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An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned after learning the value of a dish she rescued from a skip not once, but TWICE after her husband tried to scrap it.
This week, the cherished BBC series made its way to Firstsite in Colchester, with expert Chris Yeo meeting a mother-daughter duo to discuss the history and value of their dish.
Complimenting their outfits, Chris said: ‘You’ve both brought some real colour to the Roadshow today, you’ve even upstaged a peacock which takes some doing!’
The mother explained that the dish, which originally belonged to her mother-in-law in Cornwall, had been discarded by her husband in the skip.
‘My husband, I don’t think cared for it very much and I found that he put this dish in the skip’, she said.
A surprised Chris asked: ‘In a skip?, with the mother confirming: ‘In a skip. So I put it to one side and then about half an hour later, I went back to check and the dish had gone back in again.’
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned after learning the value of a dish she rescued from a skip not once, but TWICE after her husband tried to scrap it
This week, the cherished BBC series made its way to Firstsite in Colchester, with expert Chris Yeo meeting a mother-daughter duo to discuss the history and value of their dish
Chris responded: ‘Well that’s no good, is it?’, as she agreed: ‘No. So I took it out and said, ‘No, I don’t want it throwing away.”
Asking the daughter what her thoughts were on the item, she replied: ‘I absolutely love it. It has sat up on the dresser all of my life and I’ve just admired it up there and I’m really hoping one day mum’s going to let me have it.’
Chris then looked into the history of the unique item: ‘Well let’s have a quick look at the front first, because we’ve got this rather splendid, proud peacock and then this wonderful scrollwork around the outside.
‘Now we said right at the beginning that it’s made of copper but everyone knows copper is supposed to gleam and be orange but this isn’t orange. It’s more like something else, what’s going on, it’s really dull.’
The owner then explained how she was worried to clean the item so ‘took the easy way out and didn’t clean it.’
Chris then confirmed that her decision was correct: ‘Well I’m very glad you decided not to, because this is how it’s meant to look.
‘Because what the original intention was, was that this should emulate bronze so it’s absolutely right, it’s in its original condition.’
The dish was created by John Pearson and was created in 1891, marking the ‘start of the arts and crafts movement’.
The mother explained that the dish, which originally belonged to her mother-in-law in Cornwall, had been discarded by her husband in the skip
Expert Chris Yeo valued the item around £600 to £800
The guest were shocked to find out the value of their item, as the mother gasped: ‘Wow. Excellent’
Chris elaborated on Pearson’s background: ‘He was an interesting character. He started off working in London at the Guild of Handicraft which is one of the early organisations involved in the arts and crafts ethos.
‘But he got the sack because he was moonlighting, doing his own thing, and that was strictly against the rules and he was sent away.
‘And when he went to Cornwall to the industrial school where he was master metalworker there.’
The expert was then pleased to inform the duo: ‘Well I’ve got to say I’m very pleased that you rescued it from a skip not once but twice, because I think in the right sale, I can see this doing rather well. And I think at auction, I think it’s £600 to £800.’
The guest were shocked to find out the value of their item, as the mother gasped: ‘Wow. Excellent.’
Expert Chris then joked: ‘So you can go home and crow to your husband now and say, ‘See? I was right.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.