BBC Antiques Roadshow guest has blank expression to staggering valuation of deceptive £10 chair

An Antiques Roadshow guest had a blank expression when she was told her African-styled chair, bought for a mere £10, had a top price tag.

The popular BBC show visited Clissold Park in Stoke Newington, where expert John Foster met with the pensioner and her unique chair.

He started by saying: "So I love anything tribal and that look. What do you love about it? "

The guest revealed: "When I bought it in 1965, I'd recently come from South Africa and I was nostalgic for something that looked African."

She added that she found it in a small antique shop. When asked about the price she paid, she bashfully admitted it was £10.

Foster responded: "That's a good price, that's a reasonable amount of money then."

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He then dropped the bombshell: "So when I say I love anything that has that tribal look, I'm kind of teasing you a bit, because it's nowhere near Africa in its origins.", reports the Express.

He explained: "It's from Italy, a designer called Carlo Bugatti. So he really took the art world by storm at the 1902 Turin exhibition where he showed this style of furniture with that very African feel to it, or tribal feel to it."

He concluded: "And no one else was really doing it, certainly not in that same way."

He pointed out the various materials used in the chair, including pewter inlay and copper, typical of African art pieces.

Foster was ready to drop a bombshell valuation, declaring: "So a chair like this, which you paid £10 for, I would see in the sort of region of £8,000."

The astonishing figure made quite an impression on the crowd as one audience member gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth in amazement.

The owner of the chair, however, seemed unfazed by the revelation, responding with a stark: "That's a lot."

Foster couldn't hide his delight, warmly thanking her: "It's so lovely to see, thank you."

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.