Compilation 34 Flog It!

Today's show comes from the stunning 18th-century Dumfries House,

situated around 30 miles south of Glasgow.

Among its treasures is a collection of furniture by the cabinet-maker

Thomas Chippendale,

considered to be the best in the world

from his early period. But it nearly wasn't to be.

Thanks to a late intervention by the Prince of Wales, back in 2007,

the contents and the house were saved for the nation,

for us to enjoy today.

Welcome to Flog It!

The story of Dumfries House is definitely

a cliffhanger of a tale.

Back in 2007, the house and its contents were put up for sale.

Lot numbers were attached and the auction date was set.

Now, what Prince Charles did was he pulled together

a consortium of charities, government, private investors

and heritage bodies to buy this magnificent house for the nation.

And they achieved it just in the nick of time.

And now the trust, headed up by the Prince of Wales,

have secured its future, they've rapidly undertaken a schedule

of regeneration works, all over the estate and inside the house.

Inside the house, the trust have put

a programme together to bring it back to life.

They've struck a fine balance between preserving

the original contents, restoring and remaking, where necessary,

in order to imbue the house with its original vitality that you'd

have had back in the 18th century.

For example, these sofas and chairs have been covered with a new

woven silk, but copied from a pattern

from a chair supplied to the house, back in the 18th century.

This would have been the original pattern.

So, hopefully, what they've done is,

they've made this house look like when the fifth Earl

arrived at his front door, and he put the key in the lock

and let himself in.

This is exactly what he would have seen,

and I think it's breathtaking.

And later, I'll be visiting another property in nearby Glasgow,

which, like Dumfries House, has also been saved for the public to enjoy,

but where there's been

a very different approach to the conservation.

But first, we head south, across the border, as we look

back at some of the valuation days we visited around the country,

and on our travels, we've stopped in at the gorgeous 18th century

Ragley Hall, in Warwickshire, where Charlie Ross's

aspirations of grandeur matched the sumptuous setting.

-Alison, could you just pass the caviar?

-Oh, yes.

We also paid a visit to the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke,

Hampshire, where hundreds of you turned up to have your items valued.

And we made a pit stop to the RAF Museum in Hendon, in London,

where Michael Baggott seemed to have turned into a mechanic.

I think we might have to take it down the garage to get

the wheels straightened, or the tracking sorted out.

But our first port of call for today's show

is the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, based in Falmouth,

where against a backdrop

of beautiful boats, Caroline Hawley found an intriguing box.

-Shall we see what's inside?

-Oh, definitely.

-Wow!

-This was given to me

by an elderly lady, who was a friend of the family, back in the 1960s.

-And you've had it ever since?

-I've had it ever since,

but I've never used it and I've just had it in a display cabinet.

It's made by Coalport, which is a very good maker.

And if we look at the mark here, Coalport, England,

which tells us it's after 1891.

And I would put it into the beginning of the 20th century.

So, if we have a look at these, the little coffee cans are gorgeous.

Coalport, again.

And here's the mark, here. W and H, for Walker & Hall, which is

on the box, as well,

because very often, the retailer is different to the maker.

We've got Walker & Hall, Sheffield, and the mark tells me it's 1912.

Which is exactly as it should be.

It's great. Original box. It looks in fantastic condition.

It doesn't look like it's been used.

There's only one bit of sadness, and that's that little hairline here.

And how that's happened, I don't know,

because they look in mint condition and that does make a difference.

It's a lovely set of coffee cans,

but not going to be worth a fortune.

I mean, possibly

£100-£200, if you're lucky.

So, would you be happy to put it into auction

with a 100-200 estimate?

Yes, because I don't use it

and I know my children aren't going to use it.

-And we can protect it with a reserve.

-With a reserve, yes.

Absolutely. I think there's every chance that will go at 100,

because you've got the make, you've got the silver, the quality.

-Right. 100 it is.

-OK.

And all the best with it. Thanks for bringing it along.

-Thank you.

-That's a pleasure.

A stunning set, from a time when

coffee was drunk with a sense of occasion,

rather than on the hoof in a takeaway cup.

At the RAF Museum at Hendon, in London, Michael Baggott

came across a mixed little lot.

Maria, thank you for bringing along these two intriguing, little

treasures. Can you tell me where they came from?

Well, the little thing, this one, was passed on from my family.

The spectacles, I bought them years and years ago,

when I was beginning to appreciate a little bit of antiquity.

I'm Italian by birth and I was intrigued to learn

all about the English,

history, geography.

-So, how long have you been over here in England?

-53 years.

-53 wonderful years?

-Wonderful years.

Well, let me tell you about these two little things.

This is a little silver model, but, helpfully,

it's got a set of English hallmarks on it.

It was actually made in Hanau in Germany

by the company of Neresheimer.

This is very heavy and very well-made.

And it's got Chester hallmarks on it, which are sought-after,

so that's a lovely little thing. It's had a few knocks.

Well, I'm not surprised.

I think we might have to take it down the garage to get

the wheels straightened or the tracking sorted out.

It's a charming little thing,

but these are really of the most interest to me,

because these were made in Birmingham,

-which is where I'm from.

-Oh! How interesting.

Now, sometimes, you get part marks on these.

You always get a mark on the inside of the arm, but, most helpfully

and most unusually, cos it doesn't often survive, we've got

the date letter on the end of the spectacles, which is for 1829, so...

-That's lovely.

-..to be fully marked, to have the original lenses,

very nice indeed.

So, I think in terms of value, they make an interesting

lot for a collector of silver.

Oh, jolly nice.

We would put them into the auction with an estimate of £100-£150.

Oh, how interesting.

-And a fixed reserve of £100.

-Oh, how lovely.

And they wouldn't go for any less, so you're happy for us

-to put them at auction?

-I'm delighted!

We'll put them in and hope that it charges

away, like the chariot, on the day.

-Yes. Thank you so much indeed for having me.

-A pleasure.

Well, that lot was a sight for sore eyes.

Next, we're heading over to the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke,

where Nick Davies took an open-topped tour

amongst the recreated streets of Hampshire.

So, Belinda, welcome to Flog It!

Here we are, on top of an open-top bus.

And there's a little bus on your charm bracelet here.

That's fantastic. How did you come by all these charms?

The charm bracelet was given to me

as a christening present by my grandparents,

and, over the years, all the charms have been added by various

relatives, and I stopped at 22 charms,

as 22 is my lucky number and it's followed me all my life.

-Intriguing! Why is it so lucky?

-I was born on the 22nd.

-Well, that's a good start.

-Yes.

-Well, it's a lovely thing.

Obviously, you've worked hard to accumulate these, for all

different reasons, I suspect.

The nice thing about it is the bracelet itself is quite important,

because it's 18 carat, and most of them you see are nine carat.

So, your value is doubled

because of the value of the actual bracelet itself.

So, why did you stop at 22? Just because it was your lucky number?

-Yes.

-No other reason?

-Also, it's a bit cumbersome.

-Yep.

It gets a bit big, and that was my next question.

This is all your history here. Why are you selling it?

It's very pretty.

My daughter it would be handed it down ultimately,

and I've spoken about it with her, and it's not something she really

wants, so if I was to sell it, then we'd hope to go on a cruise,

because my mother has just died and my daughter's taken it very badly,

and my mother was instrumental in buying some of the charms as well.

Oh, what a lovely story.

-We shall, in the nicest way, get you as far away as possible.

-Yes.

So, talk me through a couple of these.

The typewriter, for example. Why have you got one of those?

The typewriter is because I went to secretarial college and

-trained as a secretary.

-Love this.

There's reasons behind them all. OK. Shall we pick another one?

-18, obviously has got to be your 18th birthday?

-Yes.

-Passport?

-Passport, cos I liked travelling when I was younger.

-Fantastic.

Well, from a value point of view, I think

it's probably going to be roundabout £500 to £600.

-Wow!

-Has that been worth all your 22 years' hard work?

-Yes, definitely.

-So, we'll put it in for sale for that.

As long as you're happy with that. We'll put a reserve on it.

Very important with gold. Let's get the reserve right, as well.

So, a bit of discretion on the 500 for the reserve. OK.

And we're going to have to get off this bus now and take this bus

with us to the saleroom, and hopefully,

we'll have a good trip there.

Super. Thank you.

Did Belinda's bracelet wow the bidders?

Well, it's very nearly time to find out,

as we see how our first batch of items fared at auction.

But before that, I'm back in Scotland.

Earlier, I'd mentioned there'd been an extensive

programme of regeneration works here at Dumfries House.

Now, unlike other conservation projects, which simply aim to

halt years of decay, here, at Dumfries, the plan was to

restore the interior back to its former, magnificent glory.

And this area's a good example.

This architectural tour de force is known as the Pewter Corridor,

because it used to house the extensive collection of pewter ware.

When the trust took over the house,

this whole area was painted grey, and that was done back in the 1960s.

I guess it was the fashion of the day.

However, there were clues that something more exhilarating

lay beneath.

And here it is, look, in this tiny little corner.

A patch the decorators missed,

and it's just above the skirting board and it shows colour.

But, what's more exciting is a photograph has been found

from the 1920s of this corridor, showing the arches and the cupolas,

these wonderful domes with intricate detail.

Sadly, it's in black and white,

so the trust didn't know what the colour scheme was.

Extensive work was undertaken to return the Pewter Corridor

back to its former colour palette.

Two conservators worked for three months

on this particular cupola

scraping back, very carefully, the layers of history,

to reveal this wonderful decoration and colour scheme.

If you notice the rest of the corridor, you see the rest

of the domes here, the colour is slightly more intense and vivid.

That's because, rather than scrape back, a team of decorators from

Edinburgh took six weeks to actually copy what

they saw in that dome onto the other domes,

and I think the finished result is absolutely fantastic.

It's breathtaking.

This is exactly how it would have been back in the day.

It's time to leave Scotland now,

as we see how our items fared at auction.

Michael Baggott was taken

with Maria's fun German silver chariot, and spectacles,

from his home city of Birmingham.

Nick Davies loved Belinda's gold charm bracelet being sold to take

her daughter on a recuperative cruise.

And finally, it was time for tea, well, coffee, anyway,

as Arlene's 20th-century Coalport coffee set went up for sale.

And we took it to Jeffreys Auctions in Lostwithiel, Cornwall,

where auctioneer Ian Morris was on the rostrum.

Remember, whether you're buying or selling at auction, there is

always commission and VAT to pay.

Well, going under the hammer, right now, we have a boxed, Art Deco

coffee set, belonging to Arlene, who sadly cannot be with us.

She's on holiday. I hope you're enjoying it right now.

We do have Caroline, our expert, and we're looking at £100-£200.

-It's Coalport.

-Yeah.

-Very fashionable in its day.

-Silver-mounted. I think it's going to get the money.

-So do I.

-It's boxed.

-Yeah.

-It's ready to go.

-Absolutely.

-Let's hope we get nearer that 200.

-Yeah, hope so.

-This is it.

-Bids on the books mean that I've got to start at £160.

-That's it.

-Good, we'll get the top.

-160, 170, now. At 160, both bids with me.

At £160, I'm bid. 170, now.

No-one challenging in the room.

-I'm selling at £160.

-Yes! The hammer's gone down. £160.

-Almost the top end.

-Fantastic! She'll be pleased with that.

She'll be very pleased with that. Yes.

After spending all her holiday money, she'll come back

-and pick up a cheque. That's what it's all about.

-Brilliant.

What a great start for our first lot.

Next, we headed east across the country to London.

At Chiswick Auctions, William Rouse wielded the gavel as Maria's

silver spectacles and chariot went up for sale as one lot.

Well, so far, so good.

And going under the hammer right now, we've got

some George IV spectacles.

Get your eyes set on this, and some novelty silver belonging to Maria.

You've had these in the family quite a long time, haven't you?

I have, yes.

In all my antique history days, I've never bought a pair of specs

in my life. I don't know if you have.

-Have you? A pair of vintage...

-I bought a pair

-of Georgian spectacles last week.

-Oh, really?

-I've got my finger on the pulse.

-It's all in vogue, isn't it?

Let's find out what your specs are worth.

They're going under the hammer.

-Will a tenner do?

-Cheeky. Start me £60 for it. 60 is bid.

65, 70, 75, 80, 85,

90, 95, 100.

£100, there.

110, 120, 130,

140, 150,

160, 170, 180,

180, in the far distance.

At 180. At £180,

-I'm selling them for 180.

-That's a great result!

-190.

-Late bid.

-£200.

In the distance at 200.

-Amazing.

-£200! Lovely.

-Good heavens.

-I feel like... Mmm! ..a rich woman, now.

-I bet you do.

I didn't pay anything near that for mine and I'm pleased.

Some great results so far.

But did the lucky streak continue, as a much-needed family cruise

rested on the sale of Belinda's charm bracelet?

Nick Jarrett was on the rostrum

at Andrew Smith & Son auctioneers near Winchester.

Good luck, Belinda, and it's great to see you again. Who's this?

-This is my husband, Clive.

-Clive, pleased to meet you.

We're just about to put that lucky charm bracelet under the hammer.

22 gold charms, all collected by you.

And connected to your life, really, which is really nice.

-And what do you think of these?

-Yes. It's very nice, but

she's never used it as far as I've known,

-so I think it has to go.

-I'm sure there will be a collector out there.

And it's gold! There's a lot of value there,

and hopefully, we'll get £600-£700.

Hopefully. It should be all right.

-That's worth having, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

I'm going to start you at 280...

Fill it in, 320, 340, 360, 380.

-Oh, that's better.

-400. 420, 440, 460, 480,

500.

At £500, I have.

550, I have.

570, 600.

At £600, then. On the net at £600.

And 20, is it?

620, new bidder.

650. 670.

At 650, then. At 650 it is, on the net at 650...

-Are we all done? At £650.

-GAVEL BANGS

£650 is a fantastic result. That's a good result.

-Yeah. I'm really pleased with that.

-I'd be very happy with that.

Absolutely.

-Look at the big smile on your face.

-There's a big smile.

-You can treat yourself now.

-Yeah.

-Definitely.

What a fantastic result for Belinda and her family.

At £180. All done.

There's something very heartening about these grand,

country houses that have recently been saved for the nation to enjoy.

Now, the type of restoration work that's done here at

Dumfries House has made everything look shiny and new, if you like.

It's full of colour and vitality, giving the public

a taste of what things would have looked like back in Georgian times.

Now, not far from here, 30 miles away in Glasgow,

there's another house that's been saved for the nation.

But this one offers something very different.

And this is it. It's a work-in-progress, if you like.

Quite a contrast from the flawless Dumfries House.

These walls tell a story of a different type of conservation.

But where are we and what's it all about?

Well, to understand that, we need to start at the beginning.

This is Holmwood, a unique villa designed by the famous

architect Alexander Greek Thomson,

who started his architectural training in 1834,

at the incredibly young age of 12.

He was nicknamed Greek

because he was an exponent of the Greek Revival Movement,

which drew inspiration from the principles of ancient Greek

design, like harmony, symmetry, proportion and balance.

Greek villas usually are symmetrical,

but here you can see Thomson has definitely broken the rules.

This is asymmetrical.

But if you look beyond the impressive footprint of this

building, you can

still see the Greek influence cut into all the masonry work.

Holmwood has had numerous owners

and it's been used for many different functions

since it was built for businessmen James Cooper

back in 1857 to 1858.

For instance, from the late 1950s onwards,

it was run as a school, by the Sisters Of Our Lady Of The Missions.

But, in 1994, the house

and the grounds were threatened with redevelopment.

Naturally, this caused widespread concern,

especially amongst the newly-founded Alexander Thomson Society.

Luckily enough, Glasgow City Council stepped in.

They refused the planning permission,

and the National Trust for Scotland were able to acquire the house.

Although the trust were keen to preserve the unique exterior

of Holmwood House, it was the inside that held a real fascination.

Unusually, for an architect of the time, Thomson exerted

the same control over the interior design as he did over the exterior,

again, drawing on the classical Greek style.

Underneath these layers, Thomson left

extraordinary decorative schemes,

which the National Trust for Scotland

is still uncovering and restoring ten years on.

I'm meeting conservator Suzi Reid to find out more.

What an iconic building! It's playful.

It's whimsical, and it's full of colour.

It's so different to other properties

that are open to the public.

Why do you think it was important that this house was saved?

It's widely believed to be one of the most elaborate residential

villas, and it's an architectural wonder by Alexander Greek Thomson.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh tends to get a little bit more of the kudos,

but architecturally,

many people think Greek Thomson was superior.

And you've been working on this piece for a long time, haven't you?

Yeah. Well, when we took the property on in '94,

all the walls were covered in white wallpaper and white paint.

This section here, down the side of the fireplace,

is an area that's been worked on several times,

and opened up, to be able to see the full extent of the pattern there.

-This is painted directly onto the wall, is it, with a stencil?

-Yes.

It's part stencil, and it's part freehand.

It's really, really difficult to take it back.

The reason we only got this far in the first stage, is because

we felt that we were doing damage to the underlying resin layer.

But our specialist wall-painting conservators that we employ

to do the work were very, very careful.

And it took them about two weeks to reveal this section of wall here.

We purposefully made the decision here as well

to leave these overlying layers of paint on.

-Just different layers of history, really.

-Yes.

So that the public could see the evolution of the decoration

that happened throughout the history of the property.

-Peeling back the layers of time.

-Absolutely.

But I love the fact it's full of colour now.

We believe that the design around this room, particularly,

was placed so that you actually appreciated it most

-when people were sat at the dining table.

-It's at the right eye level.

Yes. So, it's all very low down.

And what about the frieze you see running around the room?

This is the Iliad Frieze, which is a paper

representation of Homer's poem.

When the trust acquired the property,

it was covered in wallpaper and white paint,

so the specialist paper conservator that was brought in to do

this work, very, very meticulously removed all the

residues of those layers, and was able to reveal the frieze.

-And it's in excellent condition.

-It is, isn't it?

Well, look, I'm ready for a tour of the house.

Shall we go and look at another room?

-Why don't we go and see the parlour?

-OK. After you.

What a fabulous ceiling! Gosh!

This is an architect having fun with his work.

Yet, it feels like a practical room, as well.

Yeah. Well, when it was originally built, the front of the

building faced out onto Cathcart Castle, which no longer exists.

But, obviously, with this big bay window,

you'd get the full view of the grounds and the castle

-across the river.

-It's a good viewing platform, isn't it?

-Yes.

And I understand that this space was designed for a worktable

for ladies to sit in the window.

-Really? That was the remit, was it?

-Yes.

The best resource the trust has had to help them

with the conservation work at Holmwood, is a book called

The Villa And Cottage Architecture, published in 1868,

around a decade after the house was built.

The book contains illustrated plates and descriptions of the interiors.

We have the main view of the property from the exterior there

and then we have some of the original designs,

and this is for the parlour that we're standing in now.

And so you can see this section here.

-This is the ceiling above us, in the window.

-Isn't that fabulous?

-What wonderful line drawings!

-Yeah. They're beautiful.

So, this has helped with the conservation?

This has given us a really good starting point.

It allows us to have a better idea of what we might be looking

for underneath all the paint layers that have been

applied over the years.

I mean, this, really, to me, brings the whole thing alive.

Just seeing this now, it makes it so obvious

what he was trying to do.

It really helps us to understand how the rooms might have been used.

Restoration work has also been undertaken in the stairwell,

where a strip of the original, decorative scheme has been revealed.

Thomson has outdone himself here.

The impressive cupola above the stairs echoes the bay window

in the parlour and the banister and the newel posts

have been carved with a Greek-inspired pattern.

And this is the drawing room.

So, you can see there's an awful lot going on in this room.

You can see a section of wall pattern above the dado rail

has been revealed, so you have to try and imagine what this

whole room would have looked like with that all the way round.

There's the stars on the ceiling.

We think it's possible that the 3-D stars might have been added later.

And that they originally were just painted on.

-Probably gilt as well.

-Yeah.

But if you could just imagine just how rich this room would have been

with all of the decoration all the way round.

What does the future hold in conservation here?

Well, again, we've still got so much research that needs to be done.

It's just a very slow progress.

We need to make sure that we're not damaging anything that's here

and we're interpreting it as well as we can

to allow the public to really understand it.

It's debatable whether we will reveal any more cos it is

-quite risky for the underlying layers...

-Yeah.

..but we could perhaps come up with different ways of interpreting it

-so it's more understandable.

-Sure. Good luck with that.

Visitors certainly get a different experience when they visit Holmwood

as they have to try

and imagine exactly how the house would have looked when it was

built to Alexander Greek Thomson's original specifications.

I'm so glad it survived.

I think it's a marvel.

Right, it's time to get back to our tour of the country,

as we visit Ragley Hall, a Georgian stately home in Warwickshire,

where Charlie Ross soaked up the opulent surroundings.

Alison, could you just pass the caviar?

-Oh, yes. I wish I had some(!)

-That's wonderful.

We'll just have a look at your items here

-and then we'll have dinner, shall we?

-Yeah.

There's quite a few people coming for dinner tonight as you can see.

-That'd be good.

-I LOVE these and do you know why?

I'm going to use an expression you may never have heard before.

-M and B.

-Ah.

-M and B.

Does that mean anything to you?

-Someone said something about something and boxed.

-Exactly.

Toys have generally been played with,

especially tin plate toys,

and it renders them really useless from a collecting point of view.

M and B means mint and boxed

and I think it can safely say that these have never been

out of their boxes, have they?

Well, hardly, no. Only to be looked at and then put back in.

I know, and, strangely, they were made to be played with.

I know, but we didn't have the train that went with it.

-Oh, that's a point. You haven't got an engine.

-No.

-Did you ever have an engine?

-No.

Well, they come from a toy shop so he didn't give us the engine.

So did you buy them from a toy shop?

No, my father's neighbour had a toy shop

and he closed it down somewhere in the '60s or early '70s

and he just gave these to my dad, saying, "The kids might like them,"

but, unfortunately, we couldn't find an engine to go with it.

-You know who made them?

-Hornby.

-Hornby, yeah.

-Do you know who Hornby was part of?

-Er, no.

-You've heard of Meccano?

-Yes.

-They were part of the Meccano set-up.

The wonderful thing about having the boxes,

you know which one you've got.

Coach number 31. A passenger brake van.

We've got a couple of tenders. Flat bed truck here.

There's a good variety. What made you pull them out of a drawer?

-Well, they were in my father's loft.

-Yeah.

We'd always said to him, "For goodness' sake, get rid of them!"

and he said, "No, they'll be worth something one day."

And I said, "Well, if they do go to auction you can put it towards

"your diamond wedding fund," cos in a couple of years they're going

to be having their diamond wedding.

-Diamond wedding is really quite a triumph, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Wonderful.

Looking at the prices, that's another wonderful thing, isn't it?

Six shillings and ninepence.

I think we're looking at probably a sale room estimate of £60-£100.

Reserve them at £60

and I think, with the right day,

we might just tickle over that 100, you never know.

The more we can tickle over 60,

-the more you'll have to eat at the party.

-More caviar, we'll have.

It'll be a very small piece of caviar but thank you for

bringing them along and the thing that intrigues me is the condition.

Remember, M and B, and it's always nice to see M and B.

A great little lot.

Soon we'll see if they found their matching engine at auction.

But first we return to Milestones Museum in Basingstoke where

some antique dolls captured Elizabeth Talbot's interest.

So, Pam and Frank, you've brought your extended family with you today.

What can you tell me about these young ladies?

These were my mother's dolls.

My mother was born in 1904 in Bloemfontein in South Africa.

She was an army daughter.

They went to Egypt in 1912 and then to the North West Frontier with

the 21st Lancers in about 1914, and 1915 was when the photo was taken.

Ah, yes, that's a delightful photograph,

showing your mother holding her precious doll.

That's charming to have so much direct history.

So who owns them now? They were passed to yourself, were they?

-They were passed to me and I passed them on to our daughter...

-Right.

..who doesn't like them, thinks they look rather morbid and frightening.

-They haven't been out of the box since.

-Have they not?

-No.

So they've been hidden away and so on.

-So the beneficiary of the sale would be your daughter?

-Yes.

And perhaps our grand-daughters as well.

Ah, so another generation to benefit. How lovely.

Do you or your daughters know anything about them as dolls?

I think they've got marks on the backs of their heads.

-I presume they're German.

-They are, all three, made in Germany.

In each case you have a Bisque or porcelain head

and then you have a body which is jointed with limbs,

but that is made out of... it's almost like a plaster of Paris.

It's a different substance.

In most cases, a collector would say the majority of the value is

contained in the head.

Obviously it's nice to have the whole doll,

but if the head is damaged, that's where you lose value quite quickly.

The fact that these have been so well looked after has meant

they've survived very well

latterly, so the costumes, which are also very fragile have

survived better than they might had they been out in the light

and the wigs also, the hair, is also in reasonably good condition.

This one here has closing eyes and an open mouth.

They all have different expressions.

The different models have different markings on the back.

Some of them are rarer than others

but then other points can be scored, if you like, by how well they're

painted, so if the eyebrows are nicely painted,

if the detail of the mouth and the cheeks is well-coloured,

a collector will pay more or less depending on whether they think it's

a good example and a happy doll, a friendly face,

or whether it looks a bit scowly or grumpy whatever.

I think realistically total value would be between £200-£300

-for the three of them.

-Wow.

-That's all right.

-Are you pleased with that?

-Very.

-Oh, good.

£300, we'd be happy.

I presume your daughter would appreciate a reserve being

-placed on them?

-Yeah.

So if you put £200, the lower end of the estimate,

but use a bit of discretion. Use the auctioneer.

If it got to within 10%, then they could sell,

but, otherwise, they'd be protected.

I just think the magic of them being in the box and I don't know if they

can have a copy of the photograph,

just give a bit of provenance to it, will just add charm to the lot.

Wonderful. Thank you so much.

I'm sure that they will find a new owner who will love them dearly,

-so thank you for that.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Bisque-headed dolls often divide collectors.

Some find them scary, whilst others admire their unique beauty.

Back across the Scottish border, it's the sumptuous

Rococo furnishings which I've been marvelling at.

The Georgian decor here at Dumfries House is incredibly ornate.

At our valuation day at Falmouth,

an equally ornate piece caught Charles Hanson's eye.

Goodness me, Penny, it's impressive.

-I'm glad you think so.

-Tell me about your object.

This has been in my family for as long as I can remember.

As a child, we used to have very formal Sunday teas

and it was always trotted out for scones and things like that.

-Have you any idea how far it goes back?

-I've no idea.

It's a wonderful table adornment, isn't it? It sits so well.

It's an object that was made really at the height of our powers

under Queen Victoria.

Victorians got very involved in different styles, so you've

got the sea scrolls, which reflect the Rococo or the near-Rococo.

You've got the anthemion here, which is a neoclassical emblem.

You've got fruit, vine leaves here

and other different flower heads

and, to finish it off, it's mounted on these very dainty,

almost Rococo shell-cast feet.

This pierced cut work is all in good condition

and just here, Penny, there we go,

-the infamous mark, the crown.

-Right.

That's the mark for Sheffield.

The maker mark we can see down here, it's marked JD & S

and they were James Dixon & Sons

who were a leading industrial silversmith working in Sheffield.

They were really on a par to Elkington's and other big names.

They were founded in the year 1806

and were very highly regarded for quality.

We value the hallmarks by the clarity, by the crispness,

and also the date letter there, which is G for 1881.

It's a wonderful object. It sits so proud.

We'll be honoured to handle it at auction.

-It's as good as it was on the day it was made.

-Wonderful.

-And I would value it at between 150 and 250.

-Right.

What I would propose, Penny,

is putting a reserve at £150 with a 10% discretion.

I feel that's its true market value in the current market.

-That sounds fine.

-Are we going to auction?

-We're going to auction.

Are we hopefully going to have a sweet taste out of that bowl?

-Well, it would be nice.

-Can't wait. Thanks, Penny. Thanks so much.

What a sweet ending to the last of our valuations.

We'll be finding out how our final batch of items

fared at auction very soon,

but first, I'm making

one last visit back to Scotland.

Here at Dumfries House,

restoration work has been feverishly under way

since the house was bought for the nation back in 2007

and one of the rooms that's received particular attention is this,

the family bedroom,

and it's dominated by this magnificent four-poster bed,

designed and built by Thomas Chippendale,

who also designed 50 other pieces of incredible furniture for this house.

Now, this bed is made of the latest fashionable Cuban mahogany

imported from the West Indies.

You can see one of the posts there

resembling a fluted Classical column.

Intricate cresting all around this bed in the Rococo style,

centred by a conch shell, but it's all been covered in fabric.

When the trust took over the house, they decided to restore the bed back

to its original splendour, as it hasn't been refurbished since 1868.

The work took two years to complete and it's incredibly skilled

and I think they've done a terrific job.

All of this wonderful deep relief intricate carving,

as you can see, on the headboard and all

the cresting around the bed has been covered in a newly-woven silk.

Now that takes a long time to do and it's a copy of 18th century damask

fabric that was found elsewhere in the house,

like on the chairs I showed you earlier.

It really is splendid and three mattresses have also been added

and if I lift this carefully, I can show you the standard

configuration back in the 1700s.

The bottom mattress, this one here, is stuffed with horsehair.

The middle, that's stuffed with wool and the top mattress,

that's the key one, the little thin one,

that's stuffed with feathers,

so that should give you the best night's sleep and,

if it doesn't, well, you're incredibly hard to please!

Now you might notice that the bed is slightly short in length.

That's because back in the 18th century people were slightly shorter

but they also feared contracting the disease tuberculosis,

so they believed if you slept upright

you could breathe more freely and you could cough more freely

and that way you just might dodge the disease.

Now time for our final visit to the auction with our last lot of items

and here's a reminder of what they were.

Mint and boxed, Alison's Hornby train carriages

were leftover rolling stock from a closed down toy shop.

They were showered with affection by Frank's mother

but the three Bisque-headed dolls had to find a loving new owner.

And finally, Penny's silver bonbon dish was

a shining example of an ornate Victorian centrepiece,

which we sold back at Jeffreys Auctioneers back in Cornwall

where Ian Morris was on the rostrum once more.

Penny, we're just about to sell Granny's silver,

your lovely centrepiece for the table, that bonbon dish.

It's Victorian. It's lovely, actually,

-so you can remember this as a little girl, can you?

-Yes.

My grandmother used to live with us

and we had these very formal Sunday teas.

I believe in things like that on Sundays,

to have a proper sit-down meal with the family.

-Although it's old fashioned, it's a classic...

-Yeah.

..and it's a great centrepiece and a statement.

-Let's find out what the bidders think, OK?

-Indeed.

-Here we go.

£100, say no more. £100 I'm bid.

110 to get on. 110. 120.

130. 140.

150. 160.

170, sir? 180.

190. 200.

210. 220.

220 at the back.

At £220.

Very pleased with that. Somebody's going to cherish it.

-I hope so.

-Yes, they will.

And they'll use that as the wow factor as their new centrepiece

-and enjoy it.

-Yes, not just as Christmas.

-No.

What a great start.

Next, let's find out how those Hornby train carriages sold.

We took them to Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers

in Stratford-upon-Avon

and Christopher Ironmonger was on the rostrum.

-Alison, it's great to see you again. Who have you brought along?

-My dad.

-What's your name?

-Alan.

Alan, pleased to meet you and, of course, these are your trains?

-Boxed.

-Yes.

-Not played with ever?

-No.

-Gosh.

Charlie, I agree with the valuation but we could have

one or two surprises because of the mint condition.

-M and B.

-Yes.

-Mint and boxed. That's what we like.

-The reserve's been tickled up.

-It has. It's 80 to 120, fixed at 80.

Don't blame you for that. I think it'll sail through that.

We're going to find out what this lot think right now.

It's going under the hammer.

I've got 50 on the book. At 50, 60 now.

70, is it? 70 on the net.

5, is it? 75, room.

75 room bid. 80, net.

-At 80 now.

-One more bid, come on.

75 in the room. Are we done at 75?

Sure?

THEY SIGH

-Oh, it's experience.

-Oh!

-What did I say, 60? Never mind.

-You did.

I can't believe that. They were mint and boxed but we hit the buffers.

-Never mind. He's here to take them home.

-I'm taking them home.

-Back in the loft.

-Back in the loft.

There's always a different auction on another day.

Next, let's see how those three Bisque-headed dolls did.

We returned to Andrew Smith & Son near Winchester to sell them.

Mick Jarrett was wielding the gavel.

Good luck, Pam and Frank.

We're about to put those Bisque-head dolls under the hammer.

There's three of them. Good German name. Quality, quality, quality.

-Why are you selling these?

-They belong to Frank's mum...

-Yeah.

..and we gave them to our daughter.

-She doesn't like the look of them at all.

-I don't like the look of them.

I'm not trying to put anyone off buying them or collecting them,

but dolls have always freaked me out, especially the ones

that have the mouth and the eyes that go like that.

-But there are lots of collectors out there.

-There are.

-People either love them or hate them.

-Anyway, good luck.

These will go. Here we go.

Several bids on here.

I have to start you at...

-380.

-Straight in.

-400, can I say?

-Nearly double.

400 on the phone. 420. 450?

-Sue will be pleased.

-480, 500.

And 20. 550.

580, 600.

And 20. 650.

680. 720.

These are pretty special.

There's something special about one of these.

780. 800.

And 20. 850.

-880, 900.

-Good gracious!

We've sold these Bisque-head dolls before

but not for this sort of money.

980.

£1,000.

1,050. 1,100.

On the phone, £1,100.

1,150 can I say anywhere? 1,150?

£1,200.

1,250, last chance on the net.

£1,200. Any more? At 1,200 then.

I still don't like them.

-Who gets the money?

-My daughter.

Yeah, because you gave them to her.

-Grandma would have been pleased with that.

-Of course, yes.

There was something about one of them. I don't know what it was.

As you said, it was those eyes.

48, 50.

Well that's it for today's show.

You've shown us some wonderful treasures from across the country

and we've had some fantastic results in the auction room,

especially those three Bisque-headed porcelain dolls.

They definitely did the business and that's what it's all about.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the groundbreaking restoration work

that's happened here at Dumfries House.

It looks fabulous and I hope you've enjoyed the show.

So, until the next time, it's goodbye.