Émile Gallé Pitcher, ca. 1884
Appraised Value:
$8,000 - $10,000
IMAGE: 1 of 2
Appraisal Video: (2:39)
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: My mother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas, either Christmas of '95 or '96. We were living in Colorado at the time. She carried it out on a plane, and when I opened it on Christmas Day, there was a note with it that just said, "I think this might be good." Other than that, she just smiled. She got this little smile on her face and had never told me anything else about it. And unfortunately, she died in 1998, so there's no way I can ask her anything about this now.
APPRAISER: Well, mothers know best.
GUEST: They do?
APPRAISER: I think so. The piece you have is a Gallé pitcher, made in France. And Émile Gallé was one of the world-class designers and glassmakers. A big name in the industry. And this piece is made about 1884.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: It's one of his early, early works. It has all the bells and whistles. We can see here this medallion, or cartouche, and it has a full-figure knight on a horse. The enameling is all fired-on enameling, and it's overall enameling in a Persian design. This work is similar to a couple other great makers of glass: Harrach and Lobmeyr. But this happens to be a Gallé piece. And we have the full marking of the Gallé mark, France déposé. So it's perfectly marked. It's a wonderful piece. We all, at our table, thought it was just fabulous.
GUEST: (laughing) So excited.
APPRAISER: And it's in wonderful condition. Where did you display this piece in your home?
GUEST: You don't want to know.
APPRAISER: Oh, I do.
GUEST: (laughing) Okay. I have high cathedral ceilings in the bathroom in my master bedroom, and there's, like, a shelf-- very, very high, takes a ladder to get up there-- so I put it up there...
APPRAISER: In the bathroom?
GUEST: In the bathroom, and then I had to blow dust out of it to bring it here.
APPRAISER: Well, it's worth $8,000 to $10,000 retail.
GUEST: Are you kidding?
APPRAISER: I'm not kidding. It's a wonderful piece.
GUEST: I can't believe this. I mean...
APPRAISER: I'm just thrilled for you. Thrilled for you.
GUEST: I really, really can't believe it. I guess it won't stay in the bathroom anymore.
