Evgeny Naps Bronze, ca. 1882
Watch
GUEST:
It was originally purchased by my grandfather somewhere between 1920 and 1970. He was an avid collector, and he had a large home, where he just, it was like a museum. He died in 1972. My father at the time wanted a bunch of things, so he bought a variety of antiques from the estate. He passed away in 2017, and I inherited it from him. I told him if he ever decided to sell it, I want first dibs at it, just like he did.
APPRAISER:
This is a bronze by the Russian artist Evgeny Naps. It was cast in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Woerffel Foundry, and it's believed to have been cast circa 1882. That's one of the earliest known castings and believed to have been
reproduced over probably a ten-year period following that, so 1882 to 1892. He was an elusive artist, and there is no biography for him. Because there's no information, there's been some speculation that it was another artist, Lanceray, who was very well-known.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
He was in a, purportedly a very restrictive contract with the Chopin foundry. And there are some suggestions that possibly he was working under a pseudonym at a different foundry, um, to be able to...
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
...produce more varied works. So this is a really well-defined scene here. We've got this bear coming on a child, the mother, presumably, standing, wielding an ax to protect her young.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And really, everything about it is just really finely done. The title for this bronze is a little unclear. There's no written record. It's sometimes called "The Bear Attack."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And it's sometimes referred to as "Defending Her Child." In the 19th century, there was a real interest in sort of a national style. You see lots of winter scenes.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Troika sleds, Cossacks on horseback, animals. These sort of scenes that were really helping with the folklore of what the, the Russian culture was like. And St. Petersburg at the time was a very cosmopolitan and international city, producing these, and much were going to the West. So do you have any sense of what a value might be?
GUEST:
In 1980, there was an appraisal done for $5,000.
APPRAISER:
The size of this is really large. Most of the bronzes that we see on the market are smaller than those. For Russian artists of this period, tend to sell about between $1,500 and $5,000.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
If I were to estimate this for auction, I would say between $20,000 and $30,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Unfortunately, I'll never see it. This is never leaving the house.
APPRAISER:
(chuckles)
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.
