1894 Early Tiffany Glass Bowl
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GUEST:
My husband gave this to me for Christmas, 1978. And he bought it as a Tiffany, and I was wonderfully happy until I started watching Roadshow, and this was not like any other Tiffany bowl. He went back to the same dealer that he bought it from, and she said, "If I said it's a Tiffany, it's a Tiffany." In 1999, we went to Roadshow in Des Moines, and I took the bowl. And they confirmed that it is a Tiffany, 1894-1895, and valued it at $2,500 to $4,000. Then when I decided to downsize, I took it back to the dealer that my husband bought it from, and she said, "That's not a Tiffany, and I never would have said it's a Tiffany." And I want to know, is it or isn't it?
APPRAISER:
So that's why you're here today.
GUEST:
That's why I'm here today.
APPRAISER:
Well... It is.
(both laughing)
GUEST:
Oh, I'm so glad, because she said, "Well, that just shows you that those people on Roadshow don't know what they're talking about."
APPRAISER:
Ah, but we do.
GUEST:
You do.
APPRAISER:
And something very near and dear to my heart is Tiffany.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
And you're right, and we must have told you back then that it was made around 1894, 1895. And this coloration, you don't see this after 1900. And actually, it's very prized by collectors. And it's a little esoteric, and yes, it doesn't look like the blue and the gold iridescent that is so recognizable, or the paperweight vases, or the jack in the pulpits, but this is very special. And they made it for a very short period of time. So I'm really happy you brought it back to us so we could tell you again. And, um… in today's market, it's gone up since the last time you were here. It's now worth $4,000 to $5,000 in a retail shop.
GUEST:
Wonderful, thank you.
APPRAISER:
You're very welcome.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
My pleasure.
GUEST:
Can I hug you?
APPRAISER:
Of course!
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.
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