Stunned Antiques Roadshow guest can barely speak as she learns eye-watering value of £18 painting she almost gave away for free

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless when she discovered the incredible value of her £18 painting which she almost donated to charity.

This week the much-loved BBC series made its way to Cromford Mills, Derbyshire, where expert Lawrence Hendra met a guest who owned a rather intriguing work of art.

The expert was surprised by the unexpected discovery and commented: ‘So of all the paintings I didn’t expect to see here at Cromford Mills in Derbyshire is a painting by an artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pili Pili Mulongoy. ‘

The guest then explained her original plans for the painting, saying, “I bought this painting along with a bunch of other paintings and prints. I didn’t want half of them, so I took them to a thrift store.”

‘I had this in my arms and I noticed it had a signature and could tell it was a real painting.

“I tried to do some research on it and it’s been hanging on my wall ever since.”

This week the much-loved BBC series made its way to Cromford Mills, Derbyshire, where expert Lawrence Hendra met a guest who owned a rather intriguing work of art

The guest explained: ‘I bought this painting along with a bunch of other paintings and prints, I didn’t want half of them so I took them to a thrift store’

Hearing this, Lawrence asked the woman what specifically attracted her to the intriguing work of art.

To which she said: ‘I think you either love it or you hate it and it’s really beautiful and colorful and I love the little antelope and I can appreciate how it’s painted. I paint myself and I just really enjoy it.’

Elaborating on the background of the artwork, Lawrence explained: ‘As you can see, it is signed Pili Pili on the bottom right, and he came from a very working-class family, he trained as a plumber and a builder and then fell under the guidance of a French artist.’

‘He went to a drawing school he founded, he won a prize and after that he managed to develop a painting style that was unique to himself and you see those very delicate, vertical colors a lot in his paintings.’

‘This is on canvas, watercolor and oil paint, but in perspective they are often very flat.’

‘The animals, which form the main features of his work, are often in the same photo, plain as grass and sometimes forest-like backgrounds.’

He then revealed that Pili Pili art was “very popular” and had even been collected by the Belgian royal family.

The guest marked it as a “good discovery” for the visitor, chuckled and said, “Good job, I didn’t give it away!”

Expert Lawrence looked delighted as he identified the piece as a work of art by Pili Pili, shockingly valuing the sculpture at between £3,000 and £5,000.

The crowd gasped at the expert’s shocking revelation and the owner shouted “No!” in disbelief

Revealing the price she paid, the guest said: ‘I think I paid about £18 for it, it was only about six years ago.’

‘I had my eye on a print from this collection of paintings and, as I said, on the way home I donated a few to a local charity shop as I didn’t want them all.’

As he continued, the expert said, “But you crucially saved this one. Okay, was the £18 well spent?’

‘To be honest, if this went under the hammer today I wouldn’t be surprised if it fetched between £3,000 and £5,000.’

The crowd gasped at the expert’s shocking revelation and the owner shouted “No!” in disbelief.

She seemed wordless at first, then stuttered and giggled, “Okay. Thank you, Laurens!’

The specialist noted with an approving nod, “You have a good eye,” and quipped lightly, “I like it better now.”

Antiques Roadshow continues on Sunday, November 17 on BBC1 at 8pm.