Antiques Roadshow guest left 'flabbergasted' as £20 mistake item worth thousands

Antiques Roadshow made a comeback on Sunday evening as one visitor presented his £20 vase that he had purchased by accident for assessment.

The visitor confessed he acquired the piece at an antiques fair, believing it to be a Royal Lancaster, but had subsequently concluded it was a "fake copy" and it had been stored beneath his sink for two years.

He revealed: "I happened to be looking on the Internet one night and out pops that vase. I was like: 'Hang on a minute, that's the vase that's under the sink!'".

The visitor continued: "The Internet said it was Zsolnay, which I believe is Hungarian!".

Specialist Steven Moore was astounded by the "beautiful" and "glorious" vase, confessing: "I'm almost lost for words because it is just glowing!"

He went on: "It is Zsolnay from Pecs in Hungary and it is the most brilliant example of their work. At the turn of the 19th into the 20th century, they developed what were called eosin glazes.

"So this lovely ruby lustre, this sort of gold lustre, but these were incredibly difficult to fire in the kiln. When you turn it round, here, we've got the rising sun. We have this path with these geese. It is a work of art, this is as good as any painting!".

The specialist described the vase as "magic", declaring: "This is the most beautiful vase! Zsolnay is red hot right now. Hungarian people are buying it back! Can you remember what you paid for it?"

To which the visitor confirmed: "I paid £20!" with specialist Steven playfully responding: "You can add a few noughts to that!

"Your £20 mistake vase, if that was going to auction, I would estimate at £5,000 to £8,000! I'd expect it to make towards the upper end, if not a little more!".

The guest was left utterly gobsmacked, exclaiming: "I don't know what to say, I am genuinely flabbergasted!" as the audience gasped in surprise.

Expert Steven responded with a cheeky: "Thank you. It was a mistake!" The guest then quipped: "That's not a bad return, is it?" before adding: "Champagne tonight!" His stunned reaction over the valuable item had the crowd in stitches.

The Sunday night episode, filmed at Lister Park and Cartwright Hall, also featured other remarkable items such as Robert Thompson furniture and a John Lennon doodle.

Antiques Roadshow continues on Sunday evenings on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.