Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan was amazed by a unique sculpture brought to him during the latest episode of the BBC series.
The antiques guru gave the item an impressive valuation, but the owner made her feelings clear as she insisted on not selling the portrait bust.
Stating he “absolutely loves” the sculpture brought in for him to give his view on, Archer-Morgan continued: “I think it's an amazing, skilful piece of work.
“I mean, it's a really beautiful sculpture. You've got to tell me all about this.”
The show’s guest explained: “It was carved by my mother out of teak [wood] when she was teaching in South Africa at a school in about 1925, she was there quite a few years.
“She was there as a young woman about 23, to set up a school of sculpture and modelling at the invitation of the director of the Slade School of Art in London.”
The Antiques Roadshow star valued the item at £5,000 to £10,000
BBC
“Slade was the epicentre of art at the time,” Archer-Morgan remarked, continuing: “She would have studied all the greats to come up with this.
“She is a really brilliant sculpturist. This is over-brimming with suppressed energy and power that sounds like an oxymoron.
“But she must have sat with the sitter, just to get to know him and to try and understand him and get inside his head and feel about who he was.
“We have to remember that this was done in South Africa at a time where people that look like him were living in this world of suppression. This is the Phoenix that rises from the ashes of those awful times.”
The guest on the show refused to sell the item
BBC
Enthusing over the artist, he added: “We've still got the excellence of your mother here in this sculpture.
“I love the way she's done his tight curls on his head, she's left what we call the ads marks as the texture of his hair.”
Moving on to the all-important valuation of the piece, the Antiques Roadshow stalwart told the owner people would “go crazy” over the item.
He went on to predict it could make between £5,000 and £10,000 at auction if it were put up for sale.
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Archer-Morgan was impressed with the sculpture
BBC
However, rather than delighting in the high price range, the owner of the sculpture made it clear she wasn’t planning to sell.
“I think it’s priceless in its own way, to be honest,” the guest instantly responded.
“Good, so do I,” the expert agreed as the artist’s daughter went on: “I feel it isn’t a domestic piece – it should be in the public domain. I think it is a museum piece, in my view.”
“This is the excellence of us, of human beings, that they can create works of art like this,” Archer-Morgan beamed before thanking the guest for sharing the sculpture.
