Wrexham 1 Flog It!

Wrexham is the principal town of North East Wales.

It was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.

That was due to John "Iron Man" Wilkinson,

who founded the Bersham Ironworks in the late 18th century

and they produced cannon for the British Army

and also cylinders for James Watt's first steam engine.

Chugging along nicely today are our two experts Kate Bliss and Philip Serrell.

They're quite nice.

-Salt of the earth.

-They'll be picking out the best antiques for our owners to take to auction.

Whatever you do, stay with us until the end of the line!

Where Philip Serrell has certainly found a very unusual collection to start the show.

Bernadette, one word springs to mind.

Why?

I'm fascinated by it.

SHE LAUGHS Fine, yes...

Especially the frogs.

-I love frogs.

-Do you?

I was interested in the development of the frog from the egg to the frog itself.

-That's why I have them.

-There's a maker's name here, which is T Gerrard & Co.

They're in Pentonville Road in London.

They produced models, chemicals and appartus.

-These would have been produced for school laboratories?

-Yes.

And what we've got here are all sorts of things...

We've got a section of the development of a fowl embryo.

We've got your lovely frogs, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-We've got mussels.

I tell you what - moules mariniere will never seem the same again, will it?

How old are they? I guess '50s?

-I would imagine so.

-1950s. They're made of plaster, aren't they?

I believe most of them are plaster of Paris.

How did you come by them?

I work in a school and, some years ago, we were clearing a few things out.

-These were for the skip, really, so I decided I would keep them.

-Right.

Strangely... I think there is a market for them.

This would be great for a museum or someone who collects medical things.

Provided it's advertised properly and promoted properly, which I'm sure they will be,

-the marketplace will decide the value.

-Right.

Erm... I'm really guessing here.

I think we've got to estimate them at £80-£120, that sort of region.

I think that we can put a reserve on them of around the £60 mark.

Erm... But I really wouldn't be surprised...

if they did go and make a lot more,

because from my point of view, it's just really guesswork. Why are you getting rid of these?

-I've got nowhere to put them.

-OK.

-I'm fascinated by them, but I've nowhere to put them.

-Which is your favourite one?

-I love the frogs.

These are good, too. I like the insides of...

-Helen, why have you brought this pot along today?

-I'm fed up of it!

-Are you?

-Yes.

-Why is that, then?

I've had it a while. I liked it when I bought it,

but like me - I get fed up of things easily -

and my daughter died two years ago of a brain tumour,

so I thought I'd give some money to the cancer Macmillan Fund.

-What a lovely idea.

-In order to do that, that's gonna go.

-OK, so where did you buy it from?

-A car-boot sale.

-Car-boot sale? OK, you've got a good eye, haven't you?

-How long ago was that?

-About two years.

-Right, and what did you pay, dare I ask?

-£10.

-£10?

-Mmm.

-Did you think that was good at the time?

Yeah, I did. I didn't really look.

I liked the colours, so I got it.

-Did you know what you were buying?

-I knew it was Doulton. Apart from that, nothing else.

-Right.

-You're right, the colour is the best thing about it, isn't it?

-Yeah.

And the shape. It's called Doulton's flambe range

and it harks back really to Japanese porcelain.

This very blurred red colour is rather like what the Japanese

called sang de boeuf - literally ox blood.

The flambe glaze was first discovered by a chap called Bernard Moore,

who worked at the Doulton factory

and I think this particularly shows off the effect well.

It's almost got this flame-like pattern around the frieze, hasn't it?

If we turn it up, we can see that flambe's stamped on the bottom.

You've got the Doulton stamp and then "flambe".

-It actually says "veined", doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Which describes it well. What do you think of this pitied effect?

-It looks like honeycomb.

-Yeah.

-It gives it a bit of a three-dimensional effect, really.

-It's a nice piece.

-It was quite expensive to produce, this flambe ware.

-I imagined it was.

And it was produced by putting very small amounts of copper oxide into the glaze

and then releasing, in a very controlled environment,

small amounts of oxygen into the kiln while it was fired.

-It's still produced by Doulton today. It is a popular range.

-Yes.

I see a few pieces up and down.

What about value? You paid £10...

-Just over 50?

-Just over 50?

If I'm lucky!

Well, it's not actually an old piece.

I wouldn't call it antique.

This flambe range came in in the earlier 20th century,

but looking at that piece, I'd probably say it's 1970s in date.

Because of that it's fairly usual, in fact, it's not a very rare piece.

-That affects the value. I would think we're gonna be more than your £50.

-Good.

-I would hope, at auction, we're going to get between 100 and 150 for it.

-That's fine. Great.

-Lovely.

-That's got to go.

-That's got to go, all right.

-Let's hope we can shift it for you.

-OK, thank you, Kate.

Pauline, thank you so much for bringing in a piece of furniture

you know we don't get a lot of. This is exceptionally smart.

-It's a little Sheraton work table.

-Sheraton?

-Sheraton, yes.

Not actually made by his hands, he was the designer.

Why are you bringing this in and I want to know its history to you?

My husband's inherited it within the last few months from his aunt.

-Right.

-She's had it in her family for years.

-A long, long time.

-Yes.

Obviously, you want to flog it, you don't like it, then?!

It's beautiful, but we've nowhere to put it.

I have an ordinary sewing box, I wouldn't use it,

-and I'd rather have some money.

-OK. It's beautifully proportioned.

It is what you would expect of Sheraton.

Earlier part of the 19th century, born in the late-18th century.

He lightened a lot of Chippendale's designs.

If you had anything that was overworked or heavy,

he made thing much more elegant and demure - a slenderness.

It's very elegant.

The legs just tell you it's Sheraton straightaway.

It really is quite defined, isn't it?

He also worked with lots of veneers and lots of inlays

and we've got a lovely little shell inlay here which has been burnt off.

Beautifully done.

It is made of Cuban mahogany. It's got a lovely, tight, reddish grain.

-I like the front.

-I do.

That's a Serpentine front - that's a lot of craftsmanship.

That's where the value comes in.

OK. It's got a lovely cross stretcher with a diamond lozenge just to hide the joints.

It's had a break on that joint. I looked.

There's a little metal strap which is holding the cross stretcher together.

Let's look at the interior.

So you've, basically, not even used this?

No, I left all that was in, because I didn't know how old the things were.

-It's got one or two things wrong. I don't think these handles are original.

-Oh?

No. They're slightly too big.

-The hinges have been changed.

-Yes. My son said that.

And you got a little bit of this inlay missing.

-Do you see the stringing detail?

-Yes.

-That's missing.

If this was 100% right, I think we'd be looking at 800 to £1,200.

-Seriously.

-But it's not?

It's not. I'm gonna put an auction valuation of 300 to £400 on this.

-That's still very nice.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

-OK, OK. Let's do it, then!

Alan, this is quite an imposing portrait.

-It is, yes.

-Some might say she's got quite an intoxicating beauty, really, hasn't she?

-Yes, she has.

Why have you brought her along today?

It was me mother's and she's had it for 60 years.

She bought it from Morton Hall, before it was pulled down, in Burnley.

She's 90 now, me mother, and in a nursing home.

She said, "You can do what you want with the painting."

-That's why I brought it along.

-Don't you want to hold onto her?

-No. She can go, I'm afraid.

Let someone else have a look at her.

-You're certainly not intoxicated by the sound of things!

-No.

Well, let's have a look at the signature,

because she is signed, isn't she, down the bottom left-hand corner here.

This is an artist known as Aurelia Della Corte Szvatek.

We know little about her, actually.

We can say that she was Italian.

She was active certainly around 1900-1910.

And looking at the canvas here, I would certainly say this dates

from probably circa 1900.

In Europe, post 1908,

painting was very much influenced

by the huge hit Picasso and Braque were having in Paris.

Enormous influence, which was really the start of Cubism.

A completely different art style.

This shows no sign of Cubism, whatsoever.

In fact, it's very much in a Romantic vein.

She's very suggestive, really, in the way

that she's just slightly revealing herself

and she has her hand held up to her chest.

The actual style of the painting itself - there's a certain amount of impasto, the oil is built up

in layers, so it stands up almost in peaks on the canvas.

It's more suggestive of the Impressionist style,

late 19th-century, rather than this more modern vein

that was happening in Europe in the early part of the 20th century.

We've got signs of mildew or mould growing here. And here.

And again, there's another patch here.

That's going to affect the price, just slightly.

I've looked up this artist and, in fact, the only other pieces

that are recorded at auction are water colours.

I know that a pair of water colours, much smaller in size, were sold at auction in about 1990.

They sold for roughly £1,500.

I would say at auction, certainly,

I can see her making between £2,000 and £4,000.

I would like to put a reserve certainly of 2,000.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-If two people really want her, it may take it up even further.

That's fine, yes.

It's a good price is that.

-Are you happy with that?

-I'm really happy with that, yes!

A great range today, from 19th-century furniture,

through to 20th-century pottery and an unusual set of medical models to intrigue the bidders.

But it's Alan's painting, which is causing auctioneer

Anthony Parry some concern at his saleroom in Mold.

What do you think of this one? This is an oil on canvas,

A Szvatek, I think that's how you pronouce it.

Kate has put £2,000 to £4,000 on this oil painting. It's beautifully painted.

It's put on with a pallet knife and with brush. It's got texture.

The condition is perfect. The frame is absolutely stunning.

The whole thing is a bit of a mystery.

It's shrouded in an enigma.

There are two A Della Corte Szvatek.

One was Aurelia and the other was Aranka.

Is Aurelia a man's name or a lady's name?

Were they two sisters or was it husband and wife?

-Could be.

-In 1910, one of them did exhibit in the RA.

-The Royal Academy. That adds some weight to the value, really.

-There's a bit of quality there.

We've checked our sales index and there hasn't been any sold in the last few years.

-The last one was about ten years ago and it only made £500.

-Really?

-Yes.

If it had come in here, I would only have put £800 to £1,200 on it. I don't know about you.

£800 to £1,200 is about right, I can see it doing that.

-I'd love to see it do the £4,000.

-I certainly would.

I'd love to see Alan's face and see him go home with that sort of money.

Yes. We've had interest in it, but not that much interest.

What's your gut feeling?

-I don't think it'll do it.

-You don't think it'll do it?

-No.

Well, in a moment, our items are just about to go under the hammer. So watch this space.

So a mystery wrapped in an enigma. That could unsettle the buyers, but let's keep our fingers crossed.

First under the hammer is the Doulton flambe vase,

spotted by eagle-eyed Helen at a car-boot sale.

-Kate's put a good price on it.

-Yeah.

-Why did you get it so cheap?

-I dunno, lucky, I guess.

You're just lucky. You have the gift.

Well, I wouldn't say that, but...

I wish I had that sort of luck. Have you been to a car-boot and bought something like that?

-No, they all know me!

-Yeah, it gets worse, doesn't it?

-They all pop their prices up!

It's not fair, is it? We'll have to go incognito, in disguise.

This is it. This is our lot. Good luck, both of you.

170, a rather nice flambe vase now.

Another Royal Doulton piece.

The flambe one... 50, I'm bid. £50...5...55...60...65...70.

5...80...5.

90. 90. Five is a catalogue right behind you, sir. 95. 100? £100.

105...110...

115, the catalogue. 120.

125. 125, the lady's winning now.

130's a fresh bidder.

135...140...

145, changes his mind.

150, sir? 150. Another five?

-This is good.

-155...160...

160. All done at £160? Are we finished?

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-What will you put the money towards?

-Part of it will go to Macmillan.

-The cancer research?

-Yeah.

There's a bit missing... Oh, there's a bit missing on me hall table now.

-Your bit's missing. Helen's bit's missing. What's missing?

-I'm not telling you!

-Good luck with your bit.

-Thanks. ..Thanks.

-A pleasure, well done, you.

-What a great result.

-Yes, great.

I've just been joined by Alan and we've got that oil painting going under the hammer

with Kate's valuation of £2,000-£4,000.

We did a bit of background history. It was very vague.

I'd value that at around £600 to £1,200 and that's what Anthony the auctioneer said.

This is not putting Kate down at all, because it is relative.

I hope that sells for £2,000.

The only research we've got of items that have gone to auction by the artist are only water colours.

They're works on paper that, generally speaking, make a lot less than oils.

Those are making £700 to £1,000.

So going on that basis, something of this quality ought to be in that region.

I've stuck my neck out on this one. This is the one I'm worried about.

But Alan has come to me and said, "Look, Kate, how much interest has there been?"

I said, "Not as much as I'd hoped before the sale, but you never can tell."

He said, "I don't want to take it home with me."

What have you done, Alan? Tell me.

-I've reduced the reserve on it.

-Reserve?

-To how much?

-To £1,800.

-You've dropped it a couple of hundred quid.

I... I hope it sells.

I just hope it sells. I don't think you've dropped it enough.

I just hope you prove me wrong.

445...

is A Delle Corte Szvatek - an oil on canvas.

-There's been a lot of interest.

-Oh!

Perhaps it's last-minute interest.

What shall we say for it? 500, thank you. £500.

£500, it's a start, isn't it? £500.

600...700...

-800.

-We're going in the right direction.

-We are, aren't we?

-£800.

£800. 900, is there? £900. £900. £900.

All finished at £900?

-Alan, it's going back in the car.

-Going back in the car, yeah.

-You like it, though?

-Yes, it's a nice painting.

That's a plus factor. It can go on the wall and you can enjoy it.

Yeah, I can put it in another sale.

You know the value, you know it's got nine in the room.

-When he said there's gonna be lots of interest, I thought...

-I had high hopes then.

No, we got that one wrong, I think.

It depends who's here on the day. Give it a rest and you never know.

Yes, we'll try to get... We'll see what we get for it.

I still think we ought to get over the thousand for it.

-Are you ready for this, Pauline?

-Yes.

-So am I, I'm a little nervous.

We've got £300 to £400 riding on this Sheraton sewing table.

It's a gorgeous bit of Georgian furniture.

Everyone's saying right now, there's never a better time to buy brown furniture for an investment.

He says, fingers crossed.

What shall we say for the inlaid mahogany sewing table?

Pretty little cabinet.

£100, I'm bid. £100...125...150...

175...200...225...

250. 250.

260.

270...280... 290, is it?

290's over there. Five?

295, thank you. 295...300...

Can I squeeze another fiver out of you? No.

£300 is this side. All done at £300?

-Are we quite sure at £300?

-GAVEL BANGS

-A little bit of pressure.

-There was. It was slow at the beginning.

What will you do with the £300?

We've three children. We'll share it with them.

-Oh, that's easy to divvy up, isn't it?

-It is.

Thank you very much for bringing furniture in, because it makes my day.

-I love talking about it.

-You do. It was obvious that.

I've waited a long time for this moment, a good three or four weeks.

The most unusual lot I've seen on Flog It! in four years.

It's Bernadette's 49 medical parts.

You've got to laugh at that, surely!

-You salvaged these.

-Yes, I did.

-From a skip.

I know Philip has done a great valuation.

-80 to 120.

-The auctioneer's friend.

The auctioneer's friend, which we both agreed with,

because we've not seen anything like it.

Hats off to you, Philip, cos it's a brilliant choice to pick.

It's so unusual. He's stuck his neck out.

The thing is, if Anthony's got them on the internet

-and contacted specialists, they'll make their money.

-There's a phoneline booked.

-Excellent.

Which means someone's serious, so we just need one other person.

Well, what do you say about these things?

Good gracious me! A collection of 49

various painted plaster of Paris models of anatomical parts.

I think we've got the life-cycle of the tadpoles and the frog.

We've certainly got two that look very much like ET.

LAUGHTER

-I'm lost for words.

-Yeah, I bet he is.

£20 I've got to start.

£20...30. £30...£40...£50...

£60.

-£65...70...

-In the room now.

Five. 80?

£80...85...90...95...

100...110...

120.

125.

130. Five.

140. Five.

150...155...

160. Five.

170.

Five. 180.

185, thank you. 185. 190?

190. Have five. 195? 195?

Yep. 195.

200.

Anybody else? Missed no-one?

-Come on, Martin, 210.

-AUDIENCE GASPS

210...220...230....

240. No, that'll do. 240 over here.

Can we persuade anyone else to put them on the mantelpiece?

-All done at 240, then?

-GAVEL BANGS

-240 quid! That's so good, isn't it?

-Yeah, thank you.

Well above top end. Good diagnosis from Dr Lot here.

It's great when you see things like this, isn't it?

That's what makes the programme - when you have a good bit of fun.

Yeah. It's so unusual and we want to see more stuff like this.

If you've got stuff like that, bring it in to one of our valuation days.

Details of the venues you can find on the website.

Just click onto the website. We'll see you there.

I'm here at St Giles Parish Church, the largest in Wales.

Throughout its history, it's always been a centre for music with a very fine choir,

a superb organ and a particularly fine set of bells.

For centuries, the sound of church bells has been evocative of a very British way of life.

Whether calling the faithful to worship, celebrating victories at sea or lamenting somebody's death.

There's around 5000 towers in this country, each containing five or more bells.

Each week they're run by a dedicated band of enthusiastic volunteers.

There's around 50,000 bell-ringers in this country,

whose full impact was heard recently at the dawning of our new millennium.

All ready? Treble's going.

She's gone.

BELLS RING

Three treble.

It's only in Britain that bells of different sizes and tones are rung

in sequence to produce structured music known as change ringing.

Although it's a highly complex art form,

bell-ringing can be engaged at different levels.

-To talk me through the ropes is tower captain and head bell ringer, David Spalding. Hi, David.

-Hello.

Before we start, how did you get involved in bell-ringing and how long have you been doing it?

Well, I started about 15 years ago.

My eldest daughter went to wanted to learn to ring and I came along to keep her company

and got called in and enjoyed it ever since.

-Do you have to have an aptitude for it?

-I don't think so.

I think you have to be prepared to learn

and I think you have to be prepared to practice but that said, most people can ring.

It usually takes a few months to learn to ring reasonably competently...

-With practice.

-OK. One final question, what chance have I got?

-I'd really like to have a go. Could I?

-Certainly.

Right, when we start with a new ringer, the first thing

-is I have to instruct them to let go when I say so.

-OK.

There are two parts to bell-ringing.

One is called hand stroke, which is where we pull on the sally.

The other is called tail stroke, where we pull on the tail.

We'll start with you pulling the sally, but you must remember to let go when I say so.

-OK.

-The first thing is reach up, don't pull it yet.

Pull and let go now. That's it.

Whoops, don't catch it.

You pull very hard.

-Strong.

-Yes.

-So not too hard.

-It's finesse really.

Wait. Now bring your hands up.

Got it. It's catching it.

-Did you feel you can pull that?

-I can do it now. Watch.

-Go up. You got it?

Yeah.

Catch and pull. Let go. That's it.

And catch, pull and let go.

Right, let me take it. I'm gonna stand it this time.

RINGING STOPS

-Now, that's hand stroke, so do you want to have a go at the tail stroke?

-Yes.

With this one, you hang on to the rope

-and I'll look after this bit.

-OK.

What will happen with the tail stroke is that we'll start off with me pulling the sally,

so the rope will go up and you'll have to bring your arms up with the tail.

-Then pull...

-Then pull down. Not too hard.

-No.

-That will bring the rest of the rope inside down. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-It doesn't matter if you make a mess of it. Are you ready?

-Yep.

Here it goes. Don't forget to let you get arm go up with the rope.

Off she goes. And pull.

Not too hard. That's it.

Let it pull your hand up, because your hand is going up before the rope is going up.

Now pull.

-Here she comes.

-Yeah.

-It keeps you fit, this, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

The art of bell-ringing is when we change the position of the bells as we're ringing,

sometimes we have to let the bell go all the way up.

Or you cut them short.

'If you think that looks tricky, try putting the two together.'

First of all you need to take the tail in your left hand.

Then reach up onto the sally with your left hand, put your right hand above it.

This time, when you pull, remember you let go of the sally, but you don't let go of the tail.

-OK. Down.

-Let go.

Both hands up. Here she comes. Both hands. That's it.

-Let go. Good.

-Got it.

-Bit scary, but it's good.

All right?

-You do feel like there is a really

-big responsibility resting on your shoulders by doing this.

-You do. If you look up, it's actually...

-It's worse.

It's worse, yeah.

Away you go.

You're doing it.

And pull.

-Fantastic.

-Brilliant.

I've got it.

David is certainly a great teacher and here in Wrexham,

the bells themselves are valuable antiques in their own right.

I had to come up to the bell tower to take a look at these bells.

They're huge and LOUD! Thank goodness they've stopped ringing!

They were cast in Gloucester in 1726 by Britain's foremost bell caster, Abraham Rudhall.

He's as good as you're going to get, believe me.

It's really rare to see five of his bells in any one church.

Wrexham, well, they've got ten of them!

Of course the best way to hear the bells ring is on the outside of the church

and not on the inside,

so I'm going to leave you in the comfortable hands of David Spalding and the St Giles ringers.

BELLS RING

And they're still queuing up for us at the valuation day. So it's time to get back to the tables.

-Betty, how are you?

-I'm fine.

-Fine.

-Tell me about this.

-It was given to me by my aunt,

about six years ago. I'd always liked it as a child,

so she said, "Before anything happens to me, I'll give it to you now,"

and that's why I have it. But my two sons don't like it.

-But you like it.

-I like it.

-What do you reckon, Neville?

-I reckon we'd enjoy the money more.

-The money!

Right, so what is it?

-It's a clock.

-Where's it come from?

-France.

-How do you know that?

-I was told.

And it was on the back of the clock.

"Le Roy et Fils" it's got written on the back,

who were good French clockmakers. I reckon it's probably about...18...

1860, 1880.

It hasn't got a glass dial on the front, has it?

-Never had.

-Why's that?

-No idea.

-I'll tell you what I think.

I don't think this has ever had a glass dial,

but what it would have done is probably sat under a glass dome,

which has probably been broken.

This would have been raised slightly off the ground, on a wooden plinth.

-Yeah.

-And I also think that, either side of this,

would have been two candelabra or...

um, vases, and it would have been a clock garniture.

That's all I ever remember is this. Nothing else.

It's quite nice.

You've got these little panels...

and that's repeated with a figure down here. In my opinion,

it's one of those things that looks more valuable than it is. It looks quite expensive.

I think an estimate on this would probably be in the £300-400 region.

And we'd put a reserve on it of £250.

-Are you happy with that?

-Fine, yes.

Are you going to get the money or are the kids?

-I'm going to get it.

-What will you do with that?

Probably towards a holiday.

-Are you being left out or are you going to take him on holiday?

-She'll take me.

You'll take him. Every cloud's got a silver lining.

Things are looking up.

-We do everything together.

-I'm very pleased to hear it.

-I hope it gets sold otherwise you won't have a holiday.

-No.

Fingers crossed.

Oh, look at these. These look a little bit of fun.

Let's have a look.

Do you like them?

-No!

-That's why you're here flogging them, is it?

I think they're worth 60 to £80 of anybody's money.

Right, thank you.

-Each!

-Each?

It's not often we have twins on the show.

Pretty identical twins as well.

So I don't get you muddled up, we've got Jill and Jackie.

-That's the right way round, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Got it.

You've brought really different things in.

Tell me about this lovely little pendant.

My mother gave it to me many years ago.

I think it's a beautiful piece of art really.

If we hold it up carefully, we can see that it's painted on ivory,

a portrait of a young girl -

a very commercial subject as opposed to an older lady or a gent.

Then it's covered in a rock crystal -

rock crystal being very hard to protect it,

in a gold surround and, I would say, the late part of the 19th century.

-It's got no marks on it, has it?

-No.

And no signature, but the quality of the painting is lovely.

Yeah, it's very pretty.

It's a real collector's piece. I would think realistically

-we're looking at 100, 150.

-Oh, wow!

I'd certainly say the top end of that.

-So this was from your mother?

-Yes, it was.

-And you've got something very different.

-Indeed I have.

-Is this from your mother as well?

-Yes.

This is my Belleek. My mother, Irish and so I wanted to collect something

and she recommended that I collected the Irish Belleek.

Belleek is commercial both in Ireland and in the UK at auction.

What we can see here is an example of what they specialised in -

these beautiful open-work baskets.

The Belleek factory specialised in Parian, but also this very thin-bodied porcelain.

It's so light, isn't it?

Particularly this one. Very fine work.

What do you know about Belleek? You must know a little.

I think I realised this is what they call a two-strand basket, so this one may be the rarer of the two.

That's right, because if we look very closely,

this is not only two strand in the base, but also twisted.

-Yes, all the way round.

-And we've got this really quite dense

encrusted border of what looks like convolvulus plant.

-And so light and fine.

-Perfect condition, even the little round strands.

-Even the twirly bits.

-You've obviously kept it very carefully.

-In a cabinet, yes.

What about this one? Let's have a close look at this one.

-The larger of the two.

-This one, I notice has the three-strand...

-Yeah.

..woven basketwork in the bottom. Slightly heavier and larger.

Not quite as fine work. We've got beautiful lily of the valley on this one.

What about value? What did you pay for them?

I think it was round about £100 each.

Right and that was how long ago?

Just over 20 years.

I would say...

this one, although the larger of the two,

is going to be of slightly less value,

I would suggest 2 to 300 for this one at auction.

But this one I would hope would certainly make 300

and I'd put an estimate of 3 to 400 on it.

This is particularly fine and the twisted work is rarer.

I think that's realistic.

So why do you want to sell them, Jackie?

We're... I'm going to get a new puppy and with this in the house,

very vulnerable. I'll sell these and buy the new puppy.

OK, what kind of puppy are you looking for?

-A setter.

-Oh, lovely.

-Jill has one already.

-So you have dogs to match as well.

-I've never thought of that.

-No.

So it's back to the auction, where we're taking

Betty and Neville's French Gothic clock.

And our twins, Jackie and Jill, have given us a pair of Belleek baskets

and a rock crystal pendant.

They'll be replaced by a little four-legged friend.

Time's up. It's now time to flog that French timepiece

belonging to Betty and Neville.

What are we hoping for?

-300?

-Plus.

-400, well, let's hope we do get that sort of top end.

If you want a French timepiece of quality

then clock this because it's definitely for you.

It's wonderful but why are you flogging it?

-It's working still, isn't it?

-Yes.

We tested it out earlier.

You just want to get rid of it.

-It really doesn't go with...

-The decor.

We've got more of a modern house and it's come from a cottage.

Let's hope it does get the top end, Philip.

It's a good decorative thing. It will grace someone's drawing room.

I hope the bidders are here today. Fingers crossed.

365, nice little clock now.

£100, 100, 25...

150...150...

The clock, 150, what's the matter with that?

150, 175...

200, 200...

Any more? 210...

220, 230...

240, 250... Squeeze a tenner out of you.

250's close to me.

All done at £250, then.

-Dead on 250.

-That's it. Dead on.

A bit of luck there.

Didn't it freeze up for a second, then all of a sudden...

Four bids in a row, and we got £250.

-It's gone. The memories are still there, though.

-Oh, yes.

-Can't flog those, can you?

-We've got photos.

-Yes.

It's now Jill's turn. We've got that lovely pendant going under the hammer.

Painted on ivory, portrait of a girl. It's absolutely stunning.

Kate has put a value of £100-150 on it.

-How long's this been in the family?

-Not long. About ten years.

-Why are you flogging it?

-Well, I like to wear more chunky jewellery.

That does suit you - that really does look lovely. Let's see if we get the top end of the estimate.

I think we'll get 100. To make a little bit more money,

you need a signature on there of one of the fine miniaturists.

But it's a commercial subject. It's not an old lady or a gent,

-it's a young girl.

-I didn't realise it was ivory.

-Yes.

A lot of portraits were painted on ivory, little miniatures.

This is a nice lot. 50 I'm bid. 50.

£50. 60, 70,

80, 90, 100. £100.

And 10 for you. 120.

5, Mr Cooper? ..120 there, then.

Anybody else? All done at 120?

-Bang on with the estimate.

-Well done! Thank you.

120 quid! I think you're the second pair of twins we've had

-on the show.

-There we are!

And there's more to come for Jackie and Jill.

Great item - the most amazing Belleek I've seen for a long time.

-Kate, our expert - another gorgeous lady with us...

-You're surrounded by us!

-Cracking bits of Belleek.

-They are superb.

-The quality is there.

-Lovely items. They're whiteware items. They're not coloured at all.

And they're not the nautical, shell motif that you often get in Belleek.

-With the scallops.

-Yes. We've just got flower decoration here.

-Very fine work. And the condition is fantastic.

-It's unbelievable.

We've got two lots. The first is £300-400.

Lovely latticework weaving on that. The second - again, with the same sort of weaving -

-£200-300. That's a lot of money.

-It is.

Did you ever get confused by your mum or your mum's friends?

We got more confused, because we thought we were called This and That.

-Is that what your mum called you, as a nickname?

-When we were tiny,

Mum used to say, "You feed this one, and I'll feed that one."

And for years, we thought we were called This and That!

That's brilliant! That is brilliant. This is it - this is your lot. Good luck, This and That!

This is rather nice. Porcelain basket.

100 I'm bid. £100. £100.

120, 140, 160, 180...

-They like it.

-180, 200... £200.

220, 240, 260,

280, 300. £300.

310. 20 for anyone? All done at 310, then?

He's sold it. £310. No messing about there.

Next one now.

220, another nice piece of Belleek.

A larger basket this time. 100 I'm bid. £100.

100, 100. And 10,

120, 130, 140,

150, 160, 170, 180,

190, 200...

210, 220, 230,

240, 250, 260,

270, 280...

290, 300...

-Oh, they like this one.

-That's better.

-320.

330...

340...350...

-360.

-Looking promising now.

-370...

-380, still with the catalogue. 390, 400...

-Oh, wow!

410, 420 at the back,

430... 430. 440, sir?

440. 450?

450.

450. 450. Any more than 450, then?

Are we finished?

-Hammer's gone down. £450!

-Well done! Very good!

What a good result!

-That WAS the one they wanted. It was the rarer one.

-I got it the wrong way round.

-It doesn't matter!

-It just goes to show that the first one, which was much finer work,

but that second one - a larger piece, not quite so fine -

had that rarer three-strand weave in it, and that's what they liked.

-That's what the collectors wanted.

-Very good.

-Good for you, for collecting them.

I'll look for some more! Thank you.

Lovely.

The bells really rang out for us today - only one no-sale, and that was Andrew's oil painting.

But at least he knows its real value now.

As you can see, all the lucky bidders are queuing up and paying for their lots.

What caught their interest today was Bernadette's medical parts, nearly doubling its original estimate.

Can't be bad! Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for.

It's time to sally forth to our next location,

and I hope you can join me there. See you next time on Flog It!

For more information about "Flog It!" including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle.

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