Ever since I first tuned into "Antiques Roadshow" which is shown on the Lifestyle Channel, I have become a fan of the programme.
It's shown on weekday afternoons (1:30 - 2:30pm) on cable TV here in Sydney and I catch it if I happen to be at home. The programme features people bringing their antiques to have them valued by experts. The roadshows are normally held interesting locations like castles, well-established schools, or some manor built by some rich duke or lord, or the hometown of well-known Britons such as Isaac Newton, Beatrix Potter, Shakespeare etc. All these locations are packed with history which are centuries old.
The show first begins with the host giving a short history of the location. Then the audience gets to see the different things people bring. Anecdotes of the item's history are told and audiences take delight in guessing the value of the item. When revealed by the expert, disbelief, shock and delight are often seen in the owners' faces.
All sorts of items are brought in. Antique toys, books, furniture, paintings, vases, pottery, medals, clothes, crockery, ceramics, glassware, etcetc. It's very fascinating. One can get smarter by watching this programme as you hear the experts talk about the history of each item.
To give an idea of how the show goes, I took this anecdote off the website (unfortunately I didn't get to watch this episode).
The £100,000 dog walk
Along with the bits and bobs that have turned up on the tables over the years, have been a staggering assortment of unforgettable finds, priceless antiques and historic treasures that have changed the lives of their owners. Many of the experts can recall the story of the couple from Barnstable who only came along to the show back in 1986 because their dog, Fido, needed a walk. At the last minute they decided to bring along a painting neither of them particularly liked, that they'd kept in their attic. To their surprise it turned out to be a long lost painting by the Victorian artist Richard Dadd. After being valued on the show, it was later sold to the British Museum for £100,000.
Seeing how popular the show is, the Americans (those copycats!) decided to have their own spinoff and it's known as the "American Antiques Roadshow". It's shown in Sydney as well, but I much prefer the British version. This is because the things that people bring in the British version are usually older and of greater variety. By this I mean that the antiques are usually from Britain and different parts of Europe. The antiques in the American version are usually not as old and are mostly from America, hence it has more value to American history. Not quite as fascinating in my opinion, and I'm not that interested in the Yanks anyway. Also, the American roadshows are usually held in uninteresting venues such as some boring exhibition hall.
Right, so that's just a bit of trivia for the day. :)
Posted by DSD at August 22, 2003 3:56 PMoh i watch that sometimes...well, if i am near a telly in the uk...i haven't watched much telly progs. for the last 8 years....feeling quite deprived.
Posted by: tiggie at August 22, 2003 7:44 PM