Louis XV Commode, ca. 1750
Watch
GUEST:
It's an old family piece that came in, I believe, from my great-grandfather.
APPRAISER:
This is a first for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, I think. This is a piece of French 18th century furniture that's signed, which is really great to see on ROADSHOW. It was made in the reign of Louis XV, right around 1750, and we know this because stylistically, it is a classic Rococo form, with these cabriole legs and the sort of curved outline, as well as the marquetry inlay, which is made of tulipwood and kingwood on the front. And the gilt bronze mounted handles, which have actually been re-gilded and most likely are not period to the piece. It has the original marble top with a rough cut back edge, which is great to see on a piece of furniture that's over 250 years old. And it's also signed, as I'd mentioned, and it's signed on this top right corner, right here. We see the "Freizell," which is the maker, but then there's also a very small stamp that says "J.M.E."
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Which is the jurande des menuisiers ÈbÈniste. And it's basically the guild that they were accepted into. And they were held to a very, very high standard with the furniture that they made. And the J.M.E. guild was created in 1743 and it was disbanded in 1791, so we know immediately it's made in that period. And then we look stylistically at it, and it's classic Rococo form, Louis XV, so we're able to date it to 1750, maybe 1755. One of the things when we're identifying European furniture in the 18th and 19th century, you look at the legs. If they're straight, it's late. If they're curly, it's early. (laughing) And on this, the legs are curly, they're curved, so we know it's early.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I talked about the mounts. They have been replaced. There has been some other restoration, a little bit of in-painting, and right here along the drawer front, you can see there was some veneer loss, and what restorers do is they infill it, and instead of replacing it with veneer, they paint it, so it's sort of grain painted in these small patches to give you the sense of the veneer. It was easier to do than to find a piece of veneer that matched the grain of the piece.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Great marquetry, veneer which we call sommes traversÈ, because they veneer it right across the drawer front as if the drawers weren't there, it's just a single rosette. So a real treat to see. Any idea of the value?
GUEST:
It was appraised in the estate of my parents and was quite expensive.
APPRAISER:
Do you recall what it was appraised for?
GUEST:
I believe it was '97 in my mother's estate, they came up with a $22,000 figure.
APPRAISER:
Okay. That's a strong number for something like this, but it's certainly not out of the ordinary, and it's certainly in line with an insurance value in today's market. The market really has this big, big curve tied to the economy, and pieces like this, while the mounting affects it a little bit, if I were to see this come up for auction today, I would expect it to sell for between about $7,000 and $10,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
If it were being insured, I would expect an insurance value of closer to about $20,000 for it.
GUEST:
I gotcha.
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.
