Antiques Roadshow guest gobsmacked as £1 vase could be worth thousands

21 December 2023 , 08:40

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An Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned by the true value of an item he paid just a pound for (Image: BBC)

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked this week after learning the potential value of a vase he saved from the tip.

The long-running show aired from Portchester Castle on the Hampshire coast - close to the local recycling centre in which the item in question was discovered. The guest explained to expert Eric Knowles that he had found the vase on a shelf at the facility, where staff place items that might be of interest to others.

When asked how much he wanted for it, a worker suggested a pound "would do" and the guest duly obliged. Speaking on the BBC show, he explained: "Well, I take my gardening rubbish from time to time to our local recycling centres. They have a shed there where they put out things that might be reusable. I noticed this pot sitting on the shelf, so I asked the guy at the tip there how much he wanted for it and he said he'd like £1."

The Pilkington lustreware piece is worth an impressive four-figure sum (BBC)

Impressed with the find - ruby red in colour and featuring an intricate underwater scene of fish and coral - Eric informed the guest that his vase "encapsulated the best of Pilkington lustreware." He continued: "The man who was responsible for starting all the lustre decoration was William Burton. But the decoration, you know what? You can think I’m bonkers, I want to hug it."

He went on to add that Burton, who had been recruited to Pilkington from Wedgwood, would have used 3,000 trial pieces to produce this vase. Pilkington was was a manufacturer of tiles, vases and bowls, based in Clifton, Lancashire and was established in 1892. Burton, meanwhile, was employed oversee the production of the company's fine pottery based on the designs of ancient Persian and Chinese potters.

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Visibly impressed, the guest concurred: "It’s absolutely gorgeous and it just amazes me that anybody should want to throw it away." And soon his jaw appeared to drop as Eric excitedly revealed: "The market is very healthy and the moment. This would make well in excess of £2,000."

Stunned, the guest vowed to keep the vase for himself. "Good heavens, good heavens," he replied. "I love it even more now if you think it’s worth that much. I certainly won’t be parting with it."

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Alan Johnson