'Antiques Roadshow' guest brings a bowl that cost him $2 — then the expert revealed its real value
Items that end up on "Antiques Roadshow" could be worth a fortune, even if they didn't cost much to the owner. But when they’re more than a couple of centuries old, they’re bound to fetch a substantial amount. That’s what happened in an earlier episode of the show, in which one guest brought what the expert initially called a Chinese sauce boat. Later on, it turned out to be an important piece of early British porcelain work worth thousands.
“The inside is particularly closely based on a kinlong export piece, and these little precious objects around here again suggest China. But of course, this is not China, this is English,” the expert said. The expert called it a rare piece that had been molded into a petal, as was evident by the folds in its surface.
“It’s a very early piece of Worcester porcelain,” the expert added, before saying, “Made just at that changeover period when Lund’s Bristol came to Worcester, about 1751-52. It’s what we call the Wigornia type because there is a class of sauceboats with the word ‘wigornia’, which is the Latin for Worcester, on it, and it’s given its name to this class of porcelain.”
He then asked the guest if he had bought it somewhere. He said that his family had purchased it about 30 years ago and had only paid a couple of dollars for it at the time. It was displayed on a tray with various kinds of items, and this one struck the eye of the buyer, among other things. It’s a good thing that it did because its valuation was about to shock the host, who wasn’t expecting to hear a five-figure amount.
While this item may have historical significance, it was not in the best condition. The expert pointed out a couple of places where the 200-plus-year-old item had been damaged. “Now its tragedy, if it has one, is we’ve got a crack here. Now this is actually a firing crack. This has been in the manufacture, and it has opened up a bit and split a bit further,” he said.
The guest would have hoped that was the only demerit of the item, but it was not the case. The sauceboat had some chipping near its edge. “We’ve also got a chip under the spout,” the expert noted. “But it is not, for a piece of this age and importance, it is not that bad.” However, Such damage made it tough for the expert to place a value on it. So he gave a rather broad estimate.
He said that the item would be able to bring in something in the £5,000 ($6,682) to £10,000 ($13,364) range. The guest was not expecting this. “No. Good Lord,” he said. “Not bad for a couple of quids’ worth of junk on a tray, is it?” the expert quipped.
More on Market Realist:
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