Art Deco Glass Plaque, ca. 1920

Appraised on: June 4, 2011

Appraised in: Eugene, Oregon

Appraised by: Beth Szescila

Category: Glass

Episode Info: Eugene, Hour 3 (#1606)

Originally Aired: February 6, 2012

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Appraisal Video: (1:00)

GUEST: My mother-in-law's neighbor knew we were collecting flamingos back in the '70s, and he had it in the wall by his barn. He said if I took it out of the wall and put something back in the hole, I could have it.

APPRAISER: So you didn't have to pay anything for it.

GUEST: Two dollars for the corkboard I put in the wall.

APPRAISER: Oh, that's great.

GUEST: We did some investigation and found out that it came from a glass company called Der Glass Werks in Indianapolis.

APPRAISER: It was probably made in the 1920s. It was sandblasted, and later it was painted with oil paint. This is a great example of something that started off as a utilitarian, functional, decorative piece and now it's become a piece of decorative art in its own right. This would be popular with, of course, the flamingo collectors like yourself and anybody who is into Art Deco, which is so popular right now. We believe that if it came to auction, it would probably sell somewhere between $2,000 and $4,000.

GUEST: Very good!

APPRAISER: Not a bad buy for two dollars' worth of corkboard.

GUEST: Absolutely.