Antiques Roadshow expert gets upset over ‘rare’ object and refuses to give it valuation: ‘It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to talk about’
An Antiques Roadshow expert refused to value an item in the latest episode of the BBC show on Sunday.
Ronnie Archer-Morgan admitted he was upset when he saw the item and stated he ‘wouldn’t put a price on something that means such a terrible thing’.
The guest had brought an ivory disk, which she revealed she had bought 36 years ago for £3, which Ronnie revealed came from the slave trade.
He started with a strong statement, telling her: “I want to make it absolutely clear that myself and those of us at Antiques Roadshow completely and unequivocally condemn the ivory trade.
He continued: ‘But this ivory bracelet here is not about the trade in ivory, but about the trade in human lives.
An Antiques Roadshow expert refused to value an item in the latest episode of the BBC show on Sunday
Ronnie Archer-Morgan admitted he was upset when he saw the item and stated he ‘wouldn’t put a price on something that means such a terrible thing’
The guest had brought an ivory disk, which she revealed she had bought 36 years ago for £3, which Ronnie revealed came from the slave trade.
‘White Gold’: How Ivory is Linked to the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Europeans traveled to Africa in the sixteenth century in search of rich minerals, including gold, ivory and spices.
Ivory, often referred to as ‘white gold’, was highly valuable to traders.
However, as the demand for cheap labor on American plantations grew, slaves became their most valuable “commodity.”
About 12 million Africans were enslaved in the transatlantic slave trade
Through the essentially triangular trade route, merchants exported goods to Africa in exchange for slaves and raw materials.
They then traveled to America and sold enslaved Africans for sugar, tobacco, cotton and other products.
Powerful African leaders also fueled this practice by trading enslaved people for alcohol, beads, clothing and other goods.
About 12 million Africans were enslaved in the transatlantic slave trade, making Britain the leading slave trading country in the world.
British ships transported approximately 3.4 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean between 1640 and 1807.
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich
“It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to talk about, but we have to talk about it.
‘This is an amazing object and testament to the heartless trade that took place in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.’
When asked where she got the ivory bracelet, the guest revealed that she had worked for a family who “took care of them,” and when a member died, the item was put up for sale.
Intrigued, she decided to buy it, saying, “I thought it looked interesting. I had no idea what it was.’
Ronnie asked why she had kept it for over thirty years, and she replied: ‘I had no idea what it was, there was something about it and now I’m researching it.
“There were traders standing there and I thought it meant trading in coffee or spices, and then I realized it was trading in people.”
Ronnie inspected the disk and pointed to an engraved script around it with a person’s name, a ship, and the inscription “Honest Guy.”
He revealed that the name was that of a slave trader and could not hide his anger and disgust, saying: ‘A despicable human being.
‘I think he was a native trader, someone from Nigeria. He would not have acted in his own people; it was another nation, another tribe.
‘And then we have ‘honest fellow’. I’d like to meet him and teach him how honest I think he is.’
He continued by commenting, “These objects are truly rare. I only know of the existence of about half a dozen of these. It’s extraordinary.
“I mean, this is a living proof document in a way, the surviving evidence that this terrible trade took place, and look how beautiful the calligraphy is. The beauty of the calligraphy simply belies the awfulness of the message.”
The bracelet was engraved with the ship’s name “Anna” and the year 1782, with the guest revealing that that particular ship contained 535 slaves.
Ronnie noted, “Probably all piled on top of each other, shipped across the Atlantic for months.
The guest revealed that she had been working for a family that “cared for them,” when the item came up for sale and she bought it, saying, “I thought it looked interesting.” I had no idea what it was’
Ronnie inspected the disc and pointed to an engraved script surrounding it with a person’s name, a ship and the inscription ‘honest fellow’
‘The Abolition of Slavery Act didn’t come until 1833, under William Wilberforce, so this is long before that. This is more than fifty years earlier than when the trade was widespread.’
He added: “My great-grandmother was a returned slave from Nova Scotia in Canada and came back to Sierra Leone and I actually think it’s my cultural obligation, our cultural obligation to talk about these kinds of things.”
Visibly emotional, Ronnie said: ‘I just don’t want to attach any value to it. I don’t want to put a price on something that’s such a terrible thing.’
He added: “But the value is in the lessons this can teach people. The value is in exploring this and what we can discover and I just love you for bringing it to the Roadshow and thank you so much for making me so sad.”
Antiques Roadshow airs on BBC One on Sunday evenings at 7pm.
He revealed that the name was that of a slave trader and could not hide his anger and disgust, saying: ‘A despicable human being. I would like to meet him and teach him how honest I think he is’
Visibly emotional, Ronnie said: ‘I just don’t want to attach any value to it. “I don’t want to put a price on something that represents such a terrible undertaking.”