Leicester Flog It!

-OK, everybody says "cheese."

-ALL: Cheese.

Fantastic! How appropriate was that, because today we're in an area

famous for producing Red Leicester and Stilton.

So you'd have to be crackers not to join us for the show

because Flog It! comes from...

ALL: Leicester!

There are literally hundreds of people queued up outside the Ramada Jarvis hotel

in the centre of Leicester today

for our valuation day which means hundreds of items.

But which are the lucky few that our experts are going to take off to auction?

Could it be these guys? We don't know until we get inside and hit those Flog It! blue tablecloths.

Whether it's toys, ceramics, jewellery or bizarre family heirlooms,

experts Charlie Ross and Adam Partridge will be the ones hunting out the golden oldies

for us to take off to auction.

Well, there's only one thing left to do, it's exactly 9.30, so let's get the doors open,

get this massive queue inside and get the show on the road.

Paul, I recognise these two characters, no doubt you do,

and I'm sure somewhere on the figures themselves it'll tell us who they are. But that's certainly Charles I.

-It is.

-And I think this is his old chum, Oliver Cromwell, is it not?

It is, it's true, yeah.

-Tell me where they came from?

-Well, I bought them 30 years ago

from a pawnshop and the gentleman in the pawnshop told me

that they'd come out of a big fire

in Queen Street in Leicester round about the 1910 period.

But I bought them 30 years ago for £18.

It's got something on the bottom of the Oliver Cromwell one

telling you about the fire.

Whether they got them as an insurance lot, I'm not sure,

-but that's the history I know.

-They don't look in bad condition to me.

Oh, no. No, I think it was just a little bit of scorching

-underneath the base of Oliver Cromwell.

-Yeah.

-Do you know what they're made of?

-I believe they're made of spelter.

-That's right.

-Which was considered the poor man's bronze,

-as I would describe it.

-It is. It is.

It's a mass-produced alloy. Much, much lighter. They're hollow.

They won't have the weight of bronze.

-But they've still got a certain amount of quality.

-I think so.

These figures are copies of a 19th-century French sculptor

called Rancoulet and the originals would have been in bronze.

If we had original bronze ones, we'd be getting very excited.

The quality is pretty good.

The historical interest is there.

17th century, Civil War.

Let's just have a look at one and see what we can glean from them.

-They're on simple turned wooden bases.

-Right.

Date, interestingly enough that you should say that the fire was in 1910

because that's going to be round about the period of them.

I should think 1900 is when they were cast

and that's got the sculptor, Rancoulet, at the bottom there.

Interestingly enough, isn't it funny that a French sculptor

should be doing something that is so quintessentially English?

-That's what surprised me.

-So they have to have been made for export purposes.

-Right.

-I don't think that the average Frenchman in 1900

was in the slightest bit interested in Charles I,

our Charles I as opposed to theirs, or indeed Oliver Cromwell.

One of the problems with spelter is there's a certain amount of blemishing to the surface.

And unlike a bronze which you can buff up, with these you've got nowhere to go

-really other than resurfacing them which you wouldn't want to do.

-No.

They've had rather a nice gilt finish

which you can see on the side of Charles's face.

So that pitting that's there has detracted from the value.

Other than that, no real damage.

Right. We've moved to a bungalow and they just look a bit large and dark

-for the surroundings we're in now.

-Bit dated, aren't they?

-They are a bit dated.

-Everybody's a valuer, have a stab.

Well, I would say the old auctioneer's favourite of 80 to 120.

-You've watched too much Flog It!

-That's right.

It is my favourite show on television, so, I probably have.

So I would say 80 to 120.

There are far too many of us that put 80 to 120 and I'm one of them.

But I have to say, I think your valuation's pretty well spot on.

It might even be a little bit bullish in view of what they are

-but you want to sell them, don't you?

-Yes.

-I think if we put a published estimate of 80 to 120 and shall we sell them without reserve?

-Yes.

-Let's just flog 'em.

-Flog 'em.

That's what I like on this programme. Just let's see them go.

-See where the true market is and I'm hoping it'll be 80 to 120.

-That's great.

Hello, John and Valerie.

-Hi, Adam.

-Hello.

-Thank you for coming along.

What you've bought is what I call a pair of real belters.

I really like these. What can you tell me about them?

They've been in my family for, well, ever since I can remember.

My mother had them for a wedding present,

I understand, in 1931 from an older sister.

She was the youngest of 14.

So the oldest sister, by the time my mother got married,

had a china shop in Wharf Street in Leicester.

And obviously picked two out of stock

to give to my mother as a present.

-A matching pair as well?

-Yes.

What a lovely wedding present.

-And the date absolutely matches up with the period of these chargers as we know now.

-Yes.

Did you know what they were yourself or...?

I didn't, no. I'll be honest, I just thought, "Well", a couple of days ago,

"we're going to take some things down to Flog It! might as well put those in, and see".

We looked last night and saw the name C Rhead. Didn't mean a thing.

-Right.

-But when one of your experts this morning said "Charlotte Rhead"

something clicked and I thought, "I've heard that name before."

Yes, well, we have filmed a number of her items.

Not as many as Clarice Cliff perhaps

but they're both of the Art Deco period, the 1930s,

both based at the potteries in Staffordshire.

She worked mainly at Crown Ducal and for Burleigh Ware.

I think these are Burleigh Ware ones.

And she was a well known designer and tube liner.

This method of production's known as tube lining.

And they're very unusual as far as I'm aware because where I operate

is just north of the potteries and we see an awful lot of Charlotte Rhead.

Most of it has these sort of stylised floral designs and fruit designs

and things like that and I have not seen any of these

with boats or ships on of this kind.

-They look like Viking ships, or galleons.

-Galleons.

-Galleons.

But they're very stylised and they're very Art Deco

and I think they're absolutely lovely.

To have a pair as well.

-Yes. And not to be chipped or cracked.

-No, they're perfect.

Let's just prove that there. They've got these manufacturer's holes there.

-Yes.

-To enable them to be held up without putting those terrible...

-Oh, those clips.

-..metal hangers we all moan about so much.

And there's the Charlotte Rhead signature

and there's the Burleigh Ware mark.

Now, one other thing is these often have a pattern reference on the back

as well which is often a number which starts with the letters "TL"

and then has a reference number as to the pattern.

These don't have that.

I'm wondering if they might be quite rare.

I've sold hundreds of pieces every year and none of these.

In terms of value, did you have any thoughts on that?

I thought I wouldn't put them into auction unless they were going to fetch 200 plus.

200 plus. OK.

No, I'm joking. Is that each or the pair?

-Each, I thought.

-Each.

-Originally I thought estimate of 300 to 500 for the pair will get everyone after these.

-Yes.

-They should fly away.

-Hope so.

-If you want to put it higher, that's fine,

but I was in favour of putting them on the kind of conservative end.

-You're the expert, I'm not.

-Thank you very much.

-In that case, that's what we shall do. 300 to 500 with a reserve of three.

-Yes.

Between you and me, they'll probably make... Oh, this is being filmed, isn't it?

-You can tell me later.

-I reckon they'll make more than 500 quid.

-Be nice if they did.

If they don't, I'll take you out to dinner after the auction, how about that?

-That's how confident I am.

-Shall I book a table at The Three Swans?

-No, they'll make more than 500 quid.

-Yeah.

I have to say my eyes lit up with glee when I saw you in the queue,

Edward and Adrian, because I was hoping today to find something of local interest and here we have it,

and I think a full set of Quorn Hunt plates. Where did they come from?

-They were bought by my late father-in-law.

-Yeah.

-Probably late-20s, early-30s.

-Yeah.

And they've been in the family since.

And where's the family home?

Well, the family home was Hackford Hall in Norfolk.

Oh, right. Right. So they've travelled back from there to here?

-Yes, yes, and they went out to India as well at one stage.

-When?

Well, my father-in-law was in the Army and he was out there in the '30s.

Yeah. They are tremendous.

A, there's a full set of eight.

B, they're by Alken, who is the man for hunting prints.

They are hand-coloured which is magnificent.

You've got all the best ingredients for a hunting print really.

The colour, the artist, the publisher,

-and one of the most famous hunts there is.

-Yes.

-The Quorn. Do you know how the Quorn got its name?

-No, I really don't.

Well, I have to confess that I didn't but I found out

since I left you in the queue.

It's a shortened version of Quorndon, the village of Quorndon, which is where the hunt started.

The original date of these Alkens are 1835.

Now, these aren't 1835 in my opinion but they are certainly 19th-century

and I would be surprised if they were much later than 1860-1870.

And they're good quality.

There is, however, one big problem, isn't there?

Yes. The foxing.

Foxing. Pardon the pun.

They are heavily foxed and that's a problem.

Yes, yes. Well, we decided that we wouldn't have them done because of the advice that we got.

Yeah, well, you're quite right, I think. It's a difficult job

to get the foxing out of a print without the print losing its colour.

Leave it to the experts and being a full set they're going to be

well sought after, I think in the sale room.

Just wondering whether, with the ban coming in with hunting, would that affect the value in any way?

Well, in my experience, no.

Even if it were banned completely and was never seen again,

I think there would be more interest in collecting something like this for historical reasons.

-Yes.

-Somebody must have said over the years, "These are worth X, Y or Z"?

I've had a valuation of between £300 and £1,200.

So you want them to be up the top really?

I think that's bullish with this foxing, I have to say.

-I think a conservative estimate is 400 to 600.

-Right.

If you twisted my arm I might say 500 to 800.

My view as an auctioneer is the more realistic the estimate, the better chance you've got of them taking off.

-Yes, absolutely.

-If you publish them at 400 to 600,

there will be sufficient interest to take them up above that figure. would you be happy with that?

Yes, yes, very much so.

Some of the money is going for his wedding?

-Oh, your wedding?

-Yes.

-Oh, magnificent.

-Oh, splendid. We'll see how many top hats we can get out of this.

-Absolutely.

Well, let's hope we can help the wedding plans along as we head off to the auction room.

The spelter statues survived a fire but will we get burned with

Charlie's valuation in the sale room?

Valerie and John don't like their Charlotte Rhead chargers,

although Adam's confident they'll make waves.

And finally we're looking for an exciting chase

to win the Quorn Hunt prints brought in by Edward and Adrian.

For today's sale we've come to Gilding's Auctioneers in the heart of Market Harborough.

So let's go inside and see how the auction's shaping up.

And running today's proceedings is auctioneer, John Gilding.

Well, right now we're just about to sell the kids' inheritance.

We've got a couple of spelter figures. I've been joined by Paul.

It's mixed metal and it sounds a bit like a mixed valuation.

We've got £80 to £120 with no reserve, Charlie Ross.

He doesn't want to take them home.

-But what if they only sell for a fiver?

-Charlie's in big trouble.

Charlie's in big trouble!

The kids will get him!

-And the grandkids.

-OK, seriously, why are you flogging these?

We've had Charles and Oliver Cromwell live with us for the past 30 years

-and it's time for them to move on.

-OK.

-And you bought them for £17?

-£18.

-£18.

-30 years ago.

-Right, OK. So we could have a good investment here.

We could get, what, sort of £100, Charlie? Mid-estimate for you?

-50, I think.

-50?

So where does the estimate 80 to 120 come from then?

-I was having a bad day.

-OK.

Cromwell and Charles I.

Good old battling pair. There we go.

What would you say with that lot 20,

the French patinated spelter figures?

Bidding starts with me here. No reserve here. At £20 I'm bid.

At £20 I'm bid, 22, 22, 25, bid 25.

At £25, 28, bid 28, bid 30, 30, 30...

-Oh, somebody's getting worried.

-How absurd.

-35.

-Keep going.

-£35...

-It's a dangerous game to play, no reserve.

No reserve, it has to be sold. At £35.

-Inheritance isn't looking too good.

-At 35.

-Hammer's gone down.

That's a sold sound.

-You wanted them to go?

-That's right.

-Yeah, they've sold.

-Cheaply.

Just that the grandchildren are coming for Charlie now.

It is a dangerous game to play, I keep saying it, never put something into auction without a reserve.

-I know you guys love it.

-Absolutely.

Did you want to take it home, Paul?

-No, no, no.

-You did the right thing.

-I'm quite happy. I'm quite happy. We're OK.

-You're a kind man.

I'll let you off the hook this time, Charlie.

Well, there should be lots of local interest on this next lot,

the Quorn Hunt prints belonging to Edward and Adrian. Why are you flogging these?

-Well, because Adrian's getting married.

-Right.

-And we want to raise some money.

-I see. Congratulations.

-What's the young lady's name?

-Ella.

-Ella. Ah, wonderful.

-So August 2008.

Right, not a lot of pressure then, Charlie.

We've got £400 to £600.

There is a great deal of foxing.

There's a lot of water damage here.

I'm not sure I've discounted the condition enough, have I? I'm getting cold feet.

They're up there on the wall, they look good.

They can be restored but I think you had a quote, didn't you?

-Absolutely and it was a bit too expensive really.

-Right.

We're going to find out what the bidders think

because they're just about to go under the hammer.

Lovely set of eight, the engravings on the back there, please.

Published in 1835.

And bidding starts for me at £220.

-That's a start.

-220 I'm bid, 240, 260, 280, 300, and 20, 340.

-360, 380, £400 in the room.

-Are you excited? Ho-ho!

At £400 - the commissions are all finished. £400.

Yes! That was good.

£400 towards the wedding. It was a close call.

Because condition is everything. People do get put off by it.

As you know yourself, because what was the quote you had?

£110 per print.

-Per print. A lot of money.

-The best part of £1,000, extraordinary.

Yeah. I think you did the wise thing. I really do. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Well done, Charlie. You got it spot-on.

Next up, some Charlotte Rhead plates.

It's a pair. I've just been joined by John and Valerie.

And we've got a valuation of £300 to £500.

Put on by our expert, Adam Partridge. Were you happy with the valuation, 3 to 5?

-Yes.

-Can we do something with that, if we get the top end? What would you put £500 towards?

We're going to visit Morocco in the summer.

My daughter has an apartment in Tangiers.

So we thought that will go towards that.

OK, there we go. Pressure's on.

You've got to get them out there on holiday.

I think we'll do it. I love these two.

-They're super things.

-Anyway, it's too late. They are going under the hammer right now.

This is it. Good luck.

A lovely pair of Charlotte Rhead chargers here, please.

-Beautiful. They look great.

-And bidding starts with me at £200.

-£200, 220, 240, 260, 280 on the telephone, 300.

-More, more, more.

-320, 350. 380, 400.

-The suspense!

-420, 450, 480, 500.

-Yes!

-520, 550...

-Lots of phones ringing.

580, 600, 620.

All done? Sold at £620.

Yes, the hammer's gone down on £620!

What a brilliant price! What a brilliant price.

We were rightfully confident!

-You were indeed.

-As I said at the valuation, I didn't like them, but I like them now!

It's not often on the show that we say something is a matter of life and death but today it really is.

I have come to Nottingham to visit a firm that take pride in giving their clients a very special send-off.

# Now there are three steps to heaven... #

The firm was started in 1879 as a joinery and undertaking business.

Then in 1958, two new partners stepped in to create Vic Fearn and Company.

They stopped arranging funerals and built a factory to specialise in the manufacture of coffins.

Business prospered and the firm now makes around 20,000 traditional coffins each year.

Back in 1990, the directors noticed a trend was starting to flourish.

People were requesting their own coffins and their loved ones' coffins to be, let's say,

slightly more personalised.

# Now most people think of heaven and they see those pearly gates

# But I looked a little closer, and there's a sign says "do not skate". #

And that's exactly how Crazy Coffins was born.

-Hello, David, thank you very much for showing me around.

-Welcome.

-Where did the idea for the crazy coffins come from?

-Purely by chance.

It was not our idea.

A lady said could we make a Red Arrows coffin?

In the design of the aeroplane - she was a big fan.

And this was for her?

This was for her. She was in good health.

She said, I want to store it, but when I do die, I want to be buried in my aeroplane.

It seems kind of hard to talk about it.

I don't think the English are very good at preparing for or talking about death.

I would say up until maybe the last seven or eight years, we didn't talk about it.

Nobody wanted to know.

I even had less friends

because of my job.

Everybody thinks about it more today. It is very popular now to do a complete funeral pack.

So you go to your funeral director and say, "I don't want tradition,

"I don't want what you want for me, I want what I want.

"I want it personalised. And this is how I want my funeral."

Talking about travelling in style, or passing away in style, this is a Rolls-Royce,

-I believe.

-It is, yes, 1913.

Apparently, I believe he had one of these in his garage and his family

always said, "If you don't sell it, we will bury you in it."

And they said, "Well, why not bury Dad in a Rolls-Royce?"

Fortunately, we have a very good team here, who work on Crazy Coffins and we have

a very good designer, Richard Mullard, who can do all the hard work for us.

That's exactly who I'm off to see right now, so, David, thank you very much for showing me around.

# Singing, if I die before I wake

# At least in heaven I can skate. #

Richard, how do you do?

You're the artist in residence, the creative side of the package, here.

But how did you get involved with the firm?

I enjoy going for trips into the Arctic.

And I always felt quite comfortable with my equipment.

It was good company for me.

I just felt that I would like to make my final trip, surrounded by the things that are important to me.

What did they think when you presented them with this idea?

They thought it was a bit wacky and I like to think it is.

-I think it is - very wacky!

-I wanted to make my final journey wearing my beloved skis and I also, I suppose,

wanted to give someone a bit of a headache, which I think it will.

I think so, burying this. Definitely.

And from there, as you can see, we went on to produce...

It's progressed, hasn't it?

# Oh-oh-oh-oh, when I'm dead and gone.... #

-Something's caught my eye.

-Yes, I thought it might.

Come this way. Canal boats.

I've got to take a closer look at these. They're stunning.

They catch everyone's eye because they're so colourful, aren't they?

And most people can relate to them.

This is a perfect job for me because, in my other life, I'm a sign writer and I actually paint

-real canal boats.

-You've done a wonderful job again on this.

So, who's commissioned this pair?

Yeah. It's a couple.

People who live not too far away.

-So it's a his and hers?

-It is, yes, man and wife.

I think they use them as a blanket boxes, to be honest.

That's a nice idea. There's a function,

and not only that but they are very, very decorative.

What does your family and friends think of your career?

Erm, I've got two children.

They're well aware of what I do. In fact, my daughter is quite artistic.

She very often comes up with her own ideas.

When I'm working on a coffin, she comes with her sketches and says...

-Daddy, look at this!

-"Don't you think mine's better?"

# Just follow steps, 1, 2 and 3. #

Look at this.

It's the Angel of the North, isn't it? It's Antony Gormley.

It's actually made of canvas and wood. I know it looks like metal.

I quite like the idea of fooling people.

It's kind of like the mummified shape, isn't it?

Well, Tutankhamen was buried in something similar.

Richard, thank you very much. It's given me a great deal to think about

but now it's time to get straight back to the land of the living.

Let's join our experts back at the valuation day.

Good morning, Omar, how are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-You've brought along a pair of watercolours here.

What can you tell me about them?

-I can't tell you anything about it because I don't know nothing about the painting.

-When did you get them?

In 1980, about 25 years ago.

And where from?

-A local auction, in Leicester.

-And what did you pay for them?

£2.50 each.

Right, so that makes £5?

-That's right.

-Very good. Is there two big marks on your wall now, where you've taken these down?

I never hanged them up because the house is too small and we have nowhere to hang them.

So where have they been?

-They have been in the loft, lying for 25 years.

-A bit of insulation?

I guess you're right.

Lying in the loft for 25 years?

-That's right.

-And now you've brought them out? Well, the colours have survived very well.

Sometimes, these fade in the sunlight.

So it maybe wasn't a bad thing, putting them in the loft.

Do you know anything about the artist?

-No idea.

-Giovanni Barbaro.

Where do you think he comes from?

-Probably Italy?

-Sounds Italian, doesn't it?

Sounds like a wonderfully Italian name. Giovanni Barbaro.

-It's actually a pseudonym for a man called Arthur Dudley.

-Right.

But I think if he put Arthur Dudley on the pictures, they wouldn't have sold so well.

He was a London and Bath-based painter and he did a lot of these watercolours of Arabian scenes,

street scenes, desert scenes, and he also did a lot of still-life

flowers in the Italian style, but he was an Englishman. So it was a bit of a cheat, that.

"Oh, I've got a Giovanni Barbaro"

sounds a bit better than "I've got an Arthur Dudley."

Apologies to anyone out there called Arthur Dudley, of course.

I'm not saying it's not a nice name at all.

It's a very distinguished name. Well, they've gone up a bit.

It's not one of those faint moments.

Don't worry, you don't have to be sitting down. They're probably going to make 100-200 at auction.

Somewhere between those. Is that all right with you, 100-200?

-Yeah, fine.

-Do you want to put a reserve on?

No reserve, I just want to flog it.

Good man! No reserve, I just want to flog it.

That's what it's all about, selling for the best price.

The auction house we're going to, I've been before, I know them well,

-I think they'll do a good job for us.

-I hope so.

-The frames have had a bit of damage.

-Was that like that when you got them?

-Yes.

That's a great pair of pictures.

Good decorative. Large pictures, you can see how big they are cos I'm eight foot tall and they're massive.

Right, Jackie, open up your box and reveal all.

Ho, ho... I can't believe if you brought these along that you don't know all about them.

-I have done some research.

-Good girl.

Saved me some time. I can just sit and listen.

They're a set of silver spoons by William Comyns of London.

-Yeah.

-They're hallmarked 1892.

Are they really? That surprises me, but carry on going.

I bought them locally about 18 years ago and then moved to Portsmouth,

-the area where case says they're from.

-Yeah.

Did some research and discovered something quite fascinating about the ships on the top.

Right.

They're a replica of the Golden Barque, the weather vane on top of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Really? The reason I was surprised is because looking at the case, it looks a real 1920s case to me.

It doesn't look Victorian.

The hallmark will say it all and William Comyns was a maker of generally small items,

photograph frames, dressing-table mirrors, trinket boxes, things like that.

He did a huge, huge amount.

-Can we pull out one spoon and have a look?

-Of course.

They've got the ship there, or the stylised version of the ship on the top.

At the back we've got Portsmouth.

Here is the hallmark. The lion passant...

We've got the leopard's head which tells you it was made in...

-London.

-You have done your homework.

And, we've got the letter stamp for 1892.

So, if they had been made one year earlier, you'd have Victoria's head on the hallmark.

My real favourite is the tongs. They actually have the Neptune head as the base. It's gorgeous.

Marvellous! Pop that back in.

-There is one piece of damage, isn't there?

-Yes, there is.

It's only one flag. I don't think that's a real problem.

-You can't have done all that research without having a clue about the value.

-No.

I had them valued a few years ago for insurance purposes.

It came out at £1,000.

£1,000 for insurance, right.

-How long ago?

-Seven years.

Seven years. I would suspect that things haven't moved much for something like that over seven years.

That's probably reasonably accurate.

I would, as a thumb rule, say insurance would be three times the sale value.

If you're expecting £1,000 for them we'd better part company now because I don't think they are £1,000.

250-350, that sort of figure.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes, very happy.

-Are you sure?

-Yes.

So, 250-350...

Reserve 250 with 10% discretion.

-That's fine.

-If we can turn it into £300 or £400...

-Even better.

-What are we doing with the money?

-A holiday.

Holiday! Well, we better get £1,000 for them, then!

-Hi, Ros.

-Hi.

-Where are the oysters?

-Sorry, I forgot to bring them.

-Ah, and I was getting hungry!

I've ruined your day, I apologise. There's no dips either.

Clearly, these are majolica oyster plates.

Please tell me how long you've had them, where you got them and all that sort of stuff.

-They were my grandma's. She left them to my mum and they're still my mum's.

-Right.

-Is your mum with you today?

-No.

-Does she know you've brought them?

-Yes.

-OK. Yes, I've rung her and told her that you'd like to sell them and she said, "Yes, go ahead."

Well, they're interesting.

They're majolica, which is the name for this type of earthenware.

Many people will know that. We've done majolica a lot on these programmes.

They're clearly oyster dishes and they're made by the well-known firm of George Jones

who was one of the most famous majolica makers around the 1870s, 1880s.

They should be marked for him and there's the G and J there, which is the George Jones mark.

This is a registration lozenge here. We could look in a book and it would

tell you exactly when this was produced, the day, the month, the year - everything.

These symbols in every corner. We could find that out as well with the right books and things like that.

Here we have the pattern number.

Sometimes they're not marked with the GJ. I think this one...

This one isn't marked very clearly.

-No.

-They always wipe off this little bit here to write the reference number on there.

I thought that was faulty because it had a bit wiped off.

Sometimes, if you're watching and you see majolica with this rubbing,

you know it's George Jones even if it hasn't got their mark on it.

-This one, as you can see, has an old...

-It's been eaten.

..old damage on the bottom. Apart from that, it's got a few little chips and nicks here and there.

Majolica is very prone to damage. There's a lot of this crazing in every bit.

There's a bit of a hairline crack that goes around the other side as well.

-The condition isn't great.

-I know that, yes.

Why have you brought them in? Because they're languishing in a cupboard?

-That's right.

-Any idea what they might be worth?

No idea at all.

Have you ever shown them to anyone else before?

My father died 13 years ago.

At that time an antique dealer came to the house and he offered us £30.

-£30.

-At the time we weren't at all bothered so we left them in the cupboard.

I don't think that was the most generous offer but maybe the market has improved a bit.

-I'd estimate £100 to £150 for the pair.

-Fine.

Which I think is a fair auction estimate and hopefully they might make a little bit more.

-Better than sitting in a cupboard.

-Absolutely, yeah.

We should put a reserve on them so they don't go for nothing.

-That's fine.

-I'd suggest on that a fixed 80.

-No less than 80. Does the money go to mother?

-Yes.

-What do you think she'll do with it?

-We're having a new kitchen so it might buy a couple of door knobs.

-They are expensive nowadays!

-Yes.

And now some more tasty treats to serve up in the auction room.

We're taking Omar's exotic watercolours by the artist

who didn't think his name was quite exotic enough.

Jackie's shipshape collection of silver spoons, which Charlie hopes will make a splash,

and Adam may have underestimated the power of oysters with his valuation of Roslyn's plates.

But first, let's see what our auctioneer, John, has got to say about them.

The pairs are good. We like pairs. It puts a lot of value on the item, doesn't it?

These belong to Roslyn. George Jones majolica, great name.

We've got a valuation of £100 to £150 put on by our expert.

-Very conservative.

-It is a bit, isn't it?

-Very conservative.

-Especially for George Jones.

-And a pair.

It's not often you see two of anything of George Jones.

I like these. I think the colour's very good.

I'm sure you'll find these will double or treble the estimate.

-Your bottom estimate.

-Yes, exactly, £300.

And for majolica, which is very easily chipped, they're in very good condition.

-It's a soft paste, so it doesn't put off majolica buyers, does it?

-No, not at all.

I don't know why Adam has put £100 to £150 on these.

He is normally so spot-on that it's quite annoying.

Well, he may still be right, Paul.

-Yes.

-I haven't sold them yet but I'll try and prove my point.

I just happen to like them.

-I hope you're right for Roslyn.

-I just like them more than he did.

-But it has peaked. The Americans have stopped buying majolica.

-Yes, but they'll start again.

-They'll start again.

-They will when they see these!

Right, now it's the moment of truth for Omar's Arabian watercolours.

We've got a nice pair of these and they've been in the attic for 25 years. The condition's fantastic.

-We've got a value of £100 to £200.

-Yeah.

-There's quality there.

Yeah, well he's a known prolific artist, Giovanni Barbaro, real name Arthur Dudley.

Glamorous pseudonym!

They usually make that sort of money so I'm fairly confident.

No great surprises, hopefully no great disappointments. We'll see.

Well, the money's going to come in handy, £200.

Let's hope we get that top end.

This is it. It's going under the hammer now. Good luck.

Giovanni Barbaro.

Showing here.

Bidding starts with me at £55.

There's no reserve. 55 I'm bid, 55. 60.

65, 70, 75, 80.

They're creeping up.

85, 90, 95, 100.

110, 120.

-We've sold them.

-130, 140.

150, 160.

-170, 180.

-This is great. They love it.

190, 200.

We've done it. We've got that top end of the estimate.

200 in the room and sold... 20.

240, 260.

-Fresh legs.

-What did they cost you?

-£5.

-340, 360. Are you all done?

And sold at 360.

The hammer's gone done.

Omar, £360, what are you going to put that towards?

-A holiday, probably.

-Where are you going to go?

-Probably the Far East or India.

-OK.

Well, have a great time, won't you?

-Thank you.

-What a surprise.

Well, it was a good result. I've always been lucky here.

You have, haven't you?

Jackie's here. We've got your spoons and tongs just about to go under the hammer.

£250 to £350 was put on by our expert, Charlie.

I had a chat to the auctioneer earlier.

He thinks they just might...

struggle.

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

I wanted to say they'd do really, really well. They're unusual. I like the ships on them.

They haven't been sold yet!

-No, I know.

-Faith in the valuer.

It's his local market. He knows the scene here.

I'm hoping you're right, Charlie. I really do.

-They're good quality and they've got an interesting history.

-Absolutely.

Well then, let's prove him wrong, shall we?

It's going under the hammer now, this is it.

A set of six cast teaspoons with the sugar nips. Blimey!

275. the bidding starts with me at £200.

He was wrong, you were right, Charlie.

-220, £240...

-They're selling.

I shall be selling, please. You're out in the room.

The bid's on commission at £240.

Brilliant.

That's a fantastic result.

Well done, I'm so pleased for you.

When John the auctioneer looked down at his paperwork he went, "Blimey."

He didn't believe he'd got a bid to start the opening.

Perhaps somebody left 700 on them.

-Jackie, what are you going to do with the money?

-I'll probably put it towards something for the garden.

Plant something up, watch it grow?

Possibly a summerhouse, something like that.

Lovely, well, enjoy it.

-I will, thank you.

-Time in the garden.

Great result.

Time to put the oyster plates to the test.

They've caused lots of stir. We've talked about them.

I've just been joined by Roslyn.

We like them. The auctioneer likes them. Adam loves them.

I've forgot the oysters again.

We've had a valuation of £100 to £150.

I had a chat to John. the auctioneer.

-He thinks they might possibly creep to £300 to £400.

-Lovely.

Majolica is so hot at the moment. It's one of those "come and buy me" estimates.

Bearing in mind the condition, you want to put it nice and tempting, get them all at it.

-Hopefully we'll get another great result.

-I think we will.

-This is it.

-One of the prize lots of the day, 170.

Commission bids start here at £750.

Yes, that's a "come and buy me", Adam!

£750, I'm bid.

Any telephone bidding?

750, 780. 800.

Wow!

And 20, 850.

At 850... 880. 900.

920. 950.

£980...

All done? Sold.

£980, how about that?

-Serving up for you, right now, on those plates.

-Fantastic.

-I guess we missed a nought off that estimate, didn't we?

-Wow!

What are you going to do with that? It's nearly £1,000.

It's going towards Mum's kitchen fund and that'll be granite worktops, I think.

Wow, how about that. Won't it be luxury, granite worktops.

-Adam, that was a "come and buy me".

-It was, very conservative, Paul.

The condition was what we were worried about.

I did think they'd make more, but I am surprised that they made quite that much.

And that's what auctions are all about.

The auction's still going on but it's all over for our owners.

What a great day we've had here.

It was great to see that big smile on Roslyn's face when her two oyster plates,

the George Jones majolica, fetched a staggering £980.

Join me next time for plenty more auction surprises.

So, from Market Harborough, it's cheerio.

Doors open at 9.30.