Every time I stage a valuation day at our Fernhurst rooms I’m reminded of that classic episode of Only Fools and Horses where the Trotter family’s heirloom, a discarded pocket watch, turns out to be a lost Harrison worth millions. The image of their battered Reliant Robin parked on double yellow lines outside Sotheby’s in Bond Street is priceless. Finally Del Boy and Rodney became the millionaires they’d always dreamed of being.
It’s just as exciting for the valuer when something special is handed across the table at one of these valuation days. It’s surprising just how many people really do have something of value in the attic or in the cupboard under the stairs.
Headline-grabbing finds of recent years have included a rather battered looking box used as a TV stand that turned out to be the Mazarin Chest, an extremely rare Japanese antique valued at £6.3 million.
Another was the portrait of a man in a ruff picked up at a Cheshire antique shop for £400 in 2004. Ten years later it was spotted as a genuine Van Dyck on the Antiques Roadshow and valued at £400,000.
One of my favourite stories is of the New York family who bought a fairly plain looking white bowl at a garage sale for $3 only to find out later that it was an ancient Chinese treasure over 1,000 years old and worth $2.2 million.
Now I’m looking to make a discovery. What have you got for me? You can bring in an item or photo any time. Check in your attic and see what you find!
