Antiques Roadshow To Feature First Million-Dollar Appraisal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 30th 2009 at 2:02PM

It's not that often you see "Antiques Roadshow" in the news but this week both the version here in the U.S. and the one in England have big news to report. The U.S. version will be featuring a $1 million appraisal in the new season which starts next January on PBS.

A woman brought four pieces of carved Chinese Jade that she inherited to a Roadshow event in Raleigh, North Carolina over the weekend. The pieces of carved jade and celadon dated from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736-1795) and included a large bowl crafted for the Emperor. Asian arts appraiser James Callahan said that a mark on the bottom of the bowl indicated it was created for an imperial order. The pieces were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million. This is far and away the biggest appraisal in the show's 13-year run, the previous record was a 1937 painting by Clyfford Still which was estimated at around $500,000. The excitement generated by this appraisal will doubtlessly send many people scrambling to the attic to revisit the treasures they've inherited. A word of caution though, an appraisal is no guarantee of a final sale price.

The British show of the same name produced by the BBC had its first million pound appraisal ($1.655 million) last November for a a scale model of Anthony Gormley's artwork, "The Angel of the North." But this week that show was also in the news when an expert from the show recognized a lost Thomas Gainsborough masterpiece at a Sotheby's auction last December. He bid for the painting over the telephone, knowing that although Sotheby's had estimated it at t £10,000 to £15,000 it was worth far more.Phillip Mould, who recently published a book called Sleuth: The Amazing Quest For Lost Art Treasures, paid around £50,000 for the painting. Now that the painting has been authenticated as a Gainsborough by several experts he is offering it to the Gainsborough's House museum in Sudbury for £750,000. And Sotheby's may be stuck with compensating the previous owner in some way for drastically underestimating the painting's worth.

[Thanks, Lana]

UPDATE: Since there's a spirited conversation going on in the comments about whether or not young people are interested in antiques, I've added a poll. Please vote.

Do Young People Care About Antiques?
Absolutely	7798 (37.2%)
No Way	2513 (12.0%)
Not as much as older people do	10662 (50.8%)

Tags: antiques roadshow, AntiquesRoadshow

Filed under: Art

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)

EKF Jun 30th 2009 2:16PM

But was the jade legally removed from China or was this in reality yet another stolen national treasure that should be returned to China? Too many treasures have looted and plundered by invading nations but that does not give the current owner license obtain such artifacts.

cannotbelievethis Jun 30th 2009 5:09PM

Depending on when the lady inherited it, yes it does matter. I have bougth antiquities, and when I realized what they were, I called the respective museums, and asked them if they wanted it back. When i explain the provenance (how I got the object), I was permitted to keep it. People whose family have had things like scrimshaw, ivory, and walrus tusks, suddenly are concerned if it's "legal" - when it has been int heir family for 200 years... don't spout unless you know. If the Chinese government said the bowl was taken when a museum was looted, it's hers.

Greg Jun 30th 2009 5:14PM

Your right. The owner does not need a license to "obtain" it. THEY OWN IT. Possession is 9/10 of the law unless of course someone can prove it has been stolen. In this case nobody has come forward stating it was stolen and from where. At least attempt to be happy for this person rather than assuming the worst for them.

Jay Jun 30th 2009 6:12PM

bullshit

Bob Jun 30th 2009 7:15PM

This may be a landmark watershed event now that people know what they can expect from such an appraisal. I now think, more and more, such items will begin to be exposed with similar or greater values. In this economy, people may be unloading things out of desperation just to make ends meet.

klingleb Jun 30th 2009 8:49PM

The Chinese are becoming more and more wealthy so if someone wants to return it to a collection on Chinese soil then I would encourage them to buy the bowl when it is offered for sale.

You are welcome to buy and own any artifacts from America so why is it wrong for Americans to buy or collect artifacts from China? You ought to know how Chinese dealers sold thousands of jade, bronze, and ceramics which were once in the collection of Emperor QianLong. They were bought legally according to Chinese laws at the time (1910-1950) so don't assume artifacts were stolen. Fortunately in the USA we are innocent unless proven guilty.

jsar7761 Jun 30th 2009 2:23PM

Hope it is not the same Oriental appraisser in Atlantic City. He Sucked. Brought an over hundred year old piece of oriental art, He said was worth $40.00. Took it to another reputable company and they said $10,000.00 The producers need better people.

Maria Jun 30th 2009 4:56PM

How do you know the second appraiser wasn't wrong? Maybe just because he said what you wanted to hear doesn't mean HE was right! Get another appraisal from another reputable dealer/appraiser, and two out of three will decide, no? That's certainly what I would do. Because if they are both considered reputable, and gave conflicting estimates, someone's wrong. Who's to say it was the guy at Antiques Roadshow and not your guy?

Sam Jones Jun 30th 2009 2:29PM

Nonsense

JOAN TORDO Jun 30th 2009 2:28PM

MY FAVORITE SHOW IS ANTIQUES ROADSHOW AND SINCE I MOVED TO EXMORE, VA I CANNOT GET IT. THE SAT. STATIONS CANNOT PUT IT IN AND WE CANNOT GET IT WITH ANTENNA /CONVERTER BOX--I WISH AQ WOULD BE SHOWN ON OTHER THAN PBS---I MISS THIS SO MUCH AND CONGRATS TO THIS LADY FOR HER FIND---HOW I WISH I COULD SEE IT---OH PLEASE AQ BROADCAST ON A&E--BRAVE SOMETHING BESIDES PBS SO WE CAN ALL SEE IT. THE BRITISH VERSION IS GOOD BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THIS

whim22 Jun 30th 2009 7:21PM

You can watch it on PBS.org any time.

jody Jun 30th 2009 3:38PM

Joan,

you can watch ALL the episodes of antiques roadshow on PBS.org...television is really obsolete.

cannotbelievethis Jun 30th 2009 5:10PM

Joan, try Channel 67... i don't know why but sometimes PBS comes on there, on a different day.

caw2630 Jun 30th 2009 5:09PM

I get PBS on dishnetwork -if you pay for local programming--yu should get it

wordslady333 Jun 30th 2009 6:32PM

YOU CAN STILL WATCH AMERICAN VERSION OF ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. GO TO WEBSITE HULU.COM AND SEARCH FOR IT. YOU CAN WATCH ANY TV SHOW, WHETHER YOU'VE JUST MISSED EPISODES OR WHOLE SEASONS. YOU WATCH THEM FOR FREE ON YOUR COMPUTER. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME WHEN I MISS AN EPISODE OR I WANT TO A SEASON OF SOMETHING I DIDN'T WATCH ON CABLE.

JUST THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW. ANY TV SHOW IN U.S. IS ACCESSIBLE THERE. AND BETTER YET, IT'S FREE.