Contemporary West African Figures
GUEST:
Well, I have a girlfriend that knows that I collect primitive pieces, and she was moving-- these had been left behind by her landlord in her house-- she didn't want them anymore. What I didn't know was that they were full of little crunchy-munchy bugs inside them. I got them to my house and heard all this chewing noise and quickly rushed them outside and doused them with insecticide. And then started doing some research, trying to figure out what they were and what the history was on them.
APPRAISER:
And what did your research lead you to believe?
GUEST:
Well, the first thing I did was take it to the museum, and I ran into a gentleman from Nigeria who told me that I was a very rich woman, that these were from Africa.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And I went from there downtown to the library and did some research. The closest thing I could come up with was a tribe on the African coast called the Dogon. These are tribal deity figures. They're much larger than you would normally find.
APPRAISER:
Okay. And what do you think they're worth?
GUEST:
Well, the Nigerian said $100,000.
APPRAISER:
You want to believe that, don't you?
GUEST:
(laughs) Sure!
APPRAISER:
Okay, let's look at these pieces for a minute. Now, first of all, as you very correctly said, objects like this probably would be more in this size-- that's how big they should be. These are much larger, and what they are, are classic examples of how the Africans, when they're carving for the Western market, tend to make things bigger, okay? These pieces are contemporary. We have a decorative market in African art, and we have a traditional market. These are decorative, and all of the features are exaggerated.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And I can tell you now, as contemporary pieces, they're not valued on the fine art market, they'd be valued on the decorative market. And these, in their present condition, which is a little bit rough with the cracks and the breaks, these things would each be worth, in the decorative market, $1,000 to $1,500 maximum.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Maybe a little bit less because of the condition problems. I'm sorry your Nigerian was a little off, because I know you'd prefer $100,000 over $2,000.
GUEST:
(laughs) Oh, yes, I wanted to be rich.
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.
