Lalique Perfume Bottle & Collection, ca. 1930
Watch
GUEST:
These were perfume bottles that were collected by my mother. I believe that she was given several as gifts from her mother, and they just are items that I have grown up with.
APPRAISER:
And did your mother live here in Los Angeles?
GUEST:
Yes, she was born in Los Angeles.
APPRAISER:
Okay, so she probably collected them here? Or did she travel much?
GUEST:
I believe her mother traveled, and that's why I believe several of the pieces may be from out of the country, but I do not have history specific to any of the pieces.
APPRAISER:
Collecting perfume bottles is a very popular habit today, and it has been since your mother or even your grandmother's time. And people look for perfume bottles from the period that most of these represent, which is the interwar years, the '20s and '30s.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
They do all come from outside of the country, but you could have bought all of these in Los Angeles in the '20s and '30s, so...
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
She may have picked them up locally.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Starting, the one closest to you, that's a Bohemian bottle. Very typical of bottles made in what's now the Czech Republic. I would say, by the look of it, it's probably early '30s. That's quite a nice one, and it does have some value in the hundreds of dollars. In the center, you have some bottles which are very typical of Venetian glass. If you pick them up, you see they're very lightweight.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Venetian glass has no lead in it. It's soft, so that you can work it into these pretty shapes. They're very characteristic of Venetian glass from the '20s. And again, they have some value in the hundreds of dollars. Then these two are made by René Lalique, the French company, which specialized at the time in making perfume bottles. In fact, Lalique really began his career as a glassmaker by making perfume bottles for François Coty.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Around 1910. And you have two here, which are quite different. This one, and I'm gonna take the top off, because this top's in trouble.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
This happens a lot with perfume bottles. The stopper has been stuck in there, and someone's tried to force it out, perhaps, and they've broken it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But in this condition, with a broken stopper, I'm afraid it's worth about $100 at the most. Lalique did make a lot of perfume bottles, tens of thousands of them, before World War II, and many of them are actually not that valuable.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
If this one was perfect, it would only be worth maybe $400 or $500.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Even though it's from the '20s. This is a great one. A Lalique bottle made very early in René Lalique's glassmaking career. It was designed in 1912, and it's called Oreilles Épines, which means pine or briar, brambles, in the ears. See, it has these ears on it. It's exquisitely made in a way that Lalique kind of experimented with when he was an early glassmaker. It's actually quite complicated. The bottle itself is forced into a mold by pressing it down without the bottom being on it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Then the bottom is separately cast and stuck on. It's really the only way you could make a piece of glass that looks like this, and really, Lalique figured it out. He was a brilliant technician as well as a great designer. If this came to auction, I would estimate it to sell for between $30,000 and $40,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
Lalique perfume bottles are very high in demand. And this particular one, unlike this one, is very low in supply.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I've only ever seen two other of this example.
GUEST:
Wow.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
