Reproduction Seated Chinesco Statue
Watch
GUEST:
I was visiting an Asian store in my neighborhood that sells mostly mahjong stuff and Asian things. And I saw this and thought, "That looks kind of out of place." So I went to the owner, who I knew, and I said, "What's this thing doing here?" She said, "Somebody dropped it off, said sell it." I said, "I want it." She said, "How much you want to pay for it?" I said, "Well, $30." She said, "Let me call the owner." She called the owner, "Sell it." That's how I got it.
APPRAISER:
Wow, and what year...
GUEST:
About five or six years ago.
APPRAISER:
Five or six years ago.
GUEST:
Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER:
This is actually from the state of Nayarit in west Mexico, a place called Chinesco. And this is everything that we want to see in a large west Mexican piece. Now what we have to do is figure out whether it's real or not. If we look at the overall style, the overall configuration, it's pretty good. The way it's hunched over, that's accurate. The shape of the head, that's okay. When we start getting to the paint, we got a little bit of a problem. The paint on the face is not quite right. The nose and the little nose ring, that's okay. The eyes are a little bit strange. So this is a red flag for us. Unfortunately, that means it's a reproduction.
GUEST:
Ah, okay.
APPRAISER:
And... but, as a reproduction, it's a big, impressive piece. And even on the decorative market, I would put a value of $300 to $500.
GUEST:
That's a good return for $30.
APPRAISER:
Now do you want the bad news?
GUEST:
Yeah, go ahead.
APPRAISER:
What do you think it might have been worth if it were real?
GUEST:
Well, that's probably more like $20,000, $30,000 or something.
APPRAISER:
You're close. How about $30,000 to $50,000?
GUEST:
Wow.
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.
