Regiment’s Fabergé flower makes TV roadshow history Fabulous sculpture valued at £1m by expert
ARARE jewel given to a West Midlands Army regiment over a century ago has been revealed as one of the most expensive items ever valued on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.
The intricate Fabergé flower – a five-inch pear blossom set in rock crystal, gold, silver stamens and diamonds – will feature in the first episode of the new series of TV show on Sunday.
Stamford Cartwright, Honorary Colonel of The Royal Yeomanry’s B (Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire) Squadron, took the sculpture along when the roadshow headed to the Black Country Living Museum last June. Show presenter Fiona Bruce said: “Word quickly got around that something very special had been brought in – we weren’t disappointed.”
Jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn described how his “pulse was racing” at the sight of the precious object.
It turned out that the fabulous creation by the master Russian jewellers is one of only three items to be valued at £1 million in the Antiques Roadshow’s 40-year history.
Only a model of Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North and the FA Cup presented between 1911 and 1992 have hit the same mark.
Mr Munn said: “To make a judgment of that enormity is a tricky thing to do so I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t pressurised.
“This was a sensation beyond our wildest dreams really – this is a towering masterpiece from Fabergé. It’s what we call an ‘object of fantasy’ because it has absolutely no function whatsoever except to be a source of pleasure – and it is.
“It’s a study; a sculpture of a pear blossom rendered in enamelled gold and the centres of each flower have a tiny dew drop which is a diamond – it is supported in a vase made of rock crystal. It the rarest, most poetic manifestation of Fabergé’s work that one could ever hope to see.”
The Fabergé was presented to the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars on their return to the Midlands from the Boer War in 1904 by Rachel, Countess of Dudley.
Her husband was William Ward, the second Earl of Dudley who was a major in the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars.
The Black Country soldiers believed the pear blossom sculpture was worth around £50,000 and for decades used it as a centrepiece at formal dinners and events.
According to Colonel Cart- wright, it became “part of the furniture”.
He added: “This is a very special piece that is a focal point for the regiment, veterans and serving soldiers.
“It reminds us of the sacrifice of fallen comrades and our links to the past.
“Despite uniforms and personnel changing, the jewel is a symbol of continuity that goes back over a century.”
In spite of the staggering valuation, the jewel will keep its place as a table decoration for Army dinners and was on display at Himley Hall near Dudley this week.
Major Will Mawby, Officer Commanding B Squadron, also known as the Black Country Cavalry and the modern-day successor to the Worcestershire Hussars, said: “We are very proud of the jewel, but gone are the days when it would come on exercise and be kept under the Squadron leader’s bed.
“It is kept in the most secure of locations.
“On special occasions it sits in front of me but I daren’t touch it with my butter fingers!”