Antiques Roadshow guest needs to sit down as 'doorstop' valued at four-figure sum

AR: Turkish ceramic ball valued between £4000 and £6000

An Antiques Roadshow guest needed to sit down when she discovered the truth worth of an unusual object.

BBC's beloved series saw expert John Axford assess a peculiar object brought in by a pensioner curious to know its value.

In the midst of a crowd, Axford cheekily teased: "Well I'm delighted, this is a proper mystery object. I think you might know what it might be for but any ideas?"

Onlookers speculated whether it was a bowling ball or a lavish Faberge piece, yet none hit the nail on the head so Axford unveiled its true purpose: "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.”

Antiques Roadshow guest needs to sit down as very rare mystery object gets top price tag (Image: BBC)

Antiques Roadshow expert John Axford was on hand to appraise a 17th Century rat deterrent. (Image: BBC)

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."

He commented that the word 'Yumarta' itself is the Turkish word for eggs.

Explaining how it came to be in her possession, she remarked: “When I cleared out my aunt’s house, she was using it as a doorstop.”

The expert smiled: “Bowling ball. Doorstop. Rat deterrent. It’s amazing! It is old, it dates from around 1600”, with the pensioner stating that it was “very old”.

An Antiques Roadshow guest came across her yumarta as she was clearing out her aunt's home. (Image: BBC) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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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.”

The audience gasped as the guest covered her mouth, stunned by the large figure before commenting: “It’s not. Oh my goodness."

An audience member joked that it was a “good doorstop”, as the guest was silent before asking: “Have you got a chair?”

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.