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 7 of 7)

Glen Jun 30th 2009 11:42PM

I have a painting that would blow that away, but I contacted the art appraisor for antique road show and was told the work is too controversial because it is a Jackson Pollock painting. It would be worth much more than a million. If you want a peak go to Jacksonpollockstudy.com.

Bullet Bob Jul 2nd 2009 8:04PM

I saw AR once when a person from the southwest US brought in a buffalo robe in pristine condition. The appraiser called it a 'national treasure' and suggested $800,000 as the value.

James W. Brown Jul 2nd 2009 8:06PM

For a long time, The Antiques Roadshow has fascinated viewers with yard sale "finds" that turn out to be valuable antiques. Unfortunately, in at least one area of appraisals, and probably more, the quoted retail or auction price may be consistantly wildly exagerated and is not a true indication of the items worth. I don't know for sure, but it seems to be done to maintain the "Wow" factor on the show; to increase its high ratings, and to grab some publicity for the appraisor.
I have been collecting historical documents and autographs for 20 years and I have many catalogs, both retail and auction, along with the final price for each item to back up what I say. I guarantee, based on my experience and research, that the value quoted for historical documents on the Antiques Roadshow is almost certainly grossly exaggerated and should NOT be taken seriously. My suspicion is that this perceived misrepresentation may be wide spread throughout other appraisals. I urger the viewers to keep this in mind as they look at the show.
No dealer in his right mind would expect to sell a piece for what is quoted on that show. Nor would he expect to find people dumb enough to pay those amounts at an auction, whether it's "well advertised" or not!
So enjoy The Antiques Roadshow for its entertainment, NOT for its validity.

GIGI Jul 2nd 2009 9:21PM

Yes,If your if it's been in the family for years before it was legally made unlawful to transport these items,or buy them.
I own very old ivory pieces as well as "Carey" tortoise shell items from way before they were illegal,and am an antiques dealer specializing in vintage jewelry and handbags.many of my tortoise shell pieces date to the 30's and up to the 50's .
Not everything is obtained illegally,I would not but anything endangered ,stole, or illegal.therefore provenance is very important to the price of an object.
I own some very old jade pieces,they are very valuable.

GunnyGirl6 Jul 2nd 2009 9:09PM

This ROADSHOW people are the rudest and phoney group . We will never do business with them or watch this show ever again. In fact our whole military base asked us to ban it a few years back and caught them (experts) on several serious flaws.Beware and becareful

eburls Jul 29th 2009 12:55PM

I would like to know if there is a value on an artwork done by oil painter Jacob Issacs Van Ruisdael 1628-1682 entitled: :"Farm Yard". The history of art by Hamann & the History of Paintings by Levey, Gaylord Bros; out of Saracuse NY.
The oil painting is not signed. Thank you for any findings on the art work.

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