Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan left a guest stunned after the valuation of their item was hundreds of thousands of dollars lower than they expected.
During the latest episode of the BBC show at Nottingham’s Wollation Hall, Ronnie examined a figure from the Kota tribe in Gabon.
The current owner was expecting a valuation of around £250,000, after the expert revealed it sold for this price a few years ago.
However, the owner was left disappointed because, instead of reaching the heights of a six-figure valuation, he was told it was worth a fraction of this – £150.
Fortunately, the guest revealed that he only paid £1.50 for the item 10 years ago.
Ronnie jokingly said, “You really took a risk, didn’t you?”
Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan left a guest stunned after his item’s valuation was hundreds of thousands lower than they expected.
The guest responded, “Well, I was intrigued by the fact that it looked like someone had worked really hard to make it.”
Ronnie explained: “When you unwrapped this, my heart really skipped a beat because it’s one of my favorite African tribal figures. This is a reliquary guardian figure from Kota and they put it on the bones of his ancestors to protect them and polished this metal.
‘And in the 19th century, it was brass and copper, this is just copper, brass and copper were like gold to them. They are so revered in the art world that they have one of these at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.’
He continued: ‘They are iconic examples of African tribal art. They hammer the metal onto the wooden sculpture and then chase the metal with these designs.
“And it’s their geometric shape that makes them so desirable, and they influenced the greatest modern artists of all time because at the beginning of modernism they were very, very sought after.
But unfortunately this is a very good copy. It’s a slightly wrong size. It was probably made around 1980 and one of this type is probably worth around £150. That’s 100 times what you paid for it.’
Earlier this week, another guest was shocked to discover the value of a watch they had found broken in a junk shop.
During the latest episode of the BBC show at Nottingham’s Wollation Hall, Ronnie examined a figure from the Kota tribe in Gabon.
The current owner was expecting a valuation in the region of £250,000, however the owner was left disappointed as instead of reaching the heights of a six figure valuation, he was told it was worth a fraction of this at £150.
In the episode, members of the public went to collect their possessions from Powis Castle in Welshpool, and one man hoped to learn more about the clock.
He explained to expert Alistair Chandler how he had paid £40 for a box of trinkets and later discovered the watch hidden at the bottom.
The guest said: “There were all kinds of fragments in [the box] and there were some tools I wanted, but at the bottom there were some dead watches, and among them was that one.
Alistair instantly warmed to the article and told the guest how he had “stumbled upon a gem.”
He then went on to tell how designer Jaeger-Lecoultre made the watch, before also pointing out the name of London luxury jeweler Asprey on the dial.
Alistair gushed: “It really oozes style” before revealing that it had been made in the 1930s and was at the “avant-garde of design” of the time.
Turning to the valuation, he concluded: “I think you paid £40 pounds, in the current market and interest in Jaeger watches and given the Asprey retail name.”
“I think someone would easily pay between £1,500 and £2,000 for this watch.”
The man looked stunned and let out a gasp before laughing, “That wasn’t a bad day of shopping.”
Fiona Bruce and the Antiques Roadshow team will hit the road again this summer to film the 47th series of one of the BBC’s best-loved shows.
Jaeger-LeCoultre is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is known for creating some of the most expensive watches in the world.
Fiona Bruce and the Antiques Roadshow team will hit the road again this summer to film the 47th series of one of the BBC’s best-loved shows.
Open to the public as usual with ticketed events, the team invites guests to tell them about their prized pieces in advance by submitting photos and information about their items via the Antiques Roadshow website.
Applications for tickets and exhibit items are now open with limited spaces. To order both, visit: www.bbc.co.uk/antiquesroadshow