I left off with my
Antiques Roadshow experience in the last post at the paintings table. Both Chris and I had lugged our final appraisal items through this, our longest line - long enough that it was broken in two, which was not apparent until you reached the "inner circle".
Chris took a large "Russian-looking" painting of a war scene that we've had problems identifying. The signature seemed to be in Cyrillic which removed all possibility of us identifying the artist.
After a consultation with
Alan Fausel of Bonhams, it was determined to be possibly Hungarian or a country in that Eastern European vicinity and value to be $200-$300. It may have been purchased at retail for a four-digit figure, but value on the street was much lower. Artist is unidentified.
My painting was a waterfront scene with boats in a newer, "old-looking" frame. My appraiser was
Coleene Fesko of Skinner who quickly cut to the chase. My painting, although 19th-Century in style was a "scam". It is a painting done to appear old but was done in the contemporary time period. $75 was the value now.
I hadn't had the occasion (nor impetus) to remove the enclosed rear wood panel on the frame and look at the back of the painting which would have probably shown me a canvas devoid of age, which is probably why the framer added the panel in the first place.
I may know something about Victorian Furniture, but my lack of time spent on oil paintings is readily apparent.
My Overall Take On The Roadshow Experience
I realized in looking back at the day spent at the Roadshow that I have to remember that it exists for the sole purpose of generating a television show. Everything is geared towards getting an adequate quantity of items for them to appraise (5,000-6,000 people worth), filtering out 75 good ones to film (the top 1%), and getting enough engaging content on film to create 3 decent episodes.
This isn't an appraisal day - it is an inspection day to find items and owners that will entertain the show's viewers.
I don't mean to say that the vast majority of attendees don't get a good day out of it. But I can tell you from my firsthand experience and from those murmuring as they walk away from their two minutes at the appraisal table, there is a sense of "is that it?"
There is an old television show that embodies how I feel about the Roadshow and it is the old Twilight Zone episode titled, "
To Serve Man". Wikipedia summarizes the storyline well:
A race of aliens known as the Kanamits lands on Earth and promises to be nothing but helpful to the cause of humanity. Initially wary of the intentions of such a highly advanced race, even the most skeptical humans are convinced when their code-breakers begin to translate one of the Kanamit's books, with the seemingly innocuous title, "To Serve Man."
Sharing their advanced technology, the aliens quickly solve all of Earth's greatest woes, eradicating hunger, disease, and the need for warfare. Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is supposedly a paradise .
All is not well, however, when a code-breaker discovers the Kanamits’ true intentions: Their book, "To Serve Man", is a cookbook, and all their gifts were simply to make humanity complacent, much like fattening pigs or cows before they are slaughtered ["Served" up on TV].
I'm being overly dramatic and critical of an event that is FREE and provides you access to some of the most knowledgeable experts alive in their field. However, if you're planning to go, I feel there are some things to know before you go expecting a different experience than what you see on TV.
Why You Wouldn't Want To Go To The Antiques Roadshow
- If you know a lot about your item but are missing one piece of the puzzle, don't bother going. Unless you get lucky and they have coincidental knowledge about your missing nugget that you've already Googled the heck out of, there's a good chance that you won't get that last piece of the puzzle. Chris didn't get his painting artist name, or a country of origin. Chris didn't get his statue region nor a concrete assertion on who the statue is depicting.
- If the missing piece for you is price, you'll get a figure (most times) out of their heads and not based on cold hard data such as comparable auction/sale results. The value given on the statue didn't reflect the higher prices seen at auction for similar statues that we had researched (auction results are higher by 50%). The value given to me for my painting was 25-50% higher than was ever achieved for the painter and was of subject matter that is not his sweet spot.
- Don't expect your appraisal to go down like it does on TV and get all of the following information: the life story of it's maker, the exact date range, certainty on region of origin, a price that has been cross-checked with auction results or bantered about with 3-4 other Roadshow appraisers, an in-depth analysis on condition and it's impact on your value. That's all reserved for the 1% shown on TV.
- Don't be surprised if you wait several hours for 2-3 minutes or less time with an appraiser.
- Dont' be surprised if you hear "this is the best thing I've seen at this table all day". I heard several casual acquaintances over the course of the day tell me that the appraisers said this about their items and some had been to several Roadshows. My Trotter painting "was the best thing seen at the table all day".
- The furniture that is pre-selected in advance and brought into the special furniture section against the wall (usually large items) are used merely as stage backdrops. The day I was there they looked more like a cornucopia of styles that together looked like the antique equivalent of a still life painting. The bed in this collection was a modern, Indonesian reproduction that merely looked impressive from afar. There was a Meeks sofa, that although somewhat expensive, can be found quite readily at auction. If they're taking the time to pre-select this furniture in advance, weeks before the Roadshow, you'd think they'd not choose the aforementioned. .
- Don't take something that looks like it is worth less than $100. We're not all good judges of value and some valuations may surprise us, but in general, people know quality when they see it. Less than $100 isn't worth a days worth of schlepping and the appraisers don't want to see it either.
Why You Would Want To Go To The Antiques Roadshow
- If you know nothing about your item, there is no better congregation of experts in one place at one time to help you.
- If you'd like to spend a day in a room surrounded by 1000's of people with interesting antiques, this is the place for you. This is the antique equivalent of people-watching
- If you'd love to meet some of the appraisers in real life, they are more than willing to meet and speak to you and have their picture taken with you.
- If you've watched the show many times and seeing the behind-the-scenes is something of interest to you, then this is your chance.
The Roadshow employees, volunteers and appraisers were all exceedingly helpful and I am grateful for their hospitality. Hopefully the above summary can elucidate the Roadshow experience for prospective attendees.
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