19th-Century English Epergne
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GUEST:
Well, this piece is in the family and it was inherited down. We don't know much about it, we just know it's very unique. It sits on a table in my aunt's house and we all admire it just because of the uniqueness of it. We've never seen nothing like it.
APPRAISER:
Okay, and so you take pretty good care of it, then?
GUEST:
Well, we make sure no kids hit it or nothing but we've been scared to kind of clean it because we don't know what to clean without getting in trouble.
APPRAISER:
And have you heard theories about cleaning things, or...?
GUEST:
Oh, yes. We watch this ANTIQUES ROADSHOW all the time. And so we know not to take the special patina off of the item, so...
APPRAISER:
So, you're very careful.
GUEST:
Very careful.
APPRAISER:
Well, what you have here is a 19th century epergne, and that's a little bit fancy name for a flower vase and sweetmeat container. This lifts out and the flowers go in the top. And then some type of sweetmeat in the center part of the piece. This piece, in the condition it's in, has much lesser value than if you do clean this piece. This is a piece you would take to a professional silversmith and have them work on it, and it isn't a lot of work. It's basically a good cleaning.
GUEST:
Yes, ma'am.
APPRAISER:
They are very careful with the patina, so you wouldn't lose the natural patina. You also noticed on here a certain mark?
GUEST:
Yes, ma'am. On the swan and underneath the swan.
APPRAISER:
And under the swan. And because we haven't taken this apart, we did try with a magnifying glass, but couldn't exactly see it all. So that mark will show up when you take it in for the cleaning process. The swans on the bottom are extremely rare. Has a little bit of damage around the top, which hurts it a little bit, but given that, in good condition, which, again, would not be a big project. I presume there's a silversmith in the area.
GUEST:
Well, probably near us. We live in a little small town.
APPRAISER:
Well, definitely take it to a silversmith and then you would have a piece that's in the $2,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, no kidding! Oh, man!
APPRAISER:
So, a nice present, and I do thank you very much.
GUEST:
Thank you! I'm having a blast.
APPRAISER:
Oh, great.
GUEST:
Are you serious about that?
APPRAISER:
Yes, I sure am. I sure am.
GUEST:
It's that old?
APPRAISER:
Yes, it's a wonderful piece.
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.
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