Giulio Nardi Jeweled Gold Moretto, ca. 1960
Watch
GUEST:
My mom and dad were on a vacation in Venice, and my mother saw him in a store window and loved him and my father went back and bought it for her. He's been in my family since then.
APPRAISER:
Well, these things don't come cheap. Tell me a little bit about your father.
GUEST:
Well, my father was a successful man. He worked in New York and he could have afforded to buy something pricey for my mom.
APPRAISER:
And you don't have any idea what they paid for it?
GUEST:
Unfortunately, no.
APPRAISER:
When did your parents take this trip?
GUEST:
In, probably 1980, '81, somewhere around there.
APPRAISER:
Well it’s not an everyday thing. We don't see these in this size very often. The form is a Moretto. He’s the guardian of Venice and he’s in important clothing. It's very likely that this piece was made around the late 1950s through the 1960s. He's made out of carved ebony on a wooden plinth, and the body and turban are heavily gem-encrusted gold. The gems are all sorts of jewels that might have been sitting around the bench, and they're all very nice. We've got turquoise, opals, rubies...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...sapphires... (chuckling)
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
...star sapphires, and we've got topaz.
GUEST:
And how about the earrings?
APPRAISER:
The earrings are pearls. At the top, he's got an aigrette on his head that's diamonds set into gold, and if we turn him around... The top of the turban is set with a very large turquoise.
APPRAISER:
There's a signature here, G. Nardi 750. 750 is the standard for 18-karat gold. It's heavily worked 18-karat gold in the Florentine manner, with scrolling. G. Nardi started his studio in 1924 in Venice, and he comes out with these Morettis. He's very well carved; he's a showpiece. We see many small examples come up at auction. Brooches-- and they're still making them-- run for a couple of thousand, to several thousand dollars, sometimes approaching the $10,000 mark. There was another one of these sold in May 2011 at an auction. The one that sold in May, sold for $53,000.
GUEST:
$53,000, wow! No, he didn't pay anything like that for it. That I know. Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
So the value on this one, I'd give it an auction estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
GUEST:
Mom, are you listening? (laughing)
APPRAISER:
What's the plan now?
GUEST:
I'm going to keep him. I love him, and I just want my children to know what he's worth so when they clean out my house, they'll know what to keep. Thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
You're very welcome.
GUEST:
That's 40 to 60? Wow, 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.
