Annual Luncheon Fundraiser – Hosted by the Friends of the Hunt Museum

About Steven Moore

Steven Moore is a highly respected figure in the world of antiques, design and luxury for which he brings an infectious passion. Well known to TV audiences worldwide from his appearances on the BBC’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’ and ‘Antiques Roadtrip.’ Steven is a trusted and unique voice in all aspects of the ‘business’ of antiques having been an Antiques Dealer, Auctioneer and Museum Curator. He is a tried and tested design savant, author and writer.

For many years Steven was a consultant editor to Miller Publications revising, expanding and authenticating copy across a wide range of the publisher’s output, including the annual Price Guide, Collectables and other publications. He is the co-author (with Judith Miller) of Miller’s Field Guide to Porcelain and the Miller’s Field Guide to Glass. He has written for magazines such as The World of Interiors, Country Life, Gardens Illustrated and Homes and Antiques. For many years he had a weekly column in the Newcastle Journal and a monthly one in North East Times. During his career as an Antiques Dealer Steven was responsible for the rediscovery of many ‘lost’ treasures including a set of William Morris Tiles, now in the collection of The William Morris Gallery. A highlight of his life as an auctioneer was the re-discovery of the ‘Thornhill Stem Cup’, a rare Ming dynasty masterwork of early blue and white porcelain made for the Xuande Emperor which was sold for £3.6 million by Lyon and Turnbull in 2016. Steven holds a unique position within the world of ceramics. Not only is he a well-known authority on their history, but also their contemporary manufacture. He was for a number of years the Creative Director of Burleigh Pottery and the driving force behind putting this British heritage brand firmly back on the luxury map. Prior to this he was a creative consultant and Brand Ambassador for Royal Crown Derby.

Steven has been a much-loved regular on BBC One’s BAFTA winning “Antiques Roadshow” since 2004, a British TV institution since 1977 and broadcast around the world. Mainly looking at ceramics, Steven’s passion for antiques, sense of humour and sense of style has endeared him to audiences globally. Throughout his years on the programme he has discovered many interesting treasures, but one memorable find was discovered at Norwich Cathedral in 2005 where Steven was asked to value a dead mouse preserved in a whisky bottle!

In October last year, Mr Steven Moore published The Stuff of History: A Curated Compendium of Curious Objects and Forgotten People. A beguiling, entertaining, and consummately curated miscellany of fascinating forgotten histories from Antiques Roadshow presenter and popular historian Steven Moore.

Too often, history focuses on the tales of kings, or those (often men) who were given the credit for shaping our stories. Yet it is often the figures who have slipped through the cracks of history that prove the most fascinating. People like:

The fourteen-year-old boy who lived undetected in the chimneys of Buckingham Palace

Archie Lee, the re-inventor of Santa Claus

The women at Playtex who helped put the first man on the moon

The unknown war hero Tommy Brown, whose extraordinary bravery helped the codebreakers of Bletchley Park

We are delighted that Steven Moore will be joining us at our Annual Summer Luncheon, where he will take part in an interview-style presentation about the book, sharing some of these remarkable stories and the inspiration behind them. It promises to be an entertaining and insightful highlight of the event.