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Related | See another woodcarved piece by Elijah Pierce

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19th & 20th-Century Inkwell Collection

Value (2006) | $3,000 Retail – $5,000 Retail

APPRAISER:
What in the world made you collect inkwells?

GUEST:
Well, it's self-defense. My husband collects fountain pens. But I used to teach calligraphy, so I just got really interested in them.

APPRAISER:
You've got a wonderful group here.

GUEST:
Oh, thanks.

APPRAISER:
And they expand from all through the 19th century and then even into the early 20th century. Do you have any questions for me about individual ones?

GUEST:
I would like to know about this inkwell in particular.

APPRAISER:
Sure.

GUEST:
I bought it at an old bottle show.

APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm

GUEST:
And I know nothing about it and have not been able to find out anything about it.

APPRAISER:
It's really evocative of the mid-19th-century America. It's made out of cast iron. Okay. You can see that leaf form, and then there's that wonderful blown, clear-glass globe, which is probably why the bottle dealer had it. So you'd fill up the globe with ink, and then as you used it, the level of the ink would go down, and it was sort of a curiosity. I would say, um, probably the value on that is about $200 or so.

GUEST:
Okay. Which one is the oldest?

APPRAISER:
Well, this one here is made of gutta percha, so that's a nice early one. There's also the Capodimonte here, which is an Italian pottery, and that as well is 1850 time frame. And it has the Capodimonte mark on the bottom, which is an "N" with a crown on it. So it's a continental piece. But you've got American ones, and you have European ones. You've got some inkwells from the Tiffany Company. I noticed there are two of them here.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
This Tiffany piece in bronze doré, and then also the other Tiffany one up here. You can see the Tiffany mark on the bottom of this.

GUEST:
Is the finish correct on that one?

APPRAISER:
The finish is correct. This is a bronze doré and the "doré" refers to the gilding on it.

GUEST:
Oh, okay.

APPRAISER:
Now, the thing about the two Tiffany pieces, and probably for a lot of these inkwells such as this German one as well, is that they were part of desk sets. And so you would have had a blotter, you would have had the inkwell, you might have had a pen-holder. You've got, for this art nouveau one over here, the letter holder, still.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
I would say that most valuable would be this Tiffany piece, and it's part of the Tiffany horoscope. You've got a crab here on the front of it, and I would say that in a shop, I might see that inkwell fetching $800 or $1,000. I mean, it's really quite a wonderful inkwell.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
I would say that the most pedestrian of them is this little one probably.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
And we might see an inkwell like this, maybe $50 or so.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
So for the whole collection, I'm thinking you've got about $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST:
Ooh.

APPRAISER:
But collecting is so much fun, isn't it?

GUEST:
It is.

APPRAISER:
Where have you found these?

GUEST:
Junk shops, bottle shows, antique stores. I'm going to hit some today. (laughs)

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Karen Keane
Decorative Arts, Furniture
Skinner, Inc.
Boston, MA
Appraised value (2006)
$3,000 Retail – $5,000 Retail
Featured In
Mobile, Hour 2 (#1111)
Event
Mobile, AL (July 08, 2006)
Category
Decorative Arts
Period
19th Century
Form
Ink Well
Material
Bronze , Cast Iron

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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