Chinese Glass Bottle Vases, ca. 1775
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GUEST:
Probably six years ago, my brother-in-law had seen an article that there was an auction up in Birmingham, and he wanted to know if I wanted to go over and look and try to buy a couple of shotguns.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
So I just rode over with him, had no intention of buying anything. And they brought out these jars, and, and I wasn't even listening, really, to what they were talking about. But what caught my interest is when the guy that was with the auctioneer says, "I'm going to excuse myself from the stage and I want to come and bid on these." So it kind of piqued my curiosity, I guess. So I waited until they were about to slam the hammer, and I raised my hand up, and the next thing I know, I'm the proud owner of these two blue jars, and my brother-in-law was kind of looking at me like I've lost my mind, and, yeah.
APPRAISER:
That happens at auctions.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
So you paid a couple of hundred dollars for them.
GUEST:
I think about $200.
APPRAISER:
And the first thing is, they're glass, and it's a very thick glass.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And this particular shape is called a bottle form. This kind of glass, this very intense, deep, dark color blue was created in China during the late 17th century and the early 18th century. So these are Chinese.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
On the base, we see there's a square, and it's got four characters, and these four characters are important, because they tell us this was made during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, all handmade, hand-polished, hand-blown, beautiful quality, very nice. And it's really unusual to find a pair.
GUEST:
Pair.
APPRAISER:
So that's good.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
And the other thing that I noticed immediately is, there's a lot of chips on the base.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And there's a big chip here on the top. And you've watched the ROADSHOW enough to know that chips and cracks are...
GUEST:
No good.
APPRAISER:
They're no good.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
It doesn't help anything. On very thick pieces of glass like this, these chips, although they're unsightly, they don't really affect the stability and the overall integrity of the object.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
If they're shallow chips, those can often be polished out.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Now, I don't advocate doing that on this, because these are fairly deep chips.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And they certainly affect the value.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And so I would say, at auction...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
These would sell for $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
As they are now.
GUEST:
(laughs) Oh, no.
APPRAISER:
Okay? That's a lot of shotguns.
GUEST:
Okay. (laughing) Yes, it's a shotgun.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Now, if they were not...
GUEST:
I hope my brother-in-law is watching.
APPRAISER:
I hope he's watching, too. Now, if these were not chipped...
GUEST:
Yep.
APPRAISER:
$12,000 to $18,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Phew.
Appraisal Details
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