The sculpture had been in the guest’s family for years (Image: BBC)
A guest on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow was left lost for words when she was told her item’s value, rejecting the expert’s hefty valuation with sheer disbelief.
In tonight’s episode (January 19), which was a rerun from September 2023, art connoisseur Will Farmer encountered a lady in possession of a bronze sculpture showing a woman bearing a jug, an heirloom that had remained within her family for years.
She recounted the sculpture’s backstory, saying: “We think that she came from the French side of the family,” and noted, “We had grandparents in Paris at the end of the 1800s, early 1900s.”
Upon examining the piece, Will discovered a “lovely signature” belonging to Joseph Bernard. “Now, he was born in 1866, just outside of Leon,” he said, before revealing its significance.
“What we’re looking at here is one of his most famous and most celebrated works, which is Jeune fille à la cruche, which is ‘Young Girl with a Jug’. There’s something clearly classical here, but you can also see that we’re moving towards Art Deco.”
The sculpture was revealed to be a rare treasure worth five figures (Image: BBC)
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Elaborating on Bernard’s impact, Will considered him “one of the true early pioneers of the Art Deco movement,” and mentioned: “I mean it was actually said by somebody in the world of academia that if you were to take away sculptures from The Louvre that referenced Bernard, there would be nothing left because he was so influential.”
He disclosed that one of the statues had recently turned heads at an auction in Paris, tagged with an estimated price tag of £15,000 to £20,000.
As the onlookers in Dorset gasped in astonishment, he continued: “But it didn’t fetch £15,000 to £20,000 – I’m really sorry,” followed by the revelation that it had actually been hammered down for a much higher amount.
The guest was left lost for words (Image: BBC)
“It sold for the equivalent in sterling of £40,000,” he declared, prompting disbelief from the owner. The guest was quick to reject the figure, repeatedly exclaiming, “No, no, no.”
Once the staggering sum had sunk in, the guest shared her intentions for the cherished sculpture, affirming that it would remain a treasured possession within the family, “Well, that’s quite something for the family because she is a family piece and we are so lucky,” she beamed.
Antiques Roadshow returns to One next Sunday at 7pm with episodes also available to watch on iPlayer