BBC presenter Natasha Raskin Sharp has urged Bargain Hunt fans to “check their lofts” after an antique jug sold at auction for almost £400,000.
In the repeated episode, which aired on Thursday afternoon (March 23), the 36-year-old presenter revealed that he’d brought along a “special object”.
Showing it to antique’s expert Charles Hanson, 45, it initially appeared to be a teapot at first glance but upon further inspection was actually a “rare Chinese wine ewer”.
READ MORE: BBC Bargain Hunt presenter forced to apologise after guest loses more than £100
Charles later described the yellow object, which was covered in a floral design, as “very sacred, very important and very rare”.
(Image: BBC)
He went on to explain that is was a “ceremonial ewer” – which is a large jug used to hold water and the like – which he claims would have been used by the court of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century.
Discussing the item, he said: “It’s amazing and I think this is the ultimate Bargain Hunt find.” He said it had been brought into the sale room in a bag for charity by a client.
Charles said: “This is only one of three known”. He said that the other two are in the Museum of Taipei in Taiwan and the Museum of Beijing in China respectively, the Mirror reports.
(Image: BBC)
The auctioneer said the example in front of them had been found in Burton-on-Trent. He said: “Unbeknown to the owner, it had been in his house, in his loft for over 50 years.”
Charles said it had been brought to the UK by the owner’s grandfather, who had been in Japan during the 1940s.
He added that it was initially booked in at a “low estimate”, with it suspected that it might be worth up to £150. He said that figure rose after further inspection and research.
After sharing other previous estimates, he added: “Now we’re advising the market that this important ewer is probably going to be guided between £100,000 and £150,000.”
Natasha later caught up with Charles following the auction of the ewer and he admitted to having been “very nervous” when he was auctioning off the antique.
(Image: BBC)
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Charles revealed that the opening bid had been £100,000 and it was subsequently announced that the hammer had come down at £390,000 for the antique in question.
The auctioneer said that bidding had “stuck” at the opening bid for a couple of minutes initially before international bids rose the figure. “We kept on going up,” he said.
“When it hit a quarter of a million […] I felt relief because it was my first big milestone,” he added. Charles said his team gave him a round of applause after the auction.
Natasha went on to issue a message to viewers in response to the sale of the object, encouraging them to check for such antiques in their own homes.
She said: “What a result! The lesson here is check your loft for hidden ewers.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
