Burghley Flog It!

Today we're in the magnificent grounds of Burghley House, in Lincolnshire,

where scores of people have turned up to enjoy a day in the sun

to have their antiques valued and hopefully to Flog It!

Burghley House is one of the finest examples of 16th century

English Elizabethan architecture you will ever come across.

It's an absolute gem.

And the fabulous grounds that it sits in were largely designed

by Capability Brown in the 18th century.

Now, he's left many of the mature plantings that he came across

where he found them, meaning that some of the design dates back well over 400 years.

And it doesn't get much better than this, does it?

What a fabulous backdrop for our valuation day.

And fitting right into this elegant setting is the very regal Elizabeth Talbot.

Oh, dressed for Burghley, look at this one, look at this one, my goodness.

And the man who can spot a princely antique if he knows where to look. Philip Serrell.

-Is it Paris or London?

-Paris.

-There you are. I don't know anything, do I?

Elizabeth is an auctioneer in her own right

and when she's not working, she has her hands full with twin daughters.

Only for the fear of the mother-in-law.

-There's no greater fear than the fear of the mother-in-law.

-That's it, yeah.

What a lady. Booze.

Philip's another auctioneer and he's written books on his early days in the business.

-Are you a big champagne drinker?

-Not really, no.

-Not really.

-No.

He's got a great all-round knowledge but a particular interest in the finer things in life.

Someone once said to me, please don't drink it, and I'm not going to.

Well, I will, then.

And I'm sure we're going to be in for some champagne moments today.

Now, let's open the gates and let everybody in.

Coming up in today's programme, we discover a painting which excites the international bidders.

340 in the UK. 360 in Holland. 380. At 380.

-It could be going back to Holland.

-Yes.

And visit probably the most famous apple tree in the world.

What actually happened 300 years ago?

Newton was extremely close to making the greatest discovery in the history of science.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

Right, let's get straight on with the show and it's my turn first, for a change.

Well, I found Brian with some tribal art which I'm quite fascinated about so we decided to sit on the lawn

here at Burghley House - all we need is some strawberries and cream but that might happen a bit later.

But thank you for bringing this in. How did you come across this set of arrows in a quiver?

When I was working at an architect's in Kent, we were

demolishing a building and I happened to go inside it and check around, and found it in the loft.

-Good on you.

-So I took it home.

-So basically you salvaged this from the wrecking ball and the skip.

-Absolutely.

Do you know what, you can't get greener than antiques, can you?

And I'm sure this set of arrows which I think dates back to the early part of the 19th century.

-Really.

-Yeah. They're not tourists, that's for sure.

-No. No.

-No. They're not tourists.

..fascinate me, actually. They do fascinate me.

They're very simple,

but do you know, I think

-this is made of sealskin.

-Really.

-Yes.

-Gosh.

So I'm going to say North American.

It's possibly Canadian or it's Inuit.

Wow. I always thought it was from Africa or South America.

I'd never have thought of the Arctic areas at all.

Yeah, because look at the arrows, OK. Look at those barbs.

-Very sharp.

-This is just made of steel.

-Yeah.

This is definitely early 19th century.

-As early as that.

-This is definitely not ceremonial and it's not tourist.

This is the real McCoy. Whether or not you'd shoot that in a straight line is another thing.

It's not that accurate but from a short distance, you know,

that would kill something, especially something of that size.

-Right. OK.

-Which is what it's designed to do.

Yes. Right. What about this piece?

Would that have any significance?

I think purely just to carry and run with.

-Right.

-Yeah. And to keep the quiver straight.

-Right.

-Which in turn keeps the arrows...

-That's interesting.

-..from breaking.

Clever piece of technology in those days.

Because this leather would have originally been quite soft in its day when it was first made.

It's only over the years that it's developed this patina

but it's also got rock hard and that's what leather does.

Over the course of 100 years, leather will harden and harden and harden until it's rock solid.

-Oh, right.

-And it's impervious to water as well...

-Yeah. Of course.

which is what you need.

That's very interesting.

I mean, that's my gut feeling.

Maybe the auctioneer will know a lot more than I do or he will have

experts on hand that he can call on for another opinion.

I would never have even thought about Canada or Iceland, I must admit.

-PLANE ROARS OVERHEAD

-We've got a lot of aeroplanes flying over today, haven't we?

The RAF are taking off somewhere locally, aren't they?

There's Coningsby just up the road where

-the main base is.

-What a view pilots must have of Burghley House and the estates.

Yes. They're usually in twos.

You get used to them after a while.

Well, I think if the auctioneer can do a bit of research on our behalf,

he's got a bit of time, and you never know, these might find their way back

to a museum somewhere in Alaska.

-Gosh.

-Let's put them into auction with a valuation of £80-£120. I know it's an auctioneer's cliche but

hopefully it might do a little more than that and if it struggles, well,

-£100 is better than nothing, isn't it?

-That's fine by me. Thank you very much indeed.

What fascinating objects and I'll be keen to learn where they do come from.

Next up, Brian and Jean have brought in an intriguing jug to show Elizabeth.

I think this is a magnificent piece.

I'd like to hear from you all the history you can tell me.

Well, not a lot really.

I mean, I've known it all my life.

-It was at my auntie's in her bedroom.

-Oh, right.

And I don't know a lot about it as a child, we didn't bother so much, and then as I got older I said well,

where was it made and she said I think in Buckley.

And it was called Buckley ware.

-Yes.

-And that's all I know about it really.

-OK.

-My wife's auntie lives in Chester

-which is near to Buckley.

-It would tie in. Absolutely right.

Well, Buckley ware, as it's known, it's a very generic term which came from Buckley or the Buckley area.

There were potters in that region from the 17th century and the last factory or pottery closed in 1946.

So there's a long history of using the natural clay and so on in that

region to make, principally, domestic wares. Do you actually like it?

Do you appreciate it?

I personally think it's awful.

-Right. OK. That's fine.

-Not particularly. I like the shape.

-Yes.

-I can't understand what

it would be used for because there's nowhere to pour anything in.

OK.

Well, I think the shape is fantastic.

The shape is just lovely

and it's probably likely to be the late 18th, possibly early 19th century,

but because they tended to use, it's a very basic earthenware base that then has these very thick

rich lead glazes on the top, they tend to be brown and monotone.

Along with the glaze, they were known for the very simple mouldings that they'd apply.

So you've got some round the body, you've got some sort of along the front, the tummy of it there.

At the top, yes, as you say, it has a very limited opening here

and then almost a sort of a sieve technique on the top there.

It looks grand enough almost to be I think a wine flagon this.

I think it's for serving wine.

It's a very...

handsome piece. I mean, I'm going to be completely honest, I don't think I've ever

sold anything close to resembling this at all so I mean I can't say, the last one we sold last month or

the one we sold last year or anything cos there just isn't that sort of information available readily.

-Could that be a good thing or not?

-It could be a good thing.

Instinctively, I'm thinking sort of £200-300, £200-£400 as an instinctive thing,

-but if it made 300-500, 400-600 I wouldn't be surprised...

-Gracious.

-Gracious.

-in the right context.

-But if you're happy to sort of look at the lower end of the 200-300, that sort of region.

-It's up to you.

It's come from your family.

-Yes. Yes.

-Would you put a reserve on it?

I think it needs to have a reserve on it

and I think, I mean you would tend to put the lower end of the estimate on it as a safety net if you like.

If you put £200 on it, would you be happy with that?

Yes. Yes.

As I say, it's kind of anybody's guess but I think

it shouldn't sell for less than that, I don't think. Instinctively I just feel that that's, you know, given

the age and the size, you know, it's a good decorative piece of Buckley ware. It's a lovely thing.

I think it's just stunning. I think it's got a lot of character.

And talking of character, Phil's up next with Janet and Tony.

-How are you both doing? All right?

-Very well, thank you.

-Yes.

-Enjoying Burghley?

-Oh, yes.

-Yes.

-Brilliant, isn't it? Absolutely brilliant.

-We intended to come and go round the house actually.

-Do you live round here?

-No. We're from Tamworth.

-Tamworth.

-Yes.

How far's Tamworth away from here?

69 miles, according to the route finder.

Really. So you've just come for Flog It! today.

-Yes, we have.

-Oh, that's brilliant.

-That's brilliant.

-We're retired and we like to fill the days in.

Good stuff. And it's interesting, this, because

Tamworth's a bit closer to Brummagem.

-That's right.

-It certainly is, and we don't speak like that.

-And you're from Brummagem.

-We are indeed.

-And this is from Brummagem.

-It is indeed.

-It is.

-Yes, that's right. Oh, yes.

-This is papier mache.

And papier mache was a huge thriving industry in Birmingham

in the 19th century and if you turn a lot of these over, these papier mache trays,

they were stamped "Jennings and Bettridge" and these were the factory that produced these.

And it's quite interesting this cos you've got, I think this is really good quality and I like it.

It could be better in one way and I'll tell you about that.

-You've got these mother-of-pearl inlays.

-Yes.

And then you've got these gold leaves all the way around and it's in really good order.

Because it's papier mache, it doesn't suffer knocks and bangs too well.

They are awfully difficult to repair.

Having said that,

-I've just noticed here look, can you see there's a little bit of a dink just there.

-Yes. Yes.

-Oh, right.

-Well, I suppose it was used.

-Yes.

-How could this be made better, do you think?

-I don't know. I was waiting for you to advise us.

I often think about our business, you know, it's just a question of using your eyes.

And if you look at that, it's a lovely, lovely thing, but wouldn't it benefit from...

-something in the centre.

-Agree. Yes.

-Yes. Yes. Decorationwise.

-And that then turns it from a £40-£60 estimate tray to a £100-£200 estimate.

-Right. Yes.

There's an expression in our business, if you start apologizing for things

other than the price, you know, you've got a little bit of a problem and we're apologizing for the fact

that it hasn't got a beautiful flower scene on there or that sort of thing.

-Having said that, I think that's wonderful quality.

-Yes.

-Good.

-I think we can estimate it at £40-£60.

I think we can stick a £30 reserve on it and I think if you have a real

good day, it'll sail through that cos it's a lovely thing. Are you happy with that?

-Yes. It's pretty.

-Good stuff.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

As Phil says, a simple tray but very appealing in its own right and I'm sure it will sell.

This is where it gets exciting. This is my favourite part of the show.

We're going to put our experts' valuations to the test.

-They're normally right, aren't they?

-Yes.

-Yes, of course.

We've got lots of favourite experts. Philip Serrell is one of the best in the business

and so is Elizabeth Talbot. You've heard what they've had to say.

You've probably made your own minds up and you've got your own opinions.

Let's find out what the auctioneer thinks but more importantly, what the bidders think.

Let's get over to Grantham.

And just 25 miles away,

it's Golding Young Auctioneers who are hosting the sale of our items.

I've been to hundreds of auction rooms

and it never ceases to amaze me the variety of lots that are on offer, ranging from fine art to furniture,

musical instruments and all sorts of knicknacks which you might think

might not be worth a lot of money, you were thinking of throwing them away

or putting them in a charity shop maybe, a little single cup and saucer like that,

but don't throw it away, put it into the auction room.

It might just be worth £20 or £30 and hey, that's money in your pocket. It's worth doing.

There will be commission to pay and it varies between different auction houses.

Here the sellers pay 15% plus VAT.

Before the sales starts, here's a quick reminder of the items we're selling.

Brian's arrows are an intriguing lot but it's hard to predict how they'll do.

There's Tony and Janet's simple Victorian papier mache tray.

And after having a closer look at Brian and Jean's jug, auctioneer Colin Young has something to say.

I've not come across one of these before.

It belongs to Brian and Jean and it's a Buckley ware vase.

Elizabeth put £200-£300 on this but she wasn't sure on the day. She wasn't sure.

She was guided by Brian really. He's quite adamant this is Buckley ware.

-Right.

-I've not come across this.

I must admit, nor had I.

Fortunately, since the valuation day, we've had the opportunity

to do a little bit more checking and research and an expert that I know

that's rather good on this subject, I ran it by him and the response was no, it looks a little bit German.

Really. So it's continental.

It does have that sort of look of the Rhinish stoneware.

Very much like the Bellarmine jugs.

Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. And when you look at the top of the ewer, you've got

this sort of moulded part there which you know the Bellarmine faces that you would expect on there.

-Yes.

-So I'm fairly sure that's what it is.

-OK.

Does that affect the value though?

I would hazard a guess, there's probably plenty of it out there and fairly mass produced.

It's just purely that we haven't necessarily seen much in the UK market.

-OK. Well, you never know, it could still do 200-300.

-It could well do.

-If it's that rare.

-Yeah.

OK. Fingers crossed. So, will not cataloguing as Buckley ware affect how much the jug fetches?

Find out now as it's first under the hammer.

I don't know, I've not come across this before and I know Colin, the

auctioneer's not come across this particular Buckley ware jug before.

He seems to think it might be continental.

He didn't see it in the bright sunshine like we saw it, did he? It was stunning.

I mean, I'm not au fait with the ware, but I have to say,

it fits so well in with the family history and so on which was a bit too close for comfort.

If it were coincidence it seems a bit strange, but the quality,

if you see it in good light, it's a lovely piece.

Having said that, it's not affected the value because he's still calling it £200-£300.

But he's not catalogued it as Buckley ware.

No. No. We noticed that.

Anyway, it's going under the hammer right now. Let's find out what the bidders think. Is it Buckley ware?

Interesting lot. What shall we say for this?

Who's going to start me at 200 for it?

200, who's going to be straight in? 200.

150 then. 150. 100 a go, surely.

£100. Who's going to be first in?

-They don't like it.

-£50.

Any offers then?

50 on the net from... TR is the country. I wonder if that's Transylvania.

They've obviously got their claws into it. At 50 bid. Five now. 55.

Multiple bids on the net.

-Anybody else going to join in the room?

-Come on, bids.

-No.

70. At 70. 75 now.

75. I'm sorry this is not very interesting to the room.

I'm just looking at the screen. At 90. 95. 95. 100 now. 100 bid.

At 100. 110. 120 anywhere else now?

-110 bid. At 120. 130.

-Come on.

-We're getting there.

-Slowly. Slowly.

130. 140. 150 now. 150 bid.

150 surely. 150. 160. 160. 170. 180.

180, do I see? At 170 bid. 170. You're out on the net now.

At 170. 180 now.

Back in the UK with the buyers now.

At 170. 180. 190 now. 190.

At 190. At 190. 200. 200 on the net.

It's gone.

220 anyone?

-220.

-Any more now? You're all out in the room then.

Commission bidders are out. At £200, it's an internet buyer then.

We're done, we're finished, and we're selling then at £200.

-Only just.

-Only just.

Wow. Wasn't that exciting?

They don't know what it is in Grantham but somebody knows what it is.

Yes. Yes. It was on the internet.

For a moment, I thought that was going to struggle.

-I really thought it was going to struggle.

-And me, yeah. Didn't think it was going to sell.

That's the power of the internet for you, isn't it, nowadays?

-Do you know, I'm really thrilled about that.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-I think it was lovely.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-I do now!

Great. Well, somebody seemed convinced and everybody's happy.

Next up, it's Brian and me. Colin Young's done some research

and is sure the arrows are North American or Canadian.

Well, things are moving along nicely and right now I'm all a-quiver.

No, not because I'm nervous because it's my turn to be

the expert, because the arrows are just about to go under the hammer.

-And they belong to Brian here.

-Yes.

They do look out of place here, don't they?

They certainly do with all the china and the items.

There's no other ethnic or tribal artefacts here. They are the only items.

-It should be interesting to see what happens then.

-Yes.

I just hope it gets picked up on the internet and some serious collectors find it because it's here to go.

Yeah. That's true. This is where you see them.

Yeah. We're going to find out right now.

Let's hope it hits the target.

Lot number 240 is a 19th century leather native quiver.

Who's going to start me at £100 for it? 100.

80 to go then. 80. 50. £50.

No luck anywhere.

50. Thank you. 50. 60 now. Anybody else going to have a stab at this?

At 50 bid. 60 now surely.

At 50 bid. Five anywhere else now? At £50 bid. Five. 55. 55.

Bid 60. 60. And five. 65.

We're selling, aren't we?

It's coming. It's slowly coming up, yes. Moving.

80 surely. At £75, we're in the middle of the room. At 75 bid.

At 80. At 75. Last call then.

I'm going to sell at £75.

-£75.

-Well done.

-I'm happy.

-I'm really happy.

-Not bad for that.

It was close though, wasn't it?

That's one of those items that can just fly away.

We didn't have the bow to shoot them with.

No, we didn't. That's the problem.

Yes.

They did fine, particularly as there was nothing similar in the sale.

Now it's Tony and Janet's lacquered papier mache tray.

Don't use it, don't like it, it's got to go, that's what our next owners have said.

Tony and Janet, it's good to see you.

-That's what it's all about, bring it along to Flog It! and hopefully we'll do the business for you.

-OK.

Thank you. Yes. We're hoping.

I like this a lot. It's a shame it hasn't been stamped.

Obviously it comes from the Birmingham, Wolverhampton area so it comes from the right pedigree.

-They were very, very popular during Queen Victoria's reign.

-Right.

-Obviously you don't like it.

-No.

Who wants a black tray? Philip? Do you?

Do you like that?

Sadly, I think it's just a nice quality thing.

-Great quality.

-And I think it'll be undervalued today because that's the way the market is.

But if you're going to buy, if you want a papier mache tray,

-you don't want to spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds, this is the one to get, isn't it?

-Yes.

There we go, a very fine piece of Victoriana.

Who's going to start me at £30 for it? 30. 20 to go then.

20. 20 bid. 22 bid. 25. 28.

And 30. 30 bid. 32. 35. 38. Bid 40.

42. 45. 48.

-It's moving up beautifully.

-It's going very well, isn't it?

And five. Bid 70. And five. 75.

Bid 80. And five now.

£80 bid. Five anywhere else though?

Any more bids coming from any other quarter? No. At £80.

We're on the book then and we're selling, make no mistake, at £80.

And it's gone down. That's very good.

-That's better than having it stuffed away in the wardrobe, isn't it?

-Yes.

I think that's a good price cos I was just looking at it on the auctioneer's screen there.

The centre of it is just like a great big black cavern.

It needs to have something in the middle, doesn't it?

-Yeah. That's a good result.

-Yeah.

-Well done.

-Thanks very much.

Phew.

-Crept under the wire with another one.

-Yes.

Well, so far so good. We're now halfway through our auction.

We are coming back later on in the programme so there's plenty more lots

to go under the hammer and hopefully one or two surprises.

Now, while we're up here filming in the area,

I've taken the opportunity to find out about the most famous apple tree in the world.

This tree lies in the grounds of Woolsthorpe Manor here in Lincolnshire.

Woolsthorpe was home to a family of farmers back in the 17th century and when one young farmer's son called

Isaac Newton saw an apple fall from this very tree when he was 23 years old, it changed science forever and

I'm so thrilled to be standing right by this tree because as a schoolboy, I've been fascinated by Newton.

I always associate the name with the theory of gravity and the laws of motion.

He was a philosopher, a genius mathematician and astronomer.

To understand why, we need a better understanding of Newton, and to do that, we need to get

right back to Christmas Day 1642, the day Isaac was born.

To guide me on the journey through Isaac Newton's formative years is University of Sussex professor

and director of the online Newton project, Rob Iliffe.

So this was the room that he was born in.

Yes. He was born here on Christmas Day 1642 and he was a very small baby, probably premature,

not expected to survive and his mother took him to a gentlewoman,

-a lady in a local parish in North Witham, and she evidently saved his life.

-Incredible.

What were his parents like?

His father's someone who's a farmer and his mother comes from a genteel family.

His father was illiterate and died three months before he was born.

So he was a posthumous baby.

And Newton always styled himself as lord of the manor because we're in Woolsthorpe Manor.

So that was something, as he went on in the world, in his later years,

he saw himself as a descendent of that genteel side of the family.

So was he expected to go into farming to carry on the tradition?

Well, that's certainly what his mother wanted

and when Newton was three she went away and married the vicar of the local parish, North Witham.

So for a number of years, he was alone with his grandmother and that obviously had an effect

-on him, you know. He was capable of working on his own.

-Yeah. Very introverted.

In 1654 when Isaac was 11, his stepfather died.

His mother returned to live at Woolsthorpe with her three children from her second marriage.

Isaac was packed off to grammar school just up the road in Grantham.

At this stage, no-one knows the potential in him as a mathematical,

an astronomer and a sort of philosophy genius.

No, not at all. What he's known for is for making little toys

and he's known for being, if you like, a brilliant mechanic, you know, that he made various things

like a wheelchair for himself, he made a fantastic windmill

-and he turned his lodgings in Grantham into a gigantic sundial.

-Did he really?

And people came from all round to see the room that he was in. They were called Isaac's dials.

Incredible. Touches of genius there.

And who knows how much influence his surroundings and upbringing in Woolsthorpe had.

Here in Newton's bedroom, he stayed here until he was 12 years old

and I asked Rob about the reasons behind his rebellion and his determination.

Extraordinarily, towards the end of his life, Newton told a series of stories about how he'd been involved

in fights with the school bully who's almost certainly one of the two brothers that he lived with,

that he lodged with when he was at Grantham and there's one story where he goes to school probably with this

young man and the young man kicks him in his stomach and Newton vows

to get him afterwards and they have a fight and although Newton's much smaller than the larger boy, Newton

gradually beats him up until the bigger boy begs for mercy.

Can't imagine Newton having a scrap.

But it gets worse cos Newton drags him by the ears up to the side of the church

and then grabs hold of his head and smashes his face

against the side of the church until there's blood

and it gets even worse because this guy was ahead of Newton at school

and Newton made it his key thing to get ahead of this boy at school.

And so if you like, as contemporaries said,

it was resentment that made him surge, if you like.

Gosh. Determined character.

Yeah. I think whatever he wants to do, he can do. He is that talented.

Just as Isaac settled down and started doing well, his mother

decided she wanted him back at Woolsthorpe to work on the farm.

She pulled him out of school and away from his studies in 1659.

Despite being gifted intellectually, he was not skilled in practical farming.

In fact, his mother was even apparently offended at his bookishness

and after nine months he returned to school, progressing to Cambridge University.

He got his degree at Cambridge.

What happened after that?

Well, we know that at some point he starts to do his own

independent research and he starts reading all the contemporary works in mathematics and science

and very soon he begins to make novel, creative findings in these areas and just at the point when

he's moving into the forefront of what Europeans know in these fields, there is the plague.

-Right, of course, yeah.

-Right. In the spring of 1665,

-he has to leave Cambridge and he comes back to Lincolnshire.

-Did he come back here?

He probably spent most of his time in Woolsthorpe.

This is the time in the mid-1660s, his annus mirabilis, when he makes his great discoveries.

He discovers that white light is composed of more basic primary-coloured rays.

He discovers the basics of calculus - what we now know as calculus.

At some point during this exile in Lincolnshire, he's probably sitting in this room, the hall, eating...

his lunch, and he looks out of the window and he sees an apple fall to the ground.

That's the moment, the eureka moment.

I'm pretty certain that the apple story that he told towards the end of his life is true.

I think that this was the instigation for him thinking seriously about gravity.

-And that's the tree.

-And that's the tree.

I guess people, thousands of people from all over the world come here as a pilgrimage really, to look at it.

What actually happened 300 years ago?

Well, most people think that an apple fell on Newton's head but actually what Newton says

is that he saw an apple fall to the ground, he was some way away from where it happened,

but from this he had a number of thoughts about gravitation,

and the first one is why does an apple fall straight to the ground?

And what we think he deduces from that is that it falls towards the centre of the earth.

The second thing he wants to know is how far does this force that pulls the apple down reach up?

And if it reaches as far as the moon then he starts thinking well, maybe the moon is in an orbit because

it's moving in a straight line but always being pulled down by this force towards the earth.

And that stands as a basis to making the greatest discovery in the history of science.

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

That discovery was to become Newton's law of gravity.

It seems clear to me that Isaac Newton's rural beginnings here

at Woolsthorpe Manor sowed the seed for his scientific legacy to the world.

Our valuation day's in the grounds of the magnificent Burghley House in Lincolnshire

and Elizabeth's finding out what she can about a painting Brian and his mum Maria have brought along.

-Brian and Maria, and we have here, who's this?

-This is little Zac.

Right. We've come to bring a wonderful painting to the screen

but I know very little about it. What's the story that you have to tell about it?

Well, it's always been on my mum's mantelpiece as long as I remember.

It was passed to my father from his uncle.

-Right.

-So it has been in the family quite a few years.

Father passed away in October.

Before that it was always his wish to take the family abroad so it's kind of

passing the legacy down really to try and probably use it as our kind of leverage to hopefully get abroad.

-That's a lovely thing to do. I'm sure he'd have approved of that, wouldn't he?

-Yes, he would have done.

-Yeah.

Just until recently, you couldn't really see much of the picture.

We had it restored around Christmas time so you can actually see the detail.

I mean, you can even virtually see the people at the front of the boat.

Right. I would say as a general rule, I'd normally advise against that.

If you're going to sell something, because you've obviously spent

good money on having a specialist do good work to it,

it's difficult to recoup that and what people do like to see generally is something that looks like it's

-been hanging on a fireplace for 20 years.

-Right, I see.

I start off with a kind of negative but just that would be the general advice.

Having said that, it does as you say reveal what a strong image that is and walking towards it as I did

and seeing it on the easel, it really stands out as being a lovely composition.

Now, the signature is not an easy one to read.

-You don't know anything about the artist at all, do you?

-Nothing at all.

-Nothing at all, no.

-Nothing at all.

-I think it's about one of the Grebes, one of the Grebe family.

And certainly stylistically, it looks very much late 19th, 20th century Dutch school.

It is very much of that ilk.

I like the composition. I think the eye is drawn.

There's a sort of a triangular formation here with the rigging and the boat which is very strong.

Lots of action and people do like lots of human activity in a painting and the water is very atmospheric

and the sky is very sort of you know, very nice, you can believe it as a painting.

Standing where I'm standing now, I can see the restoration.

I can see the patch particularly here and I'm not meaning to be too

negative about it but just realistic about it.

Consequently, I think we have to be then realistic in sending it to market.

I think we've got to look at it as being 200-400, 300-500, really, as a starting point.

If two people liked it and I mean, it really grabs your attention from a distance, it may well be

that I'm being too pessimistic about it,

but if you're happy to kind of bracket it somewhere in that region

then I think then you've got your holiday almost sort of booked and then anything else is a bonus.

-Yeah, sure.

-Does that make sense?

-Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

I think we'll leave it that we can put an estimate of £300-£500 on it, a £300 discretionary reserve.

The auctioneer will do his best for you on the day.

-OK.

-And let's meet again very soon and see how we get on.

I think that painting could be one to watch, even if young Zac wasn't impressed at all.

Next it's Philip who's found something intriguing, brought along by Tony.

What's in there then?

Well, I brought it along for someone to tell me what it was.

It came from my father.

Presumably it came down to him from somebody else in the family.

It's always been a bit of a mystery.

Might still be.

It's almost like a child's or a miniature sewing accessory set.

-OK.

-Some of these are like sock darners or darners for the end of gloves or that sort of thing.

And these different shaped eggs and ovoids, they're all different darning tools, I think.

They're in different boxwood, possibly bits of mahogany and I think it's really, really cute.

-How did you come by it?

-Well, as I say, it was my father's but how it came into the family, I've no idea.

-From years back.

-Did your dad do a lot of sewing?

No. Perhaps in the Army in the First World War.

I think he might have got a bit of stick if he'd have taken that with him in the Army.

I think it's really, really sweet.

What sort of age would you put on it?

I think it's probably about 1900, 1910.

And I think it will appeal to two types of people really.

If I'm right and it is a sewing accessory then it's going to appeal to sewing collectors.

But whether or not on that front, it'll appeal to someone who collects sort of turned wooden objects.

Have you ever thought what it might be worth?

-No. No idea.

-I don't believe you.

Course you have. Go on.

I didn't even know what it was, so how would I know that? All right then, about £200.

Right. Thank you. No.

You're close. I think you're a nought close and that's not 2,000, it's 20.

-Yes.

-I think you can estimate this at auction at sort of £30-£50.

And I'd put a £20 reserve on it and it will sell all day long cos it's a really sweet little thing.

Are you happy to put that into auction?

-Yes.

-Good man. Thanks for bringing it.

-I really like that.

-What a great thing.

And not at all like most of the sewing sets we see on Flog It!

Now it's Pamela and she's brought in a ring for Elizabeth

-to have a look at.

-Pamela, hello.

-Hi.

-Thank you for bringing this lovely ring in.

-OK.

-What can you tell me about it?

It was given to the family quite a few years ago by an elderly friend.

So is it a piece of jewellery you wear or anybody in the family wears?

It isn't, no. It's quite tiny as you can see, so it doesn't really fit.

No. OK. It is a particularly small shank.

-Right.

-It's made of 14-carat gold and the karat is spelt with a K

so it's continental gold, not English standard gold.

-OK.

-And it's claw-set with this wonderfully cut

pale amethyst which is just quite an unusual colour and that will either

appeal to some people or some people like the richer darker colours, so it's a question of taste really.

-Yeah.

-But as a piece of jewellery, with this very delicate and

decorative mount, it's a nice piece of workmanship really.

-Yeah.

-Do you like it?

-I do like it, the stone, yeah. I like the stone.

You hadn't thought of sort of recommissioning it into something different you would wear?

I only wear silver so I think it would kind of be a bit washed out if it was on silver.

OK. OK. The market at the moment is very strong for jewellery.

-OK.

-People are seeing it as a legitimate attainable investment

whereas perhaps some of the stocks and shares and things

are a bit more elusive these days, people like to be able to see what they're putting their money into.

You use it, wear it, enjoy it.

Because of the size, the colour, the style, it may well be looked upon as an object which somebody would

amend in some way, either to fit better or even because the stone is large enough, convert either to

another ring or even to a brooch or something which was perhaps more wearable these days.

On a bad day I think it would be somewhere in the £70 to £80 region.

On a good day I think up to about 120 so I'd recommend an estimate of between £80-£120.

Put a reserve on it of 80. Would you be happy with that?

That's fine.

We'll make that fixed rather than discretionary. Would you be happy with fixed?

-Yeah.

-But thank you very much for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

-See how we do.

-Thank you very much.

-That's brilliant.

That's all of our items found and ready to take to auction.

Brian and his mum Maria brought in the evocative Dutch painting.

There's also Tony's unusual sewing kit.

And finally, Pamela's big stone small-sized ring.

75. 75. 80. And five.

Well, this is what I love to see,

a packed auction room full of bidders and some wonderful antiques.

I've got a good feeling about today.

Somebody is going home with a lot of money.

I don't know who it is but I've got my favourite and you've probably got yours.

I'm going to catch up with auctioneer Colin Young, the man on the rostrum who's got all

the local knowledge, and see what he thinks about one or two of our items.

Let's go and find him.

This was one of Elizabeth's finds, an amethyst ring.

She's put £80-£120 on it.

Belongs to Pamela.

We've had the chance now to have a closer look at it and catalogue it and I'm afraid it's not an amethyst.

Right, OK. What is it?

Well, amethyst's main country of origin is Brazil and it's

not sort of cut the way that the Brazilian stones would be cut but it is from the same quartz family.

It's actually a rose quartz and probably Scottish.

Does that mean it's rarer?

No, no, no. It's just one of those little technical differences.

Will it make a lot of difference to value? No.

No. Right. OK. But hopefully we're still going to sell this at 80-120.

I think it'll be fine at that sort of level, yes.

-Good.

-Yes.

-Well, let's see if the rose quartz is as popular as amethyst, as the ring is up first.

Right now, something for the ladies. We've got a rose quartz ring going under the hammer.

It belongs to Pamela, hopefully for not much longer, I think,

for one more minute and it won't be yours.

-We've got £80-£120 on this.

-Yeah.

Now, I read the notes and it said the ring was too small for you.

-Yeah.

-But the stone on this ring, I ignored the shank.

The stone is just lovely.

-Nicely cut. Good size.

-Yeah.

So you can put it into a different setting and wear it and enjoy it.

Which is what the trade would do.

A jeweller will buy this.

Yeah, for sure. For sure.

-Well, good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

Lot number 445 is a lady's dress ring set with a faceted rose quartz stone and multiple bids on the book.

We start at 55, 65, 65.

70 anywhere else now? At 65 bid.

70 do I see now? £70 surely? 70 bid.

And five. 75 bid. 80 do I see?

80. At 80 bid. Do I see 80? Is that a yes?

It is. 80. Five or not now. At £80.

Front row has it then. At £80 bid.

Five now surely. Last call then.

Front row has it at £80.

-£80.

-On the nose, yes.

It was quite confusing really cos he said multiple bids and

all of a sudden I thought right, that means it's going to shoot away.

I guess four or five people left £60 each. Similar bids. Are you happy?

-Yes, I am. Yeah. Very happy with that.

-Gone with your estimate.

-Yeah.

-Well done.

-OK. Thank you.

-Well done, you, as well.

-Thank you very much.

Pamela is happy with that. Great.

Next it's the intriguing sewing kit brought along by Tony.

Well, our next lot is certainly a bit of a mystery.

Tony showed me this in the queue at Burghley House and I didn't know what it was.

I said exquisite quality but I'm not quite sure what it was. And I think Philip had the same idea.

I had a much longer look at it and I didn't know what it was either.

I thought it was a game to start with.

No, no. I think it was the thing like a miniature mushroom.

It was like a sock darner.

-To darn around.

-Yeah. And I think, who knows. Somebody here will know, that's the joy of auctions, isn't it?

Yes. It's still a mystery though up until it's sold.

Hopefully the bidders will let us know later. Why are you selling this?

-I wasn't too worried about selling it actually.

-OK.

-I was more worried about finding what it was all about.

-I talked him into it.

Well, it's too late to change your mind cos it's going under the hammer right now.

It's a 19th-century continental beech parquetry box containing a set of miniature

parquetry balls and implements including a darning mushroom and overall it's a darn good lot.

Who's going to start me at £40 for it? 40. 30 to go then. 30.

£30 anyone? 30. 20 if we must then.

£20. 20 at the back. 20 straight in.

At 20 bid. And two now.

22 bid. 25. 28. Bid 30.

32. 35 now do I see?

35. Have another one, madam. 35. You won't find another one today.

35 now.

No. 32. Standing bid then. 32 bid.

35. Fresh bidder.

That's good. Someone over there.

£40 now may I say. Nice round figure? No.

At 38 in the back of the room now.

At £38 bid. Are we all done and finished?

Buyer at the back has it at £38.

-Thank you very much.

-Hammer's gone down. Yes.

-Well done, Philip. Spot on.

-Pleased with that.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

-Happy?

-Yes. Yes.

Another satisfied customer.

And finally, it's that Dutch oil painting.

Right, something for all you fine art enthusiasts.

We've got a wonderful Dutch oil on board. It belongs to Maria.

-Now, unfortunately, Brian your son can't be with us.

-No.

-He can't.

-He's gone to a meeting.

It's got to be important.

-With his boss.

-With his boss. That's important, isn't it?

So we're selling this because you're raising money for a family holiday.

Hopefully, yes. My husband passed away last year.

-I'm so sad.

-He liked the picture but we didn't.

-You didn't.

-No.

-Oh, gosh.

You tolerated it, didn't you?

-You said, yes.

-I like it. I like the subject matter.

I said at the day I like the format, I like the construction

-of the figures and the interest and there's lots of activity on it.

-Yes.

Right, OK. Let's find out what the bidders of Grantham think, shall we, of this Grebe oil painting?

Good luck. Good luck, both of you.

It's going under the hammer right now.

A lot of interest in this already.

We're going to start the bidding at the bottom estimate of £300.

Straight in at 300. And 20 now do I see? At £300 bid.

At 300. 320 now surely. At £300 bid.

At 300. Any more in the room? At 320 on the net.

340. 360 do I see now?

I've got 340 on the net. At 340 in the UK. At 340.

360 in Holland. 380. At 380. At 380.

It could be going back to Holland.

400. £400 bid.

At £400. At 400. 420 now. At £400.

Net has it at £400. We'll go to the telephones next then. 420. 440. 460.

460 anyone now? 460. At 460.

480. 500.

£500 anyone?

500 on the telephone there. At 500.

550 on the net. 600 now.

Incredible. There's a battle between the telephone and the internet.

Six on the telephone.

600 bid. At 600. 650 now.

650. 700 now may I say.

£700 surely. 700 on the phone. £700.

£700.

750. 800 now do I see from anyone? Who's coming in first at 800?

I have 750. Commission bid has it.

800 on the telephones. At 800 bid.

At 800. And 50 now.

-Telephone bid coming in.

-Wow.

No. At 850 on the net then.

At 850 bid. And 900 now. Please turn your telephones off.

At 850. 900. At 900. At 950.

I've got a good facility. It's called vibrate. Put it in your pocket.

1,000 now do I see?

950 bid. 1,000 surely.

He's working this very well.

Yeah. That's brilliant.

1,000 on the telephone. Any more bids now? 1,100. 12?

Do I see 12? I do. 1,200 bid.

13 now. Not unlucky, you know.

I said someone's going home with a lot of money.

Unless you don't bid.

1,300 bid. Thank you.

1,300. 1,400 then now. 14 do I see?

1,400. 15 now surely. 15.

1,500 may I say now?

You know you need it.

At 1,400 then. At £1,400. We're on the phone. You're out on the net.

You're out in the room. Last call then.

-£1,400.

-Selling at £1,400.

The hammer's gone down.

-Brilliant.

-Your husband had a good eye, didn't he?

-You see, he liked that, he saw the value in that.

-He did like it, yes.

That is marvellous, isn't it? Your first auction.

£1,400. There is commission to pay.

-Yes.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Sadly, we've run out of time here in Grantham but what a marvellous way to end today's show.

-Thank you.

-I hope you've enjoyed it as much as Maria has here.

Do join us again for many more episodes to come. There's going to be plenty more surprises.

Whatever you do, keep watching. But for now, from Grantham, it's bye-bye.

-Thanks very much.

-Well done, Maria. That's lovely.

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