The Antiques Roadshow has returned to the stunning Brodie Castle, where a rare case thought to have displayed a bottle of whisky worth £1 million was valued.
On Sunday evening, viewers of the long-running BBC show got a first glimpse at the treasures pored over by its experts for the first time.
Introducing the setting, presenter Fiona Bruce said: “We’re in the beautiful county of Moray, and it’s a place close to my heart as my Scottish ancestors the Bruces have long lived in this area.”
Paintings, teapots and lamps were among the family treasures and heirlooms brought along to be valued, as well as other rare and unusual pieces.
‘Fabled’ whisky display case
An item that looked like a brass lantern was shown to Marc Allum, but it turned out to be a display case for a bottle of whisky – the 1926 bottle of Macallan.
There were only 40 bottles of the “fabled” whisky, and 24 of the cases – 12 of which were designed by Valerio Adami and 12 by Sir Peter Blake.
The brass case once contained a bottle of Macallan whisky worth £1 million, and the world record for a bottle of the Macallan stands at $1.9 million.
The owner bought it at an online auction for around £200 after seeing the 1926 badge and realising the significance of the display case.
Mr Allum believes if the bottle was reunited with the case it would make the bottle more valuable.
He valued the case at around £10,000, however, the pair believe the original bottle has probably been drunk.
Mr Allum added: “It’s a really interesting item and it’s a local thing of great interest to people who love whisky.”
‘Spectacular’ book of Sri Lankan watercolours
A large book titled Drawings by the De Alwis Family Ceylon was presented to Matthew Haley.
It is filled with stunning watercolour paintings of flowers, plants and insects from Sri Lanka – known as Ceylon during the 1800s.
The De Alwis family, who painted the images, were prominent in Sri Lanka at the time.
It was given to the lady’s aunt as a book to draw in, and it now has some drawings from her such as a steamboat but she did not draw on the watercolours.
The book was previously valued at around £5,000, but now Mr Haley expects it to be worth £10,000.
He said: “Not exactly the sort of thing you should let younger family members draw in.
“It’s spectacular, what a wonderful thing to see.”
First World War aircraft propellers
Two propellers, a photograph of a man in his RAF uniform and a selection of medals were presented to Mark Smith.
The items belonged to John Edward Tennant of Innes, and have now been passed down to his great-grandson.
One propeller was taken from his BE2 Aircraft which he flew from 1914-1918 in the First World War, and the second was from his aircraft that crashed in Tomintoul where he died.
In 1996 the family were allowed to erect a cairn at the crash site in memory of the eight people who died and took the propeller blade.
Mr Smith valued the items in the region of £8,000 to £10,000.
He said: “They really are very nice. It’s an incredible thing to see the two propellers, but it really is very sad.”
Belgium painting in Scotland
Arts advisor Grant Ford said he had been expecting to see Scottish art at Brodie Castle, so he was surprised to be presented with a painting by Belgium artist Lyon de Smet.
The painting of burnt orange flowers had been gifted to the woman’s uncle by a patient when he worked in Suffolk.
The lady had always loved the painting and was given it when he moved, but she had no idea of its significance.
Mr Ford valued it at between £8,000 to £12,000 because of its great condition, shocking the owner.
She said: “That’s amazing, I’m going to keep it, I love it – but I had no idea it was anything like that.”
Antiques Roadshow: Brodie Castle & Estate, Morayshire can be watched on BBC iPlayer.
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