Mt. Washington Glass Co. Ewer, ca. 1890
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GUEST:
This vase was given to me on my 18th Christmas by my mother, who purchased it at a white elephant sale.
APPRAISER:
This piece is referred to as a ewer. And this is not a marked piece. This happens to be a piece that doesn't have to be signed. It stands on its own. Very few of these pieces were signed. This piece was made by Mt. Washington Glass.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And I think that's a name that is familiar to you.
GUEST:
That's the name I wanted.
APPRAISER:
This is the most exotic of all the Mt. Washington pieces, and it's called Royal Flemish. And this particular piece has designs of banners and shields around the top, which is a rare pattern. We have all the typical colors that they use, the beautiful gilding and gold work all around the piece.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, it's a little bit dusty, but when this is cleaned up and you hold it to the light, it's so unbelievable and it's like looking through a stained-glass window. This particular piece has the twisted rope handle.
GUEST:
I had it appraised at least 25 years ago.
APPRAISER:
Long time.
GUEST:
And at that time, he thought it was $335.
APPRAISER:
Are you hanging on to the table okay there?
GUEST:
I got it.
APPRAISER:
This piece is worth, in the retail market, in the $8,000 to $10,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness!
APPRAISER:
What would Mama say now?
GUEST:
She'd cry.
APPRAISER:
She'd cry?
GUEST:
She'd cry.
APPRAISER:
Well, I know you're, I know you're surprised.
GUEST:
She'd cry.
APPRAISER:
And I'm just so, so pleased to see the piece. Thank you so much for bringing it.
GUEST:
Oh, thank you. You don't know how I've treasured it.
Appraisal Details
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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."
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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.
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