FOR four decades it has been a staple of British life, as comforting and reassuring as a good cup of tea.
But if part of the appeal of a Sunday evening spent watching the
Antiques Roadshow is the beautiful locations, patient queues and gentle
bonhomie of its presenters, there is another side to the show: an
undercurrent of what can be pure drama.
In its 40-year history the Antiques Roadshow has not only provided the most quintessentially British way to round off the weekend but has also unearthed some items of genuine and extraordinary value as well as some astonishing stories behind the artefacts
In its 40-year history the Antiques Roadshow has not only provided the most quintessentially British way to round off the weekend but has also unearthed some items of genuine and extraordinary value as well as some astonishing stories behind the artefacts
uring filming this week at the Black
Country Living Museum in the West Midlands, a Fabergé flower brooch was
brought in for valuation.
It has been described by executive producer Simon Shaw as "one of the most significant jewellery finds in Antiques Roadshow history".
Producers of the show are remaining tight-lipped about the history and exact value of the item - viewers will have to wait until the episode is aired in the autumn - but they have revealed that expert Geoffrey Munn has placed a price of "around £1million" on the brooch, making it one of the most expensive finds ever uncovered by the BBC show.
Here we reveal 10 more of the Antiques Roadshow's most valuable discoveries... and the stories behind them.
It has been described by executive producer Simon Shaw as "one of the most significant jewellery finds in Antiques Roadshow history".
Producers of the show are remaining tight-lipped about the history and exact value of the item - viewers will have to wait until the episode is aired in the autumn - but they have revealed that expert Geoffrey Munn has placed a price of "around £1million" on the brooch, making it one of the most expensive finds ever uncovered by the BBC show.
Here we reveal 10 more of the Antiques Roadshow's most valuable discoveries... and the stories behind them.
MODEL OF ANTHONY GORMLEY'S ANGEL OF THE NORTH: £1M
The first seven-figure valuation on the show came in a 2008 episode filmed in Gateshead - and is perhaps most remarkable for not really being an antique at all.
The 6ft by 17ft model of Gormley's famous sculpture had been in the offices of Gateshead Council for 13 years, ever since the sculptor produced it as a prototype for his 1998 masterpiece.
Fine art expert Philip Mould said at the time: "It's a great thrill to me that something produced in the past 15 years has broken the record for the most valuable item to have ever been on the show."
FA CUP: £1M+
When former Leeds United footballer Eddie Gray and TV presenter Gabby Logan brought in an item during filming in Harrogate in 2015, they knew they had something special - but not that it would become the Roadshow's most expensive antique ever.
Their FA Cup - actually the third version used in the history of the competition - had been presented to Gray and his teammates in 1972 and was the longest-serving trophy in the competition's history - in use for 81 years.
Expert Alastair Dickenson said: "This is, alongside the Wimbledon trophy, the most famous cup in the country. I think, quite comfortably, this has got to be worth well over £1million - the highest value I have ever given on Antiques Roadshow."
The first seven-figure valuation on the show came in a 2008 episode filmed in Gateshead - and is perhaps most remarkable for not really being an antique at all.
The 6ft by 17ft model of Gormley's famous sculpture had been in the offices of Gateshead Council for 13 years, ever since the sculptor produced it as a prototype for his 1998 masterpiece.
Fine art expert Philip Mould said at the time: "It's a great thrill to me that something produced in the past 15 years has broken the record for the most valuable item to have ever been on the show."
FA CUP: £1M+
When former Leeds United footballer Eddie Gray and TV presenter Gabby Logan brought in an item during filming in Harrogate in 2015, they knew they had something special - but not that it would become the Roadshow's most expensive antique ever.
Their FA Cup - actually the third version used in the history of the competition - had been presented to Gray and his teammates in 1972 and was the longest-serving trophy in the competition's history - in use for 81 years.
Expert Alastair Dickenson said: "This is, alongside the Wimbledon trophy, the most famous cup in the country. I think, quite comfortably, this has got to be worth well over £1million - the highest value I have ever given on Antiques Roadshow."
JAPONISME URN: £10,000 (LATER £668,000)
For years the plant pot in Terry Nurrish's dining room had served as a makeshift goalpost for his children to kick balls at but when he took it to filming in Cleethorpes in 1991 he was stunned to discover that it was actually a French "Japonisme" urn made in 1874, valued by Eric Knowles at £10,000.
Picked up by his father as part of a job lot of antiques in 1946 for £100, Mr Nurrish eventually sold the urn in 2014 for £668,000. "The auctioneer started the bidding at £100,000 and I just thought, 'blimey'," he said. "Then it kept going. It was incredible."
For years the plant pot in Terry Nurrish's dining room had served as a makeshift goalpost for his children to kick balls at but when he took it to filming in Cleethorpes in 1991 he was stunned to discover that it was actually a French "Japonisme" urn made in 1874, valued by Eric Knowles at £10,000.
Picked up by his father as part of a job lot of antiques in 1946 for £100, Mr Nurrish eventually sold the urn in 2014 for £668,000. "The auctioneer started the bidding at £100,000 and I just thought, 'blimey'," he said. "Then it kept going. It was incredible."
SIR LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA PORTRAIT: £200-£300,000
A portrait by one of the greatest artists of the Victorian period as a wedding present to his friend in 1883 was brought along to a 2016 episode filmed at Arley Hall, Cheshire, by the great-greatgrandson of the man for whom it was painted.
The intimate picture of Leopold Lowenstam had expert Rupert Maas almost beside himself with excitement. "I think this might be one of the best pictures we have ever seen on the Roadshow," he told Fiona Bruce. "Alma-Tadema is the most valuable Victorian artist today."
The painting is now to be included in an exhibition of the artist's work due to come to London this autumn.
A portrait by one of the greatest artists of the Victorian period as a wedding present to his friend in 1883 was brought along to a 2016 episode filmed at Arley Hall, Cheshire, by the great-greatgrandson of the man for whom it was painted.
The intimate picture of Leopold Lowenstam had expert Rupert Maas almost beside himself with excitement. "I think this might be one of the best pictures we have ever seen on the Roadshow," he told Fiona Bruce. "Alma-Tadema is the most valuable Victorian artist today."
The painting is now to be included in an exhibition of the artist's work due to come to London this autumn.
18TH-CENTURY DOLLS' HOUSE: £150,000
The format of the show is simple and unchanging: the public queue to meet the experts, bringing their treasures with them. But in Tewkesbury last year, expert Fergus Gambon was so excited by a set of three dolls brought by the Westbrook family he grabbed a camera crew and jumped in the car to the family home to see the original dolls' house they came from.
"As soon as I saw the dolls I recognised the importance of it," he said. "It's extraordinarily fragile - not something that you can just shove in the back of the car."
Placing a value of £150,000 on the 300-year-old toys that had been in the family since 1705 he described it as "one of the most important English baby houses in existence".
The format of the show is simple and unchanging: the public queue to meet the experts, bringing their treasures with them. But in Tewkesbury last year, expert Fergus Gambon was so excited by a set of three dolls brought by the Westbrook family he grabbed a camera crew and jumped in the car to the family home to see the original dolls' house they came from.
"As soon as I saw the dolls I recognised the importance of it," he said. "It's extraordinarily fragile - not something that you can just shove in the back of the car."
Placing a value of £150,000 on the 300-year-old toys that had been in the family since 1705 he described it as "one of the most important English baby houses in existence".
VAN DYCK PORTRAIT: £400,000
When Father Jamie MacLeod brought a painting he had picked up for £400 in a Cheshire antique shop to an episode in Nottingham in 2012, his portrait was spotted by Fiona Bruce as a potential Van Dyck - which was confirmed after extensive restoration a year later and valued at 100 times what he had paid.
The masterpiece - Magistrate Of Brussels - was declared the most valuable painting identified in the show's history.
When Father Jamie MacLeod brought a painting he had picked up for £400 in a Cheshire antique shop to an episode in Nottingham in 2012, his portrait was spotted by Fiona Bruce as a potential Van Dyck - which was confirmed after extensive restoration a year later and valued at 100 times what he had paid.
The masterpiece - Magistrate Of Brussels - was declared the most valuable painting identified in the show's history.
CHARLES II CORPORATION SILVER: £300,000
The most expensive collection of silver ever featured on the show was brought in by the Mayor of Arundel in 2006 and included several maces and a chalice made in the reign of Charles II, some 350 years ago. The valuation of £300,000 was a record for the Roadshow at the time.
The most expensive collection of silver ever featured on the show was brought in by the Mayor of Arundel in 2006 and included several maces and a chalice made in the reign of Charles II, some 350 years ago. The valuation of £300,000 was a record for the Roadshow at the time.
BARBARA HEPWORTH PAPERWEIGHT: £60-£80,000 NOW £750,000)
In 2012 a paperweight that sat on the desk of the head teacher at St Ives school was taken by the school librarian to the Roadshow in Falmouth - who was shocked to discover it was an original Barbara Hepworth sculpture, worth between £60,000 to £80,000.
As if that wasn't enough, after donating it to the Cornwall Arts Collection for display, the "paperweight" was valued again this year and is now worth a staggering £750,000.
In 2012 a paperweight that sat on the desk of the head teacher at St Ives school was taken by the school librarian to the Roadshow in Falmouth - who was shocked to discover it was an original Barbara Hepworth sculpture, worth between £60,000 to £80,000.
As if that wasn't enough, after donating it to the Cornwall Arts Collection for display, the "paperweight" was valued again this year and is now worth a staggering £750,000.
PORTRAIT OF NELSON: £100,000
When Sam Kester and Lynsey Choules, pupils at the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, took along a portrait of Nelson that had been hanging in the common room to an episode in London in 2012, they suspected it might be old - but they never guessed it had been created in 1800 by artist Henry Edridge or that it was worth £100,000.
"It is the sort of image of Lord Nelson that many collectors across the world would almost die for," said expert Philip Mould.
When Sam Kester and Lynsey Choules, pupils at the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, took along a portrait of Nelson that had been hanging in the common room to an episode in London in 2012, they suspected it might be old - but they never guessed it had been created in 1800 by artist Henry Edridge or that it was worth £100,000.
"It is the sort of image of Lord Nelson that many collectors across the world would almost die for," said expert Philip Mould.
BRONZE RHINO: £200,000
It didn't look much at first glance but an 18-inch bronze cast of a rhino bought for £575 in 1942 was valued at £200,000 by Clive Stewart-Lockhart in a 2011 episode.
The expert explained to a stunned Ann Sumner of Birmingham's Barber Institute of Fine Arts that it was one of only three made in 1750 to depict "Miss Clara", a famous rhino that toured the world in the 18th century.
Source: express.co.uk
It didn't look much at first glance but an 18-inch bronze cast of a rhino bought for £575 in 1942 was valued at £200,000 by Clive Stewart-Lockhart in a 2011 episode.
The expert explained to a stunned Ann Sumner of Birmingham's Barber Institute of Fine Arts that it was one of only three made in 1750 to depict "Miss Clara", a famous rhino that toured the world in the 18th century.
Source: express.co.uk
