

Natasha Raskin Sharp and Ishy Khan – Day 2
Season 27 Episode 17 | 43m 39sVideo has Closed Captions
In North Yorkshire, a satirical Georgian caricature and a glass terrarium.
In North Yorkshire, Natasha Raskin Sharp finds a satirical Georgian caricature and a George III silver cream jug. Ishy Khan buys a dainty Victorian love heart watch key, some Persian salt bags and a glass terrarium.

Natasha Raskin Sharp and Ishy Khan – Day 2
Season 27 Episode 17 | 43m 39sVideo has Closed Captions
In North Yorkshire, Natasha Raskin Sharp finds a satirical Georgian caricature and a George III silver cream jug. Ishy Khan buys a dainty Victorian love heart watch key, some Persian salt bags and a glass terrarium.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipVOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...
Which way are the bargains?
VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car... Do you know where we are?
No.
VO: ..and a goal, to scour Britain for antiques.
Act one, scene one.
VO: The aim, to make the biggest profit at auction.
Ta-da!
VO: But it's no mean feat.
There'll be worthy winners...
Woo!
Happy dance!
VO: ..and valiant losers.
Heartbroken.
Close your ears.
VO: Will it be the high road to glory...
It's just delightful, isn't it?
VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?
VO: This is Antiques Road Trip.
VO: Yeah!
Yeah!
VO: Hello, North Yorkshire!
I love this area, I love the scenery, but...these cows have been... Well fed.
ISHY: Need to crank this window.
NATASHA: Oh!
NATASHA: Oh!
(GROANS) ISHY: It's coming in strong!
VO: Come on.
It's good country air.
You've got 1,000 rabbits in a line, and 999 take a step backwards, what's it called?
(ENGINE SPLUTTERS) Oh, I think you might be in third.
VO: Uh, don't think that's the punch line.
I don't know.
What is it called?
A receding hare-line.
Oh, my days.
That's terrible.
VO: All that...for that?
You enjoying being a passenger?
A little bit.
VO: Try telling your face, Tash.
It's the second leg.
Behind the wheel of this rockstar-mobile, the 1966 Volvo Amazon, is jewels afficionado Ishy Khan and hot-shot auctioneer Natasha Raskin Sharp.
Sharp by name, sharp by nature.
(CLUNKING) NATASHA: Nailed it.
VO: Not quite.
Ha!
Hatton Garden jeweler Ishy is the bright young thing shaking up the world of gems.
ISHY: It sparkles.
VO: Not only drawn to sparkle, this history lover is a magnet to all things gorgeously antique.
It's almost humbling to be holding something that's pushing 400 years.
VO: The Glasgow gavel wielder noising up the auction scene... NATASHA: Oh... VO: ..Tash is a force to be reckoned with.
She is the go-to expert for contemporary art.
There's treasure in here.
VO: With one auction win under her belt, it's 1-0 to Tash.
Too good.
NATASHA: Ask me anything, Ishy.
Ask me anything.
Ask you anything...
Anything, anything at all.
VO: Let's give Ishy a moment, here.
From her starter kitty of £1,500, Natasha now has £1,275.
VO: Ishy also began with £1,500, and now has the sum of £1,157.
What's your favorite sandwich?
Oh, what is my favorite sandwich?
I don't know, but that's an excellent question.
Brie and cranberry?
Oh, delicious.
I think it would have to involve an olive.
VO: Good to know.
This tour began in Berwick-upon-Tweed, skipped around Northumberland, will zip around North Yorkshire before a dazzling auction finale in Bristol.
Olive bread?
Oh!
Right...we're friends forever, now.
VO: She likes olives.
Our chummy-wummies are in North Yorkshire, concluding shopping in Stillington.
First stop, Whitby.
Nice.
Tash has been dropped off in the town that taught Captain Cook to sail.
What antique adventure will she get up to in here?
She's eager...
The bazaar is festooned with goodies... ..plenty for the antiques swashbuckler to choose from.
NATASHA: (WHISPERS) That's quite sweet.
That's quite nice.
Derby and Joan.
Isn't that what we say about people, when they've been together for a million years and they're just a little old couple?
Don't you just call them, "Oh, they're like Derby and Joan"?
(PIGEONS COO) There's something very Whitby about looking for antiques to the sound of pigeons pecking away on the...the skylight.
VO: Oh, that's just Nora out for a stroll.
NATASHA: Drawn and etched by Dighton... ..who...was 18th century caricaturist.
And it must have been fun, maybe embarrassing to be sent up by Dighton, but that's what the 18th century is known for.
I mean, the birth of the tabloid press, people were having fun poked at them.
VO: Robert Dighton made a substantial contribution to the art of caricature and is credited with creating colored prints of actors in their favorite roles.
I think another thing that indicates that this is right by Dighton, Righton if you will, is that they're in profile.
And he's known for his pieces in profile.
£10, every print in this box?
I think it's worth more than £10.
VO: Strong possible for Tash, then.
Where art thou, Ishy?
It is baking.
I'm going to cook up some good buys today because I am sizzling.
VO: See what you did there?
20 miles further along the coast, Ishy has made it to Scarborough.
The sea air has been a tonic for many here since the 18th century.
Let's see if it all works wonders for Ishy's shopping mission.
This emporium has been on the go since 1965.
Let's get our mooch on, shall we?
ISHY: Oh... Good... VO: Hello, dog.
VO: This is the adorable Candy.
ISHY: Good girl, dog.
VO: I think she's had enough.
Ishy has £1,157, so get on with it.
ISHY: There's a really lovely ring in here.
I don't even have to take it out to know that it's going to be out of budget, but I do want to take a closer look.
All jewelry always tells a story, and this is packed full of symbolism.
The front of the ring reads, "Verus Ad Finem..." ..and is inset with two lovely little old-cut diamonds.
And Verus Ad Finem means, "True to the end."
And then surrounding the raised relief writing, we've got little ivy leaves.
Ivy leaves represented loyalty, fidelity.
So this would be probably a romantic piece.
You'd give it to your partner to say that, "I'm going to be loyal until the end."
So it's very sentimental.
Sadly, 800 is out of my budget, even if I was the best haggler in the world, so I'm going to have to leave it behind.
But how sweet is that?
VO: Love comes at a price, especially with diamonds.
Back to Tash in Whitby.
From Natasha's original £1,500, she now has £1,275.
Oh, look at the shape, there.
I'm seeing damage, but I'm also seeing a lovely shape.
So, this looks as though it would have come from a dessert service, which would have been quite grand.
Minton, that's a good name to have impressed on the base of your dinner service, dessert service.
Are they irises?
No, they're not.
No, I don't have a clue.
VO: We can't all be Monty Don.
Now, Minton's was Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era.
NATASHA: These plates... have little spreading feet at the base and they're raised.
So one is a low tazza.
Two, three, four low tazze.
Oh, the plural is so delightful.
I think they're late-Victorian, 1870s, '80s.
I just think there are collectors for this type of crockery.
I mean, there are hand-painted elements.
That pink border, that's hand-done, and the gilding as well, which is a real survivor.
This is pre-dishwasher.
They need to be steeped, as we would say in Scotland, in a bowl of washing up liquid, very gently cleaned and brought back to life a little bit.
VO: All four dishes come to a total of £60, along with the Georgian painting... Let's find dealer Frank.
Hi, Frank.
NATASHA: Frank, I've seen a couple of things.
One of them is a print, a little 18th century etching by Dighton.
Now, I don't think it's terribly valuable and you don't, either, because it's marked up at £10.
FRANK: Oh...
Yes.
NATASHA: So I'm happy at 10.
NATASHA: And then if I want to use my posh voice, the "tazze" at the back, the Minton's group of low tazza, you know the ones?
Oh, you have them for what you like, but we'll quote you a price.
£30 for the lot.
30, with the print?
No, we'll have to put a tenner on the print... NATASHA: Right, OK. ..£40 for the lot.
OK.
So £40 in total?
FRANK: That's it.
Yeah.
Let's shake on it, Frank.
I'm grateful for that.
VO: How very kind, Frank.
Thank you.
Tash now has a little over £1,200.
VO: Now, down the coast in Scarborough, stand by.
ISHY: Now, there must be something in the air here in Scarborough, cuz there's another really sweet, romantic jewel just inside this cabinet.
So I love that we have a watch key, and giving it a little twist to make it a very endearing, romantic object.
So we've got a double-sided heart.
One side probably foiled rock crystal, or it could be a citrine.
And on the other side, we've got a bloodstone.
Not many people today have pocket watches that need winding but because of the way this is made and how it looks, like a little heart, it could just be worn as a necklace.
VO: Do you know, that's a lovely example of how an antique can adapt and survive to still be of use over 100 years later.
That's so dreamy.
So this is probably made of rolled gold, which is a very, very thin layer of gold on metal that was used in the Victorian era and still used today.
Now, this has a ticket price of £20 and for 20 quid, I think this could do really well at auction.
VO: Stand by, Matt and Candy.
I've found this really lovely watch key.
I mean, it's in gorgeous condition and it's £20, so I'm not going to haggle.
I think it's a very fair price.
So if you're happy, I'd love to take it off your hands.
MATT: No problem.
ISHY: So, nice quick deal!
VO: Thank you, Matt.
Ishy now has £1,137 for the rest of the trip.
VO: Meanwhile, let's find Natasha.
She's made it to a top secret location in the North Yorkshire countryside.
Deep in the rolling hills here rests a curious collection of relics from British automotive history, a feat of engineering that for the first time allowed the disabled community a taste of freedom and independence.
Tash is meeting with collector and disability rights campaigner Simon McKeown.
Simon, hi.
How are you?
Hi, Natasha.
Good to see you.
It's great to see you, too.
And great to see this, because I've never seen the like, Simon, so what exactly do we have here?
You've got what's called an Argson invalid carriage.
This is from 1947, 1948.
This was produced for disabled users from before World War II and after World War II.
And this particular vehicle was given to a Polish airplane pilot, I believe.
This was part of their mobility.
VO: Let's go back to the 17th century, shall we?
While fire ravaged the City of London, a German paraplegic clockmaker invented a self-propelling wheelchair, which in turn inspired the 18th century bath chair.
You kind of start getting these kind of vehicles without an engine so they look like this, without an engine, that you pushed.
But then also, the bath chair gets an engine put on it.
Simple as that, really.
And a vehicle like this gets an engine put on it.
So what you're starting to see is, bath chair with an engine and a hand-pushed version of this with an engine, which then becomes this.
VO: The 1940s invalid carriage was brought about by motorcycle manufacturer Bert Greeves in 1946.
He wanted to help disabled ex-servicemen regain their freedom.
NATASHA: And this Argson example, you said 1947, '48, so we're almost immediately post World War II, was there an uptick in demand, men coming back with disabilities?
If you were impaired by World War II, you could get a vehicle through the provisions that were put in place for service people.
VO: With the rosy glow of the birth of the NHS, the motorized tricycles were supplied free to those eligible.
Suddenly a whole new group of people came onboard, like my grandfather.
Oh, your grandfather used something like this?
SIMON: Yeah.
NATASHA: Oh, interesting.
And was he someone who'd been injured during the war?
SIMON: No no, so he came through the NHS scheme as somebody who was born with a condition which meant that he couldn't walk properly.
So it's a really fantastic scheme when you think of it, in the...to enable people into work who previously would have been quite restricted in where they could go and what jobs they could do, because they couldn't get there.
VO: Comfy there, Tibbles?
By the glam-rock 1970s, the AC Invacar Model 70 hit the roads.
NATASHA: One thing you notice straight away is the color.
Why did the car manufacturers choose this color?
SIMON: They've become this teal blue color, because it identifies them as a vehicle for a disabled user.
You could drive this outside your shop and people would realize who you were, what you were, and why you needed to be outside the shop.
And how safe were these as vehicles?
This particular vehicle, the Model 70, was known for being unsafe.
This was the last vehicle that the government commissioned, but they put a bigger engine in the back of the vehicle and that bigger engine, in certain conditions, lifted the single front wheel up.
VO: The dangers were real.
Safety campaigns and support, even from Formula 1 champ Graham Hill, meant drastic action was needed.
By the time the scheme finished in the mid-'70s, and it was closed to new entrants, there was 25,000 vehicles on the road in Britain, of all types.
So not just this type but all the types.
NATASHA: Yeah... SIMON: 25,000.
So they were everywhere, every town, every city, every village.
VO: Despite its popularity, by the early 2000s, when UK car ownership was nearly 30 million, the little Invacar was deemed unsafe and taken off the road.
Now a rare collector's piece, owner Adam Bennett can show Tash just how they work.
The seat is designed so it can be set up like Meccano, so they'd fold the side of the wheelchair down... ..they'd shuffle across, get in.
After they've done that, they'd move the seat back across till it locks in place, there.
Then they would collapse the wheelchair, drag it in, push it forward... ..pull the door back...slam it, and they're good to go.
NATASHA: To a fine art.
ADAM: Yeah, absolutely.
Would you like to have a drive?
Yeah, if you think that's suitable... ADAM: Absolutely, yeah.
NATASHA: I would like to, yes.
VO: Let's take it for a spin, Tash.
VO: Those fitted with the 600cc engine had a claimed top speed of 82mph.
Crikey Moses!
NATASHA: What an incredible bit of design the Invacar is, I have to say.
Does feel like there's some risk involved, but I suppose people who had mobility issues... ..would have taken that risk.
I mean, here I am on a private country road, but...do you know something?
If I'd needed one of these in the 1970s, what would have stopped me, really, from coming out to a road like this?
It didn't just take you to the shops, didn't just take you to the football stadiums - if you really wanted to, if you were able to go in convoy with other vehicles, you could actually have access to the countryside like this.
And that's why, I suppose, it's such an important piece of social history.
VO: The little ice-blue Invacar was an evolutionary milestone.
It paved the way for the Motability scheme, which allows conventional cars to be adapted for disability and is used by over 600,000 people in the UK today.
VO: From one classic...to another.
Sorry, I feel like I'm a bit back-seat of the movies here.
NATASHA: This car just makes... ISHY: No, no.
It's very, very... NATASHA: I'm a bit louche.
I'm like, "Hey, there..." ..what are you up to?
Yeah!
ISHY: Yeah!
VO: Watch her, Ishy.
VO: Nighty night!
A new...day...has dawned.
VO: Let the party continue.
Do you know something?
Queen Victoria was the original influencer.
I never thought about that!
ISHY: Yeah!
Proper trendsetter.
NATASHA: Proper trendsetter.
So what would be her handle, then?
Don't know.
Queen Mother Of Europe?
(LAUGHS) Queen... At VickyV.
VO: The original Queen Vic.
Albert... (LAUGHS) Yeah.
Albert with an A, 4 life... NATASHA: Eva.
4 life... ISHY: ..Eva, E-V-A.
Albie 4 Eva!
VO: Hashtag excited.
VO: Yesterday, Tash played it safe... ..buying the Georgian painting and the Minton dessert dishes.
This is pre-dishwasher.
VO: Natasha, now, from her original 1,500, has 1,235 smackers.
VO: Ishy was also super-cautious, collecting just the Victorian watch key.
I love that this is a very ordinary item that's been revamped.
VO: Meaning Ishy now has £1,137 left in his kitty.
I do find they are a little bit smaller.
NATASHA: What's smaller?
ISHY: The cars, like... No, this is so spacious!
What do you drive?
Something humongous?
ISHY: Not humongous... NATASHA: A tank?
..just a normal car, but I have a little bit more arm room.
A tank?
Can you imagine?
VO: He's probably got a roller at home.
And I don't mean for his hair.
You are trendy.
Oh, come on Ishy.
ISHY: Look at that jacket and shirt.
NATASHA: Come on.
Look at... ISHY: Super chic.
..that polo neck.
That's a staple, if ever I saw one.
Yeah, hopefully it doesn't get warmer.
VO: A fashionista must.
Their travels today will continue around North Yorkshire, with both chumsters shopping in Pickering at the aptly named Pickering Antiques.
NATASHA: Oh, look at this!
Right.
Come on, Ishy.
ISHY: What a beautiful day.
Where are we going?
NATASHA: Antiques... ISHY: Upstairs.
NATASHA: Oh, upstairs?
Right, OK. ISHY: Ladies first.
NATASHA: Oh, thank you.
NATASHA: Right, OK. What lies within?
VO: This 500 year old building houses a cacophony of curiosities.
Natasha has a smidgeroo over £1,200.
Alright, down there?
There is something very genteel about this cream jug.
(EXHALES) I can see the silhouette of a George, so yes, it's Georgian... ..but it's the London assay mark that's making me think, so...let me just have a look.
This is the important thing, the lack of the crown.
The leopard has lost its crown, and there's been a change of the king.
We've gone from George III to George IV.
There's a P...1810.
1810 in London.
What a time to have been alive.
My goodness.
VO: It was an exciting era.
London was the capital of the empire and about to become the biggest city in the world.
NATASHA: This flat top to the handle is very much of the period.
It's very simple Georgian style.
But could I wish for a better price?
£30.
Full price?
That seems very reasonable.
I'm...definitely going to go for this.
VO: Ooh, Ishy, where are you?
ISHY: Sometimes you need all the help you can get.
Let's see what treasure we can find... (IMITATES METAL DETECTOR) (CHUCKLES) Come on.
Where is this missing treasure?
(IMITATES METAL DETECTOR) I think it's found something.
(IMITATES METAL DETECTOR) VO: Ishy has £1,137 remaining.
With his magical powers of detection, what can he find?
ISHY: This terrarium is lead lined and then you've got these glass panels and these cherry red panels all around the top.
Now, I'm just going to take a look at the label... ..and it's got the dreaded "AF", which means "as found".
And that's normally an indication that the piece has some damage.
I'm just going to take a look and see where this damage is.
Terrariums are usually sealed units, so I can see that there's three panels of glass that don't appear to be here.
But if we look closely... ..the glass framing the missing panels is a lot thinner.
So I think that these panels aren't actually missing and it's an intentional part of the design.
So maybe this is more of a display piece.
How wonderful is the glass base?
And the fact that that survived.
VO: The terrarium was invented by English botanist Dr Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in the mid 19th century, an accidental discovery while raising moth pupae.
ISHY: Now, what would you use these for today?
You can put your plants inside of it, or even a candle, in this, would look beautiful.
Just the light reflecting off all the different pieces of glass.
It's a really, really special object.
I can see on the ticket, it's marked at £45.
I think this could do quite well at auction.
VO: Uh-oh.
I sense trouble... ISHY: (BLOWS WHISTLE) NATASHA: Oh!
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God.
Oh, Ishy...
I thought it was a fire alarm!
ISHY: (CHUCKLES) NATASHA: You... You have become so Machiavellian!
ISHY: (LAUGHS) Who are you?!
ISHY: Sorry, I couldn't resist.
No, I'm...I'm storming out.
I'm storming out.
VO: Play nicely, you two.
There, there, Tash, let's see what you can find.
NATASHA: This perfume looks really delicate.
I'm going to touch the bottle first because that's hardy, obviously.
Look...
I think it's still sealed!
Oh actually, there's a date on the label, "circa 1905", but pretend I didn't see that, because there are clues.
The style of the flowers and, I think, more importantly, or equally importantly, the font are just at the turn of the 20th century.
Think of Paris.
Think of the great Metro signs.
Think of... (SIGHS) ..the can-can posters, Le Chat Noir, think of Toulouse-Lautrec.
Now, I would say "LT Pee-ver", but let's bring it to life.
(IN FRENCH ACCENT) LT Piver.
I presume that they manufactured and created their scent in Paris and then sent it out into the world.
(IN FRENCH ACCENT) "Floramye" is the name of the perfume.
VO: Beautifully said.
Still existing today, the perfume house began back in 1774, from the sale of perfumed gloves to being the main supplier to the Royal Court of Louis XVI.
Oh, la-la!
NATASHA: Oh, it is card and... Oh, wow.
OK, so this is lovely.
We have the lid and the back.
Now, yes, it has seen better days.
The lid is ripped here...but come on, over 100 years.
And just imagine going into this shop in Paris.
Oh!
You would go into the grand department store and you would be surrounded by the most fashionable women.
£85.
There is an exclamation mark after the word "rare".
I think that probably is quite rare.
Do you know what they say in France?
They say, "Mm, c'est un peu...too much."
Perhaps I'm just getting a little bit carried away, but...I think I have to have that.
VO: Stand by, dealer Mark.
Let's start with the George III silver cream jug.
So...marked up at £30.
I can't quibble at that, can I?
I don't think so, no.
I think that's a really good price for that piece.
But let's have a wee haggle for the perfume bottle.
What's the best?
I think on that particular piece, we can go £60.
NATASHA: Are you sure?
MARK: I'm sure.
NATASHA: For real?
MARK: For real.
NATASHA: Let's shake on it.
Thank you so much!
Right, let me give you some money.
VO: Thank you, Mark.
Natasha now has £1,145 left.
NATASHA: Oh, what a weird little pair!
Like me and Ishy.
VO: Back inside, let's find the man with the best hair in antiques.
So...just like in a supermarket, don't forget that you can often find bargains on the lower shelves.
So I'm just having a little rummage around and seeing what I can find.
This might lock in a profit.
You've got a wonderful... VO: Whoopsie.
ISHY: Got a very nice, what looks like, a Victorian door mechanism.
And it all just depends if it works, which it does.
It's got a maker's mark around the central panel.
I'll have to do a bit of research because it is chipped away.
Often, these pieces were made in different parts and they are numbered, and that's how they would construct them, together at the end.
It's £45.
These can sell for hundreds of pounds, so...maybe this could be a winner at auction, too.
VO: Along with the early 20th century terrarium, also priced at 45, we have a total of £90.
There's Tracy here to talk money.
I want to see what's the best we can do.
TRACY: So I can do 10%.
ISHY: OK.
So that'll get it down to £80.
ISHY: £80.
Is that the best you can do?
TRACY: (SIGHS) Yeah.
I really, really want to beat Natasha.
Yeah, um...I can...I can get it down to 75.
That's very, very generous.
I do not want to be super cheeky, but I do want to beat Natasha... Is there any chance we can shake hands at 70?
TRACY: Go on, then.
ISHY: Yeah?!
70?
TRACY: Yeah... Come on.
Yeah.
ISHY: You are a legend.
ISHY: (LAUGHS) Thank you so much!
..I'm not going to dawdle.
Let's get the cash.
OK. VO: Tracy, you are kindness itself.
That breaks down to £35 each for the terrarium and the Victorian door lock and brass fittings.
ISHY: Walking very slowly cuz I do not want this to smash.
VO: Ishy now has £1,067.
Now, where is our pearl, Natasha?
Hold on, we're turning a corner.
I think it's quite good practice when you're turning a corner to let people know you're coming.
(HONKS HORN) Yeah...
There's no one there, but safety first.
VO: Indeed, we are in North Yorkshire, heading for York.
York is considered to be one of the most haunted cities in the world... ..with over 500 ghostly ghouls roaming the streets.
Before you say, "Boo", Tash is going in here, the Red House Antiques Centre.
Let's find something spooktacular, shall we?
Inside this 300 year old Georgian townhouse, every inch is crammed with antiques, not ghosts.
Hmm.
But you never know.
With £1,145 stuffed in her purse, let's see what she plumps for in here.
NATASHA: There are two shale cameos in this cabinet, miles apart...price-wise.
150 for the one at the front, 280 for the one at the back.
And yet the one at the front is so much more exquisitely carved.
The one at the back is in a nine-carat frame.
At the front here, on this large cameo, she is a follower of the god of wine, of revelry, of pure ecstasy.
And she is showing that by displaying vine leaves and grapes in her hair.
I've just realized why it might be a little cheaper, as well.
A little vine leaf or a tendril of hair has come off and left, basically, just its shadow, a ghost of what it was.
That makes sense.
So despite the fine carving, she's slightly broken.
VO: Making this fruity reveler a no-no.
Let's leave Tash to mingle and mooch.
Meanwhile, the man with the bouncy hair is in the village of Stillington.
Stillington Vintage Emporium.
Watch out, here comes Ishy.
ISHY: Gnome Central, over here.
VO: Yeah.
They're keeping an eye on you, boy.
VO: Isn't it lovely in here?
Oh, hey... (LAUGHS) ..my favorite.
(ACCORDION PLAYS) VO: It might be your favorite... At least he's enjoying himself, though.
Ishy has less than Tash...£1,067.
ISHY: Persian salt bag.
Originated from the Iranian region, and these were used by nomadic tribes to transport salt, mainly on camelback, across the desert.
Salt was an important commodity.
You... Everyone needs salt to stay alive, but it's also something that could be traded and did have a value.
The shape is very unique to the tribal regions of Iran, the borders of Afghanistan, and it's made of this flat, woven front almost similar to kilim rugs in their design.
And each pattern, I believe, had a meaning.
It's probably 19th century, and...you can tell by the fading of the colors on the back, the wear to the tassels and the general use that this does have some age.
VO: Salt was once as precious as gold.
This is a true symbol of the spirit of desert adventure.
ISHY: Underneath it, we've got another salt bag.
And look at the colors and patterns on this.
You can see the difference in the two.
But have a look at the back of this one, you've got an almost multicolor rainbow!
I can't see any tags on these, so I'm going to put them down and carry on looking.
But aren't they just magnificent?
VO: Yep.
Those bag faces sure are.
Let's nip back to Tash in York.
NATASHA: Now, you might be thinking, why would you put such a nice piece of continental porcelain, this urn and cover, in such a precarious position?
And I'll tell you why.
Because it's not porcelain.
It's actually tin.
It's toleware, so it's really nicely painted tin.
And look at this floral spray in the central cartouche.
Absolutely divine.
And then we have nice gilding along the oval base these little... Swaggy border.
This is, what, early 19th century?
But I think from the 18th century or thereabouts onwards, people used to really enjoy eating chestnuts.
So after your meal, sit down, open the urn, and within, you'll find a heaving lump of chestnuts.
VO: The word 'tole' comes from the French "tole peinte du lac", meaning "painted metal".
It started life as a way to prevent household items from rusting.
NATASHA: OK, 95...is too much.
I actually haven't handled one before, and it's a lovely thing to see and I've never bought one before, so I think I'd be willing to take a risk.
It's trick of the eye, "trompe l'oeil".
It's trick of the eye, and people do buy into anything that purports to be one thing, fine porcelain, but is, in fact, another.
VO: Cue Lucy.
Here comes a deal.
What's the best price?
The absolute best on that is 75.
£75?
Yeah.
I... Do you know what?
I'll take a risk.
I think it is a tiny risk, but I really like it.
LUCY: Yeah.
Do you take fifty pounds?
LUCY: We do indeed, yeah.
I'm a high roller.
Right.
50, 20, five...
I'll pass that to you.
Thank you very much.
VO: Our high roller is now left with a smidge over £1,000.
VO: Now... Yoohoo!
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy... (MAKES CLICKING NOISE) ISHY: (WHISPERS) What's this?
Oh, this is a nice heavy, solid piece.
I wish you could feel how heavy this is.
That's the first clue that this probably isn't silver, because if this weighed this much and was silver, it would definitely be locked away.
This is a classical scene, but I'm not sure how historically accurate it is.
There appears to be some female warriors on this side, a Pegasus in the back and a water fountain.
It must have been modeled on a classical scene or a painting.
It's been hammered on the inside to give this high raised relief, and the workmanship and craftsmanship is beautiful.
This piece dates to the late 19th century.
Neoclassicism had a huge boom around them.
This could be a grand tour souvenir.
VO: A plated electrotype at £45.
I wish, wish, wish there was a maker's mark here, or it was signed by Leonard Morel-Ladeuil, who was famous for these types of works on the Continent.
Some of his pieces fetch thousands of pounds at auction.
It's absolutely gorgeous.
VO: Ah, there's Dianne.
Let's find out about the unpriced bag faces, shall we?
They didn't have a ticket price.
I was just curious how much they are.
I think they're £48 each.
OK. VO: Making a total of £96.
And then there's that incredibly heavy electroplated bowl with the relief scene inside.
DIANNE: Yeah.
ISHY: If I was to take... ..all three, what could you do as a deal?
£100.
I mean, I'm going to shake your hand.
£100.
Very, very fair.
Let's do the cash.
VO: Dianne, you have been marvelous.
Thank you so much.
That breaks down to 67 for the bag faces and 33 for the electrotype plated bowl.
Ishy now has £967 left.
ISHY: Oh, I love these!
Bye, gnomes.
Brush your teeth, put a little bit of cream on... NATASHA: You brush your teeth?
ISHY: Every day.
NATASHA: (LAUGHS) Just kidding.
ISHY: Sorry.
Your teeth do gleam, you know?
VO: He's blessed.
Best get some shuteye, eh?
VO: Look lively.
Let's see if the fruits of our labor will reap rewards.
Tash, Tash, Tash, round two, how are you feeling?
Sad, because this chapter is about to come to a close.
I want it to go on forever.
But, hey, let's see who... writes history.
NATASHA: Come on, Ishy.
ISHY: Let's go.
VO: It's not over yet, Tash.
Our pair, after zipping around North Yorkshire, have returned south to the East Midlands town of Market Harborough for the second in a best-of-five auction contest at Gildings, for sale in the room, on the phone and on the net.
The lady in command of the rostrum is Denise Elizabeth Cowling.
Selling at 100... VO: Natasha spent £205 on five auction lots.
Any faves, Denise?
DENISE: The George III silver barge-shaped cream jug, milk jug, possibly?
Part of a tea set?
Who knows?
We're coming up to strawberry season, so let's hope someone's out there for it.
VO: Ishy also bought five lots, spending a titch less, £190.
What do you think, Denise?
The clear and red glass terrarium could be a popular lot.
You're going to have to turn it round and face one pane to the back, which is damaged.
But get a good plant in there and perhaps that'll hide it.
VO: All quiet?
We're about to begin.
We have the best seats in the house.
I know... Let's just hope it's a good show.
VO: Here's hoping.
First, we have Ishy's Victorian watch key.
It's sweet, romantic... Purposeful, antique... ISHY: Functional.
NATASHA: Yeah.
And so we offer this at £10.
On the net, straight away, £10 bid.
At least three times that, surely.
DENISE: At £10, 12, 15, 15 bid now... NATASHA: Here we go.
ISHY: Come on, let's go.
At £15, fair warning, I shall sell at 15... (GAVEL) 15.
Cheap.
VO: But just think, Ishy, a romantic little steal.
I should have kept it for myself.
Maybe you should.
VO: Natasha next, with the Minton dessert dishes.
This is all about dessert.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
ISHY: I do, yes.
I love dessert.
NATASHA: Oh, you do?
£10 bid.
At £10, thank you, internet, for your bid.
That's not good.
DENISE: And I look to the room.
You can see how pretty they are.
I shall sell.
Bargain of the day, yes?
At £10... (GAVEL) I don't think they like pudding here, either.
VO: The hundreds and thousands were definitely missing.
My heart...is broken.
VO: No, it's not.
Ishy, it's your gloriously snazzy terrarium.
I love my garden, so maybe this could bring the garden inside.
And they're bidding on the net, but I'm going to come in with this in a moment, when they're at 22 at the moment, 25.
NATASHA: They're going wild.
DENISE: At 28.
They're still bidding on the net.
At 28, I'll go 30.
30 with me, absentee bidder, 32, 35... NATASHA: Nice.
DENISE: ..38, 40 with me.
Oh!
Profit.
DENISE: 40 with me, at 40.
Be sure.
At £40, I shall sell... (GAVEL) At 40.
VO: Blooming marvelous, Ishy.
Whew.
Phew.
NATASHA: Feels good?
ISHY: Feels good.
VO: Get ready, Tash, it's the Derby And Joan print by Robert Dighton.
It's just a bit of camp fun.
Very 18th century.
Oh, I love it!
To the internet, straight in £18.
NATASHA: Oh, good!
DENISE: 18 bid, now, at 18.
DENISE: Do I see 20?
NATASHA: I don't think... DENISE: Still at £18.
Your last and final chance... ISHY: What did you pay?
NATASHA: 10.
ISHY: Profit!
DENISE: I shall sell at 18... (GAVEL) 18.
ISHY: (CLAPS) VO: Come on, it's a profit.
So glad it made it into this millennium.
It really was worth it for less than £20.
VO: Indeed... Can Ishy open the door to profits with the Victorian lock and key set?
If you're missing a lock, this is the place to come get it.
Where are we going to be?
£10 for it, surely?
We must need a bid.
I'm going to look for the room.
£10.
NATASHA: Yes!
ISHY: Yay!
Good to have a friend somewhere... At £10 in the room.
At 12.
£12 on my left.
Again?
15.
Oh, oh... DENISE: 18.
NATASHA: ..full bidding war.
..on the internet now, they're thinking... At 18.
£20 bid now.
DENISE: At 20.
NATASHA: Oh, Ishy, I love it.
No, it's... At £20 on my right.
At £20 and selling... (GAVEL) Well, we didn't lock in a profit this time.
VO: Hey, that's my job.
That profit door is firmly closed, by the way.
You kind of got a bit of a battle going.
Yeah, finally.
Can't put a price on that, Ishy.
Can't put a price on that.
VO: Onwards, with Tash's 19th century toleware urn.
Do you like chestnuts?
ISHY: I do.
NATASHA: Do you?
Reminds me of Christmas.
NATASHA: Roasted?
ISHY: Yeah.
So delicious.
30 bid.
On the net, now, at £30.
At £30, was expecting double.
Yeah.
Me too.
Triple.
Looking in the camera, does it make you bid?
Fair...
It doesn't, Denise, it doesn't.
DENISE: ..at 30... (GAVEL) Right well, I'll never have a chestnut again.
VO: Don't like the things, anyway.
What else?
It's Ishy's bag faces next.
Imagine them in your house.
Decorative, unusual, different.
Delicious.
And the internet's in at £25.
That's £12.50 a bag.
Gavel's up... 28.
NATASHA: Oh.
Ooh.
ISHY: Ooh.
ISHY: It'll be £14 a bag.
NATASHA: A wee heart-stopper.
Threaten you with the gavel.
At 35, 38... NATASHA: Oh, they've gone wild.
DENISE: 40, 42, 45.
Oh, they needed that, they needed it.
DENISE: 45 bid, at 45.
At £45, fair warning and selling... (GAVEL) 45.
I mean, it was going to be worse.
VO: Well, it actually could have been worse.
Would you buy them again?
Oh yeah, I would.
VO: Ah.
It's Tash's early 20th century perfume bottle now.
Go on, let's splash on some eau de profit.
NATASHA: You wear aftershave?
ISHY: I do, yeah.
NATASHA: Do you wear a scent?
ISHY: Can't you...?
(SNIFFS) You do smell amazing.
At £70... Nice.
Keep going, net.
Go on.
At £70 on the internet, at £70...
It's quite rare to have it totally intact like that.
At £70, I shall sell... (GAVEL) I think it was worth a wee bit more.
ISHY: Yeah.
VO: A whiff of a profit.
Better than nothing, Tash.
NATASHA: Still smells good.
ISHY: Yeah!
VO: Ishy now, with the electroplated electrotype tazza.
Chock-full of detail.
I loved it.
20 bid.
In the room at £20.
Oh, come on.
You're looking round.
Look into the camera...20.
That did it, didn't it?
That made you bid.
22 on the net, now.
25... Made you bid?
Made you look.
Made you bid.
28, 30.
30 bid, now, at 30.
NATASHA: Oh, keep up the rhythm.
DENISE: 32.
35.
ISHY: Profit.
NATASHA: ..right.
Wee profit.
38.
38 is your bid on the net at the moment.
At £38, fair warning, selling now at 38... That seems like a steal.
(GAVEL) It is a steal.
VO: That is a bargain for a lucky bidder.
I thought it would do much better.
I think that they did, too.
You know?
VO: Tempus fugit, it's the final lot.
Tash's George III silver cream jug.
For me, it's a lovely piece, but it's not going to dazzle any queens, put it that way.
Why?
It might.
Internet straight in at £60.
Oh, good.
Good.
Keep going.
DENISE: At £60, 65.
NATASHA: Good.
I needed that.
DENISE: 65 in the room now... NATASHA: I needed that.
At 65, the absentees are out, internet possibly out.
NATASHA: Oh?
DENISE: At £65...
Looking to the room now... (GAVEL) 65.
I'll take that.
ISHY: Well done.
NATASHA: I will take that.
VO: Oh, ye of little faith.
Poured on some extra pounds, there.
Ha!
Did you bring the calculator?
No.
I think we have some maths to do.
ISHY: Let's go.
NATASHA: Let's go figure it out.
VO: Allow me.
Ishy has made a loss of £60.44 after auction costs.
While Natasha, also after costs, made a smaller loss of £46.74, making Natasha victorious for auction number two.
But there are three more to go.
ISHY: Oh...it's getting better.
Things are getting better.
The sun is shining... Shall we go for a sunbathe?
Oh, yeah.
Did you bring any cream?
ISHY: Yeah.
Let's go.
NATASHA: Oh, let's slap it on.
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