Antiques Roadshow statue attracts huge price but guest remains unmoved by value
An Antiques Roadshow guest has vowed that the valuation of a statue they brought in ‘doesn’t matter’ as they refuse to part with it.
The long-running BBC show trundled in to Pollock Park in Glasgow on Sunday where a range of guests vied for the attention of the experts to get a price for the tat and treasures they brought in to present in front of national cameras. Antiques expert Will Farmer had his head turned by a risqué ceramic sculpture by Italian firm Lenci - but the family asking for a price tag were unmoved by the impressive amount he recommended for it.
Will fawned over the statue while speaking to the woman who presented it to him. The piece showed a near-naked woman with a shawl draped around her bottom half. The blank statue included flashes of colour - with pinks and yellow in the hair.
Will asked the owner: "Do you love her?" and then asked the guest's daughters: "Now do you girls love her?" He went on to explain: "She is a very, very special thing. So is the value." The guest looked unmoved, however, prompting Will to remark: "Now that is a really lovely mum shrug." The guest admitted: "Well it doesn't matter because we wouldn't sell it."
Antiques Roadshow guest said they would refuse to sell a statue - no matter the value (BBC)Will told her: "That's good. But if you had to replace it would be around £10,000 to £15,000. One of the best makers made at a pivotal moment in their career. Beautifully decorated, fabulously painted."
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Will, who has a passion for 20th Century ceramics and glass, added: "I've always said that if I lost everything, went bust and ended up under a railway arch. I'd be under a railway arch with my four silly, comic glass birds."
While the statue would clearly net a tasty sum at auction, judging by Will's evaluation, it is still a long way from the most expensive item ever shown on the long-running BBC series. Back in 2008, the experts were astonished when a guest appeared on the show with a six-foot-tall maquette of the Angel of the North by iconic British sculptor Antony Gormley. The prototype formed the basis for the eventual final statue - which was erected in 1998 and stands at 20 meters, or 65.6 feet, tall.
Expert Will Farmer was delighted by the item and valued it for tens of thousands of pounds (BBC)Expert Philip Mould was gobsmacked to see the prototype and described artist Antony Gormley as: "probably the most successful contemporary sculpture in Britain." Giving a value for how much he expected the item to sell for, he drew gasps when he confidently said £1 million.
There were more gasps in 2015 when a retired silver FA cup was brought in to the show for value. The cup, which was the third FA cup trophy, was created by Bradford business Fattorini and Sons and was used in the sporting world for an impressive 80 years from 1911 until 1991. Silver expert, Alastair Dickenson was delighted by the item and valued it at £1 million too.
A third item that was valued for £1 million was a six-inch-tall flower, crafted using gold, silver, enamel and jade with a diamond centre. The Faberge flower dated from the early 1900s and was still in its original presentation box. Geoffrey Munn, the show’s Faberge jewellery expert, was stunned by the find - brought in by two soldiers - and was confident it would sell for at least £1 million.
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