Folk Art Root Sculpture, ca. 1900

Appraised on: June 6, 2009

Appraised in: Atlantic City, New Jersey

Appraised by: Ken Farmer

Category: Folk Art

Episode Info: Atlantic City, Hour 3 (#1406)

Originally Aired: February 8, 2010

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (2:04)

GUEST: Well, it came from South Jersey. And believe it or not, it was in the home that was purchased, in the eave of the garage. For several years we never even realized that it was there.

APPRAISER: So, what did you think when you first saw it? Were you afraid to pick it up?

GUEST: I think I started to dance around, and my niece describes it as the happy dance. Because it was something so peculiar that I knew it was special.

APPRAISER: A piece of folk art has to have a lot of things going for it to be great. It has to draw you in.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And that's exactly what this does. Back around 1890 or 1900, somewhere in that time period, somebody decided that they wanted to make something out of roots and they knew how to carve heads and stuff. And once they got started, they couldn't stop.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It has a great old finish on it. And it's kind of like those spooky trees...

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER:...in the old tales. It fascinates me. It drives me crazy and it kind of scares me, too. And that's exactly what something like this should do for you. There's a little bit of wear up here. But I tell you something, to a non-folk-art person, this is probably ugly as a mud fence. But to the people that collect folk art...

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER:...it's a thing of great beauty. So much detail, several different snakes. Birds.

GUEST: Birds.

APPRAISER: A cat.

GUEST: Cat, my favorite.

APPRAISER: Another cat... and a horse head over there. And as far as value is concerned, we really agonized over that part of it.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: I would say a good auction estimate would be $30,000 to $50,000.

GUEST: That's incredible. (laughs) That's really welcome news. That's unbelievable. Wow.

APPRAISER: And that is just really wonderful.