Émile Gallé Cameo Glass Vases, ca. 1900
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GUEST:
They're two Gallé vases from France. I got them from my mother. She and my dad bought them in the early '50s.
APPRAISER:
Do you know anything more about them other than that?
GUEST:
It's cameo glass. I believe that they're blown from the bottom up.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And then the other glass is layered onto the frost.
APPRAISER:
Well, do you remember what your mother paid for these?
GUEST:
No, I don't. But in the '80s, I think in... my father had them appraised in Atlanta.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And they were appraised at $800 for the pair. Daddy felt like he didn't really know what they were.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, let me tell you a little bit of what I know about them. Of course, Emile Gallé died in 1904, but he was one of the more influential people in the French Art Nouveau movement.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And I think that these were made during his lifetime. So pre-1904, let's assume like 1900. And usually, he modeled all of these floral elements after local flowers that were in Nancy, in France. So the surface on this is referred to as fire polished, which is reheated to give it that shiny surface throughout. And it picks up the variations in the color of the glass-- red to kind of a clam broth almost. But what's very unusual is to see a pair of vases. I don't think we've ever done a pair of Gallé pieces on the Roadshow in its history.
GUEST:
Awesome.
APPRAISER:
So that being said, of course they are both signed here with the scroll Gallé signature.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And nicely decorated, as you can see in turning them around. Very simple and elegant.
GUEST:
I notice that there's a difference in color between the top of this one and the top of that one, that this one has more pink.
APPRAISER:
Yes, and that would be variations in the color palette throughout the glass.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea of what their value is?
GUEST:
No, I don't.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, I think that a safe, conservative auction estimate for the pair would be $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Okay?
GUEST:
Yeah, well, that's...
APPRAISER:
And again, they're very nice pieces of glass, and it's a pleasure to see them.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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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