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I'm sure you'll all know the delightful story of the little girl | 0:00:03 | 0:00:07 | |
who tumbled down a rabbit hole into Wonderland. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
What may surprise you is that Alice and all the other bizarre characters | 0:00:09 | 0:00:13 | |
were born right here in the imagination of a mathematics lecturer. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:16 | |
Today we're in the university city of Oxford. Yes, this is Flog It! and oh dear, oh dear, I'm late! | 0:00:16 | 0:00:22 | |
I'm heading for the marvellous Sheldonian Theatre. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:45 | |
Well, I have made it just in time. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
Everybody's now safely seated inside. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:49 | |
It's time for me to join our experts | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
and delve through all of these bags and boxes that this wonderful crowd have brought in | 0:00:52 | 0:00:56 | |
and who knows what wonderful mysteries we might uncover? | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
'Later in the show, I get the chance to play the drums...' | 0:00:59 | 0:01:04 | |
Wow. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:07 | |
'.. and get some technical instruction | 0:01:07 | 0:01:08 | |
'on a most unusual instrument.' | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
Do you blow hard or medium? | 0:01:11 | 0:01:13 | |
No, no, no. Blowing a raspberry. That's the deal. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
BLOWS A RASPBERRY, INSTRUMENT MAKES NO SOUND | 0:01:16 | 0:01:17 | |
The two experts spearheading the team here in Oxford are... | 0:01:20 | 0:01:23 | |
Tracy Martin, who works as a valuer at an auction house in Essex. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:28 | |
She specialises in 20th-century antiques and collectibles. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:31 | |
Boys' toys, they love them. They're all buying them back, the men. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
The all want their childhood revisited. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:38 | |
-They didn't really grow up half of them, did they? -They haven't! | 0:01:38 | 0:01:41 | |
She's joined by our old favourite, Charlie Ross, who takes a more traditional line. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:46 | |
-Bring it back in 100 years' time. I'll still be here. -I'll do that! | 0:01:46 | 0:01:50 | |
He has gained his wide knowledge through the tried-and-tested route of being an auctioneer. | 0:01:50 | 0:01:56 | |
-You've brought a child for me to value? -Yes. -I'm good at that, I have a grandchild now. | 0:01:56 | 0:02:01 | |
Charlie's first up with Diana, and she's brought in a trio of nice-looking rings. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:06 | |
Diana, it's nice to see you here, and you're visiting Oxford today? | 0:02:06 | 0:02:10 | |
-Yes. -Where are you from? -We're from Sussex. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
So you've loaded up your rings, brought them along here - | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
where did they start life, as far as you're concerned? | 0:02:16 | 0:02:19 | |
My mother gave them to me. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
I don't think she'd ever worn them. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:23 | |
They don't look very worn, it looks like | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
the ruby cluster ring has been worn, | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
it's a little bit worn, but they're in pretty good condition. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
Yes and I know that my father had given them to her. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
-Right. -So they emanated from his side of the family. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
Did they? Yes. Well, they date from early 20th century. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
-Right. -So they're virtually 100 years old. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
-Right. -They're all 18-carat gold, so good-quality gold. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:51 | |
Doing perhaps the worst first, this ruby and diamond cluster is a synthetic ruby, so it's not | 0:02:51 | 0:02:59 | |
-a real one, although it's a big whopper... -That would've been nice. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
I know, it would. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
But nevertheless, a very delicate setting | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
and cast and chased shoulders, these are the shoulders here. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
So, a huge amount of work's gone into these. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:15 | |
The next one we have is diamond and rubies, proper rubies, diamonds, | 0:03:15 | 0:03:20 | |
-alternately inset, again into an 18-carat shank. -Right. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:25 | |
And here, we have here the cultured pearls, you can see cultured pearls, | 0:03:25 | 0:03:31 | |
they're all uniform size. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
-I see, yes. -With tiny little chip diamonds into the corner. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:37 | |
-They're very ornate, but not everybody's cup of tea. -Right. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:41 | |
-Do you wear them? -No, unfortunately I can't get them on my fingers. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
-No. -I might think about it, but they're not really me. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
-Have you thought of making them bigger? -I did on one occasion, but I thought, "No." | 0:03:48 | 0:03:54 | |
They're quite dated in style and I think they're not going to be the easiest things to sell. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:59 | |
They're fabulous quality, but, to be honest, the average person today | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
has a ring made for them quite often, or there's more of a tendency towards | 0:04:03 | 0:04:08 | |
a straightforward diamond ring, single-stone, three-stone diamond ring, | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
rather than clusters of stones. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:14 | |
What about value? You've got them heavily insured, presumably? | 0:04:14 | 0:04:18 | |
Oh, yes(!) THEY LAUGH | 0:04:18 | 0:04:20 | |
Come on, have a guess. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
I was sort of thinking perhaps, I don't know, 200, 250, | 0:04:22 | 0:04:26 | |
something like that. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:27 | |
I think a bit more. I'm not sure about the synthetic one, | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
-but they'd average out at over £100 each and I'd like to see an estimate of 300 to 500. -OK, that's good. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:37 | |
300 to 500 with a discretionary reserve at the bottom end, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
so we reserve them at 300, if the top bid the auctioneer gets is 280, | 0:04:41 | 0:04:46 | |
then you might as well sell them. I mean, you're expecting 250 to 300, | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
but I think we'll pretty safe at £300. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
-If we do well, you can have a few more days in Oxford. -That would be great. I'll enjoy it. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:59 | |
Well, we all would, it's a fantastic place to visit. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:04 | |
Next, a Victorian desk stand caught my eye, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
belonging to Bruce and Joan. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:08 | |
It might just be the thing that someone is looking for. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
Is it yours? | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
-Yes, it is. -How long have you had that? | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
It's been, well with me for over 30 years. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
Where is it at home, Joan? What do you do with it? | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
-It's in the broom cupboard. -In the where? -In the broom cupboard. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
-On a shelf, hopefully. -No, on the floor. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
Is it really? Poor thing, poor thing. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
You obviously don't really want to keep it then, | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
-if it's in the broom cupboard. -No. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
Obviously, this little lid comes off. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
To facilitate the ease of that, there would've been a little acorn | 0:05:39 | 0:05:43 | |
screwed into there that you could lift this lid off with, | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
but unfortunately that's missing, | 0:05:48 | 0:05:49 | |
that's missing, because that's why you keep your nibbed pens. I'd say it's around about 1860, 1880. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:55 | |
It's not the sort of Gothic revival Puginesque-type Victorian | 0:05:55 | 0:05:59 | |
you'd expect on these big over-the-top office desks. They're the ones that fetch good money. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:04 | |
This is very much plainer than that. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
It's typical of the Victorian period, | 0:06:06 | 0:06:08 | |
it's still over-the-top again. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:10 | |
But I guess this wouldn't be used by an academic but more likely | 0:06:10 | 0:06:16 | |
a clerk or an accountant, somebody like that. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
Somebody that did a lot of bookwork, | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
because look at the size of the wells, they are big, aren't they? | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
All mounted in brass. I like the fact that it's not polished, | 0:06:25 | 0:06:29 | |
so I'm pleased it's been in the broom cupboard | 0:06:29 | 0:06:32 | |
and that's quite nice, that's all wheel-cut, can you see that? | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
That's called a hobnail pattern, | 0:06:36 | 0:06:38 | |
-like you get on the bottom of hobnail shoes. -Oh, right. -Yes? | 0:06:38 | 0:06:41 | |
But it's all there, isn't it? The wells are lovely, | 0:06:41 | 0:06:45 | |
it just needs a good clean. It's made of oak. I'd like it to do £80-£120 if we put it into auction. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:51 | |
I've a feeling it needs a better starting point, though, | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
and I think if I can get the valuation down to around about £60 to £100... | 0:06:55 | 0:07:02 | |
A reserve of 60? And hopefully we'll get £120, if two people really want this. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:07 | |
I'd like to think so. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
And they fight over it in the saleroom. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
-You know what they say, the pen's mightier than the sword, don't they? -They do. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
-Let's give it a crack, shall we? -OK. -Yes, please. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:19 | |
An exquisite-looking decorative Oriental bottle | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
has grabbed Tracy's attention. But what's it for? | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
What a beautiful little snuff bottle, Mark. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:30 | |
Obviously Oriental. Beautifully hand-painted. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
Do you collect Oriental, or is it something that's been passed down? | 0:07:33 | 0:07:38 | |
I had no idea what it was originally. We were landscaping the garden | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
and we came across a couple of bits and pieces and broken bottles and this was in there. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:48 | |
This was in your garden? | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
Completely filthy, covered in mud. Couldn't believe it at the time. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:55 | |
Oh, what a discovery! | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
I gave it a clean, but never thought anything more of it. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
We had no idea what it was, so we tried to look it up. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:04 | |
I thought maybe perfume or anything, I didn't know what it was for. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
You're very much along the right lines, really. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
It's a little snuff bottle here. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
Oriental, Chinese, beautifully hand-painted. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
On the dragon, because we have a dragon here in this wonderful blue, | 0:08:16 | 0:08:21 | |
he's got five claws. We know that because he's got five claws, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:27 | |
he's an Imperial dragon. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:28 | |
He's not any old ordinary, boring dragon. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
He's a special dragon, because he's got five claws. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:35 | |
On the top here, if we just lift that out, | 0:08:35 | 0:08:39 | |
what we have is the little snuffer. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:43 | |
-This is ivory, dyed ivory. -Dyed ivory. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
And here, we have this wonderful workmanship here. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:51 | |
It's probably bronze, I would've thought | 0:08:51 | 0:08:54 | |
it would be bronze because it's such a good-quality piece of porcelain. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:59 | |
He looks a little bit like a frog, doesn't he? Actually, he's a lion. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:03 | |
So a beautiful, beautiful piece. Have you got any idea how old it is, | 0:09:03 | 0:09:07 | |
-or have you done any research? -I looked at the mark on the bottom. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:11 | |
-Right. -The mark on the bottom, when I looked up the different dynasties, it worked out at about 1820 to 1850, | 0:09:11 | 0:09:18 | |
but, I can't pronounce it, "du gwan", or something like that. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:23 | |
You're pretty much spot-on, Mark, to be honest. It's very much early Victorian period. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:29 | |
I'm not very good, I'm from Essex, you see? | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
This is my problem, pronunciations are not my good things, so "dong-wong" sounds about right! | 0:09:32 | 0:09:39 | |
Oriental is so hot at the moment. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
Anything from snuff bottles | 0:09:42 | 0:09:44 | |
to big, wonderful Satsuma vases, | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
really, really hot market. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
I would be comfortable with putting a reserve of about £100 on this. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:55 | |
So, 100 to 150. Because the Oriental market is pretty hot at the moment, | 0:09:55 | 0:10:00 | |
I'm pretty sure that should do a little bit more. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
Top-end estimate, maybe even exceed that, | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
but obviously it's down to you and if you're really happy with that... | 0:10:05 | 0:10:09 | |
No, no, here's hoping. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
Hopefully we'll get loads of Oriental collectors | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
desperate to own the thing that YOU dug out of the ground. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
Well, there you are. Tracy works as a valuer in an auction room, so she knows what's in demand. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:24 | |
But will it be in demand at Watcombe Manor saleroom in Watlington, | 0:10:24 | 0:10:29 | |
just outside of Oxford, where Jones & Jacob fine art auctioneers will be selling our lots. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:34 | |
There will be two auctioneers on the rostrum today - Francis Ogley and then the owner, Simon Jones. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:40 | |
I'm going to take the opportunity to speak to Simon to see what he thinks of the Oriental bottle. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:46 | |
I like this. I like it a lot. It was dug up from the garden. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:50 | |
-Believe it or not. -Unusual to find in a British garden. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:54 | |
Mid-19th-century Chinese, a bit of blue and white. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:58 | |
We've got 100 to £150 on this. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:00 | |
-You'll have no trouble at all. -Really? -Yes, because it's a little bit earlier. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:05 | |
What would you put it at? | 0:11:05 | 0:11:06 | |
I think that's Qianlong, and I think it's late-18th century, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:10 | |
early-19th century, rather than mid-19th century. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
I like the Imperial dragon. I think that's a wonderful image, | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
-that's where my money goes. -The five claws says it all. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:21 | |
You're getting quite excited, but you're not giving much away. | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
No, auctioneers never give anything away. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:25 | |
No, you can't! You should be a politician. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
No, I don't want to be one of those! | 0:11:28 | 0:11:30 | |
-So we're in the right ballpark figure. -You're OK, you're OK. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
Yes. But hopefully it should fly away. Let's watch this one later on. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
That's what it's all about, the magic of the saleroom. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
Before the auction starts, let's take another look at what we've put up for sale. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:46 | |
We start with Diana's three handsome rings. They look splendid together, | 0:11:46 | 0:11:50 | |
so they won't go unseen. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
Then I picked out the Victorian deskstand. It's not the most ornate one that I've come across, | 0:11:53 | 0:11:58 | |
but there's no point in it just sitting in a broom cupboard. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:03 | |
And Mark's amazing find, the Chinese snuff bottle. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
It didn't cost him anything, so he should get a good return. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:11 | |
Now for Diana's three splendid rings, | 0:12:11 | 0:12:13 | |
with all those rubies, | 0:12:13 | 0:12:15 | |
diamonds and pearls. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
-A lot of money riding on this one, could it be the jewel in the Flog It! crown? -Hopefully. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:24 | |
Three rings. Ooh, Charlie! | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
Will we get that 500-plus? | 0:12:26 | 0:12:28 | |
-300-500. Don't get to excited! -I know, but can we get 500-plus? | 0:12:28 | 0:12:32 | |
There's one particularly good ring, | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
one with the synthetic stone which looks good but isn't valuable, | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
and the pearl ring, which is quite pleasant. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
I think it was the best way of selling them. Put 'em all together. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:43 | |
We're going to find out, cos this is quite exciting. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:47 | |
I think this is a lot of money. £500, I would like. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
You always would! | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
The 18-carat ring set, nine rubies and diamonds. | 0:12:52 | 0:12:57 | |
As described there. £300? | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
250, sell me. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
-250, 260. -Come on. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
260, 270. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:06 | |
280. 290. 300. At £300. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:11 | |
In the room at 300. Selling at 300. All done at 300? | 0:13:12 | 0:13:16 | |
Some more, please. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
£100 a ring. Well, they've gone. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:22 | |
Smile, Diana. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:24 | |
Not as much as I'd like, but... | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
BOTH: No. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:29 | |
Charlie was right though, they were within estimate. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
-Yeah. -Don't be too cross with me, Diana. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:34 | |
-I'll try not to be. -Sorry about that. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
It just goes to show, auction houses are brilliant places to buy jewellery. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:43 | |
Next, it's my expertise under scrutiny. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
OK, it's my turn to be the expert. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:50 | |
Remember that lovely Victorian deskstand inkwell? | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
Well, it's out of the broom cupboard and into the auction room. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:56 | |
Bruce, at the valuation day, you had your wife with you, Joan, didn't you? | 0:13:56 | 0:14:01 | |
-She can't make it today, but your daughter Susan can. Hello. -Hi. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
He's flogging your family inheritance, isn't he? | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
OK, it's not a lot of money, is it, really, but, it's a nice-looking thing. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
-It is, yes. -You just need a whopping great big desk in a big house. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:16 | |
-Old Victorian house. -Yes, a great big vicarage, then it will look absolutely stunning. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:20 | |
You never know what happens in an auction. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:23 | |
We're going to find out, because ultimately it's down to | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
this packed saleroom of bidders to put their hands up. Here we go. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
Lot 214, the inkstand, with a nice lift-out tray. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
60, £70 for this? | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
50 then, start me. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:39 | |
50, I'm bid. 55 anywhere? | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
55. 60. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
£65 now, at £65. All done at £65? | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
Spot on, wasn't it, really? Straight in again. Very quick. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
What you expected, wasn't it, Dad? | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
-Yeah. -Yes, I'm happy with that. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:58 | |
Yes, we're happy. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:00 | |
So, out for lunch now? | 0:15:00 | 0:15:02 | |
I should think so. I think you can stretch to that, can't you? | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
You can't twist his arm for that, surely? | 0:15:06 | 0:15:08 | |
Of course he's going to take her out for lunch. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:14 | |
Next, one of those marvellous stories, | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
Mark's Chinese snuff bottle. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
Quite unbelievable and it's in perfect condition, and you loved it. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:22 | |
Absolutely love it and I've put a really conservative estimate on it, | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
because oriental is such a minefield. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
It could really fly. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
The only thing I've ever dug up in my back garden is | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
old broken bottles, but this is quite incredible. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
It's amazing what you hear on Flog It! with owners | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
bringing in all these treasures in, literally dug up. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
What was it doing there? | 0:15:41 | 0:15:43 | |
Who knows? But we're going to find out what it makes right now. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
A snuff bottle, stained ivory stopper. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
Lovely thing, this. £100, start me for it? | 0:15:52 | 0:15:55 | |
180, I'm bid. 190? | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
£180 then. With Alan at £180. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:03 | |
All done at 180, all finished? | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
Well done. You were spot-on, actually. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
Sorry it didn't fly, fly. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
But nevertheless, that's a good result. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
-Yes. Well done, Mark. -Thank you very much. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
Get digging. Find some more treasure. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
And if you find another treasure, remember to bring it into us. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
Later, we see an extraordinary bit of auction room drama. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:31 | |
£70! | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
That's incredible, isn't it? | 0:16:33 | 0:16:34 | |
-4,000. -I wonder when it's going to stop? | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
-5,000. -Don't you just love auction rooms? | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
While I'm in Oxford, I've taken the opportunity to visit just part | 0:16:48 | 0:16:51 | |
of this magnificent university, and as I come from a musical background and play the drums | 0:16:51 | 0:16:56 | |
and a bit of piano and guitar, I've chosen the Faculty of Music. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
I'm drawn here, not just because I'm passionate about music, | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
but because I believe they've got one of the greatest collections ever assembled of musical instruments | 0:17:02 | 0:17:07 | |
on Planet Earth, and some of them date back centuries. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:11 | |
It's called the Bate Collection, after Phillip Bate, | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
who was the musical director at the BBC for many years. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:18 | |
He left his collection of over 300 early woodwind instruments | 0:17:18 | 0:17:23 | |
to the Faculty of Music in 1963 | 0:17:23 | 0:17:26 | |
so the students could appreciate the sound of the original instruments. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:30 | |
That turned out to be just the beginning, because it encouraged | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
other collectors who shared his enthusiasm to follow suit. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
This amazing collection is still growing today. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
I'm here to meet its current curator, the enthusiastic Mr Andrew Lamb. | 0:17:41 | 0:17:47 | |
I don't know where to look. How many instruments are there? | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
-Well, getting on for 2,000 now. -Gosh. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
I've got to say, the collection here doesn't have a stuffy feel like some museums do have. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:58 | |
-Is that down to you and your passion and enthusiasm? -Well... | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
partly me, I'm just carrying on a long tradition. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
The original curator, Anthony Baines, set the ball rolling. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:07 | |
Those of us who've stepped into his shoes, | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
we've got a class act to follow. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
-I bet there's never a dull moment. -Absolutely not. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
Have you played most of these instruments? | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
I have to say, no. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:18 | |
But what I have to do is learn to play them well enough to be able to demonstrate them. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:24 | |
The ones that are playable, I can get a couple of notes out. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
-OK. What are you holding there? -This is a lovely instrument, it's | 0:18:28 | 0:18:32 | |
probably my favourite instrument in the collection. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
Most people will be familiar with it - it's a recorder. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
But this is a recorder that was made at a time when these instruments were | 0:18:38 | 0:18:43 | |
orchestral instruments in their own right. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:45 | |
The thing about this is that it's in perfect proportion. It's in the golden section. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:51 | |
We look at it and we kind of think, well, that's a very satisfying shape. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:56 | |
And we're fooled into thinking it's a simple instrument but it's not, it's very successful. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:01 | |
So much so that they have not improved on the design in 300 years. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
-Is that a maple or is it an English boxwood? -It's in boxwood. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:08 | |
-Go on, go on, play. -Here we go. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
I'll see what I can do here. | 0:19:11 | 0:19:13 | |
-Very warm tone. -It is, it is. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:26 | |
If you're a professional recorder player nowadays, | 0:19:26 | 0:19:29 | |
the chances are you'll have a copy of THIS instrument. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
You're very lucky, aren't you? Wow. Did that ever catch on, a glass flute? | 0:19:31 | 0:19:37 | |
Well, it's funny you should ask that. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:39 | |
They're still making them. | 0:19:39 | 0:19:41 | |
It's very much a French idea. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
There's a perception somehow that the material | 0:19:44 | 0:19:47 | |
that the instrument is made of has a profound effect on the tonal quality. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:52 | |
I don't think it has as profound an effect as people would like to think. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
I don't let people play these ones because the horror potential is just too high, frankly. | 0:19:55 | 0:20:00 | |
-We won't get that one out, then. -No, no. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
I'm looking forward to having a play myself on something. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
Something quite rare. What can I play? | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
Well, you can't have a go on this, but I've got something lined up for you. Come with me. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:13 | |
Hard to know what to choose, isn't it? | 0:20:13 | 0:20:15 | |
None of these. I've got something very special lined up. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:18 | |
No wonder you were laughing. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:28 | |
-That's a serpent, isn't it? -It certainly is. -Incredible. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
I've seen them before, obviously, in pictures and museums, but I've never held or played one. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:36 | |
-This is your chance. -It's covered in leather. -That's right. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
What they've done with these ones is they've glued the wood together | 0:20:39 | 0:20:43 | |
in sections and bound them in copper wire and then they put the leather over the top. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:48 | |
That's what you've got here. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:49 | |
What date are we talking about? | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
This one, we actually know all about it. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:53 | |
It was used at the Battle of Waterloo, dated 1815. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:57 | |
It was made by an English maker called Thomas Key & Sons. | 0:20:57 | 0:21:00 | |
It was used by a musician from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 0:21:00 | 0:21:04 | |
called Richard Bentinck. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
-Gosh, what provenance. -I know, we know all about it. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
Play it, please, play it. Does it sound like a tuba? | 0:21:09 | 0:21:12 | |
-Not really. -French horn? | 0:21:12 | 0:21:14 | |
-To be fair, it's got, got a tone all of its own. -Go on, then. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
Right, here we go. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
DEEP, BREATHY TONE | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
Oh, brilliant. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:32 | |
That suits you. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
-That's me, is it? -That's very you, yes. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:37 | |
-Now it's your turn. -Do I need gloves? | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
No, you can handle this one, it's quite reasonable. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
Do you blow hard, or sort of medium? | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
No, no, no, it's kind of blowing a raspberry, that's the deal. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:49 | |
I'm sure if you were good on this, you would get the subtleties out of it. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
Funny you should say that, I've heard professional serpent players and I can't say I've noticed. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:09 | |
It could sound like somebody in pain. Screaming away! | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
What a beautiful instrument. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:15 | |
They are beautiful, they're very cuddleable. | 0:22:15 | 0:22:18 | |
Can I have a play on one of the drums? | 0:22:18 | 0:22:19 | |
Yes, all right, then. Why ever not? | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
We've got another instrument from Waterloo. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
-OK, let's form a duet, then. -I'll just put this away. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:28 | |
This particular instrument is our most recent acquisition. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:38 | |
We did a lot of fundraising to acquire it and we think it's | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
the instrument that was played by Joseph Haydn | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
when he came to Oxford to receive his honorary doctoral award. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:48 | |
Wow. So when does this date back to? | 0:22:48 | 0:22:50 | |
This is about 1792, this instrument. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
It's a harpsichord and it really is, in many ways, the last flick | 0:22:53 | 0:22:58 | |
of the dinosaur's tail before everybody moved on to playing pianos. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
-Double bank of keys? -Absolutely, what they called a double manual. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:05 | |
-It's got a number of other features. -These open up, don't they? | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
Yes, I'll just show you, here we go, just a minute. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
-Ah. -There we go, look at that, that's what they call | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
-a Venetian swell. -How does that help the vibrating note more? | 0:23:17 | 0:23:21 | |
Well, what you did, very, very simple, you get it to play louder. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:25 | |
-That's all it is? -Absolutely all it is. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
So, this is from Waterloo? | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
Yes, we think so. We don't know which regiment, but it's certainly the right period. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:45 | |
It's certainly the right style. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
Wonderful drum. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
The condition is superb, isn't it? | 0:23:50 | 0:23:52 | |
-It is indeed. -Let's see what it sounds like... Dum, dum dum... | 0:23:52 | 0:23:55 | |
Wow. Can you hear the overtone there? The way it resonates. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:07 | |
Can you imagine a marching row of let's say 15 or 12? | 0:24:07 | 0:24:11 | |
The power and the volume! | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
Absolutely, that is a real war sound, isn't it? | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
Thank you so much, thank you so much, that's made my day. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:19 | |
Playing a drum from the Battle of Waterloo! What a sound! | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
What an unbelievable experience, I'm so chuffed to have come here today. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:29 | |
If you're passionate about music, you must visit. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:32 | |
It is the complete encyclopaedia of musical instruments that have evolved over the centuries. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:37 | |
You don't just get to study tuning techniques, you get to | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
PLAY the things as well, and that's so important. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
Today I've played a serpent and a drum from the Battle of Waterloo. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
What a date in history, and it's all here and it's free. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
Now it's time to find out what other treasures | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
the crowd in the Sheldonian have in store for our experts. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:03 | |
Charlie's found something which seems to be an unusual size. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:06 | |
-Denise, a grandfather clock. -Yep. -But a bit smaller than the usual grandfather clocks. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:13 | |
-It's a miniature one. -It certainly is. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
-How did you get hold of it? -My Great-Uncle Joe gave it to me when he was 94. | 0:25:15 | 0:25:21 | |
-What a kind man. -Yep. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:23 | |
He bought it in about 1930 from Stanton St John vicarage. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:27 | |
Did you always like it? Is that why you give it to you? | 0:25:27 | 0:25:31 | |
Yeah, as a child I always cleaned it and dusted it. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:35 | |
It would be fascinating for a child because it would be the right size | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
-for a grandfather clock if you were very small. -Yeah, that's true. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
It's an interesting combination. There's no doubt that the case is English | 0:25:42 | 0:25:47 | |
and the movement is French. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:49 | |
And the date of this is very much late-Victorian, almost into the Edwardian times. | 0:25:49 | 0:25:55 | |
So we're looking at 1880, 1890. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:58 | |
Its case is made of rosewood - | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
a lovely, high-quality, dense wood - | 0:26:01 | 0:26:04 | |
and it's inlaid with satinwood, which you can see. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
These fans, the very light wood here. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:10 | |
And the green wood, which you can see, is olive wood. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:14 | |
Lovely. You have a wonderful broken pediment on the top, and it's very much modelled on | 0:26:14 | 0:26:20 | |
a longcase clock, other than it would be unusual to see such slender pillars down a clock of that period | 0:26:20 | 0:26:28 | |
if it were a full grandfather clock. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
An enamel dial we have here, | 0:26:31 | 0:26:32 | |
with very intricate brass filigree work in the middle of it. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
And then we're going to turn it round and have a look at the movement. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:41 | |
And when I said a platform movement, this is the platform, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
screwed to the back of the clock here. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:49 | |
The great thing about a platform movement, | 0:26:49 | 0:26:51 | |
if it were a full-size longcase clock, you would have a pendulum. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:54 | |
It would be stopping and you'd have to adjust it all the time. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
A carriage clock movement, that clock will work if you lay it flat, | 0:26:58 | 0:27:02 | |
turn it upside down, turn it on its side... | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
Hence carriage clocks - you could rattle along in your carriage and it would always carry on going. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:12 | |
And I think the movement was made in France, imported into this country and then put into an English case. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:18 | |
And beautifully done. And it's really in super condition, although I noticed when I wound it up | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
that the hands went, "Whizzzz!" And we had to wait for it to stop. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:28 | |
-Has it always been like that? -No, it hasn't. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
It wasn't me that did it, was it? | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
No, it wasn't. I did take it somewhere but they didn't make a good job of it. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:39 | |
Ever had it valued? | 0:27:39 | 0:27:41 | |
Well, I did for insurance purposes. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:43 | |
Did you? Well, that's quite interesting. And for insurance purposes? | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
They said £1,200. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
-HE GASPS -Crumbs! How long ago was that? | 0:27:48 | 0:27:51 | |
That was in 1999. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
Did they charge you for that valuation? | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
-Yeah, but that came along with the repair as well. -Did it? | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
It shouldn't be for me to say this, but quite often you get people that repair things and they say, | 0:27:59 | 0:28:05 | |
"I'll give you an insurance valuation," and it's quite inflated. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
-It may not come as a surprise, or it may do, that's a hugely inflated insurance. -Yes. | 0:28:08 | 0:28:14 | |
-I think it's fabulous but I think it's worth, to sell, £200 to £300. -Right. -Still want to sell it? -Yes. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:20 | |
You're very, very understanding and good. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
I hope that somebody that really likes it might tickle it above £300, | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
-but I think we've got to realise it's not going to make £500 or £600. -Yeah. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:32 | |
-Thank you for bringing it along. -Thank you. | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
What a fascinating item. And it's true that insurance valuations do tend to be high. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:41 | |
While talking to people in the room, my eye was drawn to the most interesting dagger. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:48 | |
That's a beautiful dagger. May I have a look? | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
Lovely rosewood handle. Isn't that lovely? | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
-It is. -It's absolutely beautifully made. | 0:28:53 | 0:28:55 | |
I've never seen one like it. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:57 | |
This is all mounted in silver, isn't it? | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
-That's what I thought. This is silver as well. -It looks like fish skin and alligator. -Yes. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:04 | |
-How did you come by this? -It belongs to my son. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
He bought a cottage in Woodstock just before Christmas | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
and he's renovating it. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:13 | |
And he was taking all the lath and plaster off the walls | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
and he found this embedded. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:18 | |
-You're joking! In the wall, in the plaster and lath? -Yes, in the wall. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:22 | |
-This is very sharp, actually. -The cottage backs onto Blenheim Palace Gardens. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:27 | |
-Right, OK, the plot thickens. -The cottages originally belonged to the estate. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:32 | |
-I would say it's 19th century, that's for sure. -Right. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:35 | |
Possibly around about 1830, 1850. | 0:29:35 | 0:29:37 | |
-Really? -And my guess is it's Persian, just looking at the hilt | 0:29:37 | 0:29:41 | |
and looking at the way that's put together. | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
It'd be interesting to know how it got there, though. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:47 | |
That's the most interesting part of the story, that really is. | 0:29:47 | 0:29:51 | |
I told my son to look for the skeleton! | 0:29:51 | 0:29:54 | |
-I think if you put this into auction, it would realise around £100 to £150. -Really? | 0:29:54 | 0:29:59 | |
Yeah, but maybe it should be sold in Iran. That's where the market is. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:03 | |
-I know that Persian artefacts fetch good money. -Do they? -They really do. Put it on the wall. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:08 | |
Behind glass, I think that would look really nice. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:12 | |
It would look excellent, in fact. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:15 | |
I think that's a great idea, Maureen. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:17 | |
And what a fabulous story, too. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:21 | |
Next, Tracy has found something familiar. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:25 | |
Well, I think it's Clarice Cliff. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
I think you're probably right. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:29 | |
But lovely, lovely pieces. | 0:30:29 | 0:30:31 | |
Are they something that you've inherited or you've bought or you've collected? | 0:30:31 | 0:30:36 | |
I bought these in a jumble sale. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:38 | |
-Right. -Over 30 years ago. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
OK. Can I ask you, did you pay much money for any of these items? | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
This was 10p and these were five. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:50 | |
-Pence? -Pence. -So you didn't pay a lot of money at all, really. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:54 | |
-No. -Have you had them on display at home? | 0:30:54 | 0:30:57 | |
Have you got pleasure out of them? | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
My children used to play with them and they used to use these as Daleks. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:04 | |
-Oh, really? -As the mother ship in one of the Dalek movies. -I love it! | 0:31:04 | 0:31:08 | |
That's fantastic! | 0:31:08 | 0:31:11 | |
Well, Wendy, because they've been used as Daleks, | 0:31:11 | 0:31:14 | |
they've obviously been knocked about a bit, and we have got some damage here. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:18 | |
Both these ends have been knocked off. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:21 | |
-So I'm wondering if they were exterminating each other. -They could have been. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:27 | |
On this little tiny conical shape, we've got a chip here as well. | 0:31:27 | 0:31:32 | |
But I will say this particular pattern is the crocus pattern, | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
and it's one of the most common. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:38 | |
But this is a really lovely little size, which is great. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
-But what I love best is this. -Do you?! -I do, I love it. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:46 | |
It's just so unusual. | 0:31:46 | 0:31:47 | |
It's a Stamford shape, | 0:31:47 | 0:31:50 | |
quite simplistic, really. We've got the typical Art Deco clean line. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:55 | |
And if we just sort of turn it upside down, | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
there we have the wonderful "Bizarre by Clarice Cliff" mark. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:03 | |
Pop that back. And that was 10p, you said? | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
-So that was quite expensive, that one, wasn't it? -It was expensive. I had to think about that(!) | 0:32:06 | 0:32:12 | |
-I think it makes a great mother ship. -Yes. -It's a whole new meaning on the word "ceramic". | 0:32:12 | 0:32:17 | |
Because of the damage, really, the money's going to be in this one, to be honest. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:22 | |
I'm thinking a pre-sale estimate of £100 to £150. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:29 | |
-Now, bearing in mind you only spent 25p on the lot... -Yes. -..I don't think that's a bad return. | 0:32:29 | 0:32:34 | |
No, I think that's a fair price. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:37 | |
And the children have had the great pleasure of playing Daleks. | 0:32:37 | 0:32:40 | |
-They have. -It's going to fly away at auction. -Yes! | 0:32:40 | 0:32:45 | |
£100 to £150 seems good value for that little collection. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:49 | |
I always like meeting people at our valuation days and being introduced to the children. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:56 | |
Your mum's just handed the phone, so she's having a good time. | 0:32:56 | 0:33:00 | |
And I hope you're behaving well at home. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:33:02 | 0:33:04 | |
OK, bye-bye. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:05 | |
Thank you! | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
Charlie and Nigel are looking at a mysterious box. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:11 | |
-Have you used the contents at all? -No, my father bought it second-hand | 0:33:11 | 0:33:15 | |
in Portsmouth when I was a youngster, about eight years old. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:19 | |
And he worked for the city architect's department. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
He may have used it early on in his career, but I suspect not later. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:25 | |
-So we're going to find architectural instruments? -Yes, sorry, I should have told you. | 0:33:25 | 0:33:30 | |
No, that's fine. So we open up there. | 0:33:30 | 0:33:32 | |
Gosh! It's absolutely complete, isn't it? | 0:33:32 | 0:33:35 | |
-It's extraordinary, isn't it? -Amazing! | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
What a meticulous person he must have been. | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
If I'd owned something like this, half of them would be missing. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
I wish I had been as meticulous as my father. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:46 | |
What really interested me here, have you noticed this writing here? | 0:33:46 | 0:33:50 | |
Well, I hadn't actually paid much attention to it. | 0:33:50 | 0:33:52 | |
-French. -Yeah, now I look at it. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:54 | |
So we've certainly got a French box here. | 0:33:59 | 0:34:01 | |
-Surely. -Rosewood. The French in the 19th century used a lot of rosewood, | 0:34:01 | 0:34:05 | |
loved rosewood, as indeed the English did, but I think the French | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
even more so, which obviously relates to the instruments in so much as the box was made in France. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:16 | |
But "lines" and "circles" - | 0:34:16 | 0:34:20 | |
I can say that these instruments were made in England. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
I think that's a fair conclusion. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:24 | |
That would ring true, wouldn't it, with high-quality steel? | 0:34:24 | 0:34:27 | |
-I would agree. -As an engineer you would agree with that. -I certainly would. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:32 | |
So I think then shipped out to France where they put it in | 0:34:32 | 0:34:36 | |
the box and presumably retailed in France, I would have thought. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
But alas, alack, despite the cost of making something | 0:34:39 | 0:34:43 | |
like that, I would suggest that the value of the box probably | 0:34:43 | 0:34:47 | |
exceeds the value of the contents. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:49 | |
I think that's quite possible. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:51 | |
I would think that I would hope for, say, something about £50, | 0:34:51 | 0:34:55 | |
perhaps a bit better | 0:34:55 | 0:34:56 | |
-if possible, on a good day, maybe. -I think I'm looking at | 0:34:56 | 0:34:59 | |
an estimate of 40 to 60. | 0:34:59 | 0:35:01 | |
I think you're pretty spot-on. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:02 | |
I think the box is worth £30. These ought to be worth | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
a couple of hundred pounds. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:08 | |
It's no good me saying that that's what they're going to make. | 0:35:08 | 0:35:11 | |
I think 40 to £60 is a sensible estimate, with a reserve at the | 0:35:11 | 0:35:17 | |
bottom end and a little bit of discretion | 0:35:17 | 0:35:19 | |
so that we don't give them away. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:20 | |
Still got the key. | 0:35:20 | 0:35:22 | |
-Yes. -And it locks perfectly well? | 0:35:22 | 0:35:24 | |
It does. It's a little counterintuitive, though. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:27 | |
To lock it, let's see, I think you turn anticlockwise. | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
Anticlockwise. French, you see. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:33 | |
Well, it's the other side of the road, isn't it? | 0:35:33 | 0:35:36 | |
Well, that may not be the French view of it! | 0:35:36 | 0:35:39 | |
There's just time to have another glimpse of what our experts have picked out to take off to auction. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:45 | |
Charlie's right, I'm sure. Denise's miniature grandfather clock would appeal to children and adults alike. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:52 | |
Wendy's Clarice Cliff has a little Dalek damage, but I suspect it will still do very well. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:59 | |
Nigel's late 19th-century rosewood box with architectural | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
instruments would cost a fortune to make today, | 0:36:02 | 0:36:06 | |
so the buyer will get a real bargain. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:10 | |
It's up first, so let's see who wants it. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:15 | |
They're going to go to a good home because we've got £40-£60 on these, | 0:36:15 | 0:36:19 | |
and it's absolutely nothing for a complete set, is it? That's true. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:23 | |
This is the right time to invest in antiques on things like this | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
because it's something not many people want and the price is so low. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:30 | |
People nowadays wouldn't use them, of course, would they? | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
They've been overtaken, as you say, by computers. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:36 | |
Let's hope there are some draftsmen or architects here. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:40 | |
Lot 136 is a set of drawing instruments | 0:36:41 | 0:36:44 | |
in a rosewood and brass case. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:46 | |
There we go, lovely set there. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:48 | |
40 to £50 for it. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:49 | |
40 I'm bid. 42. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:51 | |
42, 44, 46, 48, | 0:36:51 | 0:36:55 | |
50, 50, 55, 60? | 0:36:55 | 0:36:58 | |
£55. 60 anywhere? | 0:36:58 | 0:37:00 | |
For £55 beside me. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
60, 65, 70? | 0:37:03 | 0:37:05 | |
-They do like it. -£65, then. | 0:37:05 | 0:37:07 | |
Still beside me at £65. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:08 | |
All done at 65. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:10 | |
£65. I'm pleased. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:13 | |
-Thank you very much indeed. -A pleasure. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
That's absolute quality, absolute quality. | 0:37:15 | 0:37:18 | |
Those are the kind of things you should really be investing in | 0:37:18 | 0:37:21 | |
because £65 is absolutely nothing for that, is it, Nigel? | 0:37:21 | 0:37:24 | |
I'm glad it went over the estimate. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
Next I want to show you something very rare and interesting that's coming up later on in the auction. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:34 | |
Simon the auctioneer has given me a tip-off about a lot that is coming up in the sale. And this is it. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:39 | |
It's a tiny little early 19th-century Japanese cloisonne vase. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:44 | |
It came in through a probate sale. Somebody had died in the estate. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:49 | |
The rest of the family don't particularly want to own it. | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
They know it's worth possibly a few hundred pounds. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:54 | |
That's what they're thinking. Simon has just informed me | 0:37:54 | 0:37:58 | |
it could be worth around £4,000, so we're going to watch this one later on in the show. | 0:37:58 | 0:38:03 | |
But look at the exquisite detail, because that is all enamel work. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:07 | |
Can you see all the little flowers and the petals? | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
That's little tiny wires that have been put onto | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
the vessel to stop the coloured glass from running. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:18 | |
It's exquisite. The detail is superb. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
That's what you're buying, really. It's a little ornament. | 0:38:21 | 0:38:24 | |
It's lot number 144. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:25 | |
If you've got something like this and you're thinking of selling it, don't just sell it to | 0:38:25 | 0:38:30 | |
the first person, take advice from the professionals because it could be worth several thousand pounds. | 0:38:30 | 0:38:35 | |
Back to our lots, and Denise's little grandfather clock is up next. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:43 | |
£200 to £300 is riding on this. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:46 | |
You've seen this as a little girl and you really liked it. | 0:38:46 | 0:38:49 | |
It's been handed down through the family and now you're selling. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:53 | |
Yep. Well, I've got two boys and I can't... | 0:38:53 | 0:38:56 | |
You can't split that up, can you, I guess? | 0:38:56 | 0:38:58 | |
-But it's got to go. A nice thing. -Fabulous quality. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
A really, really nice thing. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:03 | |
My uncle only had the best. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:06 | |
-Had an eye for detail. -Yeah, definitely. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:08 | |
Let's hope this packed saleroom knows what to look for. Good luck. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
A miniature longcase clock in the inlaid case there. | 0:39:13 | 0:39:17 | |
A couple of hundred pounds for it. 190 I'm bid. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
200 anywhere before I go to the phones? | 0:39:20 | 0:39:22 | |
Coming to you now, Pat, at 200. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:23 | |
We're in at 200. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:25 | |
200, 210, 220, | 0:39:25 | 0:39:28 | |
230, 240, | 0:39:28 | 0:39:30 | |
250, 260. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:32 | |
They like it, they like it. | 0:39:32 | 0:39:34 | |
Coming to you now, 270, 270, | 0:39:34 | 0:39:37 | |
280, 290. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:39 | |
290 at the back, 300, 310, | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
320, 330, | 0:39:44 | 0:39:48 | |
340? | 0:39:48 | 0:39:49 | |
330, then. Right at the back of the room at £330. All done at 330. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:55 | |
Yes, top end of the estimate and a bit more - £330. | 0:39:55 | 0:39:57 | |
-That's not bad. -You're happy, aren't you? | 0:39:57 | 0:40:00 | |
I think Uncle would be pleased with that. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:02 | |
His actual words were, "Flog it." | 0:40:02 | 0:40:05 | |
So I think he'd be very pleased. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
-I think the boys will as well, won't they? -Yeah. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
Good result. Next, what I consider to be a classic Flog It! story. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:17 | |
Right now, we're hoping to turn 15p into maybe £150, who knows, £200 | 0:40:18 | 0:40:24 | |
because Clarice Cliff never lets us down. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
-Hello, Wendy. -Hello. | 0:40:27 | 0:40:28 | |
Now, a lovely story, this, isn't it? | 0:40:28 | 0:40:31 | |
This is brilliant. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:33 | |
30-odd years ago you bought this | 0:40:33 | 0:40:35 | |
-four-piece set of Clarice Cliff? -Yes. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:37 | |
You've had great fun playing Daleks. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:39 | |
-Yes, my children did. -Why are you selling today anyway? | 0:40:39 | 0:40:42 | |
Well, my son and daughter are older, they don't play Daleks any more. They're grown up. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:47 | |
You can never grow out of Dr Who, though, can you, really? | 0:40:49 | 0:40:52 | |
No, they're still avid watchers, yes. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:54 | |
Well, good luck, anyway. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:55 | |
The Clarice Cliff Stamford tureen and cover | 0:40:56 | 0:40:59 | |
and three condiment covers. £100 to start me for it. | 0:40:59 | 0:41:03 | |
350's better. 350 I'm bid, 360? | 0:41:03 | 0:41:06 | |
£350! | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
That got them whistling in church. 350. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:10 | |
-Am I hearing right? -360 now, OK. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:13 | |
-360, 370. -370, Wendy. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:17 | |
370, 380. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:20 | |
-Oh, they love it, don't they? -Yes! | 0:41:20 | 0:41:23 | |
370 then, with Alan. At £370. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:25 | |
All done at 370. With Alan. | 0:41:25 | 0:41:28 | |
-£370! -Yes! | 0:41:28 | 0:41:31 | |
That's incredible, isn't it? With all that damage as well. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:34 | |
It just goes to show it doesn't put people off buying Clarice Cliff, does it? | 0:41:34 | 0:41:38 | |
Or were they Dr Who fanatics? | 0:41:38 | 0:41:40 | |
Hey, what are you going to spend the money on? | 0:41:42 | 0:41:44 | |
-Well... -Don't forget there's 15% commission. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
Yes. Share it between my grandchildren and a rescued greyhound called Mr Blue... | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
-Oh, lovely. -..that my son's got. | 0:41:51 | 0:41:53 | |
-How smashing. -I'm so pleased. | 0:41:53 | 0:41:57 | |
-Mr Blue! -Mr Blue. He's fabulous. | 0:41:57 | 0:42:00 | |
It's always nice to hear the money's going to a good cause. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:04 | |
Now I'm sure you're curious to find out what happened to the little | 0:42:04 | 0:42:08 | |
cloisonne vase that I showed you earlier on in the programme. | 0:42:08 | 0:42:12 | |
It just happened to be made by Namikawa Yasuyuki around 1880, | 0:42:12 | 0:42:17 | |
the top maker at the dawn of the golden age of cloisonne. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:22 | |
This is exceptional, so keep watching. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:24 | |
-5,000. -£5,000 is now being offered. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:27 | |
-5,100. -5,100. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:28 | |
6,000. 7,000. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
8,000. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:32 | |
£8,000?! | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
Don't you just love auction rooms? | 0:42:34 | 0:42:36 | |
-I'm tingling now. -8,900. 9,000. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
10,000. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:42 | |
Ooh! £10,000. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:43 | |
11,000. | 0:42:43 | 0:42:45 | |
And it's all gone deadly quiet. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:47 | |
12,000. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:49 | |
£12,000. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:50 | |
13,000. 14,000. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:53 | |
14,200, 14,400. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:54 | |
-£14,000. -14,200. | 0:42:54 | 0:42:55 | |
-14,400. -Absolutely incredible. | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
14,600. | 0:42:57 | 0:42:58 | |
14,800. 15,000? | 0:42:58 | 0:43:01 | |
14,800, then. At 14,800, all done. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:05 | |
Here we go, the hammer's going down. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:07 | |
£14,800. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:10 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:43:10 | 0:43:12 | |
Lucky owners. That is the excitement of the auction room. | 0:43:12 | 0:43:15 | |
If you've got something like that, bring it along to one of our valuation days. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:19 | |
We would love to sell that for you. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:21 | |
You can check the details on our BBC website. | 0:43:21 | 0:43:24 | |
Just log on to bbc.co.uk/lifestyle | 0:43:24 | 0:43:26 | |
Click F for Flog It!, follow the links, and hopefully there'll be | 0:43:26 | 0:43:29 | |
a valuation day venue very near you soon. We'd love to see you. | 0:43:29 | 0:43:32 | |
Bring along your unwanted antiques. | 0:43:32 | 0:43:35 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:43:45 | 0:43:48 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:43:48 | 0:43:54 |