1898 Maria Longworth Storer Bronze Vase Base
GUEST:
I inherited it from my mother-in-law, who got it from a lady who said that it was from Louisiana. It was a crystal ball stand. There's moonstone and jade and agate and cat's-eye. They're all protective stones-- they all have a meaning.
APPRAISER:
It's really a very, very unusual piece and it's very, very rare. This is actually by Maria Longworth Storer. She was one of the founders of the Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati in the 1880s. And Rookwood went on to be one of the most prominent of the art pottery makers in the United States. Rookwood exhibited widely throughout the end of the 19th century and is in museums in this country as well as in Europe. And later in her life she started to do these bronzes. The piece you have here has this wonderful head of Medusa on it. It has snakes and has this octopus and it's actually signed here on the base "M.L.S." and it's dated '98. And what it is... it's actually the base for a vase. She also did the vases with wonderful iridescent and lustrous glazes on them. The piece itself was done in the lost-wax technique and what she did when she made this is she had a block of wax and she would have carved the piece out of wax. Then the piece itself was covered with a sort of... something called an "investment"-- it's almost like a plaster. Then they take it and they put it in the oven and bake it and the wax runs out of the mold. That's why it's called "lost wax." So the wax runs out of the mold and leaves this open space. Then they take the mold and they turn it upside down and they pour bronze into it. And the bronze falls into all the openings where the wax was, and that's what makes it unique because it's only made from that one wax carving. So this is a unique piece. Do you have any idea of the value of it?
GUEST:
No, I don't.
APPRAISER:
Well, just as the base to a vase and considering its rarity and the interest in Rookwood, it's probably worth between $3,000 and $5,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow! All right, I like that.
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.
