Elkington & Co. Milton Shield Model, ca. 1868
Watch
GUEST:
This is a shield that's been hanging in my dining room. My husband and I, his mother was an avid antique collector, and she passed away, and after she passed, we found this in the attic, probably around 1999. And my husband thought it was really cool, and so we hung it in our dining room. He has since passed away, but it was something that he very much adored. He loved "ROADSHOW." This was one thing that he always talked about, whenever we thought about things that we would bring if we ever got a chance to go to the "Roadshow."
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
He always said that he would bring this shield.
APPRAISER:
So it's very special.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's, um, a sil, electroplated silver shield. It's made by Elkington and Company out of Birmingham, England. They sort of were on the forefront of the electroplating process. It's a thin, thin layer of silver over a, a base metal, and it was designed by LŽonard Morel-Ladeuil. He was a French artist, he died in 1888. But he designed the shield having in mind that he was going to design it for the 1867 Paris Exhibition, where it did win a gold medal. And after that, the gold medal and the shield, or the original shield, which was in silver, in sterling, are now at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
After that, the Elkington Company produced many replicas and sold them. They were replicas in electroplate. So on the front, after the artist signature, it's dated 1866. Copies of these were sold after 1867, and this is one of those copies. It was purely promotional to help them sell their more everyday wares that they made. This is called the, the Milton Shield because the imagery that inspired this by th, by the sculptor was John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost." In the middle, you've got the angel Raphael and Adam and Eve, you know, being cast out. And they were made for purely decorative purposes. They come up at auction in varying degrees of condition, and they consistently bring around $4,000 to $6,000 at auction.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow-- well, 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.
