Fake E.W. Wyon Plaques
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GUEST:
We were at an auction and we found this one, my daughter and I, and it's
APPRAISER:
Okay
GUEST:
by E.W. Wyon.
APPRAISER:
There's a signature down here.
GUEST:
Yeah, he designed and sculpted this in 1848.
APPRAISER:
Okay
GUEST:
And about seven months later, we went to another auction, and we found this one by the same man. It's designed by someone different, which I can't really make out, and it is sculpted by E.W. Wyon also. And we did some research on E.W. Wyon.
APPRAISER:
And what did you come up with?
GUEST:
Well, we found that he was of the Wyon dynasty
APPRAISER:
Ah-huh
GUEST:
That did the coinage for the English mint.
APPRAISER:
AH-huh
GUEST:
Now E.W., Edward William, was from 1811 to 1885. Two years after he did these, he went to work for Wedgwood. And this was during Wedgwood's coming alive.
APPRAISER:
Yes, Did you pay a lot of money for them?
GUEST:
No, the original one, the one that's in the full frame, was... I think she paid about $85 for it.
APPRAISER:
$85, okay.
GUEST:
This one, when we saw it, it cost us $200. And it's a smaller frame, but we wanted it to go along with the other one.
APPRAISER:
If in fact these were by Wyon and they were 19th century sculptures or plaques, they would be worth quite a bit of money-- at least thousands, rather than the hundreds you paid for them. But, however, they're not 19th century.
GUEST:
All right.
APPRAISER:
They're basically brand-new plaques that are being reproduced in England and elsewhere. And it's a reproduction of a 19th-century look, very, very nicely done. But, some of the points to remember on this is that these are not carved marble, but stone composition that is pressed and then subsequently carved in some places, okay?
GUEST:
All right
APPRAISER:
And then the back here, there's a little implant to make it look, again, like an impression on a marble piece from the 19th century. The back of the frame is washed to make it look older. This one, same composition, stone item pressed and then some carving with a older looking frame, gilt frame, and then the verso here says, "Carvers and Gilders, Picture Makers & Restorers, England," with a wash to make it look old. Everything here is made to have these things look older than they really are.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So basically, what you paid-- $85 for this-- is a fairly good market rate for it. $200 for that, maybe a little strong, but not a great deal over the price that you should have been paying. But they're nice items, good decorative things. They look like they're 19th century, but they're basically brand-new.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Okay?
GUEST:
We still enjoy them. (laughs)
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