Glass Decanter & Stem Set
GUEST:
I got it about 30 years ago. There was an elderly gentleman that lived in San Jacinto. And he had an antique shop, and, um, he didn't have a family, and he just kind of adopted me. And, uh, the very best of what he had, that he thought was his best, he wanted me to have.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's probably Baccarat glass, but in order to prove that, we would have to see the line drawings. It also leans towards a nice Bohemian glass. Either way, values and styles are pretty much the same. Now, what you have here is a tall stem, and this is all heavy gilt work, along with heavy enameling. This is also a stemmed wine, a short wine. And again, all the gilt work-- it's all matching, they're just perfect condition. This is the champagne. A little flatter, lower. All the way through, the pattern carries. That is the finger bowl and under plate. But today, one would use it for more of a dessert. You have a handled decanter and a stoppered decanter. And if you notice, you have two different stop tops.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
That's so when they're out of the bottle, you could remember which one goes in which.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
The one on the end is missing a stopper, and I'm guessing that that's a little cordial, or a little liqueur. Now, generally, these come in a huge set. Do you have more?
GUEST:
Yes. Originally, I had 27 pieces. My husband was helping me one day before a party, and he knocked a glass shelf out.
APPRAISER:
Oops.
GUEST:
And nine of them broke.
APPRAISER:
Oops.
GUEST:
Yeah. Oops. So... Maybe I shouldn't know how big an oops. (both laughing)
APPRAISER:
Well, these were made in about 1870s, 1880s, and again, I would lean towards Baccarat, and since I can't see the other pieces that are available...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The pieces that are here on the table, for insurance, would be in the $4,500 to $5,000 range.
GUEST:
Ooh.
APPRAISER:
So, I hope the oops wasn't...
GUEST:
Yeah. Well, he's an antique, too, so I have to keep him.
APPRAISER (laughing): Oh, that's great. One thing about this is, you would not be able to replace this very easily, so cherish what you have left.
GUEST:
And keep my husband away from it. Well, just make sure he uses all the bubble wrap.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. There you go.
GUEST:
Well, that's wonderful. Thank you very much.
APPRAISER:
Thank you.
GUEST:
That's nice.
Appraisal Details
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."
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