Antiques Roadshow 2025 - Thirlestane Castle 3
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Today we've come to Fellstane Castle, built in the 16th century outside the
00:08Tyne of Lauder in the glorious Scottish Borders. And I've opted for a rather
00:12grand mode of transport in which to arrive, a sedan chair no less.
00:17Well, I was gonna travel in it but apparently I'm too heavy. But here's someone who did.
00:26Look at this, the 14th Countess of Lauderdale in all her finery. And our
00:33experts are keen to cast an eye over the fine items our visitors have brought us
00:38today. The last thing I'd expect to see in Scotland at Fellstane Castle is a tiger.
00:44I'm gonna sort of put my opinion on the line and say it's probably 15th century.
00:49Oh my goodness! The stones are emeralds. Oh great! As long as you keep this you'll
00:59never be short of brass. Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow at Fellstane Castle.
01:08Got this gorgeous brooch here. How did you acquire it? Charity shop in with a lot of other
01:32costume jewellery. Yeah. And it just didn't feel like costume jewellery. Okay. What does costume
01:37jewellery feel like? Very light. Right. Yeah. And this has got a bit of weight to it hasn't it?
01:41Yeah. And do you wear it? No. Oh no. Oh dear. The clasp was broken. Yeah. When I bought it and I took that to a little
01:50jewellers and asked if he'd mend the clasp and he did and I asked was it worth anything and he said
01:56not really. He says but if you're selling it I'll buy it for £50. Oh right. And I thought if he wants
02:03to buy it for £50 it's probably worth a little bit more. The style of this brooch really does show a
02:11lot of hidden meaning within it. Okay. So you've got sapphires, the blue stones which represent devotion
02:17in the language of gemstones. Okay. And diamonds represent everlasting eternal love. Okay. So you've
02:23got a very devotional and romantic piece of jewellery. Right. But you may have noticed as well that the
02:29mounts are two entwined hearts. That's what I seen when I first looked at it. Yes. So perhaps it was
02:35given as a marriage gift. Right. By the betrothed and you know to celebrate the marriage which is
02:42which is lovely isn't it? Date wise we're looking round about 1870. Oh wow. Yeah maybe 1880. Right.
02:49It's mounted in gold at the back. The brooch pin is gold that gives it nice strength and then around
02:54the top you've got silver to give some brightness to the stones as well. I've had a good look at the
02:59brooch and unfortunately there isn't a maker's mark on it but during the 19th century it wasn't
03:04essential to mark jewellery. No. It was in a box of costume jewellery and how much did you pay for that?
03:10£2.50. So as far as value is concerned it's got everything going for it. If it came up for auction
03:16I think we'd be looking at an estimate of two to three thousand. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.
03:32I just wasn't expecting that. Not at all. Maybe more than 200 pounds because I've had it a while
03:39but never in the thousands. Here's the spur. Where's the horse? I wish I knew. Probably long gone I'm afraid.
03:55This is a beautiful Raoul's spur that was handed to be my grandad sadly we lost him two years ago
04:03and this is his one last puzzle to me and I thought I would bring it here for you to help answer a few
04:10questions. Okay but first where did he get it from? So the story's a little bit murky. We know it came
04:17from Selkirk which is a town about half an hour drive from here. It was found on a we think in a
04:24building site by a builder. Was it? And this was given to my grandad because he was a kind of champion
04:31of local history. Everyone knew if you found something that you didn't understand or you wanted
04:38to know more about you'd come to Papa Rich. You'd come to Papa Rich. It's just got so much going hasn't it?
04:45I mean exactly. I mean spurs have been made for centuries. They're still in use today and when
04:52fitted properly and used humanely they shouldn't harm the horse. This one's made of iron. It's got a
04:58little bit of rust. I mean just look at it it's got this section we call the yoke playing on this side
05:05but hey look at this side it's sort of conjoined seas with like a chevron device. It goes to what we
05:13call the heel which again has these wonderful sort of uplifts with little scrolls with little spurs
05:20on those and then this incredible rowel this big wheel. Look at that it still spins. I'm going to sort
05:28of put my opinion on the line and say it's probably 15th century. Oh my goodness.
05:34value. I'm finding that difficult. Find me another one. I'm going to put five to eight
05:42hundred pounds on that. That is yeah ten times what I thought it'd be worth so that's absolutely
05:50incredible. This is something that means so much to me and I think so much to my family. Yeah. Thank
05:56you so much. I felt a connection to my grandfather and I can feel myself tearing up now. It was
06:06it was never about how much it was worth. It was about the story because that's what my grandad left
06:12me. He left me a new story. A new story to uncover and a new story to share.
06:27Now we usually have quite a few friendly little furry faces joining us here at the Antiques Roadshow
06:32and today we have some in painting form. So do you own these pictures because you are a dog lover?
06:38Well I am a dog lover but they're in my collection because some of the paintings came from my mother's
06:45side and some from my father's side. But that's lovely. So this is an artist called Sam Fulton. I
06:49recognized him straight away because there are very few artists who painted dogs as well as he did.
06:54And Fulton is known as sort of one of the periphery figures in the Glasgow boy movements. They were
06:58practicing around the sort of late 1800s and these works I suspect would date from sort of yeah around
07:04that kind of 1880 period 1890s. I think particularly these works are lovely examples of his ability to
07:11capture temperament and personality. So we've got this lovely little Jack Russell who's you know bags
07:16of character here. He's looking a bit fed up of sitting for his master and then peeking out here
07:22a lovely little West Highland Terrier. Again sort of you can get a real impression of what his little
07:27temperament was like. You can see in the brushwork some of this sort of Glasgow boy texture and
07:32technique. I think that's the giveaway for me this kind of foreground here. So in terms of value I think
07:38you'd be looking at this little chap on his own perhaps around a thousand to fifteen at auction but
07:43a work like this slightly larger two to three thousand at auction.
07:47Well okay. And is that the kind of sort of what you were expecting? No a lot more than I'd thought.
07:55No idea really but yeah. I have four grandchildren and we have four big things so maybe one of each will
08:03eventually go to them. That would be lovely. Thank you so much. Thank you, thanks.
08:11So this is a story all about the cold. It's an Antarctic story and what we have here
08:16is a letter and it's quite a special letter isn't it. Can you explain to me what the letter's about
08:20please? The letter is a thank you letter to my father because he gave some mohair rugs to the
08:26Antarctic expedition in 1956. What we've got here is a letter from the base obviously which is stamped
08:33and the postmark says the 29th of February 1956. The base I believed opened on the 15th of January just
08:39over a month earlier. It says in very faint lettering here first day of operation of Halley Bay Post Office.
08:47So what you have got is an official first day cover from the base and so basically the base opened.
08:54Your father supplied mohair blankets to the expedition. Yes. But what was your father's connection
09:02with making mohair blankets? He had a textile mill in Galloway called Cree Mills and he made mohair
09:10scarves, rugs, blankets. And that's what this label is here. So this is Glen Cree, all mohair,
09:18Cree Mills. So this is made in your father's mills. So this isn't one of the actual blankets. No,
09:23this is the one that we had. And would this have been exactly the type of blanket that
09:28was sent to the expedition? Yes, it would. And the base was set up obviously primarily for scientific
09:33study. But this letter and this little envelope is what I call postal history. It's not immensely
09:40valuable. I think it's worth maybe two or three hundred pounds. Yes. But I think the story behind it
09:47is absolutely fascinating. Lovely. Thank you so much for bringing it along. Thank you. Thank you.
10:01The last thing I'd expect to see in Scotland at Firstane Castle is a tiger. I bought him locally
10:08only about 20 years ago and he lives in Arlenhunge. We have like a pile of palm that he sits under so he
10:16feels comfortable. So he's almost in a jungle environment. Yes. It's colourful, it's decorative.
10:23It's a wooden frame and then it's covered in leather. The paint looks rather fresh but it's not
10:31really old but it's just different. Where did you get it from? Just an auction locally. I only paid about
10:38120 to 150 pounds or in total. And for some who like it, it's worth 500 to 800 pounds. Wonderful.
10:52Have you come before? We've come all the way from Canada to see the road show live. We've watched it
10:58for so many years on TV in our homes, so. Well, all I can say is welcome to the reality. It's the real
11:06thing. Exactly. So you've brought us a matchbox holder. Yes. This is celebrating the coronation of
11:13George and Elizabeth in 1937. And of course, it's an advertising one, which makes it unusual. And this
11:22is a pub in Maidstone in Kent, which is in the southeast. Fremlins were the brewery in those days.
11:29And so probably these were issued in quite small numbers just for clients of the pub. But it's the
11:34advertising that makes it interesting to a collector. And we're looking at about 30 to 40 pounds.
11:40Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you so much for coming. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
11:44What an unusual item you brought in today. I mean, we don't see that many ice axes here.
11:59It's such an interesting item with all these signatures. Well, this actually comes from Austria.
12:04This is a Stubai axe. How did you get it? I was in Mountain Rescue Service in the RAF,
12:10and I collected books and interesting items. And I bought this from a bookshop that specialised
12:17in getting items signed. It just appealed to me. At the time, Sir Edmund Hillary was alive.
12:25You know, as far as mountaineers go, he was probably the greatest. But you've got some other
12:30great signatures here as well. Yep. Starting here, we've got Kurt Dienberger, an Austrian.
12:36Yep. We've got Chris Bonington. He was briefly the oldest man to reach Everest. And of course,
12:41we were brought up with him in this country. We were, yes. There's Sir Edmund Hillary. We've got
12:46Doug Scott. And on the end here, we've got Maurice Herzog, who is the French mountaineer who climbed the
12:52first 8,000 metre peak, Annapurna 1. You know, we know it's not been up Everest, but it's still got some
12:58great, great signatures on it. They would need to be authenticated. Now, I have seen a lot of these
13:03signatures before, and they look genuine to me. And if they are right, £2,000 to £4,000.
13:10Correct. And that's purely because of the signatures. It's fantastic. I am so pleased to see it.
13:15Thank you very much. Thank you very much for bringing it in. Thank you.
13:21You've brought one object that made my eyes light up. Have you got any idea how old this piece of brass is?
13:29Well, according to the letter, 16th century from Germany. Right.
13:35That's about all I know about it. OK. Oh, right. You mentioned the letter.
13:38Yes. OK. Let's just elaborate on this, can we?
13:41OK. Dear Mr. Grieve, I hear your wedding is coming off immediately.
13:47I am sending you a small present of an old German beaten bay dish. It is a genuine antique
13:53of the 16th century, which I got at Munich a year or two ago. OK. And it is signed by?
14:01R.S. Lorimer. Sir Robert Lorimer. Yes.
14:05He's big news, mainly in Scotland. Yeah. But he, as an architect, is a very big name. So,
14:12how long has it been in your possession? In my possession, about three years. Yeah.
14:19My mum passed away three years ago. It was her dad. Her dad, he was also an architect in Edinburgh,
14:27and he worked for Sir Robert and became friends with him. So, Germany, yes. To be more specific,
14:34Nuremberg. Nuremberg specialised in making these types of bowls or dishes. I mean, they're referred
14:41to as arms bowls. In actual fact, if you wanted to get money for the poor, it would go into this dish.
14:47The shape is quite early. Right. So, I think we're talking about 1540, 1550. So, yeah,
14:53Nuremberg were producing these for two or three hundred years, into the 19th century. What we've
14:59got would appear to be sort of cherubims or seraphims. I'm not quite sure. I know. I wonder.
15:05With a central rosette. And then, around the edge, all hammered with these tiny, tiny rosettes,
15:12and with a lovely garland surround. But when it comes to the value, I'm going to give you a wide quote,
15:19because I've not seen that design before. But it's a minimum of 500 pounds. Right.
15:24It could be, on a good day, could be a thousand pounds. Okay. But as long as you keep this,
15:31you'll never be short of brass. Very true. I'll keep it.
15:38Mention motor racing around here, and one name stands above others. Jim Clark. Born in 1936,
15:48he spent his childhood in the Scottish borders, growing up to become one of the most successful
15:53racing drivers in history. I'm popping inside the castle to hear the story of his exceptional
15:59career with Kenny MacLean from the nearby Jim Clark Motorsport Museum.
16:03Kenny, you've brought along all this fabulous memorabilia. And look at him here. I mean,
16:10what a dude. What a contrast to that picture there, where he was known as the racing farmer,
16:15wasn't he? He was, yeah, the racing farmer, the racing shepherd, also the flying Scotsman.
16:19He always hung back to his border's roots, and liked to be home on the farm, where it all started
16:25for him. And yeah, this is him with Sweep the Sheepdog, his constant companion back home.
16:30So how did he get into racing then? Through farming, actually. He was born in Fife. The
16:34family moved to Churnside, a small village in Berwickshire, when he was quite young. And he just,
16:41like many of his family, became a farmer. And through a young farmer's club, he met people who
16:45were involved in amateur motor racing. And from there, did rallies, hill climbs, amateur events,
16:51and made his name in Scottish and then in British motorsport as an amateur, winning championships,
16:56and so on. And then at the end of the 1950s, got his chance to turn professional and join Team Lotus.
17:02So before Team Lotus, which of course is Formula One, he raced in the Le Mans race,
17:07didn't he? Which is the 24-hour race. I mean, it's an absolute endurance test,
17:10and there's a partner driver, and they swap over. I mean, that was a heck of an achievement.
17:14That's right, yeah. This is the trophy from 1959, when they finished second in class. And then the
17:20following year, he finished third overall in the Le Mans 24 hours. And that was with the Border
17:24Reavers team, just an amateur team of farm workers, mechanics, bank clerks, this sort of thing from
17:29Berwickshire, who managed to finish above most of the works teams in the era. And it was that
17:35that really made his name and allowed him to press on and establish himself the following year in
17:40in the professional racing circuits. And he did well in Formula One as well?
17:43He did. Within three years, 1963, he'd become Formula One world champion,
17:47and the first ever Scott to do that, also the youngest ever person at the time.
17:51So, yeah, he didn't take very long to really make his name as one of the great drivers of the era.
17:54I mean, he was a legend in the sport. This is the Formula One trophy, isn't it, this one?
17:58That's from 1965, so the second time he became champion. Yeah, yeah, maximum points again.
18:02And he really set the world alight in terms of his racing skill. And what set him apart,
18:07really, the great all-rounder, people call him, was the ability to do it not just in Formula One,
18:11but in sports cars, saloons and other categories of racing.
18:14And this is the Indy 500, so that's another type of car again, isn't it?
18:17That's right, so that's American open-wheel racing. So he, in 1965, he was a Formula One world champion.
18:23He went to America, won the Indy 500, the 500-mile race, as you say. First Britain to do that,
18:29the first non-American for half a century. And still today, it's the only man in history that's
18:34ever won Formula One and Indy 500 in the same season. And he won the British Formula Two and
18:39the French Formula Two and the Australian New Zealand series to boot. So he won five championships
18:44in the one year. I mean, his career was quite extraordinary. And then it all ended tragically
18:48so young for him. It did, only 32 years of age. Hockenheim in West Germany in 1968.
18:55Carr left the track on a bend and he was killed. And that's how the museum came about.
19:00The following year, his parents donated all of his race trophies that they hold,
19:04of which these are obviously some of the highlights, and many other items of memorabilia.
19:08And that allowed the museum to be set up. And nowadays, it's a home of some of his race cars
19:14and many other items of ephemera and a real place of pilgrimage for people from around the world,
19:18actually, who remember Jim Clark, the flying Scotsman from the heydays of 60s racing.
19:23Well, it's great to have an opportunity to talk about him here and see all these trophies
19:28and these wonderful photographs. Thank you so much, Kenny.
19:29Not all. Thank you.
19:30Jim Clark remains a hero to many around here, including a couple of young racing fans who
19:37travelled across Europe to see their Grand Prix heroes in action. 60 years on, one of them has
19:43brought along his cherished memento from that trip. Now, what have we got here? It looks like a Grand
19:51Prix programme. This is the Austrian Grand Prix in 1964 and a young man in a kills. What's the story
20:00here? Well, two border lads. At 16 and a half years old, we went down to Zeltweg, where the very first
20:10Austrian Formula One Grand Prix was being held. And this is the original programme from that. We saw the
20:18Grand Prix. We were having a meal in a restaurant on the way back to our digs. And all the Grand Prix
20:27tour party came in. We've got 17 of the 20 drivers autographs. Wow. I mean, I think it's really
20:34fantastic that you were able to get all these signatures together. I mean, there's so many famous
20:38names here. Graham Hale, Mike Haleward, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Jimmy Clark, Joachim Rint,
20:45lots of different nationalities as well. I mean, from home, we knew Jim Clark. Bill, my pal,
20:51his mother was very friendly with Jim's housekeeper. I mean, it was a dream come true for two 16-year-olds,
20:57especially when we both had met Jim Clark on two or three occasions. We never thought we'd see him.
21:05Brilliant. There's one important signature which you're missing, which is that of Lorenzo Bandini,
21:12who won the race for Ferrari. It's the only Grand Prix ever won. And I think as a result,
21:17his autograph is quite rare. If this were to go into an auction of Automobilier and Formula
21:22One collectibles, it would be expected to make probably between £200 and £400.
21:27Yeah. If it had Bandini's signature as well, it would be upwards of £400.
21:32Yes. Well, I don't think it'll be going anywhere. Thank you so much for bringing it.
21:37Well, thank you very much for having me.
21:45So what I'm going to do, I'm going to do a little test. So with this one,
21:49right, if you put that next to your face, and then try this one. And you tell me which is colder.
21:56This one's colder? That's right. Yeah. Because that's jade. And this one is soapstone. But that's
22:03one way of testing between soapstone and jade.
22:12So, good morning. Morning. I see you've got a Staffordshire figure peeping out of the bubble wrap.
22:17Is that a family piece? Yes. Yeah. It's rather nice, isn't it? A little touch of Scotland,
22:23maybe, with the kilt there. Yeah, that's rather romantic, the rival. So, mid-Victorian,
22:30they were mass-produced. Every Victorian mantelpiece had one. Value, £40 to £60, perhaps,
22:36on a good run. That's pretty good.
22:44So, this is my favourite British nature painter of the 20th century, Charles Frederick Tunnycliffe.
22:50His pictures of birds are legendary. They, they always sit so well in their environment. He
22:55understands nature as a whole. And here he is, slightly off his patch, doing horses, not birds.
23:01Why? Well, my grandfather went to art college with Charles Tunnycliffe, and they were lifelong friends.
23:08And, um, my mother had a Welsh pony at the time. My grandfather asked Charles to paint it for her.
23:15He said it was too far to travel from Anglesey to Hampshire, but he would do some Welsh ponies.
23:21In their environment. In their environment. In their environment.
23:22So, this is Snowdenia. You can see the mountains in the background. It is, yes.
23:25It's painted in watercolour. And he's the absolute master with it, because it's very easy to make a
23:31mistake with watercolour and very hard to correct. So, you've got a very nice, loose wash in the
23:35background to show the blue mountains. And there's a thickening agent called bodycolour that he's mixed
23:40the watercolour with, which also stabilises the colour. So, the areas painted with the thicker bodycolour
23:46are the areas that hold their colour better. I love the tenderness of the mare with the foal,
23:50actually. And he's splendid, isn't he, looking out. Tonicliffe was a supremely modest man,
23:56which is one of the reasons I like him. He was born the son of a cobbler, I think. And he was
24:02encouraged to, because he was clearly very good at drawing, to go to art school, which is presumably
24:07where he met your grandfather. So, I think that this makes this a mature work from the 1940s,
24:13personally. It's done it with a certain more speed than some of his earlier, more careful works,
24:18which, those too, hold the higher values. So, £2,000 to £3,000. Yes, OK.
24:25We've had horses all our lives, and I love it. Thank you very much.
24:36Well, I'm used to valuing lots of sporting items, but this is a very unusual collection.
24:41How did you come by it? It was really, we were clearing out my parents' house,
24:45and basically, we just came across them, and then realised that it's got a family connection
24:51to my great-grandfather. And it turned out that my great-grandfather played for
24:56Queen's Park Football Club, and he also went on to play for Scotland as well.
25:00And his name was? Thomas Robertson. Thomas Robertson. Fantastic. So, we've got the
25:05gold sovereign case. We've got an unusual item here. We've got a ring.
25:09Yep. And it's got some inscription on it. Yes, the inscription relates to the fact he was on the
25:15winning Scottish Cup team in 1894, 1895 for St. Bernard's. It's quite unusual to see a ring.
25:22Then we came across the little pendant medal there, and then we dug a little bit more,
25:27and then we realised the connections to various football teams, particularly Queen's Park. And also,
25:34looking at that item, given from Queen's Park to my great-grandfather for services rendered. So,
25:40over the years, he obviously had that connection from 1892 going up to 1920 with Queen's Park Football
25:46Club. He must have got medals as well. Do you have them? Unfortunately not. We looked round,
25:53and literally, this is all that we could find. So, they must be around somewhere. But, um,
25:59if anyone has them out there, we'd like to know. I think the ring is gorgeous. The sovereign holder's
26:04gold. These three pieces of gold with the silver clock. It's not just a clock, it's a clock case as
26:09well. Collectively, if these four items were to go to auction, they would make between two and two and
26:15a half thousand pounds. Thank you very much. I'm quite happy with that. And it's a pleasure to see them.
26:20So, thank you for bringing them in. Thank you very much, and much appreciated. Thank you. I brought
26:29along this lovely watch which my mum and dad gave me in 1969. So, this watch has been with me throughout
26:34my career as a pilot. It's been great. Yeah, it's worth it. And I go on about it, don't I? It's a thing of
26:40beauty. And I'm hoping to find out more about it. So, I rather like that watch. This is a watch I'm
26:52very proud of. It was given to me my 18th birthday by my mum and dad a long time ago. And it cost then
26:5881 pounds. And, uh, it's been a very, very useful tool. It's been serviced regularly. It's been all
27:03over the world with me. And it really is a thing of beauty. Can I persuade you to take it off then?
27:07Do you want to? So I can have a proper look at it. Please do. Okay, well, let's kick off immediately.
27:11It's an Omega Speedmaster Mark II. Do you know the history of the Speedmaster or not really? Well,
27:18I think the Mark I was the model that went to the moon. Correct. And there were quite a few of them
27:22made. I think this was a bit more of a restricted production. You're absolutely right. This one
27:27started production in 69 and that's when you got it. Yes, it was. And by 75 production was over. Ah, okay.
27:33Fundamentally, the inside is the same, but you've got this tonneau-shaped case, uh, and you've got the
27:39most important thing from my point of view is that the, that tachymeter scale, which on the basic
27:47Mark I, if you like, Moonwatch, is on the outside, that is hidden behind the glass. The main thing about
27:53yours is the dial. This is what we call the racing dial. The standard Mark II is absolutely like the Mark I.
28:01In other words, the hands are white, but this, you've got that little bit of a red scale. And more
28:07importantly, anything to do with the time is white like the original, but anything to do with the
28:13chronograph has the orange hand. I didn't know that. So that is, that is only put on the racing dial.
28:20Yeah. Okay. The watch collectors want the original bracelet and the originals on these should be the
28:271162. It's there, the 1162. Okay. So that is the original bracelet. Wow. And never change that,
28:35because that would significantly reduce its value. Okay. So 81 pounds in 69. That, as I say,
28:42that was a generous present. Well, Mum and Dad wanted something that would last the course,
28:47something that would be useful. Valuation. Well, I mean, valuation is interesting to know,
28:53but of course it will stay in the family. So in this state, and it is not at its best,
28:58to be honest, it's been worn on a regular basis. Price in the trade would be sort of 2,200,
29:042,300. Okay. And if it was in lovely condition,
29:07it would be retailing for three and a half towards 4,000 pounds. Wow.
29:11It's a nice thing. The racing dial is lovely. And in my opinion, a much underrated model.
29:21So you came to my table and you had a pile of jewellery, a small pile of jewellery,
29:27and you said that you like to collect items that look a bit odd or that people don't want,
29:32or you don't think they would want. No, strange looking items, funny shaped items.
29:36So I've picked these two pieces out. What's odd about these two?
29:41The green brooch is very square. It's very even. And the cross is not something that a lot of
29:46people would purchase. It looked as if it came not from this country.
29:51And how much did you pay? Probably not very much, no more than about 10 pounds.
29:55Now, I'm going to talk about the square brooch. It is beautifully made and it is set with cushion
30:02shaped diamonds. It's got this mill grain set edging around the outside. It's like tiny little bead
30:10work around the side. And they are tourmalines. And if you look at them a little bit more closely,
30:16you can see that there's more than one hue of green. They're beautifully cut, beautifully matched.
30:23And when I turn it over and I look at the back, it's been handmade.
30:28Oh. This was probably made, I would say, probably about 30 years ago, something like that.
30:34And you can see how the catch is on the diagonal. So in fact, you can wear it on the lapel with a
30:41diagonal rather than it being square. Square. And this one, you're quite right in your observation
30:46that it's possibly not made in this country. Now, the telltale sign for this is if I turn it over
30:53and you can see that it's all sort of closed back setting. It's silver and gold. And I would say that
31:00this is either Spanish or Portuguese, about early 19th century. Right. And the stones are emeralds.
31:10Oh. The emeralds are quite damaged. So, you know, don't get too excited about them being emeralds.
31:19But I would say at auction, you'd be looking at around £700 for that one. Oh, great.
31:25And the brooch, you'd be looking at around about £1,200, £1,500. Really? Oh, great.
31:44So, what have you brought to the castle today? Well, this is a vase that my mother left to me.
31:51But I think it originally came through my father's side of the family. All right. Any idea of its
31:57origins? At first, I thought it was Chinese, but I think maybe it's Japanese. It's one of the most
32:03well-known and iconic stonewares made in Japan. It's known as satsuma ware. And it was made in the
32:12southeastern region of Japan. And it was one of the most successful exports of Japan in the late 19th
32:21and early 20th century. Do you like it? I absolutely loved it when I was a child. Not so much now,
32:28because it doesn't really fit in with any decor nowadays. Oh, right. I see.
32:33Yeah. And I'm always afraid it gets broken. So, it also has a signature at the bottom that reads
32:41satsuma yaki, kaizen. So, satsuma yaki means satsuma ware, and kaizen is the name of the artist.
32:51There is another kaizen who is associated with a famous factory, but this is not the most famous kaizen.
32:58I just think it's really delicately made, and it gives you a feeling of serenity. This is decorated
33:05with flowering prunus, which is obviously very strongly associated with Japan, but also femininity
33:11and spring, and sort of a renewal of the seasons and hopes. While it's the side of the warriors that
33:20has pine, which in East Asia is generally associated with wisdom and longevity. Now,
33:26the market for Japanese art is always a little bit fluctuating. Now, I would say it's back on the
33:33rise, but not quite as strong as it was back in the day. So, I think here we're looking at maybe
33:40around 600 to 800 pounds. Really? I love it. I think it's a really nice vase. Wow.
33:45Well, thank you for being here. Thank you.
33:55You may be surprised to know that I want to talk about this because I don't know and people don't
34:00know what these paddles were used for. But tell me where you got it and why you brought it to the
34:07roadshow. Well, it was my grandmother who gave it to me, and her grandfather was the headmaster of a
34:14grammar school. We reckon 1850 to 1870. So, it was a former pupil who came back and gave it to him as
34:20a gift. And the family story is that it came from the Congo. What I do know is it's not African.
34:25Ah. Right. And it's from the Austral Islands. This is French Polynesian. And it's minutely, exquisitely
34:33carved with these beautiful geometric patterns all over it. And this one is old.
34:39Hmm. This has got a glorious patina. The colour of that is to die for. It's what collectors dream
34:47about. This is certainly 18th century. Really?
34:51It's a ritual object, I think, and people believe. And it could be a dance paddle. It's too delicate to
34:58use. Yes. Yeah. To paddle a boat. On the pommel here, it's got all these figures, tiki figures.
35:05They're heads of women, dancing women, people believe, with garlands around their necks. You know,
35:11when I look at it, it takes my breath away. They carve these with shark's teeth. It's just one of the
35:18nicest I've handled. And it's so fine and delicate. You get very long ones. And this is a good length.
35:25Yeah, that's a nice length. Yeah. But you get even longer ones. They have a value,
35:31these things. I would say the value of that would be £8,000. Oh, really? Oops. I had no idea.
35:40I've always thought it was really beautiful. And it's my privilege to talk about these things and handle
35:45them briefly. Well, we feel very privileged to have heard you talking about it. So thank you very much.
35:50Thank you very much.
35:55Travelling all over the country as we do means we get to hear about some pretty interesting local
36:00traditions. And the Scottish borders is no exception. Half an hour from here in the town of Jedburgh,
36:06they play a rough and tumble game called handbar. Local expert Charlie Young is here to run me through
36:12the rules such as they are. Tell me about handbar, Charlie. How do you play it? So the handbar in
36:18Jedburgh is a it's a rough street game played men and boys. So you've got your uppies and your dunnies
36:25and depending on which side of the town you come from, you're born for the balls put up in the
36:30marketplace. And then it's a wrestle and a strive to take the ball back to your own end. The uppies
36:36score at the castle gates and the dunnies score at what was the Toonfoot bridge. Fantastic. Doesn't
36:42sound like there's a whole lot of rules. There's not any rules. Self-preservation is the main rule.
36:48Try and keep yourself in it without hurting yourself. I mean, these pictures here show some of the
36:52history. It's just a big scrap really, isn't it? Yeah, it's a big scrap. Well, it originated here.
36:56It's football showing there. And then 1704, 1705, the town councils outlawed the football and it had
37:04to be played by hand and it's been handbar ever since. Why was football banned? There's too many
37:10broken legs, arms, too rough. And this is less rough? This is less rough, yeah. Wow. I don't know how
37:18they played football in Jedburgh back in those days, but my goodness me. Very costly. There's no kind of
37:22committee organisation, is there? No, no. It's entirely community run. You could say everybody
37:28knows about it. Everybody knows when it is and who to ask to be prepared. A bit of blood,
37:33sweat and tears has gone into these balls by the looks of things. A local saddler makes the balls and
37:37they're filled with hay and moss and two pages of the Scotsman newspaper, allegedly. This game is
37:44specific to Jedburgh? No, no. There's other villages round about. There's Bonchester, Denham,
37:49Ancrum and Hubkirk still playing a ball. So in that little corner of the borders,
37:54it's a very strong event. And you play it presumably every year, do you? I'm still playing,
37:58yep. What a brilliant tradition. I'm not sure I'd fancy it. No. Yeah, it'd be good.
38:04But how brilliant to hear about it. Thank you so much. Thank you very much.
38:07Well, these are not the sort of things I expected to see in Scotland. Where are they from?
38:20Um, these are items inherited from my great uncle, Hugh, Hugh Richardson, who was the last British
38:27representative in Lhasa, Tibet, in between 1936 and 1950, in fact. Yeah, one of the last Europeans to see
38:35Tibet, the old Tibet, yeah. I know the name because when I was younger, I read books written by
38:41Hugh Richardson and he was there obviously before the annexation of Tibet by China in 1950. Yes.
38:50You brought a photograph and I believe this is actually in one of the books he wrote. Yes.
38:55And there he is in Tibet on horseback. And what would you remember about him? Well,
39:00I knew him from my whole life and just we, I grew up in Perthshire, so not that far from St Andrews where
39:06he lived. So we used to go and visit often and he always had wonderful stories to tell. What a man.
39:11And of course, the photograph in front is the British mission to Tibet in 1936. And we have Hugh sat at the
39:19front on the left. Presumably, he gathered these things during his time there. Well, this one was a
39:27gift to my mum and dad. Right. And this one, I was gifted it after he died by his stepdaughter.
39:32And she said that it was the Dalai Lama's, I think, personal pocket Buddha or something that he gave to Hugh.
39:39So, yes, this lovely little Buddha, quite heavy. I just can't work out whether it's cast iron or
39:44perhaps even pottery or stone, because look, completely swaddled in patterned silks. Yeah.
39:51And on the front, we have a long life symbol, Shao. Yeah. So, you know, quite a beautiful little object.
39:58Yeah. But this one's got more antiquity. That one could be sort of 20th century. Right.
40:05The figure, which is the figure of Maitreya. Maitreya.
40:08And that is sort of a protector for the future. And Maitreya often has blue hair. All right.
40:15Beautiful crown, wearing lovely robes. And I just love these little sort of ruey head collar and little
40:23sort of cloak that's worn. And of course, in robe sat on this double lotus base. Have you ever thought
40:29how old it is? No. I don't know. I thought maybe 19th century. I didn't know. Yeah. You're not far off.
40:35I mean, the standard shade goes back many hundreds of years, but I think it's probably late 18th,
40:41possibly, as you suggest, 19th century. But I mean, very, very beautiful one. And it is bronze.
40:47And of course, underneath, you have a plate. And inserted into this figure would be lots and
40:54lots of prayers. Right. So, you know, these are very, very powerful figures. You own this one,
41:00I believe. It was left to me, so I was never able to ask about its origins. So I actually don't know
41:06where he got it from or any of its history at all. Yeah. Well, you probably do know it's a portable
41:14shrine. Yeah. They're called Gau. They were used, obviously, for travelling around and the back with
41:19the leather straps. And the front's lovely, the little glazed window. It is actually made of silver,
41:25the main body of the Gau. And I think this is probably, again, 19th century. Oh, really? I didn't
41:32realise it was that old. Yeah. So we're on the roadshow. We've got to put a value on this.
41:36This figure, probably around £1,500. Right. Right. Goodness. The Gau, probably about the same.
41:46Very hard to put a price on. A personal item from the Dalai Lama, perhaps a few hundred pounds. Right.
41:52You know, as a little group, we've got well over £3,000 worth here. Goodness.
41:56I don't think you're going to sell them, are you? No, no. They're personal relics,
42:00as much as they are historical relics. Yeah, definitely. Good. I love that. Personal relics. Yeah.
42:05Thank you. Thank you very much. It's been lovely. It's been lovely talking about them.
42:14Now, this is an interesting item. I know it's a Queen Live Killers album, but there's a real story
42:21behind this, isn't there? Because this isn't your first time on Roadshow, is it? No, I've actually
42:26already been on 2006. Were you actually on screen? Unfortunately, we didn't make it as far as
42:31getting on screen, but we had a valuation done of the Queen album, which was great fun. How much was
42:37this album valued at the time? It was £250 at the time. You know, Queen, one of our biggest bands,
42:43they've sold over 300 million albums worldwide. Tell me the story about the album. So, my dad grew up in
42:49Belfast in the 1970s, and unfortunately, they didn't have many record stores there at the time.
42:54And he heard that Queen were releasing a limited run of a live album signed by all members of the band,
43:00and there were only 100 of these to be released. So, he called up every single record store in the UK,
43:07and there was one that managed to get back in touch with him, and he managed to get a hold of it. It's the
43:12one you see today. Today, if you were to sell this, about £1,000 to £1,500. I'm never going to sell it
43:19anyway, but it's great to know. Thank you very much. You've got these logbooks. Everybody knows that I
43:35love these things. They are everything you want to do with airmen in World War II. We see these
43:43airmen from these smiling photos. And I know that your grandad is in these three photos. And what's
43:50his name? David Lawson Merchant. That's a training squad photo. Okay. Is he in this photo here? Yeah,
43:58front and central. So, what does this mean to you? Well, I just know my grandad as grandad. He was a
44:05great musician. We played the piano a lot together, and he was a great grandad to the four of us.
44:11Sometimes what we forget about these things is that there's a human cost to this job. Now,
44:17we have here the 6th of June, 1944, D-Day. Now, he's in an aircraft called a Stirling. And on this
44:25particular day, operations, glider-borne forces to Caen. And on D-Day itself, the paratroopers have been
44:34dropped in the morning of D-Day, and the gliders have been put in in the night time. And then from
44:396 o'clock onwards on D-Day itself, there was a resupply. And we flew over another 300 gliders,
44:47full of tanks and guns and soldiers. And that's what your grandad's doing. Then he has this line
44:54here. Again, airborne invasion, Holland. And that magic name, Arnhem. So, we know that from the film,
45:03A Bridge Too Far. Now, on this particular day, he's not actually dropping in gliders or paratroopers.
45:09What he's doing, he's on a diversion mission, and he's bombing somewhere to the west of the bridge
45:14to keep the Germans occupied whilst the gliders and the paratroopers are being dropped in.
45:19He never told you about this? No. Never. It's amazing, isn't it? In all those hours he spent in
45:27this aircraft. Yeah. It's a shame because now we want to know. We do. We really do. But the thing
45:33that we have to remember is, is that people like your grandad who did this, who came home,
45:38who didn't talk about it, left behind a lot of their friends. And this photograph is a bit more poignant.
45:48We counted 27 servicemen. And my grandad has put a cross above everyone's head that didn't return.
45:56And there's only 10 left. This is a very dangerous job. So, to have a grandad that you could talk to
46:02after this, you were a very lucky person. Very. The logbook themselves are always fantastic. You can see
46:10each flight that they've done. And because of that, over the years, these have become much more
46:16desirable to collectors. So, you're probably looking at something around about a thousand pounds,
46:21just for the logbook. It's not quite any great. You're not going to sell it, are you? No, I wouldn't
46:26sell it either. It's always a pleasure to meet these guys who are your grandad, but to the rest of us,
46:34they are our heroes. Exactly. And to see the faces of those that didn't come back is just a privilege.
46:39Thank you. Well, thank you.
46:48So, it would be true to say that my heart gave a little leap when I saw you lift this beautiful
46:52claret jug out of your bag today. What can you tell me about the history of this lovely piece?
46:57It was, we think, bought by my grandmother's brother. When he died, he passed it on in his
47:04estate to my grandmother. And she then obviously owned it for many years. And when she died,
47:11it just passed to my father. And then when he died, it came to me.
47:16Oh, what a lovely piece to inherit through the family line. So, what we have here is the most beautiful
47:22claret jug, very much inspired by the Art Nouveau period and form. It's got these lovely
47:28elongated proportions and with designs that are very much inspired by nature. We have the
47:35honesty plant, the seed heads here. We get very characteristic feature here, the whip-blash handle,
47:41which is very common Art Nouveau form, and the lovely green glass. When we lift the jug,
47:48we see on the base that it's got this mark below. And the mark says Tudrick.
47:57So, the Tudrick mark tells us that this was a piece that was retailed by the luxury retailer
48:02Liberty & Co. in Regent Street in London. And the design itself probably dates from around 1903.
48:09This piece is very much in the manner of the well-known designer Archibald Knox,
48:14but I think it's more likely to be by David Vesey, who also produced metalwork designs for Liberty & Co.
48:21So, the pewter mounts would have been machine-made in Birmingham,
48:25and the finer details would have been finished by hand. So, there's that element of hand craftsmanship
48:30combining with sort of mass production as well. This lovely glass itself would have been hand-blown
48:36in London, and it's by James Powell of White Friars & Co., a London-based company. Do you like this piece
48:43yourself? Very much, yeah. I absolutely love it. It's very elegant and beautiful. It's always been on
48:48display, both obviously in our house, but in my parents' house. And I suppose, in that regard,
48:53it's a bit of a survivor, because I was one of four children. It was always out, and the four kids
48:57running around, and we've got three children. It was always out, and they were running around. So,
49:01and, but we love it. Absolutely love it. In terms of value, I think it's a piece that would perform
49:07well at auction, and I think there would be competition and great interest in a lovely example
49:11like this. A comfortable auction estimate would be in the region of about £1,500 to £2,000. Very good.
49:20Obviously, we're not going to sell it, but it's part of our family history, and it's, you know,
49:24it's going to stay with us. Do you know, I love French clocks, and French clocks that involve
49:34animals can be very commercial. Do you like it? I love it. I do. Do you ever have it running?
49:41When we can remember to wind it up, we do. OK. Well, you can see it's a small movement,
49:48and it will be a watch-type movement. It's too small to be a clock movement.
49:52OK. So, let's have a look. It's signed Albert Bayon, Paris. Right.
49:59And there were a family of these generations of these particular clockmakers, watchmakers.
50:05And looking at that movement, I would date that at around 1725, 1730. Wow. Gosh. OK.
50:12You've got the typical continental bridge-type balance cock with two feet.
50:19All right. You put your key on there, you can turn that to slow or fast. It's a really nice early movement.
50:25And what is it made of?
50:28This is what we call Ormolu, which is gilt bronze. Bronze. OK.
50:33Let us examine the dial. You've got the Roman hours and the outer Arabic minute ring.
50:39The only slight disappointment is there's a chip round that winding square.
50:44Have you spotted anything else rather nice about this?
50:48Apart from the animals. That's what I was getting at.
50:50All right. You've got the little lamb, a snail.
50:53Snail. Mm-hmm. OK.
50:55And you've got this bird on the top here. OK.
50:57This is scruffy, but has tremendous potential.
51:02When this is put back into lovely condition...
51:05So it is worth restoring? Absolutely.
51:07In my humble opinion, very much so.
51:09And I could envisage that when done nicely.
51:13Uh-huh.
51:13Going up to sort of four or five thousand pounds to the right person.
51:17Wow. Gosh. Wow.
51:21Goodness. Thank you very much.
51:24Given what Richard said, I mean, yes, we'd definitely have it restored.
51:28And I think it will look absolutely beautiful.
51:30Really excited to take it home and let my husband know that it was worth a lot more than he thought.
51:44Not many people get to say they live in a house with a connection with two famous names.
51:47So can you tell us a little bit about your home and who lived there before you?
51:50Absolutely. So Henry and David Allison were born and lived in my home.
51:56And it's just fantastic that I've made that discovery from finding the deeds in the attic
52:00and with their names on the deeds. I've done a little bit of research.
52:03So the Allison brothers were both very well-established, well-known artists in Scotland.
52:08In the early 20th century.
52:10We had David, which he is the artist of the two on the outside, and Henry, his brother,
52:15painted this one in the middle. Both famous as portrait artists specifically,
52:20and they both have a connection with the Glasgow School of Art.
52:22David Allison studied there. Henry Allison became the director there.
52:25Now, I thought we'd focus firstly on this one because this takes us back to your house.
52:30Absolutely, yes. So I put an ad on Facebook saying,
52:33I found out that David Allison was born and lived in my home.
52:37A relative of him contacted me saying, I do have a David Allison painting.
52:42Went up and had a look. He said, I'm not sure what it's of.
52:46And I took one look at it and it was very clear it was my garden.
52:50It's actually a painting very much in that sort of Glasgow boy manner.
52:53They were looking at the French realists.
52:55They were painting people going about their daily lives, rural folk working away.
52:59Now, if we talk a little bit more about their portraiture,
53:01as I say, that's what they were probably best known for.
53:04Do we know about the sitter of David Allison's work?
53:06This is Mrs Wilson.
53:08Yeah, and obviously from her garb,
53:09she's widowed and it's just absolutely exquisitely executed.
53:13We move on to Henry's work here in the middle.
53:15This is portrait of a gentleman, I believe.
53:17We don't know quite who he is, but he's such a real person.
53:19I mean, look at the wonderful way the flesh of his cheek is drawn.
53:22And you get a sense of the sitter in the studio,
53:24possibly the studio in your home even.
53:26And this Bravura brushwork, all this beautiful sort of purples and blues,
53:30and very fast-paced brushwork that he's done to render a sense of the draperies
53:35and the fabric of the sitter's outfit there.
53:38So, if we move on to talking about value,
53:40can I ask what you paid for each of these works?
53:43Yes. So, the David Allison I bought at auction for £60.
53:49And the Henry Allison for £50.
53:51I was the only bidder on both of them.
53:52Mm-hm. And the David Allison painted in the garden was from the relative,
53:58and that was £550 I paid for that.
54:00They are fantastically executed, and I think you've done very well.
54:03I would probably add a zero.
54:05I think we're looking more at around £300 to £500 at auction.
54:08Wow.
54:09What I would place on both these works.
54:12This work, perhaps even more.
54:14In the Scottish sale, I think I would like to see this sitting
54:17around sort of £1,500 to £2,500.
54:20Wow. Fantastic. Yeah.
54:22Thank you very much.
54:23Thank you. It's been a pleasure. What a story.
54:31What a wonderful arts and crafts silver bowl.
54:34I just love this piece. Tell me how you got it.
54:37So, I came down to my mum.
54:38My mum went round the charity shops, bought it.
54:41It was really dirty.
54:42It's been sitting in our house for, like, a year,
54:44just with some nice little flowers in it.
54:47And then mum gave it a wee clean
54:48and noticed there were some hallmarks on the bottom of it.
54:50The first thing that struck me about it was,
54:52I knew the makers without looking at the marks.
54:54It's Liberty and Co of London.
54:55OK.
54:56And it's a period that I love personally.
54:58It's just after 1900.
55:01And it's arts and crafts.
55:03So, all the hand hammering has been left deliberately.
55:06OK.
55:07You said you've cleaned it up, which you've done a nice job of that.
55:10But that's left deliberately to show that it's handmade as such.
55:13We've got these four wonderful loop handles.
55:16And when I first saw it, I thought, well, that's a bowl.
55:19But it's actually a vase.
55:21It's got this little fitted room inside.
55:23Mm-hm.
55:24We have further decoration on both sides.
55:26And it's a kind of crossover piece.
55:28It's got elements of Art Nouveau.
55:30It's very fluid, sinuous designs.
55:33And then the arts and crafts, beaten silver on the body.
55:35Yeah.
55:36What do you like about it?
55:37Well, I think Mum just loved the shape of it.
55:39Mum loved how it looked quite Art Nouveau.
55:42I think she thought it was just really interesting.
55:44Yeah.
55:45She just loved how all the wee handles and everything.
55:48We'll just have a look at the hallmarks.
55:49There they are.
55:50Quite clear.
55:51L and Co is Liberty and Co.
55:54We have this other mark, Qumric.
55:56Did you see that?
55:57Yeah.
55:57Yeah.
55:58That's one of the ranges that Liberty did at this time.
56:00Liberty were very good at using sort of medieval sounding names.
56:04Qumric.
56:05They also had a range of pewterware, which is called Tudrick.
56:08They were quite clever because they had consultant designers making designs for them,
56:13but putting their mark on it.
56:15The designer of this is Oliver Baker.
56:17Cool.
56:18We know names like Archibald Knox and famous other designers,
56:21but that's who's designed this piece.
56:24And it's made by Hasslers.
56:26That was the firm that Liberty used to make the pieces.
56:29Amazing.
56:30We've got the clear hallmarks here, Birmingham, and that is 1901.
56:35Cool.
56:35Exactly as I would want to see.
56:37Yeah.
56:37It's a fabulous piece of silver.
56:39I mean, who's not going to like a piece of silver like that?
56:41Yeah.
56:42So you say you got it in a charity shop.
56:45How much did you get it for?
56:46Yes, my mum bought it in a charity shop in Dundee for £6.
56:50If this turned up on the market, I would think this would fetch easily £1,500 to £2,000.
56:56Amazing, yeah.
56:57I'm so glad you brought it along today because I love it as well.
57:01So thank you very much.
57:04We've always loved what it looks like.
57:06It's always had like a special place in our house.
57:08We never thought it would be worth that much at all.
57:11It's quite amazing that it has so much history to it.
57:13What a great day here at beautiful Firlstain Castle.
57:22But, you know, it'd be a shame to go without introducing our experts to a great Scottish tradition.
57:27Remember this handball from earlier on?
57:33Sounds like a heck of a game.
57:35Well, look, just around the corner is the books table and the military table.
57:41What do you reckon?
57:42A game between those two teams.
57:44I think I know who's going to win that one from the Antiques Roadshow.
57:46Bye-bye.
57:57Bye-bye.