American Folk Art Oil Portraits, ca. 1810
GUEST: I think they came from my great-grandmother's house in Kentucky. They ended up with my grandma here, and, uh, when she passed away, my dad cleaned everything out, and they almost ended up in the dumpster. But my wise, brilliant mother saved them from the garbage and had them under her bed for, like, the last 15 years. I think they are my ancestors, probably from the South, Mississippi area-- Alabama, maybe.
APPRAISER: They are wonderful oil-on-board portraits of what we believe to be a husband and wife. Trying to figure out the date of these, we often will take a look at the sitters' clothing. And when I look at the woman, in particular, I see this high-banded waist. We refer to that as the Empire style. And we see that between about 1800 and 1820. The gentleman similarly has a outfit that we think of as something from around the War of 1812. So I think this firmly…
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: …puts it in. But the big question is, how do we know they're American?
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And so one of the ways we, as appraisers, will look at an object is by looking on, what is it constructed on? By taking a look at the back here, we can see the wood that it was made on. It's got this sort of greenish tinge, which indicates that it's poplar, a native American wood. And we often find that in the mid-Atlantic states...
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: …and the South. What I really love about 'em is their condition. You probably have the original frame, but it's been painted black later.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: They are so fabulously painted. I just absolutely love the lacework on the bonnet, and this pink ribbon running through...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: …is spectacular. The lace on her collar, the, the fringe and the lace on his shirt, the way his hair is so stylized.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: They’re so exquisitely done. What's different is, if you look at the oval, you see how sort of uneven this line is?
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Well, what I expect to have seen would be what we call églomisé glass. So, it would have been reverse-painted glass, so...
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: It would've been black with gilt highlights that would have covered up that uneven edge.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: With the exception of a little bit of the exfoliation on the gentleman and a little bit of rub on the shoulder here, they're, like, untouched. And that's what we as collectors...
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: …and appraisers love, this sort of original condition. We tried in the short amount of time to figure out who the artist was, and we weren't able to come up. Sometimes...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: …you may be able to find similar profile portraits and ascribe them based on previous attributions. I think we need to do more research on that.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: I would suggest putting an insurance value of $7,500 on the pair.
GUEST: Oh, my goodness. That's more than I thought, wow. (chuckles) Wow, okay. They almost got thrown away-- that's amazing. (chuckling)
APPRAISER: When you pulled them out of the box...
GUEST: (laughing)
APPRAISER: …my heart started beating faster and I couldn't contain my excitement.
GUEST: I’m glad my mom was smart enough to save them.
$7,500 Insurance
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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.
