WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow. An Antiques Roadshow guest couldn't stop smiling after discovering the 'true' value of a pole that had been stumbled upon decades ago. The BBC daytime show journeyed to Firstsite in Colchester, where more visitors brought their fascinating items for appraisal with expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan particularly thrilled by one item.
As the camera zoomed out, viewers saw Ronnie holding a tall pole next to its owner, who explained: "In the 1960s, my husband's parents bought a house in west Wales with all its contents and this was in its contents." When asked where she thought it originated from, the elderly lady suggested Fiji, but it was actually from the Cook Islands. Ronnie began his explanation: "This is a magnificent ironwood pole club and the Cook Islands people call it an Akatara.
"They were either crafted on the island of Rarotonga or Atiu. "Now, as we all know, Captain Cook travelled to Polynesia and during his third visit, his surgeon spotted one of these and noted in his journal how magnificent they were, praising this wonderful weapon. "Originally, this would have been used in combat, but by the time Western contact occurred, it had become a ceremonial weapon imbued with mana.
"And mana represents the spiritual power of the warrior chief who would have owned this. "I mean, I feel like I've got power holding this. It's such an impressive object isn't it?" He explained that the dated appearance, specifically the.
