A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left speechless when she learned the eye-watering value of her unloved paintings.
The artwork, which had been hidden away in her loft for 14 year, was hailed as ‘the most amazing thing I’ve seen in ages,’ by expert David Battle.
The guest joined the series at Ightham Mote in Ivy Hatch to have the car boot painting valued.
‘Do you have these hanging on your wall?,’ David asked.
The lady admitted: ‘No. They’ve been in my loft for about 14 years!’
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was left speechless when she learned the eye-watering value of her unloved paintings
The artwork, which had been hidden away in her loft for 14 year, was hailed as ‘the most amazing thing I’ve seen in ages,’ by expert David Battle
Explaining that she ‘didn’t really like them,’ she added: ‘My husband bought them in a boot sale about 15 years ago.
‘My son-in-law thinks they’re Indian and that they’re about mid 18th Century because he thinks he is the expert.’
David explained: ‘The frames are Chinese, 18th Century. They enclose an inner mount which is enamel on copper, very, very beautifully done.
‘Then there’s another border, this time with rough cut garnets probably in gilt beading.
‘The frame encloses these two scenes. What’s going on? I find the iconography deeply puzzling.
‘The obvious thing is this elephant. Could this be, as it has been suggested, an Indian painting? No.
‘How do I know it’s not an Indian painting? By the eyes of the elephant. Only the Chinese painted elephant’s eyes like that, so this is definitely Chinese. The white elephant is symbolic of the Buddha.”
He then took a look at the second painting, and continued: ‘But here? What’s going on here? We’ve got a man presenting a military gentleman with a silver urn.’
David explained: ‘The frames are Chinese, 18th Century. They enclose an inner mount which is enamel on copper, very, very beautifully done’
Revealing the true value, the expert said: ‘I’d get them out of the attic and get them cleaned, because I think they would fetch between £15,000 and £20,000’
David explained: ‘It’s not just a silver urn he’s going to put soup in. I think that these two are symbolic of the death of this girl and that is symbolic of the husband receiving her soul.
‘And that neo-classical urn is typical of the symbolism that you find of mourning. I think they’re just the most amazing things I’ve seen in ages.’
Revealing the true value, the expert said: ‘I’d get them out of the attic. I think you should spend a bit of money getting them cleaned, because I think they would fetch between £15,000 and £20,000.’
