Extraordinary Find: Louis Rice-designed Skyscraper Coffee & Tea Service
HOST: At the Nashville ROADSHOW in 2022, decorative arts expert Jason Preston was dazzled by the design of an Art Deco tea and coffee service the guest had bought from his neighbor decades ago. What happened next took everyone to new heights.
APPRAISER: I recall that day very vividly. We'd seen a lot of stuff at the decorative arts and silver table, but I hadn't seen anything truly special yet. Sometimes you can kind of see something approaching in the line, but I didn't see this till it was just set in front of me.
GUEST: This is a silver plate set that I purchased in San Francisco. A elderly neighbor of ours decided to move into a retirement home, so she called my husband and I and said she was selling her wares. My husband went, he asked her how much she wanted, and she said $25.
APPRAISER: In what year?
GUEST: 1985, '86.
APPRAISER: This is an Art Deco tea and coffee service. We have a coffee pot, teapot, covered, double-handled sugar bowl, and a cream pitcher on a matching tray. This is an iconic example of Jazz Age design, influenced by the architecture, music, and culture of the time. This is called the Skyscraper…
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...tea and coffee service. It's by a company called Bernard Rice's Sons, and it was designed specifically by Louis Rice. The term "skyscraper" comes from the architectural shape of the objects. Louis Rice designed this, and it debuted in 1928. That's why this object is so important in the canon of 20th century design, because it almost presaged the most famous Art Deco skyscrapers that we think of-- the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. If this were to go to auction, I believe they would put a conservative auction estimate of $15,000 to $25,000 on it.
GUEST: Wow. (chuckles) Wow. Uh... It's amazing, thank you. (soft chuckle) Wow, I can't wait to tell everybody, so... (chuckles) (voice breaking): I mean, I-- Makes me a bit... Any... anyway. Choked up. (soft chuckle)
GUEST (voiceover): After it aired, the comments were "You look like you're about to cry." And I said, "I was about to cry." (laughs)
APPRAISER: Since we filmed the appraisal segment, Dan and his husband made the decision to part with the tea set. It was a big emotional decision, because we loved the set. It was a gift to me, but... in reality, it was time to part with it. They contacted me, and I had a good idea of a good place for them to go with this: a specialist in 20th century design that I had worked with at another auction house. I referred Dan to my colleague, and it went into a specialty auction of 20th century design in March of 2023.
GUEST: We could not go, but we did watch it online.
AUCTIONEER: This is an incredibly rare piece. It has, almost never comes up with so many pieces intact, and the condition is absolutely marvelous. We will start here at...$10,000 for this one. At $10,000 for the set. I have $25,000. $28,000. In a new spot at $28,000-- $30,000.
GUEST: When it surpassed what Jason told us, uh, I was sitting, Tom was standing next to me, and I looked at him and said, "You better sit down." (chuckles)
AUCTIONEER: $54,000 going twice... And selling for $54,000. (hammer bangs)
GUEST: We went, "Holy crap." (laughs) "What-what just happened here?"
APPRAISER: It hammered around $54,000. So with the auction house's buyer's premium, that makes the total price paid by the buyer $68,415. The seller gets the hammer price less the seller's commission; that's retained by the auction house. So Dan and Tom would have received less than the hammer price, but not a great deal less.
GUEST: When we sent it to auction, we were hoping...that a museum or some sort of art institute would-would purchase it. It turned out to be the de Young Museum in San Francisco. For it to be there, to me, is very special, because we lived there for many years, and a very, very close emotional attachment to San Francisco.
APPRAISER: It's so special to know that it's put on public display for everyone who comes to the museum to see it and learn about this really iconic piece of 20th century design.
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Extraordinary Finds 3
Revisit remarkable ROADSHOW finds whose stories didn’t stop even after we yelled "Cut!"
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.
