Antiques Roadshow expert Frances Christie refused to value a WWII painting during Sunday’s episode of the popular BBC show.
Show regular Frances told the guest, who brought in a painting of her uncle, that she didn’t feel it was appropriate to put a valuation on the piece.
The show, which was a re-run, was filmed at Ulster Folk Museum and as usual locals flocked to see whether their antiques were secretly worth a fortune.
During the programme, Frances was presented with the watercolour of Father Dan Cummings, who worked as a priest during and after the war.
Frances said: ‘This is an incredibly striking portrait of a priest in watercolour and I love how the artist has captured the glint on his glasses. Can you tell us a bit more about the sitter?’
Antiques Roadshow expert Frances Christie (pictured) refused to value a WWII painting during Sunday’s episode of the popular BBC show
During the programme, Frances was presented with the watercolour of Father Dan Cummings, who worked as a priest during and after the war (pictured the owner of the painting)
Show regular Frances told the guest, who brought in a painting of her uncle, that she didn’t feel it was appropriate to put a valuation on the piece
The guest explained her connection to the subject of the painting, and said: ‘The sitter is my uncle, Father Dan Cummings. And he was a Redemptorist priest.
‘And when World War II broke out, Ireland was neutral. But then, they got a request for chaplains. So, Dan volunteered and joined the British Army. He was part of the liberation forces at Belsen.’
Frances said: ‘And of course, as we now know, Belsen was one of the very large concentration camps in the north of Germany, and it was one of the first to be liberated by British troops.’
Sharing the history of the portrait, the guest said: ‘Once the liberation happened, he stayed on in the hospital for one year.
‘And during that period, this was painted by one of the inmates, presumably as part of his recuperation and rehabilitation.’
Christie examined the painting, and said: ‘Well, it’s signed at the top… ‘Baumeister, Hans’, and dated 1946. So the year after liberation.
‘As you say, it must’ve been part of the period directly afterward when, you know, we all know the story now, (but) it was such a shocking discovery when they liberated Belsen.
‘What I think is incredible about this portrait though is that it brings alive – and you’re sharing with us – the experiences of clearly someone, from here, who devoted his services and clearly made a real difference.
Frances said: ‘This is an incredibly striking portrait of a priest in watercolour and I love how the artist has captured the glint on his glasses. Can you tell us a bit more about the sitter?’
The guest explained her connection to the subject of the painting, and said: ‘The sitter is my uncle, Father Dan Cummings. And he was a Redemptorist priest’
‘Clearly, I mean the fact that it’s signed, “Hans Baumeister”, who is an artist that I’ve never come across before but looking at the portrait, it’s really beautifully painted.’
The guest then showed a photo of Father Dan, which prompted Christie to comment: ‘I think the artist has really captured his likeness. And, of course, the trademark glasses.
‘As the deliberation neared its conclusion, Christie explained: ‘In this instance, art really is a symbol of two very different people coming together…
‘In terms of value, I mean, this is the Antiques Roadshow, so we usually do put a value on things but I’m not going to put a monetary value on it today because it is so much more important than that.
‘Because of its connection with Belsen, because of your uncle being someone from Belfast who was there at the moment of liberation… it has so much more of an important social (and) historical content. Thank you for sharing Father Dan’s story with us.’
It isn’t the first time an expert has refused to give a valuation, as earlier this month Ronnie Archer-Morgan said he wouldn’t give an estimate on an item with links to the slave trade.
Ronnie admitting feeling upset seeing the item and declared he would not ‘put a price on something that signifies such an awful business’.
The guest had brought in a disc of ivory, which she revealed she had purchased 36 years ago for £3, which Ronnie revealed came from the slave trade.
He began by issuing a strong statement, telling her: ‘I want to make it absolutely clear that myself and we in the Antiques Roadshow wholly, unequivocally disapprove of the trade in ivory.
He continued: ‘But this ivory bangle here, it’s not about trading in ivory, it’s about trading in human life.
It isn’t the first time an expert has refused to give a valuation, as earlier this month Ronnie Archer-Morgan said he wouldn’t give an estimate on an item with links to the slave trade
Ronnie admitting feeling upset seeing the item and declared he would not ‘put a price on something that signifies such an awful business’
The guest had brought in a disc of ivory, which she revealed she had purchased 36 years ago for £3, which Ronnie revealed came from the slave trade
‘White Gold’: How ivory is linked to the transatlantic slave trade
Europeans travelled to Africa in the the sixteenth century in search of rich minerals, including gold, ivory and spices.
Ivory, often referred to has ‘white gold’, was highly valuable to traders.
However, as demand for cheap labour on American plantations grew, slaves became their most valuable ‘commodity’.
Around 12million Africans were enslaved in the transatlantic slave trade
The essentially triangular trade route saw merchants export goods to Africa in exchange for slaves and raw materials.
They then travelled to the Americas and sold enslaved Africans for sugar, tobacco, cotton and other produce.
Powerful African leaders also fuelled the practice by trading enslaved people for alcohol, beads, cloth and other goods.
Around 12million Africans were enslaved in the transatlantic slave trade, which saw Britain become the world’s leading slave-trading country.
British ships transported approximately 3.4 million Africans across the Atlantic between 1640 and 1807.
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich
‘It’s probably one of the most difficult things that I’ve ever had to talk about, but talk about it we must.
‘This is an amazing object and a testament to the callous trade that went on in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century.’
When asked where she got the ivory bangle from, the guest revealed she had worked for a family ‘looking after them’, and when one member died, the item was put up for sale.
Intrigued, she had decided to purchase it, saying: ‘I thought it looked interesting. I had no idea what it was.’
Ronnie asked why she had kept it for over three decades, and she replied: ‘I had no idea what it was, there was something about it and now I am researching it.
‘It said traders and I thought it meant trading in coffee or spices and then I realised it was trading in people.’
Ronnie inspected the disc, pointing to engraved writing around it that showed the name of a person, a ship and the inscription ‘honest fellow’.
He revealed the name was of a slave trader and was unable to hide his fury and disgust, saying: ‘A despicable human being.
‘I think he was an indigenous trader, somebody from Nigeria. He wouldn’t have been trading in his own people, it was another nation, another tribe.
‘And then we have ‘honest fellow’. I’d like to meet him and teach him how honest I think he is.’
He continued by noting: ‘These objects are really rare. I know of the existence of about half a dozen of these only. It’s extraordinary.
‘I mean, this is a document for living proof in a way, the surviving proof that this awful trade went on, and look how beautiful the calligraphy is. The beauty of the calligraphy, it just belies the awfulness of the message.’
The bangle was inscribed with the ship name ‘Anna’ and the year 1782, with the guest revealing that that particular ship contained 535 slaves.
Ronnie commented: ‘Probably all stacked on top of each other, transported across the Atlantic for months on end.
The guest revealed she had worked for a family ‘looking after them’, when the item was put up for sale and she bought it, saying: ‘I thought it looked interesting. I had no idea what it was’
Ronnie inspected the disc, pointing to engraved writing around it that showed the name of a person, a ship and the inscription ‘honest fellow’
‘The Abolition of Slavery Act wasn’t until 1833, spearheaded by William Wilberforce, so this is long before that. This is over 50 years in advance of that, when the trade was rife.’
He added: ‘My great-grandmother was a returned slave from Nova Scotia in Canada and came back to Sierra Leone and I actually think it’s my cultural duty, our cultural duty to talk about things like this.’
Visibly emotional, Ronnie said: ‘I just don’t want to value it. I do not want to put a price on something that signifies such an awful business.’
He added: ‘But the value is in the lessons that this can tell people. The value is in researching this and what we can find out and I just love you for bringing it to the Roadshow and thank you so much for making me so sad.’
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One on Sunday nights at 7pm.
He revealed the name was of a slave trader and was unable to hide his fury and disgust, saying: ‘A despicable human being. I’d like to meet him and teach him how honest I think he is’
Visibly emotional, Ronnie said: ‘I just don’t want to value it. I do not want to put a price on something that signifies such an awful business’