Eastbourne Flog It!

As Victorian seaside towns go,

it doesn't get more traditional than this.

There are stunning beaches, the most amazing pier, even a bandstand,

and today, Flog It! is in town in a rather breezy Eastbourne.

Eastbourne is such an elegant town!

So it's fitting that today's venue for the show comes from the equally elegant Town Hall

which was furnished in 1886 with no expense spared on the materials,

and included in the fittings we've got wonderful fine oak,

Minton tiles, gorgeous marble cladding the walls

and, of course, the beautiful stained-glass windows,

turning this whole place into an architectural delight.

So let's hope we get some real quality items from this long queue we've got outside.

And talking of quality,

our two experts are Mark Stacey and Jethro Marles,

checking out all the antiques and chasing everyone up to the Flog It! blue tables.

Susannah, you know it's nice to see people making an effort and you look lovely.

-Oh, thank you!

-You do, you look lovely.

A nice bit of jewellery on, not too much, just nice,

-and you've brought me a present!

-Yes, I did.

-Let's have a look. It's a bracelet.

-Yes.

-You like bracelets, do you?

-I do. I like any jewellery, me.

And what a lovely piece of jewellery this is!

-Dripping with colour.

-Yes. They are semiprecious stones.

All different semiprecious stones, and set in what metal?

-18-carat gold.

-18-carat gold is what you think. Right.

-And why are you thinking of selling it?

-It's far too big.

-It falls off my wrist.

-You've got very dainty wrists.

It was a present and I haven't worn it much, so it might as well go.

So how long have you had it yourself?

-..25 years?

-25 years.

-35.

-Was it not new when you had it?

-No. no. Well, I don't know. It was bought for me.

-If I said that it was late 1950s, maybe even 1960s...

-Could be.

-So that would make it about 40 years old.

-40-something.

It's got all the different-coloured semiprecious gems.

-They're quite easy ones to recognise - the amethyst...

-Yes.

-What's this one?

-Er, peridot.

-Do you know this one?

-No.

That's a citrine, which is the orangey-yellowy form of quartz.

-Do you know what this one is?

-Yes.

-Aquamarine.

-This one, it's a very, very dark green.

-I don't know it.

-Tourmaline.

-Tourmaline.

-And do you know what this one is?

-No.

-This is very similar to this one.

-This is the yellowy form of citrine.

-I see.

-And finally...

-I'm learning!

-..on the end we have a red...

-Ruby.

-..garnet. If only it was a ruby!

Yes, it would be worth a lot.

-Ruby is a precious stone and you did say they were semiprecious.

-Yes.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-You've got all the colours there.

The only mark that's on here is right here and it says "750".

-That's 18...

-Well, in this country,

-if we're selling this in the auction we're not allowed to call it 18-carat gold.

-Aren't you?

Even though this mark tells me that it's probably 18-carat gold,

-750 means 750 parts per thousand of gold.

-Yeah.

-It's continental.

-Exactly. It's been made probably in Italy,

and we can say that the clasp is stamped "750"

and we can also give an indication

-by saying that it's gold-coloured metal...

-Yes.

-And we can also give an estimate.

-Yes.

-I think this is going to make nearer £200.

-That's good news.

Let's hope so. I think a reserve of £200 will be all right.

-Yes, good.

-And an estimate of £250.

-Yes? Fantastic.

Fantastic. What are you gonna do with the money?

Spend it! Have a party.

-Hello, Jenny.

-Hello, Mark.

-I love this object.

-Tell me where you got it from.

-It was always on my grandparents' piano

in a village they lived in in Kent.

My brother and I were never allowed to touch it until my grandparents died

and it came to my parents' house and we realised why we weren't allowed to touch it,

because they were very Victorian.

-And it's got an interesting underside.

-It has.

And since my parents have died it's just been in a drawer.

-And you haven't got it out and looked at it, it's just been hidden away?

-Mm.

My brother and I are aware of it but have never known what it is.

You've done some research cos none of us have heard of "Monna Vanna".

-You did some research on the internet, didn't you?

-Yes.

And found out she was a French character in a play,

a rather enlightened woman who brought herself out in very much a man's world at that time,

-and was quite a sort of forceful female character.

-Yes, yes.

Why do you think she's now portrayed lying there

with a shroud over her? Have you got any feelings about it?

-No, I have no feelings for it at all.

-Because what I think we've got

is quite a well-made bisque object, bisque porcelain,

-and basically I think this would have been an ashtray.

-Oh!

And an interpretation of man

trying to put this strong character back in her place, if you like.

To understand that more we have to turn it over

-and show everybody what you and I already know.

-Right.

Shall we do this? Because actually, when we turn her over,

she's completely naked.

We've got a little number here which would be a maker's pattern number,

-but you can't tell anything in terms of the manufacturer.

-Right.

But the quality of the modelling and moulding is very good,

-and I think it's a very small piece of late 19th-century erotica.

-Yes.

It's a very interesting item.

-Have you ever thought of the value?

-No idea at all.

I've been thinking about it quite a lot since we first met... and I have no idea whatsoever.

-You haven't?

-None whatsoever. So I don't know what the market is.

My gut tells me, though, that there is something about it that people are gonna like,

and I'm gonna use that sort of auctioneer's cliche of £80 to £120.

-And maybe put an 80 discretionary reserve on it.

-Right.

-How would you feel about that?

-That's fine.

-It'll probably go to a collector so that's quite nice.

-Yes.

-Better than being in a drawer at home.

-Yes.

Carol and John, this is your collection. Have you collected it yourself?

-No, my father collected it.

-So you've inherited them?

-Yes.

-You've never used them, have you?

-No.

He must have bought them quite late because these look very late '60s early '70s,

they're Triang-Hornby, the amalgamation.

He passed away in '74 so they're all prior to that.

The virtue here is the packaging and the fact that they're not scratched or damaged.

Unfortunately, they're not '50s and '60s Hornby,

the die-cast metal trains. That's what the collectors want.

These are very late '60s, mostly '70s

and they're plastic-bodied trains on a metal undercarriage.

Having said that, though, there's not many like this that are boxed

without a single scratch, you could say factory condition.

And this is a nice kit, because this, as it says on the packet,

the "Flying Scotsman Set

"with exhaust steam sound and glowing fire."

Isn't that lovely! I guess you put a drop of oil in the funnel, don't you?

-Yes.

-And as it rolls, it sort of puffs up.

-I believe so.

Value. What do you think?

I've no idea. No idea at all.

We've got five boxes here - one, two, three, four, five.

They're all full of rolling stock and bridges and fences and track.

I think what we'll do is split all of this into two lots. Yeah?

All the rolling stock and accessories as one lot,

and we'll single out the locomotives as the second lot.

If we split them into two lots,

I think all the rolling stock has gotta be around £300 - £400.

And I think the locomotives will do somewhere around that figure too.

-Are you happy with the value, then?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

I hope this value goes way off the rails and I'm totally wrong, and we go full steam ahead

-and hopefully get £600 or £700 for the whole lot.

-Thank you very much.

-Hello, David.

-Hello, Mark.

-I adore this sort of work.

This is one of the nicest examples I've seen. Where did you get it?

It came via a family friend who left it to my mother.

He had a stall on the Portobello Road and used to bring stuff home for his mother to put on display.

He eventually moved to America, left the stuff behind

and the old lady became infirm. My mother used to look after her

and in gratitude he came back from the States to take some of the stuff back but left some items behind,

this being one of them, and my mother acquired it

and put it in the cupboard.

She's long since passed on now and I have it

but my wife doesn't like it and so I thought I'd bring it along.

I'm glad you have. I think we need to talk a little bit about it.

-This is what is generally known as Palissy ware...

-Right.

-..the grotesque creatures on this.

I've never seen it quite on a whole cabbage before.

Normally they're on a sort of plate or ewers

-and they've got like a moss background...

-I have seen that.

-..which is shredded pottery...

-Yes.

-..to simulate the moss.

-Right.

But here we've got a whole cabbage with lots of creepy-crawlies.

You've got this wonderful snake coiled round here,

and this fantastic lizard here,

-and the detailing on the skin is wonderful.

-It is incredible.

-You've got a smaller lizard here.

-Yes.

-And this outsized bug.

-Yes.

All on this great-looking cabbage. It's made in Portugal.

The mark is quite faint and if my memory serves me rightly,

-I think it's a factory called Mafra and Caldos.

-OK, yeah.

-Or Caldas, actually.

-Right.

They specialise in this type of ware.

This is one of the best of its type that I've seen.

-If you were a collector of this type of ware...

-Yes.

..you'd be keen to acquire this for your collection.

I could certainly live with it. I think it's fantastic.

-So could I, but my wife can't!

-A bit scared.

-She runs the house.

-She's worried that lizard will run upstairs.

-Or the snake.

-Or the snake!

I think if we put it into auction

I would like to see an estimate of £300 - 400.

-That sounds pretty reasonable, yes.

-With a reserve of £300, with 10% discretion.

-Yes, yes.

I think, to be honest with you, if two collectors wanted that badly,

you certainly won't find another example in a hurry like this.

-No, I don't think so.

-I think it's got a good chance of exceeding that,

-I would love to see it exceeding that, it's a great piece.

-Yes.

Are you happy to pop it in?

Oh, indeed I am, yes.

Let's hope someone takes a bite at it.

Thanks very much, Mark, you've been great.

Right, let's see what happens now if we head off to the saleroom

with Suzanne's bracelet,

which should put a twinkle in some lucky bidder's eye.

As will the saucy ashtray,

which Jenny had the bare-faced cheek to bring along.

I hope there's plenty of boys looking for toys

who'll love the trains and Hornby accessories.

And finally, can anyone really love this cabbage plate,

complete with ugly bugs, as much as Mark did?

What a wonderful way to arrive at a saleroom!

That certainly is a trip down memory lane.

Today's auction comes from the Eastbourne Auction Rooms,

and we've got two auctioneers on the rostrum, Jeannette May and Paul Achilleous,

so let's go inside and find out exactly what they think

of some of our experts' valuations.

Paul, you've got to like these,

these are boys' toys and I've had loads of these. Do you like them?

-I do.

-They were owned by Edward,

his father collected them.

Edward has no use for them,

they've been stored under the bed for a long time.

He brought so much in, I split them into two lots,

so we've got one lot with all the rolling stock,

we've got track, figures, everything, sheds, bridges, you name it,

but I've singled out one other lot,

and I've put a value of £350-450 on this,

and it is just a set of locomotives, all boxed,

and there's about 12 of them.

So we're looking at £350-450.

-Punchy estimate...

-Ooh...

-..but there's a lot of them,

-as you say, 12 of them.

-There is.

Can't be that punchy, if you break them down

they're about 30 quid a locomotive, aren't they?

You took the words out of my mouth, absolutely.

I'm not going off the rails, then?

No, and as you say, boys' toys, people couldn't afford them at the time,

but as the boys have got a bit older, more money in their pockets, they can buy them now,

-and we're hoping that they're going to steam along.

-Yeah.

Do toys sell well in Eastbourne, you've got a lot of collectors?

Absolutely, with the internet etc, we've got a great website,

so people can view these things on the internet.

Buyers don't have to be local, as you're probably aware,

-they'll sell...um, we'll hope.

-Good, good, good,

That's what we want to hear.

Thanks very much, Edward will be pleased.

And now for the little jewel in our crown today,

Suzanne's lovely bracelet with semiprecious stones.

Unfortunately she can't be with us here in the auction,

but we've got the bracelet and our expert that put the value on.

-£200-250.

-That's a good estimate.

A good estimate and a lovely item.

I had a chat with the auctioneer, she disagreed with us,

she's persuaded the owner to drop the value to £100-150.

OK, first of all I'm quite happy, we all have our own opinions on things,

and I don't normally push my own boat that often...

But you are a jewellery expert.

-But it scraps, the gold value scraps for £150.

-OK.

Just the gold - I'm very happy value-wise.

-We're going to find out now, Jethro, let's put the theory to the test.

-I've put my neck on the block!

Fingers crossed for Suzanne, and for you, it's going under the hammer.

18-carat gold bracelet

with semiprecious stones,

and again, conflicting bids,

-we're going to start this one with me at £225.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Jethro.

-230 to move on,

230, 235, 240 anywhere?

At £235, are you all done at £235?

Yes! I wish Suzanne was here.

Spot on, your estimate, right in the middle,

-£200-250.

-I did say it.

-You did say it.

-And I did know.

The point about this piece is that the gold value,

-it scraps for £140 for the gold alone.

-Mm-hm.

You've got all those gemstones, so regardless of what age anybody else thinks it might be,

-it's worth...

-That's it.

-..£200-250.

Get on the phone to Suzanne, I'm sure she'll be so pleased.

-I'll call her right now.

-OK.

This is a cheeky lot, the little bisque ashtray,

-especially if you look at the reverse side!

-That's right!

Jenny, it's put a smile on my face.

Not a great deal of money, so why are you flogging this?

Well, it's been in my grandparents' house since 1914,

and it's gone from there to my parents' house,

-and now it's ended up in my house.

-And you don't smoke.

-Well, is it an ashtray?

-I don't know, we'll ask our expert.

-Is it an ashtray?

-Well, I...

-You could use it as an ashtray.

I think it probably is, for a gentleman's study, after dinner.

-Exactly.

-The ladies, they'd retreat.

I've never seen one before so we're going to get to the bottom of it right now.

To the bottom of it. It caught Mark's eye, it's going under the hammer now, this is it.

I move on to the Victorian

Monna Vanna pink glazed bisque naughty flipper,

painted numbers to the reverse.

And we start on commission here, on reserve at £80,

at 80, I'll take 90 from you,

90 bid, at 90,

100, at £100, 110, 120,

at £120, at £120,

on commission at 120, 130, 140...

-Great, they love it.

-I don't believe it!

At £140 I'm bid and I'll sell it, are we all done? 140.

Yes, worth every penny as well.

-I can't believe it...

I'm pretty adamant, that was an ashtray.

-It was a gentleman's ashtray.

-I think it was meant to titillate after dinner.

-Exactly.

A bit of titillation in the library.

We like a bit of titillation in the library.

What are you going to put that towards, Jenny?

I'm going to buy a picture I've seen in Brighton, a beautiful picture,

-silk sunflowers.

-Lovely.

-I've put a deposit on it, and that's going towards it.

That'll put a smile on your face, an equally big smile as well.

-You can look at it and think of Flog It!

-I will, it's been super.

-Thank you for coming.

-Thank you.

-And what a lovely item.

Well, it was fun, and isn't it nice that people can turn something

-that is tucked away in a drawer into something they'll enjoy.

-Exactly.

-Fantastic.

-And a bit of humour as well.

-We like that, don't we?

-Yes, we do.

Right, it's my turn to be the expert

but unfortunately Edward, our owner, can't be with us today.

We've got that fantastic set of Hornby train sets. We've got the rolling stock as well.

I split them into two lots, one's straight after the other.

The first lot, £350-450. We had a chat with the auctioneer,

he agreed with the value, lots of locomotives, let's see how it does.

A collection of boxed Hornby railways 00 gauge items,

nice in their boxes there.

And we start this at £250,

at 250, on commission at 250,

at 250, at £250,

260, 270, at 270 now,

-at £270, any more?

-And climbing.

At 280, 290, 300, 320, 350...

-Thank goodness for that.

-350 it is,

at £350, at 350, any more?

At £350 only...

At 350, then, we sell them. Are we all done at 350?

Phew, just!

First lot down, one more to go,

we need £250-350 for this second lot.

It's all the track and the paraphernalia,

-the sheds, the bridges, everything.

-00 gauge railway items,

including locomotives, coaches, sleeping cars, etc,

all the accessories there. Quite a nice lot this,

lots of items there with the engines, etc,

and due to conflicting bids here we're going to start this at £400.

-Oh, yes!

-400,

at 410, 420, 430, 430 is the bid,

at 430, is there 40? 440,

450, 460, 460, will you?

460, 470, 480. 470 holds the bid...

-At £470...

-Brilliant.

Any further bids at 470? 480 back in.

480, 490, 500...

At £490, anybody else, then?

I'll sell them, make no mistake at 4...

500, at 500, 520, 550...

At 520, I'll take 40 if it helps.

At £520, I'll take it...

-This is fantastic.

-At 520, 540,

560, 580 now,

at 560 right at the back...

Two keen collectors. I wish Edward was here.

They steam away at 560 even,

are we all done then at 560?

Yes! £560. That is fantastic news.

Gosh, I wish Edward could be here,

unfortunately he couldn't make it, but at least he can see it on TV now.

The more creepy-crawlies there are, the more it creeps up in value.

They know what we're talking about, David,

Your wonderful Portuguese majolica plate.

We've got £300-400 riding on this.

I love it, I would love to own it,

and I know Mark, our expert that put the valuation on,

-would like to own it as well.

-I love it, I love it.

Have you ever seen a full cabbage like that,

-full of the most wonderful...?

-No, this is the thing,

-it's rare for that, I think.

-Yes.

-And those wonderful reptiles

are so realistically modelled, right down to the sheen...

-They're gorgeous.

-..of the skin.

-For that reason, it's the top of the range.

-Right,

-let's hope for that top end to the estimate. Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

-This is it.

..A majolica plate,

nicely moulded and hand-painted with lizards, snakes

and the scarab beetles amongst trees and leaves,

impressed factory marks to the base there.

We've had some interest in this

-and we start this on commission at £420.

-Wow!

-Bang, straight in.

-That is exactly what we want to hear.

-Incredible.

At £420, 440, 460, 480...

480 telephone, 500 here,

at 500, 520, will you?

520, 550 on commission, at 550, 580 will you?

-580?

-580 on the telephone now,

-at £580, anyone else, then?

-Come on, fellows.

At £580 then I sell it...

-The hammer's gone down, that's a sold sound.

-Absolutely.

A result. What are you going to put the money towards?

I'll either put it into another antique,

or I shall put it into a pair of silencers for my Harley-Davidson.

-And make a lot of noise!

-And have some fun riding it around.

Yeah, I do appreciate it, it's been a fantastic time.

-Thank you.

-A lovely experience. Thank you.

-What a great result. Spot on estimate.

-Well done, my man, well done.

The sea has inspired countless artists throughout the ages,

so while we were here on the South Coast,

I wanted to meet one artist

who has developed a very unusual technique

for his beautiful, contemporary works of art.

Adam Arbeid became fascinated with the works

of 16th-century marble fresco artists,

and over the years has experimented with their ancient methods

to produce his own unique style.

Wow, what a great work space! I love your studio,

and my eyes vying for attention of so many different paintings at once,

I don't know what to look at, but we've singled out just a few.

Let's start with this one,

what's it called and what's it made of?

It's a Florentine marble fresco.

I'm using crushed marble, which I aggregate and sieve

and get my particular blend for the finish I'm after,

then I'll add that to lime stucco render.

As the material's starting to go off,

I polish with stainless steel trowels, the surface,

which brings the marble grains to the forefront.

When that's finished, I'll build up layers and layers of sealer,

then cut the sealer back with abrasives,

so I've got a beautiful smooth surface.

Do you use the natural pigments in the marble itself or do you add to it?

I try and use as little paint as possible and source actual earth pigments -

granite, glass, iron ore, metal ore -

to create the colouration rather than using additional pigment.

I also like the idea that instead of squeezing a pigment out of a tube,

and using something micronised,

changing the whole scale of pigment and using chunky material.

My eye is being drawn to the bottom of the work here.

I can see that's marble and as it's moving down,

it starts to undulate. It looks like you've taken layers away but also added.

Then I start applying the frescoed marble in a textured form.

Over the top of this area, I've put platinum leaf.

I wanted sparkling water without using traditional blues.

-It's like the foaming sea, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

And right at the very bottom, is that sand?

What I've used there is crushed granite, marble, metal ore

and glass. I've then reblended that

and reapplied it in a paler combination to give the sea foam quality.

This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this in my life.

-How long did it take you to do?

-About six weeks to create this.

So I can get really involved in it

and get the colours, textures absorbed into me and back onto the piece again.

At what stage do you know you're happy with it?

You get to the stage where you have to stop and leave it for a few days,

don't look at it and then get it out and judge it with fresh eyes.

Can I look at this one as well?

This was a very good day when I found this technique.

It was crushed marble and I blended it with some other materials and whisked it.

It took on a very bubbly, foam quality

and when I applied it and the bubbles burst, it translated into corally foam which is quite interesting,

considering it's a very hard material representing a very soft material.

That's lovely.

These are certainly collectables of the future. There's one more that's grabbed my eye.

-This.

-This is a new departure. I've started sourcing raw material -

metal ore, fossils, carbon.

How do you put them on there? Do you glue them on?

I put them in a special water-bound...resin, is the closest explanation I can give to it.

-But you can't coat the material too heavily cos you'll lose the natural sparkle.

-You'd lose the glitter.

I do like the fact that as you move around it, it flashes away.

-What's it called and where did the inspiration come from?

-It's called The Journeyman

and it's hinting that this is possibly a planet

and there's some kind of material leaving that and growing out into space.

That's a metaphor, really, for what we're all made of

or what permeates us all -

the same one thing permeates everything on the planet and in the universe.

-In the blue background, you used your Florentine marble technique.

-Yes.

-Where did you learn that?

I was driving round Europe on a holiday

and we went to Italy and I saw these beautiful frescoes

and that must have permeated at some level

because maybe six months later, the idea of reproducing those in a contemporary way

started to bubble up.

I investigated the materials, how they were blended, experimented

and just worked and worked over the last eight years to produce the techniques.

There's not a lot of people could do this. Is this like a secret that you've got now

and you can sort of put it to a commercial use?

Well, I just want to keep working and working

-and people are either liking or disliking what I do and purchasing it or not.

-Let's hope they do.

-Adam, thank you very much.

-Thanks.

Graham, are you a bit of a dairy man or something?

-I did have a summer job as a milkman once, but that's not why I've got the cow.

-No? Right.

-Tell me about the cow. What's her name?

-Sarah.

-Sarah?!

-That's a strange one, but there you are.

-Not Daisy?

-No.

-How has Sarah come into your possession?

-It was my father's. When he passed on,

my brother ended up with it, then I got her.

Sadly, there's another member of my family that doesn't get on with her.

-That's why it's here today.

-That doesn't get on with it?

My lovely little dog won't see eye to eye with it

-and they tend to lock horns.

-Oh!

-I can't bear to get rid of my dog.

-What's your dog called?

-Hattie.

Hattie the dog.

So she gets disturbed. We'd better show the viewers why.

She can put on a bit of a charge when she wants to.

-There she goes.

-MOO!

In her full glory, marching off.

-The old tail wagging.

-Tail wagging, head up.

Oh, look. There we go.

It's wonderful, isn't it?

-Well...

-It's clever.

-Certainly novel.

-When you think when this was made...

-what, 50 years ago?

-I would imagine so.

-Something like that.

The mechanics involved with this are marvellous.

It's Japanese, of course.

It's actually stamped "Japan"

on the hoof here.

There were a number of companies producing things like this.

The robots in the '60s became very popular.

-MOO!

-Thank you!

-Last word.

But what a wonderful bit of machinery it is.

She's not in the best of health.

The udder's being held up by sticky-back plastic.

The coat has got a little bit of wear on the top.

But it's a 50-year-old cow, for goodness sake.

-She's not going to have the best hide in the world.

-Sadly, no.

-Are you thinking you'd like to put her into auction?

-Yes, I can't get rid of my dog

-and one's got to go.

-Well, for Hattie's sake, I think we ought to put it in the sale.

£30 reserve will be all right. She's a fairly healthy-looking specimen.

-See what happens.

-Fine by me. Thank you very much indeed.

-Hello, Joan.

-Hi.

-First of all, can I wish you a happy 65th birthday?

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you for spending it with us today.

-That's very nice.

You've brought a lovely jug in to show us. You know it's majolica.

-Yes.

-And you know it's by Minton.

-Yeah.

-Tell me how you got it.

Well, it was in my family's home

and a chap came round to value things and he said he'd give me £16 for that vase.

It had a couple of wooden spoons in it, covered in grease.

And I thought if he wanted it for £16, it must be worth something.

So I looked it up in a friend's book and one had sold at Sotheby's.

Majolica - a great British reinvention

of an earlier majolica from the Italian.

But we created this different spin on it. Minton are one of the best factories of it

-along with George Jones.

-Yes.

It's wonderfully moulded, very naturalistic.

It looks like a pineapple. You've got these nice deep-moulded leaves,

nice strong colours. The only thing you're lacking with Victorian majolica,

this is a quite a functional piece.

A lot of pieces have animals on them - monkeys, teapots in the form of coconuts,

that sort of thing. That really does make a lot of difference.

When we actually look at the date,

we've got a mark there - "Minton",

we've got a registration code and we've also got a date letter

and various other numbers. A shape number. We haven't got the right book today to tell you the detail,

however, there is one key thing with Minton.

In 1872, they added an S to their name.

So it became Mintons.

-Oh, really?

-This doesn't have an S, so it's before 1872.

So, it's around about 1870.

It's got some minor damage. A couple of chips here and there.

Having said that, majolica does damage very easily.

You've inherited it, you've cleaned it up and found out about it.

-Why are you thinking about flogging it now?

-It's just sat on the kitchen unit, not with anything in particular

and I thought perhaps a majolica collector would like it.

A few years ago, this particular one in perfect condition

would have made between £200-£300.

The majolica market has dropped a bit. The collectors are out there

-but they want the rare shapes.

-Yes.

They want the unusual pieces.

-I would place a value on this of £100-£150.

-Could I have a...?

-Reserve?

-Yes, that's the word!

-Of £100?

-Yes, as it's your birthday.

-Thank you.

We'll put £100 with a 10% discretion on it.

That should excite people and hopefully we'll get 110 or so.

But I think it's a nice object and it should find a buyer

-and if you're happy with that...

-Yes, that's fine.

-..I'll look forward to seeing you at the auction and let's hope we can give you a birthday present.

-Thanks.

Thank you very much.

Every now and again, somebody brings something in and my eyes light up.

You've brought something along today which is intriguing.

First of all - how did you come by it? What do you know about it?

I got it for my husband's parents for their silver wedding anniversary.

I got it from a junk shop which I used to go past on my bike every day to work.

For their silver wedding anniversary, I thought, "I'll go in there and see what I can find for them."

I saw it and I liked it and it was £5.00.

-£5.00?

-And I was only earning £1 17s 6d a week.

I said to the lady, "I can't afford it." But she was a mumsy lady, and she said,

"I'll put it by for you. If you come in once a week with 10 shillings, you can pay for it that way."

-What was it that appealed to you about this vase?

-The shape, the handles.

I just thought it was sweet because I like things different.

That's the important thing - you like it,

-and it was an awful lot of money for you in those days.

-Yes, it was!

-Over a month's wages!

-It was!

Blimey - that's a lot of money!

-Well, this vase is silver. You wouldn't recognise it as such at the moment.

-No.

That's because silver reacts with the oxygen in the atmosphere,

and over time, it'll go black, which is why you polish silver.

And this black builds up to such an extent that it's extremely difficult to remove it.

-It needs to be professionally cleaned.

-Mm.

-Or...

-left completely alone.

-Oh.

-And my advice to you....

for this one is to leave it completely alone.

People can see it's a genuine article - it is what it says on the box.

A beautiful little Art Nouveau- cum-Arts and Crafts piece.

-Made...about 100 years ago or so.

-Mmm.

Of course there's a silver hallmark on it which tells us all about it.

-The silver hallmark says that it was assayed in London...

-Right.

in 1898. So a silver vase like this, 100 years old,

-worth about £100.

-Mm-hm.

That's quite good. Would you sell it for £100?

-Yes.

-You would?

-Yes, I think I would now, cos...

-But I've got some slightly better news for you.

-Right.

Because the maker's stamp is Liberty & Co.

Goodness. I didn't know that.

-That's good news.

-Yeah!

When you say Liberty & Co and look at this Arts and Crafts style,

now it all comes together.

1898, Liberty & Co, lot of people love Liberty.

So I think a collector of Liberty silver will pay not £100 - I hope £200.

-Mm.

-Possibly more.

-Very nice.

-There is a little bit of a downside...

-Mm...

and that is a bit of damage.

We've got to take that into consideration, so my feeling

is that even with that damage, which can be repaired quite easily,

everything in its favour - £200-£300...

should be a come-and-get-me estimate.

Lovely. Thank you.

Sarah, the mechanical Friesian, charmed us all at the valuation day,

so let's see if we can turn her into a cash cow at the auction room.

Mark's hoping the pineapple jug will give us a sweet result.

And finally, it's fingers crossed for the silver vase.

Is the Liberty name enough to make it shine?

This is a bit of fun, this next item.

You could say it's for the connoisseur, or the Japanese toy collector.

I've just been joined by Graham and we've got that lovely mechanical cow.

£30 is riding on it. Did you know they've catalogued it as a bull?

-I did notice that.

-She's got udders!

-Why are you flogging this?

-We had a disagreement between the dog and the cow. One of them had to go.

-So you're keeping the dog?

-Yes.

-What dog is it?

It's a cross collie called Hattie, love of our lives.

Obviously chewing it and playing with it.

-She...

-Wrestling.

-Sparring is a good word.

-It's a nice little item.

-In good condition, the sort of thing you'd love to have.

It's the condition, though. The udder is falling off.

Perhaps that's why they catalogued it as a bull.

The condition isn't brilliant. It does still work.

Maybe someone could tinker about with it and get it back to speed, as it were.

-It's one of those. I'm not going to say it's definitely going to go, but...

-We'll find out in a moment.

And the battery-powered mechanical Friesian bull.

Felt body, moving limbs and the voice box.

Plenty of interest. Start this at £45.

At £45. At 45. Where's 50?

At £45. 50's bid. And 5.

-Still on commission at £55.

-Hey!

-55 the bid then. 60. And 5.

£70 if you like. At £65 only, then,

I'm selling on commission at £65.

-65 only?

-Yes!

-Brilliant!

-Hammer's gone down.

-Amazing.

-That is amazing, isn't it?

I was a bit dubious at your estimate and I thought...

I got carried away cos I liked it.

It has a bit of character. I'm going to be positive about it cos we've got £65.

Brilliant! What a great result.

Thank you for bringing it in. What are you going to do with the £65?

I'm going to go three ways. Bunch of flowers for the missus,

spoils to the victor - the dog,

-and a little bit for the Macmillan cancer organisation.

-Oh, good cause.

Macmillan nurses.

A bit of quality for you now. A Minton majolica jug.

It belongs to Joan here. We've got £100 - £150 riding on it.

-Happy with the valuation?

-Yes.

-It's going under the hammer right now.

The Victorian Minton majolica pineapple jug,

decorated in green and yellow glaze.

Again, been some interest in this

and we start this at £120 only.

-Yes!

-I'll take £130 from you.

120. 130 is bid. 140.

140 now. At 140. 150.

160. Still on commission at 160.

-It's OK.

-170.

On the internet, 170. 180 with me on commission.

At 180. 190, is it?

-At £180.

-Come on, more, more!

-180.

No? 180 it is, then. Sells at £180.

Yes! £180, Joan, that is a brilliant result.

-We've got to thank our expert here.

-I'm satisfied with that.

-Spot on.

-That's a good price for it.

-This is your thing, isn't it?

-I love that decorative arts stuff.

-It's great.

-OK, what are you putting the money towards?

Um...I think I might buy some Premium Bonds because there's a big sale, isn't there?

-Good luck with that.

-Get a million instead.

-Remember us.

We've got some real quality on the show right now.

Liberty & Co, what a name. And Hilary, you're quality, aren't you?

-Of course.

-And it's classic recycling going on,

-because you got this from a charity shop for a fiver.

-I did.

What's it valued at? Our expert has put £200-£300 on it. You love this.

I love it. I think £200-£300.

I hope we're going to be in for a bit of a surprise.

-Could it be the sleeper of the show?

-I don't know about that. I've got high hopes.

-It's got a little bit of damage but it should get that.

-Everybody's after Arts and Crafts, Liberty.

-It's a nice-looking piece.

-You've got a good eye, then.

Well, I thought it was pretty but I had to pay ten bob a week for it.

Let's find out what it sells for because it's just about to go under the hammer. This is it.

Silver vase there with the embossed decoration. Liberty & Co.

London 1899. Bit of interest in this.

We'll start this one at £200.

220, 240, 260, 280.

300, 320, 340. 360?

-It's a horse race.

-380, 400.

-They absolutely love it.

450, 480.

500. 550. 600?

550 at the back of the room. 600 on the phone now.

-Yes!

-650.

700. 750?

800. 850. 900.

900 on the phone. 950?

-1,000.

-Yep.

1,000 on the phone, And 50? 1,000 on the telephone.

The telephone has it at £1,000. You all done at £1,000?

-The hammer's gone down. It's sold.

-Yes!

Hilary - wow!

-Thank you!

-Gosh!

£1,000 - what a fantastic result!

OK. Here's the big question. It's £1,000, less a bit of commission.

What will you put the money towards?

Well, I was not expecting to get so much and I was thinking of a silver Celtic cross.

Always wanted one.

But we shall... I don't know, really, other than that!

Wow! £1,000, Jethro, it was the sleeper.

Do I know what I'm doing, sometimes? I don't know.

-You were super.

-We spotted the object, at the end of the day.

It was in a blue plastic carrier bag and you said, "What you got in there?"

What a lovely surprise. What a fantastic surprise.

Well, that's it. It's all over for our owners.

The auction is still going on but what a cracking day it's been!

The saleroom's been buzzing. Our owners have gone home happy, especially Hilary.

It was wonderful to see that big grin on her face

when her Liberty vase sold for more than three times its estimate, for a staggering £1,000.

Sadly, we've run out of time.

So until the next time, it's cheerio.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media - 2007