A LUCKY shopper was left gobsmacked after discovering that a £40 “scary” statue he bought is worth thousands of pounds.
The mega find was revealed on the latest episode of BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, when a guest brought in the 1,000 year old figurine.
On the episode – which took place in Derry, Northern Ireland – the show’s expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan met the guest before sussing out its worth.
The “tiny” statue, which was described by Ronnie as a “scary looking fellow” is believed to be from the 11th or 12th century.
The guest told viewers that he bought the oddity at an online auction, dropping just £40 on it at the time because he thought it looked interesting.
But he was left in disbelief when being told that the strange little statue could be worth around £2,000 – netting a tidy profit of £1,960.
Speaking on the show, the guest said: “I know some things about him but I kind of found him on an online auction site, he was fun and very interesting.
“His facial expressions…I hadn’t seen anything like them before. His fangs, his eyes, and his protruding eyeballs. I just thought the detail was fascinating to me.
“So I did a small bit of research and it seemed to indicate that he came from Java.”
Responding to the guest Ronnie was taken aback by the chap’s knowledge, stating that maybe they should “swap places.”
Ronnie then confirmed that the guest was correct on a lot of what he said, that the statue was from that time period and that the Javanese name refers to the god of the underworld.
Ronnie, said: “So he is responsible for eclipses and so everybody gets afraid of eclipses and they think they’re gonna lose the sun or lose the moon.”
He went on to explain that according to the culture’s mythology at the time, the god was sent down to “keep humans on the straight and narrow” but instead decided to “eat them.”
He then confirmed that the item was real – giving the guest a moment of glee knowing his strange auction purchase could net him thousands more than he paid.
Pros and Cons of selling valuable items at an auction
If you are considering an item through an auction house it may be worth weighing up the pros and cons, as revealed by WeBuyVintage.
You may want to confirm that the item you have actually is worth some serious money and not just to be flogged off at a car boot sale.
This is where a reputable auctioneer may come in handy and will likely offer a free valuation.
A professional appraisal will make sure of an accurate price when it is put up for sale, attracting potential buyers.
By using an auctioneer, they can provide the right platform to attract potential collectors or enthusiasts, while an online ad may simply get lost in the deluge.
An auction creates the environment of competitive bidding, where rival bidders try to out do each other, which can push the sale way over the estimated valuation.
Putting items up for auction can insurance a speedy sale as there is a fixed date of possible sale, whereas it could take ages for an ad to attract a buyer.
The reputation of an auction house may be important as this will proceed them and establish credibility which will attract serious buyers who will respect the opinion of an auction house.
It’s not all plain sailing though and there are some potential drawbacks.
There are fees and commissions involved. While with selling privately, the owner gets to keep every penny but an auction house will charge fees and commissions for their efforts.
The outcome of an auction isn’t certain and the seller doesn’t have control over the final price, which could be less than was expected.
Details of auction items and how much they sold for are often publicly available which may not suit someone who wants to maintain their privacy and discretion.
The item maybe undervalued by an auction house if they lack the expertise in how to market a particular item and don’t have the specialist knowledge.
Sellers should also be aware that there is very likely going to be a deferred payment once their item has been sold. This is often down to a settlement period in place and admin issues.
EVEN MORE ASTOUNDING FINDS
More viewers of the show were left stunned after an expert told a guest a wine glass her dad bought for 50p could net her a pretty-penny.
The member of the public was left “shaking” after an expert valued it at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Elsewhere, anotherguest begged the show “don’t tell my wife!” after he found out the jaw-dropping value of his “gold dust” print.
And finally, on a seperate episode of the show a guest was left shocked after learning the value of a broken watch he had found in a box of junk.
Filmed at Powis Castle in Welshpool, expert Alistair Chandler met the man who said he paid £40 for a box of junk to see what he would find.
