![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/antiques-roadshow-guest-gasps-at-true-value-of-charity-shop-find-he-thought-would-be-200k/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2_figure-2JPG.jpg&description=The BBC One guest confessed to Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan that he found the African figure in a charity shop over ten years ago in Cambridge - and paid just £1.50 for it An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked when told the true value of a charity shop find he guessed could have been worth £200,000. The antique experts gathered at an auction at Wollaton Hall, where Ronnie Archer-Morgan investigated a tribal African figure one man picked up on a whim. "When you unwrapped this, my heart really skipped a beat," Ronnie told the owner of the antique figure. "It's one of my favourite tribal African figures. Where did you get it?" To which the BBC guest confessed that he found it in a charity shop over ten years ago in Cambridge. Recalling when he first set eyes on the antique piece, the owner said: "It was right among the junk, and it cost me the grand total of £1.50. I was intrigued by the fact that it looked as if somebody had put a lot of work into making it." Sharing his expertise, Ronnie revealed: "It's from a tribe, in Gabon. They are just south of Nigeria and this is a Kota guardian figure and they put these on the bones of their ancestors to protect them. They polish this metal and in the 19th century, the brass and copper - this is just copper - but the brass and copper was like gold to them." Ronnie went on: "They are so highly revered in the art world, that they have one of these in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. They are such iconic examples of African tribal art. They hammer the metal over the wood sculpture and then they chase the metal with these designs and it's the geometric design of them that makes them so desirable. They also influence the greatest modern artists of all time. They are very, very sought after." After hearing Ronnie's speech about the sought-after figure, the owner appeared to have his hopes up about the price of the item as the antique expert revealed that a couple of years ago, the same item made over £2){kind=link}
The BBC One guest confessed to Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan that he found the African figure in a charity shop over ten years ago in Cambridge – and paid just £1.50 for it
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked when told the true value of a charity shop find he guessed could have been worth £200,000. The antique experts gathered at an auction at Wollaton Hall, where Ronnie Archer-Morgan investigated a tribal African figure one man picked up on a whim.
“When you unwrapped this, my heart really skipped a beat,” Ronnie told the owner of the antique figure. “It’s one of my favourite tribal African figures. Where did you get it?”
To which the BBC guest confessed that he found it in a charity shop over ten years ago in Cambridge. Recalling when he first set eyes on the antique piece, the owner said: “It was right among the junk, and it cost me the grand total of £1.50. I was intrigued by the fact that it looked as if somebody had put a lot of work into making it.”
Sharing his expertise, Ronnie revealed: “It’s from a tribe, in Gabon. They are just south of Nigeria and this is a Kota guardian figure and they put these on the bones of their ancestors to protect them. They polish this metal and in the 19th century, the brass and copper – this is just copper – but the brass and copper was like gold to them.”