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The table was made out of two tea boxes sent over by the Emperor
A guest on Antiques Roadshow was pleased to find out he could gain a small fortune from a gift reportedly given by the Chinese Emperor.
Finding themselves in Derry, antiques expert Lennox Cato spoke to a man who brought over a table from Lord Macartney from Loughguile, a village in Northern Ireland.
He shared: “Lord Macartney was the first British ambassador to China. So he took up the position in the late 1700s, he was there to try and meet the important people who he needed to meet.
“I think he got to meet the Emperor once, but the problem was the Emperor expected the envoys to kowtow, so they had to be very submissive.
“This didn’t fit well with Macartney, he didn’t like doing this so he refused to do it, and after he met the Emperor I think the Chinese felt ‘well look, we’ve given him airtime and that’s it’.”
Lord Macartney returned to Britain around 1794 and was “gifted two boxes” reportedly from the Emperor. He continued: “I think they were connected to the tea business, and this is what the table is made out of… the two boxes.”
Lennox was impressed, as he declared: “It’s a little end-supported Regency table, made about 1810/1820. When I see pieces of furniture like this, it’s a certain name that comes to mind, and that’s Gillows they were based in Lancashire.
“They were fine furniture makers. When I look at the top of this table here, these are either the front or back of the tea box. They’ve encased it in metal and this brass would have been originally gilded.”
With the expert labelling it as “very, very elegant”, he added that the story of where it could have originated from has “very good foundations”.
Before Lennox could value the piece, the guest announced that he has an identical one at home too. Lennox revealed: “One’s worth £1,500, a pair’s going to be £5,000 plus. They’re lovely.”
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sundays at 7pm.
Published: 2025-04-06 18:46:19 | Author: [email protected] (Elizabeth Cotton) | Source: MEN – News
Link: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Tags: #Antiques #Roadshow #guest #sat #small #fortune #gift #Chinese #Emperor
