Antiques Roadshow Lee Young revealed that an incredible ancient Chinese robe could have broken a huge show record (Image: BBC)
witnessed a record-breaking moment when an elderly couple brought in an extraordinary item – an Imperial robe from China. The stunning piece, crafted from golden yellow fabric and adorned with traditional Chinese symbols and the iconic dragon figure, immediately caught the eye of antiques expert Lee Young.
“There are those moments in your life that you will always remember, and I will always remember standing here, but I certainly will also remember the first time that I saw this spectacular robe,” he said. After an impressive valuation, it was revealed that the museum-grade piece was the most valuable item ever seen on the show, surpassing the previous record set by a faulty Imperial China vase.
The owners explained that the woman’s grandfather had brought the robe to the UK in the early 1930s after working as the general manager of the Standard Bank in India. When asked what they had done with the robe over the years, the woman amusingly replied: “It was in the dressing up box! “.
“1750, it certainly would be Imperial, it’s a lady’s robe,” Lee observed, examining the garment’s intricate details. “A robe of 1750 is a very rare robe indeed. There are few survivors, the only other ones I know of this type, you’d have to go to Beijing and go to the Palace museum to see one of these,” he continued. “It really is a museum item.”, reports OK.
The Antiques Roadshow couple couldn’t believe their ears (Image: BBC)
“Now the colour is important, a bright yellow would be for the Empress or the Dowager Empress, or the first ranking concubine. This isn’t a bright yellow, it’s got a slightly kind of lime-y, just a slight green tinge to it. But it is certainly Imperial.”
While praising the historic piece as “extraordinary,” Lee pointed out that there was an unfortunate issue with the robe’s condition, which would impact its auction value. “If you look at the dragon here, it wasn’t intended to be two-tone,” Lee explained.
“What’s happened there, I would suspect, is when they’ve mixed the gilt on the copper wire, that actually the copper has oxidised. Ultimately it will affect its value.”
Lee Young pointed out all the intricate details of an exciting Chinese robe (Image: BBC)
He also noticed another alteration: “Another thing I’ve found, I think that at some time, someone has actually turned up the bottom and it’s probably a little shorter than it should be. You can see part of the fringe here maybe has been turned up as well.”
Despite these issues, Lee admitted the robe was “just spectacular,” ensuring it would still fetch a hefty sum from collectors.
The expert confidently asserted: “If that comes up at auction, with the way the market is at the moment, I think that would make £200,000,” which left the audience in utter shock. The revelation had the couple simply responding with a chuckle and an overwhelmed “Oh.”
They were clearly taken aback by the valuation as the man stammered: “That’s surprising.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it made a bit more as well,” Lee chimed in, prompting the owner to joke: “Well we won’t be putting it in the dressing up box again.”