Antiques Roadshow guest taken aback by real value of late aunt's 'rare' item she didn't 'have a clue' about

An Antiques Roadshow expert was proud to unveil the true price of an item the owner didn't "have a clue" about.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.

An Antiques Roadshow guest nearly gave away a precious heirloom to a thrift shop after salvaging it from her deceased aunt's trunk.

The instalment at RAF Marham brought forth an encounter between expert Judith Miller and a lady clutching onto a curious relic, about which she shared: "I discovered it after I nursed an aunt who sadly died.

"She had a trunk in her bedroom full of fascinating things and I came across this and I haven't got a clue what it was for.

"She never told me before either what it was for but just investigating it, I think it has something to do with sewing?

"It has places for needles there and a little threading [bit] where thread can go in but I can't remove that so I'm not quite sure."

Judith swooped in with her expertise, clarifying: "Well yes it is, it's a lovely sewing clamp. So you put this on the side of your table, it had everything you needed to do sewing.

"This would have come off, I don't want to force it, and of course your thread would come out there as well as being around here.

"Of course, this is a little tape measure that's in here and it's beautifully decorated."

Digging into its history, Judith illuminated: "Now when we think of Tunbridge ware, we think of something with lots of little pieces of wood in it.

"But actually this is early Tunbridge ware, so this was made not far from where it was intended to go which was a present from Brighton.

"So it was made in Tunbridge Wells and this was made in the Regency period so 1810, 1815 and of course where was the height of Regency society was in Brighton.

"And so something like this would have been a lovely gift. It would have been an expensive gift in that period. Beautifully made, rare."

The surprised owner remarked, "I've never seen one before," as Judith got ready to give her official valuation.

"I've seen a few but not that many and this is beautifully decorated. This is what people who collect Tunbridge ware really look for.

"And so Regency, rare, made for Brighton in Tunbridge, and worth? Easily £1,000."

Clearly taken aback, the guest responded with amusement: "Goodness me. I'm glad that wasn't put in the charity shop, because it nearly did."

Both the guest and Judith shared a laugh over the near-miss of discarding such a precious antique.

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.