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Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

Owner Interview | Robert Cumpston Sculpture, ca. 1985

Owner Interview | Robert Cumpston Sculpture, ca. 1985

Owner Interview | Babe Ruth Archive

Owner Interview | Babe Ruth Archive

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Totem Pole Model Attributed to Edenshaw, ca. 1900

Value (2020) | $3,000 Auction – $4,000 Auction
Watch  

APPRAISER:
What you brought here today is a Pacific Northwest coast carving made of argillite, which is a material that's between shale and slate, and there's a few volumes written about it, and they call it the coal that won't burn. Now, how did it come into your family?

GUEST:
It's my great-grandfather's, and his sister lived in Ketchikan, Alaska.

APPRAISER:
Okay.

GUEST:
And she gave it to him as a gift.

APPRAISER:
That makes sense. This was the kind of the enduring curio that came out of the early-19th-century Pacific Northwest coast. This material is mined in Queen Charlotte Island by the Haida Indians, and there was a famous carver by the name of Charles Edenshaw. He was sort of the mentor of this movement, and like I said, this is the most enduring curio that came out, these totemic argillite totem poles with these lovely carved features on it. Now, this has some potential of being from the Edenshaw school because of the way that he crosshatched his designs. There are a few design elements that are not here. You noticed when it came to the table, the first thing I did was held it to my face?

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
There's a lot of reproductions of these, and they're pretty good museum reproductions. So I wanted to feel it was cold, because the natural stone will always remain cold under any, virtually any circumstance. There's some problems with condition. His little head had come off. The bear's head had come off at one point. But on today's marketplace, you're probably looking at $3,000 to $4,000 for this if it was come to sale, because it's so finely carved. And with a little more investigation, it could, it might be a Charles Edenshaw school piece.

GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Linda Dyer
Tribal Arts
Franklin, TN
Update (2020)
$3,000 Auction – $4,000 Auction
Appraised value (2020)
$28,000 Auction – $38,000 Auction
Featured In
Vintage Louisville 2021, Hour 1 (#2510)
Event
Louisville, KY (July 28, 2007)
Category
Tribal Arts
Period
20th Century
Form
Sculpture

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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