Chinese Hardwood & Bronze Censer, ca. 1700
Watch
GUEST:
My mom calls it an incense burner. I'm not sure if that's what it is. Her aunt gave it to her. Her aunt used to display cut flowers in it. And then my mom used to just keep matchbooks in it. I believe it's Chinese because there's characters on the bottom. She used to put a little top on there because she thought there was something missing, but maybe it was made that way, I'm not sure.
APPRAISER:
Okay. The top is a Chinese hardwood, more than likely a hongmu. There's a qiulong dragon, so these are coiled dragons around the top. And they descend into a celestial cloud. It would have a wonderful visual impact when incense is issuing from the censer. You're quite right in saying that there's something missing. The circular cavity would have been filled by more than likely a semi-precious stone. This is a large censer. Most are five and a half to eight inches. This is going to be around ten, ten and a half inches in diameter. Was there often a desire in the home to polish objects or clean objects?
GUEST:
Well, my mom might have polished it, I'm not sure.
APPRAISER:
It has been polished.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The patina of censers with age is often more of a coffee brown. So a black, handled, rich patina, comparable to the cover. And you mentioned you observed some marks?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
"Great Ming Xuande" is a reign mark. And it dates from 1425. It also states that it was made by the Wu family. It says it was made in the fifth year of Xuande, which would make it 1430.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
However, it doesn't date from 1430.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This dates from the 17th to 18th century.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And it was typical that the vast majority, 99.9% of Xuande marks-- so 15th century marked bronzeware-- was done in the 17th and 18th century.
GUEST:
Okay. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
They continued to put Xuande marks on bronze and metalwork up until the 19th and 20th century.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
The reason I know this piece to be from the 17th and 18th century, rather than one of the later examples-- the 19th and 20th century-- is its weight. It's a sturdy, robust weight-- it's very heavy. So a great deal of bronze went into this, it was well-cast. It's all very finely done. Now we tip it over and we see a wonderful interior. So this has been beaten up, things have been in it. This is what we look for when we look at 17th, 18th century, late Ming, early Qing censers. In its current state, cleaned with a 20th century patina, frankly, it would have a retail value of $7,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that's awesome. (laughs) I had no idea. That's amazing.
APPRAISER:
Uncleaned with a good, rich, handheld, hand-manipulated for centuries patina, it would likely have a retail value of about $15,000.
GUEST:
Wow. And I probably was made to clean it as a kid.
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.
