An Antiques Roadshow guest gasped ‘good grief!’ as he learned the value of an ‘incredibly desired’ ornament on Sunday night’s episode.
He had picked the item up for just £30 at a charity shop and was staggered to learn how much it was worth.
This week the show was at The Grand Spa Hall in Scarborough where expert Will Farmer was given an Italian figurine of Lenci design to discuss.
The guest in question said: ‘I bought it in Whitby about six months ago at a charity shop’, to which Farmer exclaimed ‘good grief’.
The owner revealed that the item had set him back just £29.95 leading Farmer to exclaim that the man ‘had a seriously good eye’.
An Antiques Roadshow guest gasped ‘good grief!’ as he learned the value of an ‘incredibly desired’ ornament on Sunday night’s episode
He had picked the item up for just £30 at a charity shop and was staggered to learn how much it was worth
Farmer then explained more about the ornament saying: ‘Well you’ve said that wonderful name. Lenci in the 1920s and 1930s were really the jewel in the crown of the Italian ceramic industry.
‘And if we look underneath, the nice thing about Lenci is they are very clearly marked. Lenci, made in Italy, and the name of this piece, which is Angelita alla Corrida.
‘Now Lenci in the 1920s and 1930s were really at the pinnacle of what they were doing.
‘They were formed by a young lady called Helen Konig Scavini and Scavini was a very well travelled lady.
‘She actually originated from Germany, ended up in Switzerland and married an Italian to then just settle in Turin.
‘And what started out as a cottage industry actually making felt dolls, by 1928, her work had grown into this wonderful ceramic firm, making really what are classed now as some of the most wonderful deco figures of the period.
‘They epitomise the style, the chicness, the essence of that day.’
After the guest said again how it had only cost him £30, Farmer replied saying:
The expert said: ‘Oh well done, that’s good, because if I say to you we need to, very comfortably, move the decimal point, your £29.95 realistically now is worth £2,500 to £3,000.’
This week the show was at The Grand Spa Hall in Scarborough where expert Will Farmer was given an Italian figurine of Lenci design to discuss
The guest in question said: ‘I bought it in Whitby about six months ago at a charity shop’, to which Farmer exclaimed ‘good grief’
After hearing the huge sum the guest smiled: ‘Good grief. Really? Astonished at that.’
Farmer added: ‘These are incredibly desired figures the world over, particularly with the Italians, they love them.
‘And I have to say, I love mine as well so we’re both in very good company.’
The guest added: ‘That’s wonderful, thank you so much. That’s incredible.’
Also on the episode another guest was left stunned when her £15 costume jewellery was worth a staggering three-figure sum.
One woman brought expert Judith Miller a necklace with a flashy green emerald.
The piece was bought many years ago, as the guest revealed she bought it with her first-ever paycheck when she was just 16 years old.
Being shown the impressive necklace, Judith said: ‘Now I love costume jewellery. I always have done and I am totally in love with this. What made you love it?’
The guest quipped: ‘It was a combination, it’s colour, it’s simplicity, It’s really bold and it really just appealed.
‘It was actually in a dark corner and I really just loved it straight away,’ leaving Miller more intrigued to ask where she found it.
‘A little antique shop just in a little alleyway in Wollongong in Australia. I had just started my first ever job.
‘And I decided to treat myself to something that was a little bit special. Spent some of my first paycheck on it. I was 16.’
Judith tried to provide some expert analysis on the piece but the history of the jewelry was missing a maker’s mark.
She said: ‘It’s really really high-quality costume jewellery. Because costume jewellery comes in all sorts of levels, I mean, there is a cheap costume jewellery, there is extremely expensive costume jewellery and this is just incredibly well made.
‘It is beautifully designed and I am drawn to thinking it is French. Just looking at the quality, it makes me think of a couture collection.
‘You just don’t get this detail on every piece of costume jewellery, it’s definitely 1950s.’
‘Absolutely of its time, do you remember what you paid for it?’
The guest revealed: ‘I actually do. It was 30 dollars, Australian, so I don’t know maybe £15 to £20.’
Stunned at the small price she paid, Judith went on to valued the item between £400 and £500.
She said: ‘I think that was a pretty good bargain at the time because I would value this today at £400 to £500.’
Also on the episode another guest was left stunned when her £15 costume jewellery was worth a staggering three-figure sum
One woman brought expert Judith Miller a necklace with a flashy green emerald which was valued between £400 and £500
The shocked guest replied: ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it! Wow, good choice! Thank you!’
‘I am absolutely blown away, I am just so impressed that, I mean 16, I had no idea what I was doing, I bought something I loved’, she added.
‘I think that’s really amazing to hear that it is worth something, apart from my emotional attachment to it, so it is lovely. Go with your gut, I think that is great, buy things that you love.’
Other treasures included a set of stained-glass windows decorated with mermaids an ornately decorated mandolin found concealed in an old cupboard, a device used to make penicillin, a silver milk jug from Kashmir and a huge bell from a Japanese temple.
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