a skip, hop
0:47:09 > 0:47:11and a jump down the road in Worcester.
0:47:11 > 0:47:12That's right.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15So we've got three pieces of Royal Worcester Porcelain.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Can you tell me where you got them from?
0:47:17 > 0:47:20They were initially from my grandmother who left them
0:47:20 > 0:47:24to my mother and we had them from my mother as from last year.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26- So two generations. - That's right.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30The dates on them, I've had a little look at the dates,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34and I would say a pair but having had a look at the dates,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37the dates are 1904 and 1910.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40And I would say the bodies were made earlier
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and painted later at the same time.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45- They're just so similar, aren't they?- Yes, they are.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47But obviously we can't call them a pair
0:47:47 > 0:47:50because they're different dates.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54And then we've also got the rose-painted potpourri.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57- I do like that one. - It's really sweet, isn't it?
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Can you imagine picking the rose petals off your rose bushes
0:48:01 > 0:48:04- to put in your potpourri from your garden?- Those were the days.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Those were the days. Absolutely. If only. This one dates to 1909.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12So all of them in the Edwardian period.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16They're not signed, which is a shame but not surprising.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21Often we find signatures just to one side, but no signature.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24We do know that a lot of Worcester artists were
0:48:24 > 0:48:27specialists at different types of painting.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31So you had your rose painting which is often by an artist called Hunt.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32You had other artists, for example
0:48:32 > 0:48:36Kitty Blake, who specialised in autumnal berries and leaves.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39You had Stinton, who specialised in cattle and game birds.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44So I think we can say they're by Hunt, they're Edwardian.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47They've got these beautiful, big, blousy English roses.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Quintessentially of their time.
0:48:49 > 0:48:55All together, a really nice little group of Royal Worcester.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58And the fact that they're in good condition is a real bonus
0:48:58 > 0:49:00because so often you find these are so delicately made you often
0:49:00 > 0:49:04find a finial has been knocked off.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07So the fact they're in good condition is a real bonus.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10For the group we're going to be looking at 100-150.
0:49:10 > 0:49:16For the three. And I would put a reserve of 100 with discretion.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20- How would you feel about that? - Um, yes. That would be fine.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Let's hope, fingers crossed, that it's a really good sale for you
0:49:24 > 0:49:25and that they sail away.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34But is James as confident about our next item?
0:49:36 > 0:49:41Harry, anyone who knows me knows I gravitate towards anything African.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46You've brought a really interesting mass of Masai artefacts.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Now, what are they doing here in Birmingham?
0:49:48 > 0:49:51How did you come to have them? What's the story?
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Well, the story is I was brought up in Kenya.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58I came back when Jomo Kenyatta became president.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00He basically booted us all out in '62
0:50:00 > 0:50:03and my father was in the government service,
0:50:03 > 0:50:07he worked for the Kenya government, British Home Office.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Some Masai tribesmen lost some cattle.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13They were stolen overnight and my father rounded up some askaris,
0:50:13 > 0:50:15we called them, they were soldiers, basically.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17He got the cattle back to the Masai, the Masai said,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20"Thank you very much, have a shield and some spears."
0:50:20 > 0:50:22- How wonderful.- Because they hadn't got any currency,
0:50:22 > 0:50:24- this was all they'd got. - And what sort of timing was this?
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Early 1950s.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29So we're talking about things that were collected over 60 years ago.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32- Yeah.- So people automatically think that these things
0:50:32 > 0:50:34are tourist objects that are post-war
0:50:34 > 0:50:39but it's not long before these actually become true antiques.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42- There were no tourists in Kenya in the 1950s.- No, not many.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44We've got first of all the shield
0:50:44 > 0:50:47and the spears which are the classic warrior pieces.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51The shield made of cattle skin or vellum
0:50:51 > 0:50:55and then of course the dyes - the white is made from clay
0:50:55 > 0:50:58- and the red, I'm sure you know... - I'd say, probably, some blood.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00- Blood, exactly, cattle blood.- Yeah.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04Mixed with, again, a bit of soil, a bit of earth and then smeared on.
0:51:04 > 0:51:10And then we've got the two spears, both with a point at the bottom
0:51:10 > 0:51:16and for a Masai boy to become a warrior, one of his biggest tasks,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19the most important thing that he can do, at least it used to be,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21is to kill a lion.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25Originally, the idea would be the spear would be jammed in the ground
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and as the lion charges, it leaps just before it makes its kill
0:51:29 > 0:51:32and the shield hides the spear
0:51:32 > 0:51:35and then as the lion is about to kill the Masai warrior,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39away goes the shield, the lion falls on his spear.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Absolutely right, yes.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Traditionally, these are known as leaf spears
0:51:43 > 0:51:46but traditional Masai spears, lovely.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50But then we got a whole mass of other things - we've got the comb.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54- I've never seen these before - they're like pine cones.- They are.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56- Seed pods, but I don't know what. - Seed pods.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58- They're wonderful, aren't they? Very tactile.- Yeah.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03A couple of knives, a fly whisk, necklace and a zebra-skin drum.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Together, I think the best thing to do with these
0:52:08 > 0:52:10is to put them as one lot.
0:52:10 > 0:52:15The shield is going to be worth 40 or 50, £60.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18The spears are worth about £30 each.
0:52:18 > 0:52:24We're talking about £100 there, 120, about £150.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28I would put 150 to 200 or something around there as an estimate.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30OK, what would you say as a reserve?
0:52:30 > 0:52:33I think 150 as a reserve - if they don't make that,
0:52:33 > 0:52:35hold them back and try them again another day.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37- Happy to go with that.- Lovely.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44And now a quick reminder of what's going off to auction.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51Debbie's pair of Sheffield silver candlesticks
0:52:51 > 0:52:55are approaching their 100th birthday with a new owner, hopefully.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01Four bronze hippos. They make a change from three flying ducks.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Harry's Masai collection with his dad's story
0:53:06 > 0:53:10gives a fascinating glimpse into a recent colonial history.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14And finally, Linda's Royal Worcester collection.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17That should have no difficulty attracting the bidders.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24170 seated there.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26180 anywhere else?
0:53:26 > 0:53:29We're heading back to the auction one last time
0:53:29 > 0:53:31with our final batch of lots.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33All done and finished?
0:53:33 > 0:53:36Going under the hammer right now we've got four modern bronze hippos
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- which James absolutely loved. - They've just got a shape about them.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42They're modern, OK, but they're still lovely. Really like them.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Unfortunately we don't have their owner, Andrew.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46We do have sort of a co-owner,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48because we've got Andrew's wife, Sue.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50- Yes.- Pleased to meet you. - Pleased to meet you too.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52- He's poorly, is he?- He is.
0:53:52 > 0:53:53Get well soon, Andrew,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56and hopefully we'll send you home with a bit of money.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58We'll send the wife home with a bit of money.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04Lot 632, which is the study of the hippopotamus.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09Bit of interest, we open at £130. £130.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15At £130 maiden bid takes the others out. 140 anywhere else?
0:54:15 > 0:54:17£130 we're selling. All done?
0:54:17 > 0:54:19That was short and sweet. £130.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Double bottom estimate so that's good.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23He'll be really pleased with that.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26He will, won't he? Thank you for standing in.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28- Hope he gets better soon. - I enjoyed it.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33A tidy £100 profit on Andrew's original investment.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38Next, it's Debbie's pair of classic silver candlesticks.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Our next lot is bound to light up the sale room.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46I've been joined by Christina and Debbie here, our owner.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48The candlesticks. Did you ever use them at Christmas time?
0:54:48 > 0:54:50Set the scene?
0:54:50 > 0:54:52- I think my mum used to.- Very nice.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Special occasions, but they've been packed away ever since.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00- It's a shame.- Not many of us dine by candle light anymore, do we?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03We don't with kids, let's face it.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06They'd put their fingers in the flame. All sorts of things.
0:55:06 > 0:55:07- Not a good idea.- No.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11- There is a market for them. We've got 2-300?- Yes.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14They're getting some really good, strong prices today.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16- So fingers crossed.- Good luck.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20The pair of silver candlesticks. £200 takes the underbidder out.
0:55:20 > 0:55:21£200.
0:55:21 > 0:55:26210. 220. 230. 240. 250.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30- 260. 270. 260 on commission. Anyone else?- Fantastic.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34I'm selling at £260.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37That was quick. It doesn't last long, does it?
0:55:37 > 0:55:40I have to be honest, I wasn't sure they were going to sell,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43- so well done. - Spot on with the estimate.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Now, our next item couldn't be more different.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Going under the hammer right now,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54we have a Masai warrior's shield and some spears -
0:55:54 > 0:55:57good tribal artefacts and I've been joined by Harry,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00who's in full dress with a swagger stick.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Look at this. Ooh!
0:56:02 > 0:56:03So, what's this all about, Harry?
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Well, my father was in the prison service in Kenya
0:56:06 > 0:56:10and one of the local Masai tribes gave him the spear and shield.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12This is what he wore every day.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Oh, brilliant, hope it brings you good luck.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17It's going under the hammer right now. Good luck, Harry. This is it.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Any bids and interest? I can open here at 130.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21- 140.- Right, we're in.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23150 in the room? 140 with me. 150.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Right in the distance, I've got you at £150.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27Paddle aloft, thank you.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28Do I see 160 anywhere else?
0:56:28 > 0:56:32At £150, he'll take them home with him, be sure of that.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34At 150. 160 anywhere else? Last chance.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36At 150 to sell then, all done. Are we finished?
0:56:36 > 0:56:39- £150, they've gone. - I'm very happy indeed.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41- They'll only rust in the shed. - And I love this.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43And you're obviously going to keep this.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45- This is not for sale. - This is part of the wardrobe.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47Fancy dress.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48300, 210, 320...
0:56:48 > 0:56:50It's our final lot -
0:56:50 > 0:56:53the Royal Worcester china collection.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Linda couldn't be with us today but we do have her sister Janet.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59I know Linda's feeling poorly, but I guess this is your inheritance,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01- as well?- That's right.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05- And you can remember these as a little girl?- Vaguely, yes.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09"Don't touch them. Don't smash them."
0:57:09 > 0:57:13They were always in a cabinet or on the sideboard.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16It's a nice little trio. What have we got here?
0:57:16 > 0:57:20We've got a pair of ewers. And also the potpourri, as well.
0:57:20 > 0:57:21Not a big lot but we decided
0:57:21 > 0:57:24it's better to sell them together rather than split them up.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Hopefully they'll stay together. Right, here we go.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Let's put it to the test.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Royal Worcester. Potpourri and the two jugs.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36Where do you start me? Interest in this one. Have to open at £260.
0:57:36 > 0:57:37Blimey!
0:57:39 > 0:57:42270. 280. 290.
0:57:42 > 0:57:48- 300 and 10. 320. 330. 340... - Smashing through the estimate.
0:57:48 > 0:57:55- ..370. 380.- Brilliant. - In the room at 370. 380. 390.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58400. 410. 420.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00- 410, ladies bid. - This will cheer Linda up.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05All done at £410 for the Worcester? All finished? 420 last chance.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07At 410 I'm selling.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12That's what we like. That's what we call a result.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14You've got to be over the moon with that?
0:58:14 > 0:58:15We weren't expecting that.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18Were you expecting the top end of the estimate?
0:58:18 > 0:58:24- I don't know, really.- There's no accounting for taste, is there?
0:58:24 > 0:58:28- That was a come and buy me, wasn't it?- It was.- £22 on my left.
0:58:28 > 0:58:29All done?
0:58:32 > 0:58:34That's it. It's all over for our Flog It! owners.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38What a brilliant day we have had here in Stourbridge.
0:58:38 > 0:58:42If you've got something you want to sell we'd love to flog it for you.
0:58:42 > 0:58:44Bring it along to one of our valuation days.
0:58:44 > 0:58:47Details you can pick up on our BBC website.
0:58:47 > 0:58:50If you don't have a computer, check the details in your local press.
0:58:50 > 0:58:52We would love to see you. Dust them down and bring them in.
0:58:52 > 0:58:56But until then from Stourbridge and all of us, it's goodbye.