Ethiopian Christian Crosses Collection
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APPRAISER:
This is a collection of Ethiopian crosses. Tell us how you came to own this collection.
GUEST:
Well, I've acquired these over a period of years online.
APPRAISER:
Okay, and you said a couple of them came from a United Nations representative, or...
GUEST:
Three of them-- this one, this one, and that one-- came from a U.N. envoy. They were brought out of Ethiopia in the '70s.
APPRAISER:
Great, and you believe that those might be old, and the others you think are probably decorative?
GUEST:
The others... yes. These, possibly.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
These were from another collector, and they may be old, as well.
APPRAISER:
My first visit to Ethiopia was 1971.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
And they already had a cottage industry in these crosses. They did have some old small ones, and some of the handheld ones. But what we have here, and your total investment now is what, about $300?
GUEST:
Uh, between $300 and $400, yes.
APPRAISER:
Okay. The bad news is, we have a collection of all new ones.
GUEST Oh, they're all new?
APPRAISER:
They're all new.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And what we're going to look for when we hold them, you want to rub your fingers like this on the edges and see if they're sharp. If they're sharp, then that tells you they have not been handled.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And then stylistically, you want to see how tight the design is. This is a little crude. Oh, okay.
GUEST:
Okay?
APPRAISER:
And then the final thing is, you want to look along the shaft, where it would be held, and you want to see whether it has a change in patine. As you see, the patination is totally the same.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's not different.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And so therefore, it tells you right away, "This has not been held and used." Now, that's the bad news.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
The good news is that in the decorative market, the handheld ones can certainly go $100 to $150. And online and in some of the galleries I've seen, the processional crosses go up to $300.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
So you actually have a beautiful, decorative cross collection.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And you did very well.
GUEST:
Well, thank you.
APPRAISER:
Even though it wasn't exactly what you thought it was.
GUEST:
It's okay, I got them because they're beautiful.
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