Luristan Whetstone with Bronze Ibex Finial
Watch
GUEST:
My mother bought it here in New York City 55 years ago. It was described to her as a leaping ibex sharpening stone from what is now northwestern Iran-- Luristan was the way it was described-- and that it was from the second millennium B.C. And that is really all I know, except that we've all looked at it on my mother's mantelpiece for more than half a century and loved it, and I'm curious really about its age.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well the age is the second millennium is absolutely right. The Luristan period is from about 1250 to about 500 B.C., and they were prolific manufacturers of bronze. This is a wonderful object. The regular soldiers and regular people of the day, all of whom would carry a knife for a weapon, would just carry the whetstone, and this is the whetstone, the stone part, to sharpen the knife with. And the elite would probably have them with this special handle. This is indeed an ibex on it. Very unusual to find the two together. Do you have any idea what it's worth?
GUEST:
I have no idea. My mother paid $400 for it in 1959.
APPRAISER:
So a guess?
GUEST:
I assume, allowing for inflation, it's got to be worth at least $1,500 today, but I really don't know.
APPRAISER:
I think in today's market, a good retail price would be between $3,000 and $5,000, so I think that's quite good.
GUEST:
Well, probably fortunate I didn't know how to use it. It's never been touched for a long, long time.
APPRAISER:
Right.
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.
