Repair Shop spoiler: Oldest family treasure ever to be fixed by experts goes through famous barn doors tonight
THE oldest family treasure ever to be fixed by experts on TV’s Repair Shop goes through the famous barn doors tonight. Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay was stunned to discover that a pile of broken brown pot brought in by Melanie Wells was a 2,000-year-old Chinese statue. The figure of a man made in China’s Han […]
THE oldest family treasure ever to be fixed by experts on TV’s Repair Shop goes through the famous barn doors tonight.
Ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay was stunned to discover that a pile of broken brown pot brought in by Melanie Wells was a 2,000-year-old Chinese statue.
The figure of a man made in China’s Han Dynasty once belonged to Melanie’s great grandmother.
She took it with her to America when she fled China’s Communist regime in 1943.
It was broken then the family recently moved from the US to Britain.
The statue is around 1,500 years older than the next oldest item to be fixed at The Repair Shop which returns to BBC One in a new series at 8pm tonight.
That was a 1644 painting of King Charles II’s mother Henrietta Maria.
When faced with the 2,000-year-old statue, Kirsten said: “It was a real weight of responsibility having something of that age in the barn.
Most read in Reality
“I was used to dealing with pieces that are quite old when I worked at the British Museum when I was training.
“But it was quite interesting seeing everyone’s reaction in the barn when they realised how old it was. They were absolutely terrified.
“Everyone stepped back and said we’re coming nowhere near your bench.”
Since The Repair Shop, hosted by Jay Blades, began in 2017 more than 700 objects have been restored by the show’s talented team of experts.
It was quite interesting seeing everyone’s reaction when they realised how old it was. They were absolutely terrified.
Kirsten Ramsay
Jay said: “Some people compare Repair Shop to the Antiques Road Show but I don’t because you can’t put a price on someone’s emotions.
“If someone has an item, say it is a little plastic toy that means everything to them, where go you take that to get that valued?
“It’s impossible, the only place it is really valued is in their heart and at the Repair Shop because we will treat every item as if it is priceless.”
- The Repair Shop is on BBC1 at 8pm tonight. Previous episodes are on catch up.
