Hidden treasures

The concept of 'discovery' is at the core of the human psyche: whether a lost Old Master painting or a classic car barn-find, the allure of unearthing forgotten booty is timeless in its appeal

- Robin Hereford

THE STAIRCASE to the block of flats was best described as 'dingy', the lift was out of order.

Yet a charming lady of advancing years opened the front door to me, eager to show me around a flat that was probably the wrong side of faded grandeur. She was keen to sell some 18th-century Georgian furniture but alas the chair legs were replaced and the tabletops warped; all, in valuers' parlance, 'distressed'. I gently broke the news that none of it would be suitable for a London auction and she looked downcast. Then I spotted it. In the bedroom hanging above a bookcase was an oil on canvas that appeared to be by Stanley Spencer, its meticulous detail and iridescent colours illuminating the room. “Oh, that?” she exclaimed. “My father bought it at the Royal Academy in the 1940s. I think it cost around £200. It presumably isn’t worth much now?” Several months later it arrived on the auctioneer’s block and sold for nearly £800,000.

It is moments like this that keep valuers leaping for the phone, jumping on a train or plane and rummaging around the nooks and crannies of houses, castles and corporate collections: the thrill of the chase, the excitement of a discovery always just round the corner waiting to be unearthed. The well-worn adage is true that we aren't the owners of the art and antiques we have but are merely looking after them for the next generation.

A significance beyond price

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