Chinese Porcelain Panels, ca. 1920
Watch
GUEST:
My father bought these in Hong Kong in 1947. He was stationed at Clark Field in Manila, took the boat over whenever he could. He was an avid collector of Oriental art, and he also had his clothes tailored there, his uniforms. And one day, his tailor told him about a guy who had some stuff to see. So my father went to see him, and he fell in love with them, and he bought them. And we came back to the States in 1950.
APPRAISER:
And what did he tell you that these were?
GUEST:
They're the four seasons of planting rice. The way I understood it, they're teak frames.
APPRAISER:
In Chinese art, you'd often get the four seasons. Flowers of the four seasons. These are unusual because the subject matter. It's unusual to have something that shows the cycle of the planting of rice. And it starts, from what I can see, right here at the back, where they're plowing the field. And here they're sowing, putting the seeds in. And then here is where they're harvesting. And then finally, there they are, knocking the grain from the stalks.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So that, that's the sequence.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The other thing that's interesting is, obviously these are in relief, high relief, because most painted porcelain panels are not. So in order to determine the age, there are several things that we go by that are clues. One of which is this pink color. Because enamel-decorated pink colors did not exist until the early 18th century.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Now, one of the other clues that we have is the design here at the top. This is called iron red, and it has stylized dragons, which are drawn from archaic bronze motifs, Chinese ancient bronzes. You'll notice that it's sort of uneven. This kind of depiction one finds in the late 18th century, early 19th century. But I don't think you're going to find it with that kind of uneven quality. It's going to be a lot clearer, crisper, without the unevenness that you see here.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So I think that we're looking at something that dates probably to the early years of the 20th century.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
During the early years of the 20th century, there was a lot of turbulence in China, because the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911. The craftsmen who were producing things for the Qing court didn't just disappear. They continued to make things in Jingdezhen. And so I think that these probably date to the 1920s. The wood is actually not teak. It's a wood called hongmu.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Which people mistake for teak. But one of the other recent changes in the Chinese art market is, the Chinese have developed a very robust economy. And guess what they want to collect.
GUEST:
Their old stuff.
APPRAISER:
Their old stuff.
GUEST:
(laughing)
APPRAISER:
And there's not a lot of that around. So they're starting to collect things in the 20th century, and they're starting to focus on things made during the 1920s and '30s that are just like this.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And I can tell you that 15 years ago, these were not worth very much money.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But at auction, how about $40,000 to $60,000? (chuckling)
GUEST:
(voice breaking) Okay. (laughs) (exhales) Take my breath away. (laughs) I never would have dreamed. Never ever. I thought maybe $3,000 or $4,000. Okay, wonderful. Thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
You're very welcome.
GUEST:
My father will be... He would be so, so pleased. (exhales) (chuckles)
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.
