A Little Touch of Antiques Roadshow in the Night Quiz

Answer: Meissen

Meissen porcelain was the first hard-paste porcelain produced in Europe, and its famous "crossed swords" trademark was introduced in 1720; this is one of the oldest trademarks in the world. Stylistically it was superseded by the Sevres factory in about 1760 but its ware is still widely sought-after, especially the 22-piece monkey orchestra - figurines of monkeys in 18th Century costume playing instruments.

A nice set of those could cost you in the region of £25,000!

Answer: Silver

Georg Jensen (1866 to 1935) was a wonderful designer of silver jewelry; he came to this in 1901 via goldsmithing, sculpting pottery and modelling ceramics. His work has been carried on by his descendants, and Jensen pieces are always of the highest quality.

They're also easily available, both from retail outlets and on-line auction sites, and they're remarkably good value. My wife loves the brooch I bought for her on our Silver Wedding Anniversary!

Answer: Teddy Bears

The Steiff company was started in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, who made stuffed elephants to be used as pin cushions. She later diversified into other animal shapes for use as children's toys, but the company's fortune was made when in 1903 a vendor commissioned the making of 3,000 stuffed bears to cash in on the "Teddy" bear craze after President Roosevelt was photographed with a bear cub.

By the late 1900s Steiff were making a million teddy bears every year and they've never looked back! Each toy has a metal button in one of its ears to prove that it is genuine.

Some old, genuine Steiff bears have sold for over £100,000!

Answer: Malta

The Mdina glass works was set up in 1968 in Malta by English glass-blower Michael Harris. He produced lovely glass pieces replete with bright Mediterranean colours - blue and green for the sun and sea, and yellow for the sandy beaches. Harris left Malta in 1973 to set up a glass studio on the Isle of Wight, but the staff he'd recruited in Malta stayed on; the Mdina company still makes large amounts of glass. Pieces can be picked up on internet auction sites at very little cost. Michael Harris made beautiful pieces during his five years at Mdina but he only signed those he thought were perfect; consequently signed pieces are very rare and command prices well over £1,000. We have a nice collection of about half-a-dozen (unsigned!) pieces on various window ledges in our home; in the sunlight they're glorious!

Answer: Treen

The word "Treen" - objects made of wood - is derived from the Old English language and has been around for hundreds of years. All sorts of things fit into this category, such as wooden boxes, bowls and pots and shoe lasts, and at all sorts of prices.

Answer: Trench Art

Trench Art is widely collected, especially used shell cases from World War I that have been engraved or decorated with repousse work. However, some work is much earlier than that; for example, during the Napoleonic wars French prisoners of war held at places like Dartmoor Prison made replica men o'war from animal bones.

These are not only astonishingly accurate but also very beautiful - and very valuable! I had a nice pair of used German shell cases, about 10" high, that had been engraved with flowers and "Somme 1916"; the pair cost about £30.

Other items are a lot more ornate, for example I once saw a wonderful large model of a triplane made out of flattened shell cases and other spare bits of metal.

Answer: Jade

The word "jade" is actually used to refer to two minerals: nephrite (a silicate of magnesium and calcium) and jadeite (a silicate of aluminium and sodium). Classic Chinese jade is nephrite jade, and green and white ("mutton fat") varieties are encountered most frequently; it was considered the "imperial gem". Chinese jade carvings can be staggeringly beautiful and staggeringly expensive - think millions!

Answer: Japan

Japanese netsuke are little toggles that were used from about the 17th Century onwards by Japanese men to secure little pouches or boxes holding personal items (seals, tobacco, money, etc.) to the sashes of their kimonos. Most of them are only a couple of inches long. Simple at first, netsuke became more and more complex and artistic.

There were any number of forms - animals, gods, people, plants - and they were made from a wide range of materials, particularly ivory, wood and bone, but also from metal, coral, porcelain, etc.

These are nice things to collect: they're easily available and relatively inexpensive - prices can range from £1 to £10,000.

Answer: A small set of shelves for displaying ornaments

A "whatnot" - what a lovely word, although I'm unsure of the derivation. A whatnot is basically a small set of freestanding open shelves, waist-high or thereabouts, designed to fit into the corners of rooms; the shelves are shaped like quadrants of a circle with the curved edge at the front. They are particularly used for displaying ornaments such as pieces of china.

Answer: Wrist watches

Wristwatches are highly collectable, especially the "big names" like Rolex and Patek Philippe - you can pay literally millions for a top-of-the-range model. Look out for fakes, though! I've had the same wristwatch since I was 18 years old, more than half a century ago, but I doubt it's worth that much!