Antiques Roadshow guest raises eyebrows at huge value of 'bowl kept under stairs'

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.

An Antiques Roadshow guest’s eyebrows were raised by the whopping figure for a bowl that’s been stored under the stairs for years.

The BBC series made its way to Tredegar House in Wales to film another episode, this time, with expert Duncan Campbell ready to inspect some beautiful items, including a “scary” bowl.

Campbell began: “Poisonous snakes aren’t everyone’s cup of tea so how do you feel about having a festival of snakes on your dining room table? Or do you not keep it on your dining table?”

The guest clarified: “We don’t keep it on the dining table no, we keep it under the stairs actually but now that I’ve seen it out again, it’s a while since I’ve seen it out, it’s actually quite attractive in a scary sort of way, isn’t it?

“I think it was put away, because we can’t really decide what to do with it.”

When asked how it became his, the owner continued: “It was my grandfather’s, it’s been handed down to me from my grandfather who was in the army in the North West Frontier in the 1890s.

“So we think that’s where he got it, that sort of area which is now sort of North West Pakistan, isn’t it?”

Campbell then stepped in to enlighten the guest, telling him that it was actually from Kashmir and was covered in “local symbols”.

He continued: “And you’ve got Kashmiri or local leaves, you’ve got Chinar leaves, coriander leaves and all of this flora and fauna, poking its head out and rearing up in a very sort of aggressive looking way.

“The bowl itself is based on what’s called a kashkul which is a begging bowl which the [whirling] Dervish monks used to carry who collect arms from the locals.

“It’s a popular shape that was used by the local craftsman to turn into all sorts of things, for example, your lovely centre piece which was never intended to be sold to a Kashmiri, this was always expected to be sold to a foreigner.”

“It’s a wonderful item, it’s much bigger than what Kashmiri silver is, it’s on a very grand scale," Campbell elaborated.

“And as far as date of manufacture goes, this is going to be about 1890 and the market for what’s essentially Islamic metal work, has grown and grown in recent years.

“This is not only skillful work but a really nice looking object. It has some considerable value too.”

At the mere mention of a big price, the guest pulled a face, raising his eyebrows as he stated: “Oh. Right.”

Campbell then revealed: “It would cost you about, somewhere around £4,000 mark.”

The guest replied with a beaming smile: “Oh. Right. That’s more than what I was thinking. Thank you very much. Brilliant!”

“Not at all. A nice thing to be left," Campbell commented as the guest added: “What a result.”

When cheekily asked if he was going to take the bowl out from under the stairs, the guest laughed: “I think it will. Get some bananas to put in it.”

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.