AN Antiques Roadshow guest was left disappointed after he learned the true value of a vase he thought was 100 years old.
Expert John Sandon unfortunately had to give the man the bad news that his items were in fact fake.
Sunday’s Antiques Roadshow episode was hosted by Fiona Bruce and saw members of the public bring in their unusual and unique items for valuation with the help of experts.
During the BBC One show, expert John was handed two vases by a man who was both a collector and a ceramist.
The guest revealed that he collected Irish ceramics and had delved into items from England by purchasing the two lilac vases he had with him.
He explained: “When I saw the name William Moorcroft, I thought ‘Yeah, I’d like to get something that was quite old of his.
“I have a couple of new pieces which kind of date to around 2004, whereas these, I thought were kind of around 1900, 1905.”
Looking over at the items, the expert explained how rare it was to find a matching pair in good condition and enquired further about where they were purchased.
The guest then disclosed that he had purchased the vases from someone in his local area who was selling their deceased uncle’s collection.
He added: “I drove down to Cork to meet him.
“But I ended up meeting in a car park, which I thought was a bit strange.”
Before John gave him the bad news, the guest told him that he had bought both items for £550.
The expert then explained: “What worries me when you see them here is, are they too good to be true?
“Because they would be 1905, so 110 or 120 years old.
“You’re going to expect to see defects here and there, a bit of signs of crazing. Underneath there, smears of old, has that just been dipped in tea?”
John revealed to the man that the signature on the bottom of the vases was unauthentic and only a photograph copy.
Confirming that both vases had no value to them, he said: “They’re modern fakes, and therefore they’re just pretty”.
The unimpressed guest looked on with a disappointed expression.
Viewers of the BBC antiques show quickly took to X(Twitter) and shared their thoughts on the ‘fake’ vases as one wrote: “Difficult to have much sympathy for that bloke who bought the vases from the back of a car #antiquesroadshow.”
Another teased: “Didn’t that guy say he was a ceramics maker? Was there really a guy in a car park, or were you just trying to see how well your ceramic making is?” (sic)
A third cheekily followed it with: “And the lesson is… never buy your antiques from a bloke in a car park. #antiquesroadshow.
In the same episode, Antique Roadshow viewers were left shocked after a woman’s £2 charity shop items actually proved to be ultra-rare vases.
The floral purchases stunned fans of the hit show on Sunday night when the oblivious owner found out they were worth an eye-watering sum.
Admitting she was about to throw them away, the woman headed over to the production of the BBC programme in Derry, Northern Ireland, to see the history behind them.
Watchers were not expecting much for the pair of £1 vases – considering the ornaments weren’t in good condition anymore.
To everyone’s surprise, the expert valued just one of the vases between £700 and £1,000.
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
