WWII Japanese Naval Vignette
GUEST: So, this was given to me by my father, who got it from his father. So, my grandpa worked at the Mare Island Shipyard during World War II. He got it from a serviceman returning from the Pacific theater at the end of the war. Came off the ship, said he was tired of hauling it around, and asked my grandfather if he wanted it, and he said, "Sure." The serviceman said that he had cut it down from the wall of a Japanese officer's hut. He had painted this on the canvas side of his tent of the Japanese fleet. And when they took the island-- I'm not sure which one-- he just cut it down and took it with him for the rest of the, the war.
APPRAISER: What you have here would qualify as spoils of war. This is an original artwork painted on a piece of military equipment. So as far as Uncle Sam was concerned, in World War II, this was completely legitimate as something that a serviceman could take and bring home.
GUEST: Hm.
APPRAISER: The dividing line that they made at that point in history was whether or not it is personal property. You can't kick in the door and go into somebody's house and take their household goods. But materials on the battle, on the battlefield, uh, are fair game. Obviously, we know right off the bat that these are Japanese warships. We've got the Japanese naval ensign, the rising sun ensign, at the stern of the vessel. But even if you couldn't see that, you would know right away that these are Japanese naval capital ships from World War II by the pagoda masts that we see here. They're very distinctive elements of Japanese naval architecture. The entirety of their war strategy with the United States, after they failed to knock the Pacific Fleet out, was to draw the Americans across the Pacific, and then tangle with them in one giant, decisive naval battle. It never really happened that way for them. They did sortie at the end. It played out very poorly for the Japanese fleet. On the back, there are patches. On the front, you can s, see where the stitching has come through.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: So, clearly, this was a damaged and repaired piece of canvas before the artist even started painting on it.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But it is a beautiful thing. It displays well. I would put a retail price on this in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $2,500.
GUEST: Wow. Okay. (chuckles): That's great.
$2,000 - $2,500 Retail
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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.
