An Antiques Roadshow was clutching at her chest as she was told the true value of an item that left an audience stumped.
An Antiques Roadshow guest asked if she could sit down as her “mystery” possession turned out to be worth thousands.
The BBC series ventured to Polesden Lacey in Great Bookham with expert John Axford on hand to meet with a pensioner who brought in a large decorative ball to be appraised.
Surrounded by onlookers, Axford began speaking to them: “Well I’m delighted, this is a proper mystery object. I think you might know what it might be for but any ideas?”
Puzzled visitors guessed it could be a bowling ball or an item from the House of Faberge but no one was able to correctly shout out its purpose.
So in the end, the expert shared: “This is a rat deterrent. This is made in Turkey, it does have a proper name, it’s called a Yumurta.
"It hangs on a chain in a Mosque and stops the rats eating the candles.”
Axford continued: “The shape is based on, funnily enough, it’s based on an ostrich egg and that symbolised the trip to Mecca and back and they would bring back ostrich eggs.
“And the word Yumarta is the Turkish word for eggs," he added, which the guest seemed to find interesting.
When she was questioned on how it came to be hers, she replied: “When I cleared out my aunt’s house, she was using it as a doorstop.”
The expert smiled, saying: “Bowling ball. Doorstop. Rat deterrent. It’s amazing! It is old, it dates from around 1600." The pensioner then stated that it was “very old”.
He continued: “It’s a rare item. It is a rare item. It’s slightly late in its period, if it was just 15 years earlier, it would be rarer and more desirable.
“It’s made in Turkey, either in Iznik or Kütahya…it’s worth, I don’t know, £4,000 to £6,000.”
Upon hearing this figure, the audience gasped as the guest covered her mouth in shock at the news.
“It’s not. Oh my goodness," she quietly exclaimed.
As an audience member joked that it was a “good doorstop”, the guest was silent for a moment, taking in the news of its value before asking: “Have you got a chair?”