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Pyrographic Folk Art Wardrobe, ca. 1910

Value (2011) | $8,000 Auction – $20,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
I brought a, what I was told, a blanket closet that was done in pyrography, I think that's the name of the craft. And I don't know who did it, and it's something that I got in 1987 at an antique annex.

APPRAISER:
Well, you are correct. This is what's known as pyrographic art. Pyrographic art is when an artisan will heat up a metal tip or wire and actually burn a design into a cabinet. It's been a long-honored tradition. It kind of developed a resurgence during the Victorian period and early into the 20th century. And what you're looking at is a wardrobe, probably made out of western red cedar.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
And I think the wardrobe was made probably 1880s to 1900. And if you take a look at the hardware, and then if you open up the door, and you look at the through tenons...

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
This is late 19th-century construction.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
But really, the design is 1910, 1915. You've got this wonderful Art Nouveau design of these trailing flowers, and it continues over onto the side, with a beautiful woman that seems to be inspired by the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, a lovely lady with her arms outstretched and foliate surrounding her. But the real pièce de résistance is the front.

GUEST:
I know.

APPRAISER:
So interesting with these babies. There's ten panels.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
And seven of them have wings. If we go to traditional art history and you think about babies with wings, I think they probably did pass away, which is sad. If you look on the foreheads of a few of these children, you'll see faint names. And I suspect that that probably is the children's names and you wonder if the artisan that did this... if these were... his children. You know, it's just a story of his life.

GUEST:
I know, and this one I love is holding a flower that extends down here, it's so sweet.

APPRAISER:
If you look down at the bottom here, you see this area is unfinished.

GUEST:
I know, I know.

APPRAISER:
And these two children. While the outline was burned in, if you look at the hair and the eyebrows, it's been penciled in, but never burned. So he's laid the design out, and it's like he never got there, so do you wonder, "Did he pass away as well?"

GUEST:
I know.

APPRAISER:
Or what happened? When you bought it, how much did you pay for it, may I ask?

GUEST:
I paid $300 for it.

APPRAISER:
And have you ever had it appraised?

GUEST:
No, I haven't.

APPRAISER:
I'm going to take it out of the category of pyrographic art and call it folk art because it's so unique and so special. I think it's probably safe to say you're never going to see another one like this.

GUEST:
I don't think so either.

APPRAISER:
So in today's market, if we were to place an auction estimate on it, we would say $8,000 to $12,000.

GUEST:
That's wonderful.

APPRAISER:
Now, you bought it at an antique shop. Yeah. If I were to go to New York and see this in a retail setting, I think you could probably easily see a price tag of $15,000 to $20,000.

GUEST:
That's great.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Andrew Holter
Folk Art, Furniture, Paintings & Drawings
Nye and Company
Bloomfield, NJ
Appraised value (2011)
$8,000 Auction – $20,000 Retail
Featured In
Eugene, Hour 1 (#1604)
Event
Eugene, OR (June 04, 2011)
Category
Furniture
Period
20th Century , Art Nouveau
Form
Wardrobe
Material
Cedar , Wood

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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