Compilation 40 Flog It!

We start today's show at Breamore House in Hampshire,

an Aladdin's cave of art and treasure through four centuries.

From its Tudor Great Hall, to its Georgian Blue Room,

this is a testament to preserving the past.

And of course, "Flog It!" relies on people having an interest

and a passion for antiques and collectables, whether it's been

a prized find or something that's been handed down though the generations.

Today on "Flog It!" we're going to bring you some of the best

items we've found from our travels around the country.

We've travelled across Britain in search of exceptional stories

and objects to take to auction

and we've met some rather special people along the way.

At Wrest Park, a Grade I listed mansion is surrounded by

an early-18th-century garden

that spreads over 92 acres in Bedfordshire.

Our journey has taken us to Lulworth Castle in Dorset,

home to some of the French royal family during the French Revolution.

And to Chiddingstone Castle in Kent,

which can be traced back to Tudor times.

On our show today, one of our experts, Christina Trevanion,

has an embarrassment of riches.

You have brought me

possibly one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen on "Flog It!"

I hope you don't mind me saying, but it's one of the finest pieces

-of cloisonne that I have had the pleasure of handling.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-It's really, really beautiful.

-Well, that's wonderful.

Really beautiful.

Later on, we'll see what happens to these extraordinary items

in the saleroom.

It's highly unlikely when a house's history stretches as far back

as Breamore's does, that it remains untouched by tragedy.

Now, up here is a wonderful example of family history.

This is Mrs William Doddington,

the wife of the first owner of the house.

Now, you can see she's painted in her mourning clothes.

This is an oil on panel.

Now, she sat for the artist after her husband's death.

He committed suicide on the eve of a court case which caused

a right old scandal back in Elizabethan England.

It's a wonderful document of social history

and over 400 years later, you can still see the sadness on her face.

That's because the painting has been taken care of properly.

It's up high, out of harm's way.

It's out of the sunlight and it's also not been over-varnished.

Now, let's hope our first set of items has been equally cared for.

We kick off our journey in Kent, at Chiddingstone Castle,

where Thomas Plant is making the most of the great outdoors.

-John.

-Yeah.

-Tell me about your cane.

Well, it's... I don't know quite what I can tell you, really.

It was a find in a loft when we moved into our house about 30 years ago.

Really? It's extraordinary what people leave behind in attics.

Well, quite. There was nothing else in the attic apart from that.

-A real sort of Cash In The Attic moment for you, isn't it?

-Well, hopefully!

Well...

I precis it by saying it's not going to make you a huge king's ransom.

-No, probably not.

-But what a find to find.

-Now, this is an Indian cane.

-Oh!

This is Indian silver at the top end and it is embossed design,

which means it's beaten from the reverse, hammered out.

And these are Hindu gods and that's what appealed to me when I saw it.

I thought, Indian silver is becoming more and more collectable...

-Oh, right.

-..as India becomes more and more developed...

-Yeah.

..and there becomes more of an affluent society,

-who want to buy back bits of culture.

-Oh, I see, yeah.

So therefore, Indian silver, which used to be rather devalued because

it was colonial, because it was Indian, it wasn't

-hallmarked, has now risen up to be quite valuable.

-Oh, I see.

I wondered why there wasn't a hallmark on it.

No, no hallmarks on it at all.

I was pretty sure it was silver, but I wasn't sure.

No. It's never normally marked. It might have an area mark to it...

-Yeah...

-..but it's very difficult to find.

But the beautiful design is just so good, and it's on this

Malacca sort of shaft with a ferrule, which looks original.

This ferrule wouldn't be silver at the end, here?

-No, that would wear away. Silver's a very soft metal.

-Yeah.

And this wouldn't be our standard of silver, which is

-925 parts of silver to every thousand parts of metal.

-Mmm.

I would suggest that this is going to be

more like 600-700 parts of silver.

So not as pure, but it has to be,

-because it's going to get handled quite a lot.

-Right.

What did you think of it when you picked it up in the loft?

What were you hoping it was?

Well, I just thought it was a walking stick.

It was somewhat more tarnished when we found it, I remember, but, um...

I just thought it was a walking stick, it was an interesting thing.

And what made you bring it to "Flog It!"?

It's been hanging around the house for 30-odd years and frankly,

every time we open the door in the downstairs cupboard, it falls out.

THEY LAUGH

That's going to be annoying, isn't it?

So, you know, it really wasn't serving any particular purpose to us.

-And you've not twisted your ankle, so you don't need a cane.

-No.

-Not at the moment, no.

-Now, I've been quite realistic with you...

-Mm-hm.

-..it is silver, Malacca cane, there is a collectable value

because it's a walking cane, but that doesn't mean it's going to be

-worth hundreds and hundreds and hundreds.

-OK.

-I doubt that even if it would break the £50 barrier.

-All right.

-But we're looking at between £40-£60.

-OK.

-We might get £50 for it.

-All right.

-We might get a bit more.

-Are you happy to sell it?

-Um, yes, yes, I am.

-Yeah? Good.

And I think, with the £40-£60 estimate,

-you put a reserve on it, so it's not given away.

-All right.

-I would say, suggest £30.

-Yeah, OK.

-Is that fair enough?

Yes, that sounds fine.

Yeah, because if it's been kicking around the house for 30 years,

£30, 30 years, it sounds sort of...

all mixed in together, doesn't it?

Yeah. That'll be fine. THOMAS LAUGHS

I think John would be happy with anything to stop it

from falling out of that cupboard.

Bedfordshire in Wrest Park is our next port of call,

where Christina Trevanion has found a collection

that she really is taken with.

Sharon and Rob, you have brought me

possibly one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen on Flog It!

We've got all these slides here and this slide viewer,

-where did they come from?

-They were my grandad's.

-Right.

And my dad had them in the loft

and my son was having to do a history project,

so my dad was finding a few things out to say about his great-grandad

and that's when we first saw them.

So how long ago was that?

About six months ago he was doing his project.

-Oh, so really recently, then?

-Yeah, recently, yeah.

-Oh, wow, OK.

I mean, they are all related to the First World War.

Is there a family connection with somebody that

-fought in the Great War?

-Yeah, my grandad.

-What part did he play in the war, do we know?

-No.

I know that he was 15 when he forged his birth certificate

because he was unhappy at home. CHRISTINA GASPS

-So he was very young.

-So he was 15 when he went to war?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Yeah.

He got torpedoed at sea and he was buried alive and...

Because he was in a trench...

-Oh, so he was at sea and then he was in a trench?

-Yeah.

-Oh.

-So he was possibly Navy and then...

-He's been through it, yeah, he's been through it all.

-Oh, my goodness!

-Yeah, and then he couldn't speak for a year.

-God.

I mean, it always amazes me hearing these types of stories

and especially looking at some of the images we've got here,

the absolute horror that these young men went through.

The reason why we've got two images here is

because you would have put your slide here...

Unfortunately, we have got a bit missing here.

And that would've held one of these cards in place and then

you would be able to see these images in 3-D.

So before that, you would have seen these images potentially

in newspapers, but seeing it in 3-D must have been incredible.

And it's some really unbelievably fascinating scenes that

I've never seen before.

We've got some pictures of the King in here,

we've got munitions factories and here, this one,

-which unfortunately is in quite bad condition...

-Yes.

We've got a Zeppelin, shot down near Colchester.

Even with the back broken, it towers above a nearby farmhouse.

-My granny, who - bless her - was 104 last week...

-Wow.

..remembers seeing a Zeppelin flying over the south coast.

And that sort of first-hand history is all going to be lost to us soon.

-Yeah.

-But hopefully, these sorts of things will keep it alive.

BOTH: Yeah.

And I think there is certainly a resurgence of interest in

the First World War and quite how important it was.

-There are a few which are in slightly poor condition.

-Yeah, yeah.

I think, unfortunately, your slide viewer, which is

-the Perfectscope, ain't so perfect any more, is it?

-I know!

-And my dad couldn't find the, um...

-The slider.

-Yeah, the slider, there.

But nonetheless, you can still see them and I think really,

the main event is not so much the slide viewer,

it's the topic of these slides which is so important.

-And we've got approximately 65 in total here.

-Mmm.

I am going to be quite modest on my auction expectations

because it's a very difficult collector's market,

and I'm just hoping that this sort of resurgence of interest in

the Great War will help to sell them.

I would suggest an auction estimate in the region of 150-200

-and hope that it might go higher.

-Yeah.

How do you think Dad would feel about that, because

-they're Dad's, aren't they?

-Yes.

-They're not...

-No, they're my dad's, yeah.

-I mean, he's asked me to bring them here to get them valued to sell, so, yeah.

-OK.

So, if we said an estimate of 150-200 and a reserve of 150 firm?

-Yeah, I'm sure that'd be fine.

-Yeah. Super.

For me, personally, I think they are utterly fascinating.

I really do, and I thank you very much for

making the effort to bring them in

-because it's been certainly a great lesson.

-Thank you.

It's really not a lot of money for such an amazing historical archive.

Onto the Dorset coast and Lulworth Castle,

where Catherine Southon has found a car boot enthusiast.

Sue, welcome to Flog It!

and thank you for bringing along your vase here.

Now, we see tubeline decoration here and we see autumnal colours

and there's only one name that comes to mind and it is...?

-Charlotte Rhead.

-Absolutely.

It screams Charlotte Rhead in every single direction.

These colours in particular, the autumnal oranges and greens

and the cream background as well, is so Charlotte Rhead.

She did this design on a number of different vases and plates.

Where did you get this from, Sue?

-I bought it at a car-boot sale.

-Oh, did you?

-I did.

-Recently?

-No, about 18 months ago.

-Right.

And did you know what it was when you saw it?

I looked at it and thought it was Art Deco

-and I sort of had an inkling it could be.

-Right.

And it was only confirmed when I turned it over

and I read the signature on the bottom.

And is it the name that you knew at the time?

-Yeah, I watch a lot of these programmes, so I see it, you see!

-Ah!

That's very good! Right, that's a big tick and an A-star for you.

Well, Charlotte Rhead did a number of different designs

for Crown Ducal

and you can see on the bottom there, it has got a nice, clear signature.

-Sometimes she does an L for Lottie, Lottie Rhead.

-Mm-hm.

But you can see the C Rhead, Charlotte Rhead, at the bottom.

And the impressed mark there, Crown Ducal, which is the factory.

And then you can see as we turn it round further, you've got

-the number 212 and that's the actual shape of the vase.

-OK.

-Do you like the colours?

-See, I like Art Deco and I thought it was Art Deco.

Yeah. Well, you're bang on with that, because it is 1930s in date.

-And I like the colours. I wasn't too sure if I could afford it.

-Yes.

So I did have to ask how much it was - at a car boot!

And how much did you pay?

I paid £30 for it, but he did want 45. So...

So you knocked him down?

-Yeah.

-So you've seen these antique programmes.

So you did a bit of bartering. Very good, I like your style.

Charlotte Rhead does sell quite well at auction,

but it's not such a popular colouring.

This is the colouring that she does quite often,

but the other colours which you don't see so often,

which are the purples and the greens and the more sort of pinky colours,

-they tend to be the ones that make the bigger prices at auction.

-OK.

So you paid £30 for it. How much are you expecting it to be worth?

I really don't know.

It's just... I need to sell it because my daughter's cat is

a big Maine Coon cat, and I know he's going to knock it off one day and

-I'll regret it.

-Oh, right. OK.

-So we're not selling it to get money...

-No, no.

..big money back on it. We are selling it because of the cat.

-Right.

-SUE LAUGHS

Well, that's a bit of a relief because I was a bit concerned that

you were thinking you'd paid £30 for it and it was going to be worth 100.

I liked it. No, I liked it at the time,

-it was something that I would have kept.

-Right, right.

Charlotte Rhead's slightly gone off the boil a bit

-and I would say a sensible estimate would be £40-60.

-OK.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah, that's good.

-But you're still happy to sell it at that?

-Yeah.

I would really like to get you a little bit back,

but I think it's going to be a few pounds rather than 10 or 20.

-Uh-huh.

-So I'm going to suggest we put £40-60 on it.

-OK.

Let's put a 30 reserve on it because that's what you paid for it.

-Yep.

-Are you happy to let it go for that?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Now we can have a nice clear shelf...

-Yeah.

-And the cat can walk along.

-He likes heights.

-He likes heights.

-Well, just don't buy another vase.

-SUE LAUGHS

As far as I know, they don't have any cats at Breamore House,

which is just as well.

Well, before we head off to auction, there's just enough time for me

to show you this incredible collection of Napoleonic art.

These pictures have been produced from sketches

painted in the field by a French artist.

And here you can see Napoleon and his army arriving at port.

And I would say these are the spring of 1815, because

the Battle of Waterloo took place that year, during the summer months.

And here is the man who defeated Napoleon.

The Duke of Wellington, one of our greatest military leaders.

Napoleon was sent to exile on the island of Saint Helena,

and Wellington went on to become one of our prime ministers

and lived at number one, Marble Arch, London.

Well, now, let's have a quick reminder

of our experts' favourite items that are going under the hammer.

The walking cane needs a new owner who can offer it

a better home.

This collection of First World War slides offers

a poignant view of the past.

And the Charlotte Rhead vase is looking for

a safe haven with no cat!

First up, Ewbank's Auctions, near Guildford.

And remember, of course, that with every auction

there are varying rates of commission to pay

and VAT to add on top, whether you're buying or selling.

So make sure you find out how much that is in advance.

Now, let's see how that walking cane does.

Good luck, John.

This is your moment, we're putting this valuation to the test by Thomas.

It's the walking cane topped with Indian silver. It's a nice thing.

Not a lot of money, either. Why do you want to sell this?

Um, well, it's... We're not collectors or anything.

And it's been hanging around the house, more or less.

It's a nice thing. I'd kind of hang on to it as a prodding stick.

-A prodding stick? What...

-You know, a stick to chase the dog, move things away, you know...

-..prod the kids with and the wife?

-No, no!

-"Get out of the way!"

-You found this, didn't you?

-We did indeed, in the attic.

What, it didn't belong to your family when you bought the house? Someone left it in the attic?

Yeah, literally.

-About 30 odd years ago we bought a house and...

-That's where it was.

-That's all right, isn't it?

-Good story, good story.

Well, here we are, and we're going to put it to test in the auction

and I'm pretty sure this is going to find a new home

and a new attic. Here we go.

The Indian bamboo tapered walking cane,

with the white metal pommel emboss there, with the deities there,

and I've got bids, and I go in at 20 on this one.

At 20, 25, 30, now, 35. 40, now.

-45, now, looking for 50.

-Sold.

Looking for 50, anywhere. All and done, then. Selling then at £45.

-Oh!

-Yes, the hammer has gone down, that is a sold sound, we like that.

-Happy?

-Very good.

-Well done, Thomas.

-You know, a result.

-Yes.

-Excellent stuff. It won't fall out the cupboard on me any more.

-No.

Someone's got a new prodding stick.

THEY LAUGH

Onto Sherborne in Dorset, where

auctioneer Richard Bromell is at Charterhouse Auctioneers.

It's a name that crops up quite regularly on the show, and it is

Catherine Southon, and she is right next to me now, looking beautiful.

-Full of hearts, look at that.

-Queen of hearts.

-THEY LAUGH

Now, Charlotte Rhead, and it belongs to Sue.

-This is a nice item. You bought this recently?

-Not that long ago.

Last year, some time in the summer.

So why did you decide to bring it in to the valuation day, to Catherine?

I am looking after my daughter's cat at the moment,

and he's a big Maine Coon, and he likes to go high.

So I'm frightened it is going to go on the floor.

-OK, so will we get you your money back? I think we will.

-Hopefully.

-I hope so.

Charlotte Rhead has had a bit of a dip recently,

but let's hope we can get the price.

-We are going to give it a go for you. Are you ready, Sue?

-Yes.

-Right, here we go, this is it.

Pretty little Charlotte Rhead Crown Ducal vase here.

-Come on, come on.

-30, £30, I have now. At 30. I'll take a five.

-And five.

-Well done.

-Sue!

Far away, the bid on the right at £35. I sell at 35.

It's gone. OK, look, you've got to pay commission, it is 15%

plus VAT here.

Everyone has to pay it if you're buying or selling, OK.

But you didn't lose too much money, did you?

And it is better to sell it now than before that cat smashes it.

THEY LAUGH Definitely. Definitely.

Thank you for bringing it in, it was good to see a bit of Charlotte Rhead.

Now over to Tring Market Auctions, where Stephen Hearn is

selling those fascinating slides.

Rob and Sharon, good luck, this is the moment we've been waiting for.

65 slides of the Great War, of national importance.

-So hard to put a value on.

-I'm really nervous.

-I'm nervous for you.

I wouldn't like to do that.

You have to understand, it really is a hard thing to value.

As much as they are incredibly important, and obviously the things

they evoke, you sort of think, "What do you do with them now?"

Hopefully somewhere in your mum and dad's loft,

or in your loft, you've got other things from the Great War.

-Oh, he's a cheery soul, isn't he?

-THEY LAUGH

Look, I wouldn't sell them.

I wouldn't sell them if my grandad... And he had quite a life, didn't he?

-He was torpedoed, he was buried alive, survived it, though.

-He did.

Fingers crossed we get that £150-£200 because I think it's

-worth a great deal more than that. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Best of luck.

These are rather interesting, these are.

You've got some of the Boer War, you've got some of the stereoscopic

viewers and, well, you've got some of the First World War in here.

A very interesting collection. What about a couple of hundred for them?

150 for them. 100 for them bid. 100, I'm bid.

-Oh, 100 is bid.

-Come on.

120 is bid. 130, and 40,

-and 50, and 60.

-Oh, there we go.

Lots of interest.

At £160, then, I shall sell.

They are going, then, down they go for £160.

-Well, they've gone. Good valuing.

-In the room as well.

-Fantastic, well done.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-Good.

Thank you for bringing those in. They were great pictures.

-It was just such an honour to see, they were really, really fascinating.

-I think so.

Thank you, well done.

Over to Hampshire now to uncover some more remarkable

history in an unexpected place.

The beautiful unspoiled Beaulieu River is unusual for being

one of the few privately owned rivers in the world.

King John gave it to the monks of Beaulieu Abbey in 1204,

and it has belonged to the family of the current owners of the estate

since the time of Henry VIII.

So you may be surprised to discover that this idyllic rural spot,

known as Buckler's Hard - the "hard" meaning the gravel

running down to the low water mark, is the maritime centre of the river,

and it has played a remarkable part in British naval history.

Three of the sailing ships that took part in the British victory at

the Battle of Trafalgar, against the combined fleets of

the French and Spanish navies, were built on these very launch ways.

The 36-gun Euryalus, the 74-gun

Swiftsure and the 64-gun Agamemnon,

affectionately known to her crew as "Eggs-and-Bacon".

One of Admiral Nelson's favourite vessels,

and he'd written of her earlier, "She is without doubt the finest

"64 in the service and has the character to sail very well."

So how did this quiet backwater, Buckler's Hard,

find itself in the naval history books?

It might never have been without the ambitions of John,

the 2nd Duke of Montagu,

who early on in the 18th century had grand plans

to build a splendid port for sugar coming from the West Indies.

It was to be called Montague Town,

and an 80 foot wide street was built down to the quay,

but that's as far as it got.

The French put a stop to it by claiming the islands

in the West Indies for themselves, the ones the Duke had his eye on,

so no sugar reached here.

All the Duke was left with was a rather wide high street

and a few cottages.

But the Duke, being an enterprising chap, wanted to make use of this

extra wide high street.

It had ideal access to get big elm trees and oak trees down here,

and the river at this point is exceptionally deep.

The ground was hard and it was sheltered,

it was ideal for boat-building, so the Duke leased it to some shipwrights.

And in 1744, a contract was drawn up with the Navy.

Then began 100 years of shipbuilding here at Buckler's Hard.

It is thought that around 100 naval and merchant ships were built here.

Of course there were no power tools available to the men who

built these ships, so it was a slow process.

A ship could take two years to construct.

It must have been an amazing spectacle,

when at the height of its activity five of these magnificent

ships were all being built in the shoreline launches,

towering over the cottages behind.

In the early 19th century, wooden shipbuilding sites

in the country fell into disuse

and Buckler's Hard became a sleepy backwater again.

But good news, the traditional skills of shipbuilding are on their

way back to here, and the man in charge of doing this is Nat Wilson.

-Hi, it's Paul, a pleasure to meet you.

-You too.

I'm so jealous, I love all of this. Look at it.

-This is your work space! Here you are boat-building.

-Yes.

Well, I've never seen an oar being made

-so hopefully you'll let me have a go.

-Absolutely.

First of all, tell me about the boat-building here.

This is all about working with big, heavy timbers,

the likes of HMS Victory and HMS Warrior,

and it is teaching people how to handle big lumps of timber,

how to work with them with the old tools, like the...

-Traditional skills and methods.

-Absolutely, yes.

I know you're working on an oar here,

and I can see you've got some laminated parts for the blade.

So talk me through what you are doing.

We are basically shaping the blade

and then we are turning the shaft from a square into a circle.

We mark it out, so that once this is cut down,

that distance will end up the same as that distance

-and that distance, so it will be an octagon all the way round.

-I see what you are doing.

Then you re-mark it and take off the corners.

So that one has been roughed out as an octagon.

Needs cleaning up a bit and then we proceed, taking off corners

until you end up with a round.

And how long would it take to make one oar from start to finish?

-Half a day. I can make a pair in one day.

-Gosh, that's quick going, isn't it?

-Once they are glued up and ready to go.

-Can I have a go at that?

-Of course you can.

-Can I use the drawknife?

-You can indeed.

I'll flip it round.

Hold it.

All yours.

So, start facing this way

and draw in, or... Yes.

-That way.

-Oh, crikey.

-That's where you have to flip...

-Go back against the grain.

In fact, the grain is quite kind in this direction.

Gosh, it is a satisfying feeling.

It is, and it's very quick as well.

-Shall I turn it around?

-Yes, reposition it to make it comfortable.

It really does want to tear.

It's the joy of wood, it is never exactly as you want it.

You've done that before. Did you sign up for a course?

-I have done it before, actually.

-THEY LAUGH

I was just about to say, you know, fresh wood shavings, it doesn't get any better

-than that smell, but we are outside so we can't actually smell them.

-THEY LAUGH

That's lovely, isn't it? So I can see how the process works now.

Just literally taking the square into a round by taking off sections

-of the corner each time.

-Yeah.

So how do you shape this section?

-That section, we use this wonderful little thing called a bollow plane.

-A what?

-A bollow plane.

-Bollow plane, OK.

-This is something that all the students make.

-It is what I make.

-You made that yourself?

-25 years ago, yes.

But that's curved in both directions, which means

we can scoop in...

-That's clever.

-..and create...

-That's very clever.

-..create that shape.

Look at that, that's dished out beautifully.

-You're a very skilful man.

-No, it's just lots of practice.

Well, it is really encouraging to know there are people with

the skills that you have that are passing them on,

because that's so important with these traditional skills.

A lot of them are being lost.

They are, but we are doing our own little bit to bring them back again.

Well, look, good luck with that and good look with the school here.

It has been a real pleasure having a go.

Seeing these magnificent warships being built here is

a thing of the past,

but it's heartening to know that the traditional skills

and methods that built our maritime history

are still alive today.

I've worked on "Flog It!" for 13 years and I still get surprised

about the amount of history you can discover on this show.

This country continues to serve up a feast of delights for heritage lovers like myself.

And here, at Breamore, there's plenty to indulge in.

Like this fabulous old kitchen, for instance.

It really is copper heaven here.

There's hundreds of copper pots and pans

and jelly moulds.

"Why?" you're probably asking. Well,

many of this collection came as part of a dowry with

the young brides because the Hulse family had many generations of boys.

All the kitchen equipment here and all the items in it have been

beautifully preserved.

Let's hope the same can be said about our next batch of items.

We arrive next in Kent, at Chiddingstone Castle, where we

find Adam Partridge under blue skies.

Well, Mary, I must say that the cloud formation on this painting

is very similar to the one we've got today at Chiddingstone Castle.

-Yes, we are very lucky.

-Aren't we just?

And it's a beautiful painting.

I remember seeing you earlier this morning, and this was wrapped

in a blue tarpaulin and my interest was immediately aroused by it.

Can you tell me where you got it from, because I know there's

a bit of interesting history to this, isn't there?

Well, it belonged to my late father, who died last year.

And at the age of 14, he started to work for

Sir John Ellerman...Baronet.

-Baronet, yes.

-Who was not a well-known person

but was actually one of the richest people in the world

and founded the Ellerman shipping companies.

Sir John died in 1973,

and much of his art collection was sold,

but some of the paintings which remained... Sir John's widow,

Lady Esther Ellerman, made a gift to my father

of this painting in 1975.

So they obviously thought very highly of your father.

Well, he stayed on all his working life until he was 61.

And actually met my mother at the company.

So he progressed all the way through, got married,

-everything has happened...

-Absolutely.

-..while being at Ellerman's.

-Yes.

-So did you know this painting growing up, then?

No, I didn't at all, because I'd left home in 1971

-to go to university.

-Ah, so...

This was before the gift was made to him.

It certainly beats a battery-powered carriage clock, doesn't it?

I think he had one of those as well. THEY LAUGH

So the artists, do you know a little bit about Edmund Marie Petitjean?

I've done a little research on the internet.

It seems he was quite well thought of.

Oh, very much so. Born in 1844

and died in 1925. He exhibited quite widely.

And they meet with quite strong responses. It is clearly done by

a very accomplished artist. I particularly like this little scene going on here.

I think it must be a French scene, do you?

I've always thought it was France but...

-It would be nice to know where, wouldn't it?

-Maybe Italy.

-European.

I honestly don't know, but definitely European.

So presumably you've only recently come into the ownership of it.

-Yes, my father died in August last year.

-Yep.

And had this on his dining room wall. So, yes, we now have it in the family.

-Do you have it on display...?

-No.

It is quite a hard thing to accommodate.

It's very big but it will meet with a very enthusiastic demand commercially.

It is very pleasantly composed, isn't it?

Clearly, he knows how to paint - a very talented painter.

Lovely original gilt frame.

It's got a lot of things going for it.

Let's hope a lot of people should like that when it comes up for auction.

Well, I hope so, because I think it should be seen.

It's not something that I would be able to display in my house, nor my brother's.

-So that's the reason for selling?

-Indeed.

Now, the artist has a record at auction.

Some of the smaller works are around the £1,000 mark

and some of the very important works are several thousand pounds.

So we have decided that we would suggest

an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 on this.

I would suggest a reserve of £2,000 because it must be worth that.

-Sound all right?

-Yes, yes, yes, I think my father would be pleased.

Good. Is there anything specific that you would put the money towards?

I haven't really thought about that but something to remind me of my dad.

I'm sure the auctioneers will be delighted to see it in their saleroom

and hopefully they will put a picture in their catalogue and give it a lovely spot on the wall,

and loads of people will bid for it and it will make a great price.

Well, my father would have been tickled pink with that. Thank you.

Well, fingers crossed then.

Along the south coast to Dorset and Lulworth Castle,

where Mark Stacey is examining a recently purchased bargain.

-Kane. Lovely to meet you.

-And yourself.

You brought this rather interesting bowl in.

-Tell me where you got it from.

-From Allington Lane, a car-boot sale. Ten pence.

10p! Gosh. What attracted you to it?

-I thought it was a piece of Delft.

-Delft pottery?

-That's what I thought.

Well, I can see that, because it's quite heavy pottery, isn't it?

And you've got quite a lot of flaking which does happen on Delft pottery.

It's not, actually. It's from a completely different region. It's from the Persian area.

This type of ware we refer to as Iznik pottery.

Now, that's normally because of these colours,

the turquoises, the blues, the reds.

What we really want to find is pieces that date from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

They were produced in the Anatolia region

in what is now the Persian Gulf and Turkey.

That whole Arab area.

This, I think, is probably late 19th century.

It's got these rather nice arabesque motifs on it

and the stylised flowers - all hand-painted, of course.

And there is a little bit of fritting on the edges. And we turn it over,

and we've got this continuous frieze of flowering branches, which is really quite Chinese in inspiration.

So there is obviously a lot of Chinese porcelain

coming around into Europe and Asia and the Arabic countries,

so they've started to have a bit of an influence on that.

And it is not marked, which you expect.

I have to say, if it was an early piece it would be worth an awful lot of money

but as a decorative, sort of late 19th century piece, and you only paid 10p for it...

-Yes, that's true.

-What would you hope it to be worth?

-Oh, thousands and thousands.

Well, maybe of Turkish lire. Which is about 10p or something.

But it's worth more than 10p.

I think if we put this into auction with an estimate

of something like £40-£60 and just have fun with it.

Because you just might find two or three buyers on the internet who'll think, "I really like this,"

-and it could give us a real surprise on the day.

-Yes.

-Happy with that estimate?

-Yes, well, I was hoping it was going to be worth a lot more, but...

We're all hoping for more, even Paul Martin hopes for top of the estimate all the time.

I think, had it been earlier, the colours would've been much more vibrant.

I mean, really vivid blues and greens and reds.

And this is why I'm valuing it as a later piece, because of the muted colours.

But it is a good interior design piece.

It will fit into a modern apartment as well as an antique house.

So there is a good chance it might make a bit more than our estimate.

-Let's just hope so.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

As you only paid 10p for it, what do you think about a reserve?

-Are happy to just let it go and have a bit of fun?

-Yeah, just let it go.

-I think so.

-Kane, thank you so much. Lovely to see you.

-And yourself. Cheers. Thank you.

Of course, we all want top dollar if we can get it.

We end our tour at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire,

where Christina Trevanion has found our final item of the day.

Janet, you have brought this really, utterly stunning piece

to show me today. Where has it come from?

Well, as far as I'm aware, it came with my grandad

when he and his family left Odessa

in the Ukraine in the late 1890s.

OK. So what made them come to England from the Ukraine?

-Well, they were on a ship headed for America.

-Right.

Because of the pogroms.

My grandfather's mother saw her parents taken out and shot.

-So they were fleeing, effectively?

-Exactly.

-Understandably.

-Yes.

I mean, good Lord, if you've seen members of your family taken out and shot then it's...

-Yes, you want to get out of there, don't you?

-You do, absolutely.

So they got on a boat and they were headed for America...

-And their boat was shipwrecked.

-Oh, really?

-Yes, and they were rescued.

-Oh, my goodness.

And they ended up in London.

So where does this jug come into the equation?

Well, I'm just assuming that it came with the family

when they escaped from Odessa.

It certainly didn't start life in the Ukraine.

Is there any sort of connection in the family to the East, to Japan?

Not as far as I'm aware.

Because this rather lovely little thing

is a Japanese cloisonne jug and cover, or ewer and cover.

It probably dates to what we call the Meiji Period, which was 1868-1912,

but I would probably date this to about 1880-1890. And it is...

I hope you don't mind me saying, but it is possibly one

of the finest pieces of cloisonne that I've had the pleasure of handling.

-Really?

-It's really, really beautiful.

-That's wonderful.

-Really beautiful.

Especially when we consider how laborious this process of cloisonne is.

Effectively, you've got a gilt metal, bronze or brass base,

which this would have been made of.

-You then get all these tiny little swirls, these pieces of wire.

-Yes.

Which they would have individually soldered on

and then done the decoration of the animals and the flowers as well.

And then, individually, you would have hand poured molten

enamel into each of these tiny little things.

So the process is incredibly labour-intensive.

-It must've taken an age to produce.

-Literally days.

I mean, it is just the most beautiful thing

and you see cloisonne, which is a few bits of wire filled in with enamel,

and then you see cloisonne, which is gorgeous.

And it really is beautiful.

It is so detailed and in itself it sort of tells a little story

because you've got a dragon down here chasing the flaming pearl, which was a legend.

You've got a rooster here which is a symbol of bravery.

So it really speaks volumes.

-It looks particularly modest but it is really quite special.

-Gosh.

-It's lovely.

So if I turn it upside down, I would really,

really hope to see a mark, but there is no mark in there, sadly.

Which is such a shame, because an item of such quality, I would

really, really like to be able to attribute it to a particular artist.

Do you have any sort of expectations for it at auction?

I've got no idea whatsoever.

At auction, I would hope that it would fetch

somewhere in the region of £300-£500. OK.

-Maybe a reserve of £250.

-OK.

-But I do think it's quite stunning.

Thank you very, very much for bringing it in.

And especially the history that it has seen.

Bearing in mind that it has been in a shipwreck, in the Ukraine,

and goodness knows elsewhere, it has remained in remarkable condition.

It really has. So well done you for treasuring it for so long.

-Thank you very much.

-You're more than welcome. Thank you.

That sounds like the one to watch.

It's now time for our final visit to the auction room,

so here's a quick recap of all the items going under the hammer.

This painting has real quality, so it shouldn't get the brush-off

in the saleroom.

It may not be early Delft but this bowl has the look

and with no reserve it's going to go.

Christina fell in love with this cloisonne vase which has got to be a good sign.

Charterhouse Auctioneers in Dorset is where our first sale

is being held.

Auctioneer Richard Bromell is on the rostrum selling our car boot

find of the day. Going under the hammer right now we have a bowl.

It cost ten pence in a car-boot sale.

We're hoping to get around £60, the top end for it. It belongs to Kane.

Sadly, he can't be with us today, but we do have the item

-and we do have our expert, Mr Mark Stacey.

-Hello, Paul.

-Will it get that top end?

-I don't know. It is a lovely thing.

-It is.

-He thought it was Delft.

-He did think it was Delft.

And I think it's late, don't you? It's not that early Islamic.

But the colours are nice, the pattern is good.

-It should make £40-£60.

-It should do. I like the arabesque patterns.

-I love it.

-And it sort of attracts your eye. Here we go.

Fingers crossed for Kane. This is it.

This bowl here comes straight in at £25... I have bid.

£25, £30, £35, £40, £45...

-That's good.

-We're over the lower end anyway.

£45 I have, and £50 on the internet.

At £50, £60? £60 and away now. £70. It's on the internet.

The internet is pretty good.

So it is on the internet

and going away. So selling at £70, last chance at £70...

The hammer goes down. Yes.

£70. Not bad. I wish we could do that every day of the week.

I would love to, Paul. We would be happy, wouldn't we?

Yes, but we can't.

We can't. It is just not possible. Well, I hope you enjoyed that little moment, Kane.

Mark will be on the phone, won't you?

I will. I'll give them a ring.

And I'm sure Kane will be delighted.

Now, 145 miles north to Tring, where auctioneer Stephen Hearn,

at Tring Market Auctions, is on the rostrum.

Going under the hammer right now, a real treasure.

A Japanese cloisonne vase. It belongs to Janet.

Unfortunately she can't be here, she is on holiday.

But we do have her stepdaughter, Charlotte, who is with me right now. Do you know much about this vase?

-I'm afraid I don't.

-Have you ever seen it?

I've seen it in the house but that's about it.

-Probably gathering dust somewhere.

-Actually, it is stunning.

I mean, it really is. It is a great example of cloisonne.

It is just so detailed, it is unbelievable, but the thing that worries me

is that the Japanese market is not as hot as the Chinese market.

-No, never has been.

-Never has been. Will it ever be?

-I don't know.

-Not sure.

But we have put £300-£500 on it, with a reserve of £250 firm.

Try making that for £500. Try asking a potter to do that.

They'd go, "Sorry, gov. Couldn't do it." Anyway, Charlotte, it's going under the hammer.

-Right, we'll see.

-And hopefully you can be the bearer of good news on the telephone.

-Let's see.

-Here we go. Let's put it to the test.

We have a cloisonne miniature vase, now. There we are. What about that?

£100, £200? £150, £160, £180. £180, I have it.

£190. Are you £200?

£180, perhaps madam?

No more, at £190, then it's going down for £190...

No! Thank you.

You can take it home now and actually look at it

and see it and appreciate it.

-I'll have to appreciate it.

-And appreciate how beautiful it is.

Well, there you. Look. We are very, very sorry.

-It's going home now.

-We've tested the market and they didn't want it.

OK, well, thank you.

Well, they don't know what they missed.

Our journey concludes at Ewbank Auctions with auctioneer

Tim Duggan conducting the sale.

Going under the hammer right now, something for you fine art lovers.

It is a Petitjean oil and it really is stunning. It belongs to Mary.

-Thank you so much for bringing that in.

-That's my pleasure.

It lit up everybody's faces. Why are you selling this?

I love the picture but I don't think I could do it justice in my house.

I would just like it to give somebody some pleasure...

Adam, you've sold his works before?

Yes, they vary depending on size and subject.

But one of the best paintings we've had,

certainly in my time...

-Oh, that's promising.

-Definitely, definitely. One of the nicest paintings.

It is beautiful, yes.

-Very accomplished, and it's ready to go under the hammer right now.

-I hope so.

This is it. I'm tingling. Here we go. Look.

Edmund Marie Petitjean, there.

The village there with the church scene looking across the river.

Oil on canvas, signed. How do you see this one? £1,000 for it?

£1,000 bid, £1,000 bid now, £1,100 now.

£1,200, £1,300,

£1,400, £1,500,

£1,600, £1,700,

£1,800, £1,900. At £1,900,

looking for £2,000, sir.

-I'm looking for £2,000.

-We need one more bid.

-£2,000 now.

I've got £2,100 on the commission,

-I want £2,200 online please.

-£2,100.

-I was worried...

Looking for £2,200. It is £2,100 with me on the commission now.

£2,200 online now... It is with you online now.

Looking for £2,300 anywhere.

Looking for £2,300 anywhere.

All done then, selling then at £2,200 online, at £2,200.

-Yay!

-£2,200. Yay. That is a happy sound, Mary.

-Yes, that's good.

-Happy?

-Yes.

I'm so glad I spotted you with that big tarpaulin in the queue in the morning.

I found it in the queue under a big tarpaulin, with her husband.

-Good, keeping it out of the sunlight.

-Absolutely.

-Yes, yes.

-It was hot that day, wasn't it?

-It was boiling.

-It was.

Well, Mary is happy, as I imagine the new owner will be.

And that is what it's all about.

We've been to some fabulous locations which have provided us

with a really interesting and historic collection of items.

Join us again soon for more surprises in the saleroom on Flog It!