WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Antiques Roadshow.
An Antiques Roadshow guest couldn’t help but beam at the impressive price tag given to her grandfather’s lantern.
Expert Lars Tharp was on hand to speak to a woman at Floors Castle about her “beautiful” Chinese lantern during filming of the BBC series.
He initially queried: “I know we’re not quite up to night time yet but if it were night time, this is what we would do. Do you do this with your lantern?”, with the owner simply sharing: “I do. Every week.”
Probing the owner on how it came to be in her possession, she remarked: “From my father, from his father and he was a medical missionary in China, in about 1890 to over 1900.”
He added: “So approximately 100 plus years ago. It’s a beautiful thing. You’re obviously fond of it.”
She agreed: “I love it. We always had it on at Christmas and it was just part of the Christmas scene”, with Tharp smiling: “Yes and what’s Christmas without candles?”
The expert then went on to admire the craftsmanship of tie item, sharing that it would have been “incredibly difficult to make”.
“Each of the facets is pierced with a different type of trellis,” he said.
“Here, you have a kind of honeycomb trellis and in the centre there’s a reserve with a little lotus flower and what I particularly like is this here where two handsome young maidens are accommodating this man here, looking up and gazing at the moon. That’s the moon. It’s a nighttime scene.
“And in this case, the trellis is not honeycomb but it is overlapping Chinese coins or cash. Now, coins and cash denote wealth, may you have wealth.
“So there is an ongoing, as the candle flickers and burns, and casts those shadows on the inside of the room, remember, all that caged work, is now appearing - it does do it?”
“Yes it does, you can see it from quite a distance,” she commented.
Picturing how it looked, Tharp replied: “Ah fantastic! I wish we could [see it], lights down! But we can’t.
“Anyway, it’s beautifully painted, exquisite detail of flowers repeated on the foot, so often these lanterns have lost the foot.”
The expert then asked if the owner had the “companion”, stating that the lanterns came in pairs but the guest didn’t believe that her grandfather had two of them.
Tharp continued: “This one was made sometime between the late 18th Century and the mid 19th Century.
“And although it’s very much to European taste, I think it would also appeal to Chinese taste.
“Well you light it once a week so you must have it insured? For fire if nothing else.”
Clearly embarrassed by Tharp’s probing, the guest pulled a face as she laughed: “Hm, the house is!”
Ready to share the valuation, he concluded: “I think to replace one of these, if you was to go out and buy another one, I think you’re looking at somewhere between £10,000 and £15,000. Strike a light!”
The owner beamed from ear to ear, smiling as she said: “Never! Really? I thought it was about £500. £10,000 and £15,000?”
“This market has gone absolutely through the roof and it’s going to appeal to the Chinese, it’s going to appeal to the Europeans. It’s a beautiful thing, really,” Tharp explained.
As the guest thanked the expert for the appraisal, the surrounding audience began to applaud with Tharp joking: “Oh, a round of applause, my word! Oh no, really really!”, to everyone’s amusement.
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
