Windsor 38 Flog It!

We've got to be on our best behaviour in case someone important pops in to our valuation day

because we're just a stone's throw away from the Queen's official residence. We're in Windsor.

The great thing about a Flog It! valuation day

is you never know exactly what or who is going to turn up.

Will we find anything with a royal connection? It's anybody's guess.

One thing we can be sure of - all of our experts, Nick Hall,

Adam Partridge and Thomas Plant, will treat everything with courtesy and respect,

-whether they're rags or riches, won't you, chaps?

-Of course we will.

-Yes, Paul.

Hopefully we'll be selling everything later on, for a right royal profit.

Right now it's time to see what Nick has come up with.

Hello John, welcome to sunny Windsor. Thank you for bringing in this great little plant pot with you.

It caught my eye in the queue. I liked this as soon as I saw it.

I'd like to know what you can tell me about it, how you came to own it.

Yes, well it came to us when my mother died.

She was actually 90 when she died.

-It's been in your family a long time then?

-Yes, as far as I know it's always been in the family, yes.

-So you inherited it?

-Yes.

-Do you have plants in it at home?

-No, we don't.

-Relegated to the cupboard under the sink or somewhere.

-Up in the loft.

It's a shame. It really needs to come out and be appreciated for what it is.

Obviously we can see from the marks underneath that it's a piece of Mintons, it's fully marked Mintons.

We can tell that it's got the "s" on the end of Minton which says it's after 1872.

Also we've got the England stamp on there, so it's after 1891,

so we can date it quite accurately.

We've got some various impressed marks which help with that.

I'd date this to probably around about 1895, 1900, that sort of date.

It falls into the category that we'd call Arts and Crafts.

It's just a short period of the late Victorian era

and you've some wonderful designers working, Mintons,

a lot of the other great ceramic factories of the UK.

Um...I particularly like the pattern of the flowers on these.

-There's one name they draw me to, Christopher Dresser.

-Right.

It's known that he was doing some designs for Mintons

and we've seen and sold a lot of his work over the years.

A lot of it's signed and it makes a lot of money when it's signed.

This is only attributable to him because it's not signed, I can't say it's definitely Dresser.

-Would it definitely be signed if it was...?

-Not always. It's never that simple, sadly.

It would make our job harder and we'd have to work for a living rather than telling us everything on the front.

-Do you have any idea what you think it might be worth?

-Well, I thought about 100.

About £100, not a bad starting price.

I've had a look round it - the only fault I can see

-is there's a very small hairline crack just down the rim there.

-We've noticed that.

We've got a bit of crazing under the glaze.

That's not a problem. It's just that crack.

-Yeah.

-Value-wise, if it's just a piece of anonymous Mintons art pottery of circa 1900,

it's going to make £100, £150 maybe.

-If the buyers decide yes, I think it could be Dresser, we could be looking at £200, £300 perhaps.

-Right.

So let's get it in with a firm reserve of, say, £100 so you're not disappointed,

-and then fingers crossed it'll make a good sale for you and we can flog it.

-Very good.

-Jenny.

-Hello.

-Tell me, where did you get your decanter and stopper from?

I found it in the shed when we moved back to my mother's family home and the shed was full

of furniture and various bits and pieces that had been owned by her parents and other relatives.

There it was and I was seven. So I've had it a little while now.

Some time, certainly. So it's been with you, you know, through thick and thin probably.

-Yeah. Moved house a few times.

-It's in remarkably good condition.

Why do you reckon your family had it?

I don't know. I imagined it's probably...

early 20th century...

-I don't know.

-No, what it is is it's 19th century.

-Oh, right.

-It's probably going to be 1850s, 1860s, something like that,

and it's what we call Bohemian glass.

Bohemian glass because it comes from that part of the world.

-Right.

-This is a typical decoration and design from Bohemia.

What happens is...

glass is blown and it's a clear glass.

-Mm-hmm.

-Then this red ruby you can see around it

is flashed over the glass so the clear glass is blown

and then it's dipped in a ruby glass and taken out immediately.

-Oh, right.

-It's then shaped and left to cool.

Then how does the decoration get made?

By a wheel engraver. A wheel engraver comes along and takes away the ruby

to leave what we see now and it creates an effect, a 3D effect.

Each side has an architectural building on it.

Now they look and certainly the place names underneath look to be more

Austro-Hungarian, something like that,

middle-European design of architecture and the lettering underneath.

Quite popular today, there's quite a few people who collect it.

When it comes to putting a price on this, I don't think we're going to get you a king's ransom

or send you on an exotic holiday at all.

However they're quite collectible

and I'd feel disappointed if you didn't get between £120 and £180.

-Now as regards to reserve, would you be happy with a reserve of £100?

-Mm.

-How does that grab you?

-That's fine.

-Yeah? You seemed very relaxed.

Well, I'm here because I've decided to get rid of it.

-Thank you for coming. Will we see you at the auction?

-Yes.

Sheila, thank you very much for coming in.

You know I love wood, I love treen. This is a gorgeous bit of treen.

I've been looking at this for a few minutes and I'm a bit foxed

and I hope you are as well because I can't quite work it out.

I know... I know it's been well used.

-Yes.

-It's a quality item, it's made of Cuban mahogany and it looks like something from a jacquard loom,

you sort of separate something, but I know it's not that because it's too refined.

-It could be a page-turner if there was only one prong.

-Yes.

But I'm not sure... It's a separator of some sort. What is it?

It used to be used in the old leather ledgers,

when you get to the end,

when you have a book that's that thick, A to Z, and very thick.

-I see what you're getting at now.

-It's difficult...

Your hand would just fall off the end once you got to the end of the line so you need to support it.

-So that goes in the pages.

-Like so. And then you rest your hand.

Yes. This takes the weight.

There you go. It's logical, isn't it?

OK, so how did you come by this?

Well, my husband's had it for as long as I can remember.

We'd been married 52-and-a-half years when he died recently.

He's just had it hanging up on the wall.

Well, it's Victorian, circa 1850, 1880, somewhere around there.

Yes, that ties in.

Was he a clerk at all?

-My husband was an accountant.

-Ah...

-There you go.

-His father, who was in the choir at St George's, was a book-keeper.

Between singing, they have to have another job. All lay clerks...

-Yeah.

-..In chapels and colleges.

-St George's here, you mean? He was singing in St George's?

-Yes, he was born here, my husband. He was born in the castle.

-He was born in Windsor Castle?

He was born in the archway where you go in, you go in to the Henry VIII gate.

He could almost claim to have blue blood, he could be royalty.

That would be good!

As a value, it's a curio, as I've not seen one before it's very hard to put a price on it

but I think because of its social history, because it's a sort of gentlemen's toy,

I think we can put this into auction and hopefully get around £60 to £90.

Would you be happy with that?

-Yes, I would.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-We'll let the auctioneer use his discretion.

-We'll put a reserve of £50 in there. Yes. Thank you. Yeah? Shall we Flog It?

-Yes, please.

Hello, Harry. What a nice bowl you've got.

How did you come to own such a nice bit of glassware?

My mother was clearing out clutter about 20 years ago

and handed it on to me.

She got it from her mother. Her mother in turn got it from her sister, my great-aunt.

Going back many years to when I was a child, I have a recollection

of this being on my Great Aunt Doris's kitchen table with windfall apples in it.

Wow, what a great family history.

Where do you think it came originally? How did it come into the family?

My dear great aunt and my grandmother lived in the Pembrokeshire village of Newport.

-OK.

-I rather suspect that this was bought

at the then-regular auctions at Newport Memorial Hall.

That's interesting. It still doesn't tell us how it's got from where it was manufactured over to here.

This is a piece of Austrian glass.

It dates a little bit earlier than your family history goes back. I would date this to about 1900.

Slap-bang in the middle of the Art Nouveau period.

Stylistically it looks like a piece of Loetz glass,

which was one of the most prominent factories in the region of that era.

But of course I've had a look underneath and as is always the way, there's no signature, is there?

No factory mark, no signature.

So what we can say is it's Austrian, it's Art Nouveau, circa 1900, in the style of Loetz.

Loetz is a very collectible factory of this iridescent glass, beautiful colours.

What really intrigues me is these lovely little flower heads pasted onto the side.

Absolutely, as far as I can see unchipped as well.

Yeah, no damage, which is amazing, considering it's been used in your family for 60 years,

had apples galore stuffed in it!

A nice thing. Why do you want to sell it now after all that family history?

I do love it, I love the shape, I love the colour,

but it doesn't lend itself towards decoration in the year 2006

and it's such a waste to keep it in a box.

Let's put it into the auction but let's find some collectors who will display it and appreciate it.

-Have you any idea what you think it might be worth?

-I have no idea what it's worth...

£80 maybe, £100, maybe more, I don't know.

You're certainly not far off the mark. I would think it ought to make closer to a couple of hundred pounds.

OK.

-I think a sensible auction estimate should be £150 to £200.

-Right.

And maybe pitch the reserve slightly under the lower figure,

-so £125 as a firm reserve.

-OK.

I think it will attract buyers in.

And I think once they're there and they see the beauty and the quality,

particularly these flower heads which are reminiscent

of a lot of the top designers at the Loetz factory, they'll love it too,

and I think their bids will follow accordingly and hopefully get the top end for you.

I should be very, very interested to see what happens.

Some of the colourful items going in today's auction have been given a new lease of life.

There's John's jardiniere, which was rescued from the loft, and the ruby decanter,

belonging to Jenny, that nearly ended its days in a garden shed.

But at least Sheila's mahogany armrest has been well cherished.

So has the green glass bowl that's been passed down through Harry's family.

We're at Bourne End Auction Rooms for today's sale, in Buckinghamshire

and in charge of the proceedings is auctioneer Simon Brown. First under the hammer is John's jardiniere.

We've got a great lot now, an Arts and Crafts jardiniere in the manner of Christopher Dresser.

-If it IS Dresser, we're laughing all the way to the bank, aren't we, John?

-We are.

Nick's put a value of £100, £150, somewhere around there.

-If it is Dresser we're looking at £800 to £1,200.

-As good as that?

-If it's Dresser...

-Potentially.

-To be fair, Paul...

-It's in the manner of.

The estimate reflects the fact that it's unsigned, but it's a nice bit of Minton Arts and Crafts pottery.

That's pretty much what the estimate is.

Lot 115, late Victorian Mintons green-glazed jardiniere,

that's the one showing behind me.

In the manner of Christopher Dresser, start me at £50 please,

for this lot. 50 I'm bid.

Got you at 50. 55, 60, 65,

70, 75,

75, 80, 85,

90, 95,

£90 now, got you at 90, 95, 100, £100 now.

Selling at 100, are we all done at 100?

We got it away, didn't we?

On the reserve.

-OK. It wasn't Dresser.

-No.

I love this next item, this ruby decanter. It's got quality all the way through it.

-We're looking at 120-180. It's been brought in by Jenny here. Good luck with this.

-Thank you.

-You've had this since you were seven, really. Had your eyes on it!

-At lest 20 years!

-At least 20 years!

No, ten years ago, wasn't it? Lots of memories.

Yeah. I used to have it on display, but recently it's been put away.

-Do you use it?

-No.

-Thomas, will we get that top end?

I think we could actually because it's a quality antique.

-It is.

-It is in the detail. We see Beswick, Troika or Whitefriars

and now something quality comes along, wonderfully made...

And much cheaper than Beswick and Troika!

Much cheaper and much rarer.

-But maybe not so fashionable.

-Yeah, and we're in the fashion business.

Lot 272, Bohemian ruby flashed and engraved spa decanter.

Start me at £50, please, for this lot. 50, anybody interested at 50?

-Nobody interested at all at 50?

-I can't believe this.

-55. 60. 65. 70.

-That's good.

75. 80. 85. 90. 95.

100. £100, now selling at 100.

-Got you at 100. Are we all done at 100, now?

-That was a struggle.

-It was a struggle.

-Sold on the reserve.

-Sold on the reserve.

That's OK. That's OK.

-I'm a big girl now - I can let go.

-What will you use the £100 for?

I was gonna give it to my bank manager who's a very worthy cause.

-Oh, I see.

-I've got a more worthy cause now, because my rabbit needs neutering.

OK. These things have to be done!

I feel a bit depressed now for the poor rabbit!

Right, it's now my turn to be the expert

and I've just been joined by Sheila.

We've got that lovely little clerk's armrest which is just about to go under the hammer.

You really made my day, because you taught me something.

-I didn't know what that was.

-I don't think many people do.

No. When we brought it here to the auction room,

we had a chat with Simon, the auctioneer.

He didn't know what it was. None of his staff did either. They've never seen one.

They just couldn't work it out.

Unfortunately, when I had a chat with him earlier,

he said to me if he would value it,

if it came into the saleroom tomorrow, he'd put £20-£30 on it,

-which is nothing, is it?

-No, I'd rather keep it.

-Well, we're going to. If it doesn't sell for £50 or over, we're keeping it.

-Yes.

Lot 43, this is a rather interesting Victorian mahogany clerk's armrest.

Right, who'll start me at £50?

30 to start. 30 I'm bid. Got you at 30.

Yours at 30. Are we all done at 30?

Got you at 30, now.

No? See me afterwards if you're interested. Thank you.

That was short and sweet, wasn't it?

Oh dear, I hate those moments.

Sheila, it's going home and you're gonna look after it.

-Hang on the wall again.

-Yes.

That's where it used to be, in my husband's den.

Lots of memories there. Keep cherishing them

-and it'll make you smile every time you see it.

-Yes.

We've got some Austrian Art Nouveau glass bowls going under the hammer right now.

A beautiful iridescent lot here.

They belong to Harry. There's a lot of memories going. Are you sad?

-Not really - the colour doesn't appeal enormously.

-OK.

Nick, will we get that top end?

A great bit of Art Nouveau.

It's unsigned again, but all the quality and style's there.

-It should make it all day long.

-OK.

-We'll see what happens.

-Nick's confident. Harry wants rid of...

Lot 129, circa 1900,

that's the Austrian Art Nouveau iridescent green glass bowl.

Start me at £100, please, for this lot. Come on, £100 to start.

-100 I'm bid. 110.

-We're off.

-120.

130. 140.

Got you at 140. Yours at 140.

Are we all done at 140? Selling at 140. Are we all done?

The hammer's gone down, Harry. You're gonna take that, 140?

Oh, absolutely. Yes.

You were talking about your house, it didn't suit your house.

-I think with iridescent glass you must display it with others of its kind.

-Yes.

You must have a big surface.

-It must be well lit.

-Exactly, yes, lots and lots of light.

Also, the glass does gather dust.

Which you don't like?

Well done, Harry, thanks for coming in.

Polo is one of the oldest and fastest team games in the world.

The first recorded game was played in Persia around 600BC

and was probably a training exercise for the Persian cavalry, as well as a sport.

As the cavalry were made up almost entirely of nobles,

it earned the game the title the Sport Of Kings.

The first polo club was opened in India and, believe it or not,

there's still a version of polo that's played on elephants instead of ponies.

In the 1800, polo was adopted by the English tea planters there

and brought back to Britain.

I tell you what, I cannot wait for this. This is so exciting for me.

It's possibly the most exciting thing I've ever done on the show.

I'm gonna get the opportunity, not only to learn the rules

and how to play the game, and also learn about the history of polo,

but get on a polo pony and try it for myself.

Now, how exciting is that?

I'm spending the day here at the prestigious Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club,

where Prince Charles himself is a member.

Well there's only one thing left to do now - that's get the kit on!

I guess I'd better go and meet my instructor, Mark.

Here he is.

-Hi, Mark.

-Hello, Paul.

-Thank you for taking time out to talk to us today and giving me a lesson.

Right... I'm petrified.

I have ridden a horse before, so that's the OK bit.

But hitting a ball from a horse is gonna be very difficult for me.

Talk me through the technique.

-OK. We're gonna use the wooden horse to start you off.

-Yes.

So at least the horse is keeping still when you're practising your swing technique.

We start off just sitting in the saddle as normal when you're riding around, but the big change for you

as a rider will be that you hold your reins in your left hand, one-handed

to enable you to swing the mallet.

You hit it with the front of the mallet, here.

A lot of people think we hit like this. That would be impossible.

So we actually hit it with this part of the mallet.

That way to go forwards

and use the back of the mallet to go backwards.

OK. What's the ball made of?

Nowadays the ball is made of a very, very hard plastic, almost like an ice hockey puck, it's rock hard.

Oh, it is, isn't it?

I can make that thing travel at about 100mph when I hit it really hard.

Most good professional players...

-That's gonna hurt!

-It is if you get in the way.

Originally it was made from the pulu root from the pulu tree...

-a very hard root where the modern name polo comes from.

-Ah, where the name comes from.

Go on then, Mark, give it a good old swing and let's see it put into practice.

You can see I've got this sweet sort of pendulum-type movement.

The kind of thing you see a golfer play,

but I have to play it off the side of a horse, which we ride at 40mph.

-That's the difficult bit.

-That is the tricky bit, yeah.

I start by putting angles into the shots.

I'm twisting my body through 90 degrees.

I'm bending my elbow and cocking my wrist.

I just release all that stored-up power

onto the ball and hit through here like so.

I don't try and hold onto the mallet.

I just release, relax and let it swing,

because if I've missed the ball I'll need to swing again.

-OK.

-You do that both forwards, both sides of the pony,

like so.

Then you just give this ball a little tap.

I'll just demonstrate the shot.

OK.

OK, now it's my turn.

Right...

It's a lot easier than being on the real thing, that's for sure.

-Right.

-OK.

-Heels down.

-Heels down.

-There you go. Can you do that yourself?

On the outside. Good, there you go.

Let's just get that seated properly in your hand.

You've got a nice, loose grip, actually. That's excellent.

-Right, OK, then.

-It's time to hit the ball.

-Time to hit the ball. Oh dear.

-I'll just step back a little.

PAUL LAUGHS

Oh, a beauty!

What a lovely feeling.

Jammy!

Once you've hit it once, all you want to do is hit it again and again and again.

That's why polo is so addictive and people love it so much.

So much for the practising, time for the real thing.

-What's her name?

-This is Peanut.

This is one of my little horses.

One...two...three and you're on.

Right, OK, well... The scary bit is now trying to hit the ball, isn't it?

Let's come out onto the polo pitch and see if you can remember what you learnt.

I bet I won't hit the ball!

Oh!

Come on, Paul.

I missed it!

A game consists of four periods of play and they're called chukkas.

Each are seven minutes long and the game is so fast and furious

that the players use a fresh pony for every chukka.

There are four players to a team and the object is to score the highest number of goals.

LAUGHTER

How can you hit a ball that hard?

That was a slog.

I've got to try and score a goal.

That's it, Paul. Just relax into it and swing right back.

That's it.

It's not quite there. Quickly...

Quickly, quickly.

That's it. Well done.

PAUL LAUGHS

Oh, brilliant. Absolutely, brilliant!

That was absolutely fantastic.

Thank you so much, Mark.

All I can say is this polo school's definitely worth a visit.

In fact, I'm gonna rephrase that, it's definitely worth several visits

and you may even get to ride on good old Peanut here. What a day out!

-Thank you.

-My pleasure.

There's even one with Windsor on it.

And back at the valuation day, let's see what Adam has found.

Sheila, this is something I really like myself.

I love the Art Nouveau movement and this is a great example.

-Where did you get it from?

-It was my mother's and I believe her parents' as well before that.

I've had it all this time and I've used it as a little vase.

You've used it nicely as a vase.

It's nice to have these things used as well.

It's made really for ornament.

It's made by the Hungarian factory called Zsolnay.

Some people say Zolnay, but I think it's Z-S-O-L-N-A-Y,

established in the 1850s.

They started initially making quite traditional items.

At the end of the 19th century, around 1897,

they went to making Art Nouveau items.

They're well known for these iridescent glazes that we see on the front and the red particularly.

I just love this flowing dress around the central vase.

I think she's absolutely beautiful.

-It dates from the turn of the century around 1900.

-Right.

And it originates from Hungary.

Very popular nowadays.

I see there's a few little bits of damage.

-I'm sure you've not done those.

-No.

-You can't remember when they were done.

-Can't remember.

There's a few little marks along here

-and a bit of damage on her arm.

-Yes, I knew that was there.

We'll have to be cautious with the value.

-When we were talking before you didn't think it was valuable, did you?

-No, I didn't.

I'm gonna disagree, really.

Some of the Zsolnay pieces can fetch thousands now.

I don't think we're in that league.

-No.

-But we're certainly more than £20 type of thing.

-I would suggest an estimate of £100-£150.

-That's a surprise.

That's a nice surprise. We'll put a reserve of 80, shall we?

I think if it doesn't make 80, it's definitely worth hanging onto.

Just being a bit cautious because of the damage.

I think, fingers crossed, we could be in for a little surprise there.

Shall we show everyone at home what the marks are like so they can spot it themselves,

-or should we leave it flat on the table?

-You can show them the marks.

There's the Zsolnay mark and these are the usual shape and pattern numbers

and a great example of the Art Nouveau movement.

Let's hope it goes and makes a fortune.

I won't be embarrassed if it makes a lot more!

Oh, good!

-Morning, Keith.

-Morning.

Thank you for bringing in this wonderful Chinese pot.

Tell me, how did you come to own it?

It belonged to my late mother-in-law and she always had it on display.

She was quite proud of it.

So it's a family piece. It's been around for a long time.

As long as you can remember?

-Yes, over 30 years.

-Really, as long as that?

As far as you know, did your family ever travel to China?

Or was there any naval history to it?

Well, her husband was in the Navy.

He was? So he travelled extensively, which could explain how this came.

As I said, it's Chinese.

It's obviously what we call a piece of blue and white.

I suspect it had a lid at some point, as most ginger jars tended to.

Underneath, there's this tell-tale rim where it would have stood on a stand originally as well.

-Do you have any idea how old it might be?

-No.

None at all? Well, it's pretty old.

An awful lot of these, and most that we see, are what we call export pieces

made at the end of the 19th century.

They were mass produced and shipped overseas to Europe. But this is earlier than that.

This is probably around about the middle of the 18th century, that sort of era...

1750s.

We can tell that by the particular colouring of the blue,

the hues of the blue and the glaze.

This sort of to pearlescent glaze to it which gives an indication of that early age.

Do you have any idea what sort of value it might have?

-Well, she did tell us someone saw it many years ago and offered £50.

-£50?

OK. That's a little bit on the mean side.

I think it's worth a bit more than that.

We have to be cautious when we value it because the lid's missing and the stand's not there.

And there's a very slight hairline crack just along the top.

Value-wise, we're talking about £150 to £200.

That sort of region, maybe a little more on a good day

if it's illustrated and notified to the right buyers properly.

We need to put a firm reserve on it,

something to safety-guard it from being sold too cheap if the right buyers aren't there on the day.

You were offered £50 for it.

I think it makes perfect sense to put £100 firm reserve.

If it doesn't make that, take it home and try and sell it another day.

But it should be a good starting price and something not to let it go less than.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

-OK. Thank you, Keith.

Lynn, thank you very much for coming today and bringing along this great collection.

Tell me, they don't belong to you, do they?

No, they're an elderly neighbour's who's not well at the moment,

so I brought them along for him.

Right. And he's given you permission to think about selling them?

Yeah. He was going to sell them anyway.

Do you know much of the story behind how he collected these?

All I know is that he's been collecting for about 30 or 40 years.

How he got started, I don't really know.

-How old is he now?

-70.

-What's his name?

-Philip.

-Philip?

-And do you look after him when he's not very well?

-Yeah.

-That's very good of you. Very noble. Very nice.

These are all stickpins, stockpins for one's stock, tie.

Some of them have been converted from a hatpin, a lady's hatpin,

to make it into a tie- or a stockpin.

He's got a wide collection here.

-How many do you reckon are here?

-233.

-Have you counted them?

-I haven't, but he has.

-I'll take your word for it.

-Did he say to you, "Oh, that one's a really nice one"?

-He didn't.

But my favourite is the dog one.

Yeah. We've talked about the dog one, haven't we?

The dog one is the most valuable. You're quite right.

This one here. If we just take this one out.

This one is rock crystal.

It's what we call domed, which is called cabochon because it's domed.

The way they've done this lovely dog picture

is they have reverse-carved the base in the shape of a dog, which is really difficult.

It's almost like carving in a mirror image. Then they painted it.

Hence they've got the pretty dog.

These are called reverse-painted intaglios,

or commonly known as Essex crystals,

because an Essex jeweller invented the process.

That one, individually, is worth about £80 to £120.

The other nice one is this one here.

It's carved agate with a little diamond in it. Can you see that?

-Yeah.

-This is a carved agate.

Carved as a shell,

looking like an oyster shell.

Then the little diamond in there makes it look like a bit of a gem.

Like a little shining gem inside the shell.

That's worth around £40 to £60.

Lots of them here are what we would call almost quite pedestrian.

You've got the litter one here, for example. Which is quite fun.

And all of these horseshoes at the front are not worth a great deal.

What we do is we get this collection of 230...?

-Three.

-233, divide them into 115 or whatever it's going to be.

Maybe one will be more than the other.

But each of those two different lots,

we separate out the good ones and divide them up between the two lots.

One lot would have the shell and one lot would have the Essex crystal.

The estimates for both of those lots would be between £200 and £300.

As regards to reserves on each of those lots, I'd say £200 with the auctioneer's discretion.

There's no point giving them away.

-Is Philip going to come along to the auction?

-Yeah.

I've already spoken to him and he should be up to coming.

-And you'll give him a lift?

-Yeah.

It's very good of you to do that. We look forward to seeing you there.

It's time to get straight back to the auction room with our next batch of items.

Will collectors of Art Nouveau pottery like this Hungarian lady enough to ignore the damage?

Was Nick right with his valuation of the blue and white Chinese jar?

It's all down to the bidders.

But surely they can't miss the point of this fantastic collection of stick pins!

There's 40 years of collecting stick pins here by a chap called Philip.

There's 233.

We've split them into two lots

and we've got a valuation of £200 to £300 on each lot.

Will we do the business?

It's a beautiful collection.

I personally feel

you're probably looking at between £300 to £400 per lot.

That's excellent. That really is good.

There's some nice stick pins in there, one or two diamond stick pins.

There's some ruby inset stick pins.

Beautiful rock crystal one inset with a small dog.

Some of those pins, you're looking at £40, £50, £60, £70 each.

There's a lot of happy years of collecting there.

I guess that's what collecting is all about, really. Piecing it together, year after year.

Sheila, in a moment, we're going to be saying goodbye to your Zsolnay vase and hello to £150, hopefully.

That's what I am hoping for, Adam's top end of the estimate.

It's a lovely little vase. I love the iridescent look and the lustreware.

I think the bidders will love this.

Let's see them get stuck in and fight over it. It's been in the family a long time, hasn't it?

-Yes, it has.

-So why are you flogging it?

Lots of memories here?

-Yes, it was a difficult decision. Almost...

-Did he twist your arm?

Our expert here, Adam Partridge, the baby-faced assassin!

Lot 160. A late 19th-century Zsolnay lustre glaze figure of a female.

Start me at £50 please for this.

£50 I am bid.

Got you at 50, 55, 60...

There's a phone bid.

80, 85,

90, 95.

100? £95 on the phone.

Selling at 95. Are we all done at 95?

Got you at 95, Martin. Are we all done?

-Disappointing.

-It's still a result. It's still a good result, Sheila.

-£100. We said 100.

-95.

Yeah, 95. Must have been a bit of damage that didn't help. Damage on ceramics always kills it off a bit.

What will you put the money towards?

-I'll treat the grandchildren.

-Lovely.

-Probably Legoland or something like that.

-Oh, that's a fun day out, isn't it?

-Yes.

We've got a great bit of blue and white, a bit of 18th century Chinese now.

It belongs to Keith. Keith, why are you flogging this?

It belonged to my late mother-in-law.

It would be difficult to divide it up between three people.

OK. So the money will be divided instead.

It is a nice piece. I love this. ..Nick?

It's nice and early and well painted.

It should make the money.

Something for the purists? It is going under the hammer, right now.

Good luck, Keith and good luck, Nick.

Lot 86. Mid-18th century Chinese blue and white ginger jar.

Who'll start me at £50 please for this? Come on, 50 to start.

50, anybody interested at 50?

Nobody interested at 50?

-Yes. We've got someone.

-50 I am bid.

Got you at 50. 55, 60, 65, 70.

It's creeping.

£65 now. Selling at 65.

70, 75, 80, 85, 90.

Got you at 90.

Are we all done? 95, 100.

100 in the corner. Got you at 100.

Yours at 100. Are we all done at £100?

Yes. £100, bang on the reserve, Keith.

Good job we put that reserve in!

I was going to say, it's not black and white, it's not blue and white.

-It still is tricky.

-It's not an exact science.

If it had had the lid, it would have made the top end and more.

But there we go, it sold. Made its money, I think it's about right.

Well done, thank you for bringing it in as well.

Right now I've got to introduce to you the neighbour of the year.

Here she is. She's called Lynn.

Bless her, you look after Philip.

You're always there for him. They're his stick pins, aren't they?

You came to the valuation day, because he couldn't make it.

-You brought him along to the auction?

-Yes.

-Fingers crossed, we got him here.

Unfortunately, he can't get up the stairs because there is no stair lift.

-So we'll have a chat with him after the sale. He's down there waiting, isn't he?

-Yes.

You have got a heart of gold. You really have.

As you know, we've split the stick pins into two lots, valued £200 to £300 each.

We had a chat to the auctioneer. Let me bring in our expert, Thomas.

-The auctioneer said he would put £300 to £400 on each lot.

-Really?

That's really good. He's confident it's going to get your top end.

I've seen a few people viewing, I've found out, which is always a good sign.

It's going under the hammer now.

Lot 200, it's a good collection of Victorian hat pins.

Who'll start me at £200 for this lot?

200 I'm bid. Got you at 200. Yours at 200.

220. 240? 220.

240, 260, 280.

300? 280 on my left. Selling at 280.

300, 320, 340, 360, 380.

400? 380, got you at 380. Are we all done at 380?

Now selling at £380.

Yes, one lot down, one more to go.

-£380, that's a good result.

-Bottom estimate already!

Lot 201. A similar collection.

Start me at £200 again.

100 then to start.

100, I'm bid.

110, 120, 130, 140.

150, 160, 170, 180.

190, 200.

220. 240. 260, 280.

300, 320.

This is brilliant.

-They absolutely love them.

-360?

340 on my left. Selling at 340.

360, 380. 400?

380 on my left, selling at 380.

Are we all done at 380 now?

That's unbelievable. Both lots at £380.

That's fantastic.

I'm gobsmacked, he'll be so pleased.

What we're going to do right now is go downstairs, have a chat with Philip,

-and ask him what he's going to put the money towards. Shall we?

-Yeah.

I can't wait to tell Philip!

Hi, Phil. They've just gone under the hammer.

-We've sold both lots.

-Yeah.

-We got £380 for each lot, which is a grand total of £760.

-Well done.

Well done, you!

That's 40 years of collecting and it's all down to you.

-Bit by bit, that's what collecting is all about.

-Yeah.

OK. The big question is, what are you going to put the money towards?

Generally speaking, myself.

Yeah?

-I want new glasses.

-Yeah, OK.

A bit of pampering?

-Yeah, I want a few things at home as well.

-Well, I enjoy it.

I will. Very much so.

I might even take Lynn out.

She's done a grand job.

Lynn is neighbour of the year. I said to her she's neighbour of the year.

You're so lucky to have such a... not just a kind next-door neighbour, but a very pretty one as well.

I've got such good friends.

You have, haven't you? And friends are more important than money, aren't they?

We'll go out for a meal, anyway.

We had a great day here. Some mixed results, but Philip was so happy.

A combined total £760 for his collection of stick pins.

Although he didn't witness the event, he certainly heard it from down the bottom of the stairs.

I hope you've enjoyed the show.

See you next time for plenty more on Flog It!

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