BBC Antiques Roadshow expert agonises over 'tricky' valuation as he makes surprise admission about origins: 'We'll never know!'

Reading out some of the details about the parlour table, Archer-Morgan stated: "Parlour table made by Cecil M McIntosh, Chebuctoo, Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica, put together with 1,666 pieces of the best Jamaican hardwood."

He went on to explain how the document listed various types of wood that had been used to make the impressive table.

"Pages and pages of the different timbers!" he enthused, adding: "There's cedar, there's greenheart, there's breadfruit. There's woods I've never heard of. I mean, it's quite extraordinary. It's a beautiful piece of furniture."

Desperate to find out further details, he asked the guest how she'd come to own the piece of furniture, to which she replied: "I inherited it from my stepfather and he inherited it from his mother in 1990.

"I can remember it being in his home from that time."

She went on to explain she had done some research into its background and had contacted the Jamaican Georgian Society to find out about the table's creator, McIntosh.

"They came back to say he was an invalid and he was quite well known for carving pieces of wood," she recalled.

The guest went on to explain: "It was mostly done using a penknife," before Archer-Morgan commented: "My word! I'm intrigued to know whether McIntosh was a black Jamaican or a white Jamaican - and we will never know!"

He continued: "I find that quite... enticing, intriguing. We can look at this piece, and we don't know the hands that made it, what culture he was from, because Jamaican was mixed culture, in a way."

He added: "The fact that he made this with a penknife tells me more than just a piece of furniture.

"It actually represents the indomitable spirit. I mean, I just love it. Here you have marquetry pots of flowers and you have geometric parquetry and various woods."

Stunned by the find, the expert confessed: "It actually blows my mind!" He continued by explaining the furniture was likely made in the latter half of the 19th century.

Moving on to the all-important valuation, he detailed why it was quite a difficult piece to put a price on.

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"Oh, it's very tricky," he admitted, reflecting: "With this story, with that document, with the prominence... I think I'd value this at £3,000 to £4,000."

The delighted guest exclaimed: "Oh, lovely!" in response, to which Archer-Morgan went on: "It's fantastic," and thanked her for bringing it along.