Quick Peeks

Lisa Devaney

Normal 0 Last night I was among millions of fans of Antiques Roadshow who waited to find out what object could possibly fetch £1 million in valuations.

 

I had images of a fantastic story of discovery that had the owner stumble upon a treasure at a car boot sale or dust off an old family heirloom to bring along and have one of the experts tell them of its stunning value. Instead, viewers were greeted to an object of art by Anthony Gormley, the marquette for the final version of his sculpture Angel of the North.

 

Brought in by the Gateshead Council, it made for less fun than when you see a Granny exclaim excitement over her sudden found wealth. Antiques Roadshow quoted the Anthony Gormley piece at £1 million and now the Gateshead Council has the masterpiece to caretake, or sell to raise money for fixing potholes or other projects. But is it truly an antique? According to the definition of antique, it applies to objects 50-100 years old. In the case of the Anthony Gormley piece, the Angel of the North sculpture was erected in 1998, making the marquette less than 20-years-old.

 

Has Antiques Roadshow lost the plot? The marquette is something more likely to be found at Freeze Art Fair or Tate Modern, but not on Antiques Roadshow. The value of the piece is the highest ever made for an object on the show. Evaluating a piece less than 20 years old and calling it an antique seems like false advertising to viewers. Bring back the traditional format and next week lets see Antiques Roadshow get back to rocking the worlds of treasure hunters with true antiquities.

 

Collecting all kinds of tat for future Antique Roadshow valuation,

-Lisa