10 April 2023 , 09:59
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Antiques Roadshow viewers were left open mouthed when they found out the potential value of an old piece of embroidered fabric.
In a segment featured on yesterday's episode of the long-running BBC1 show, an old couple presented expert Wayne Colquhoun with a "silk sampler" which had been passed down through their family for generations.
They explained that it was made by an 11-year-old girl in 1780 and had been passed down the female line of the family ever since - but it wasn't just the age and great condition that piqued the antique expert's interest.
He said: "This is weaving a piece of history and from an 11-year-old girl. This is amazing. It looks like slaves behind the carts with tobacco, it's a piece of history.
Antiques Roadshow expert Wayne Colquhoun admires the silk sampler (BBC)"I've never seen one as good as this. It seems to be three different scenes, a farming scene, a sailing scene and a scene from an exotic location.
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"'An 11-year-old has definitely been guided, its silk on wool. We see good ones for £5,000 normally but I think this is so good with its potential American connection."
The owner admitted she never knew that her family had connections to America, and that the origins of the piece, and its carefully embroidered illustrations, had always left her perplexed.
A close-up of the sampler revealed the beautiful detailing (BBC)She said: “It's been passed down through the female line since 1780 until me.
“What has troubled us is where the design came from it's not something you would get from a book in 1780.
“We didn't know the family had connections to America and we never knew where the design had come from.”
But the mysterious American connection turned out to be extremely valuable.
The elderly couple were amazed at its potential worth (BBC)Wayne said: "With its potential going to auction I'd say its worth £10,000 to £15,000 its that good. I've never seen a picture weaved by an 11-year-old so good.”
The owner was understandably taken aback by the massive estimation and vowed to hang it somewhere that her friends and family could see it and appreciate it.
She said: "I find that hard to believe that something like that can be worth that kind of money. We need to display it somewhere."