Khlebnikov Russian Silver-gilt & Enamel Egg, ca. 1870
GUEST:
My grandma had given me this. She got it from her mother-in-law, who owned a restaurant in Bremen, Germany. And after the war, she would have people come in and just want to trade things for food. They just needed food more than they needed their things. She had acquired a lot of things over the years at that restaurant, and this was one of them. I know it's Russian. My grandmother had once translated it for me, and I know it says something about Christ being resurrected.
APPRAISER:
On the front it says, "Khristos Voskrese," which means "Christ has risen." Generally they would be given as Easter presents for Russian Orthodox Easter. It's silver and champlevé enamel. What you have here is a work by the firm of Khlebnikov.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Which is one of the real important names in Russian jewelry. Khlebnikov was an imperial court jeweler. They were very famous for being silversmiths, as well as working with enamel. And if we open it up, you'll see the gilt silver wash, and there's Russian silver hallmarks, which say "88." 88 is the silver purity.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And then it has a town mark, which is the town mark of Moscow. And it also has a maker's mark of Ivan Khlebnikov, "I. Kh." in the Russian initials. Now even though Ivan Khlebnikov was originally from Saint Petersburg, he moved and set up shop in Moscow in the 1870s. And he died around 1881. That is the time period. I would put an auction estimate of about $2,000 to $3,000 on it.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And I think that's conservative.
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.