An Antiques Roadshow expert once refused to place a value on a disturbing object after uncovering the horrifying truth behind it.
The long-running British TV series sees specialists travel across the UK to examine and appraise unusual antiques and collectibles brought in by members of the public.
In one unforgettable episode, filmed in Welsh capital Cardiff, expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan declined to estimate the item’s worth after learning about its deeply troubling history, something the owner herself had never known.
A mysterious item with a hidden story
During the episode, a woman brought in a ring-shaped object that had been in her possession for years.
She revealed she had purchased the item for about £3, at a house sale 36 years prior, explaining she had ‘no idea’ what the item actually was but had always been fascinated by its ‘interesting’ appearance.
The ivory bangle featured engraved calligraphy reading ‘Prince Jemmy of Grandy’ alongside the words ‘honest fellow.’ Additional details on the piece included the name of a ship called ‘Anna,’ and the year 1782.
Although Archer-Morgan admitted the piece was ‘amazing,’ he also confessed it was one of the ‘most difficult things I’ve ever had to talk about.’
The expert became visibly distressed when talking about the ring, which said he only knew about ‘half a dozen’ similar pieces in existence. As it turned out, the item held incredibly difficult memories of his family history
Clearly overcome by emotion after coming across such an item in real life, the expert said he just didn’t want to value it.
“I just don’t want to value it. I do not want to put a price on something that signifies such an awful business,” he said.
“But the value is in the lessons that this can tell people. The value is in researching this and what we can find out. And I just love you for bringing it in and thank you so much for making me so sad.”
The horrifying truth behind the bangle
Archer-Morgan revealed the ivory bangle was connected to the transatlantic slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the darkest periods in human history.
According to the BBC, the transatlantic slave trade took place between 1500 and 1870 and involved the forced enslavement and transportation of African people to the Americas, including both North and South America.
Enslaved people were forced to produce goods such as tobacco, cotton, sugar, and indigo dye.
The ivory bangle, which is otherwise known as an ivory disc or slave trade bracelet, which historians believe acted as an endorsement, receipt, or reputation token used by slave traders operating in ports such as Bonny, in present-day Nigeria.
Research suggests that Anna, the name of the vessel engraved on the piece, was linked to voyages transporting enslaved Africans from Bonny to Montego Bay in Jamaica. One report stated the ship carried around 535 enslaved people.
During the 1700s, Bonny was one of the most important slaving points in West Africa, as European ships would dock there to purchase enslaved people, before transporting them across the Atlantic. It’s believed millions of people forcibly taken through ports like these over the course of the slave trade.
The expert said he believed the man named on the bangle, Prince Jemmy of Grandy, was himself African and described him as ‘a despicable human being’ involved in the trading of enslaved people. He is believed to have been a middleman involved in selling enslaved people to European traders .
Referring to the inscription ‘honest fellow,’ Archer-Morgan added: “I’d like to meet him and tell him how honest I think he is.”
Host Fiona Bruce later explained in a voiceover: “The item was a disc that acted as an endorsement of the professional reputation of an African slave trader in the West African port of Bonny in the 18th century.”
Archer-Morgan also shared a deeply personal connection to the subject matter.
“My great-grandmother was a returned slave from Nova Scotia in Canada and came back to Sierra Leone and Freetown,” he revealed.
“And I actually think it’s my cultural duty, our cultural duty, to talk about things like this.”
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