0:00:02 > 0:00:05After over 30 years, you might imagine our team on the roadshow
0:00:05 > 0:00:08have seen the lot. Not a bit of it. The treasures keep rolling in.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10What are the most exquisite things that we've seen?
0:00:10 > 0:00:13They're coming up in Priceless Antiques Roadshow.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The Antiques Roadshow may have been around for over three decades,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42but I hope you'll agree it's never gone out of fashion.
0:00:42 > 0:00:43Today we're reminded
0:00:43 > 0:00:46of a rip-roaring period of vintage fashion
0:00:46 > 0:00:48that rocked the early 20th century.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Women walking around without corsets
0:00:51 > 0:00:55with just a diaphanous piece of material between you, the man,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57and her naked body.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I mean, it was shocking.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02There's a head-to-head contest as two of our experts
0:01:02 > 0:01:04try their hands at producing their own work of art.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08- For a first effort that's not too bad.- Better than Alastair's?
0:01:08 > 0:01:11I don't know. You'll need to compare the two really, won't you?
0:01:11 > 0:01:13No comparison.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14It looks like a hubcap!
0:01:16 > 0:01:22And ceramics doyen Henry Sandon on his love for English pottery.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Rather erotic to see it.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28I've seen ladies go to watch a potter pull the handle
0:01:28 > 0:01:29and they usually faint.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34A typical Antiques Roadshow sees thousands of visitors
0:01:34 > 0:01:37queuing patiently for advice from our experts.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Some lines are always longer than others.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43We see no end of clocks and watches, books,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47especially autograph collections, and ceramics of all kinds.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48I can tell you,
0:01:48 > 0:01:53getting the specialists in those categories excited takes some doing.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It's absolutely crammed full.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59You get Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Edison,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Jules Verne, Robert Browning.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03That's a very interesting object.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's a Chinese Ming jug.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I think you're going to make my day!
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Jolly good!
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Yes, you have, definitely.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13That is superb.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20There's an inherent problem with watches, particularly.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23They were very expensive when they were first made
0:02:23 > 0:02:25and they've always been expensive.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29So the chances of finding something important on a roadshow
0:02:29 > 0:02:30are fairly rare.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32The ones that have come up
0:02:32 > 0:02:35on the occasions when I've been on the programme,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37I can remember pretty precisely.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41This type of watch was made specifically for the Chinese market.
0:02:41 > 0:02:42I'll explain why in a minute.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44It is of the best quality really,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48I think it's obvious from this enamel painting that it really is superb.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51It was completely un-English in taste. Incredibly rich enamelling.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It was a stunning piece. I couldn't believe it.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57A make-my-day sort of object.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The figures admittedly are a little bit doe-eyed.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04It's slightly romantic in its feel.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Nevertheless the palette, the colours and the execution is terrific.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13These watches were made, some in England and many more in Switzerland.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Actually, as presents initially, taken out by the British
0:03:17 > 0:03:20when we were trying to get into favour
0:03:20 > 0:03:22in the courts in China in the 18th century
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and then later as commercial items,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27which were sold in their many thousands.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Although the top quality ones always remain rare
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and were usually sold only to the Emperor's court.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36This type would certainly have been made for a mandarin,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38possibly for presentation,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43possibly as a gift from a visiting ambassador.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46- Really? - Do you have any connections with...?
0:03:46 > 0:03:52No, I don't know of any diplomatic personnel in my family or bank,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56but I wondered where in fact I got my diplomacy from.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57LAUGHTER
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Now the valuation. I've been giving it some thought.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- You'd like to have an idea? - Certainly.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07I thought about 10, but I think probably 12,000.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Good gracious!
0:04:08 > 0:04:1015,000 for insurance, certainly.
0:04:10 > 0:04:1215,000 for insurance!
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Where's the insurance man, quickly?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I think probably over the years I've been doing this show
0:04:18 > 0:04:23that watch was definitely the finest decorative watch I've ever seen.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Good watches are rare.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Important autograph albums even rarer.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Expert Clive Farahar sees many famous names.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34This is a remarkable collection of three letters
0:04:34 > 0:04:38in the very typically violet handwriting of Lewis Carroll.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42This one of Ernest Shackleton, this is particularly good.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45But even he was amazed by this example.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48This was my grandparents' autograph album,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51which was all put together long before I was born.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Did they know everybody?
0:04:53 > 0:04:56My grandmother was a member of the Royal Academy...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58That's a good start, I suppose.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And my grandfather was a cleric, also a barrister,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02who also stood for Parliament.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05That's why we've got introduction to the politicians
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- that are in that autograph album. - Yes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11My first thoughts on seeing what might have been an ordinary album,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15was, "OK, well I can do this one quite quickly."
0:05:15 > 0:05:18But as I got into it, as I started turning the pages,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21I realised that it was an extraordinary album.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25I mean, it's absolutely amazing. It's absolutely crammed full.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29You get Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Edison,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Jules Verne, Robert Browning.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Rudyard Kipling's signature is not going to be an awful lot of money,
0:05:34 > 0:05:35sort of £40 or £50.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Thomas Edison, much, much better.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Robert Browning again, he's quite important and quite rare.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42He'll make quite a bit of money.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46It's just amazing how many people there are actually here.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48The whole Gladstone family on this side.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53The importance of the album is that it showed the great flowering
0:05:53 > 0:05:57of the British Empire before the First World War.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00It was just full of the great and the good.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03So it's a rather glorious piece.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Look here! We've got Thomas Hardy, Mark Twain,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Nellie Melba, Holman Hunt,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Paderewski and dear old Ellen Terry.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17There is a page that is going to be incredibly valuable really.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20We're approaching many thousands of pounds. Where do you keep it?
0:06:20 > 0:06:24- At my mother's house. - At your mother's house!
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- Well, if she knows it's worth that, will it frighten her?- Terrify her.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29You'd better not tell her.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34But more than any other object,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37we see thousands of ceramics at every roadshow.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Today there are eight specialists dedicated to this huge category.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Doing ceramics on the roadshow is actually quite hard work,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55because that seems to be what everybody has.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57In this country especially.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Ceramics just come at us in enormous waves.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06The vast majority of ceramics has very, very little value.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11However, those of us who are interested in Chinese ceramics,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13we know that one day,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17a really, really important piece of Chinese porcelain
0:07:17 > 0:07:19might just come across the table.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20Very simple.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24On this occasion, former ceramics expert Hugo Morley-Fletcher
0:07:24 > 0:07:25was the lucky one.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's a very interesting object.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Perhaps the most speculative and fascinating piece
0:07:30 > 0:07:35that has appeared on the Antiques Roadshow in the whole series.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37In fact, it's not going to be possible
0:07:37 > 0:07:40for us to give you a precise evaluation of it -
0:07:40 > 0:07:43there are only four or five people in this country
0:07:43 > 0:07:44at the moment who probably could.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Each of us has specialities in certain fields.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Just occasionally something will come in
0:07:50 > 0:07:54that falls outside your major field of comfort.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55On this particular occasion,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Hugo, who knows a thing or two about Chinese ceramics,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01was given this white jug.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It's a Chinese Ming jug, I think.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08I think it was most probably made at the end of the 15th century.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10There is an alternative
0:08:10 > 0:08:15that it was made in the 18th century in the Ming style.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19But there are reasons why I don't think that.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23The very grey glaze which is slightly pooly and streaky
0:08:23 > 0:08:25is what one would expect.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30When we look inside, there's a great deal of pooling in the glaze,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33which is indicative of that sort of date.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I think if it was an 18th century copy,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38the glaze would be much more efficiently put on
0:08:38 > 0:08:39and much more even.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43So we're in a hopeful situation of it being old.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46What would a person expect it would be worth?
0:08:47 > 0:08:50I really don't know. I'm not the ultimate expert.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53There are only four or five people in this country
0:08:53 > 0:08:54who can tell you really.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Normally we wouldn't want to record an item
0:08:57 > 0:09:00if we didn't feel we knew what it was.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02But there are moments on the roadshow
0:09:02 > 0:09:06when a potentially extremely valuable object comes in
0:09:06 > 0:09:08where you simply have to point out,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10"Look, this is a very difficult subject.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14"We can't give you a snap answer. We need to check it up."
0:09:14 > 0:09:17It was slightly outside Hugo's comfort zone,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20so he said, "I'm going to have to do some research on this."
0:09:21 > 0:09:25So, was it real or reproduction?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27It was some weeks later that Hugo came back
0:09:27 > 0:09:30to tell presenter Angela Rippon what he'd discovered.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Hugo, when we were at Ely, he pounced on this very ordinary looking ewer,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38this jug, as something that might be rather special.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41I think you described it as being speculative.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43You've had it for a couple of weeks.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Does it come up to expectation?
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Well, I'm glad to say, it does.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50It has been shown to museum people
0:09:50 > 0:09:52and compared with one in the British Museum,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55which is the only other one of its kind in this country.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01It would appear that it is what I hoped it was, a very early Ming jug.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05What sort of value are you going to put on something like that?
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Now I suppose £8,000 to £12,000.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11If you think that was exciting back than,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14over 30 years later, our ceramics experts tell us
0:10:14 > 0:10:19that Ming jug would be worth upwards of £200,000.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22You'll be the first to know if another comes in.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26It's fair to say Roadshow favourite Henry Sandon would be just as happy
0:10:26 > 0:10:29to get his hands on a fine piece of English ceramic.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32So, what or who sparked his passion for pots?
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I had some lessons from one of the English great potters,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Geoffrey Whiting of Worcestershire.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47I went to the evening institutes
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and he tried to teach me to make pots. I was never very good.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55But what it did do was to teach me to appreciate a good pot.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58He made this pot for me.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00And it really sums up his work.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05It sums up English pottery, of the great medieval tradition.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07It's like a great medieval flagon really.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Formed by hand, of course, hand-thrown.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13And then a fantastic handle put on it,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16which is there permanently for ever more.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Fixed at the top, fixed at the bottom.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22To see Geoffrey Whiting, or any great potter,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26pull a handle from raw clay stuck up the top there
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and then pulled down
0:11:28 > 0:11:33is one of the most miraculous things you could ever see in human life.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36And it's rather erotic to see it.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I've seen ladies go to watch a potter pull the handle.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43And they usually faint and fall on the floor,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47because they're so shocked by it. It's a wonderful thing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:53I've learned more from watching him make a pot than anything at all.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Who'd have thought that potting could get erotic?
0:11:57 > 0:12:02Stand by for Henry immortalised as a Toby jug in a couple of days' time.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04I know Henry found that experience fascinating
0:12:04 > 0:12:08and two of our other experts have recently taken the opportunity
0:12:08 > 0:12:10to try their hand at a spot of craftsmanship.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Silver specialist Alastair Dickenson and Ian Pickford
0:12:13 > 0:12:14went back to school.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25We brought them to an historic workshop in Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Very attractive, isn't it?
0:12:26 > 0:12:31I don't know quite what we've let ourselves in for here.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I've never hammered a piece of silver in my life.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- It's really pretty, isn't it? - Yes, isn't it brilliant though?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43It hasn't changed since Ashby acquired it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47CR Ashby, one of the leading lights of the Arts and Crafts movement,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50brought a team of craftsmen here in 1902.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53George Hart was one of the original silversmiths
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and his descendants still run the business today.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Julian, hello. Good to see you again!
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- I'm Alastair.- How do you do? Welcome to Ashby's workshops.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Raring to go.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Making silver is something I actually did many years ago.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10I hate to say it was more than 30 years ago.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13It's something I think is terribly important actually -
0:13:13 > 0:13:17to really understand a subject, you've got to get your hands dirty.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23You can't really understand something properly until you've done that.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- Today we're going to get you to try and make one of these bowls.- Right.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30This isn't exactly the same but it's the sort of thing we're after.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Effectively, by the end of the day, you should have something along those lines, with a bit of luck.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Are you an optimist?
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Ever the optimist!
0:13:38 > 0:13:41We just take a piece of silver and cut it out with a pair of snips.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Follow the line all the way round.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49I hope it's going to be like riding a bicycle but we will see.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55One of the last things I ever made was actually that - my wedding ring and my wife's wedding ring.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57And they're made out of the same piece of gold.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01You'll find it's harder than you think. Your fingers will start aching by the time you're half way round.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04These are the hands that have strummed 1,000 chords, you know,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08on various guitars over the years, so...
0:14:08 > 0:14:15It was by accident I got into silver because I was at Phillips Auctioneers as a general porter.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21One day I went to look at a china fairing that had just made a world record price.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24I picked it up to see if it had marks on it.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27When I turned it over, it fell out of my hand and dropped
0:14:27 > 0:14:33and smashed on to a tray of other fairings - including one that also surpassed the previous world record.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38Having offered my resignation, it was luckily rejected.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42I was put into a department where I couldn't break anything!
0:14:42 > 0:14:47The next stage is to start making it slightly bowl-shaped.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Just literally start hammering round here...
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Going round it slowly, forming the shape up.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59There we go. The very beginnings of the bowl.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04So this is probably the same technique that has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07A thousand years. Ever since sheet metal was starting
0:15:07 > 0:15:10to be worked by hand, it has been done in exactly the same way.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14And this particular tree trunk, has this been here ever since...?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Well, we have got photographs of the workshop in 1902,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and it is the same tree trunk in the same place in the floor.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Never been moved.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26In't it incredible to think that all those pieces we see by Ashby in
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- the Guild Hall, they have worked on that?- Absolutely. Astonishing.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38- What a professional!- Can you be quiet in the cheap seats, please?
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Really give it some welly. It is surprising.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46I am going to bang my thumb if I do that.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Is that good enough?
0:15:51 > 0:15:52You'd probably manage at that.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- Let the professional do it. - Come on then.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06- Coming along. - Yes. And for a first effort...
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Better than Alastair's, isn't it?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I don't know. You will need to compare the two, really.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14It looks like a hubcap!
0:16:14 > 0:16:17THEY LAUGH
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Ian and Alastair now have to heat the silver to make it easier to work.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25But how does Julian think they are doing so far?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27They are not doing too badly for a first attempt.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Don't tell them that, mind!
0:16:31 > 0:16:33But they seem to be getting on OK.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36We'll go and pop them down on the side.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39We will see how they fare when it comes to doing a bit of raising.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41That is when the real test will be.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49You can see how it starts to pull the shape in.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51You have now got that sort of step in there.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Do you want to go lie down? This might take me some time!
0:16:54 > 0:16:57THEY LAUGH
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Oops! Miles out. - That is it. Now to the right.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04You need to go quite fast, as I did.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09- Right, that will do you for now. - Going back to a flat sheet!
0:17:09 > 0:17:12THEY LAUGH
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Not quite the same as mine, but...
0:17:16 > 0:17:17You're getting there.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26It now takes several hours of painstaking work to repeatedly heat,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29cool and shape the bowls under Julian's watchful eye.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Ian and Alastair just have time to solder on a base for their bowls and
0:17:33 > 0:17:36give them a quick polish before the end of the day.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44- That is the texture. - The textured look!
0:17:44 > 0:17:47It is more like the corrugated look!
0:17:47 > 0:17:54Perhaps it is better, you are the experts, if you judge and see how well you think you have done.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58I mean, that is my simple effort.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03- To be fair, Ian has done some before.- This is true.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05And it does show, to be honest. Not a bad effort, as they say.
0:18:05 > 0:18:12- Thank you.- You begin to realise why, in the 18th century, they had to be apprenticed for seven years.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Yes.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17When we do the Antiques Roadshow,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21and we look at hundreds of things in that day,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I will never look at a piece of silver quite in the same light.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30Today has absolutely transformed my views on silver.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41Now, we have noticed a growing trend on the Antiques Roadshow for collecting vintage clothes.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44And our specialists are no strangers to fashion. Apart from the ever-stylish Penny Britain,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Hilary Kay and Katherine Higgins, the men don't do too badly, either.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59It is the Swinging '60s we often think of as a time of radical change on the fashion scene.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01But a number of visitors to the Antiques Roadshow
0:19:01 > 0:19:06have brought in beautifully preserved outfits from the Roaring '20s.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11It was this era that probably signified the biggest change for fashion in the 20th century,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15when women in particular were flinging off the shackles of the past.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24I would like to introduce Lucy, who has very kindly agreed to wear one of your most beautiful outfits.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Those dresses symbolised a great deal in fashion.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33No longer were they constrained by these high Edwardian ideals, these nipped-in waists.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37We were looking at the garcon look, which in fact was
0:19:37 > 0:19:41a very unfeminine look in many ways, but actually, quite a sexy look.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46So I often think what you can't see, actually, makes it far more interesting.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50This is a very typical mid-'20s flapper dress, I suppose.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Very glamorous, very nicely decorated with rhinestones.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56- Sparkling very well.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And silk and chiffon, very, very fragile.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It makes you wonder how the flappers did all they are supposed to have done!
0:20:02 > 0:20:07Maybe Lucy can give us a quick turn, and you can see how beautiful it is with the lace.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Very, very lovely.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13It was a wonderful age in terms of the way women's clothing moved forward.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18It showed a brave new world, I think, for females.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22And that little collection signified that quite well.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Those flapper dresses, covered in rhinestones, the geometric looks.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I could just imagine a mid-'20s lady going out on the town looking like that,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35town looking like that, bright red lipstick, the dancing, the cocktails.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37That was what it was all about.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39But even the men, they were looking more casual.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41They were wearing their sportswear.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45They were getting out of their suits and wearing V-neck jumpers
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and brogues and things.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51It was a great age.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54But flapper dresses weren't the only shocking new look of the '20s.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Some designers went further.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Here Eleanor is wearing the Fortuni gown.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Isn't it fantastic?
0:21:02 > 0:21:05I have to say, I have never seen it looking better.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Even when I was wearing it!
0:21:07 > 0:21:09I think it's beautiful.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13When the Fortuni dress appeared at the Amsterdam roadshow,
0:21:13 > 0:21:14it looked like nothing at all.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16It was just screwed up in a box.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17And it needed to be worn.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21And we looked around to find somebody who was tall enough and slim enough
0:21:21 > 0:21:25to do it justice, and fortunately, I have to say, David Batty's daughter
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Eleanor was there, and with very little prompting, she said, "Yes, that's fine."
0:21:29 > 0:21:31The only difficulty was trying to get her out of it at the end.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32She just loved it!
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Fortuni was very influenced in his early career
0:21:37 > 0:21:41by the aesthetic movement, by the pictures and paintings of
0:21:41 > 0:21:48Alma-Tadema, and what he wanted to do was make something that was beautiful but was also very unstructured.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51How does it feel to wear?
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Um... It's comfortable.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58For the first ladies who put them on, they said it felt as if they had nothing on, because it was
0:21:58 > 0:22:01so liberating.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09It was very radical.
0:22:09 > 0:22:17If you think about stitched up, buttoned-up, corseted up women's fashion of
0:22:17 > 0:22:24the latter part of the 19th century, then to have this movement, which was corset-less, it was shocking.
0:22:24 > 0:22:31Women walking around without corsets, with just a diaphanous piece of material between you, the man,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35and her naked body, with just a few cords to keep it together, it really
0:22:35 > 0:22:40was an extraordinary movement and the development of women's fashion.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45They are quite rightly, I think, really sought after, not only by
0:22:45 > 0:22:49museums but also, actually, by people who want to wear them.
0:22:49 > 0:22:55- Oh, really, OK.- Well, the value of this, I would have said between £1,800 and perhaps £2,500.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56Oh!
0:22:58 > 0:23:02We see our fair share of dresses from this era brought into the roadshow.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I have got to do this.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I can just imagine this being worn in the '20s.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13But 100-year-old shoes are quite a different proposition.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16So Katherine Higgins was delighted to see a rare and unusual collection
0:23:16 > 0:23:20brought in by a pair of young visitors in 2004.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24It is so nice to have antiques to use.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I can see you two modelling the most dashing pair of shoes
0:23:27 > 0:23:30on your feet. Where do they come from?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34My great-grandad and great-grandmother owned a hardware shop in Norfolk,
0:23:34 > 0:23:42and then they bought a shop next to it, which was a shoe shop.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46And upstairs in the attic, they found all of these shoes.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48I think it would be hard for me to say that a girl seeing a collection
0:23:48 > 0:23:53of shoes wouldn't be excited, and I was the typical girl seeing shoes.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55It was exhilarating, really.
0:23:55 > 0:24:02Not only to see the shoes, but to see so many pairs of them, and to see them still in their original boxes.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05The other amazing thing was, weren't they in fabulous condition?
0:24:05 > 0:24:12Some of these actually date back to the Edwardian era, so we're talking about 100 years ago, really.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15How do they feel? You are actually modelling the shoes.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17- They are actually really uncomfortable!- Oh dear!
0:24:17 > 0:24:22I remember Katherine saying that, she said something like fashion
0:24:22 > 0:24:26always turns around. And it is true.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Because my friend has a pair of shoes like the lace-up ones,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34practically exactly the same as the ones we brought on the show.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Well, generally, these go for round about £100 for the early issues with the original laces.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41That is for a pair.
0:24:41 > 0:24:48And then these later Edwardian into the '20s era shoes,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50anything between £65-£70 a pair.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53And you have got how many pairs, did you say?
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Around 40.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Right. So, that is
0:24:57 > 0:25:00nearly £4,000 or so, maybe?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02As much as that, possibly.
0:25:02 > 0:25:08When Katherine was saying how much they would cost, I didn't realise that we had so many
0:25:08 > 0:25:11of them until they were all put in front of us.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15I just couldn't believe that I was surrounded by so much money!
0:25:15 > 0:25:20They were sold at an auction, and they went for around £55 each.
0:25:20 > 0:25:26Unfortunately, the rest of them, due to snow, they got damaged in the garage.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31But we did manage to save some of them, so it is not all bad.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33I have a question to ask you.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Do you think they will come back in fashion?
0:25:36 > 0:25:41I think they are very contemporary now, actually.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42It is only the heel that maybe looks a little bit more dated.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I think you could go out on the street wearing those now,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49or you could go to school, and think your classmates would think you're very trendy.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Or not.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54If I did go to school in the shoes, I think all my friends would say,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57"Where are your shoes from? They're really nice.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Whereas before, I thought they were horrible.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It just goes to show, keep anything long enough and it will come back into fashion.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05That's what I tell myself, anyway!
0:26:05 > 0:26:09But it is not just clothes that are shaped by the times we live in.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13There are some objects that shriek their age at first glance.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17One such piece is fondly remembered by one of our nattiest dressers, Mark Allen.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30I have to say, this must be one of the most incongruous objects that has arrived at the airfield today.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34I'm feeling a little bit out of place sat around this dining-table.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38The day I was at East Kirkby, and an Eero Saarinen tulip table turned
0:26:38 > 0:26:44up was quite a joy for me to experience, because I was in a very strange situation.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46There I was on a Second World War airfield, and I had something that
0:26:46 > 0:26:53was so surreally out of place within that context that I had to do it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55What made you buy it?
0:26:55 > 0:27:01I saw a picture in a magazine, in 1967.
0:27:01 > 0:27:07We had just got married, and all other tables were square, brown jobs.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Well, you were obviously thinking along very trendy lines at the time, because this is a very trendy table.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14And still is now, in fact.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19This table was designed by a Finnish architect and designer called Eero Saarinen.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24He designed this table in 1956, and do you know the name of the table,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27the design of it?
0:27:27 > 0:27:29- Tulip?- Tulip, absolutely correct.
0:27:29 > 0:27:37Saarinen stands out for me because he is one of the best of Scandinavian designers. Forward-thinking.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42He was producing items that were so far ahead of the time, he wanted things to be uncomplicated.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45He was moving things forward, pushing things into other realms,
0:27:45 > 0:27:51and that table kind of signifies a brave new post-war world.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Despite the age of the design, they're timeless still.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57People really do appreciate this.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01And it is still very much in vogue now, that is why these pieces are still being produced.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Had you ever thought about current value?
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I know it is not worth very much.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11It is interesting you should say that, because you are actually quite right. They are not worth fortunes.
0:28:11 > 0:28:17You could buy a table like this at auction currently for around about £200-£300.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19And you are probably going to play a similar amount for the chairs.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21But we have enjoyed it.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25That is what is important, and I have really enjoyed talking to you about it.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Thank you very much indeed.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34There is a lesson there. A classic piece of design isn't just functional, but a timeless asset.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Join us again next time for some more revealing
0:28:37 > 0:28:40moments from the archives on Priceless Antiques Roadshow.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:43 > 0:28:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk