Lessons From Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt #2: Suspect the Expert

I came across a great stray piece of information the other day; an academic has written a paper on the power relations present in Antiques Roadshow, focusing on the way experts frame their questions to heighten their own authority and superiority in the exchange of information that occurs between expert and owner.

And now, when I watch such shows, I realise that this is true – often the wry expert will ask the hapless (often elderly, often rural) owner which country an item comes from, or when it dates from, when the item itself is providing false clues.

Example: earlier this week, a woman had two drinking vessels examined by one of the Roadshow’s experts. One had the typical white-and-blue glazed appearance of Eastern porcelain, as well as several traditional Chinese motifs (lotus flowers etc) painted on it.

The expert asked: ‘Do you know which country this comes from?’

The woman replied ‘No, I…’

Expert: ‘Would you care to hazard a guess?’

Woman: ‘Well I suppose it looks Eastern…’

Expert: ‘Aha, yes, well you would think that, wouldn’t you?’

He then proceeded to explain that it was an English imitation of a Chinese style, dating from around 1600.

Then, he asks her which of the two she thinks is more valuable (her other vessel is an early Victorian quart mug). She picks the faux-Chinese number. The expert says:

Expert: ‘Really? Because your quart mug is a very handsome beast…’

Woman: ‘Oh, is it?’

Expert: ‘I’d say it’d be in the region of 350,  maybe 400 pounds’

Woman: ‘I say…’

Expert (casually): ‘Whereas your other mug would be worth about ten thousand’

Audible gasps and murmurs from the gathered crowd.

The point I’m getting to here is that there does seem to be an ongoing play of status relations in all of these antiques and collectables shows. After all, when buying antiques (as with many other things) knowledge is power – it informs sound decisions, prevents one from overpaying, allows collectors to spot the best piece on offer with the precicision of a hawk screaming down on a titmouse.

Which is perhaps why some experts – especially those engaged in selling antiques/vintage stuff – are so cagey about giving out information (try asking the proprietor of an antiques store where they get their merch from, and watch as they give false answers/avoid the question/break out in a sweat/call the police).

Yet, dig a little deeper and some interesting questions emerge – how much valuable, practical knowledge do these experts really have?

This is where it gets interesting comparing the ‘experts’ of Bargain Hunt with the ‘experts’ of Antiques Roadshow. On AR, the experts have free rein to say whatever they like and hold forth about whatever the item is to an audience whose knowledge is limited.

On Bargain Hunt, however, the opinion of the experts is put to the test – the items that they help their teams select appear at auction and are sold off, often at a significant loss. Furthermore, their choices are assayed prior to the auction by the auctioneer and the host, two more ‘experts’. Their ability to predict what will make a profit and what will fail dismally varies from the exact to the woeful, often within the space of one episode.

So, either the experts on BH are not nearly as good as those on AR, or the ability to gauge the value of something is hardly an exact science, even if this is how it is treated over at AR.

Granted, we only see the best of the antiques on AR, and they are usually things of more worth than the cheap and cheerful merch purchased by BH hopefuls. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting comparison.

Which leads me to the latest thing I’ve learned from Channel 9’s festivus of weeknight antiquery – sometimes assessing something comes down to the most simple observations.

As much as the experts are suspended in a cloud of their own knowledge of dates/materials/provenance/technique/workmanship, and as much fun as it is to gather this type of information, the amount of times I hear them say things like ‘it’s a pretty object’, or ‘that paintwork is so…fun’ or ‘gee the expression on that duck’s face is so lively’ is astounding.

And thusly the valuations of experts often boil down to these almost trite observations. Is it an ‘attractive’ object? Are people ‘charmed’ by it? Is it ‘cute’? These considerations are an admission that people don’t always buy for intrinsic worth. They buy for sentimental reasons; for emotions, stirred up memories, allusions to something they like or believe in. And pure aesthetic attraction.

I remember the first time I heard one of the BH auctioneers say ‘cute’. I nearly fell out of my chair. Statements like these totally undo the highly polished exterior of the expert, the status games discussed earlier – rather than drawing from The Deep Well of Knowledge, here they are talking about the ‘naughty’ expression of an art deco figurine.

This certainly makes me feel a whole lot better about some of my less informed purchases. It shows just how important the first rule of collecting (buy what you like and can afford) really is.

Well, that was a longer post than I thought it would be. Is anyone else fascinated by the workings of knowledge and power in these shows, or is it just me being Madame Nerd again?