1882 Victor Chemin Bronze Hound & Hare
GUEST:
I was coming back from eight years of Navy assignments back to my home here in Virginia Beach. My tenant was moving out. He said, "I have this lovely statue that's in the yard here. Would you like to buy it from me?" And I love dogs, and I said, "Yes, I'd love to have it. What would you like me to pay for it?" He said, "Well, you can have it for $2,000." And this was in 1990, and we've had it ever since in the yard. I don't know anything about the artist, really, but there is an inscription on the base here. It says that it won a prize, a gold medal, in France in 1882. So obviously, it's been around a while. But it doesn't really tell you anything else. At least, I haven't been able to find anything. I sent some pictures to a gallery in New York, and I was informed that there were two other identical statues in the United States, and that one had sold for $14,000. And that the second one, which actually was located at Hyde Park, the Roosevelt home on the Hudson, and it had sold for $40,000. And I'm sure a lot of that was due to the Roosevelt name.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's quite wonderful. So you're right, in the front, it has the artist's name, so it's Victor Chemin. And he was a French artist working in Paris. He was born in 1825 and died in 1901. And was pretty active. So he entered this model in a salon in 1882. He exhibited in salons for nearly 40 years. So he was a very busy man. He tended to work more with domestic animals and more pleasing, less ferocious scenes. It has a very green patina. Obviously it's been outside for a long time.
GUEST:
Is that something that harms it, having been outside?
APPRAISER:
It changes the surface, the chemistry of the surface.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The other examples that I've been able to find that have come up have had similar. It's a little bit large to put inside your living room.
GUEST (laughing): Well, that's, that is a problem.
APPRAISER:
So provenance plays a big role of sometimes in what things ultimately sell for. So who owned something may be as important or more important than what it is.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
There are very few examples that have come up, at least recorded on the market. I didn't find the version from Hyde Park. There's another version with good provenance, so I think there may be a little... a little combination of stories. But if I had to provide an auction estimate in today's market, I would say between $20,000 and $30,000.
GUEST:
Thank you very much. That's amazing, really. It's a fantastic piece. Terrific, thank you.
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.