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Antiques Roadshow guest surprised by astonishing value of medieval stone head she found in her DRAIN

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Antiques Roadshow guest surprised by astonishing value of medieval stone head she found in her DRAIN

Fabergé flower: £1,000,000

Colonel Stamford Cartwright set the pulse of the exhibition’s jewelery expert, Geoffrey Munn, racing after bringing in a gold, diamond and jade floral ornament in April 2018, an expensive “part of the furniture”.

The precious object was originally owned by the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars in 1904 by Georgina, Countess of Dudley, the wife of Lord Dudley.

It was brought by Stamford, who collected the item on behalf of the squadron, known as B (Staffordshire, Warwick and Worcestershire) Sqn The Royal Yeomanry.

The rare object displayed in a glass vase was one of 80 such ornaments remaining.

Angel of the North Sculpture: £1,000,000

This rusty, man-sized model is worth more than the real Angel of the North.

The bronze sculpture, which John McElroy brought to the exhibition in 2008, was worth more than Gateshead Council paid for the actual statue, which was a sum of £800,000.

The Antony Gormley piece was one of several created by the artist in a bid to persuade the council to commission the 66ft royal statue in the 1990s.

But the councilman revealed that his roots with the model run deeper than simply being part of the council.

His father worked in the coal mine where the life-size statue is located.

When the exhibition’s expert art dealer, Philip Mold, saw the piece at the Sage Center in Gateshead, he revealed that another model twice the size had recently sold for around £2 million.

FA Cup: £1,000,000

The longest-serving FA Cup trophy was presented on the BBC program by Gabby Logan and former Leeds United manager Eddie Gray in 2015.

And it wasn’t until silver expert and football fan Alastair Dickenson revealed its surprising value that the two sports enthusiasts knew what awaited them.

The valuation, carried out at the Royal Hall in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, was the highest amount ever offered by Alastair having been valued at £1,000,000.

Explaining the importance of the cup, Gabby revealed that the trophy had enjoyed one of the longest tenures of any sporting award, having been used for 81 years until it was finally replaced in 1992.

Alastair claimed that the design of the trophy suggested that it had not been created to be a football trophy, but rather was designed as a “wine or champagne cooler”, as it featured engravings of grapes and vines.

The trophy was created in 1911 by Fattorini and Sons, Italian immigrants who arrived in Britain in the late 19th century.

Christofle planter: £560,000

Terry Nurrish was stunned when this wedding gift, often requisitioned by his children as a goalkeeper, was valued at £10,000 at the 1991 Antiques Roadshow.

But the retired farmer decided to preserve the seniority a little longer and it turned out to be a wise decision.

It sold at auction in 2014 for a staggering £560,000, making it one of the most expensive sale prices of any item valued at the long-running fair.

Terry, 68, received the “planter” from his parents, who collected it as part of a “work lot” of antiques valued at £100 in 1946.

Unbeknownst to the family, it was a French ‘Japonisme’ bronze and enamel ornament made in 1874 by the renowned Christofle for the Paris Exhibition.

Banksy mobile lovers: £403,000

A boys club who had a rare Banksy artwork on their doorstep valued it at more than £400,000 on the Antiques Roadshow.

The work, called Mobile Lovers, appeared overnight on a wooden board screwed to a wall near the Broad Plain Boys’ Club in Banksy’s hometown of Bristol.

The club’s Dennis Stinchcombe became embroiled in a dispute with the council after removing the artwork placed on a wall near the club.

Struggling, they hoped that by selling the piece they could keep them open.

But the artwork was removed by the city council, who claimed they owned the wall and displayed it in Bristol.

The artist waded into the discussion by writing a letter to the club owner, giving him his “blessing” to do what he considered right with art.

Dennis, 58, had the piece valued by experts from Antiques Roadshow, who were filming in Bristol in 2014, and was told by gallerist and expert Rupert Maas that selling the artwork for £400,000 would be a “good deal” .

He eventually sold it at auction for £403,000.

Antony Van Dyck painting: £400,000

It was an ancient treasure that could have netted a lucky priest £500,000 more.

The ancient masterpiece, painted by Antony Van Dyck, was bought by Derbyshire priest Father Jamie MacLeod in a Cheshire antiques shop for £400 in 1992.

Seen by presenter Fiona during the roadshow in Nottinghamshire, who was doing a program about the artist at the time, the piece was questioned as original in 2013.

When art expert and dealer Philip Mold and Dr Christopher Brown examined the painting, it was confirmed to be original.

The piece is said to be called The Magistrates of Brussels and hung in the city hall until it was destroyed by a French attack in 1695.

After a three-month long restoration and verification process, the 17th-century painting was confirmed to be original when “17th-century brush strokes were revealed beneath” the top layer of the painting.

Gold Leica Luxus II camera: £320,000

A gold-plated Leica Luxus II camera was valued at between £300,000 and £800,000 after being unveiled at the show in 2001.

It was originally valued at £5,000, but in 2013, it was put up for sale through Bonham auction house and revalued at over £300,000.

Covered in lizard skin, the piece is one of four special edition versions manufactured in 1932 and the whereabouts of the others remains a mystery.

The camera was given to its late owner, a keen amateur photographer, after the Second World War and he used it throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

The Luxus II was used avidly for several decades and then put into storage until the owner brought it to the showroom to view.

When it went on sale, it sold in Hong Kong in 2013 for £320,000.

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