A BBC Antiques Roadshow expert was left stunned by one guest’s historical artefact and even told them they ‘won’t be pleased’ by what he had to say about it.
During the episode which aired on Sunday, members of the public gathered at Forty Hall, just north of London to show off their prized possessions.
But one guest left expert valuer Ronnie Archer-Morgan stumped when he brought in his family heirloom.
The intricately carved wooden stick had been in the guest’s family for as long as he could remember but he had no idea what it was.
All he could tell Ronnie was that it had come from India and been in his family for years.
A BBC Antiques Roadshow expert was left stunned by one guest’s historical artefact and even told them they ‘won’t be pleased’ by what he had to say on Sunday’s episode
Expert valuer Ronnie Archer-Morgan was left stumped by the intricately carved wooden stick which the guest explained had belonged to his mother
The stick had been in the guest’s family for as long as he could remember but he had no idea what it was – all he could tell Ronnie was that it had come from India
He said: ‘It’s been in my family for as long as I know. My mother was born in India and she got married in India.
‘It’s been in the family ever since. My mother at one point did try to explain to me what it was for, there are metal holes as you can see at the top.’
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The guest then explained that his mother would put sticks inside of it and ‘you’d sort of hold it in the sun and the stick would cause a shadow.’
As he examined the object, Ronnie asked: ‘Like a sundial?’.
The guest replied: ‘Yes but you can’t really move sundials. Anyway, I never knew quite how it worked.’
The description confused expert Ronnie but didn’t put him off.
He said: ‘You might be pleased to know that I love it. But you might not be pleased to know why. I love it because I don’t know what it is!’
Examining the length of the stick, Ronnie explained: ‘It’s clearly Indian script here and here.’ and was impressed with the craftsmanship, adding that it had numbers running down all eight sides and it didn’t have any wear or tear.
Ronnie explained that the stick was covered in neat Indian script and didn’t have any wear or tear. He ruled out a walking stick but was still confused as to its purpose
Despite the mystery, the expert said he would be pleased to pay up to £200 to get to the bottom of it adding it would be a ‘cheap lesson’ and he would be happy to have it
The couple were surprised by the valuation and joined Ronnie in appealing to viewers to help explain what the mystery heirloom was and had been used for
Ronnie said that despite not knowing what the stick was, he would be happy to pay to get to the bottom of it.
He said: ‘I would be happy to pay up to 200 for that. Probably no more. But I would pay 200 just to have it and find out – what a cheap lesson that would be!’
Despite his appreciation, the expert was left confused as to its purpose and could only suggest what it wasn’t, concluding it couldn’t have been used as a walking stick.
He went on: ‘It’s definitely old, 100 to 120 or 130 years old, late 19th to 20th century.’
Despite the mystery, Ronnie was enamoured with the item and appealed to viewers to help crack the case.
Ronnie said: ‘I’m appealing to people watching the programme for someone to tell us. And it would have a price!’.
Despite Ronnie’s confusion, the guest was delighted with his valuation, describing it as ‘lovely’ before adding that they hoped someone would be able to tell them what it had been used for.
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One on Sunday nights at 7pm.