An Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to discover the value of her vases at the exhibition.
The price of the item sparked dozens of gasps from the crowd after learning the price of the three ceramic items.
The guest, who appeared on the show with her daughter and grandson, struggled to contain her shock and excitement when expert Eric Knowles revealed the staggering price.
When he revealed the value, the loud gasp from the crowd woke up even his grandson, while his daughter stammered, “Are you kidding me?”
Expert Eric said: “In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a lot of interest in fairies. You may remember that some photographs were taken which convinced people that there were fairies at the bottom of people’s gardens.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned after discovering the value of her vases at the exhibition.
The price of the item provoked dozens of exclamations of astonishment among the crowd after learning the price of the three ceramic objects.
“And you’re a good person to talk to, since from what I can see, you have fairies in your cupboard. Have you been living with those fairies for quite some time?”
The guest replied: “For about 12 years. Before that, they lived in Ireland from about 1962 to 2004. They were owned by a cousin of my aunt who lived in Johannesburg.”
Eric replied: “My goodness, these vases have travelled a long way. So they were fairies in South Africa, they were leprechauns when they came to Ireland and now they are fairies again in Saffron Walden.”
The guest replied: “They are very special, because they remind me of my aunt.”
Eric said, ‘Well, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Let’s take a look at the pieces, because I know you’ve done some research, because I’ve been talking to the daughter who’s standing behind you with the next heir.’
‘The big name here, one we’ve heard before on the Roadshow, is Daisy Makeig-Jones as designer.
‘She presented these amazing designs, produced by Wedgwood in Stoke-On-Trent and under the Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre banner.
‘So you have three excellent, top-quality pieces. The thing about the Wedgwood Fairyland in general is that it depends very, very much on the condition. A bit of wear and tear.
‘So the first thing I do when I see a container like this is this (tap the container).
The guest, who appeared on the show with her daughter and grandson, struggled to contain her shock and excitement when expert Eric Knowles revealed the staggering price.
When he revealed the value, the loud gasp from the crowd woke up even his grandson, while his daughter stammered, “Are you kidding me?”
The audience couldn’t believe the assessment and were left speechless while the guest covered her face in disbelief.
“That sounds good. It’s a good sound. The decor is called Castle On The Road, but the interior, for some reason, is called Boxers.
‘Now I’m looking at these fairies, or rather boxing fairies, but I can’t see any boxing fairies, but anyway, that’s what it’s called.
“It’s making the right sound, because if it had a little drum roll, that would have been worth £1,000. Now it’s worth a little over £1,000. So I think we’ll start with that one which is around £3,000.”
Already surprised by the price, the guest said: “Wow.”
When Eric turned to the second vase, called Pillars, he confirmed that it was worth around £6,000.
The guest said: “What’s wrong with this? She should be sitting up,” before her daughter chimed in: “Or lying down, mum.”
His third and final object, the largest vase, came under a little scrutiny as Eric carefully examined the object.
He said: ‘It’s called Bubbles for obvious reasons and it has this wonderful arrangement of what look like water babies, don’t they? Little sprites with wings.
‘Now we have to come to an agreement on this, because I don’t want to lift it.
“You like that? Are you sure? Okay, sure. The thing is, I’m looking in there and I’m wondering if I can see a crack. Because if that’s a crack…
In short, if there’s a crack, do you mind if I look inside? If there’s a crack, it’s 2,000 pounds. Do you understand? Okay.
Eric looked at the vase more closely and said, “No. Wait. Let’s take a look. Well… no. There are no cracks.”
He then revealed that the price had risen to a whopping £20,000, making the total price of all three vases £29,000.
The audience couldn’t believe the assessment and were left speechless while the guest covered her face in disbelief.
Her daughter then joked: “Oh my god. Okay, that woke the baby up.