Tasmania's treasures come out to lure BBC hit show

Cloaked in bubble wrap on a shelf in Chris Gooley's home is an intricately carved piece of dark stone depicting the profile of a bearded man.

Since purchasing the "beautiful piece" at an op shop in Tasmania last year, the Huon Valley resident has scoured the internet for more details but has had little luck.

"All the information that I have is on the actual carving itself, where inscribed are the initials H.L. and 1910," Mr Gooley said.

"There was a medallion maker in Paris called Hippolyte Lefèbvre … and he was making medals around that time, but because I don't have any provenance on it, I don't know if those details are correct."

The carving is just one of many artefacts briefly pulled from storage spaces across Tasmania this week as part of a push to attract one of the world's most popular television shows.

The National Trust of Tasmania has spearheaded the campaign for the beloved British series Antiques Roadshow to host an episode in the state, which it described as the nation's "capital for heritage".

"We have beautiful stories that we can tell, from Aboriginal history right through to the small little objects that sit on your mantelpiece," the trust's chief executive Jen Fry said.

"We have so many little villages that look as though you have stepped out of the 1830s, 1860s … these are beautiful streetscapes and they would be wonderful for the Antiques Roadshow crew to come and film."

Antiques Roadshow is a long-running television program broadcast by the BBC in which appraisers travel to different towns to examine and value family heirlooms and other historical items brought in by locals.

An Australian pilot episode, hosted by Issa Schultz from The Chase Australia, was taped in the Blue Mountains last year and uploaded to the show's YouTube channel in July.

A casting call was then put out by the BBC, urging Australians to submit photos and a short video about the "remarkable objects" they have in their homes.

Tiny dolls could be 'at least 100 years old'

Claremont resident Kathleen Moore owns two tiny porcelain dolls, which she would love to have appraised by the Antiques Roadshow experts if they came to Tasmania.

The dolls were given to her father by an elderly woman whose lawn he used to mow and he passed them on to Ms Moore before he died.

"I'm fairly certain they are at least 100 years old, but I've never had them valued," Ms Moore said.

"I would really love to know their origin, where they've actually come from and how old they actually possibly could be."

Ms Moore keeps the dolls wrapped in cotton wool and two tea towels within a plastic container to preserve them.

She said they were "very sentimental" as she did not own many things that belonged to her father other than his war medals.

Ms Fry said the "great thing" about Antiques Roadshow was that it did not necessarily matter if the appraised item was valuable because the focus was largely on the "wonderful stories" behind them.

"It's the reveal at the end and the marvellous story that people can tell about that item that makes a difference and makes for great television," she said.

'Fantastic opportunity', tourism boss says

The push to bring Antiques Roadshow to Tasmania has been backed by tourism organisation Destination Southern Tasmania.

"We think it's a fantastic opportunity for us in tourism for the state, as we know Antiques Roadshow is probably everyone's guilty little pleasure," chief executive Alex Heroys said.

"You can imagine pieces being filmed in the gardens of Government House, or here at Runnymede … but also some of the historical villages."

To promote the campaign, Tasmanians were invited to have some of their own heirlooms and op shop finds appraised by local historian Warwick Oakman at an event in Runnymede on Wednesday.

The pilot episode filmed in the Blue Mountains last year marked the first time Antiques Roadshow had returned to Australia since a six-episode run released in 2005.