Meiji Shodana, ca. 1890
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GUEST:
My wife and I were in Japan during the occupation.
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
And she is a born shopper with exquisite taste. And we were on the Ginza and she saw this piece and wanted it. It was supposed to be an antique from a baron's estate. And so we ended up acquiring it after a little bit of bargaining.
APPRAISER:
Did you live there for a while?
GUEST:
Yes, we did.
APPRAISER:
How long?
GUEST:
We lived there three years.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And I did 30 years with the military, so this traveled with us all over the world, and most states.
APPRAISER:
What first attracted me when I saw it was first of all the quality of the lacquer work and the condition. Oftentimes you can find pieces like this that have exquisite lacquer work, but are beat up through moving it around from place to place. So, you've taken wonderful care of it.
GUEST:
I've always felt it was a museum piece.
APPRAISER:
Well, this is called a shodana, or a chigaidansu. And it's meant to store tea ceremony implements in the home of a high-level official or a baron. Okay? This piece was executed in the Meiji period, between 1868 and 1911. Probably in... near the Kyoto region, around 1890 or so. This raised lacquer design is called takamakie, and it has a high gold content. You can see many of these that are rendered that are a little weaker in the gold color. This really shines brilliantly. The quality of the workmanship of this piece is really remarkable, and plus, you add that to the symbolism, which is long life, and the landscapes are beautifully rendered. What do you think it's worth? Do you have any idea?
GUEST:
I have no idea. I know it's too beautiful to damage, and I've taken very good care of it. And the symbolism works, because I'm... I'm going on 82, so...
APPRAISER:
Yes, it's probably stood you in good stead over the years. This piece would bring probably between $10,000 to $15,000 at auction.
GUEST:
Is that all?
APPRAISER:
Is that all? That's quite a bit. If you kept it to insure it, you probably should insure it for about $25,000. It's a wonderful, wonderful piece. It's really exquisite workmanship.
GUEST:
Yes. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Thank you very much for bringing it in today.
GUEST:
My pleasure.
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."
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