Gold & Enamel Singing Bird Box
Watch
APPRAISER:
When I first saw this, I got a real thrill because when I see boxes like this, you know what the first word that comes to my mind is? Fabergé. Now we should open this up, because when I opened it up initially, I was slightly disappointed because I didn't see Fabergé, but I did see something else. You can tell me where you got this box.
GUEST:
I bought it from a dealer in Florida. At the time, he had three of these and he wanted to keep two of them and didn't like this one. He thought it was kind of ugly.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a very interesting lid. We can take the box out... put it on the table. And this is what we call, when we set it off... (bird chirping) ...a singing bird box. Now, this is a kind of music box that was made in Switzerland, but what's interesting about this is the outer box that it comes in, and that says "Hammer Galleries," and that refers to the famous American industrialist Armand Hammer, who was amongst the first people to bring treasures out of Russia after the Russian revolution. Now, what's very interesting about this is the lid that you mentioned. It's a rather wild-looking character and if I let my imagination go wild, I'd say that's probably Rasputin. But what's interesting mainly is the fact that that lid didn't start life on that box. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. Probably when this box was new, it had a bouquet of flowers, a scene of Geneva, something like that. It's enamel. It probably got broken, and it was replaced with a Russian character and it was sold as a czarist treasure. Now, don't look so disappointed at me right now because even so, a box like this is still quite a valuable object. And even with the lid the way it is-- and this was probably done 75, 80 years ago-- it's probably still a $10,000 to $15,000 box. Still quite special and quite a wonderful object and I'm really delighted that you brought it here.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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.
