The words “football shirts” and “Christopher Dresser silver tea set” don’t usually appear in the same sentence. Yet, that’s the delightful, unexpected blend the Antiques Roadshow serves up this week from Belfast’s Botanic Gardens. Forget the usual dusty heirlooms; this episode features goalkeepers’ jerseys rubbing shoulders with modernist silver, proving once again the show’s uncanny ability to unearth the odd and the extraordinary.
While football fans might initially gravitate towards the impressive collection of shirts worn by legendary keepers, it’s Dresser’s tea set, a surprising discovery nestled amongst the sporting memorabilia, that steals the show – or at least earns the title of the most noteworthy find. Jewelry aficionados won’t be disappointed either, as Susan Rumfitt appraises a trio of exquisite brooches, with Tiffany & Co. making a dazzling appearance.
But the eclecticism doesn’t end there. A leather rhinoceros footstool from Liberty of London? Check. A collection of Steiff character dolls, including the monkey and the lamb? Double-check. Throw in a Brontë sisters’ first edition assessed by the ever-enthusiastic Justin Croft and Frances Christie admiring a seascape painting (presumably finding a moment of tranquility amidst the inevitable Belfast drizzle), and you have a vintage episode in the making.
Fiona Bruce, never one to miss an opportunity for a local history lesson, explores the work of Irish botanist John Templeton, while Grant Ford waxes lyrical about his favorite Irish artists. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, a natural pearl pendant and brooch with theatrical origins emerge as the true showstoppers. It’s this mix of the mundane and the magnificent, the sporty and the sparkly, that makes Antiques Roadshow such enduringly watchable television.
Antiques Roadshow airs Sunday, November 24, 2024, at 8:00 PM on BBC One.
