Thinking well ahead to Tuesday 8th March and International Women’s Day, we focus on women connected with antiques and art – as creators, owners, users or students. We include a nurse, two artists, a wife, a model, a mummy (in both senses), a goddess and a suffragette. We also offer paintings, sculptures, an art installation, ancient artifacts, a medal and some lighting equipment.

For the festive season we have the Christmas antiques and art quiz, plus some gift ideas. We touch on Lars Magnus Ericsson, Maxie, ping pong, Brian May and Quinnies. And there’s a tip for Sydney to Hobart yachtsmen to improve their luck in the Boxing Day boat race.

Finally, a bit of philosophy. Does art have to physically exist? Can it exist by its own absence? We hear about one artist who thought so - and pocketed his fee.

The dramatis personae (in various contexts) include Winnie the Pooh, Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, Emile Berliner, Cecil Rhodes, David (the one who KO’d Goliath in the first round), and a social media “non-influencer”. How do all of these relate to objects and their creators, from Hester Bateman to Michelangelo? The program explains how, what and why, as well as solving the previous program’s crossword clue.

The program looks at some predictable and some unexpected impacts, by the COVID-19 lockdown, on the antiques and art industry. Some antique curiosities come up for sale giving an insight into how life was lived in years gone by, and we get an amusing insight (“guru’s view”) into the art of the future.

What if a sculptor does not wish to see her finished product, and the “sitter” cannot? We hear about a fascinating project (very much) touching on this. We include some cross words – cryptic, not angry.

Whilst avoiding NFT’s, the program concentrates on some very material oddities and curiosities. It examines the recent history of the trade in some “well past use-by-date” comestibles, an old leaky beaker, an unexploded WW1 artillery shell and a weird wristwatch.

There’s a follow up to the previous program's “lost and found,” with some parts of a suit of armour that were re-united. We end with some helpful quotes about art from Tolstoy, Kipling and Wilde.

Our main topic is “lost and found” – four stories of items “separated” from their owners, and which eventually found their way home – some ornamental lions, bronze tortoises, paintings and Indian artefacts. Who were the dispossessed, where was home and what was the journey in the middle?

On other matters, where is the dividing line between erotic art and porn? - we take a short (and seemly) peek. “Mechanical toy” versus “automation” – we compare virtues and descriptions. Lastly the issue of humour: can the antiques and art industry laugh and laugh at itself? The program offers few answers but lots to ponder.

Original broadcast date 16.08.2021

What links a 16th century gold medal and a 20th century combination silver cigarette lighter and case? Both were the gift of Kings with one also being to a “King”. We hear about both and detail some historical irony surrounding medal, almost 500 years after it was made.

We discuss two intriguing opium legacies to the decorative arts, and then look at two non-original works of “flat art”. One a downright fake and the other a copy, both having intriguing stories surrounding them and sold for surprising sums. We ask if the price was for the singer or the song. This is followed by an excursion into body art, a teddy bear, Humpty Dumpty, a stopwatch and ends with a favourite quote.

Original broadcast date 19.07.2021

Sex, religion, politics and money are generally considered topics to avoid in "polite" society. How then does a polite program like the Antiques Radio Show avoid them? Perhaps it’s impossible to separate some objects from their impolite origins, but Jolyon does try in this episode to observe decorum.

He tackles sporting memorabilia and collectibles, a remarkable doll, a beautiful portrait of a much-maligned lady, an 18th century book telling an astonishing tale of rising from adversity, the fate of a despised statue, and historic objects that some museums wish to return to their country of origin. 

Original broadcast date 21.06.2021

This time the Antiques Radio Show approaches the target objects via the dramatis personae. We find out about antiques and art through the people who carry the story. We discuss a mezzotint, some historic signatures, a well-connected beret, some suitably pocketed historic trousers, a questionable tomb adornment, and a controversial painting. All are explained and come to life through the people connected with them. This main meal is followed by some short snippets for dessert.

Original broadcast date 24.05.2021

How much is the discovery of antiques and art works a matter of luck and how much is it hard work, homework and inspiration?

The intriguing stories behind the plans for the liner Queen Mary, an old master painting, a Chinese bowl, a ceramic courting couple and some well-travelled coins illustrate this issue. Auctioning a Van Gogh painting is not straightforward, and some remarkable new technology comes to the aid of the antiques and art world.

Original broadcast date 26.04.21