Cow Horn Settee, ca. 1990
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GUEST:
I went to a local auction, just walked in, and it caught my eye. They told us after the auction that it came out of a museum in Texas.
APPRAISER:
A museum in Texas, okay.
GUEST:
So I don't know, that's all I know about it.
APPRAISER:
You bought this at auction about how long ago?
GUEST:
We purchased it probably three years ago.
APPRAISER:
It's a very exciting object, visually. Lots of people have been walking by, and I have to say, almost no one can walk by without looking and having something to say about it, because it is... it's such an over-the-top object. Horn chairs and horn furniture like this, the genesis of that style is in the late 19th century. In the 1870s, and really by the 1880s, there was a great fad for this kind of furniture. And it was being made in Texas, as you might imagine, but also in St. Louis and Kansas and Chicago and even in Massachusetts. They were shipping these horns around because there was...there was real popularity for it. It was really the time of the Wild West. And the object is very evocative of that kind of feeling. Where does it live in your house?
GUEST:
Our home's very eclectic, so it just fits right in.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
Very eclectic home.
APPRAISER:
So you don't have a Western theme going?
GUEST:
No, no theme.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, the horns are steer horns. Originally, these often had cowhide seats, but also different kinds of fabric seats. You've got leather on here. It's sort of a fun mix of faux alligator in a couple different colors, deer skin here, and lots and lots of steer horns. Now, is it comfortable? Do you sit in it?
GUEST:
Yes, it is, actually, we do use it.
APPRAISER:
Do you?
GUEST:
Yes, yes. There are actually four other horn chairs, and we use it as, like, a dining set.
APPRAISER:
Oh, that's great.
GUEST:
So it's fun.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Have steak probably... (both laugh) So I guess there's good news and bad news here, in a way. The good news is, you bought a terrifically eye-catching, snappy object, and in the market right now, the things that people gravitate to are things like this, that have great visual appeal and great presence. But the piece itself is not very old. It could well have come from a museum in Texas, but I don't know if... It would be a "museum" in quotes, I think. I think it was made probably in the last 20 or 30 years.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I've never seen a period chaise or settee like this. They could have made them, but chairs were really the most popular form. Now, what did you pay for it?
GUEST:
I think we paid $3,000, maybe.
APPRAISER:
Okay, okay, well, I think at auction, I would expect it to have an estimate maybe in the $2,000 to $3,000 range.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
You know, I'd ask the viewers out there, "Would you have this in your living room?"
Appraisal Details
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