Russian Lukutin Snuffbox, ca. 1840
Watch
GUEST:
I received it as a gift from my Uncle Jack. He had purchased it in an antique store in Chicago in the '60s. I know it's a snuff box, and he paid $168-ish.
APPRAISER:
$168. Okay, well, you have a papier-machè, hand-painted Russian lacquer box. And inside here, on the top of the lid, it's signed by a Russian company called the Lukutin Factory. And it also has a Russian imperial eagle. They had the imperial warrant, so they made boxes for the imperial family. And we can see inside it's a hand-painted, faux tortoiseshell interior. This box would have been actually manufactured around 1840. And what is quite unusual about this piece is, first of all, the multicolored lacquer and the checkerboard design, but also the painting on the front of the box, which is a Turkish painting. And Catherine the Great, towards the end of her reign, received an awful lot of gifts from the Turkish sultan, and what this box could quite possibly be-- we may have to do quite a little bit more sort of research on it-- is actually a box celebrating a painting that was given to her as a gift from the Turkish sultan. I think today if you were to go into a retail store to try and replace something like this, if you could find it, you would have to spend around $20,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Wow! That's amazing. I better take better care of it.
APPRAISER:
I'd take good care of it, yeah. I would if I were you.
GUEST:
I'll put it under glass.
APPRAISER:
Thank you for bringing it.
GUEST:
And thank you.
APPRAISER:
It's a wonderful box.
GUEST:
Wonderful. 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.
