Sèvres Charger by Théodore Deck
GUEST: My mother had a beige apartment, and she hated the color beige. So she asked an interior decorator to give her an idea of what to do. He told her to paint all the walls this bright color, and then he went to England and he called her on the phone and said, "Guess what? I found a plate that will match the apartment's color." And so, sight unseen, my mother purchased this plate.
APPRAISER: You had also shown this to someone and they had given you some information. What do you believe that it is? What is your, what is your thought on this?
GUEST: Well, it had an age crack on the back of it, and in order to get it repaired we took it to a museum to get it checked out and fixed. And they said yes, it was definitely a very old plate, and I was told eventually, it came from a castle in England and it was about in the 1750s or so, but we weren't really sure.
APPRAISER: And your family ate hamburger for a while while they paid this off.
GUEST: (chuckling): Oh. Mom didn't have a lot of money to pay for this, so she was taking it out of her allowance, and that's what happened.
APPRAISER: Well, certainly this plate has almost every color that you could possibly imagine. It is a plate that is actually made in France, and probably in and around 1885. There was a very famous French art potter by the name of Théodore Deck, and he was the head of the porcelain manufactory at Sèvres, which is a very important factory in France. He was also supplying designs to Wedgwood a little earlier than that, but he was famous for his Japanese designs. And you can actually see that transitionally, you've got these birds here, which are sort of very Japanese in quality, and yet you have these incredibly beautiful flowers that are coming out in these marvelous colors of purple and rust and white. And so you get that really marvelous flowing Art Nouveau influence. And it's actually signed right down here by the artist, which is Ernest Carrière, and Ernest Carrière... Actually, you can also see how he's layered these enamels and really done a fantastic job. We know that it's Deck because there's a stamp on the back...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: ...and actually the stamp of the Sèvres factory. But to integrate all of these designs together with this marvelous frog down here at the bottom.
GUEST: (laughing): Don't you love him?
APPRAISER: And the size of it is just everything you want to see.
GUEST: Great.
APPRAISER: It was spectacular then, it's spectacular now.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: An almost identical piece sold not too long ago-- identical-- for $17,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: And with the crack on this, I would say it's probably worth around $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST: Wow, that's wonderful. Thank you very much.
APPRAISER: My pleasure.
GUEST: I love it!
APPRAISER: Thanks for bringing it in.
$6,000 - $8,000 Auction
$12,000 - $15,000 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.
