An Antiques Roadshow guest brought in a tribal figure bought for £1.50 from a Cambridge antiques shop, which expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan initially thought could be worth up to £250,000. However, the item turned out to be a well-made copy valued at £150.
Expert's Heart Skipped a Beat
On the Sunday, July 19, episode of BBC's Antiques Roadshow at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, Archer-Morgan examined the figure. He said: "When you unwrapped this, my heart really skipped a beat, because it's one of my favourite tribal African figures."
The guest explained: "Believe it or not, in an antiques shop in Cambridge 10 years ago. It was right among the junk and it cost me a grand total of £1.50." Archer-Morgan joked: "Wow. You really took a risk, didn't you?" The visitor replied: "Well I was intrigued by the fact that it looked as if somebody had put a lot of work into making it."
Origin and Value
Archer-Morgan identified the figure as a Kota reliquary guardian figure from Gabon, south of Nigeria. He explained: "And this is a Kota reliquary guardian figure and they put these on the bones of their ancestors to protect them and they polished this metal. In the 19th Century, often their brass and copper - this is just copper - the brass and copper was like gold to them. They're so highly revered in the art world that they have one of these in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. They're such iconic examples of African tribal art."
He detailed the construction: the metal was hammered over wood, with geometric designs making them "so desirable" and "very, very sought after". He then revealed: "One of these made, I think, a few years ago, a quarter of a million pounds."
The Disappointing Twist
Archer-Morgan paused before delivering the bad news: "But unfortunately, this one is a very fine copy. It's slightly the wrong size. This was probably made in about 1980. And one like this is probably worth about £150. Unfortunately not the quarter of a million that one of them actually made."
The guest responded: "Well it's a lot more than I paid for it so I'm happy." Archer-Morgan noted: "It's fantastic. I think it's 100 times more than you paid for it! There you go!"
