AN Antiques Roadshow guest was scolded for making a BIG mistake with a ‘frightening’ bear statue – and it cost them dearly.
A recent episode of the BBC series was filmed at Bishop’s Palace and saw expert Lenox Cato meet a pair of brothers who had brought in a family heirloom.
Lenox said of the impressive bear statue: “We see a number of carved things on the programme, but this one is so different and I’m so pleased that you’ve brought it along.”
The guest replied: “It’s always been in our lives since my grandmother.
“It’s been standing on a stair landing until my father left it down to me 15 years ago.”
His brother added: “I remember it as a child, a small child, and it used to frighten the living daylights out of us.
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“We had to walk past it to get downstairs, this big bear.”
Lenox then gave a bit more information about what it was used for in Victorian times and then said: “If you look carefully, there’s like, a kind of varnish over it. Do you know how that happened?”
The guest replied: “No, I do vaguely remember it being varnished because it was all brand-new and shiny again, but that was 50 years ago.”
The expert replied: “Well, it’s taken its toll ’cause what’s happened, the varnish now looks like skin.”
“Can you see it gradually flaking off? It shouldn’t have been varnished, it needs to be professionally restored.”
There were further problems to be pointed out as he continued: “The thing which is against it is these splits.
“At one stage, if it was near a radiator, that could have caused that splitting. If it didn’t have splits, this is £10,000.”
But taking the issues with the statue into account he concluded: “You’ve got to say, half that [now].”
Antiques Roadshow is available on BBC iPlayer.
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