Dorchester Flog It!

Welcome to Flog It, the show that values your antiques and collectables

and then whisks you off to auction for one or two surprises.

And today we're in Dorset's county town of Dorchester.

The origins of Dorchester go as far back as the Roman era

when the town was a sizeable Roman-British centre known as Durnovaria.

The town was important for the Romans as it was the centre for the Roman mosaic schools.

Well, I wonder if this lot here in this massive queue have brought any Roman antiquities along today.

Wouldn't that be good!

Let's get everybody inside because it's now 9:30am.

It's time to open the doors where our experts can have a better look.

-Are you ready to go in, everyone?

-Yes!

-Yeah! Come on, then.

And heading up our team of experts today

are two of the best in the business, David Fletcher and Mark Stacey.

Both of them work as independent antique valuers.

David attributes his love of antiques to his grandmother.

He says her house was a veritable treasure trove of items

that he became fascinated by as a young boy.

And Mark says he loves looking at all types of antiques.

He started his career as a dealer of ceramics and silverware and that's his preferred speciality.

Coming up, Mark meets Malcolm,

who's brought in a rather impressive and definitely hard earned collection.

I started collecting them when I was about 15

-and finished when I was 30. Several years ago now!

-Well, let's not go there, shall we?

But will be Mark be able to persuade Malcolm to send his Beswick horses out to graze?

And I catch up with expert Pippa Deely who shows how you can work out what your precious metals are worth.

But before all that, a few beautiful ladies have caught David's eye.

-I'm sitting here looking at the back of a rather glamorous looking lady.

-Yes,

-lovely, isn't she?

-With a sort of off the shoulder top.

-Yes, she's got rather little on.

-Yes, she has, hasn't she? Yeah.

I can't see the front,

-I'll have a look at the moment!

-Yes.

-Pincushion ladies.

-Pincushion dolls, yes. The one in the middle is still a pincushion.

Often they were taken off.

-That's why they have the holes, to stitch them on.

-You know quite a lot about these.

Well, yes, I collected them, started in the '70s.

-Right.

-And I did have about 100 at one time,

but gradually I've flogged them.

-You've been flogging them, OK.

-I've been flogging them. And these are the only three I have left now.

I couldn't bear to part with them all, but I've recently moved and

I've got a very small bungalow now,

-so I've got limited space.

-All right.

I love these.

They were made in Germany.

-Yes, mostly.

-Mainly in the '20s and '30s.

-Yes.

And what interests me about them is that

-they are depicted in different period styles.

-Yes.

So this lady here,

-who I'm now going to turn round and see that you're talking about...

-Yes. Ooh, don't!

..Is very much, apart from her costume,

-in the sort of Georgian style, isn't she?

-Yes, yes.

-It's very risque.

-It is a bit.

-She reminds me a bit of Marie Antoinette.

-Yes.

-Whereas, by complete contrast...

-Yes, that one.

The lady on the other side is very much in the Art Deco style...

-Yes.

-Of the 1930s.

And, you know, they're typical of a time

at which people bought things that were useful, but were also decorative.

-Yes.

-So not only did you stick your pins in them when you were sewing away,

-but they decorated your display cabinets, as well.

-Yes.

So these, as you say, are the last three.

-How much do you think you've spent on the whole collection I wonder?

-Oh, I don't know.

-Tens of pounds or possibly hundreds of pounds?

-Quite a bit, I think.

-Yeah.

I think you'll be looking to recoup, and I hope it includes a profit element for you as well,

£30 or £40 worth.

-I think they've got to be worth £10 each.

-Yes, yes. I hope so.

-I would be inclined to say a little bit more than that.

-I hope so, yes.

OK, well, I suggest we go ahead on that basis, then.

-Yes.

-Let's up the estimate a bit to £40 to £60.

-Yeah, OK.

-Put a reserve on of £30.

-Right, OK.

And that'll be the end of it. That'll be the end of your collection.

-Lovely. The end of my collection.

-If there are more at the sale...

-Yes.

And there might be, don't buy them, will you?

Because you're getting rid of these now, don't forget that!

-OK.

-So 40 to 60, fixed reserve at £30.

-Lovely.

-And I'll see you at the sale.

-Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you, David.

Well, Celia will be at the auction later on

and I'm hoping that she'll resist the lure

of any other pincushion dolls that may be in the catalogue.

Can I shake your hand? A young antiques fan.

But now I want to show you something that I only dreamt would turn up here today.

-I do metal detecting.

-Oh, do you?

-Yes.

-And what's your name?

-Anne Tampling.

-Anne Tampling. Where do you do your metal detecting, then?

-Anywhere. Everywhere and anywhere.

-What about that recent big Roman find?

-It was absolutely wonderful.

-Well, over half a million.

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

-Have you found anything amazing?

-Well, I found these.

A belt buckle.

It's a lady's jewellery buckle, 1700s,

and a gentleman's shoe buckle which is 1800s, I believe.

-That's nice.

-And then I found her,

but I don't know...

She came out near to a Roman road,

but I don't know anything much about her.

Well, we were rather hoping for some Roman artefacts today, Anne.

So, you can take her out if you like.

The field she was found in... She's burnt on the back.

Now I've tried researching the internet, obviously, but I've not come up with a lot about her,

but I know that after so many leagues in a Roman road,

they would bury artefacts to bless and keep the road safe.

-Really?

-And she was roughly ten leagues from Dorchester.

So, that's what I've been able to find out about it, but I don't know what it represents or...

Or what it's worth or anything. Have you had a valuation?

-No.

-It's really hard to put a price on Roman antiquities,

-and the sad thing is they're not worth an awful lot of money, are they?

-No.

-Unless it's Roman silver.

-Yeah.

And you'll probably find that belt buckle,

that 1850s belt buckle, is worth a lot more than this.

What got you started, then?

I'm bipolar and I need something to keep myself occupied

otherwise I get into trouble,

so I took up metal detecting

and I love to be outdoors, so that's what started it off, basically.

-And it keeps you fit and healthy, as well.

-It keeps me fit and healthy.

-Good on you, as well.

-Thank you very much for showing me them.

-Thank you.

Gosh, that almost makes me want to grab a metal detector and head outside.

Anne, you're an inspiration!

Malcolm has brought along a collection of Beswick horses for Mark Stacey to value.

Beswick is an old favourite of Flog It. Have you inherited these, Malcolm, or have you bought them?

-No, I started collecting them when I was about 15, I think.

-Oh, gosh,

-And finished when I was 30. Several years ago now!

-Well, let's not go there, shall we?

Well, I... I mean, these were made around the sort of 1950s.

In their day they were quite mass produced, they were made in moulds,

hand-painted, all of them are hand-painted, but they were quite inexpensively made

and sold, you know, for quite a long time, right up to the 1980s.

These are a collection, they're different types of horse.

-Some are later, like these matt glazed ones.

-Yeah.

And you've got some foals, you've got these nice dappled grey ones.

And there's some rare colours which

-can make a huge difference.

-Yeah.

-If you've a model with Rocking Horse Grey, which is much,

much more all over grey, they can be, you know,

-100... Several hundred pounds for one horse.

-Oh, right.

-But I think they're rather nice.

But, why... You've enjoyed them over time, why have you decided to...

I've enjoyed having them. Basically, I've grown out of them.

We've gone to dogs now, but I try not to buy too many.

-No, keep them to a sensible level this time.

-Yes.

I don't know that there's any particular rarities here, and I'd be

tempted to put them in as a sort of...

-What do you call a collective of horses?

-A herd.

-A herd of horses. Well, there we are, a herd of horses.

Because the buyers will want them.

-Yeah.

-It's just a matter really of fixing a sensible estimate.

We've got 12 of them.

I mean, I would have thought we're probably looking at around £300 to £400.

-Is that the sort of figure you were looking at?

-Yeah, that would be nice.

But you've got a good representative sample and I think they should...

-should do quite well at auction.

-Good.

And are you trying to raise money for anything in particular or is it just a clear-out?

-Some of the money will go for a local cancer charity in Exeter.

-OK.

-And the rest will help pay for work on the kennels.

-Wonderful. You've got lots of dogs, have you?

Well, I run a boarding kennel.

-Oh, right, OK. Oh, right. So animals are in your blood, as it were.

-Yes.

-So, if you're happy to sell them...

-Oh, yes.

-We'll go for the final chase then?

-Yes.

-See you at the auction.

-Yeah.

Well, hopefully there'll be both horse lovers and Beswick lovers at the auction

so they can all compete for Malcolm's collection.

Before we catch up with David Fletcher and see what he's found I must share a little tip with you.

Fashion can dictate the value of antiques by supply and demand.

Everybody wants something when something's really fashionable,

the price shoots up and that also applies to gold and silver.

Precious metal is something our experts have to keep a constant eye on

-because it changes, doesn't it, Pippa?

-Indeed.

And this is Pippa Deely who's our off-screen expert for jewellery and silver,

-and I just want to say, look, I've got a little penny.

-You have.

-Let's just say that's gold.

-OK.

-How much is it worth?

-Right. So, are we going to talk about nine carat gold?

-Yes.

-OK.

So it weighs 0.32 of an ounce we've taken a note of the prices today.

So, I've got a little calculator here.

OK, it's just over £250 an ounce.

Yeah. So you're looking at £81.42p.

-Wow. OK, let's say that's silver, then. What's that worth today?

-Right.

So, again...

-You've changed the mode on there.

-Today, the price is 8.6.

That would be worth £2.70.

-So, today the silver is worth £8.60.

-It's shot up a lot, hasn't it?

-It has, it has.

And back here in August 2008,

it was 6.93.

There must have been a real slump here because in November '08, it was £4.80 per ounce.

-Gosh, it dropped right down.

-Yeah.

-Now we're coming out of recession, will silver prices will go down?

There's a lot of things that predict the price of gold and silver,

but, yes, I think more probably with gold that would definitely have an impact,

but if we knew the secret, Paul, you probably wouldn't be here, would we?

-We'd be on our Caribbean island!

-I like the little set of scales.

-Thank you.

-Carry on, Pippa.

-Cheers.

Next up Molly has brought in a pair of items for David's attention and they're made from metal,

but I don't think it's precious metal, so we won't be needing Pippa and her scales.

It's a bit gloomy outside so I hope you won't need these to get home when it comes time to go

-because you've decided to sell them.

-Yes.

-Good. OK. How did you come by them?

Well, when my husband and I moved to Cornwall in 1969

we started going to the auction room looking for things that would be used for decoration in our hotel,

-which was this 15th-century hotel.

-And you've retired and come up to this part of the world?

Oh, yes, a long time ago we left there, and so these have resided in the garage for quite a long time.

OK. I love Cornwall and it's tempting to say that these might have something to do with smuggling.

The smugglers were reputed to have been around our area.

We were only ten miles from Jamaica Inn, but I know that's a story.

That wonderful book by Daphne du Maurier.

Yes, you can see the smugglers, can't you, bent into the gale

-holding these lanterns creaking backwards and forwards.

-Exactly.

-I don't honestly know

what type of person they were made for.

I suspect probably road workers.

I don't think they're railway lamps. If they were, they would have the name of the railway on them.

So, they're utilitarian items, they're made I think just of...

Well, to give it a grand title, they're made of japanned steel,

which really means blackened, and are made for candles and of course they could be used here and now.

-It's not as if you've got to wire them up or anything.

-Absolutely.

I note, and I thought this was quite interesting, they're made by a firm in Birmingham, Griffiths & Sons,

and at about the time these were made, which I would suggest was the late 19th century,

Birmingham was the sort of powerhouse of, not only Britain, but the Empire

and today we would expect items like this to be made in China, of course,

but items in the late 19th century of this nature were made in Birmingham

and they went around the world - India, the Far East,

and even down to the far west in Cornwall, so they didn't all go abroad.

And from that point of view, I think they're very interesting.

I mean, I think they're great fun.

-They're not fine antiques...

-No.

-But you know that as well as I do.

It was a long time ago, but can you remember what you paid for them?

I think they might have been in a lot which my husband would have paid perhaps about £3.

Yes, we like job lots, it's amazing what you can find in job lots. Well, you're going to make a profit.

I had in mind a figure of somewhere in the region of £40 or £50,

and I was going to suggest an estimate of 30 to 50.

-Yes.

-And if I could twist your arm and say can we sell them without reserve, I'd be delighted.

-Yes, I think so.

-Good.

-Yes, yes.

-OK. So we'll go ahead on that basis

and all being well they'll make more than that, but that'll be our estimate.

-Certainly more than I paid for them.

-Indeed. You'll make a profit, that's the main thing.

Oh, David, you are a devil,

persuading Molly to send her lanterns to the sale room

with no reserve on them!

Well, cross both sets of fingers, and there should be some buyers in the saleroom for them.

Well, as you can see, everybody is working flat out.

We have so far though found some cracking items, some real winners I hope,

and it's time we put those valuations to the test, so we're going over to Duke's auction room.

Here's a reminder of what's going under the hammer.

Celia's been collecting pincushion dolls since the 1970s,

but it's time for a fond farewell now

as the last of her collection goes under the hammer.

Avid collector Malcolm spent years collecting Beswick horses,

but now we're going to find them a new home.

And, finally, Molly's late 19th-century steel lanterns have been brightening up her hotel,

but now it's time to see if they'll light up the saleroom instead.

Duke's saleroom. The auctioneer is about to take to the rostrum.

I think he has. There's two or three auctioneers today,

it's quite a large sale - but before our items go under the hammer

there's just enough time for me to catch up with Gary, one of the auctioneers,

and chat about one of our items.

What we don't need right now is a stampede!

It took Gail, our researcher, a long time to organise these.

-They're not all going the same way.

-No, that's what horses do, they're all grazing.

-Milling about.

-Yeah.

-We've got the Beswick horses here. They're Malcolm's - a great guy, a proper animal lover.

-Oh, good.

And we're looking at £300 to £400. There is a lot here.

Right. Well, that's not unattainable.

-Beswick horses are very collectable.

-It's a great name.

-They're not enormously old.

-A great name.

-People like the whole Beswick field. Some are charmingly modelled.

And you do again get enthusiasts who are horse people, very interested in the whole horse world.

The trade would buy them and sell them individually at the kind of bottom level

and you might hopefully get private collectors

who really, really love these

and they should give hopefully a nice surprise to the owner.

I have to say, they don't do an awful lot for me when you see just one or two figures dotted about,

but when you see them en masse like this,

-I think... I think that puts a smile on your face.

-Well, they're just...

-They're fun, aren't they?

-Yes.

-And charming.

They're not serious works of art, they never pretended to be

serious works of art, but they're nicely modelled.

-The glazes are good and so...

-And so is the condition.

-Yeah.

Well, that was all very positive, so hopefully Gary will be able to get a good price for Malcolm's collection

when they go under the hammer later.

First, though, auctioneer Matthew Denney has taken to the stand

and he's turning his attention to Celia's three pincushion dolls.

-Celia, good luck, is all I can say.

-Thanks.

-It's the end of an era cos it's the last of the collection.

These are the last three doll pin cushions out of how many?

-About 100 I had.

-100!

-At one time.

-Gosh!

-Yes.

-And you've been collecting for how many years now?

About 30-odd years.

Say goodbye, that's all I can say because here it is, they're going under the hammer right now.

There they are, three of them, 346.

I've got bids here at £20 and I'll take five. 30 now. 30.

Oh, look, someone's already bidding, look.

Now at £30 on my left, I'll take five.

-That chap down the front there.

-40.

45.

-50.

-I've never done this before.

-At £45. On the side I'll take.

-This is your first auction, isn't it?

-Yes, it is, yes.

-All done for this lot at £45.

-£45 and the hammer's gone down.

-Oh!

-Sold.

-50% more than we hoped for.

-Oh, yes, yes.

-Sold.

-Sold.

-Right. Oh, well.

-That's good, isn't it?

-That's a meal out, isn't it?

-I think so. And your daughter's here with you.

-She'll be... She'll be wanting to come with me.

Well, off to a good start and Celia is going home very happy.

Now, we're going to test David's second valuation,

on Molly's steel lanterns.

There's been a change of auctioneer. Gary Batt is now on the rostrum.

-Molly, good to see you, and this is your son, Gareth, who was at the valuation day...

-Yes.

-But you were too busy feeding parking meters.

-That's right.

And watching out for traffic wardens! Which is so sad, really.

Two japanned lanterns going under the hammer and I know you used them.

I bet they had the flicker. Well, hopefully they'll be flickering away later on in somebody else's house,

-especially at £30 to £50.

-Well, for that sort of money, you know, two very decorative items.

As you say, usable, too.

Now, I know originally there was no reserve, but you've changed it to a fixed reserve.

-I don't blame you, actually.

-No?

-You had second thoughts, didn't you?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Auctioneers love no-reserve lots, though.

-Of course they do.

Good on you. Look, it's going under the hammer.

Rather handsome candle lanterns.

I've got interest in these. Who'll start me at £30?

£30? 30 anyone say?

-30 for the lights. Let there be light. 30 bid. 35? 35.

-Oh, come on!

40 commission. Five.

50. Five.

At £55. Out in the room.

It beats the book. £55.

60? Anyone like to join in?

All done and clear. We sell at £55.

BANGS GAVEL

-That's it, they've gone. Well done.

-Hard work for £55.

-It was.

-But it got there.

-I think that was right.

Well done, David. That was above estimate and lit up Molly's face.

Now it's time to see if Mark's valuation of Malcolm's Beswick horses is spot on.

I'm joined by Malcolm and Mark and I've got to say

you are a big animal lover, so I want to shake your hand.

-Lots of the money's going to charities and doing up your kennels. Do you like walking the dogs?

-Yeah.

-It keeps me fit.

-I bet it does. How many dogs at any one time?

-32.

-Phew!

-That's a lot of walking, isn't it?

-It's a fairly small kennel.

This collection, or possibly herd, of Beswick horses.

OK, good lot, these.

Who'll start me at £200 for your own herd of horses? 200 is bid.

And 20 I'll take. 200. And 20.

Come back? 240.

260. 280. 300. And 20.

340. 360? At £340.

360, thank you. 380.

400. And 20. 440.

460.

No? Anyone else like to join in?

We're done with the horses? I sell.

BANGS GAVEL

-£440.

-£440.

-Well done. Not bad, is it?

-That's a big help.

-What will that cover, just the painting costs?

-Paint.

-It's like the Forth Bridge, isn't it?

-It is!

What a super result! I love it when items sell over estimate.

It shows the collectors were in the auction room, and of course let's not forget Malcolm.

'Now he has a nice little return to play with.'

Later when we return to the valuation day,

our experts Mark and David will be sharing some of their top auction tips with us.

-I think it's in great condition for an auction, it's filthy dirty!

-Yes.

Auctioneers don't always like to mix categories, but I think in this incidence we should break that rule.

And if you're very good, I may share a tip or two of my own.

I want to share one of my favourite parts of the country with you,

the Jurassic Coastline of Dorset. I'm standing on the island of Portland Bill

and over there is Weymouth, but what I really want to show you is over here.

Look at that! That is Chesil Beach and it is absolutely breathtaking.

Now, from standing up here it looks like Chesil Beach is actually

all lovely and sandy and soft, but it's not.

It's actually made up of trillions and trillions of pebbles

and it's a common misconception that it is man-made, but it's not.

It's made by the powerful forces of nature, geology.

And in turn Chesil Beach has created the UK's largest lagoon,

which is home to some very special wildlife that I'll be investigating later.

But first I'm heading down to ground level to speak to Sam Scriven,

a geologist from the Jurassic Coast team

who's going to enlighten me about the unique creation of Chesil Beach.

Just being up here on this great mound of pebbles it's pretty obvious

-how powerful the sea and the tides are.

-Right. I mean, the formation of Chesil Bank

is a relationship between the sea and the tides and the storms

and the geology that we find along the coast.

Sort of 15, 18 miles down the coast in West Dorset there you have tremendously big

coastal landslides which bring thousands of tonnes of material down on to the coast every year.

All that material is picked up and thrown down the coast towards Portland.

It creates this enormous Chesil Bank that we see today.

I mean, it's acting as a natural barrier now though, it's a protection.

Yes, it's a very big example of what's known as a barrier beach.

It takes the brunt of the storms and protects the landscape behind it.

The Fleet Lagoon there and the settlements and towns of Portland,

all of those benefit from this enormous natural coastal defence.

It's in fact one of the largest and most impressive natural barrier beaches

certainly in Europe, if not the world.

The natural sorting action of the sea means that the pebbles at the West Bay end, one end of the beach,

are much smaller than the ones at the Portland end.

So, there you go. That's a baked potato sized pebble from the Portland end.

-The fishermen there at night time!

-Well, that's that local folklore, yes, that they would be able to...

-And that's the West Bay.

-Look at that.

-So, tiny pebbles, aren't they?

-Yeah.

And this is basically from the fact that

the strong currents are always from the south west,

so pushing the pebbles down in this direction, so the big stuff gets picked up and thrown down here,

but the weaker currents pick up the small pebbles

-and leave the big pebbles behind, which is why there's this spread of sizes.

-Absolutely fascinating.

So, there you have it, the sea on this side of Chesil actually formed the beach.

Now, I'm going to turn my attentions to the vast expanse of water on this side.

It's called the Fleet and technically it's classified as a lagoon and it starts from about here

and it ends up eight miles in that direction.

It is the largest lagoon in the country and it provides

a wonderful habitat for wildlife and over 300 different species of bird have been recorded here,

but I'm going to focus on one type that's very special to the area and find out a bit more about them.

At the furthest end of the Fleet Lagoon from Portland Bill is Abbotsbury Swannery.

It's protected from the worst ravages of the weather and sea

by the barrier of Chesil Beach so it provides a peaceful habitat.

I'm meeting Dave Wheeler who holds the unique position of swan-herd.

He's the only person left in Britain to have this title.

-Shall I do something, Dave, or...

-Yes, please.

-What's the process?

-Take a bucket.

-Yeah.

-And spread it really well in the water and they'll find it.

-OK.

-So, you are the swan-herd here.

-Yes, for my sins.

-What does that mean?

-Well,

my job is to head a very small team.

-We're responsible for managing the swans, caring for the wildlife, the site itself.

-Yeah.

Swans may have been here for a few thousand years, that's very likely the case.

Our earliest records go back to the 1300s

and at that time the monastery of St Peters in Abbotsbury were using the swans,

-they were taking swans for feast days until Henry VIII destroyed the monastery.

-Yes, yeah.

And am I right in saying this is the only colony of nesting swans

that we can be involved with in the world?

There are a few other colonies,

but this is very different and it's the only colony that's been managed and is still managed,

so there's nothing like it anywhere in the world.

-So, this really is unique, isn't it?

-It is.

-It's a wonderful site, as well.

-How many swans are here?

-Right here today in front of us there are 400-ish.

-OK.

-There's another 400 farther down the lagoon.

-They're making their way for this feed now. There's a few coming.

-Yeah.

I know we all think swans mate for life, but I read an article in the newspaper that one swan...

-They're not quite perfect!

-..brought a lover back to the colony.

We do find that there are one or two that at some point may swap partners.

-Yeah.

-No doubt they have a reason,

and some that lose a mate may be lucky enough to find another mate at some point, yes.

-There's a lot of interlopers, isn't there?

-Absolutely.

-There's a lot of ducks over there.

-There are.

-These look like coots.

-Yes.

-So, obviously they understand the pecking order, they stay away.

-They do.

-Wait for the swans.

When we move, some ducks will come in and see what they can take.

Gosh, this is absolutely marvellous.

Gosh, this is marvellous. I envy Dave in his job, looking after 400 or 500 swans!

When you look out there it looks so artistic. It's almost like watching ballerinas perform.

We've all heard of Swan Lake, but this is the real thing. Swan Lagoon!

Abbotsbury Swannery is definitely well worth a visit. It's so unique.

It's still a full house back of our valuation day at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester.

David is examining Wendy's little ceramic pots.

Tell me a little bit about these.

Well, the white one I bought in an auction lot

back in Bath in the late 1980s

-and it was sold as a Worcester inkpot.

-Yeah.

Then in the beginning of the 2000s, I saw that in Blandford in an antiques centre

and I thought, oh, it matches my Worcester inkpot.

Then I discovered in a Miller's catalogue

that it was a Chinese water pot.

Do you have an eye for items like this? Have you ever dabbled a bit?

Oh, well, I had a partnership in a bric-a-brac shop at one time for a short time,

and I used to do antique fairs.

-Did you make lots of money?

-No, no. It was a paying hobby which I enjoyed.

-A paying hobby.

Well, you've been very clever here.

Let's start with this one first.

This was made in the Royal Worcester factory and this bears the figure 75,

which means it was made in 1875, not 1975 of course, 1875.

This is entirely unmarked,

although it's quite an interesting label on the base of it

and is Chinese.

Now, what interests me most about these is that they demonstrate

the influence of the Far East on the decorative arts of the West

and it's very unusual that we see examples like this

which we can so directly compare.

And this quite clearly derives from this.

-So tell me why you're selling them?

-Well, they've been sitting in the cupboard for a long time.

My family aren't interested in them, so I just thought I would...

-And I wanted to come to this programme, too.

-Come and see what goes on.

-Yes.

-Good for you.

OK, then. Now, tell me what you paid for them?

-Well, the lot came to £80 that the Worcester pot was amongst.

-Right.

-And I paid £11 for the Chinese pot.

-OK.

I think that the Worcester pot is going to be worth between £100

and £120, and this little chap is worth another £30 or £40.

Now, auctioneers don't always like to mix categories

and strictly speaking, here we have an oriental and a European item,

but I think in this instance we should break that rule

and sell them as one lot, for obvious reasons.

And I suggest a reserve of £140

and an estimate of £140 to £180.

-So, you know, they're not going to set the world alight.

-No, no.

-But you're going to show a profit.

-Yes.

-Well, yes.

-And as a retired dealer you'll appreciate that.

-All dealers like a good turn.

-Definitely.

-OK. Thanks for bringing them in.

-Thank you very much.

-I'll see you at the sale.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Oh, I don't know, David, they might set somebody's world alight!

Seriously, though, I think they're sweet little pots so they should find a new home.

But next I found something that has really excited me.

Simon, you brought this to the right person.

I have a couple of leather blackjacks at home, the real McCoy from the 17th century, so big,

-but of course this isn't leather, is it?

-No.

Doesn't it look like leather?

-Doesn't that look like leather? It's the simulated stitching.

-Yeah.

First thing to do is to turn it over and there's the impressed mark, Doulton Lambeth.

-It's a stoneware vessel.

-Yes.

Looking at the silver straight away you normally need an eyeglass,

but here the assay marks are so crystal clear I can read that without a glass.

-Look at that, JD, James Deacon, see that?

-Yeah.

...& Sons. There's the crown, that says it's made in Sheffield.

-Right.

-That's the lion passant.

-Right.

That says it's sterling silver,

and there's the J, so I can date that for you straightaway at 1903.

-That's fascinating.

-A good Sheffield maker. But I just love it.

I love the whole thing about it. It's very tactile.

-Obviously, all lipped in silver around the top and these were wine jugs.

-Oh!

-For pouring wine.

-I didn't know what they were... Yes.

-Yeah.

-That makes sense, though.

The condition is absolutely fabulous, absolutely fabulous.

Not one scratch and that's very nice to touch as well.

-You'd like that, wouldn't you?

-I would.

-I'd like that, as well.

-So, you bought this recently?

-Yes.

I bought it last year on a bit of a whim.

I just liked the look of it, so unusual.

So why do you want to sell it after only having it for a short period?

Heading for more probably Lalique.

Ah, right, OK.

-Art Nouveau.

-For me, I'd keep that...

Well, no, each to their own, really, but let's talk about value.

-You bought this recently. How much did you pay for it?

-£180.

-OK. Did you buy that through the trade or at auction?

-In auction.

Right, OK. You paid the right money. You paid the right money.

I was going to say to you straight away £150 to £250, ballpark figure, somewhere around there.

-That makes sense.

-Can we do that?

-Yeah.

-We'll put a reserve at 150.

-Yeah. Brilliant.

-Just to protect it.

-Yeah. Than I can get some Lalique!

And you can get some Lalique.

I think you'll regret it.

We'll see.

Well, I can't wait to find out how Simon's blackjack fares later.

But first Mark is taking a trip around the world with Anne.

-Hello, Anne. I can barely see you there the other side of the globe. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

Now, where did you get this lovely table globe from?

It's actually my father-in-law's

and it's just been hidden away at the bottom of the wardrobe.

-Well, I can see that. Nobody's cleaned it in a while, have they?

-No.

Has it been in the family a long time?

I think my husband said he can definitely remember it from being a very small child himself.

-Well, that's not going to make it that old, is it?

-Not really.

Well, I love these sort of things. They have a fascination I think, you know,

because the globe's changed over the years.

I mean, if you go right back to the 18th-century ones, often the whole continents have changed names

to what we know them today and what we knew them then.

This one is not that old. This one dates to the sort of... Between the '20s and the '40s,

-that sort of period. I think it's in great condition for an auction, it's filthy dirty.

-Yes!

I love the fact that it's got this sort of 18th-century style turned baluster stand here

with the sort of wooden base.

But here, just one line here says it shows the steamer miles across the oceans as well,

which I think is rather fun, which again is an indication of the date.

-And what do you think it's worth?

-We really don't know.

-We've tried looking online, but it's down to what base is made of.

-That's right.

-And I don't know.

My personal feeling because of the age

and it does need a little bit of restoration, a bit of a cleanup,

I think we ought to be looking at sort of

£70 to £100, £60 to £80. I mean, would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

-It doesn't seem a lot for the world really, does it?

-Not really. Not for the world, no!

But if... Let's say £60 to £80 and put a fixed reserve of 60 because we don't want to give it away.

Does that set you in a spin?

-It certainly does.

-And I'll see you at the auction, which is going to be somewhere up there, I think.

Mark, you set us all in a spin, but I think that's a bang-on estimate for Anne's globe.

And that's the last of our items going off to auction, so it's time to see

how our final items fare over at the Dorchester salerooms.

Going under the hammer are Wendy's beautiful little pots, one Worcester and one all the way from China.

Simon spent £180 on his Royal Doulton blackjack.

Let's see if we can get him his money back.

And, finally, we're going to find out if there are any takers for Anne's globe,

which has been buried at the bottom of a wardrobe.

First under auctioneer Gary Batt's hammer are Wendy's two pots.

Good luck, Wendy, that's all I can say. We're looking at around £140 to £180.

It's an interesting lot - one's a copy of the other.

-Yes.

-Which came first?

-The Worcester.

-The Worcester.

-The Worcester one is based on the Chinese.

-The Chinese was original.

-You paid £80 and £11 respectively.

-Yes, that's right.

-We can easily beat that today, surely there's a bit of profit there for you.

-Yeah, I'm sure, yeah.

Well, I sold the other things in the lot that the Worcester pot was in and just kept that.

-So you're already quids in.

-Yes.

OK, we're going to find out. Good luck.

Nice quality little pieces of a similar nature,

the Worcester chinoiserie inkwell

and a little Chinese example of a similar nature.

OK, two pretty items, good little lot.

Who'll start me please for these?

Worcester and Chinese at £50?

50 is bid. 60 I'll take.

-Oh, long way to go.

-Yeah.

50. 60? 60. 70? 70. 80?

80. 90. 100. £100 is bid.

-We're getting there.

-110. 120. 120.

130, will you?

Yeah? 130. 140. 140 bid. 150?

No. £140 bid. Standing near me at 140.

Any further bids in the room at all? Going at £140 and selling.

The hammer's gone down. Sold.

That's good. Happy? We're happy.

-Spot on.

-What are you going to start collecting now?

Oh, I don't know. I collect little things, pots for the bathroom, sort of cure-all pots.

You're going to reinvest your money.

That was a good result for Wendy.

Of course she'll have to pay commission on that £140,

but she will be able to go shopping for pots for her bathroom with that!

Right, it's time to test my valuation now.

I talk about the roller coaster ride of excitement at auction rooms. I'm having a moment right now

because I have a feeling one of my valuations isn't going to sell. I've just been joined by Simon

and we've got that lovely Doulton blackjack jug going under the hammer with the silver mounts now.

Fixed reserve of £150.

I liked it a lot, but I just feel that to give it a fighting chance

I would like to have got this in at around about the £120, but, hey ho, you know?

Well, it is unusual with the silver mounts.

It is lovely, it's lovely, but I don't know, I'm feeling nervous, you can understand that, can't you?

There's two of us then.

That's what auctions are all about. Get down to your local saleroom, because they're fun.

You can get a bargain or pay too much money and I'm hoping someone will pay a lot of money for this

and you're going home very happy and I'm going to look pretty cool, so here we go.

-You will, I'm sure. You will.

-Going under the hammer now.

This rather fun collectable. Silver- mounted Royal Doulton blackjack

and let's have a go at this.

What for this? Start me off.

£100 to start me off, will you?

80 is bid then? 90 if you will, Doulton collectors.

-80.

-80...

-90.

100.

-And ten.

-Good. Good.

120.

Any advance on 120 for this piece?

130, anyone like?

Going then...

-It's not selling, is it?

-£120.

I'm sorry about that. I had that gut feeling, didn't I?

-I knew this wasn't going to sell, funnily enough. At this stage you haven't lost anything.

-No.

-It's going home.

-Yeah.

-Still a good investment.

-And we can do it again.

-There's another day.

-Yeah.

-Thank you so much, thank you.

-Thanks, Paul.

-I hate those moments when things don't sell, I really do.

Oh, that was such a pity, although it was a packed saleroom nobody obviously wanted to buy the Doulton.

Well, thank goodness we put a reserve on Simon's blackjack in order to protect it.

Anne is up next with her globe.

Anne, I know this is your first auction, isn't it?

-Are you nervous?

-Very.

OK, sum it up, first impression walking in - because it's a big space.

-It's cold.

-Yeah, it is.

-It's quite nerve-wracking.

-Have you seen anything you like?

-No.

Apart from Mark Stacey.

-I don't really like antiques.

-You don't?

-No.

Well, exactly, that's why you're selling your globe

and that's going under the hammer in a moment. We've got around £60 to £80.

I think this is great and I think it's an easy 80 to 120, so you're about right.

We've got a nice little surprise coming. Here we go.

Look, it's going under the hammer.

A ten-inch terrestrial globe.

Fleet Street maker. Quite a nice lot we've got.

Who'll start me off for this please at £50 to start me?

£50 to start me? I've got 50. 55.

-60. Five. 70.

-When he looks down on the book, that's a commission bid

that somebody has left because they can't make the sale today.

Five. 80.

Five. 90.

Five... No? No? At £90. At 90.

Five. 100, sir?

100? And ten?

Ten? 120.

130?

130. 140?

£130.

Almost a deathly hush fell on the room there now we're over 100 quid.

£130 on this side. Everybody out and clear? We sell.

-There you go, the hammer's gone down. £130.

-That's great, thank you.

-Don't forget commission to pay, though.

-Yeah.

-It's your husband's?

-It is.

-So he's having the money?

-He said we can put it towards a Jacuzzi.

-Ooh!

-Oh, ho! Very nice.

-Oh, enjoy that, won't you?

-We will.

-That's a first on Flog It. We've never had money towards a Jacuzzi.

You'll get a few bubbles for that, won't you?

Well, Anne's globe had to be our star item of the day.

It doubled its estimate and it sounds as if Anne and her husband plan to treat themselves

with the profit, and I can't say I blame them.

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

As you see, the auction is still going on, but we've had a very good day.

Everybody has gone home happy and that's what it's all about.

Now, if you've got any antiques and collectables you'd love to sell we want to hear from you.

Check the details in your local press or log on to bbc.co.uk/programmess.

Click F for Flog It and then follow the links.

We may be in your home town very soon.

So until then, from Dorchester, it's cheerio.

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