George Washington's Inaugural Ball Silk Sash, ca. 1789
GUEST: My mother said this was a scarf worn at George Washington's inauguration. He did not wear it. The men got these and the women got the earrings.
APPRAISER: You have some distinguished ancestry, I should put it, right?
GUEST: I do.
APPRAISER: Entirely possible that you would have some family member that went to that ball, right?
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: But you don't know exactly which one, right?
GUEST: No.
APPRAISER: Okay, you know, looking at this, now framed and, and folded, a silk banner that probably was seven feet long if you extend it, and it's all folded under itself right here. It's really long.
GUEST: I did not realize that.
APPRAISER: When this showed up, I was so excited because, first of all, I love American folk art.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: I also love American history.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: This piece combines a great folk design...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: With great history. So as you know, President Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789. A week later, they held a big ball down near Wall Street, in New York, for the president. All the ladies wore their finest. It was just, something like this certainly would not be unusual at that. We have this American eagle, painted eagle on the silk, and it's a classic stance with the laurel branch in one claw symbolizing the peace, and in the other claw, the arrows symbolizing strength. And the eagle's banner here says, "E Pluribus," written out in gold. There are 13 stars above that in yellow with blue outline, and up here it looks like an abstract design. Somebody else actually pointed out-- I can't take credit-- this is G, and this is a W.
GUEST: Oh, my heart.
APPRAISER: For George Washington.
GUEST: That's fabulous.
APPRAISER: Isn't that great? You've never...?
GUEST: No, it is better than fabulous!
APPRAISER: It's better than fabulous because the G, if you look sideways...
GUEST: I see the G.
APPRAISER: And then the W for George Washington. They're probably silver little spangles with glass beads.
GUEST: Yeah, right.
APPRAISER: Each one is carefully sewn over the star for G.W. and the 13...
GUEST: Oh, that's, that is so exciting.
APPRAISER: Isn't that neat?
GUEST: Oh, yeah.
APPRAISER: And above it, the French...like a fleur-de-lis!
GUEST: The fleur-de-lis!
APPRAISER: Now, a week after the major ball...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: had another ball-- the French count.
GUEST: De Moustier.
APPRAISER: For Washington-- de Moustier. Now, we don't know, we certainly can't prove it, because these relics are so rare. But to my knowledge, no other of, of these banners exist. But it's very possible that a banner like this would have been at that ball a week later. And I've checked with several experts here. The silk, the fine silk, is of the period. The spangles, it's all right. I got good news and bad news. Which one, which one do you want first?
GUEST (laughs): I think I'll take the good news today.
APPRAISER: You want the good news first? Okay, I think that's a good way to do it. The value, on a, on a bad day, would be $3,000 to $6,000, and this is a kind of object, that, in the right situation...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: Could bring $10,000, $15,000 at an auction setting. Now I'm gonna give you the bad news. These are costume jewelry from around, from after 1900.
GUEST: So they aren't...
APPRAISER: They didn't...
GUEST: Mother lied to me.
APPRAISER: They didn't make clips like this...
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This ear clip until after 1900. So, you know...
GUEST: Okay, oh, that's interesting.
APPRAISER: Yeah, and also the metal's not gold, and it's not even enamel. So they're nice, decorative ear clips, but... So these weren't made for the...
GUEST: So I can wear them without feeling like I'm... All right.
APPRAISER: You can wear them without worrying about losing them as much, you know?
GUEST: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER: But this you want to, you want to really preserve, as you've always done.
GUEST: I'm excited, really, Leigh. I just love it.
$5,000 - $8,000 Auction
$3,000 - $6,000 Auction
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Understanding Our Appraisals
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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."
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