Chinese Gilt Bronze Camel, ca. 1550
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GUEST:
This camel was a gift to my husband. We were visiting family in New York, and his cousin Ruth we were meeting for the first time. And she and her family have a gallery in New York. And she learned... at that time, we were just engaged. And she gave me a little bottle of perfume, and she turned around and gave this little camel to my husband as an engagement present.
APPRAISER:
And the person who gave it to you?
GUEST:
Her name is Ruth Blumka.
APPRAISER:
Right, I'm very familiar with Ruth Blumka. She was a preeminent Renaissance dealer in New York at the time. What do you know about the camel?
GUEST:
I really don't know anything about the camel. I think it's bronze. We think it's old. It's heavy, and we don't know anything else about it.
APPRAISER:
Well, the camel is from China.
GUEST:
Oh, really?
APPRAISER:
And it's Ming Dynasty, so it's probably sort of 15th to 16th century. And it's a gilded bronze, so it's gold over bronze.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
We think it's part of a group, a presentation group. The camel was a very important animal in China. I mean, for many years it had been used for meat and milk. And there had long existed trade between China and the West. And so this was the means of transporting it. The camel came to typify the wealth of the nation. It's an extraordinary animal, it really is. Any idea of the value?
GUEST:
I have no clue. I have no idea.
APPRAISER:
Well, I'd be very confident in putting a retail value of between $6,000 and $8,000 on it.
GUEST:
Oh, okay. Wow. We had no idea.
Appraisal Details
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