- 5 minutes ago
The Derbyshire Auction House S03E02
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00:00The Derbyshire auction house is back!
00:03£7,000 it's been!
00:06Irita Marriott, now in her third year of business...
00:09So far, it's been rather good!
00:11...with her trusty team of porters...
00:13What a little treasure trove we've got in here!
00:15...and valuers...
00:17Do you ever think about anything else but furniture?
00:19Nope!
00:20...is being called out to even bigger jobs!
00:23This is insane!
00:24...the word is out...
00:25Calling Andy a nige!
00:27...she's the one who delivers the big bucks!
00:29£1,500 to £2,000...
00:32That's amazing!
00:33...leaving no stone unturned...
00:35Gosh, that's a big loft!
00:38...she hunts down treasures...
00:40...18 karat gold...
00:42...heirlooms...
00:43Have you ever seen those paintings?
00:45No!
00:46...and phenomenal finds...
00:48Pele!
00:49I think we're gonna score with this one!
00:51Is this the great tree in robbery?
00:53Yes!
00:54...to sell at auction...
00:55£2,000 is big!
00:57No!
00:58...making her cherished clients...
01:00...£3,000...
01:02...£3,000...
01:02Oh, you are kidding me!
01:03Oh, my God!
01:04...life-changing...
01:05...losing track of how much?
01:07...sums of cash...
01:09...£6,900...
01:11What?!
01:13Whoa!
01:23Where are we going today?
01:25We're going to Swansea.
01:27Sunny South Wales?
01:28I know!
01:29By the seaside?
01:30Ice creams?
01:31Maybe.
01:32Maybe.
01:32David, I know it's your first outing...
01:34...but you should know better...
01:36...there will be no time for ice creams.
01:38Hard taskmaster Irita...
01:39...heavy lifting hero Nige...
01:41...and new porter on the block...
01:43...and furniture supremo David...
01:45...are off to the seaside village of Mumbles...
01:48...on the western edge of Swansea Bay.
01:50It's going to be sad to see it all go up.
01:53...where they'll be meeting Kelly...
01:55...but it's also going to be a bit of a relief as well.
01:58...and Jackie.
01:59Yeah.
02:00...at the house that belonged to their Auntie Sonia...
02:02...and Uncle David.
02:04So, this is my big sister.
02:06And this is my big little sister.
02:09Well, my uncle had a demolition company.
02:11His name was David, but he was known to everyone as Demolition Die.
02:15He was a big collector.
02:17Anything that was just there that looked like it might be of some value...
02:22...or some use, it would come home with them.
02:24Yeah.
02:25My Auntie Sonia, she'd have her own collections as well.
02:29They didn't have any children, so we spent a lot of our childhood with them.
02:33Always Christmases together, always, you know, part of each other's lives.
02:38Uncle David led an active retirement.
02:40He was 89.
02:42He was still every day doing the shopping, doing the cooking...
02:47...visiting people around the village, in the shops.
02:50And then he became a little bit ill, and he passed away quite suddenly.
02:57It was just a week, so we didn't really get a chance to...
03:00...come to terms with it, really.
03:03No, it was quite a shock when he did go.
03:07Because it was so quickly, and we didn't realise how ill he was.
03:14Auntie Sonia still lives here in this house, but she needs quite a bit of care now,
03:20and so she has carers in, and unfortunately she doesn't get to move around the rooms
03:26and see a lot of the items.
03:28I think it's a coal box.
03:30Sonia said that that's come up here because she got fed up of cleaning it.
03:35Too frail to do it herself, Sonia has asked Jackie and Kelly to help her move on some of the
03:41collections.
03:42She does feel that it's a bit of a burden.
03:44So what we're hoping is for Irita to come and take many of the items away.
03:51It'll be nice for her to know that she doesn't need to worry about it anymore.
03:56You will have fair amounts of wrapping to do today.
03:59Oh, really? Why is that there? Expect a lot of small stuff?
04:03Yeah. Furniture and pottery.
04:05Oh, really?
04:05That's made David's ears prick up.
04:07As a side hustle, he's been dealing in antique furniture for 22 years.
04:12What makes you like antiques, David?
04:15I just love the history of things.
04:17It's such a learning curve, isn't it?
04:20Here we go.
04:25Cool.
04:25Right, I'm going to leave you with the keys.
04:27I think you're going to need a fair amount of boxes.
04:29I'll see you in there in five.
04:31And you're going forward.
04:35They're nice door stops.
04:37Oh, hello!
04:38I'm admiring the door stops.
04:40Come on in.
04:41I'm excited to see what else is in here.
04:47Okay.
04:48I feel at home here.
04:51All this pottery.
04:53Yeah, there's a lot.
04:54It was clearly something that they both had passion for.
04:57Yes, definitely.
04:58Yeah, they had their own collections of things, and then they came together for some of the
05:02big items.
05:04Big items, yeah.
05:04How much of it do you actually want to part with?
05:07So, I think that the majority of the porcelain can go.
05:10If you want to have a wander around, there's furniture, there's some jewellery, there's plenty
05:14of things to cast your eye over.
05:16I'm like a kid in a candy shop.
05:18I'll see you a bit later.
05:21There's two bedrooms, two reception rooms, and a loft to check out.
05:27So, Irita, did demolish and dye have a soft touch for fine china?
05:32Absolute treasure trove.
05:34Everywhere I look, there's porcelain and beautiful things, and I'm in love.
05:40I mean, there's a lot of Crown Derby here.
05:44Derby Pottery started in 1750, and it has been popular ever since.
05:49But one of the most popular are the paperweights, and when you have a paperweight in this particular
05:56palette that's an Imari palette, it's even better.
06:01Named after a Japanese port known for its porcelain exports in the 17th century, Imari
06:07wear was characterised by its blue, red and gold patterns.
06:11Later, European potters like Royal Crown Derby emulated Imari in their own designs for
06:17the growing middle-class market.
06:19As I've walked around the house, I can see these dotted all over.
06:25I would say there's a good four or five hundred pounds worth of paperweights alone.
06:29Better still, Uncle David kept the boxes too, which will increase the value.
06:34The paperweights will be split into five group lots, including this pair of bears, this
06:40lot of six birds, and this lot of four cats.
06:45Right.
06:46There you go.
06:47A lot of wrapping.
06:48Okay.
06:49Time to start boxing clever, lads.
06:53Small, playful kitten.
06:55Er, catnip.
06:55Catnip kitten.
07:01Yes.
07:03I have heard of these, but I have never handled one.
07:08So what we've got is a piece of Royal Worcester.
07:11They created these eggs that were kind of based on the idea of Fabergé.
07:17The Fabergé eggs were ornaments made by Russian jewellery firm House of Fabergé, mostly as
07:23Easter gifts for the Russian royal family between 1885 and 1917, when the Russian Communist
07:30Revolution dismantled all wealth and opulence, leading to the collapse of the company.
07:34In 1984, Royal Worcester created their own homage to Fabergé in the form of a swan egg, a peacock
07:41egg, and an oceanic-themed egg.
07:43There were only 50 of each made.
07:46That is how rare they are.
07:49Look at that.
07:51Ta-da.
07:53Isn't that absolutely spectacular?
07:57And not only we have one, we have the oceanic egg as well, with a pearl on the top.
08:06Look at that.
08:07The gilding on that is phenomenal.
08:11Wait, is that the peacock egg as well?
08:14To have three in one sail is amazing.
08:18And I have absolutely no doubt they'll fly on the day.
08:26Oh, the attic.
08:28I made it.
08:31Was it worth it?
08:34Got a really early oil painting.
08:38There's no denying this has incredible amounts of age.
08:43It also has incredible amounts of damage.
08:46There's another one there.
08:49There'll be someone out there who will like the distressed aged look.
08:55I mean, my husband likes me.
08:56The paintings, which Uncle David must have rescued from a demolition job, will need some further research back at base.
09:04Where did you find these?
09:06Have you ever seen those paintings?
09:08No, never.
09:09Because right now there's hundreds of things to load.
09:13Get this on.
09:14Yep.
09:15From furniture, to this basket of treasures.
09:20Some watches.
09:22Watches could be valuable.
09:24Where is the money that Irita manages to raise going, Kelly?
09:29Towards the care for my aunt, just to make her life more comfortable.
09:33It would be nice if we could get a couple of thousand in the bank for her.
09:37Yeah.
09:37What else have we got to add to the pot for Auntie Sonia?
09:41Guys, what about this one?
09:43Is that...
09:43Yeah, that's my uncle's clock.
09:46That was pretty special.
09:47That was his baby.
09:49Really?
09:49So he would wind it every morning and he would wind it every night.
09:53It's such an unusual shape.
09:55This shape is called balloon shape.
09:57I love the detail.
09:59The inlay of satin wood and olive wood.
10:01Probably French made, about 1900s or so.
10:05It would probably be 30 to 50 pounds as an estimate.
10:08Not bad.
10:09One for the auction, ladies?
10:11Okay.
10:12So the decision's with you?
10:14Yeah, I think so.
10:16Time is certainly flying today,
10:18but after four hours of hard graft...
10:20Okay.
10:22Yeah.
10:22...there's still yet more things to load onto the van.
10:26Oh, look at that.
10:28Don't you just love that serpentine kind of front?
10:32That is beautiful.
10:33All that metal work.
10:35You know, once upon a time,
10:36that would have been really brightly gilded, like gold.
10:41This French vitrine or display cabinet
10:43is an early 20th century reproduction
10:45of a style of furniture popular
10:48during the reign of Louis XV in the 18th century,
10:51which was characterised by curves,
10:53gilding and inlaid decoration.
10:55I saw a label in there, you know,
10:57that said that they had paid £1,900 for that.
11:00I think an auction is going to be more £200 to £300.
11:03Times change.
11:04Fashions change.
11:07And with that on the van, we are done.
11:11Right, ladies, come on in.
11:13Oh, my gosh.
11:15Looks a lot bigger, looks brighter.
11:18Yes.
11:18It's nice that there's still certain pieces
11:20to keep it like a room.
11:22Yes.
11:22Great job.
11:23Thank you so much.
11:24Honestly, it's been a pleasure.
11:26I'll see you soon.
11:27Oh, thank you so much for coming.
11:29See you later.
11:30Bye.
11:31What a day.
11:33From top-class porcelain
11:34to some lovely pieces of furniture.
11:38I can't wait, though,
11:39to get it all back to Melbourne
11:41and root through it properly.
11:43Who knows what other treasures I'm going to find?
11:45Because so far, it's been rather good.
11:49OK, now I'm intrigued.
11:51Sounds like Uncle David knew his stuff.
11:53Now get back to Melbourne
11:54and find us even more goodies.
12:11Some nice bits there.
12:12Uncle David's things have arrived back from Swansea
12:15and everything is being researched and catalogued by the team.
12:19That includes trainee valuer Chloe.
12:21Out of all this really nice gold jewellery,
12:24this is my favourite thing.
12:26It's a Swiss watch.
12:29And the company was founded by a guy named Antoine Lacoutre
12:34in the mid-19th century.
12:35He was a pioneering watchmaker.
12:38He made a lot of the small parts and movements
12:41to watches for other big-name brands.
12:44In the early 20th century,
12:46the company teamed up on projects with Edmond Jaeger,
12:49a French watchmaker who supplied timepieces for the French navy.
12:53And the companies eventually merged to form Jaeger Lacoutre in 1937.
12:59This watch dates from the late 20th century.
13:02It's 18 karat gold.
13:04Its strap is in pretty good condition.
13:08This is estimated at 300 to 400.
13:11I love this watch.
13:13So I hope this is going to do well in the auction.
13:22I love this cascading waterfall bookcase.
13:25Told you, David loves his furniture.
13:27Such a gorgeous design.
13:30Graduating smaller shelves at the top to larger ones at the bottom.
13:34The bookcase dates from between 1900 and 1920
13:37during the arts and crafts period.
13:39The design movement reacting against the industrialisation
13:43of the Victorian age.
13:44Characterised by traditional craftsmanship
13:46and high-quality natural materials.
13:49It's got some fantastic details at the bottom.
13:51Some little brass handles as well.
13:54Carved wooden feet.
13:55Some really nice cane work on the doors.
13:57We're going to put a low estimate of 30 to 50 on this,
14:00which is nothing in these days.
14:02So I think it's got potential to go a lot higher than that.
14:06Hopefully that crafty come-and-get-me estimate
14:08will have a cascade effect on the bids.
14:13Aha!
14:14It's one of those old artworks from the loft.
14:16I find old paintings like a mystery
14:20because you never know what you're going to find.
14:23For example, if you look at this,
14:25I believe that both of these paintings
14:27are Italian works of art.
14:30Italian artists often painted anything to do
14:33with humanity or religion.
14:36And these are very much in that subject category.
14:39Date-wise, that out of the two would be the earlier one.
14:43Around 1600s?
14:46Wow!
14:47What makes me think that is not only the way it's painted
14:51and that really kind of moody colour to it.
14:56But if you look at the nails that have been used,
14:59they're not nails or screws that we know now.
15:02These are basically metal pegs
15:05that have been holding it together.
15:07And this one here, about 100 years later.
15:14Reason being is the nails used
15:16and because canvas became much thinner over the years,
15:20we have put them as individual lots
15:23and we have put a very low estimate of 30 to 50 pounds
15:27because of the damage.
15:29Another low estimate to get the bidders interested.
15:32Irita, are you temptress?
15:34I think they are rather cool.
15:40Just two minutes up the road from Irita's office,
15:43it's market day outside Melbourne Assembly Rooms.
15:47And while the stallholders are ready for a good day of trading,
15:51inside...
15:52Pick it up by the base.
15:53Right, right.
15:54Andy and Nigel are getting ready for a good day of auctioneering.
15:58Oh, that was broken.
15:59Oh, thanks. It's got to be first.
16:01Oh, no, we can't put a broken one on.
16:02Such a perfectionist, Al Nige.
16:05Oh, wow.
16:06Oh!
16:07Oh, it looks lovely, doesn't it? Look at this.
16:09Yes.
16:10We're really ready for the auction.
16:12We're really excited now that we're here as well
16:14and seeing the items in the window.
16:16The eggs for you, isn't it?
16:17The eggs for me, definitely.
16:19It's a real hope that they will be appreciated and wanted.
16:22Never fear.
16:24I expect all of Aunty Sonia's items will do just fine, ladies.
16:28Right, Irita?
16:30I can't wait to get on the rostrum.
16:32Now, we took quite a lot.
16:34Watches, ceramics.
16:36The two paintings and the little bookcase in the dining room,
16:40those have had the most interest,
16:41so I can't wait to see how they do under the hammer.
16:44There are 95 lots in today's sale,
16:47so best get comfy, everybody.
16:49Auction clerks Nick and Carl are standing by
16:52to oversee the online bids.
16:54So, once Irita is ready...
16:56Hello, hello.
16:58You've made it!
17:00All the way from Wales.
17:02Shall we get going and see what happens?
17:04OK, yes, please.
17:05We're off.
17:08Hopefully starting us with a big splash...
17:10We have early 20th century waterfall front bookcase.
17:14Lovely.
17:16£30.
17:16£35.
17:17£40.
17:17£45.
17:18£50.
17:18£55.
17:18£60.
17:19£70.
17:19£75.
17:20£80.
17:20£90.
17:21£100.
17:21£110.
17:22£120.
17:22£260.
17:26£280.
17:28£300.
17:29She goes, no!
17:32Never mind.
17:33There's still bidders online.
17:35£320 we have online.
17:36Is there?
17:37£340.
17:38£340 back in.
17:39£360.
17:40£380.
17:40£400 is bid.
17:42£400.
17:43Fair warning, and I'm going to sell your last chance at £400.
17:49David's come and get me estimate.
17:51Work to treat.
17:52OK.
17:53Let's get a look at that.
17:55Next up, it's the Royal Worcester Fabergé-inspired eggs,
17:59starting with the swan egg.
18:00Lovely, lovely pieces.
18:02£250.
18:03Do I see?
18:04Do I see?
18:06Do I see?
18:06Come on, bidders.
18:08Only 50 of these exist.
18:09Do I see £230?
18:11£230's bid.
18:12That's better.
18:13Do I see £240?
18:15£240.
18:16£260, do I see?
18:17£260 in the room.
18:19We have £260.
18:21Fair warning and selling.
18:22A £260.
18:24Sold to the lady in the room.
18:27Oh, OK.
18:29And after selling the peacock egg.
18:31£260.
18:33And the oceanic egg.
18:36£340.
18:37£340.
18:37And selling.
18:41Nice.
18:42Irita moves on to the two Royal Crown Derby paperweight bears.
18:47Old Imari Patton.
18:49Do I see?
18:4960.
18:5060.
18:50We have 65.
18:5170.
18:5275.
18:5280.
18:5385.
18:5390.
18:5495.
18:54100.
18:55110.
18:55120.
18:55130.
18:57The bids with me online are £130 and selling at 130.
19:02Smashing its estimate.
19:04Lovely.
19:05And in five minutes, Irita sells six more lots of Royal Crown Derby animal paperweights,
19:10including...
19:11I'll be done at 120.
19:14A lot of six birds closely pursued by...
19:1895.
19:19And selling.
19:21Four cats.
19:23OK.
19:23That's right.
19:24That's right.
19:24Yes.
19:25Yes.
19:25Coming up, it's the Italian oil paintings starting with the more recent female portrait,
19:31dating from around the 18th century.
19:33Do I see £30 online?
19:35£30 we have.
19:3730, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100.
19:41I can't keep up, it's £400.
19:43£400 is bid.
19:45Wow.
19:45For £20 we have.
19:46For £40 is bid.
19:47For £60.
19:49£460 is bid.
19:51Found in the corner of the attic.
19:54£460, fair warning, and I'm going to sell a £460.
19:58Finding these was a brush stroke of luck, because the older male portrait dating from the 17th century...
20:06£300 and selling.
20:08...also smashes its estimate.
20:10Not bad, is it?
20:11I'd love to know who painted them.
20:12I know, I'd love to know a bit more about them.
20:14Over the next hour, Irita puts another 81 lots under her gavel, including...
20:20Selling at £50.
20:22The Edwardian mahogany balloon clock and...
20:25£240 and selling.
20:27The early 20th century Louis XV style vitrine cabinet.
20:33That's not bad.
20:35Okay.
20:37Finally, the last lot of the day is the 18-carat gold Jaeger LeCoutre watch.
20:42I mean, this is pure style.
20:45£300 do I see.
20:47£300 we have.
20:48£320, £340, £360, £380, £400, £420, £440, £460, £480, £500.
20:54Is there £550?
20:55£550 is bid.
20:57£600 is bid.
20:58Is there £650?
21:00£650 we have.
21:01New bidder.
21:02That pays a lot for the camera.
21:03£650 is bid.
21:05Are we all done?
21:07Going, going.
21:09Clocking in well over its estimate.
21:13I can see the emotions kicking in.
21:17And relax.
21:19Go and have a cup of coffee.
21:21Aunty Sonia tasked Jackie and Kelly with selling her and Uncle David's treasures to help cover some of her care
21:28costs.
21:29Come on, Irita, we need a lot, please.
21:45Whatever happened, it was a good day, isn't it?
21:48Rollercoaster kind of day?
21:49Yeah.
21:50There was some moisture around the eyes, one or two bits.
21:54I think, for everybody, the biggest surprise were the two pictures from the attic.
21:58Definitely.
21:58How do you think we've done all together?
22:01I don't know.
22:02There's something for you to tell us.
22:06After all the fees and commission, you're actually going home with £8,714.
22:14Oh!
22:16Oh!
22:17I've saved no more two years.
22:19Thank you so much.
22:21All the best and have a good trip back to Wales.
22:25The auction was incredible.
22:28It was definitely a good experience.
22:30I got a little bit emotional about one of the watches that sold.
22:34I think because I can always remember Aunty Sonia wearing it.
22:39Yeah, and I got quite emotional because she was getting emotional.
22:44We had tears and we had smiles and everything else in between.
22:49They are taking home £8,714 and that is going to go such a long way towards Aunty Sonia's care.
23:06How are you doing?
23:07How am I doing?
23:08Yeah.
23:08We've done this hundreds of times.
23:10Andy and Nige are busy prepping for an upcoming sale.
23:13Perfect.
23:14Look at that.
23:14So, Irita and Sarah have gone on ahead to a job.
23:18The boys will follow later.
23:20Do you know, Irita, this is my first ever time in Blackpool.
23:24Stop it!
23:25I have never been here before.
23:28Well, get yourself a Mr Whippy and a stick of Blackpool rock, ladies,
23:32before meeting retired building services engineer, Brett, who lived here with his husband, Martin.
23:37Martin and I met in the bar in Blackpool whilst I was on holiday.
23:45I was 22, 23 when I met him and since then we've always looked after each other.
23:53Martin was a very intelligent man and everybody referred to him as a gentleman.
24:00Brett and Martin maintained separate households but with a twist.
24:04We lived next door to each other and looked after each other.
24:07For 35 years.
24:10No more so than two years ago when Martin suffered an accident.
24:14Martin had a fall which broke his hip and I had to look after him.
24:21And then he found out that he had terminal cancer and he was in the hospital by then and had
24:30very little time left.
24:31We got married in the hospital and it lasted another 20 days before he passed away.
24:44A year on from Martin's death, Brett has decided to move house but is faced with the task of clearing
24:50both properties.
24:51I've been collecting antiques collectibles since I was about seven.
24:58I got all this stuff thinking that I would set up an antique shop.
25:03The sad thing is health-wise I'm not able to do it anymore.
25:08I have dystonia which makes my head shake and my hands shake.
25:16It's becoming difficult because I also can't breathe too well to go up and down the stairs.
25:24I've got too much stuff that I can possibly fit in a bungalow.
25:30When Irita comes and clears a lot of the collectibles in the house, hopefully that will help me move on
25:37to getting somewhere smaller.
25:39It's just here. They're big houses aren't they? Oh my goodness.
25:55Hello there. Hello. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Come on in.
26:03It's a quick trip through Martin's house.
26:06Most of the stuff's next door but... Okay.
26:09Out the back and into Brett's.
26:12This was mine and this is just full of stuff.
26:16Are these things that you've collected for the potential of the shop?
26:20For the potential of maybe buying a shop when I retire, Martin would have run it with me.
26:26But I won't be well enough now.
26:28Okay. Right. I think what we need to do, Sarah, is divide and conquer.
26:34I agree.
26:35Do you want to start in Martin's house and I'll start here?
26:38Yeah. Lovely.
26:39I've still got some things to sort out.
26:41Okay. We'll meet up later. See you later.
26:43We'll catch up soon.
26:45Good luck, Irita. It's not every job that has two three-storey houses to explore.
26:53This is insane. I don't think I've ever been in a house and seen so many silver plated items.
27:01When you think of a silver plated item, you just think something that looks silver but isn't.
27:05But there are so many varieties of it.
27:07You often find Sheffield plates, or old Sheffield plates, which is basically the best one there is.
27:15It was invented in 1740s by a cutlery maker in Sheffield, Thomas Bolsover.
27:21And it is basically a piece of copper that is sheeted with silver. It's quite thick and it's solid.
27:30A leap in technology meant Sheffield plate was largely superseded by electroplated silver in the 1840s.
27:37A layer of silver, sometimes as thin as a thousandth of a millimetre, was stuck to a cheaper base metal
27:43by use of electricity.
27:45The electroplated silver is much thinner and not as durable and not as valuable.
27:51There's a huge mix here, so I think the best thing to do is just pack it all up.
27:57The silver plate will go in four bumper group lots, each with a few pieces of the more valuable Sheffield
28:04plate to attract the bidders.
28:07I wonder how Sarah's getting on next door.
28:10I've got some stamps. Seems to be quite an extensive collection here.
28:15We've got some Victorian Penny Blacks, Penny Reds, Penny Blues.
28:20Introduced in 1840, the Penny Black was the world's first postage stamp, used for letters weighing under half an ounce
28:26or 14 grams.
28:28The same year the Two Penny Blues stamp was released for heavier postage, up to one ounce.
28:33The following year the Penny Black changed colour and the Penny Red became Britain's main stamp for nearly 40 years.
28:40Penny post was a completely new invention and people love collecting things, so why not collect the stamps off envelopes?
28:48Different colours, different codes, different franking marks. Hopefully we'll find some collecting, we'll still appreciate them.
28:57The album, which contains over 40 Penny Reds, Seven Penny Blues and Two Penny Blacks, will be sold as one
29:03lot.
29:07Andy and Nige have arrived.
29:11Here we go.
29:12Come on guys, two houses, three storeys each, absolutely tons to do.
29:17Six.
29:18Stop counting the floors.
29:19Over the next three hours, Irita and the gang get stuck into rummaging.
29:24This is coming with us.
29:26Packing and loading, everything Irita thinks she can sell.
29:31I know there are four of us all together dealing with it, but the quantity is mind blowing.
29:38I think it's going to be a really, really long and a lot of lifting kind of day.
29:45There are more figurines here than there are sheepling as ever.
29:50A lot of British pottery is really, really simple to distinguish what it is.
29:57It tells you on the bottom.
29:58Genius.
29:59Royal Winton.
30:01Now, Royal Winton was started in 1885 by two brothers in Stoke-on-Trent.
30:08It wasn't until late 1920s that they actually became more recognised.
30:14And that is because they came out with the most famous pattern, which was chintz.
30:21Really, really dense, kind of flowery, bright coloured patterns.
30:25Derived from the Hindi word chint, meaning spotted, chintz was originally the name for a type of patterned Indian material,
30:32popular in Europe in the 17th century.
30:35By the 20th century, the term was more broadly used to describe dense flowery patterns.
30:40I mean, nowadays, everything chintz is in.
30:44So, if there is some of that here, we're talking money.
30:49Come on then, the suspense is killing me.
30:52Ta-da!
30:53This is not the best version of it, but it's one version.
30:58This is a Queen Anne pattern.
31:00And there's more.
31:02This butter dish will be lotted up with 20 other pieces of Royal Winton chintzware.
31:07Ker-chintz.
31:08Any plans for the cash you make, Brett?
31:10I need to get quite a few repairs done to the house to get it in a saleable condition.
31:18I just need the cash to pay somebody to do it.
31:23Right.
31:23We need to get more in Brett's renovations pot.
31:26Can you grab that?
31:27I'll bring this down.
31:28Because after five hours of loading...
31:31It's very old.
31:31It's better shaped.
31:33...we've not seen enough pound signs yet, Irita.
31:36Brett sent me up here because he said he loved brooches.
31:41I mean, this is absolutely bonkers quantity.
31:46All of this is made by Miracle, a costume jewellery maker in Birmingham.
31:52They started in 1946.
31:54They're still going.
31:55They now are based down in Cornwall.
31:58Oh, you found some of me jewellery.
32:00Some?
32:01I started getting it because I just liked it.
32:04And being a sort of Celtic looking jewellery, I could get away with wearing it as a man, as a
32:11tie bin.
32:11My mum came to visit and she said, your gran used to set the stones in these.
32:17Really?
32:18As a job at home.
32:20And I suddenly remembered sitting under my gran's work table, playing with all the different coloured stones while she was
32:30working on them.
32:31How amazing.
32:32And I would say there's probably, tray per lot, about 20 lots in the region of kind of 30 to
32:3950 pounds each.
32:40So really, wouldn't you add it all up?
32:42Good investment.
32:43Potentially worth up to a thousand pounds in total.
32:46It certainly was.
32:48And with the brooches loaded, it's time to stick a pin in things for today.
32:53Right then, Brett.
32:55You want to come and have a look?
32:57Well, you've certainly cleared it, haven't you?
33:00What do you think Martin would think about all this?
33:03Oh, he'd be amazed and he'd be glad that it's clear and that I'm moving on.
33:10I'm going to let you enjoy this space and I'm going to see you in Derbyshire in a few weeks.
33:14Thank you very much.
33:16It was an absolute pleasure.
33:17See you soon.
33:18Bye.
33:18Bye.
33:19Well, that was a long one, Irita.
33:21Your verdict, please.
33:23I think we're going to end up with a lot of job lots.
33:27Job lots are not always the most popular things in auction.
33:30With customers online, they want individual things because job lots are not shippable.
33:36Saying that, there is probably about 40 boxes that we haven't even looked into.
33:42So the hope is still there, that in those boxes there will be something really good.
33:47Brett had an eye for a bargain, but now it's all heading for auction.
33:51Will his fines fetch a fortune or fall flat?
34:11Brett's things have arrived back from Blackpool and Irita's team are getting everything catalogued and ready for auction.
34:17These vases have really stood out to me.
34:21They're all a technique called cloisonne.
34:23Now, cloisonne started really in Egypt about 1800 BC.
34:28Little wires are soldered onto a metal base, whether it be bronze, copper, and the wires create the pattern.
34:37And then these little divisions called cloisonnes, which comes from the French for compartments, are then painted in with enamel
34:45paste.
34:45All of these pieces are from China.
34:48They are 20th century.
34:50This one looks so different from these on this side, and that's because it's a Japanese piece.
34:58It's got a very bold yellow ground, which stands out, but the design on it is much simpler, less fussy,
35:04just a simple flower.
35:06So because this one's different, I'm going to put this one on its own at 40 to 60 pounds.
35:12The rest will go in a group lot with two Chinese cloisonne plates.
35:17It'll be really interesting to see how they do at auction.
35:21This is what we're after.
35:26Mourning jewellery has been around for centuries, but the heyday really was during Queen Victoria's reign because she mourned Prince
35:34Albert's death.
35:36People wanted to copy her, and you often find not only brooches, but rings, bracelets, pretty much any piece of
35:42jewellery to keep that past one near.
35:45This piece dates from the turn of the century, about 1900s. It is made out of what's known as pinchback.
35:53This imitation gold alloy of roughly 90% copper and 10% zinc was invented in the early 18th century
36:00by London watchmaker Christopher Pinchbeck.
36:03Now, if you look at the back of it, it has plaited hair because they wanted to keep that person
36:09close to them.
36:10The front of it has this beautiful carving that is carved out of a shell, and the fact that there
36:17are two cherubs here makes me think that this might have been for a child.
36:22Even though the value is low, 20 to 30 pounds, that would have been more than just a brooch to
36:29someone.
36:36At Melbourne Assembly Rooms, Iretas team are setting up for today's auction.
36:42Night, I don't see any coffee packs.
36:44Coffee? An auction? A peasant.
36:47Er, Night is clearly a tea man, Andy.
36:52Might be a millionaire by tomorrow.
36:54And here's Brett, who's brought his friend Tim along for the day.
36:58I'm a little bit nervous about the auction.
37:01I'm just hoping that I don't end up having to take a load on.
37:04Thoughts for the day, Iretas?
37:06Brett's idea was to buy items and to save them to open a shop one day.
37:12And I really hope that today in auction, we can make him some profit on it all.
37:16I'll raise a cuppa to that. Tea, obviously, Nige.
37:20With 103 lots to get through today, auction clerks Nick and Carl are ready to oversee the nearly 2,000
37:27potential bidders poised online.
37:29Now it's finally opening time for the shop Brett always dreamt of.
37:33Hello. How are you?
37:35Hello.
37:36Are you guys ready for this?
37:37Yeah.
37:38Yeah?
37:38Should we get cracking?
37:39We've got a first class lot to start us off.
37:43An album of Queen Victoria stamps. Nice lot. 100 pounds we have, thank you.
37:47110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170.
37:53170 pounds has it. Are we all done on selling at 170?
37:58I think Iretas really pushed the envelope with that one.
38:02Some were me grandads.
38:04Well done, Brett's gramps.
38:06Next, it's a bumper lot of 50 pieces of silver plate, including teewares and candlesticks, with one or two bits
38:14of that more expensive Sheffield plate.
38:16I can go straight in at 20 with me. 25 from Estonia. 30, 35, 40, 45 pounds has it. 50,
38:2555, new bidder. Back in at 60. 65, 70, 75. Back in at 80. 85.
38:3290 pounds we have. 95 we have. 100 we have. 100 is bid. Fair warning and selling. Up 100 pounds.
38:40Not bad, eh, Brett? It's good, that. And in five minutes. 65 and selling.
38:49Iretas sells. 45 and selling.
38:53Four more group lots of silver plates. 75.
38:57Dispelling any fears that the big job lots wouldn't sell.
39:02I like that bottom. Yeah.
39:05It's time for some chintz. 21 mid-century pieces of the stuff.
39:09Royal Winton chintz. 20 pounds, please. Hmm. Maybe chintz isn't everyone's cup of tea.
39:18That should be flying away at that. 20 pounds we have.
39:22Thank you, lady in the room. 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85. Thank you.
39:3290 pounds online. Do I see 95? It's a nice lot. Are you sure you don't want one more at
39:3895?
39:40Yeah? 95. Thank you. 95 pounds in the room. 95 pounds and you're gonna win it at 95.
39:47The lady in the room is chintz to bits. Thank you very much. Well done.
39:53Now for the lot of ten Chinese cloisonné vases and two cloisonné plates.
39:59Some lovely pieces. Do I see 50? 55? 60? 65?
40:04That's good. 75.
40:0675 pounds is big. Fair warning, and I'm gonna sell at 75.
40:12Any profit on that one, Brett?
40:14I think I paid about 30 quid.
40:17Nice.
40:18And Irita keeps the profits flooding in as she puts 74 more lots under her gavel, including...
40:25At 55.
40:27The 20th century Japanese cloisonné vase and...
40:3165 and selling.
40:33A lot of 12 walking sticks.
40:37Happy with that? Yes, definitely.
40:40But I'm not sure we've banked enough for Brett's repairs yet.
40:44We need a miracle, or failing that, the first of 20 group lots of miracle brooches.
40:5024 items in that lot.
40:52Do I see 30?
40:5430 pounds we have. 35, 40.
40:5645 in the room with the lady.
40:58Is there 50? 50, 55?
41:01The bid's in the room with the lady at 55 pounds.
41:05Fair warning and selling.
41:06Bagged by the room bidder.
41:08Well done.
41:10Over the next 20 minutes...
41:1245.
41:14Irita works 19 more miracles, selling the rest of the costume jewellery brooches.
41:19At 55.
41:21All over their estimates.
41:25I'm losing track of hell.
41:27Me too, Brett, but I think we're doing okay.
41:30There's just one lot left.
41:31The Victorian mourning brooch.
41:34Lovely thing.
41:35Do I see 20 pounds, please, online?
41:3720 pounds we have.
41:3830, 35, 40, we have 45, 50.
41:42What did you pay?
41:43I think it was about £5.
41:45Not bad.
41:4755, 60, 65, 70, 75.
41:5080 pounds is bid.
41:5285, 90.
41:53Do I see 100?
41:55What do you reckon, Brett?
41:56Oh, it's doing well.
41:57110 we have.
41:59110 pounds is bid.
42:01Are we all done on selling at 110?
42:05Good find, Brett.
42:07Well done for that bargain.
42:09That was a good buy.
42:10I'll see you out there in five, okay?
42:12Let's see how much Irita has managed to raise for Brett's repair fund to help pave the way for his
42:18house move.
42:19Hello, you two.
42:21Hello, Irita.
42:22Hello.
42:22How do you think the whole thing went all together?
42:25It went really well.
42:27Are you happy?
42:28Yes.
42:28You know what?
42:29If you would have opened a little shop, I think you might have been quite good at it.
42:34Oh, yeah.
42:35Because some of the profits you made on the things that you had bought, they were not bad, were they?
42:40No.
42:41How much do you think we made all together?
42:43I couldn't keep count.
42:45I mean, it was going quite quickly.
42:48So after all the fees and commission, you're taking home £4,140.
42:54That's great.
42:55That's really good.
42:56Are you happy for that?
42:58Yes.
42:59Yeah, I might pay for something towards going in a new house as well.
43:03Here you go.
43:05Good luck with whatever comes next.
43:08The auction was good.
43:10Very surprising.
43:11The most surprising item was really how much the silver plate made.
43:15Really impressive.
43:17I knew I'd got a good eye for it.
43:19Brett is going home absolutely over the moon with just over £4,000.
43:25That is going to go a long way fixing up the house that he needs to sell.
43:30And I wish him all the best in finding that happy ever little bungalow.
43:40We're off down under tomorrow night on Quest as New Ground brings a bumper payday for the Aussie Gold Hunters,
43:46new at 9.
43:47Then there's a different kind of search at 10 as we head out on rounds with the Snake Catcher.
43:53The End
43:54The End
43:55The End
43:58The End
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