Cast Iron Bust, ca. 1900
Watch
GUEST:
This belonged to my great-uncle. He was a physician by training here in New Jersey, and to get him through medical school, he would drive for wealthy families in Rhode Island. He would take them antiquing, and developed an eye for antiques. During the course of his professional life, he was a, an avid collector of paperweights and other fine arts. And one day, helping him clean out his garage, we came across this, it was wrapped in plastic in a bag. And I asked my uncle, "What is this?", and, "It's very interesting." And he's, like, "You can have it." We never went into detail about the piece. I have had it in my possession for about 30 years. I have looked online for stuff like this. In my opinion, it doesn't fall in the category of memorabilia. It feels different, it's quite heavy.
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
I could almost do curls.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
It's different to me. It doesn't look like a lot of the mass-produced... It doesn't look commercial.
APPRAISER:
It has a very elegant and refined presence. I talked to other appraisers, and we all thought that it was made in a foundry, for starters.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
There's no marks on it where it was put on an anvil and did any hand work with it with a hammer or anything like that. Have you ever heard the term "end of day"?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Well, "end of day" was used in a lot of manufacturing places-- glass, porcelain, foundries-- when they wouldn't be on the company time, and they would make things for their own amusement.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
That's one possibility.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The other possibility is, because there's a mortise joint here created by a slot, I wondered if it might have had some other piece that went under it, but that might just have been the way they terminated it, also. With the idea that it might be mounted as a piece of sculpture. It's a really wonderful piece of folk art. I would say that it is a cast-iron bust of a Black man, circa 1900. And I think it's American.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
If it's an end-of-day piece, then it could have been made as a whimsy by anyone.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
This is somebody that had skills, because they've had to make some kind of a model in order to create the mold, which opens the door that they possibly made more than one.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
His hair is painted black in the back. Can you see traces of that paint?
GUEST:
I, yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
And there's traces of red where his lips are, and you can see a little bit of traces of paint where his eyes are.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Some people would look at this, and think this is a racially stereotypical depiction of a Black man. What are your feelings about that?
GUEST:
I don't see that at all. You mentioned earlier the lips looked a little red. They look red. It could be rust, as well. I have thought and processed a lot of that, as well. When I look at this, I see a dignified Black man with a wide nose. We have wide noses. I see full lips. We have full lips. I see a dignified person. I don't see anything negative from it.
APPRAISER:
So what made you pick that out of your uncle's house?
GUEST:
I just feel something from it. It, it emanates some energy to me. It just resonates with me.
APPRAISER:
Conservatively, out there in the market, it probably would be in the $1,000 to $1,500 range.
GUEST:
Okay. That's awesome.
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.
