1819 Paul Storr Regency Silver Tureen
Appraised Value:
$20,000 - $25,000
IMAGE: 1 of 2
Appraisal Video:
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: Well, it came from my husband's great-grandmother. It was purchased back in the '40s at an antique dealer in San Francisco, and it's just come down through the family since then. We just acquired it in March of this year.
APPRAISER: Well, you have a wonderful historic commemorative British sterling silver tureen. It was manufactured by Paul Storr and he was a very famous British silversmith. He was born in 1771 and you can see the hallmark. It's two circles inscribed with the letters PS. That's indicative of his workmanship. There are other British hallmarks that indicate it was made in London which is in accordance with how he did his work. Um, the date mark was 1819. And what really set Paul Storr apart as a silversmith in Britain was that he was very known for his ceremonial, his commemorative pieces, and there's just no end to decorations and embellishments here. We've got our wonderful applied and cast top, our handles.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: There's decorative borders, there's egg and dart molding here. All of these things very much in keeping with the regency style, the fun little pawed feet. But what was troubling for me was that as a commemorative piece, it would have had a special engraved design here...
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: …that would've talked about what Paul Storr had been commissioned to do.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Some sort of a wedding, an anniversary and that was missing. But what was here was this unusual little engraving detail.
GUEST: I never noticed that.
APPRAISER: And if you look on the inside, there's some silver workmanship that you can see that led me to believe that this was actually cut out and replaced by a later owner. Somebody who had wanted to make it their own and make it special. Paul Storr is a rock star amongst the 19th century silversmiths.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: And his work is very popular and in demand. The addition embellishment personalization of this piece does detract from the value, but as it is at auction, it would readily go for between $20,000 and $25,000.
GUEST: You're kidding me!
APPRAISER: You had that receipt. How much did your grandmother pay for it?
GUEST: $1,100.
APPRAISER: Ooh.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: That is a real treasure.
GUEST: I am in shock! I cannot believe that. How much would it be worth if it hadn't been personalized? I mean, does that away some—
APPRAISER: I have seen some in retail settings in pricey stores overseas that would have gone for as much as $70,000.
GUEST: Mm-hmm. Unbelievable.
