Antiques Road Trip: Irita Marriott knocks over bed warmer
One antiques expert was left reeling as an old photograph sold for 100 times its estimated value on the latest episode of The Derbyshire Auction House.
Irita Marriott couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing on the Really show which aired on Sunday (August 18), heading to Bedfordshire to meet mother and son Helen and Ben who were busy clearing out Helen’s home.
The reason behind the sale was a heartbreaking one – Helen was trying to fund a care home place for her husband Alan, who has dementia.
Irita explained: “It can’t be easy for them. These items are things that they’ve lived with all their lives, and now that Alan’s gone into care, it’s probably going to be really sad to see them go.”
But one stand-out piece came in a set of original signed photographs. Alan had obtained them while working for a regional arts association, and they included photos from iconic artist Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
The prints went straight to auction, with one snap in particular estimated to make between £80 and £120. But Irita was left shaken when it made a whopping 100 times that – selling for £12,000 in total after a tense bidding process.
But in a tragic twist of fate, Alan sadly died before his items even made it to auction, with the family revealing the money raised would instead go to his funeral costs.
His son Ben said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked at the values people were willing to bid for what we thought were just nice pictures… that we saw on the wall every day. Absolutely brilliant.”
While Irita commented: “I loved every moment of being involved in it. It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever sold. I told Helen and Ben that they might be in for a surprise, and what a surprise it was! An absolutely phenomenal result on the pictures – and a perfect tribute to Alan.”
Both Helen and Ben were left in floods of tears as the amount was revealed, with Irita becoming emotional herself over the course of the episode.
Working mum Irita launched Irita Marriott Auctioneers in June 2023 after spending 11 years in the antiques industry. She’s based in Melbourne, South Derbyshire, and claims: “I want to continue to unite people with beautiful objects but make it easy for them to do so by buying online.”
The Derbyshire Auction House airs at 9pm Sundays on Really and Discovery+.
