Let’s face it, all we really watch Antiques Roadshow for are those rare moments when someone brings along some dusty old thing they bought for peanuts at a jumble sale only to discover it’s worth a fortune.
That’s exactly what happened on Sunday’s episode to one unsuspecting participant, who was so shocked at the real value of his wooden bowl that he ended up in tears.
Valuer Ronnie asked the guest how he had obtained the bowl, which he told him he’d bought for less than a tenner back in the 1970s.
Ronnie told him: “This is the piece de resistance to me. Absolutely. This is a collector’s dream.
“You’ll find few of these around the world. This bowl is amazing. Amazing patina, amazing carving.
“It’s obviously utilitarian because it’s a bowl, but its zoomorphic form obviously suggests that it’s ritualistic or for ceremony.
“This is certainly 19th century, if not earlier.”
Yeah ok Ronnie, that’s great but get to the valuation already.
“This I would value at auction at £20,000 to £30,000,” he told the stunned collector.
Visibly shocked at the valuation, the guest said: “Oh my God! You are joking! That’s incredible. I’m shaking.”
Ronnie confessed he was blown away by the item, with the guest replying: “You really have taken my breath away.”
He added: “I’m totally, totally lost for words. I really am. I thought it might be worth between I don’t know, £700 and £1,000 or something.
“But that is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Watch a clip of the moment Ronnie delivers the good news to the collector below (via Metro).
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One.