BBC Antiques Roadshow expert admits ‘I’ve never seen one’ as he declares item ‘one of the rarest ever’
Antiques Roadshow expert Alastair Dickenson shared his surprise after coming across “one of the rarest” of items in a classic episode of the BBC favourite.
The silver specialist gave the analysis at a show that originally hit screens in 2022 and is scheduled to air on Sunday evening.
The episode saw him looking in awe at a trophy of a ram’s head. “It’s inscribed GPS 1897, one-mile bicycle race, first prize,” he observed.
He admitted to the guest who brought it along: “Now I’ve valued and seen hundreds – maybe thousands – of trophies in my time, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one quite like this. What does GPS stand for, and how did it come into your hands?”
“GPS is Glasgow Play Sports, and it was my grandfather, he won the one-mile bike race,” the owner of the item explained.
He continued: “In the photograph, he’s the gentleman holding the bike,” to which Dickenson commented: “Fantastic outfit!”
The expert then revealed: “Well, the interesting thing is that at this date, the 1890s, that predates the Tour de France.
“It also is pretty soon after the invention of what was called the safety bike. And the safety bike was simply a bike with two wheels of the same size, because before that, you had the penny farthing, which was very unstable, and is just scary looking at it, let alone riding it!
“So you’re at the beginnings here of British cycling. And I think that’s quite important when assessing the piece as a whole.”
“The most interesting thing of all though – do you know what this is?” Dickenson probed, pointing towards the trophy.
“An unusual item to give to somebody – why a ram’s head?” the guest quipped before taking a stab at what the function of the peculiar trophy may have been.
“I think that possibly that was part of a breakfast set, and they put flowers in the back.”
“Well, you’re not a million miles away, but it is actually a spoon warmer,” the antiques wizard revealed.
He went on: “You filled it with hot water, you put your spoon in this hole at the top, and when you were using it for ice cream, you could then slice through the ice cream very easily.
“But I have to tell you, as far as spoon-warmers go – this is, by the way, made in electroplate – it’s not solid silver, it’s electroplate, they nearly always are.
“But as far as spoon-warmers go, this is one of the rarest, and I have to say, one of the nicest I’ve ever seen.”
Gesturing towards the crowd, the guest admitted: “My wife hates it! I love it.”
“No, it’s an absolute cracker,” Dickenson shared. “It’s beautifully modeled, probably made by one of the big plating firms, like Elkington, who were based in Birmingham.
“But it’s super quality, it’s very collectible. It’s also interesting from a cycling point of view.
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“So, got to come up with an idea of what it might be worth… I think it could easily make close to £1000 at auction.”
“As much as that?” the surprised guest asked, adding: “That’s interesting,” before Dickenson thanked the owner of the item for bringing it along.