An Antique Roadshow guest was gobsmacked when she discovered the value of her grandmother’s teapot, which she had completely forgotten about.
Expert Gordon Foster could not contain his excitement during an appraisal at Belfast ‘s Botanic Gardens. Revealing that the items in front of him were very popular with those who recognised them, yet extremely rare, reports the Edinburgh Live.
He said: “Well you’ve brought along this teapot and milk jug today”, adding, “People at home will be shouting at their screens, people who know what it is.
“The pieces were designed by Christopher Dresser, a pivotal designer at the end of the 19th Century. Despite looking like Art Deco from the 1920s or 1930s, they were actually from the early 1880s.”
When asked how she came about them she mentioned: “Well I found it one day when I went to sort out the children’s football boots in the garage.”
The hidden gems were wrapped in old newspaper, and the guest claimed she had “forgotten about them completely”.
The guest had told Foster that the items were from her “grandmother’s family.”
Foster praised the piece for being “so ahead of its time”, as the artist had created Art Deco pieces long before the style became popular.
“At this same time, 1880s, Victorian era, tea services were much bigger, covered in floral decoration. So this was completely in contrast to all of that.
“Christopher Dresser went to Japan in 1876 as part of a trade delegation and he was inspired by Japanese shapes that he saw there.
“He saw early Japanese teapots, cooking vessels, and this is what he drew inspiration from.
“It was completely against the flow of fashion at the time so he was really, truly, avant-garde in what he was doing.”
Foster examined the piece more closely, noting that it was silver plated and the handle bar design was influenced by Japanese bamboo handles.
He also said that the angle of the handle was “very decorative but also functional” as it “will pour perfectly”.
“I love it, because it’s so simple. So, when would he have started getting the ability to make these sort of things?”, the guest asked.
Foster replied: “He trained at a very young age. He went to design school in London in his teens. He had an eye for design, and it culminates in something just like this. It’s a work of art really rather than a teapot.”
Then came the announcement of the price: “Well, we come to the valuation. If this were to turn up on the market, there would be many people interested in buying it. You are looking at, comfortably, £3,000 to £5,000.”
The guest laughed and pulled a face before replying: “OK.”
Foster remarked: “It’s an outstanding example”.
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The guest remarked: “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have put it in with the football boots!
“I don’t know how they got into the football boots.”
When queried about her plans for the item, as Foster wondered whether she aimed to safeguard it, she laughed and suggested she’ll “take it to the bank maybe.”
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