Antiques Roadshow guest gobsmacked by whopping offer for rare incense burner – but still refuses to sell

AN ANTIQUES Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked by a whopping offer for a rare incense burner – but still refused to sell. Sunday’s edition of the BBC One show saw expert Lars Tharp meet a lady who had brought along a Chinese incense burner. Lars immediately noticed that the burner didn’t seem to fit in […]

AN ANTIQUES Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked by a whopping offer for a rare incense burner – but still refused to sell.

Sunday’s edition of the BBC One show saw expert Lars Tharp meet a lady who had brought along a Chinese incense burner.

Lars immediately noticed that the burner didn’t seem to fit in its stand, so asked if it was the right one.

The lady replied: ““This has always been in our family, whichever way you put it, it won’t stay put.”

She added the item had been passed down from her grandmother and believed it was from China.

Confirming her suspicions, Lars said: “It is from China, the stand is very Chinese, you’ve got these dragons coming out of clouds.

“There is a clue for what it is used for and I hope that you might be tempted to what it is intended to do, which is to fill it with sand and then go down to our local hippy store and get joss sticks. It’s an incense burner.”

Lars added it was used in temples and explained the three different religions in China, concluding that her incense burner was connected to the Buddhism religion.

He continued: “It’s a beautiful piece and underneath you’ve got what often you see on Chinese bronzes like this.

“You’ve got a Ming-style mark. The Ming dynasty finishes in the 1640s and that particular mark would like us to believe that this was made in the 15th, 16th century. Do you think it’s that old?”

The owner said she wasn’t sure and Lars told her it was actually from the 17th Century.

He then asked: “If you were selling it, have you got any idea of what you would get for it?”

The guest said she had no idea and Lars teased: “If I came to your door and offered you £1,000 would you be pleasantly surprised?” 

She hesitated before saying she wouldn’t sell it for that much, so Lars responded: “If I came to your door and offered you between £10,000 and £15,000?”

She replied: “No, I wouldn’t sell it but I would be more surprised. I wouldn’t sell it, I wouldn’t sell it.”

Lars then confirmed her item was worth between £10,000 and £15,000, leaving her gobsmacked.

Shocked, she said: “This is the thing that has been knocked around the family forever.”

The Antiques Roadshow airs on Sundays on BBC One.