BBC Antiques Roadshow expert issues warning as 'frightening' item is valued at £70k
Antiques Roadshow expert Steven Moore was left gobsmacked as he spoke with a mother and daughter who were in possession of a "frightening" family heirloom.
One guest on Antiques Roadshow was left completely astonished to discover the hidden value of a family keepsake that had been terrorising youngsters. Whilst at Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland, expert Steven Moore encountered a peculiar artefact.
The item, brought on the BBC show by a mother and her daughter, was a bizarre combination of avian head and amphibian body. Moore said: "Looking at this, I can't help thinking of a phrase of my grandmother's. 'It's a face only a mother could love.' Do you love them?".
The mother admitted: "Well I do. For a while it lived in my parents' house in a cupboard in the spare bedroom." Although her daughter recounted the more distressing childhood memories saying: "The bedroom that my brother and I would stay in if we stayed over and we were terrified of it. Definitely couldn't sleep with it in there. We would cry until it was removed and hidden far away from us."
Moore went on to articulate the unusual charm behind the Martin Brothers' pieces, reports the Mirror. He said: "That's the thing about Martin Brothers. They were idiosyncratic, one way to describe them."
"Crazies may be another way to describe them," he interjected before delving into the features of the sculpture. He inquisitively asked about the abstract form: "Robert Wallace Martin who made this, got so much character into this face which is clearly a bird. But what's going on here [with the body]?".
"Did you have a name for him or was it just sort of terrified?," he noted. The revelation came when they shared that they called the piece Ernie, to which Moore playfully remarked: "That seems a very unscary name."
The mum shared a touching tale: "Well the story is that my grandparents saw it in an antique shop and walked past it and admired it a few times, or at least my grandmother did.
"And then one day she walked past and it was gone but what had happened, my grandfather had a winnings on the premium bonds and he went and bought it for her".
Expert Moore ingeniously connected the item's nickname to the iconic lottery machine, remarking: "Hence, the name of the computer that drew the premium bonds, of course," alluding to Ernie, the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment.
He further speculated: "In theory, there's no reason why there could have been a kiln disaster and the body of this one and the head of this one were destroyed and thought 'Well actually, you know what?'
"So yes, maybe they could have put them together but what I think is more likely to happen is a dealer has probably found this [pointing to the item's body].
"And thought 'one day, I might find the head'. And they found this head and they put them together and sold them."
When appraising the "collectible" yet mismatched pieces, Moore valued the base at £2,000 and the head at an impressive £4,000.
"That's a lot for just a head," quipped the daughter, amused by the valuation, but Moore wasn't finished just yet, hinting at another intriguing aspect of the story.
He continued: "But there's an intriguing possibility. If you could find the head for this body and you could find the body for this head, you would have a profit of £60,000 to £70,000, because that's how much the two separate items would be if they were complete."
The disclosure of such an extraordinary figure left the mother absolutely gobsmacked, her expression one of sheer astonishment, while her daughter remained composed.
Her reaction saw her elated: "That is amazing. I don't think he's grown on me and I don't think I'd be impressed if I got him as a birthday present as my great-grandma did."
Moore then quipped in amusement: "So Ernie hasn't gone up in your estimation," eliciting her response: "He brings back quite funny memories so I feel like he has to stay in the family."
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