Fanti Wooden Stool, ca. 1920
Watch
APPRAISER:
Tell us how your family got it.
GUEST:
I think it was an estate sale or an auction. Long Island, New York.
APPRAISER:
It was your dad?
GUEST:
My dad.
APPRAISER:
And so, about what time would that have been?
GUEST:
I know it's been around over 50 years.
APPRAISER:
50 years.
GUEST:
So, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Okay, so did your dad tell you anything about the piece?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
All right, this stool is from Ghana.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
There's two tribes that do these stools.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The Ashanti and the Fanti. This particular stool is from the Fanti. This piece was not made for tribal use. This piece was commissioned, 1910 to 1930, by a colonial for a Fanti carver to carve this for him. There's a couple of ways that we know that.
GUEST:
Hmm.
APPRAISER:
The colonials were a little bit taller, so the stools are bigger. Now, these stools, in a traditional context, are for prestige and status. Only the wealthy people could have these in their homes. So, ironically, you have a colonial commissioning a piece for exactly the same reason-- as a prestige piece for his home. Now, in African art, we have decorative pieces, we have reproductions, we have fakes, we have folk art. Since this is a piece that is commissioned for sale, it's not a fake. I really look at these now more as folk art. And this is really a terrific example of a Fanti stool. The elephant is a symbol of power. We have inlaid eyes. We have one little problem on the back here. We do have one broken tusk. Now, that's going to detract a little bit from the value.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, one other thing that I want to show. If we look down here, we can see that we definitely have wear on the seat. In African art, once we know what something is-- whether it's a mask, a stool, a figure-- we want to see a wear pattern that is appropriate for that kind of object. This has been used in your family.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And that's great. So we have a terrific piece here, beautifully carved. In my gallery, this would be $600 to $900.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
In the decorative market-- that is, if somebody had this in a decorative center or a designer came in, and then the designer put it into a home-- it could be $1,000 to $1,500.
GUEST:
Really?
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."
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.
