Ivory Erbach Brooch, ca. 1850

Appraised on: July 12, 2003

Appraised in: Savannah, Georgia

Appraised by: Jeanenne Bell

Category: Jewelry

Episode Info: Savannah, Hour 3 (#812)

Originally Aired: April 12, 2004

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (1:30)

GUEST: I was visiting a friend of mine from college, and he told me to check my backpack when I got home. And when I got home, I looked in this backpack. At the bottom of it was this brooch.

APPRAISER: Well, you have a wonderful piece here, Ann. This is ivory, it's hand carved. It was probably carved in France or in Germany. Those were very big centers-- in Paris and a little town called Dieppe. But in 1781, a count financed a school for ivory carving, and they popularized this type of scene. It was taken up by ivory carvers all over the world, and it was called Erbach. That was exhibited at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. It was popular prior to that time. This piece here is probably the 1850s, the mid-1800 period. I love how it's planed out here. It's got the stags on the different planes, and another thing-- look at how thin it is. And the reason being is ivory was very expensive, and so they tried to make do with as little as possible, and it just made an incredible piece. Well, it's only valued at like $1,500, but I can tell you I don't think you could find anybody in the world that could do this work this beautifully as this piece is done.