1897 Presentation Punch Bowl
APPRAISER:
This came down through your family. Am I correct?
GUEST:
Indeed.
APPRAISER:
And tell me a little about the gentleman who this was presented to originally.
GUEST:
William Barton Mallory, my grandfather, was first war captain of the Charlottesville, Virginia Monticello Guards. It was a military operation that was started in 1857. This was presented to him in 1897 as a thank-you for, uh, having served in that time. This was presented to him in Nashville at a reunion.
APPRAISER:
Okay, the punch bowl has traditionally been given as a presentation, as an item of honor, to your grandfather in this case. And it's a fabulous-looking punch bowl. First of all the bowl itself, by the way, is French. It was made in Limoges in France in the 1890s for presentation in 1897. All of the... what we call the reserves on this beautiful ground tell you something about its history. This reserve with the inscription in it tells you about your grandfather receiving it and where and when and so on. It's decorated with flags of the Confederacy-- the first and the second Confederate flag. It's decorated with this fabulous historic image, which is the symbol of Virginia. And there's a scene there of Confederate artillery, in fact, not infantry, charging through one of their battles, and the Confederate battle flag is on there, too. And inside are the names of all the battles that these guys fought in during the Civil War. They were pretty active, including, of course, the great Battle of Gettysburg. You can see the names of the battles there, and they did not do well at Gettysburg, as I understand it. I spoke to my colleague Chris Mitchell over at the Arms and Armor desk, and he was telling me that the majority of these guys were killed...
GUEST:
They were, in Pickett's Charge.
APPRAISER:
So the survivors had something very special to drink to in 1897. Now, the Civil War memorabilia of this quality is especially valuable. However, what's going to hold us back a little bit is that it's a veterans' piece. It was made over 40 years after the war, made for a reunion. It's still an extraordinary object, but veterans' items don't have the same cachet and the same value as something made, presented during the war or right immediately afterwards. My feeling is if it came up at auction, if two people really want it, we could see it bring $10,000 or $15,000.
GUEST:
Very nice.
APPRAISER:
Although I'm sure you're never going to sell it…
GUEST:
No, I don't think so.
APPRAISER:
…never in your life. It's a great thing.
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.
