1920 Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Sculpture, "Yawning Tiger"

Appraised on: July 8, 2006

Appraised in: Mobile, Alabama

Appraised by: Eric Silver

Category: Metalwork & Sculpture

Episode Info: Mobile, Hour 1 (#1110)

Originally Aired: March 26, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:01)

APPRAISER: You brought in this tiger. Where did you get him?

GUEST: Well, from my mom. She downsized, and she gave me a whole collection of bronzes and furniture, and I'm into antiques, and she passed them on to me.

APPRAISER: Uh-huh.

GUEST: I just love him.

APPRAISER: Do you know what it is?

GUEST: No, I really don't.

APPRAISER: Ah.

GUEST: I've tried to find something out about it, because she told me at one time it had a plaque on the front with a name, and I've lost it...

APPRAISER: Uh-huh.

GUEST: ...and I can't find anything out about it.

APPRAISER: Well, it's actually signed.

GUEST: Oh, is it signed?

APPRAISER: Yeah. It's signed right up in here, in this indelicate spot here.

GUEST: Yeah. (laughs)

APPRAISER: Right around... And not only is it signed there...

GUEST:: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: but it has a foundry mark.

GUEST: Oh, does it?

APPRAISER: It was made by the Gorham Company Founders located in Providence, Rhode Island.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: And this was done in the 1920s. And it's signed Hyatt. Her name was Anna Vaughn Hyatt, and she married the philanthropist Archer Huntington, and she added Huntington to her name, so her name is Anna Hyatt Huntington.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And this is one of her most famous models. It's called "The Yawning Tiger."

GUEST: Oh, is it really?

APPRAISER: She did it in two sizes. She did it in this size, and then she did it in a 28-inch size.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: She was trained in New York City. She studied with Gutzon Borglum, who was the sculptor of Mount Rushmore.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness.

APPRAISER: And then she exhibited quite extensively. She was one of the most prominent sculptors of the early 20th century. This piece is wonderful. You can see how nicely she's modeled this, how she's captured the animal, how he's yawning. It's very finely cast. The details are very good, and it has this wonderful original patina. They come up fairly frequently at auction. This piece is numbered 235. I don't know how many were actually made, but even so, it's very desirable. At auction, this piece would bring between $8,000 and $12,000.

GUEST: Oh, wonderful. (laughing) All right. That's great news. Right. Yes. Thank you. Thanks.

APPRAISER: Thanks for coming in.