Solon Borglum Bronze, ca. 1900
GUEST:
We got it from my husband's aunt in Washington, D.C., probably the early 1950s.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. And you tell me your husband liked it more than you did.
GUEST:
That's right, we used to argue about whether it would go on the mantelpiece in the living room or a less conspicuous spot.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. Well, you've really come in with a great piece of sculpture. This is by an American artist named Solon Borglum. He was a brother of Gutzon Borglum, who was the famous sculptor of Mount Rushmore. And he studied in Cincinnati at the Art Academy there, and he also studied in Paris with Emmanuel Fremiet, who was one of the leading sculptors of the time. He was very successful, he exhibited quite extensively. There were a lot of artists at this time who did Western subject matters. There was Proctor, Charles Marion Russell. And this was a wonderful piece called "The Blizzard." And what we see here is this cowboy huddled against his horse. You get this wonderful feeling for movement. And what's interesting about Borglum is he was actually out West. A lot of the other sculptors had studios in New York, and they really didn't have that first-hand experience of Western life. So it's really a quite wonderful piece. It's beautifully cast. The artist has signed it here. You can see "Solon Borglum" right here on the side. And this is overall green patina which I think is very, very attractive. And we actually had another version of this come up a few years ago, and it brought $8,000.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
I would give this an auction estimate of between $8,000 and $10,000.
GUEST:
Great.
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.