New Mexico Pueblo Water Pitcher, ca. 1880
GUEST:
My grandfather, who worked for the Norfolk and Western railroad for years, was a major collector of antiques as well as Native American art. He's had this piece ever since I can remember. So when he passed away, I wound up with this piece and have had it for, well, probably at least 20 years.
APPRAISER:
How long do you think your granddad had it?
GUEST:
He probably had it at least 60 years or better.
APPRAISER:
This was made in New Mexico, right along the northern Rio Grande River. The tribal attribution is either Cochiti or Santo Domingo Pueblo. This is a water pitcher. The figure is a bird, kind of with pop-eyes and a big beak. And Native people associate themselves with the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom. And so this bird, in a certain sense, would be an emissary to the upper world. In the upper world, where we have clouds, we have rain, so there's sort of a form and function here. You have a water pitcher in the shape of a bird, which is unusual. The bird brings our prayers, our imprecations up to the heavens. They're flying amongst these geometric devices which represent clouds. And you'll notice they're pointing down. All of these streaks with these little white dashes in them represent raindrops. And then the harbinger of rain, of course, is lightning. There's a lightning bolt coming from the upper world down to earth. There's something really fascinating going on along the bottom. These are deer. The procreation of, of animal life, of human life, it all depends upon agriculture.
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
So, so the deer are waiting for the grass to grow. But every one of these deer are looking skyward. I just think that's such a fantastic element to this pot.
GUEST:
Ah. I had not noticed that, but you're right.
APPRAISER:
And then this last little character with that whimsical, wagging tail, that may well be a dog. Dogs are exceedingly important in tribal culture. Dogs are known as, as the first companion of man. It's all incorporated into this complex of rainfall, agriculture, life. These are all sacred images. So that's very, very important to the tribe. I don't believe that this was made for Native use. I believe it was made as a trade item. But the imagery is ancient, goes back a thousand years in the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona. Traditional Native American pottery tended to be purely for function. The only Pueblo pottery that was made in a figural way or, or with a, a sculptural embellishment might have been for ceremonial functions, w-which this is not. This is made to appeal to a non-Native buyer.
GUEST:
Any idea when that cottage industry might have started?
APPRAISER:
Second half of the 19th century,
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
and I would say in New Mexico, 1850 to 1870. I think I would date this 1870 to 1890. And Pueblo life in New Mexico in the last quarter
of the 19th century was... hadn't changed too much. There weren't automobiles running around the Pueblo. These people were living in very much the same fashion as their ancestors did a thousand years earlier, and, and they maintained this way of life-- it was sacred. The handle shows a tremendous amount of wear, so it was actually utilized as a water vessel. This is, uh, ceramic, obviously, it's handmade. The clay is a naturally harvested clay. Probably within a hundred yards of where the lady lived, she would have had her own little clay pit. There's a lot of craquelure all along the paint, and that would be a, an indication of its age. I would say, on a retail basis, this would be worth approximately $6,500.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow. Thank you, my gosh. This was not something I was expecting for certain.
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.