Hopi Pot attributed to Nampeyo, ca. 1900
GUEST:
My aunt had gone out to the trading post to visit a friend. As she was leaving, she saw this pot sitting on the porch. And so she asked her friend, the trading post owner's wife, if she could buy the pot. She said, "Oh, that old thing, you can have it." So she took it.
APPRAISER:
So that was the Mike Kirk?
GUEST:
Mike Kirk's, his wife, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Trading post, and they were in Manuelito, New Mexico.
GUEST:
Yes. She had no idea who the maker was. So she had it all those years. They were having a dinner party one night, and members from the university were there, and they told her. And she immediately got really interested in it to find out some more about it.
APPRAISER:
Did the people from the university identify the maker to her?
GUEST:
The daughter came and identified it and signed it.
APPRAISER:
It was made by Nampeyo, who was the matriarch of Hopi pottery...
GUEST:
Yes, yes I understand.
APPRAISER:
...in the modern age. Nampeyo was born about 1856, and she passed in the 1940s. If I had seen it without any information like you've shared, this glorious information you're sharing, I would have placed it about 1890s, 1910 time period.
GUEST:
Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
Nampeyo's daughter, Fannie Nampeyo, was a very important piece of the picture, because around the 1920s, as Nampeyo started to lose her sight, she would still form the pots, but Fannie and her husband would help do the decoration of the pots. On today's auction marketplace, this pot would sell for between $30,000 and $50,000.
GUEST:
(gasps) Really? I love it even more.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. You gasped.
GUEST:
My goodness.
APPRAISER:
Did that take you by surprise?
GUEST:
Yes, it did.
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.