Two historic plates that battle Antiques Roadshow experts after they have been worn to the BBC show in the handbag of their owner have sold more than £ 20,000.
The blue and yellow Delftware plates – one of which has a crack over the middle – show King James II and a Chinese figure.
The rare seventeenth -century artifacts are sold for £ 12,600 and £ 7,560, including copper premiums, at Woolley and Wallis Auctioners in Salisbury, Wiltshire on February 5.
Not aware of their spectacular value, the owner brought the decorative signs to Antiques Roadshow in her handbag in 2014 – and said they have been hanging in her husband's family house for years.
She broke off in tears as soon as their breathtaking value was revealed by ceramic expert John Sandon, who called them “as rare as you can get.”
In the show the owner said: 'I remember them on the wall of my husband's house and traditionally in the family it was said that they were very valuable.
'But no one else seemed to know anything else about them and in due course they came to my husband.
“When I asked about them, he said he only knew they came from his mother's family.”
The rare seventeenth -century Delftware plates are sold for a combined £ 20,160, including copper premiums
Antique Roadshow expert John Sandon assesses the two signs on the long-term BBC show
The owner remained left behind the appreciation – told spectators that I bought them here in my handbag! '
Sandon then said to her: 'I mean, this one is in a bit of a shocking state. It is broken in two, I mean, someone liked it enough to put it together again, but it is hardly held together.
'But this is really a very important piece of pottery because you have a photo of the king on a rare form and rare colors.
“It doesn't get much more special than this, so we can forgive the bad condition.”
The woman then announced to spectators: “I bought them here in my handbag!” Sandon replied: “That's good, it's a good strong handbag.” The owner added: “Can I cry now?”
Both plates were produced in Brislington Delftware, a form of tinglazed earthenware, of the Brislington pottery that was founded in Bristol in the years 1650.
Clare Durham, Ceramics specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said that the two items were incredibly rare that neither had been seen on the market for more than a century.
Mrs. Durham said: “The sale of two historic Delftware plates shows that Delftware still has a supporter.”
“The price for the board with King James II was strong considering it was broken in two.”
One of the plates depicted a Chinese figure and sold for £ 7,560 at Woolley and Wallis Auctioners in Salisbury, Wiltshire
The owner of the plates was left in tears after hearing the appreciation of the plates by expert John Sandon
One of the auction masters that wears special protective gloves shows the two valuable antique plates
Woolley & Wallis said that the record of the last British Catholic Monarch, who ruled between 1685-1688, was one of the strongest instructions before their date and value.
It is thought that the split in the album had deliberately been and happened to many other pieces that the king proposed after the glorious revolution that the monarch saw off for his political and religious beliefs, which he tried to impose on British society.
Alarmed Protestants feared a Catholic revival and the prince was criticized for the abuse of the army to intimidate the public.
Family legend wants a member of the Devon family broke the album, but it was saved by a family member who was loyal to the king and his descendants.
The hit BBC show, which started in 1979, is now in the 47th season, whereby viewers are still coordinating to see that owners of antiques often receive life-changing ratings.
Last year a guest recorded an urgency that she believed was a piece of a costume jewelry, but was in fact a Sri Lankan 'Bright Cornflour Blue' sapphire, with a weight of around 25-30 carat.
John Benjamin of the show said: 'Now I have to be honest with you, I have done this show for so long, [and] I have never seen a sapphire of this size that has been brought into the Antiques Roadshow. This is a real first time for me.
“If I took such an item of jewelry in an auction, I would expect it to earn £ 40,000 to £ 50,000.”
The resident expert of the BBC show John Benjamin revealed that the beautiful piece of jewelry was in fact more than a century old and was worth £ 50,000 because of the huge sapphire
The bewildered guest had brought the piece to different jewelers for a rating, but had not been lucky, she said, “They said they were costume jewels, they didn't believe us.”
