A renowned antiques specialist and historian, Adam Schoon has spent decades uncovering the stories
behind rare and remarkable treasures. His passion for history and craftsmanship shines through in
his television appearances and expert appraisals. Lifestyle Portugal sits down with Adam to explore his fascinating world.
What first sparked your passion for antiques, and how did you turn it into a career?
When I was a little boy I remember my grandmother finding a small blue glass bead in the family’s
rhubarb patch, it was a mysterious deep purply-blue colour that caught my curious eye. The local
museum revealed it to be Saxon and over a thousand years old. That was the trigger for my life in
art and antiques! I still have the bead. My mum and gran both collected “old stuff” and visits to
antique shops and markets were regular…so I also started to collect. It was “treasures from the
earth” that got me going though, bottle digging had arrived. A local Victorian rubbish dump
enabled me (wielding only a shovel) to unearth masses of old lemonade, ginger beer and medicine
bottles that I could wash and then sell for pocket money! Lots of it. I was lucky to be at school
in historic York and spent my weekends looking for old World War memorabilia, second-hand toys and
coins that I could trade with friends.
You’ve appraised countless fascinating objects, do you have a favourite moment when you revealed an item was worth far more than its owner expected?
As a young valuer, I recall a life-changing find, discovered under a client’s bed! From under the
valence emerged a rolled-up oil painting by L. S. Lowry (famous for his simple depictions of
Lancashire industrial towns with matchstick men) depicting a quack doctor standing on a wooden
crate outside a football ground. My client had accidentally met Lowry in a London street and was
swiftly escorted to the artist’s gallery where this painting was purchased. It had been tucked away
and forgotten. I had to ask the client if he was sitting down as I reported the sale price of
£260,000. That was over thirty-five years ago….the value of his art has surged since.
What’s the most unusual or unexpected antique you’ve ever come across?
As I was leaving a bungalow having inspected a few average pieces of antique furniture for a
customer, I noticed on the porch a wicker shopping basket with the neck of a broken ceramic vase
sticking out from amongst cheap moulded glass. After a closer look (and a hunch) I asked if I might
check it out and report back to them. It had been destined for a jumble sale the next morning. I
sold it on their behalf with no neck for Euros 75,000 It was a very rare early Japanese Ko-Imari
porcelain vase circa 1650.
Do you think the younger generation is still engaged with antiques, or is there a risk of losing the expertise and appreciation for historical objects?
The past has left us overburdened with antique clutter. Modern tastes and the fashion for “less is
more” interior design have left many previously popular areas of collecting drained – for example
Victorian dinner and tea wares, large landscape paintings and huge “brown” items of furniture. The
golden age of antiques (when everything was eagerly collected) has passed, but the very best of any
period,
the 17th – 20th century is still sought after. Fine antique glass, ceramics, bronze sculptures,
silver and furniture can look amazing if carefully placed in a modern interior. Getting the right
“blend” is part of the fun – and some collectors employ interior designers for this very purpose.
Old solid oak pieces of furniture can be bought for a fraction of the price of modern equivalents
and indeed are eco-friendly. Painting or refashioning old pieces is helping rejuvenate the “old
stuff”. TV programmes are still highly popular, for example “The Repair Shop”. Hence there is still
a strong appreciation of antiques – but in a different way than before.
With modern minimalism and fast furniture trends, do you think antiques are becoming less desirable, or are they enjoying a resurgence? What advice would you give to someone looking to start collecting antiques today?
My advice to a starter collector today is “know your subject” – go to fairs, auctions (and maybe
museums) to see and handle your subject. Buy from knowledgeable and trusted dealers – they should
be very free with their advice so it’s worth paying a premium for both their expertise and the
surety of obtaining a receipt. Once your knowledge is strong enough you can start to buy at
auctions – checking carefully that the piece is original and in good condition. Buy the best you
can comfortably afford and buy what you personally like.
How has the Antiques Roadshow experience changed over the years, and do you think the public’s relationship with antiques has evolved?
I’ve loved every minute on BBC Antiques Roadshow and this is my 25th year as a specialist. Filming
days are extremely busy, often attracting over 5000 people to one venue. I always have a healthy
nervousness as potentially unique and challenging “treasures” might be eased out of carrier bags at
any time! An obscure East African tribal mask or maybe a rock crystal chess piece? Before the
internet, we only had a few reference books to quickly double- check a mark or a date. We now make
three episodes per location whereas in former days it was just one episode. No pressure then….. In
the early days the programme was mainly focused on the object and its method of manufacture, origin
and social significance, but today it’s more about the owner’s story about where it came from. The
BBC Studios truck has “Share your Story” written down the sides.
Portugal has a rich history and heritage, are there any Portuguese antiques or collectables that particularly stand out to you?
Portugal has a rich history of world exploration and colonisation and with this background is home
to some amazing trade and luxury objects. The Portuguese were the first to commercially import
Chinese blue and white porcelain on a large scale. Auctions occurred on quaysides in Lisbon. This
had a huge effect on European “courtly” taste as the fashion for this magical material and other
“exotic” materials grew. Portugal’s own long-established ceramic-making traditions, already
heavily influenced by Islamic styles of shape and ornament, were enhanced by this new influx from
the Far East. From the 16th century, Portugal also traded lacquer, coconut shells, sea shells,
mother of pearl, ivory, and tortoiseshell amongst other things. In the second half of the 18th
century, Portugal saw a very special flowering of luxury jewellery using diamonds, topaz,
tourmalines and emeralds discovered in their territories in Brazil.
You’ve holidayed in Portugal many times and also have a holiday home, would you ever consider moving?
Since 2018 I have lived and worked in Portugal and travelled extensively exploring the numerous
palaces, quintas, castles and museums in search of the fine treasure and art this country holds.
If you could own any antique in the world, regardless of cost or rarity, what would it be and why?
I love Chinese porcelain and indeed this is my specialist subject. I would love to own a Chinese
porcelain “Chicken Cup” – a celebrated small wine vessel of simple design and taste, decorated with
fowls, made in the 15th century under the Chinese Emperor Chenghua. I would love to handle it –
feel its lightness and admire its translucency. I’d enjoy pouring a fine Portuguese red wine into
it and sipping it. I would need to be careful – the last one sold for around Euros 65 million.
Cheers.
