An Antiques Roadshow guest gasped when she learned the eye-watering value of her ‘obsessive’ makeup compact collection.
Sunday’s episode of the BBC show revisited a woman who had previously brought some of her collection of art deco powder compacts to be evaluated back in 2013.
The more recent instalment, which first aired in October 2023, saw the guest return and share she had expanded her collection.
Expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan asked her: ‘Could it be said, that you’re an obsessive collector by any chance?’
The woman joked, ‘No I don’t think it’s obvious’ and went on to reveal that she had ‘probably over a thousand’ compacts.
She explained how her collection started and went on: ‘The story is we were married in 1973, we had no furniture, I went to an auction, bought a cardboard box full of things and one of them was a deco powder tin. I fell in love with that and this is the result.’
Sunday’s episode of the BBC show revisited a woman (left) who had previously brought some of her collection of art deco powder compacts to be evaluated back in 2013 and saw expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan (right) evaluate them
The woman (pictured) went on to reveal that she had ‘probably over a thousand’ compacts in her collection
The expert looked at some of the compacts the guest brought in and began to evaluate them
‘These are my babies, they’re quite an assortment,’ she added.
The expert looked at some of the compacts the guest brought in and began to evaluate them.
‘These ones here… they’re all about 1910,’ Ronnie said gesturing to some of the items. ‘They’re Edwardian.’
He added: ‘A lady would go out for her evening dinner and she was on show. Everybody would be looking. This [one of the compacts] would go on her finger. That is a thing of beauty.’
She had a range of mirrors ranging from 1910 to the 1950s, all in different styles.
‘We’ve got to tot the values of these up, it’s quite difficult. But I know that would be £800 or £900. This one would be £500, £600, £700, and so would this one. This would be £800 or £900, this beautiful little duo,’ Ronnie explained.
He then revealed, ‘We’re talking, on the table here, £5,000.’
The guest looked visibly shocked and gasped, ‘Oh my God’.
‘These ones here … they’re all about 1910,’ Ronnie said gesturing to some of the items. ‘They’re Edwardian’
Ronnie revealed, ‘We’re talking, on the table here, £5,000.’ The guest looked visibly shocked and gasped, ‘Oh my God’
Ronnie added: ‘It’s been a delight looking at these. I would love more time to go through them, study them and enjoy them and love them like you.’
It comes after another episode of Antiques Roadshow saw a guest roar ‘never!’ when she learned the lucky reason her grandfather’s lantern is worth a fortune – and the crowd burst into applause.
Expert Lars Tharp was presented with an impressive Chinese lantern by a guest, which used to belong to her grandfather, who was a medical missionary in China.
‘It’s a beautiful thing,’ Lars remarked. ‘You’re obviously fond of it, since you use it.’
The guest explained how it was lit every Christmas and became part of the festivities for the family.
Lars commented: ‘Incredibly difficult to make something like this, it’s a really skillful thing, each of the facets is pierced with a different type of trellis.
‘Here you have a sort of honeycomb trellis, and in the centre there’s a reserve with a little lotus flower.’
Ronnie added: ‘It’s been a delight looking at these. I would love more time to go through them, study them and enjoy them and love them like you.’
Though she didn’t have the ‘companion’ lantern, Lars was still able to give an impressive evaluation.
‘This one was made sometime between the late 18th century and I think the mid-19th century. And although it is very much to European taste, I think it would also appeal to Chinese taste,’ he said.
‘I think to replace one of these, if you wanted to go out and buy another one, I think you’re looking at somewhere between ten and £15,000,’ Lars revealed.
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
