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Ancient Egyptian Canopic Jar, ca. 340 BC (Late Period)

Value (2009) | $20,000 Insurance
Watch  

GUEST:
This was my great- grandfather's, and he was a collector of antiquities. And a friend of his sent this to him. And he actually bought it from some gentlemen digging in the pyramids in Egypt.

APPRAISER:
What date would this be?

GUEST:
I don't know the date of the letter. We have the original letter. We didn't bring it with us today. APRAISER: I did see a copy of something that you had. It was dated, I think, 1897.

GUEST:
Yes, that's probably right.

APPRAISER:
It's in fact a canopic jar. And it's from Egypt. It's made of an indurated limestone. They usually come in sets of four, and dedicated to Horus, and they're called the Four Sons of Horus, which also each represent the four points of the compass. And they would have different heads on them. There's be a human head, there'd be a jackal's head, there's a baboon's head, and there's a Horus's head. This is a baboon head. This is called Hapi, and represents the north. And these canopic jars were used in the mummification process and contained the viscera, or the organs in the body, of the person being mummified for use in the afterlife. And the Hapi one, or the baboon canopic jar, would have had the lungs. Of course, it's empty now, thankfully.

GUEST:
Yes. (laughing)

APPRAISER:
Now, they started doing these in the Old Kingdom, which is about 2,500 years B.C., and they were plain. They then, in the Intermediate Period, about 1000 B.C., started to have heads on them. This is, I think, from the Late Period, which is between 750 and about 350 B.C. Now, sometimes they're painted, sometimes they have hieroglyphs on the front of them, which tell you the name of the person and his status in life, things like that. I think it's beautifully carved. It's kind of restrained, and there's traces of pigment in the eyes and in the mouth. I'm not sure if that's a later addition. I don't think so. It's a wonderfully compact object. I like it very much indeed. I think you would be comfortable insuring this for about $20,000.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
There are very, very stringent laws now about the importation of antiquities. And so if you bought something after 1970, it's a can of worms if you ever want to resell it. So if you're interested in buying antiquities or collecting them, it's very important to get a provenance that predates 1970.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Anthony Slayter-Ralph
Ancient Art
Anthony Slayter-Ralph Fine Art
Santa Barbara, CA
Appraised value (2009)
$20,000 Insurance
Featured In
Denver, Hour 3 (#1412)
Event
Denver, CO (July 25, 2009)
Category
Ancient Art
Period
Before Common Era (BCE or BC)
Form
Jar
Material
Stone

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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