Russian Imperial Charger
Appraised Value:
$65,000
IMAGE: 1 of 1
Appraisal Video: (2:12)
Appraised By:
Peter Schaffer
Pottery & Porcelain
A La Vieille Russie, Inc.
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: The plate was a gift from Vincent Bendix, who founded the Bendix Corporation. My grandfather worked for the Bendix Corporation for 35 years. They lived next-door to Vincent Bendix. Of course, his estate was an entire city block, my grandparents were at a conventional suburban home, and down the street, though, lived Knute Rockne. This was in South Bend, Indiana. And when Bendix went bankrupt, he gave away a lot of the things that he had collected to people who he was close with and wanted to reward, and this plate was, I believe, one of two, the other plate being given to another business associate. And I really don't know anything about it, except that I believe that's the Romanov seal in the center of the plate.
APPRAISER: It is the Romanov seal in the center of the plate. It's called a charger. It's made by the Popov Porcelain Factory-- Alexander Popov. The whole purpose of it was a presentation piece. This is maybe only the fourth one that I have ever seen... of this type.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: It would be really something spectacular for you to have the, uh, second one.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But not to worry. (chuckles)
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Do you have any idea, uh, what its value might be?
GUEST: I assumed it was just a fine piece of porcelain that was maybe worth a couple thousand dollars.
APPRAISER: I think you're a little bit short, and I think you'd be a little bit short if you added a zero to your $2,000.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER: I think a fair retail value in today's market is $65,000.
GUEST: Holy...
APPRAISER: It's really a remarkable piece, extremely rare, and especially with the Russian market being so hot, it's very much sought after.
GUEST: Wow. I had no idea.
