James Prestini Mahogany Bowl, ca. 1945
Watch
GUEST:
So, I was on a garage sale trip and I found it in Dallas about 20 years ago. Yeah, it's been sitting on my shelf ever since.
APPRAISER:
And what drew you to it at that garage sale?
GUEST:
I think I really love the color of it, how light it was and how thin the wood is, and I just love the shape. It's got a little bit of a mid-century modern feel to it.
APPRAISER:
So what do you know about who made this bowl?
GUEST:
So I looked it up online, and there's a, I think, a mark at the bottom, and I just knew a little bit about the artist, but really not very much. That's why I'm here.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, the bowl is marked on the underside with a pressed mark, "Prestini."
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
I like to think that's from the Italian branch of my family, the Prestons, that changed their name. I'm just kidding, not really. James Prestini was born to Italian immigrant parents in Connecticut in 1908, and it was while working as a caddie at a local golf course that he met Thomas Watson Sr. of IBM.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
And Watson enabled Prestini to attend Yale. So Prestini got a degree from Yale in mechanical engineering and then went back and got a second degree in education, and that's how he ended up as a teacher of mathematics in suburban Chicago.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And it was while teaching at the school that he taught a class on woodworking, basically wood shop.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
And so he started turning wood bowls, wood trays, cups, plates. And he really discovered this artistic side he didn't know he had. Up to this time, he'd been an engineer and a mathematician.
GUEST:
Isn't that interesting.
APPRAISER:
But he feels this burgeoning artistry, and he's expressing it with these amazingly thin turned wood bowls. It is a wood bowl, yet it has the thinness and
fineness of something glass or the finest porcelain, even. He was turning these bowls and other items throughout the period, basically 20 years running from 1933 to 1953, but this bowl is actually after 1938. We know this isn't from those first five years because it's the pressed mark that we have under this bowl that tells us this is after '38.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
You actually, I think, did pretty well buying this at a garage sale for $20.
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
Because if this came up at auction in the venue of a specialized 20th century design auction house, I think it would sell for between $4,000 and $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow! Wow. But I really just love the bowl. It's not even the value, right? It's just so beautiful, I love just looking at it.
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.
