Residents raid lofts and rummage through cupboards for antiques valuation day

COTSWOLD residents were given the chance to find out how much their family heirlooms are really worth – while helping a good cause – at an antiques valuation event held in Cirencester on Monday.

Lofts were raided and cupboards rummaged through to find paintings, jewellery, glass and pottery and even antique chairs, which were given the once-over by experts from Moore Allen & Innocent.

Antiques owners paid £3 per item – or £5 for two items – to have their antiques valued, with the final proceeds of £255 going to Cirencester Housing for Young People – in whose charity shop the event was held – which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

One of the most interesting finds of the day was a silver desk ornament in the shape of a helmet, made for a commanding officer in the Russian army to recognise his victory at Vratsa, in Bulgaria, in 1877.

“I reckon the Russians would like that back,” auctioneer Philip Allwood told the owner, while his colleague David Greatwood attempted an estimate.

“Based on its weight in silver, the fact that it is an unusual piece of militaria, and the Russian connection, I wouldn't be surprised if it made £600 at auction,” he said.

Other items of note included a 1950s Lalique fruit bowl of chrysanthemum design in pearlescent glass, estimated at £300 to £500, and an early 20th century Moorcroft floral vase, also estimated at £300 to £500.

A former mayor of Marlborough, Aileen Calvert, was delighted to find out that a family heirloom – a late 19th century ginger jar from China, decorated with prunus, chrysanthemums and exotic birds and sitting on a hardwood stand, was worth between £100 and £150.

There was less encouraging news for Luke and Mark Gunner, who brought a 1950s dinner gong, a World War Two compass and four mid-Victorian pocket watches, which David valued at between £10 and £50 each, although the W C Bartlett of Cirencester inscription on one of the watches added some local interest.

Ironically, it was the most modern item in their collection – a late 20th century cartoon-style painting of the Tower of London and Tower bridge, featuring a beefeater, a Queen's guard, resplendent in ceremonial bearskin hat, and a pair of city gents in bowler hats – that might make the most at auction: £100 to £150, estimated David.

There will be another chance for members of the public to have their antiques valued by the team when the roadshow visits Leckhampton Court Hospice near Cheltenham – the home of Sue Ryder Care – from 1pm and 5pm on Sunday, July 24.

For more information about buying and selling antiques at auction, log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk

Auctioneer David Greatwood and Aileen Calvert look over her late 19th century ginger jar	Luke and Mark Gunner with their collection of Victorian pocket watches, a 1950s dinner gong and a late 20th century painting of London by John Grant