1947 Carroll Harris Simms Terracotta Figure
GUEST: I know who made it. It was a friend of my parents. I grew up outside of Toledo, and there was a group of artists and in the late '40s, early '50s that all got together weekly. Mr. Simms, the artist, was one of them. My parents probably got this through a trade, or possibly bought it from him, but I, I think they probably just did a trade.
APPRAISER: This is a fantastic and very exciting discovery. A very early terra-cotta sculpture by Carroll Harris Simms. He was a student at the Toledo School of Art.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: He was in Toledo in, in the late 1940s.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: As we can see in this picture, he's an African American young man in the center. Carroll Harris Simms was a ceramic artist, a sculptor, a potter. He studied at the Cranbrook School, and one of the first African American artists to study there.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And then he became best known for his work in Texas. He was a professor of sculpture at Texas Southern University, which is in Houston. It's a HBCU-- historically Black college or university.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And he worked with John Biggers, who's a, quite a famous painter, a muralist. And it really was a very important place for learning, for visual arts, and for African American art. Both were pioneers.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Both were important trailblazers. I have not seen, in person, his work before. I've seen pictures. There's a famous history of African American art that was written by Romare Bearden...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...and Harry Henderson, who's a writer. Bearden's probably the best-known African American artist.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And there's a chapter on this gentleman.
GUEST: (laughs) Oh, wow. Wow.
APPRAISER: We can see here this abstracted figure, very unified, simple form. It's painted. Looks like there's sand mixed in the paint. And on the verso is his signature and the date, 1947. This photograph is dated '49. This artist's work does not come to the market very often.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Do you have any sense of the value?
GUEST: I, I really had no clue. I tried to look up auction things and stuff...
APPRAISER: Yes.
GUEST: ...and I, I couldn't find anything.
APPRAISER: You didn't find anything because there isn't anything. (laughs)
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So at auction, it's going to be kind of a broad range...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...because this is uncharted territory.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Conservatively between $5,000 and $10,000.
GUEST: Wow! Well, that's kind of cool. That's... I guess I'll keep it out.
APPRAISER: I think it's a wonderful, wonderful example.
GUEST: Cool.
$5,000 - $10,000 Auction
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Understanding Our Appraisals
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.
