Historic item stuns on BBC Antiques Roadshow with extraordinary valuation

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless after discovering that a box, previously wrapped in "brown paper and a tablecloth", was worth a hefty five-figure sum .

The popular BBC daytime show visited Caversham to meet guests and appraise their unique items, including expert John Foster who was shown a "stunning" stumpwork box .

Foster started by saying, "So over the years, we've seen on the Roadshow, quite a lot of stumpwork and needlework, stumpwork being the raised panel sections of this box. You can date it quite easily to the reign of Charles II, so 1675-ish because his image is on top."

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He then asked, "Now how has something like this - because when we usually see it, it's faded, torn - how has something survived for so long in this condition? ".

The young guest explained: "Well it came from Milton Manor in Oxfordshire which is where I'm the tour guide and the house was unoccupied for 40 years."

"And then when the family decided to move back in, a maid discovered this in one of the old servants' bedrooms, wrapped up in brown paper and a tablecloth. So she brought it down and said 'ta-dah! '".

Foster made sure to wear white gloves while handling the item, explaining that the salt from their fingers could "rot" the box.

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When queried about the research on his antique item, the guest answered: "We can be fairly confident that it was made by a gentry family called Calton, because it's exactly contemporary with the building of Milton Manor."

"So the house was in the hands of the Calton family for about 100 years and then my employers' family got it 250 years ago so we think it's stayed with the house its whole life."

Foster explained: "That's interesting in itself, because with something like this, you're showing where your allegiances lie."

"You've got the royals on the top there and when you think of what was going on politically around that period, you had just the end of Oliver Cromwell, you had then the return of the monarchy from the Commonwealth of Charles II."

"This was saying 'I am for the royals' and you have the royals there."

He also pointed out a figure of a family on the front of the item, which was used as a ladies' toilet box, suggesting that they could have been the property's original owners.

"They're giving themselves status just below the royals, showing they are for the royals, 'we're for you'."

"And then when you spin it around, it's full of all the symbolism from couples, leopards, Rebecca presumably at the well and then another well-known biblical story of Abraham and Isaac."

"Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac when he was stopped at the last moment by God... Again, it just shows that allegiance, not only to God but to the Royal Family of the day."

"You've got a mixture here of woolwork, needlework and most stunningly of all, stumpwork which is basically like the raised panels to give it this 3D image and wooden hands."

Concluding his appraisal, John observed: "You could go on about this endlessly, like I say, it's just stunning to see it like this."

"It's staggering to see. I mean, this is museum quality at its best... So, value, at auction, easily £50,000 to £70,000."

The guest was visibly taken aback by the valuation, as he barely managed to express his shock, leaving the audience giggling at his reaction.

"Wow. Shame it's not mine," he lightly quipped. "I can't believe it's traveled down in our car and it spent the night in our sitting room."

Foster noted: "I've never seen anything like it and I don't think I will in a long, long time."

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