0:00:02 > 0:00:04If you had to guess which expert was a rock journalist,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07who lived in LA with the stars, who would it be?
0:00:07 > 0:00:11We'll tell you that and more in today's Priceless Antiques Roadshow.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42One thing I like best about the Roadshow is when our experts
0:00:42 > 0:00:44reveal the hidden history of an object,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47usually a big surprise for the owner.
0:00:47 > 0:00:48In this episode...
0:00:48 > 0:00:50John Benjamin and Geoffrey Munn
0:00:50 > 0:00:53decode the secret language of jewellery.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Thistle is pleasure combined with pain.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01So, a little bit of sado-masochism there.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Roadshow regular Lars Tharp winds back the clock 20 years
0:01:04 > 0:01:07to his first moment in front of the cameras.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12My mother has the complete Lars Tharp recordings on her shelves at home.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16We blow the dust of the first of those appearances,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and we hear about some near-death experiences of the antique variety.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22- A lorry hit our house... - I beg your pardon?
0:01:22 > 0:01:26A lorry hit our house, we had an accident, yeah. I know!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29The vibrations shook it off the wall.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We all love a mystery, especially when something
0:01:34 > 0:01:37is revealed that has been right under our noses for years.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Our jewellery experts Geoffrey Munn and John Benjamin
0:01:40 > 0:01:43can read the hidden messages in jewellery like a book,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and this lost language is invisible to the rest of us,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48but John and Geoffrey are fluent.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I'm completely fascinated by the metaphor of jewellery,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and it's very strange that in the 20th century,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11we seem to have totally lost sight of these meanings.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13They would be as open as an open book
0:02:13 > 0:02:18- 'to our predecessors.'- 'Gems always had their own particular meaning,'
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and also, they have a power about them.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24You know, once upon a time, something like a sapphire
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'would be worn, because the limpid blue was supposed to'
0:02:27 > 0:02:29keep away diseases.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'It's a bit like cataract operation that I'm trying to do'
0:02:32 > 0:02:37day-by-day, to try to tell people what the significance of these...
0:02:37 > 0:02:41slightly covert symbols and metaphors are.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45# It had to be you... #
0:02:45 > 0:02:49One of the oldest love tokens I've seen on the show was an enamelled
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'gold dress ornament in the form of a man's hand'
0:02:51 > 0:02:54with his sleeve, offering a jewel to a recipient.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59This is a hand reaching across time, a hand with a little diamond ring
0:02:59 > 0:03:02on its finger, offering a girl, in the 17th century,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05a ruby and diamond pendant with a pearl on it.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The message there is that it's diamonds for ever,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10rubies for passion and pearls for Venus.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13'Very unambiguous in the 17th century.'
0:03:13 > 0:03:16# It had to be you... #
0:03:16 > 0:03:20In the 17th century, they're very keen, particularly in Shakespeare,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24with illusion, and in Shakespeare, there are plays within plays,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and here is a piece of jewellery within a piece of jewellery.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29That's why it's so exciting to me.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It says it all about jewellery, that it's a distillation
0:03:32 > 0:03:35of what's going on in the fine and decorative arts,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39literature and in music. It's a very high art form indeed.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Not everybody likes reptiles, so why on earth did you choose
0:03:42 > 0:03:44to buy a ring in the form of a snake?
0:03:44 > 0:03:48It was more a case of the jeweller in Northampton about six years ago,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50who knew the sorts of things I like,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53who said, "I've got a ring you'll be interested in." That was it.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57'I think the snake ring at Powys is an interesting object,'
0:03:57 > 0:03:59because in a way, people are touchy about snakes.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02They find them repulsive, and they couldn't understand why
0:04:02 > 0:04:06a snake in the form of a ring would be something for your girlfriend.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08The snake biting its tail, did you think
0:04:08 > 0:04:11there'd be a hidden meaning to all of that?
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I've wondered about it once or twice but I wouldn't know!
0:04:15 > 0:04:16It's a very ancient symbol indeed.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20In fact, the symbol itself is probably 4,000 years old,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24and it was used by the Persians, and it's called the Ouroboros -
0:04:24 > 0:04:29the eternally renewing circle. What this is is a very covert rebus,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31a little hidden message, a message of love.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34This is a gift from somebody to somebody else saying,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- that I love you through all eternity.- Ah, lovely.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42# Wonderful, wonderful roses
0:04:42 > 0:04:45# Magic colours To touch your heart... #
0:04:45 > 0:04:49'The language of flowers is also as old as time, frankly,'
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and it's a very interesting distraction
0:04:51 > 0:04:56in the 18th and 19th century, but you also hear of it in Shakespeare.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58'Every flower had its own'
0:04:58 > 0:04:59particular meaning, naturally,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02'red roses - passion.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'Marigolds - jealousy. Thistle...'
0:05:05 > 0:05:07which I love, is pleasure
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'combined with pain.'
0:05:10 > 0:05:15A little bit of sado-masochism there.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The flower that rules above all others is the rose.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24The rose always stands for love. It's one of the attributes of Venus.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27It's so beautiful and it carries with it the message of pain
0:05:27 > 0:05:31It's the pleasure and pain of love because it's a striking,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35fragrant, beautiful thing but then you prick yourself on the prickles,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39and so it's an emblem of what our human relationships are.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41'It's not surprising that it turns up
0:05:41 > 0:05:45very often in jewellery, and in conjunction with diamonds,
0:05:45 > 0:05:46'it's forever love.'
0:05:46 > 0:05:49It would have said it pretty loud, actually.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53- It's a surprise to you, isn't it?- It is because they were maiden aunts!
0:05:53 > 0:05:56So enduring love - I don't know where they had it from,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58where it came from prior to them in the family.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02The owner had absolutely no idea of its emblematic meaning,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and that was the great fun, to demonstrate to her what it meant,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and I think she actually left the Antiques Roadshow
0:06:08 > 0:06:10richer in her own mind about her property,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12but perhaps richer in a way,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15'in understanding what it meant to her predecessors.'
0:06:16 > 0:06:20We'll be finding out more about the messages concealed within jewellery
0:06:20 > 0:06:21later in the programme.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I didn't know that.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Ceramics specialist Lars Tharp is a master
0:06:32 > 0:06:35when it comes to unravelling a story.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38He's been doing it in front of the Roadshow cameras for 20 years now,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40but even he had to start somewhere.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I was very young, and I was very scared.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Let's now join our experts with the people of Southampton.
0:06:50 > 0:06:57'I was with David Batty, my mentor, the sorcerer and the apprentice.'
0:06:57 > 0:06:59In comes a lady with this little object
0:06:59 > 0:07:02that looks like a, sort of, metallic Tracy Island.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06David looks at this, he's a Japanese specialist and David and I...
0:07:06 > 0:07:09neither of us have seen anything like it before.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12David says to me, "You do this one."
0:07:14 > 0:07:15Good(!)
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Lots of little men...
0:07:17 > 0:07:22crawling all over what appears to be an island of coral.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26'Just to give you a flavour of how it started, it was like this -'
0:07:26 > 0:07:31"Um... Do you have any idea what this is?"
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Do you know which country it comes from?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Um... At a guess, Japan or China. I'm not sure which.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40It's Japanese, and it really is a fantastic piece of workmanship.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43"It's really rather rare...
0:07:43 > 0:07:47"But just because something is rare,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49"it doesn't mean, of course, it's worth a lot of money."
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Do you have any idea yourself?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- No, I really have no idea.- ' "So, I hope you won't be disappointed'
0:07:56 > 0:08:00"when I tell you that I think this really rather unusual piece
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"is worth somewhere in the region of..."
0:08:03 > 0:08:06£5,000 and £8,000.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09'I remember after that show,'
0:08:09 > 0:08:14immediately thinking that people would recognise me in the street...!
0:08:14 > 0:08:16HE LAUGHS
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And of course, it just doesn't happen!
0:08:18 > 0:08:21It takes years before you start getting recognised!
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Even then, people don't know who you are.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Everybody thinks I'm John Sandon!
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Lars has always enjoyed an interest in ceramics,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38but some of our team had very colourful careers
0:08:38 > 0:08:40before being bitten by the antiques bug.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Glass specialist Andy McConnell gave us access all areas
0:08:44 > 0:08:46to his collections and his past.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58I buy glass at a rate which most people would consider to be, kind of,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03dangerous for one's health, financial as well as mental.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07There's no logical reason why anybody should be into glass
0:09:07 > 0:09:11as strongly as I am. I do it because I love it, you know?
0:09:16 > 0:09:22This is my Crystal Palace. I have amassed, over 31 years,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26something in the realms of 30,000 pieces.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36There's hardly any value in this, in terms of money.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38What did I pay for that? No more than a quid.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41That's a pound for that.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44A decanter like that, a fiver.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49It's never going to make me rich, it's never going to do that.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54But it gives me profound satisfaction.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58I suppose it's really down to my parents, it's their fault,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01they were part-time antique dealers, and they would stop
0:10:01 > 0:10:03at every antique shop they ever saw,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06so the deal was I either stay in the car with a bottle of Tizer
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and a packet of crisps, or go in the shop.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12So you go into the shops and you see all this fabulous stuff.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Not only was it pleasing aesthetically, but you could actually
0:10:16 > 0:10:20make a living out of it, not that that crossed my mind at the time.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I was into rock-and-roll! I got into that early
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and stayed with it hard and fast, and it became my job for quite a time.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34I spent four years living in Hollywood,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38touring around with the bands and interviewing the bands and all that.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41For me, it was the best time in rock'n'roll,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and it was all centred on Los Angeles.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50This is me as a rock journalist, circa 1975,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52photographed by Rod Stewart.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55This was minutes before we had the most blazing row
0:10:55 > 0:10:58and he stormed off because he was really about two hours late
0:10:58 > 0:11:01for the interview and I said, "Who do you think you are?"
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And he said, "I think I'm Rod Stewart!"!
0:11:03 > 0:11:06We got in a real fight and it was all over the papers,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08and there was this huge barney.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12This is a story I wrote for Sounds magazine from...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And it's about the development of Jefferson Airplane.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21I remember typing away, you know, and that's sort of a little artefact
0:11:21 > 0:11:23that really changed my life, really.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27# And the ones That Mother gives you... #
0:11:27 > 0:11:30They asked me if I wanted to go on the road with them.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32We went up to Hamburg, Germany.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I had some antiques with me at the time,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37because I was a part-time antique dealer, and I walked in.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40The second shop I walked into to offer my antiques to,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43belonged to this chap Gunther Cram.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49Gunther just said, "You have good taste, Herr McConnell.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54"Perhaps you could bring me karafen and wine glasses from England."
0:11:54 > 0:11:58I said, "Well, I could do, but I know nothing about glass."
0:11:58 > 0:12:01"Neither do I," he said, "but together we'll learn."
0:12:01 > 0:12:07And that was in 1977 and I worked with Gunther for the next 25 years.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18I'm still buying, probably, even greater, faster rate
0:12:18 > 0:12:22than ever before, but what I do now is, I photograph it all,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26because the currency of books and journalism is no longer the word,
0:12:26 > 0:12:27it's the image.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33I was afraid of selling things, getting rid of stuff,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35because, you know, I'd actually lose it,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38but the photograph can reach so many people,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41so I can concentrate on capturing the essence of that piece,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and once I've done so, basically I've got it,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47which lets me release it and pass it on and let somebody else own it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54You watch that as that turns round, and it's like nothing else on earth.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's absolutely fantastic.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59The fire, that's the word we're looking for,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and it knocks pottery and ceramics into touch,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06and silver and any other material. This is why it's so great.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07Oh, I love it!
0:13:11 > 0:13:14The question always is, what's hot, what's coming?
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Everybody wants to be ahead of the market and, from my way of thinking,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23it's Swedish glass designer, Erik Hoglund, who died in 1998.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28He probably did more than anybody else to take glass
0:13:28 > 0:13:32from a point of utility, drinking glasses, decanters and the like,
0:13:32 > 0:13:37to fine art. I think that's fine art, more, beyond decorative art,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39and that's important, that was new.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Another thing that really sets him aside is, I think he's funny,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and I think that's great. (I like funny things!)
0:13:55 > 0:13:57This is the escape route.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00I'm a real fiddler, because I've got so much energy in me,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and the way I dissipate it and touch base a bit is here,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07this is the place where it happens.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11INHALES DEEPLY Breathe it, it's absolutely fab.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Is there life beyond glass? Probably,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21but I haven't reached that point yet, you know? I'm still lost in it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23I'm lost in this void, which is...
0:14:23 > 0:14:26the complexity of the subject that compels me.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37And Andy tells me many of his best buys have been made at boot sales,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39so it's all still out there, but beware,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Andy sets off for the bargains at 4am!
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Earlier in the programme, we cracked some of the hidden codes
0:14:46 > 0:14:48used in jewellery, but there are still a few more
0:14:48 > 0:14:50for our experts to decipher.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53You see bits of jewellery
0:14:53 > 0:14:57that perhaps you wouldn't necessarily quite appreciate
0:14:57 > 0:15:00just how potent they are. A good example of that
0:15:00 > 0:15:03was a key brooch that I did, very recently,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07'where you take the first letter of each gem,'
0:15:07 > 0:15:12and it goes on to spell a word, such as "regard".
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Starting off with ruby, R,
0:15:14 > 0:15:19E, G, A, R, D.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22you know, a lovely message of love and sentiment, regard.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- Or it could be "dearest".- Yes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Or it could be your name spelt out in gemstones.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Which is a lovely idea, this concept of jewellery in the 1820s and 30s,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37we don't have that nowadays, that kind of soppy romanticism.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I found one, 1,000 years ago,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43that spelt my wife's name, Caroline with the first letter of each stone,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and it was the first jewel
0:15:45 > 0:15:46that I gave her.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Love and loss are inextricably linked
0:15:51 > 0:15:53in the language of jewellery.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Now, I have to say, this looks like a very simple ring,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00almost like a wedding ring.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Is it a wedding ring, from your point of view?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- Or, what's the story behind it? - No, erm...
0:16:05 > 0:16:09'I remember a lady with a gold ring that she discovered after digging'
0:16:09 > 0:16:12through her potato patch which is an unusual place to find a gold ring.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16A gold ring engraved on the outside and inscribed
0:16:16 > 0:16:21'within the hoop with a little motto, that dates it to the 18th century.'
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Well, although it does have an appearance
0:16:23 > 0:16:26of a rather simple gem ring, there's something
0:16:26 > 0:16:29slightly more interesting about it, because it's an old mourning ring.
0:16:29 > 0:16:35- Of course, it's very high carat yellow gold.- Oh, it's not.- It is.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39The top of the ring is set with a blue stone,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41and it's not contemporary with the ring.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45These old mourning rings were mounted with little crystals at the tops,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- that often contained a little lock of hair underneath.- Oh!
0:16:48 > 0:16:53That has dropped out, so a jeweller has put this lapis lazuli stone in.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54'This tradition...'
0:16:54 > 0:16:57of people to engrave an inscription in a ring
0:16:57 > 0:17:02and then to plug, in the head of the ring, a little block of hair,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06was so universally popular in this country - today, taboo,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08no one would dream of doing that.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18The highest possible moment ever for mourning jewellery
0:17:18 > 0:17:23was when Prince Albert died in December, 1861, before Christmas.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26It pitched Queen Victoria into a sort of...
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Into a passionate grief that lasted 40 years.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38I assumed it was a Victorian mourning locket, and would have had
0:17:38 > 0:17:42a portrait or lock of hair of the dead person inside.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46She made the wearing of black hugely effective,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50and the wearing of jet and of strange materials
0:17:50 > 0:17:54like bog oak and vulcanite, made of hardened rubber to simulate jet,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and so it was a craze, really.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59We can be absolutely sure that it was made
0:17:59 > 0:18:02for a widow and that sounds a rather strong thing to say,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04but in the Victorian language of flowers,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07ivy, which we see here, is emblematic of marriage.
0:18:07 > 0:18:13- I didn't know that.- Black ivy is a signal that the marriage is over.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20I'd like to show this because I think
0:18:20 > 0:18:24this is just one of those pieces that really does have a symbolism.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27This is a piece that belongs to my wife.
0:18:27 > 0:18:35It's pearls, in a frame of dark pinky, lilac-coloured gems
0:18:35 > 0:18:39and green gems. Green represents hope,
0:18:39 > 0:18:46white represents purity and violet represents loyalty. What's this?
0:18:46 > 0:18:51It's a piece of jewellery that would have been made for a suffragette.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56That for me packs in all of that history, the drama,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00and the beauty of a really delicious piece of jewellery.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04The story goes that
0:19:04 > 0:19:08the green, violet and white, to "give votes to women",
0:19:08 > 0:19:11or green, white, violet, "give women votes".
0:19:11 > 0:19:14And it's really quite comparatively rare,
0:19:14 > 0:19:15but it's something that you do see,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19but people don't very often appreciate the significance of it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I think jewellery is a way into the past.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26You have to put your imagination on these objects and they'll repay you.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30That's true of all the objects we find on the Antiques Roadshow
0:19:30 > 0:19:32and the best thing we can do is paint this room
0:19:32 > 0:19:36round a piece of jewellery, or a piece of ceramic or of glass,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and then it really works, and somehow you've raised a ghost.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45The experts have great noses, not just for wonderful objects
0:19:45 > 0:19:47but also for a good story.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50One of our favourite categories is called the Great Escape,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54where objects nearly didn't survive a traumatic moment in their lives.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57We've been reliving some of those close encounters.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04I think it was about
0:20:04 > 0:20:071941 or '42, a bomb dropped in the house
0:20:07 > 0:20:11opposite where I lived in South Shields,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and when we fought our way along the corridor and the dust
0:20:14 > 0:20:18to what was left of the front door, that was the view that we saw.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Hitler had removed six of the houses.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26The man brought in a pair of earthenware figures about this big.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28'And I think it was his mother'
0:20:28 > 0:20:33had rushed through into the drawing room to say...
0:20:33 > 0:20:36"Look what Hitler's done to my lady!"
0:20:36 > 0:20:39A little bit of the strap had dropped off.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- This lady here.- A little bit of the strap had come off here.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47The little piece of strap lay on the bottom of this figure...
0:20:47 > 0:20:49all my life.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51She wasn't too worried about the fact that...
0:20:51 > 0:20:55the view from her back door was a scene
0:20:55 > 0:20:57'of total devastation.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:00These were standing right next to where the bomb dropped?
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Yes, on a sideboard opposite the window, which was blown in.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Everywhere was covered in dust and grit and bits of stuff,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and the two figures were just standing there on the sideboard.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I've still got the sideboard and the figures.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17- You know why they survived, don't you?- I've no idea.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- It's cos they're German. - Oh, really?- Yes.- I didn't know that.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27It's remarkable that you're so close to a bomb
0:21:27 > 0:21:31that takes up so many houses, you would expect a ceramic object
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- would just be shattered by the impact.- Yes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37But there they are, surviving.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41'There's no rhyme or reason to whether or why...'
0:21:41 > 0:21:43something survives. In my line,
0:21:43 > 0:21:48ceramics clearly are going to get damaged in their lifetime.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Even during peacetime, houses still get the odd knock,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55endangering your porcelain.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57At St George's Hall
0:21:57 > 0:21:59er, last year, I think it was, a lady sat down
0:21:59 > 0:22:04and produced this fabulous, fabulous porcelain plaque.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Straight away, she was...
0:22:06 > 0:22:09'She'd a real bubble about her. She was really, you know,'
0:22:09 > 0:22:12you sort of try to hold people down, she was a giggler.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- SHE LAUGHS - When I was about 13, which would be
0:22:15 > 0:22:18about 20 years ago, a lorry hit our house...
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- I beg your pardon?- A lorry hit our house, we had an accident.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Yeah, I know! We lived
0:22:24 > 0:22:26on a corner and a lorry hit, and the vibrations,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28em, shook it off the wall.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30'You sit there and think,'
0:22:30 > 0:22:33"Lorry, impact, fallen off the wall,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35"hit the floor, and here is this piece."
0:22:35 > 0:22:39'And it was just the... She started laughing and I started laughing,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42'because it should have shattered. It should be in pieces.'
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And there it was, crisp as the day it was made.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50And it's a late nineteenth-century tradition of painting on panels
0:22:50 > 0:22:52that became very, very popular.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56In terms of commercial appeal, for me, it's got everything.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59I think that if it went up to auction,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03it would carry a pre-sale auction estimate of...
0:23:03 > 0:23:07- £2,000 to £3,000.- Oh, OK.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10But I actually think it's the kind of panel that, on a good day,
0:23:10 > 0:23:16I wouldn't be surprised if it started to nudge into the 4,000 figure.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17'Divine intervention?'
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Was someone thinking, "It's not time for this one to bite the dust,"?
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Not all ceramics lead such a charmed life,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36but Henry Sandon thinks every pot deserves a second chance.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38- It lacks the cover. You haven't got the cover?- No.- No.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'There was a wonderful Royal Worcester vase,'
0:23:41 > 0:23:44painted with swans by Charlie Baldwin.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- Unfortunately, it's had a bad break. Did you break it?- No.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50'Well, Henry came across the room'
0:23:50 > 0:23:52at Castle Ashby to have a look at it.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55' "Oh, yes, lovely. Worcester," '
0:23:55 > 0:23:58cos he likes Worcester. And he beamed, bless him!
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- How did you come by it, then? - We farm, and I took some scrap,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05in the pick-up, to the scrap man.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It was raining, so I had a cup of tea in his little caravan,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13and I passed comment on the beautiful colour...
0:24:13 > 0:24:15And he said, "It was OK until my daughter dropped it."
0:24:15 > 0:24:18'I said, "How much do you want for that?" '
0:24:18 > 0:24:22He said, "No, you can have it, my duck, if you want it."
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'And there it was. She saved it'
0:24:24 > 0:24:28from just being smashed up, and bless her for doing that.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30She had mended it, not terribly well mended.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33She thought it was good mending, but it was quite well done.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38- You know what this would be worth in perfect state?- I haven't a clue.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Even without a cover, you're looking at several thousand pounds.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46- Really?- Yes. One of the great pieces of ceramics, this is!
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- Is it, really? - It's worth having it repaired.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- I've done it all right, haven't I(?) - You've done a jolly good job!
0:24:52 > 0:24:57'I didn't want to have it done professionally, because it was'
0:24:57 > 0:24:59such a lovely story behind it,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and to have had it done professionally,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06whereby there was no mark of the story, I thought would spoil it
0:25:06 > 0:25:10for the children or grandchildren, whoever might have it later on.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16We've seen near-misses from the Luftwaffe, lorries, clumsy children,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20but your biggest enemy could be in your kitchen.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Do you put all of your pottery figures in the dishwasher?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Well, when they really need washing, they come up very nicely.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Dishwashers are one of the most horrible things invented. I mean,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40if you put something in a dishwasher which is a good-quality porcelain,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45say, particularly, you could strip off the gold, strip off the colours.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48What an awful thing to do!
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- You're teasing me about the dishwasher, aren't you?- No, really.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56LAUGHTER
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Right, OK. OK, well... Er...
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Well, I...I...I'm lost for words.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04I wouldn't put it in a dishwasher any more. This is
0:26:04 > 0:26:08a particularly tricky enamel, and it doesn't like going in the dishwasher.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11You shouldn't put it the dishwasher. Please don't.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I once had the joy of going into the...
0:26:13 > 0:26:18Buckingham Palace China pantry, where the keeper of the pantry,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23who looks after all the Queen's porcelain, was washing up a service
0:26:23 > 0:26:28in a big plastic bowl with warm, soapy water, washing it by hand,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32treating it with loving care, and that will survive
0:26:32 > 0:26:36for hundreds of years, but it wouldn't if he had a dishwasher!
0:26:36 > 0:26:40The Queen has no dishwasher, I understand. God bless her for it.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45A lesson for us all to take greater care of our precious objects.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49That's about it for this edition. Next time we're reunited
0:26:49 > 0:26:52with some of the most memorable characters in Roadshow history.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57THEY SING THE STARSKY & HUTCH THEME TUNE
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Former host Hugh Scully reveals his top finds
0:27:02 > 0:27:05from 19 years with the show.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08To find items like that, really... It was one of those things
0:27:08 > 0:27:11that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15And David Batty confesses to a secret ceramic passion.
0:27:15 > 0:27:23I find objects fascinating, whatever they are, I'm interested.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Before we go, ever wondered about the biggest reaction
0:27:26 > 0:27:28from an owner on finding their humble possession
0:27:28 > 0:27:32is worth a small fortune? Well, to be honest, we're still not sure,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35but here are a few classics to choose from. Bye-bye.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39- It's got to be £3,500. - That's a lot of money!
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- £4,000.- Wow...!
0:27:41 > 0:27:44# You know you make me want to shout
0:27:44 > 0:27:47# Look, my hand's jumpin' Look, my heart's pumpin'
0:27:47 > 0:27:49# Throw my head back... #
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Gosh. Whoo...!
0:27:51 > 0:27:52£20,000.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57# ..Yeah, don't forget to shout Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
0:27:57 > 0:27:58# Say you will... #
0:27:58 > 0:28:01- You're joking! - So it has warmed you up!- Oh!
0:28:01 > 0:28:04My children played with this when they were young!
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- You're joking!- No!
0:28:09 > 0:28:10- Never!- Yes.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- Good heavens! - About £6,000 would be sensible.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- £4,000.- Gosh!
0:28:17 > 0:28:21- Wow!- £4,000. - That's what it was worth!
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Wow!
0:28:23 > 0:28:24Crumbs!
0:28:24 > 0:28:28# All right! #
0:28:28 > 0:28:31- Quite useful.- Unbelievable!
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk