Antiques Radio Show on 2RPH: Recent Episodes
2RPH
The Antiques Radio Show is a monthly program about antiques and the decorative arts. It explores news, reviews, events, objects and goings-on in the world of things that are old, beautiful or both – whether valuable or not!
For episodes prior to 2021, visit www.2rph.org.au/listen/podcasts/antiques-radio-show
Relics of magic reappear on the 2RPH airwaves in the form of the illusion of sawing a woman in half, some fascinating menus, a punk rock poster and a Chinese vase (definitely a magical price).
All followed by a more tangible and broad based look at museums – including our Zoom chat with a key player moulding our visitor experience to one such institution.
Presented by Jolyon Warwick James, recorded for the studios of 2RPH in Sydney.
Original broadcast date: 12.09.22
Have you ever watched the BBC Antiques Road Show ? Our zoom chat is with one of those experts who lifts the lid on what goes on in front of the camera and also out of view and behind scenes.
We have a look at three small but significant and interesting London Museums. The issue of value is touched upon – what makes something valuable ? We cast light (but no specific answers) through some interesting chests, a trophy cup and some photographic magic.
Presented by Jolyon Warwick James, recorded for the studios of 2RPH in Sydney.
Original broadcast date: 15.08.22
We start with a mélange of items. An important nail – from a horseshoe, a mistaken invocation to adultery, the 17th century vision of what aliens might look like, and an unusual “heist".
The Zoom chat tells us how important (and challenging) photography can be, and we hear about old cameras and the pictures they took – and what those pictures can tell us. All in the name of art and antiques!
Presented by Jolyon Warwick James, recorded for the studios of 2RPH in Sydney.
Original broadcast date: 18.07.22
It is surprising how much we can learn about the past from the objects, items and works of art that history leaves behind. What dog breeds were there five hundred years ago? How were sheep identified two hundred years ago? Who was the model for the world’s most iconic car mascot a century ago?
Our Zoom chat explores getting rid of what we don’t want. We find out how a Chinese vase was very profitably sold, the problems a Roman bust faced and what buying a shirt was like in 1895 (collars, cuffs and buttons extra ?). Just how much can you pay for a shirt?
Presented by Jolyon Warwick James, recorded for the studios of 2RPH in Sydney.
Original broadcast date: 20.06.22
Can mistaken oddities, fakes and failures be valuable ? We explore this through a bit of an ancient fish, an overly complex woodworking plane, an outmoded typewriter, and some outright fake intaglios. All prove very costly to their buyers!
We cross other bridges before our zoom chat which opens the mind to collections, collecting and how one can relate to the items. We have some light relief on the collecting/hoarding issue and find out about the opening up of an enigma.
Presented by Jolyon Warwick James, recorded for the studios of 2RPH in Sydney.
Original broadcast date: 23.05.22
A truly eclectic mix! Rocking horses, then and now. An alternative view of political impacts on the art and antiques trade, including money laundering, de-forestation and elephants. A Zoom chat uncovers a lifesaving family heirloom, and reveals something of the workings of 2RPH. Captain Cook features, in relation to the pen and the spear. And something to go back to boarding school with – in 1895.
We focus on museums, both the jewels in the box and the jewel box itself. Has their function changed over the years? We pose a few questions and leave you to decide. Our Zoom chat is with a curator who describes her museum, the jewels inside and its accessibility to people with sight impairment (companion dogs welcome). We hear about a fascinating BBC documentary, and we even break into verse, reciting some poetry about antiques.
Whilst the objects history leaves behind tell us about past glories, disasters and all things in between, we need to be careful not to judge past times through present day spectacles. This program offers a number of things that illustrate that point – a silver trophy for a now questionable sport, a doll with seemingly “inappropriate” marketing wording, a patented toilet which eschews flushing as detrimental to the environment, and an early 17th century “four-poster bed” which may prove people taller today. Our Zoom chat is with the descendant of a maker of very strange musical instruments.
History becomes alive through the things it leaves behind. We examine a few relics to highlight obsolete trades, old rituals, obscure behaviours and forgotten discoveries. Our vehicles are a frock, a small box, a fake map a genuine globe, an interview with a researcher, an “ice age” spoon, and a manuscript with an ancient cure you’d rather not have to take. Will all this successfully bring history alive for you?
Thinking well ahead to Tuesday 8th March and International Women’s Day, we focus on women connected with antiques and art – as creators, owners, users or students. We include a nurse, two artists, a wife, a model, a mummy (in both senses), a goddess and a suffragette. We also offer paintings, sculptures, an art installation, ancient artifacts, a medal and some lighting equipment.
For the festive season we have the Christmas antiques and art quiz, plus some gift ideas. We touch on Lars Magnus Ericsson, Maxie, ping pong, Brian May and Quinnies. And there’s a tip for Sydney to Hobart yachtsmen to improve their luck in the Boxing Day boat race.
Finally, a bit of philosophy. Does art have to physically exist? Can it exist by its own absence? We hear about one artist who thought so - and pocketed his fee.
The dramatis personae (in various contexts) include Winnie the Pooh, Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, Emile Berliner, Cecil Rhodes, David (the one who KO’d Goliath in the first round), and a social media “non-influencer”. How do all of these relate to objects and their creators, from Hester Bateman to Michelangelo? The program explains how, what and why, as well as solving the previous program’s crossword clue.
The program looks at some predictable and some unexpected impacts, by the COVID-19 lockdown, on the antiques and art industry. Some antique curiosities come up for sale giving an insight into how life was lived in years gone by, and we get an amusing insight (“guru’s view”) into the art of the future.
What if a sculptor does not wish to see her finished product, and the “sitter” cannot? We hear about a fascinating project (very much) touching on this. We include some cross words – cryptic, not angry.
Whilst avoiding NFT’s, the program concentrates on some very material oddities and curiosities. It examines the recent history of the trade in some “well past use-by-date” comestibles, an old leaky beaker, an unexploded WW1 artillery shell and a weird wristwatch.
There’s a follow up to the previous program's “lost and found,” with some parts of a suit of armour that were re-united. We end with some helpful quotes about art from Tolstoy, Kipling and Wilde.
Our main topic is “lost and found” – four stories of items “separated” from their owners, and which eventually found their way home – some ornamental lions, bronze tortoises, paintings and Indian artefacts. Who were the dispossessed, where was home and what was the journey in the middle?
On other matters, where is the dividing line between erotic art and porn? - we take a short (and seemly) peek. “Mechanical toy” versus “automation” – we compare virtues and descriptions. Lastly the issue of humour: can the antiques and art industry laugh and laugh at itself? The program offers few answers but lots to ponder.
Original broadcast date 16.08.2021
What links a 16th century gold medal and a 20th century combination silver cigarette lighter and case? Both were the gift of Kings with one also being to a “King”. We hear about both and detail some historical irony surrounding medal, almost 500 years after it was made.
We discuss two intriguing opium legacies to the decorative arts, and then look at two non-original works of “flat art”. One a downright fake and the other a copy, both having intriguing stories surrounding them and sold for surprising sums. We ask if the price was for the singer or the song. This is followed by an excursion into body art, a teddy bear, Humpty Dumpty, a stopwatch and ends with a favourite quote.
Original broadcast date 19.07.2021
Sex, religion, politics and money are generally considered topics to avoid in "polite" society. How then does a polite program like the Antiques Radio Show avoid them? Perhaps it’s impossible to separate some objects from their impolite origins, but Jolyon does try in this episode to observe decorum.
He tackles sporting memorabilia and collectibles, a remarkable doll, a beautiful portrait of a much-maligned lady, an 18th century book telling an astonishing tale of rising from adversity, the fate of a despised statue, and historic objects that some museums wish to return to their country of origin.
Original broadcast date 21.06.2021
This time the Antiques Radio Show approaches the target objects via the dramatis personae. We find out about antiques and art through the people who carry the story. We discuss a mezzotint, some historic signatures, a well-connected beret, some suitably pocketed historic trousers, a questionable tomb adornment, and a controversial painting. All are explained and come to life through the people connected with them. This main meal is followed by some short snippets for dessert.
Original broadcast date 24.05.2021
How much is the discovery of antiques and art works a matter of luck and how much is it hard work, homework and inspiration?
The intriguing stories behind the plans for the liner Queen Mary, an old master painting, a Chinese bowl, a ceramic courting couple and some well-travelled coins illustrate this issue. Auctioning a Van Gogh painting is not straightforward, and some remarkable new technology comes to the aid of the antiques and art world.
Original broadcast date 26.04.21
What makes antiques and art valuable to people? Why do they seemingly pay so much for certain things? We try to cast light on this from the details of the sales of a 17th century leather jug, an electric guitar, six early 19th century silver spoons, a collection of 18th and 19th century walking sticks, and two wood carved overweight figures. We investigate how CITES relates to some of these.
Then onto the question of the accessibility of museums and the personal experience of an art historian. And do publicly accessible antiques and art have a responsibility to inform and entertain and never to offend? We offer some examples to test your curiosity and thresholds.
Original broadcast date 29.03.2021
Where does the expression “fits to a T” come from? We explain the origins and illustrate the program with fitting examples, touting a Toby jug (who was Toby?), Tin Tin (“tintinalia”?), a tiny Tea service (too small to use) and a towering Trophy.
This is followed by the Trials and Tribulations of museums. These institutions are repositories of expertise and forums for academic debate. So how, then, do they deal with the issue of fakes and alleged fakes which come under their aegis? We take a good look at a case in question, and witness a very robust debate indeed!
Original broadcast date 01.03.2021
This program tips us off about Brexit and changes to British hallmarking and about the real purpose of a Russian 1930’s travel poster. We hear details of an 18th century silver salver made by someone equally proficient in glass and enamel manufacturing.
We find out more about women in the book industry and also about chapbooks (not what they sound like). We find out about an early (pre-chess) board game with a hard to pronounce name, but one useful for the Scrabble board. We examine the museum heist. How do crooks dispose of the stolen works? It's harder (luckily) than you might think.
Original broadcast date 01.02.2021
A book about the antiques trade and a book about thimbles (etc.) and some historic thimbles themselves. Australian fauna and flora (prints etc) and some fascinating explosive information. A useful scrabble word – well actually an object to do with an ancient sport.
There is the manifestation of a moving WWI love story, an explanation of how a Museum etc might acquire objects, news of a serious underwater museum, and some very good reasons to visit the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Who was the Lord of Lord’s cricket ground?
Original broadcast date 04.01.2021