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Collection of Fans from Europe and China

Value (2006) | $2,400 Retail – $3,000 Retail

GUEST:
They were in my grandmother's attic stored in a trunk with dolls and parasols and other items. And unfortunately, she never opened the trunk up when we were children so I never heard any stories about them or who owned them. So that's what I'd like to find out now-- how old are they and so forth.

APPRAISER:
It might actually be a good thing that she didn't open it up, because if she'd let you play with them, because of the fragile nature of fans, they might not be in such good shape as they are today. We have several different kinds. This is a simple sandalwood fan that's called a Brisé fan. When the fan doesn't have a leaf, when the sticks continue up and you just have a ribbon like this, it's called a Brisé. This fan is hand-painted but unfortunately we have a little bit of a damage problem here. In the hierarchy of fans, what the sticks are made of helps to determine the value. And wood is probably on the low end of the scale. Then we go into ivory. You have three lovely ivory fans. This one has a nice hand-painted scene and it's also partially done with a machine. But it's nicely done here with all of your pierce work. These two are not only beautifully done with all the pierced ivory work, but they also have the little spangles or sequins that you find in the late 19th century. Most of your fans are 19th century, and most of them are European. And this is ostrich feathers which also adds to the value of the fan. The most expense thing you have would be this one, which has mother-of-pearl. Mother-of-pearl is always on the top of the scale when it comes to quality. And not only is it mother-of-pearl, but it also has sterling silver inlay, which would add to the value. And then to add to that, we have this beautiful lace. It's all done by hand. And it's in excellent, excellent condition.

GUEST:
Handmade lace.

APPRAISER:
Yes, it is handmade lace.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
So looking at your fans, we cost this on the lower end. It is a Chinese fan. It's from the late 19th to the early 20th century and it's damaged. So it would just probably fall into something like $25 to $35. This would have been higher had we not had the damage here. But we've got damage, so I'm going to put this one somewhere around $40 to $50. The next is your wooden fan. I would probably put that somewhere between $250 and $350.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
Then going up here, we're into somewhere around the same: $250, $350. This is really neat. You have a little mirror here; I love that. Where someone could actually either check out their makeup or the man behind her. That's kind of a cute thing. That's what I thought was cool. When we move to these two fans, we're somewhere in the $500 to $600 range for each.

GUEST:
Oh, really?

APPRAISER:
Yes.

GUEST:
Oh, my.

APPRAISER:
And this wonderful fan here, I would put somewhere between $800 and $1,000.

GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Wow.

APPRAISER:
So all together, this collection would retail at $2,400 to $3,000. So I really think it's a good thing that she didn't let you play with them.

GUEST:
That's true.

APPRAISER:
Another nice thing-- you have the original tassels. That would put them at the high end of the values that I'm giving you.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Beth Szescila
Decorative Arts, Rugs & Textiles
Szescila Appraisal Service
Houston, TX
Appraised value (2006)
$2,400 Retail – $3,000 Retail
Featured In
Tucson, Hour 1 (#1107)
Event
Tucson, AZ (June 17, 2006)
Category
Decorative Arts
Form
Fan
Material
Cloth , Feather , Inlay , Ivory , Silver

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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