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Birmingham's famous throughout the world for its gold | 0:00:06 | 0:00:08 | |
and silver wares, and what better symbol than this sparkling gem | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
of a piece of architecture, its new library, | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
to put contemporary Birmingham well and truly on the international map? | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
It's a city rich in history, and now a first-class cultural destination. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:24 | |
Welcome to the show! | 0:00:24 | 0:00:25 | |
For the past 250 years, Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
has been the epicentre of the country's jewellery design, | 0:00:52 | 0:00:56 | |
with the historic square mile itself being declared a national treasure. | 0:00:56 | 0:01:01 | |
This city's certainly not shy in promoting its glittering heritage. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:05 | |
Even the statues are gold-plated. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:07 | |
Our venue today is Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
It's a beautiful Victorian building, | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
a work of art in its own right, | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
and it's situated right in the heart of the city's civic centre. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
And the last time they saw a crowd as big as this | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
was just after the incredible discovery | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
of the Staffordshire Hoard, found by a local man, | 0:01:25 | 0:01:28 | |
the largest and most valuable Anglo-Saxon treasure | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
ever to be discovered. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:32 | |
But today, it's a blockbuster of a different kind. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
We're looking out for treasures from the world of art and antiques, | 0:01:35 | 0:01:38 | |
and there's only one question on this lot's mind, which is... | 0:01:38 | 0:01:41 | |
ALL: What's it worth? | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
Stay tuned and you'll find out. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:45 | |
Hunting for their own treasure today are experts James Lewis | 0:01:51 | 0:01:56 | |
and Christina Trevanion. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:58 | |
-It doesn't have a mark! Does yours have a mark? -Yes! -Ooh! | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
-Hang on a minute, what does yours say? -Nine carat. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:05 | |
-What does yours say? Nothing. -Doesn't say anything. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:07 | |
-I'll swap you. -THEY LAUGH | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
'Later in the programme, I find out how one lucky metal detectorist | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
'got in touch with his inner Midas.' | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
-You've got a mantra, have you? -Oh, yeah. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:18 | |
"Spirits of yesteryears, take me where the gold appears." | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
-That was it, really, was it? -Yeah. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
'And I take a closer look at some of the museum's own treasures.' | 0:02:24 | 0:02:28 | |
That's real history. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:29 | |
As you can see, we've taken over the museum's Rotunda Gallery | 0:02:32 | 0:02:36 | |
for our valuation day tables, and our experts are hard at work. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:39 | |
And here in the centre is the archangel Lucifer | 0:02:39 | 0:02:42 | |
by modernist sculptor Jacob Epstein, | 0:02:42 | 0:02:44 | |
and it looks like Lucifer's just about to step off the plinth | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
and help out with our valuations. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:50 | |
We might need him later on, | 0:02:50 | 0:02:51 | |
but right now, James Lewis is over there, | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
he's at the Flog It! tables, he's spotted a real gem. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
Let's catch up with him. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:57 | |
When I was a little boy | 0:03:00 | 0:03:01 | |
with my mum and dad at the weekend on a Saturday night, | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
I used to be given a treat. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
Instead of sitting round the dining table, | 0:03:06 | 0:03:08 | |
we would have our tea on our knee in front the TV | 0:03:08 | 0:03:11 | |
and it used to be Harold Lloyd or Laurel & Hardy | 0:03:11 | 0:03:15 | |
and I loved Laurel & Hardy, absolutely fantastic. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
-Were you a fan when you were...? -Big fan. -Still a fan? | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
Still a fan of Laurel & Hardy, yes. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:24 | |
Is this something a relative of yours collected? | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
No, I was a delivery driver | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
and I used to deliver to one of the Dudley hospitals, | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
and the fella in the goods-in department | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
was talking about actors and film stars and said he had an autograph | 0:03:34 | 0:03:38 | |
of Laurel & Hardy. I said, in a Black Country term, "Yo ay!" | 0:03:38 | 0:03:43 | |
He says, "I have!" | 0:03:43 | 0:03:44 | |
So, he asked if I was interested in buying it. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
I agreed a fee with him and I bought it off him. | 0:03:47 | 0:03:50 | |
-OK. -And apparently, his sister used to go with a fella named Eddie | 0:03:50 | 0:03:55 | |
who played the piano at the Wolverhampton Hippodrome, | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
so he got the autograph off of Laurel & Hardy | 0:03:58 | 0:04:00 | |
cos they were appearing there in Wolverhampton. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:02 | |
OK, let's have a look. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
Here we have a page from a programme. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
It appears to be signed by Laurel & Hardy. | 0:04:07 | 0:04:10 | |
The big question is, is it right or is it wrong? | 0:04:10 | 0:04:13 | |
Because the bigger the name, | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
and you don't get much bigger than Laurel & Hardy, | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
the more common the fakes. | 0:04:18 | 0:04:19 | |
And we see an awful lot of fake Laurel & Hardy signatures. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:23 | |
So one of the most important things is to have that provenance, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:25 | |
to have that confidence, | 0:04:25 | 0:04:27 | |
that we know how the person came by it. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
Anybody who was a friend of Eddie, and Eddie was the piano player | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
and therefore worked with them, | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
-is a great provenance. -Right. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:38 | |
It's almost as good as seeing them sign it. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
There are various things you look for with a Laurel & Hardy signature. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
You see that Stan Laurel has signed in fountain pen... | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
-Yes. -..and Oliver Hardy has signed in ball pen. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
Well, after 1947, Oliver Hardy always used a ball pen, | 0:04:52 | 0:04:57 | |
but Stan Laurel continued to use a fountain pen to sign | 0:04:57 | 0:05:02 | |
all of the time, he never converted, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
so you expect Oliver Hardy to be in a ball pen, and he is. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
You expect Stan Laurel to be in a fountain pen, and he is. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:12 | |
The other thing they always did | 0:05:12 | 0:05:14 | |
was they always signed their name on the side of the image | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
where their image was, so here we have Stan Laurel on the left | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
and Oliver Hardy's signature on the right, | 0:05:22 | 0:05:24 | |
so another telltale sign that it's right. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:26 | |
And if you were going to fake something like this, | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
you certainly wouldn't fake it | 0:05:29 | 0:05:30 | |
and then put a great, big crease down it, because that devalues it. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy signatures | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
almost always have a set value, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
so auction estimate - £200-£300. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
And I'm confident it'll do well. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
Oh, thank you. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:48 | |
-Is that all right? -I'm pleased, you had me sweating for a bit. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:51 | |
-HE LAUGHS -No, I think it's OK. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
Not sweating, Will, laughing! | 0:05:54 | 0:05:57 | |
Along with our own favourite slapstick double act. | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into! | 0:06:05 | 0:06:09 | |
Ollie, is that really you? | 0:06:09 | 0:06:11 | |
-Of course it's me. -Gee, I'm glad to see you. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
Well, they don't make 'em like that any more, | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
and here's another fine mess for Christina to untangle. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
So, Mary-Ann, here we are in the Industrial Gallery | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
and it's stacked full of just the most beautiful things, isn't it? | 0:06:27 | 0:06:31 | |
Just like this little bag of tricks that you've brought in to me. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:34 | |
I haven't actually opened the bag yet, but it looks intriguing. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
-My aunt gave it to me about 15 year ago. -Right, OK. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:41 | |
And it's obviously got a good jumble of opals in it, hasn't it? | 0:06:41 | 0:06:44 | |
-Is this how you got it? -Yes, it's in the same bag. | 0:06:44 | 0:06:47 | |
So we've got a bracelet, which is very pretty. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:51 | |
And we've got a necklace that is slightly worse for wear | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
going on here. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:56 | |
But nonetheless, very pretty. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
So did Aunt ever wear them? | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
-I'm not sure if she ever wore them. -Right, OK. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:05 | |
But my aunt, she raised us, | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
and I used to stay with my aunt a lot, | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
-and we come from a travelling community. -Right, OK. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:14 | |
Erm... | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
And she was the first one ever to put my sticky-out dress on | 0:07:16 | 0:07:19 | |
-and put my hair in rag curls. -Oh, really?! -Yes. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
And she just wanted me to have these, | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
but I don't think she ever wore them. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
This is a perfect illustration of why people think | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
that opals are unlucky, | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
because so much of their composition is made of basically a gel, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
so much of it is water, | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
that they dehydrate, they shrink, | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
and they fall out of their settings. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
And that's exactly what's happened here, isn't it? | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
So we've got one missing off this bracelet here, | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
we've got a lovely row of opals | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
and then this beautiful fringe necklace, | 0:07:50 | 0:07:52 | |
-but unfortunately, it's not very fringe-y any more. -No, it's not. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:56 | |
We have got some loose stones and things here, | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
which obviously would have been part of it here, | 0:07:58 | 0:08:00 | |
and we've still got some of them, so that's the main thing. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
When we look at valuing jewellery | 0:08:03 | 0:08:04 | |
and look at valuing opals specifically, | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
we look at the colour and the play of colour that's in the opal, | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | |
and these do have a particularly nice play of colour. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
I would say that the pieces are quite contemporary in date, | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
1880-1890, late Victorian in era. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
They're obviously set in a yellow gold. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
Have we got any marks on here? | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
We've got a very faint nine-carat mark there | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
just on that little ring there, | 0:08:27 | 0:08:29 | |
which is very, very faint but still there nonetheless. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
If they're in good condition, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
I would have suggested putting them separately, | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
but they're not, and I think to sell them | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
really we'd be looking at selling them as one lot here. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
Yeah, that's fine. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
I'm going to say at auction, I would hope that the two of them | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
-would fetch somewhere in the region of £200-£300. -Yep. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:49 | |
Maybe with a reserve slightly lower, sort of the 160 level, | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
and let's just hope we've got some opal lovers in the sale room. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:56 | |
And I think opal is the sign for Libra, | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
so let's hope we've got some Librans in the sale room as well! | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
Librans or not, those opals are sure to brighten up the sale room. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:06 | |
I've got a story for you... | 0:09:08 | 0:09:11 | |
Now, have you ever wondered why Birmingham silver, and I've got an example here, | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
has the assay mark of an anchor stamped on it? | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
You're completely landlocked, you're in the middle of the country, | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
yet you have an anchor as a hallmark. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
Well, there is a rather simple explanation. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
Matthew Boulton, the famous silversmith and manufacturer, | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
was lobbying for an assay office in Birmingham, | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
and also in Sheffield at the same time. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
Now, he went down to London to do this, | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
and with his colleagues, they got granted the rights for one. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:39 | |
So they went off to a pub called the Crown and Anchor, | 0:09:39 | 0:09:43 | |
and legend has it, that's where they tossed the coin, | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
and Birmingham got the anchor, | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
which you can quite clearly see here, | 0:09:48 | 0:09:50 | |
and Sheffield got the crown. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:51 | |
We can hardly move for treasures today. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:56 | |
Let's see what James has netted himself. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
Are you a gin drinker? | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
-Erm, a little bit. -Enough to empty four bottles? -No, not really, no. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
-These are classic Dutch 19th-century gin bottles... -Wow. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
..that we see a little bit in England, | 0:10:10 | 0:10:12 | |
but you see a lot more on the Continent, | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
very few arrive here in England. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
So is there a history behind these? | 0:10:18 | 0:10:20 | |
There is a history. My family are from Guyana... | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
-Right. -..and my nan bought them in a place in Georgetown in 1980 | 0:10:23 | 0:10:29 | |
for 200 Guyanese dollars. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:31 | |
-So what does that equate to? -About £10. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
-OK. -So that's a lot of money in those days, especially for Guyanese, | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
and they were found by somebody else on a beach. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
You can understand the Dutch being there - | 0:10:41 | 0:10:43 | |
the Dutch had colonised Guyana, | 0:10:43 | 0:10:44 | |
the Dutch were big traders, | 0:10:44 | 0:10:48 | |
gin was used in huge quantities to bargain for all sorts of goods. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:53 | |
These are square for one very simple reason - | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
that they were much easier to transport and pack. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
So they would have gone in the crates like that, | 0:10:59 | 0:11:01 | |
side by side, | 0:11:01 | 0:11:03 | |
and that's the way they logically fit. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
Gin was traded for slaves as well in the 19th century, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:10 | |
so gin was always seen as the evil drink. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:15 | |
Even Hogarth painted a series of pictures about drinking, | 0:11:15 | 0:11:20 | |
and Gin Lane - if you saw the illustration of Gin Lane by Hogarth, | 0:11:20 | 0:11:25 | |
it's a not a great scene, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
-it's not a, "Darling, shall we have a gin and tonic?" as it is today. -No! | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
Gin was not a great thing to be drinking in the 19th century, | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
or the 18th century. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:35 | |
So - we've got bottles dating to about 1820, 1850. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:41 | |
That one is worth about £40-£60, | 0:11:41 | 0:11:45 | |
that one is worth another £20-£30, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:49 | |
and these are worth 10, 15 each, something like that. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:53 | |
My recommendation would be to sell them as a group | 0:11:53 | 0:11:57 | |
and put an auction estimate of £80-£120 on them, | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
-something like that. -OK, thank you. | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
-How do you feel? Is that all right? -That's excellent. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
-It's better than £10, isn't it? -Definitely. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
So 30 years ago they paid 10, they're now worth 100, | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
-that's not a bad investment. -No, no, that's better than | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
-the Stock Exchange. -You need to go beachcombing! | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
-I certainly will! -See what else you can find. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
-Thank you very much indeed, James. -Well done. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
MUSIC: Message In A Bottle by The Police | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
Christina knows how to keep it simple, | 0:12:25 | 0:12:28 | |
as she uncovers a very special little party piece. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:30 | |
So, Kath, this little box is quite intriguing. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:35 | |
And I saw you in the queue and I had a little look at this, | 0:12:35 | 0:12:38 | |
and there's coronation commemorative wares | 0:12:38 | 0:12:41 | |
and then there's EXCITING coronation commemoration wares. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
I got quite excited about this. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:46 | |
Cos when you think of coronation commemoratives | 0:12:46 | 0:12:48 | |
you think of mugs - mass produced, | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
limited edition of 100,000, which isn't a very limited edition... | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
You don't think of little medallions like this. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
Was there a relative at the coronation in 1911? | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
I think it's possible, yes. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:02 | |
I think it was probably presented to a member of the family who went | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
-so that's where I think it came from. -I would agree. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:08 | |
It's intriguing in many respects. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
Let's take it out of its little box, | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
which I think may have been the original box. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
I think it might have had a fitted case originally, | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
but let's have a little look at it. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:17 | |
So we've got here | 0:13:17 | 0:13:18 | |
what I initially thought was a coin set into a mount, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:21 | |
but it's not, it's a little presentation medallion | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
and it says... | 0:13:23 | 0:13:24 | |
"Coronation Reception", in white enamel, "June 1911." | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
So it's the coronation of George V, | 0:13:27 | 0:13:30 | |
and inevitably you would have had a reception for heads of state, | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
for important dignitaries, | 0:13:33 | 0:13:35 | |
and I think that this was possibly given out | 0:13:35 | 0:13:37 | |
to somebody who went to that. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
-And the reason I say that is because it screams quality. -Yes. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
The fact that it has all this enamelling work to it | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
and these wonderful armorials here, | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
which unfortunately we haven't been able to trace, | 0:13:48 | 0:13:51 | |
but I think we could, given some more time. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
And also this wonderful little coronet surmount | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
which is set with these stones. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:58 | |
-It's really, really beautifully made. -Yes, it is. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:01 | |
And it doesn't surprise me that when I turn it over | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
and look at the back...there we go, we've got a wonderful mark there | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
for the company Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company Ltd. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
Now, they were brilliant makers | 0:14:11 | 0:14:13 | |
-and they had a royal warrant to obviously the King and Queen. -Right. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:17 | |
So this sort of quality I would expect to find of those makers. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
So a really, really beautiful thing. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
Although it looks gold... | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
-unfortunately it isn't! -It isn't. Never mind. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
And we've got a nice silver hallmark here, and we know it's silver | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
because it's got the standard sterling silver mark | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
-which is the lion passant. -Was it London? | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
It is, yes, London, which was where Goldsmiths and Silversmiths were based. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
And of course a contemporary hallmark for 1911 | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
which you would expect. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
And if only it could talk, it could tell us a few things. | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
-Can you imagine the gossip from that reception? -Yes, gosh! | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
-I wonder what it could tell us. -All the amazing things that went on. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:55 | |
-What everyone wore! -Yes, the costumes and outfits. | 0:14:55 | 0:15:00 | |
Absolutely, and if you think of the reception itself, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:02 | |
this piece was potentially quite an important part of that history. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
Yes, it is, isn't it? | 0:15:06 | 0:15:07 | |
Value-wise, at auction, | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
-I've not seen one of these sell in recent years. -Right. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:13 | |
We've seen them sell about 10 or 15 years ago for sort of £30-£40, | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
-and I would hope obviously that we can improve on that. -Yeah. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
-I would like to put a conservative estimate maybe of £60-£80. -OK. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
I think it would definitely appeal to | 0:15:24 | 0:15:26 | |
-a royal memorabilia collector... -Yes, definitely. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
..and I it's quite an interesting piece. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:30 | |
-It's quite unusual. -It is quite unusual. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:32 | |
So I think £60-£80, | 0:15:32 | 0:15:34 | |
with a reserve of £50, | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
and I think hopefully | 0:15:37 | 0:15:38 | |
it will fly away for you. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
-Thank you. -Thanks so much for bringing it in. -Thank you very much. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
Before we head off to auction, there is something I would like to show you. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:49 | |
The 18th century was the age of invention, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:02 | |
discovery and expansion | 0:16:02 | 0:16:04 | |
on a level that had never been seen before. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
So it's no wonder that it became known as the Age of Enlightenment. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:10 | |
In Birmingham, one of the leading lights of the British Enlightenment | 0:16:13 | 0:16:16 | |
lived here at Soho House in Handsworth. | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
When Matthew Boulton moved to Soho House in 1766, | 0:16:24 | 0:16:28 | |
it was at the centre of a vast 200-acre estate | 0:16:28 | 0:16:32 | |
overlooking his famous Soho Manufactory, | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
the most complete manufacturer of metals in England. | 0:16:35 | 0:16:39 | |
It was just the first of a long line of visionary | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
accomplishments that he achieved, | 0:16:42 | 0:16:44 | |
giving him international fame during his lifetime | 0:16:44 | 0:16:46 | |
and lasting fame in the history books | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
as one of the founding fathers of the Industrial Revolution. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:53 | |
Boulton inherited his father's buckle and button business in 1759. | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
And within a year, he had started building his great, | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
one-stop Soho Manufactory | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
that was to revolutionise production methods. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
Within a few years, it was turning out jewellery, coins, medals, | 0:17:13 | 0:17:17 | |
decorative objects, fashionable ormolu | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
and of course silver tableware - | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
not to mention Sheffield plate - | 0:17:22 | 0:17:23 | |
and exporting them all over the world. | 0:17:23 | 0:17:25 | |
And here is a wonderful marble bust of Matthew Boulton himself. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
But this is a Boulton masterpiece. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
Boulton's greatest skill was as an entrepreneur. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
He could spot talent and an opportunity at distance. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
He didn't need to think twice, he struck when the iron was hot. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:44 | |
And his greatest partnership was with James Watt, | 0:17:44 | 0:17:46 | |
the Scottish engineer and inventor. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
Recognising the potential in Watt's early designs, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:55 | |
Boulton brought him to Birmingham, | 0:17:55 | 0:17:56 | |
and the resulting Boulton and Watt steam engines | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
became the driving force for much of the emerging | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
Industrial Revolution. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
Boulton's wide-ranging and prodigious talents | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
attracted fellow enquiring minds. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
And amongst them, they managed to: | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
discover oxygen, | 0:18:14 | 0:18:16 | |
harness the power of steam... | 0:18:16 | 0:18:19 | |
..pioneer the theory of evolution... | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
..and revolutionise the British pottery trade. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
In 1766, this elite group of friends | 0:18:31 | 0:18:34 | |
founded the Lunar Society, | 0:18:34 | 0:18:36 | |
with the intention of meeting each month | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
by the light of the full moon. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
Alongside Boulton were some of the leading thinkers of the day - | 0:18:41 | 0:18:45 | |
James Watt, | 0:18:45 | 0:18:46 | |
Erasmus Darwin, | 0:18:46 | 0:18:48 | |
Joseph Priestley | 0:18:48 | 0:18:50 | |
and Josiah Wedgwood. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:51 | |
To tell me more about this extraordinary group | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
is Professor Jennifer Tann. | 0:18:56 | 0:18:57 | |
So how and why did the Lunar Society start? | 0:18:58 | 0:19:02 | |
The Lunar Society was a group of friends. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:06 | |
It started with just three or four people | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
who were local to Matthew Boulton, in this place. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:13 | |
They were all hugely intelligent | 0:19:13 | 0:19:15 | |
in different trades and so on, | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
and they liked being sociable. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:21 | |
The 18th century was a coffee house society. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:25 | |
And it was a society where their business papers | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
were full of personal reminiscences as well. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
Much more fun to work on than later times. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
So, apart from their obvious intelligence and curiosity, | 0:19:33 | 0:19:37 | |
what sort of people were they? What sort of chaps were they? | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
Remembering that some of them were Nonconformists, | 0:19:40 | 0:19:42 | |
so they didn't belong to the established Church of England, | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
so they couldn't have gone to university, | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
to Oxford and Cambridge. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:48 | |
Er, others were sons of tradespeople, | 0:19:48 | 0:19:53 | |
like Matthew Boulton himself. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:55 | |
But it was a time when people could be very upwardly mobile socially. | 0:19:55 | 0:20:00 | |
And Boulton opened this house | 0:20:00 | 0:20:04 | |
to visitors from overseas | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
and, er, the nobility from here. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
He courted them for his own business. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
-Sure. They were clients? -Yes, indeed. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
But he also loved it. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
They played, they had fun. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:19 | |
Sure. And bounced ideas, as you say, off of each other. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
-Indeed, I think they BUILT on the ideas of each other. -Yes. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
There was a little bit of teasing about competition | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
between Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, and Matthew Boulton, | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
because Boulton wanted to make cameo brooches. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
And he said something like, | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
"Well, I think I might become a potter, too." | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
And Wedgwood sort of said, "What?!" | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
But this didn't happen, and they remained the best of friends. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:45 | |
Sure. All very successful men. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:46 | |
So, set the scene, OK? Let's say the Lunar Society are meeting - | 0:20:46 | 0:20:49 | |
it's not quite the full moon today, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
but paint the picture of supper time here. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
Well, they'd start about two o'clock in the afternoon. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:56 | |
So they'd arrive in daylight in their carriages, | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
and would travel really some distance - | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
Erasmus Darwin came from Lichfield, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
which would have taken a while to get here. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
But they rolled up about that time. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:08 | |
Dinner was a sort of three o'clock in the afternoon onwards kind of meal. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
Lasting right through to the early hours... | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
I think the "onwards" was the operative word. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
-Lots of fine wine. -Yes, | 0:21:17 | 0:21:18 | |
Boulton had a wonderful cellar. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
But they'd sit round here and share ideas, | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
building on, "Have you heard about this? What about the other?" | 0:21:23 | 0:21:27 | |
For instance, when the Montgolfiers in France sent up the balloon, | 0:21:27 | 0:21:31 | |
Erasmus Darwin tried to send Matthew Boulton a balloon from Lichfield | 0:21:31 | 0:21:36 | |
but it got blown some distance to Hagley Hall instead. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
Fabulous, really, isn't it, to think that, you know, | 0:21:39 | 0:21:41 | |
some of the discussions and inventions that took place | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
from here have really shaped Britain's history in some way. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
Yes, it has. It's made a huge contribution. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
There were lots of other coffee clubs, | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
but nothing quite like the Lunar Society, | 0:21:53 | 0:21:56 | |
which was deliberately kept informal, | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
no minutes, | 0:21:58 | 0:22:00 | |
no membership list, | 0:22:00 | 0:22:01 | |
nothing. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:02 | |
Just a network of friends who had fun, | 0:22:02 | 0:22:06 | |
who played, | 0:22:06 | 0:22:07 | |
who sparked off each other intellectually. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
And had huge, huge curiosity | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
about life and the external environment. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
They were really extraordinary people. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
And when Boulton died and it had really fizzled out, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:23 | |
and some of them had died already and left the area and so on, | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
it just got left as a sort of... | 0:22:27 | 0:22:30 | |
-..episode in time. -Which is lovely, isn't it? -Yes. -It really is. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:35 | |
Since those heady days nearly 250 years ago, | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
Soho House has been a vicarage, | 0:22:44 | 0:22:47 | |
a girls' school, a hotel and a police hostel. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
But thankfully, it's now been returned to its former glory, | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
when it entertained a group of friends | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
who would help shape our future. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
And Josiah Wedgwood summed up the Lunar Society by saying, | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
"We were living in the age of miracles, | 0:23:01 | 0:23:03 | |
"in which anything could be achieved." | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
This gallery is a perfect example of industry and art | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
working together in harmony. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
All the elements are here creating a dynamic, | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
and when you put them together, it really is something special - | 0:23:23 | 0:23:26 | |
the wonderful vaulted iron girders here, | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
natural daylight flooding through the ceiling, | 0:23:28 | 0:23:31 | |
lighting up all the objects, | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
and of course the original gaslights and this wonderful balcony, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
so you can see everything going on below. | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
And talking of visual treats, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:40 | |
it's now time for our first visit to the auction room. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
Well, it's another fine mix of items we're taking with us, | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
starting with William's Laurel & Hardy signatures | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
and their airtight provenance. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:56 | |
Someone in Kath's family | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
was a guest at King George V's coronation reception. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
If only we knew who - but all royal memorabilia IS highly collectable. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:08 | |
Mary-Ann's dazzling jewels from down under... | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
and will Raymond's bottles, | 0:24:14 | 0:24:16 | |
with their mysterious stories of far-flung oceans | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
and shipwrecks bewitch the bidders? | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
We've travelled to the market town of Stourbridge | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
and Fieldings Auctioneers, | 0:24:31 | 0:24:33 | |
where we're always assured of a warm welcome from the proprietor, | 0:24:33 | 0:24:37 | |
our very own Nick Davies. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
The great thing about the antiques market is | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
it's all about fads and trends - | 0:24:42 | 0:24:43 | |
getting in at the right time, and making that profit. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
What's hot right now? What does everyone want around Birmingham? | 0:24:46 | 0:24:50 | |
Well, the word everyone's using at the moment is "vintage". | 0:24:50 | 0:24:52 | |
So '50s, '60s, that type of thing's very popular, | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
especially with young professionals. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
We have a couple of design sales a year to incorporate that. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
That's what you're doing. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:02 | |
So you're encouraging the younger buyers in? | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
Absolutely, yeah - got to have fresh blood, keep it going. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
Course you have. Cos they grew up with that, | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
-so they're going to want a piece of it back. -Nostalgia always sells. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
Well, talking about nostalgia, great comedy double acts, | 0:25:11 | 0:25:15 | |
Laurel & Hardy - that's proper nostalgia, isn't it? | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
Proper nostalgia, proper slapstick. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:19 | |
One of the best. Two of the best! | 0:25:19 | 0:25:22 | |
-Now, this belongs to William. He paid £120 for this. -Right. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:24 | |
We've got it valued at 200-300. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
I think that's about right. I don't see there's a problem with it. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:29 | |
-Will we get 200-300? -I've sold them before, | 0:25:29 | 0:25:32 | |
I've got another couple actually in this sale. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:34 | |
And are these better than your other examples | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
-because they're on a little programme card? -They are. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
The others are on little bits of paper, so that always helps. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:41 | |
Good, good. Because we don't want someone buying the other lots first | 0:25:41 | 0:25:44 | |
and then running out of money to get to this one. | 0:25:44 | 0:25:46 | |
Does this one come up first? | 0:25:46 | 0:25:48 | |
-This one does come up first, actually. -It's sold. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:51 | |
For how much, we don't know. | 0:25:51 | 0:25:52 | |
Whatever you do, don't go away - this could get quite exciting. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
And don't forget, there's the auctioneer's commission to consider. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
Here at Fieldings, the seller's commission is 18%. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:04 | |
Did you know, there were two other lots in the sale room | 0:26:05 | 0:26:08 | |
-both with Laurel & Hardy signatures? -Really? | 0:26:08 | 0:26:10 | |
Yeah, so there are three lots of signatures here. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
Now, I had a chat to Nick at the preview day yesterday | 0:26:13 | 0:26:15 | |
and he said your lot is the best. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
-It is. -It really is, yes. The others are on scraps of paper. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
Yours is on something quite official. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:22 | |
Can I ask why you're selling? | 0:26:22 | 0:26:24 | |
I've got a few jobs on my car to be done. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:26 | |
-A few jobs on the garden? -On the car. -On the car? -Yes. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:29 | |
Make it last another 12 months. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
-Oh, yeah. You need your wheels, don't you? -You do, yeah. -OK. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:35 | |
We'll make sure that happens. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
The signatures are going under the hammer right now. Let's see how they do. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:41 | |
284, the Laurel & Hardy programme. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:45 | |
This is nice, from the Wolverhampton Hippodrome. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:47 | |
£230 takes the underbidders out, just above bottom estimate, 230. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:52 | |
Couple of people interested. Do I see 240 anywhere else in the room? | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
We're at 240. 250? | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
You're out and done with 240 in the room now. 250 anywhere else? | 0:26:57 | 0:27:01 | |
At £240 for the Laurel & Hardy, | 0:27:01 | 0:27:03 | |
at 240 all done... | 0:27:03 | 0:27:05 | |
-£240. You're happy with that. -I'm happy, yeah. -I'm happy with that. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:10 | |
-Thank you. -Well done. -Thank you so much for bringing that in. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
It's put a smile on everyone's face - the greatest comedy duo ever. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:17 | |
William doubled his money, and he's very happy with that. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
Is this the beginning of a winning streak? | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
..620, all done? | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
Mary-Ann, you inherited these, what, 15 years ago? | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
-Yeah, I did. -Never worn them. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:30 | |
Never even tried them on? Did the girls dress up and try them on? | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
-No. -No? Aww! | 0:27:33 | 0:27:35 | |
Look, hopefully somebody will today. Someone's going to buy them. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:38 | |
Let's put them to the test - | 0:27:38 | 0:27:40 | |
they're going under the hammer. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
£200, starts the underbidders at £200. Do I see 210? 220, 230, | 0:27:42 | 0:27:47 | |
240, 250... | 0:27:47 | 0:27:48 | |
260, says no. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:50 | |
250 in the room, 260 anywhere else? | 0:27:50 | 0:27:53 | |
-Right, we're in... -£250, in the room at 250. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
260 anywhere else? At £250, seated in the room... | 0:27:55 | 0:27:59 | |
HAMMER FALLS | 0:27:59 | 0:28:00 | |
-What did you think of that, girls? -Was that good? | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
-Good? -Yeah? -It's quick, isn't it? -Good? | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
-Thumbs up? -Well done. -Job well done. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
I'm sure that'll pay for a wonderful family event. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
Going under the hammer right now - | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
four Dutch gin bottles belonging to Raymond, and the gin has gone | 0:28:15 | 0:28:18 | |
and there wasn't even a message in the bottle, was there? | 0:28:18 | 0:28:20 | |
-No, there wasn't. -Nevertheless, nice-looking bottles. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
I like the square ones - quite rare to this country. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
Why are you selling these? | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
Well, we had them in our family since 1980 | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
and we bought them in Guyana, in Georgetown, | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
and we just wanted a little clearout. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:35 | |
OK. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:36 | |
I just thought, as a sort of a prop, you're a chef... | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
-Yes... -..have them on the kitchen shelf somewhere, looks good. | 0:28:39 | 0:28:42 | |
-Well, we've got a few more bottles. -Put some olive oil in there? | 0:28:42 | 0:28:46 | |
-Genius! -There you go. -I don't like food. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 | |
You can tell! | 0:28:49 | 0:28:50 | |
Here we go, we're putting it to the test. This is it. | 0:28:53 | 0:28:56 | |
£80, we're off and running at £80. 85 anywhere else in the room? | 0:28:58 | 0:29:02 | |
£80 on commission, 85, 90, 5. | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
You sure? £90 on commission. 95 anywhere else? | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
-Well, they've gone, Raymond. -95 anywhere else? | 0:29:08 | 0:29:10 | |
On £90 on commission, the four bottles are going to sell at 90... | 0:29:10 | 0:29:13 | |
95, he's back. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:14 | |
You're out now. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
95, he's back. You're out at 100. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:19 | |
Does anybody else want to jump in at £100? | 0:29:19 | 0:29:21 | |
We're £95. All sure and finished at £95 for the bottles...? | 0:29:21 | 0:29:25 | |
-Yes, £95. Well done. Put it there. -Thank you very much. | 0:29:28 | 0:29:30 | |
-Job done as well. -Thank you very much. -Great. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:33 | |
Now, that proves there's a buyer for everything. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:38 | |
I'm sure there'll be a good reception for our next item. | 0:29:38 | 0:29:41 | |
Kath's coronation reception brooch | 0:29:41 | 0:29:42 | |
is just about to go under the hammer. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
It's seen the light of day! We've rescued it. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:47 | |
Now, why has it been in that cupboard? | 0:29:47 | 0:29:50 | |
It's not something I'd wear. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:51 | |
No. I know how easy it is to put things in the cupboard | 0:29:51 | 0:29:53 | |
when you don't really want them | 0:29:53 | 0:29:55 | |
and you forget about them over the years, don't you? | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
Yes, I just felt it would be nice to see | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
if I could find a good buyer for it, somebody might want to buy it | 0:30:00 | 0:30:02 | |
-and add it to their collection of royal commemoration things. -Sure. | 0:30:02 | 0:30:06 | |
-And there are collectors out there for that. -Oh, hugely, yeah. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
Coronation and royal memorabilia is a huge collectors' field | 0:30:09 | 0:30:12 | |
so hopefully... | 0:30:12 | 0:30:14 | |
It's been on the internet so hopefully it's been viewed | 0:30:14 | 0:30:16 | |
by a good wide audience as well so hopefully it'll sell well. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:19 | |
-We're just about to find out. Are you ready for this? -Yes. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:22 | |
It's going under the hammer now. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:24 | |
A silver gilt enamel George V and Queen Mary coronation pendant. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:27 | |
Really sweet little brooch there, bids with me at 40 and 45 | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
and 50 I look for in the room. 45 with me and the lady's bid at 50. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:34 | |
-It's gone. -Brilliant! -50, 55 anywhere else? At £50, 55 anywhere? | 0:30:34 | 0:30:38 | |
Come on, come on! | 0:30:38 | 0:30:39 | |
She'll take it with her at £50 if we're all sure and done... | 0:30:39 | 0:30:43 | |
-£50. -There we go. Somebody wanted it. -You've done it! | 0:30:44 | 0:30:49 | |
It's not going back in the cupboard, that's a good thing. | 0:30:49 | 0:30:52 | |
-And thanks for bringing it in. -Thank you. | 0:30:52 | 0:30:54 | |
Yes, it was a really interesting thing. | 0:30:54 | 0:30:56 | |
At £200 all done. | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
We all dream of finding something in an auction, | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
buying it for next to nothing and selling for an absolute fortune, | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
that sleeper, or finding something in a car-boot sale, | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
the garden shed, or digging something up in the garden. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:16 | |
For most of us, that is a dream, | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
but for the lucky few, that dream has come true. Take a look at this. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:22 | |
BEEPING | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
Let's face it - | 0:31:33 | 0:31:34 | |
people that use metal detectors get a tough time from the rest of us, | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
and I know this for fact because my dad had one of these in the '70s | 0:31:37 | 0:31:41 | |
and we all took the mickey out of him. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:44 | |
But for the lucky few, the last laugh is on us, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
because back in 2009, in a muddy field in Staffordshire, | 0:31:48 | 0:31:52 | |
Terry Herbert struck gold, | 0:31:52 | 0:31:54 | |
and I mean he literally struck gold. Not one piece, not ten pieces, | 0:31:54 | 0:31:59 | |
but hundreds of pieces! | 0:31:59 | 0:32:00 | |
Terry had lifted the lid on a treasure that had lain undisturbed | 0:32:02 | 0:32:06 | |
for over 1,300 years. | 0:32:06 | 0:32:08 | |
Within days, a professional archaeological dig had been set up. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:15 | |
Soon, Terry's 300 pieces of gold | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
had turned into a staggering 3,000 individual pieces. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:21 | |
It was the largest haul and the most valuable haul | 0:32:21 | 0:32:24 | |
of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:27 | |
Dating from the sixth century, | 0:32:29 | 0:32:30 | |
these glittering Anglo-Saxon jewels were from the Dark Ages, | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
when Britain was made up of several warring kingdoms, | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
a brutal and bloodthirsty epoch. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:40 | |
STEEL CLANGS AND MEN SHOUT | 0:32:42 | 0:32:44 | |
The Staffordshire Hoard, as it became known, | 0:32:44 | 0:32:46 | |
made headlines around the world. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
The biggest haul ever found of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver, | 0:32:50 | 0:32:54 | |
shedding new light on one of most mysterious times in British history. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
..treasure that's been lost for more than 1,000 years. | 0:32:57 | 0:32:59 | |
There's so much gold, it'll be worth millions. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
When the treasure went on show at the museum, | 0:33:02 | 0:33:05 | |
a record-breaking 40,000 people came to see it. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:09 | |
Absolutely fantastic. It hasn't disappointed one little bit. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:13 | |
-It's been brilliant. -I'm a jeweller, | 0:33:13 | 0:33:15 | |
so it's quite a thrill to have a look at it, to be honest. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:18 | |
The treasure was valued at £3.3 million, | 0:33:19 | 0:33:23 | |
which was shared between the owner of the land on which it was found | 0:33:23 | 0:33:27 | |
and a delighted Terry. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:28 | |
Talk me through exactly what went on that day. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:33 | |
I got out into the field about quarter past 11. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:36 | |
I did a bit of metal detecting. | 0:33:37 | 0:33:39 | |
Nothing was coming up so I had my little saying... | 0:33:39 | 0:33:43 | |
You're got a mantra, have you? What is it? | 0:33:43 | 0:33:47 | |
"Spirit of yesteryears, take me where the coins appears." | 0:33:47 | 0:33:50 | |
-But why on this day I changed it, I still don't know. -Changed it to what? | 0:33:50 | 0:33:54 | |
"Spirits of yesteryears, take me where the gold appears." | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:33:57 | 0:33:58 | |
-Really? -And within half an hour I suddenly found this piece. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:04 | |
I thought it was off a jewellery box or something. But when I looked | 0:34:04 | 0:34:08 | |
at it with my magnifying glass I thought, "Could be a piece of gold." | 0:34:08 | 0:34:12 | |
So that went in my pocket and I carried on. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:16 | |
-The next thing to come off was a pommel off a sword. -Wow! | 0:34:16 | 0:34:22 | |
On that day I found 25-50 items. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
But I didn't realise how much was on that field. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:29 | |
That was the big shock, that was. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
Does this bring back lots of memories coming in here today? | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
-It's been a few years for you. -It has, yeah. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:37 | |
But it's nice to see what I'd actually found. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:43 | |
Terry wasn't the only one excited by the find. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:48 | |
For the museum's archaeology department and its curator, | 0:34:48 | 0:34:52 | |
David Symonds, it was as if all their Christmases had come at once. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:56 | |
It's absolutely astonishing. | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
I never, ever in my career thought I'd be holding this kind of treasure. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:02 | |
To think that these are 1,300 years old is unbelievable. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:07 | |
What was it like when you realised the true extent of the hoard? | 0:35:08 | 0:35:11 | |
I think the only word is unbelievable. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:14 | |
I mean literally unbelievable. | 0:35:14 | 0:35:15 | |
Because nothing like this had been found before | 0:35:15 | 0:35:18 | |
and you just looked at it and more and more of the most incredible | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
items appeared and you could not believe what you were looking at. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
When you look at Anglo-Saxon Britain you think of the Dark Ages and a | 0:35:25 | 0:35:28 | |
sort of brutal feudal society but you don't necessarily think of | 0:35:28 | 0:35:32 | |
exquisite craftsmanship and I have been blown away by looking at this. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:36 | |
Especially the filigree work. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:37 | |
They must have had wonderful workshops back then in order | 0:35:37 | 0:35:40 | |
to twist these fine threads of gold, weave them together and plait them. | 0:35:40 | 0:35:44 | |
The workmanship is incredible but I think the thing about | 0:35:44 | 0:35:48 | |
dark ages is they're only dark | 0:35:48 | 0:35:49 | |
because we don't have the written history. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
It doesn't mean the people weren't capable of producing the most | 0:35:51 | 0:35:54 | |
incredible things like this. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:56 | |
But, yes, the workmanship is literally astounding. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:59 | |
And just talk me through the bulk of the hoard. | 0:35:59 | 0:36:01 | |
Was it weapons or things to be worn? | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
That was one of the shocks with the hoard | 0:36:04 | 0:36:07 | |
because it's overwhelmingly what we recognise as military kit. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
But it's not straight pieces of military equipment. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:15 | |
For example, a lot of the things we see here. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:17 | |
This is a reproduction Anglo-Saxon sword. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:20 | |
If you look at the handle you'll find we've got a pommel cap | 0:36:21 | 0:36:24 | |
and these pieces here are pommel caps. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
You can see they've all been torn off the sword. | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
We don't have the sword blades. That's the really interesting thing. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
The good quality Anglo-Saxon sword blade was probably | 0:36:33 | 0:36:36 | |
worth as much as the gold on the handle. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:38 | |
So it's very interesting they're not there. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:40 | |
-So it was just the gold ripped off? -Yep. | 0:36:40 | 0:36:42 | |
That's what makes me thing it's a treasure find. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
It's actually the gold and silver they're interested in. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:47 | |
-And I think this lot was destined for the melting pot. -You do? | 0:36:47 | 0:36:50 | |
I don't think anybody cared how lovely it was. | 0:36:50 | 0:36:53 | |
Talk me through some of the pieces anyway. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:55 | |
I'll start you with one pommel cap over here. | 0:36:55 | 0:36:57 | |
This is the gold and garnet work complete with the gold pins | 0:36:57 | 0:37:01 | |
-that fixed it on. -Gosh. I'm surprised they're still intact. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:06 | |
We're very lucky with this bit. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:08 | |
-If I just move this in the light. -It does catch the light beautifully. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:11 | |
When you see that shine you think | 0:37:11 | 0:37:13 | |
they must have looked magnificent with this kind of kit on. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:16 | |
It's very intriguing because if you notice in this piece, | 0:37:16 | 0:37:18 | |
-you see that stamped gold foil in the middle? -Yes, it's cross-hatched. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:22 | |
That's what's making these other little garnets shine so much. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:26 | |
It's very much as if you're making a bicycle reflector. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
You have to have something shiny behind the red glass | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
so the light goes through and then shines back again. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:34 | |
One suggestion is it's meant to look like an eye and the shape is right. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:38 | |
It could be, couldn't it? | 0:37:38 | 0:37:39 | |
This is another really intriguing piece. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:42 | |
If you look carefully you'll see at one end that it's meant | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
to have a little snake head. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
Oh, yes. I can see that. | 0:37:47 | 0:37:48 | |
So the whole thing is the interlaced body of a snake. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:51 | |
-Yes! -We've seen nothing like these before. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:54 | |
I'm not an expert but I'd say the people that owned this | 0:37:54 | 0:37:57 | |
sort of thing were the upper echelon of society? | 0:37:57 | 0:38:00 | |
You're absolutely looking at elite warriors. | 0:38:00 | 0:38:03 | |
If I'm the king of one of the local Anglo-Saxon kingdoms | 0:38:03 | 0:38:06 | |
I want really good warriors around me | 0:38:06 | 0:38:07 | |
because they are the men who will help me keep power and basically | 0:38:07 | 0:38:11 | |
beat up my neighbours until they give me treasure to go away. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:13 | |
The best description I've heard of one of these type of people | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
are that they're the psychopathic peacocks around the throne. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
And you have to imagine them | 0:38:20 | 0:38:22 | |
decked out in all this finery going into battle looking like this. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:25 | |
People sometimes say, "Is this parade armour or parade weaponry?" No. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:30 | |
This is deliberately there to show how important you are | 0:38:30 | 0:38:33 | |
and how dangerous you are. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:34 | |
This is a once-in-a-lifetime find for Terry but for you | 0:38:34 | 0:38:39 | |
-and many other academics this is the rest of your life, isn't it? -It is. | 0:38:39 | 0:38:43 | |
It's fair to say it changed my life in the past five years | 0:38:43 | 0:38:47 | |
and I know that long after I'm gone from the museum | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
people will be arguing about this find. | 0:38:50 | 0:38:52 | |
30, 40 years down the line those arguments will be going on | 0:38:52 | 0:38:55 | |
and it's wonderful to know you've been part of that story. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
What does it feel like to be the person | 0:39:00 | 0:39:02 | |
responsible for all of the experts all over the world | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
in Anglo-Saxon artefacts to come here | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
and pit their wits against each other and look at this in awe? | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
It feels fantastic. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
To find something like this... Cos it's gone on display | 0:39:14 | 0:39:18 | |
-so everybody in the world now can see it. -Exactly. | 0:39:18 | 0:39:21 | |
-Do you think there's a lot more out there still? -Yes. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:24 | |
Around the UK there's got to be another one of these somewhere. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
There's got to be. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:28 | |
-Are you still actively looking? -I'm still looking. Still looking. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:32 | |
# Like finding a needle in a haystack | 0:39:37 | 0:39:40 | |
# Like finding a needle in a haystack | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
# Yeah, yeah, shadoop. # | 0:39:43 | 0:39:46 | |
Welcome back to Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery, | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
where our valuation day is in full swing. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:51 | |
Hundreds of people are turning up throughout the day. | 0:39:51 | 0:39:53 | |
We've taken over the Industrial Gallery, | 0:39:53 | 0:39:56 | |
which is housing our queue. | 0:39:56 | 0:39:57 | |
Hundreds of people waiting to be filmed. | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
-You having a good time, everyone? -ALL: Yeah! -Good luck later on. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:03 | |
Anyway, it's lights, camera, action | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
in the Rotunda Gallery through there. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:07 | |
Let's catch up with our experts | 0:40:07 | 0:40:09 | |
and see what else we can take off to auction. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:11 | |
# Like finding a needle in a haystack. # | 0:40:12 | 0:40:14 | |
And after all that dazzling gold it's a relief to see some silver. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:19 | |
When I came here this morning I really wanted to see a nice | 0:40:19 | 0:40:22 | |
couple of bits of Birmingham silver. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
It's such a great historical assay office. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
And you haven't brought me Birmingham silver, | 0:40:27 | 0:40:29 | |
you brought me Sheffield silver. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:32 | |
Sorry. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:33 | |
Not to worry. I'm not disappointed. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:35 | |
But we can tell, we've got the hallmark | 0:40:35 | 0:40:37 | |
and the maker's name, which is George Howson. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:40 | |
"GH" for George Howson. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:42 | |
We've then got a crown, which is the symbol of the assay office | 0:40:42 | 0:40:45 | |
of Sheffield. | 0:40:45 | 0:40:47 | |
We've got a lion passant mark, which is the standard for sterling silver. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:51 | |
And then we've got a little letter which is the letter Y, | 0:40:51 | 0:40:54 | |
which in this case is for 1916. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
-Right, OK. -So a lovely pair of silver candlesticks. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:01 | |
Tell me how you've come by them. How have they come into your possession? | 0:41:01 | 0:41:05 | |
When my mum passed away I inherited a few things | 0:41:05 | 0:41:09 | |
myself and my brother sort of split between us. | 0:41:09 | 0:41:12 | |
I particularly liked the look of these so that's why I chose them. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:15 | |
OK, so what is it that drew you to them? | 0:41:15 | 0:41:17 | |
I think it's the shape. They're quite simple. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:19 | |
They're not too elaborate. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:20 | |
They're just very stylish and I just like the look of them. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:24 | |
They're very elegant, and I think that's... | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
so typical of that time. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:29 | |
If you think about that First World War era | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
this is very much what we call the Adam revival style. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:36 | |
Adam was really an 18th-century furniture designer | 0:41:36 | 0:41:40 | |
and we often think of Adam interiors which were very classical. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:44 | |
He often used harebell and swag details in his design. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:49 | |
And these are hugely in that style. Very restrained yet elegant | 0:41:49 | 0:41:54 | |
on this wonderful plinth base. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:55 | |
You can almost see statues standing on it, can't you? | 0:41:55 | 0:41:58 | |
It's quite monumental in a way. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
-Timeless, really, aren't they? -Yeah, I'd say so. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:04 | |
The only thing really that's a bit of a downside about them is... | 0:42:04 | 0:42:07 | |
-A bit skew-whiff. -A bit skew-whiff, sadly. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:10 | |
So we've got one that's doing a bit that way | 0:42:10 | 0:42:12 | |
and one that's doing a bit that way. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
They look like they're having a bit of a dance. | 0:42:14 | 0:42:16 | |
Have they been damaged in your possession? | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
They've been packed away for a few years now. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:22 | |
-So it may have just happened at a wild dinner party? -Possibly. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:25 | |
A bit of a while ago possibly. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:29 | |
If we look at the construction | 0:42:29 | 0:42:30 | |
we can see why this has happened, as well. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:33 | |
When you look at silver candlesticks we turn them | 0:42:33 | 0:42:35 | |
upside down to see whether they're solid silver or filled. | 0:42:35 | 0:42:39 | |
We can tell by looking at the bottom, we can see that | 0:42:39 | 0:42:42 | |
this metal plate is actually holding in the fill. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:45 | |
Either plaster or wax or a composite. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:48 | |
If they'd been solid silver they would have been worth | 0:42:48 | 0:42:50 | |
an awful lot more. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:52 | |
-Yeah. -But we're looking somewhere in the region of £200-300. | 0:42:52 | 0:42:57 | |
With a reserve possibly at 180. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:00 | |
-Right. -How would you feel about that? | 0:43:00 | 0:43:02 | |
-I think I'd be quite pleased with that. -Yeah? | 0:43:02 | 0:43:05 | |
-That would tie in more or less with what I was thinking. -Super. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:08 | |
And we'll hope that between now | 0:43:08 | 0:43:10 | |
and the auction silver price starts going up a little bit. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:13 | |
-Definitely. Thanks a lot. -Thank you. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:15 | |
Mm, a very nice pair. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:18 | |
But James can double that with a quad. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:21 | |
Andrew, when I saw these in the lines outside, | 0:43:23 | 0:43:25 | |
you'd been queueing up nice and early. | 0:43:25 | 0:43:28 | |
And I just fell in love with them. | 0:43:28 | 0:43:30 | |
A lot of this business that we're in is all about value | 0:43:30 | 0:43:33 | |
and really there's far more to it than that. | 0:43:33 | 0:43:37 | |
It's personal attraction really and I just love them. | 0:43:37 | 0:43:40 | |
It reminds me of times in Africa and the animals I love to watch. | 0:43:40 | 0:43:45 | |
For me, I did a basic animal tracking course when I was out there. | 0:43:45 | 0:43:48 | |
It just brought back happy memories. So, what memories are they for you? | 0:43:48 | 0:43:52 | |
Where did they come from? | 0:43:52 | 0:43:53 | |
I purchased them about 15 years ago at a car boot. | 0:43:53 | 0:43:56 | |
And I just liked them, like you said. | 0:43:56 | 0:43:58 | |
Other people have looked at them and seem attracted to them as a group. | 0:43:58 | 0:44:01 | |
-And they're so well modelled. -The casting is brilliant. | 0:44:01 | 0:44:04 | |
-The great thing is that these are cast in solid bronze. -Yeah. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:08 | |
-And they weigh a ton, don't they? -Yeah. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
When I first saw that | 0:44:11 | 0:44:12 | |
and picked it up I was shocked at how heavy it was. | 0:44:12 | 0:44:15 | |
Most of the modern things like this that we see today are a bronze | 0:44:15 | 0:44:20 | |
-and resin mix. -Yeah. Some are lead-filled, as well. | 0:44:20 | 0:44:23 | |
Some are lead-filled but that's as heavy as anything you'll find. | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
Really, you've got a lot of scrap bronze there | 0:44:26 | 0:44:29 | |
if anyone wants to melt it down, which would be horrific. | 0:44:29 | 0:44:32 | |
But there we go. They're modern. There's not a lot of age to them. | 0:44:32 | 0:44:36 | |
-Yeah. -They're probably, 20, 30, 40 years old. Something like that. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:40 | |
They could have been made in Africa | 0:44:40 | 0:44:42 | |
but they're not traditional African works of art. | 0:44:42 | 0:44:46 | |
We turn one over, we've got a mark underneath. | 0:44:46 | 0:44:48 | |
Which is a very modern looking mark, as well. | 0:44:48 | 0:44:52 | |
But basically, they're post-war. | 0:44:52 | 0:44:54 | |
-So why are they here? -We're selling the house at the moment | 0:44:54 | 0:44:57 | |
and downsizing, like a lot of people. | 0:44:57 | 0:44:58 | |
And we don't really know what to do with them now. | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
Well, I think they should make £60-100 at auction. | 0:45:01 | 0:45:05 | |
I would hope they'll make the top end. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
-Around £100 or so. What did you pay at the car boot? -30. | 0:45:08 | 0:45:11 | |
-You've done all right. -We liked them for 15 years so £30 over 15 years... | 0:45:11 | 0:45:16 | |
Not bad, is it? | 0:45:16 | 0:45:18 | |
I look at him and I think, "What would I give?" £30 for him. | 0:45:18 | 0:45:21 | |
So you think 30, 60, 90 and a little one an extra tenner. Should be £100. | 0:45:21 | 0:45:27 | |
-Shall we say £60 on the lot as a reserve? -Yep, that sounds fine. | 0:45:27 | 0:45:31 | |
Take your little pod of hippos to the auction. | 0:45:31 | 0:45:33 | |
Lovely to see you. Thanks so much for bringing them. You made my day. | 0:45:33 | 0:45:36 | |
-I love them. -Good, great. | 0:45:36 | 0:45:38 | |
Thank you. | 0:45:38 | 0:45:39 | |
# Am I a toy or am I a treasure? # | 0:45:39 | 0:45:45 | |
Our experts really do have their work cut out today. | 0:45:47 | 0:45:50 | |
Hundreds of people are here. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:51 | |
It looks like all of Birmingham and the surrounding areas have | 0:45:51 | 0:45:54 | |
turned up, laden with their unwanted treasures. That's caught my eye. | 0:45:54 | 0:45:58 | |
-What's your name? -Karen. | 0:45:58 | 0:45:59 | |
-Karen, are you a local lady? -No, I'm from Coventry. | 0:45:59 | 0:46:02 | |
-Have you come for the day? -Yep. -Bless you. | 0:46:02 | 0:46:04 | |
Can I have a look at this? | 0:46:04 | 0:46:05 | |
Because just down the road in Stourbridge, that was really | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
the centre of glass-making in this country back in the 18th century, | 0:46:09 | 0:46:13 | |
second to Bohemia, | 0:46:13 | 0:46:14 | |
when they made things like this. | 0:46:14 | 0:46:16 | |
Little paperweights. | 0:46:16 | 0:46:18 | |
And I love these little canes bursting full of colour. | 0:46:18 | 0:46:21 | |
-Can you tell me much about this? -We think it's a Paul Ysart. -Yes. | 0:46:21 | 0:46:25 | |
-That's all I know. -And whose was it? -My mum's. -Your mum's. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:29 | |
-And it's been in the family all that time? -Yeah. | 0:46:29 | 0:46:32 | |
It's a shame it's been dropped. Can you see that? | 0:46:32 | 0:46:35 | |
I think if this hadn't been dropped | 0:46:35 | 0:46:37 | |
and badly damaged, you're looking at £80-120. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:40 | |
-But in its present condition, maybe £20-30. -Is that all? | 0:46:41 | 0:46:45 | |
That's what an auctioneer would put on it. | 0:46:47 | 0:46:49 | |
And then he'd hope people would fall in love with | 0:46:49 | 0:46:51 | |
the decorative quality of it. | 0:46:51 | 0:46:53 | |
Personally, I'd hang on to it. | 0:46:53 | 0:46:55 | |
-It's nice to know something about it, really. -Thank you for coming in. | 0:46:55 | 0:46:58 | |
Thank you. | 0:46:58 | 0:46:59 | |
And that brings us to our final valuation. | 0:47:03 | 0:47:05 | |
These little guys are from a skip, hop | 0:47:07 | 0:47:09 | |
and a jump down the road in Worcester. | 0:47:09 | 0:47:11 | |
That's right. | 0:47:11 | 0:47:12 | |
So we've got three pieces of Royal Worcester Porcelain. | 0:47:12 | 0:47:15 | |
Can you tell me where you got them from? | 0:47:15 | 0:47:17 | |
They were initially from my grandmother who left them | 0:47:17 | 0:47:20 | |
to my mother and we had them from my mother as from last year. | 0:47:20 | 0:47:24 | |
-So two generations. -That's right. | 0:47:24 | 0:47:26 | |
The dates on them, I've had a little look at the dates, | 0:47:26 | 0:47:30 | |
and I would say a pair but having had a look at the dates, | 0:47:30 | 0:47:34 | |
the dates are 1904 and 1910. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:37 | |
And I would say the bodies were made earlier | 0:47:37 | 0:47:40 | |
and painted later at the same time. | 0:47:40 | 0:47:42 | |
-They're just so similar, aren't they? -Yes, they are. | 0:47:42 | 0:47:45 | |
But obviously we can't call them a pair | 0:47:45 | 0:47:47 | |
because they're different dates. | 0:47:47 | 0:47:50 | |
And then we've also got the rose-painted potpourri. | 0:47:50 | 0:47:54 | |
-I do like that one. -It's really sweet, isn't it? | 0:47:54 | 0:47:57 | |
Can you imagine picking the rose petals off your rose bushes | 0:47:57 | 0:48:01 | |
-to put in your potpourri from your garden? -Those were the days. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:04 | |
Those were the days. Absolutely. If only. This one dates to 1909. | 0:48:04 | 0:48:08 | |
So all of them in the Edwardian period. | 0:48:08 | 0:48:12 | |
They're not signed, which is a shame but not surprising. | 0:48:12 | 0:48:16 | |
Often we find signatures just to one side, but no signature. | 0:48:16 | 0:48:21 | |
We do know that a lot of Worcester artists were | 0:48:21 | 0:48:24 | |
specialists at different types of painting. | 0:48:24 | 0:48:27 | |
So you had your rose painting which is often by an artist called Hunt. | 0:48:27 | 0:48:31 | |
You had other artists, for example | 0:48:31 | 0:48:32 | |
Kitty Blake, who specialised in autumnal berries and leaves. | 0:48:32 | 0:48:36 | |
You had Stinton, who specialised in cattle and game birds. | 0:48:36 | 0:48:39 | |
So I think we can say they're by Hunt, they're Edwardian. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
They've got these beautiful, big, blousy English roses. | 0:48:44 | 0:48:47 | |
Quintessentially of their time. | 0:48:47 | 0:48:49 | |
All together, a really nice little group of Royal Worcester. | 0:48:49 | 0:48:55 | |
And the fact that they're in good condition is a real bonus | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
because so often you find these are so delicately made you often | 0:48:58 | 0:49:00 | |
find a finial has been knocked off. | 0:49:00 | 0:49:04 | |
So the fact they're in good condition is a real bonus. | 0:49:04 | 0:49:07 | |
For the group we're going to be looking at 100-150. | 0:49:07 | 0:49:10 | |
For the three. And I would put a reserve of 100 with discretion. | 0:49:10 | 0:49:16 | |
-How would you feel about that? -Um, yes. That would be fine. | 0:49:16 | 0:49:20 | |
Let's hope, fingers crossed, that it's a really good sale for you | 0:49:20 | 0:49:24 | |
and that they sail away. | 0:49:24 | 0:49:25 | |
-Thank you very much. -Thank you. | 0:49:25 | 0:49:27 | |
But is James as confident about our next item? | 0:49:31 | 0:49:34 | |
Harry, anyone who knows me knows I gravitate towards anything African. | 0:49:36 | 0:49:41 | |
You've brought a really interesting mass of Masai artefacts. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:46 | |
Now, what are they doing here in Birmingham? | 0:49:46 | 0:49:48 | |
How did you come to have them? What's the story? | 0:49:48 | 0:49:51 | |
Well, the story is I was brought up in Kenya. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:54 | |
I came back when Jomo Kenyatta became president. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:58 | |
He basically booted us all out in '62 | 0:49:58 | 0:50:00 | |
and my father was in the government service, | 0:50:00 | 0:50:03 | |
he worked for the Kenya government, British Home Office. | 0:50:03 | 0:50:07 | |
Some Masai tribesmen lost some cattle. | 0:50:07 | 0:50:09 | |
They were stolen overnight and my father rounded up some askaris, | 0:50:09 | 0:50:13 | |
we called them, they were soldiers, basically. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:15 | |
He got the cattle back to the Masai, the Masai said, | 0:50:15 | 0:50:17 | |
"Thank you very much, have a shield and some spears." | 0:50:17 | 0:50:20 | |
-How wonderful. -Because they hadn't got any currency, | 0:50:20 | 0:50:22 | |
-this was all they'd got. -And what sort of timing was this? | 0:50:22 | 0:50:24 | |
Early 1950s. | 0:50:24 | 0:50:25 | |
So we're talking about things that were collected over 60 years ago. | 0:50:25 | 0:50:29 | |
-Yeah. -So people automatically think that these things | 0:50:29 | 0:50:32 | |
are tourist objects that are post-war | 0:50:32 | 0:50:34 | |
but it's not long before these actually become true antiques. | 0:50:34 | 0:50:39 | |
-There were no tourists in Kenya in the 1950s. -No, not many. | 0:50:39 | 0:50:42 | |
We've got first of all the shield | 0:50:42 | 0:50:44 | |
and the spears which are the classic warrior pieces. | 0:50:44 | 0:50:47 | |
The shield made of cattle skin or vellum | 0:50:47 | 0:50:51 | |
and then of course the dyes - the white is made from clay | 0:50:51 | 0:50:55 | |
-and the red, I'm sure you know... -I'd say, probably, some blood. | 0:50:55 | 0:50:58 | |
-Blood, exactly, cattle blood. -Yeah. | 0:50:58 | 0:51:00 | |
Mixed with, again, a bit of soil, a bit of earth and then smeared on. | 0:51:00 | 0:51:04 | |
And then we've got the two spears, both with a point at the bottom | 0:51:04 | 0:51:10 | |
and for a Masai boy to become a warrior, one of his biggest tasks, | 0:51:10 | 0:51:16 | |
the most important thing that he can do, at least it used to be, | 0:51:16 | 0:51:19 | |
is to kill a lion. | 0:51:19 | 0:51:21 | |
Originally, the idea would be the spear would be jammed in the ground | 0:51:21 | 0:51:25 | |
and as the lion charges, it leaps just before it makes its kill | 0:51:25 | 0:51:29 | |
and the shield hides the spear | 0:51:29 | 0:51:32 | |
and then as the lion is about to kill the Masai warrior, | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
away goes the shield, the lion falls on his spear. | 0:51:35 | 0:51:39 | |
Absolutely right, yes. | 0:51:39 | 0:51:40 | |
Traditionally, these are known as leaf spears | 0:51:40 | 0:51:43 | |
but traditional Masai spears, lovely. | 0:51:43 | 0:51:46 | |
But then we got a whole mass of other things - we've got the comb. | 0:51:46 | 0:51:50 | |
-I've never seen these before - they're like pine cones. -They are. | 0:51:50 | 0:51:54 | |
-Seed pods, but I don't know what. -Seed pods. | 0:51:54 | 0:51:56 | |
-They're wonderful, aren't they? Very tactile. -Yeah. | 0:51:56 | 0:51:58 | |
A couple of knives, a fly whisk, necklace and a zebra-skin drum. | 0:51:58 | 0:52:03 | |
Together, I think the best thing to do with these | 0:52:05 | 0:52:08 | |
is to put them as one lot. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:10 | |
The shield is going to be worth 40 or 50, £60. | 0:52:10 | 0:52:15 | |
The spears are worth about £30 each. | 0:52:15 | 0:52:18 | |
We're talking about £100 there, 120, about £150. | 0:52:18 | 0:52:24 | |
I would put 150 to 200 or something around there as an estimate. | 0:52:24 | 0:52:28 | |
OK, what would you say as a reserve? | 0:52:28 | 0:52:30 | |
I think 150 as a reserve - if they don't make that, | 0:52:30 | 0:52:33 | |
hold them back and try them again another day. | 0:52:33 | 0:52:35 | |
-Happy to go with that. -Lovely. | 0:52:35 | 0:52:37 | |
And now a quick reminder of what's going off to auction. | 0:52:40 | 0:52:44 | |
Debbie's pair of Sheffield silver candlesticks | 0:52:48 | 0:52:51 | |
are approaching their 100th birthday with a new owner, hopefully. | 0:52:51 | 0:52:55 | |
Four bronze hippos. They make a change from three flying ducks. | 0:52:57 | 0:53:01 | |
Harry's Masai collection with his dad's story | 0:53:03 | 0:53:06 | |
gives a fascinating glimpse into a recent colonial history. | 0:53:06 | 0:53:10 | |
And finally, Linda's Royal Worcester collection. | 0:53:11 | 0:53:14 | |
That should have no difficulty attracting the bidders. | 0:53:14 | 0:53:17 | |
170 seated there. | 0:53:23 | 0:53:24 | |
180 anywhere else? | 0:53:24 | 0:53:26 | |
We're heading back to the auction one last time | 0:53:26 | 0:53:29 | |
with our final batch of lots. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:31 | |
All done and finished? | 0:53:31 | 0:53:33 | |
Going under the hammer right now we've got four modern bronze hippos | 0:53:33 | 0:53:36 | |
-which James absolutely loved. -They've just got a shape about them. | 0:53:36 | 0:53:39 | |
They're modern, OK, but they're still lovely. Really like them. | 0:53:39 | 0:53:42 | |
Unfortunately we don't have their owner, Andrew. | 0:53:42 | 0:53:45 | |
We do have sort of a co-owner, | 0:53:45 | 0:53:46 | |
because we've got Andrew's wife, Sue. | 0:53:46 | 0:53:48 | |
-Yes. -Pleased to meet you. -Pleased to meet you too. | 0:53:48 | 0:53:50 | |
-He's poorly, is he? -He is. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:52 | |
Get well soon, Andrew, | 0:53:52 | 0:53:53 | |
and hopefully we'll send you home with a bit of money. | 0:53:53 | 0:53:56 | |
We'll send the wife home with a bit of money. | 0:53:56 | 0:53:58 | |
Lot 632, which is the study of the hippopotamus. | 0:54:00 | 0:54:04 | |
Bit of interest, we open at £130. £130. | 0:54:04 | 0:54:09 | |
At £130 maiden bid takes the others out. 140 anywhere else? | 0:54:11 | 0:54:15 | |
£130 we're selling. All done? | 0:54:15 | 0:54:17 | |
That was short and sweet. £130. | 0:54:17 | 0:54:19 | |
Double bottom estimate so that's good. | 0:54:19 | 0:54:21 | |
He'll be really pleased with that. | 0:54:21 | 0:54:23 | |
He will, won't he? Thank you for standing in. | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
-Hope he gets better soon. -I enjoyed it. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:28 | |
A tidy £100 profit on Andrew's original investment. | 0:54:29 | 0:54:33 | |
Next, it's Debbie's pair of classic silver candlesticks. | 0:54:35 | 0:54:38 | |
Our next lot is bound to light up the sale room. | 0:54:39 | 0:54:42 | |
I've been joined by Christina and Debbie here, our owner. | 0:54:42 | 0:54:46 | |
The candlesticks. Did you ever use them at Christmas time? | 0:54:46 | 0:54:48 | |
Set the scene? | 0:54:48 | 0:54:50 | |
-I think my mum used to. -Very nice. | 0:54:50 | 0:54:52 | |
Special occasions, but they've been packed away ever since. | 0:54:52 | 0:54:56 | |
-It's a shame. -Not many of us dine by candle light anymore, do we? | 0:54:56 | 0:55:00 | |
We don't with kids, let's face it. | 0:55:00 | 0:55:03 | |
They'd put their fingers in the flame. All sorts of things. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:06 | |
-Not a good idea. -No. | 0:55:06 | 0:55:07 | |
-There is a market for them. We've got 2-300? -Yes. | 0:55:07 | 0:55:11 | |
They're getting some really good, strong prices today. | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
-So fingers crossed. -Good luck. | 0:55:14 | 0:55:16 | |
The pair of silver candlesticks. £200 takes the underbidder out. | 0:55:17 | 0:55:20 | |
£200. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:21 | |
210. 220. 230. 240. 250. | 0:55:21 | 0:55:26 | |
-260. 270. 260 on commission. Anyone else? -Fantastic. | 0:55:26 | 0:55:30 | |
I'm selling at £260. | 0:55:31 | 0:55:34 | |
That was quick. It doesn't last long, does it? | 0:55:35 | 0:55:37 | |
I have to be honest, I wasn't sure they were going to sell, | 0:55:37 | 0:55:40 | |
-so well done. -Spot on with the estimate. | 0:55:40 | 0:55:43 | |
Now, our next item couldn't be more different. | 0:55:47 | 0:55:50 | |
Going under the hammer right now, | 0:55:50 | 0:55:52 | |
we have a Masai warrior's shield and some spears - | 0:55:52 | 0:55:54 | |
good tribal artefacts and I've been joined by Harry, | 0:55:54 | 0:55:57 | |
who's in full dress with a swagger stick. | 0:55:57 | 0:56:00 | |
Look at this. Ooh! | 0:56:00 | 0:56:02 | |
So, what's this all about, Harry? | 0:56:02 | 0:56:03 | |
Well, my father was in the prison service in Kenya | 0:56:03 | 0:56:06 | |
and one of the local Masai tribes gave him the spear and shield. | 0:56:06 | 0:56:10 | |
This is what he wore every day. | 0:56:10 | 0:56:12 | |
Oh, brilliant, hope it brings you good luck. | 0:56:12 | 0:56:14 | |
It's going under the hammer right now. Good luck, Harry. This is it. | 0:56:14 | 0:56:17 | |
Any bids and interest? I can open here at 130. | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
-140. -Right, we're in. | 0:56:20 | 0:56:21 | |
150 in the room? 140 with me. 150. | 0:56:21 | 0:56:23 | |
Right in the distance, I've got you at £150. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:25 | |
Paddle aloft, thank you. | 0:56:25 | 0:56:27 | |
Do I see 160 anywhere else? | 0:56:27 | 0:56:28 | |
At £150, he'll take them home with him, be sure of that. | 0:56:28 | 0:56:32 | |
At 150. 160 anywhere else? Last chance. | 0:56:32 | 0:56:34 | |
At 150 to sell then, all done. Are we finished? | 0:56:34 | 0:56:36 | |
-£150, they've gone. -I'm very happy indeed. | 0:56:36 | 0:56:39 | |
-They'll only rust in the shed. -And I love this. | 0:56:39 | 0:56:41 | |
And you're obviously going to keep this. | 0:56:41 | 0:56:43 | |
-This is not for sale. -This is part of the wardrobe. | 0:56:43 | 0:56:45 | |
Fancy dress. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:47 | |
300, 210, 320... | 0:56:47 | 0:56:48 | |
It's our final lot - | 0:56:48 | 0:56:50 | |
the Royal Worcester china collection. | 0:56:50 | 0:56:53 | |
Linda couldn't be with us today but we do have her sister Janet. | 0:56:53 | 0:56:56 | |
I know Linda's feeling poorly, but I guess this is your inheritance, | 0:56:56 | 0:56:59 | |
-as well? -That's right. | 0:56:59 | 0:57:01 | |
-And you can remember these as a little girl? -Vaguely, yes. | 0:57:01 | 0:57:05 | |
"Don't touch them. Don't smash them." | 0:57:05 | 0:57:09 | |
They were always in a cabinet or on the sideboard. | 0:57:09 | 0:57:13 | |
It's a nice little trio. What have we got here? | 0:57:13 | 0:57:16 | |
We've got a pair of ewers. And also the potpourri, as well. | 0:57:16 | 0:57:20 | |
Not a big lot but we decided | 0:57:20 | 0:57:21 | |
it's better to sell them together rather than split them up. | 0:57:21 | 0:57:24 | |
Hopefully they'll stay together. Right, here we go. | 0:57:24 | 0:57:26 | |
Let's put it to the test. | 0:57:26 | 0:57:28 | |
Royal Worcester. Potpourri and the two jugs. | 0:57:29 | 0:57:32 | |
Where do you start me? Interest in this one. Have to open at £260. | 0:57:32 | 0:57:36 | |
Blimey! | 0:57:36 | 0:57:37 | |
270. 280. 290. | 0:57:39 | 0:57:42 | |
-300 and 10. 320. 330. 340... -Smashing through the estimate. | 0:57:42 | 0:57:48 | |
-..370. 380. -Brilliant. -In the room at 370. 380. 390. | 0:57:48 | 0:57:55 | |
400. 410. 420. | 0:57:55 | 0:57:58 | |
-410, ladies bid. -This will cheer Linda up. | 0:57:58 | 0:58:00 | |
All done at £410 for the Worcester? All finished? 420 last chance. | 0:58:02 | 0:58:05 | |
At 410 I'm selling. | 0:58:05 | 0:58:07 | |
That's what we like. That's what we call a result. | 0:58:09 | 0:58:12 | |
You've got to be over the moon with that? | 0:58:12 | 0:58:14 | |
We weren't expecting that. | 0:58:14 | 0:58:15 | |
Were you expecting the top end of the estimate? | 0:58:15 | 0:58:18 | |
-I don't know, really. -There's no accounting for taste, is there? | 0:58:18 | 0:58:24 | |
-That was a come and buy me, wasn't it? -It was. -£22 on my left. | 0:58:24 | 0:58:28 | |
All done? | 0:58:28 | 0:58:29 | |
That's it. It's all over for our Flog It! owners. | 0:58:32 | 0:58:34 | |
What a brilliant day we have had here in Stourbridge. | 0:58:34 | 0:58:38 | |
If you've got something you want to sell we'd love to flog it for you. | 0:58:38 | 0:58:42 | |
Bring it along to one of our valuation days. | 0:58:42 | 0:58:44 | |
Details you can pick up on our BBC website. | 0:58:44 | 0:58:47 | |
If you don't have a computer, check the details in your local press. | 0:58:47 | 0:58:50 | |
We would love to see you. Dust them down and bring them in. | 0:58:50 | 0:58:52 | |
But until then from Stourbridge and all of us, it's goodbye. | 0:58:52 | 0:58:56 |