French Cameo Glass Vase, ca. 1910
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GUEST:
I was a production designer in Hollywood, and one of the prop houses was going out of business about ten, 12 years ago, and they sold off, to art directors and production designers, some of the things that they had, if there was anything you particularly cared about. And I'd always liked this vase, and I'd used it in a couple of films and commercials that I'd done in that period. But I just love it-- I don't know a thing about it, except it says "Made in France" on the bottom.
APPRAISER:
All right-- what were some of the movies that you think it may have been used in? Or what did you use it in?
GUEST:
Well, I thought that it probably was from the '30s in Hollywood, when they were doing a lot of Art Deco sets-- RKO and Paramount. I used it in commercials and... I think I might have used it in "Volcano," I'm not sure, the last time.
APPRAISER:
So you were the art director on "Volcano"?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Interesting. How much did you pay for this thing?
GUEST:
I got it for $35.
APPRAISER:
$35.
GUEST:
I thought that was fair price.
APPRAISER:
That's interesting. Do you know any of the history? You say you've noticed on the bottom that it's made in France. What else do we know about it?
GUEST:
Is it all right to pick it up?
APPRAISER:
Of course, yeah, let's turn it over. Let's be careful, and we'll roll this around.
GUEST:
It had some other numbers that were identifying numbers for the prop house.
APPRAISER:
All right. Let me tell you what we have here. This is a piece of hand-carved glass. It's cased glass, there's a clear body, and it's been cased with a pink, mottled pink cover over the top of it. The pattern was cut away. The value of a vase like this-- you paid $35 for it, that's pretty good. At auction, a vase like this with that particular history would go for $3,000 to $3,500.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Really. (laughs) So you did very well on your $35.
GUEST:
No wonder they went out of business.
APPRAISER:
Yes, if they were charging $35.
GUEST:
Oh, that's wonderful.
APPRAISER:
Thank you very much for bringing it in, it's really our pleasure for having it.
GUEST:
Thank you, Don-- I appreciate it.
APPRAISER:
Thank you.
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