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1879 René de Saint-Marceaux Bronze

Value (2012) | $15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
I bought it from friends that were in the antique business when they liquidated their business. This was back in the Boston area, in about '76.

APPRAISER:
What did you pay for it at the time?

GUEST:
$2,400.

APPRAISER:
That was a lot of money.

GUEST:
(laughing) I liked him.

APPRAISER:
So are you a collector, or was this something that struck your eye?

GUEST:
No, he just struck my eye, and I had to have him when they offered him to me. Yeah.

APPRAISER:
So you don't know much about the artist or...?

GUEST:
I just know that he's French.

APPRAISER:
Well, it is a French artist. René de Saint-Marceaux. And he was born in 1845 and died in 1915. He did a lot of public commissions, but he also did some small-scale works that were mostly portraits and animals. I think those were the more commercially viable works. This is a wonderful figure of a harlequin, a jester.

GUEST:
It may have been what attracted you to it. I think it was the mask, the eyes. Yeah.

APPRAISER:
No, it's wonderful. And he's standing on this naturalistic wooden floor, this great, defiant pose.

GUEST:
Very confident.

APPRAISER:
And it's signed here on the back. We can spin him around a little bit. But it's signed Saint-Marceaux here, 1879. And then it has a Barbedienne foundry, which was one of Paris's best known bronze foundries.

GUEST:
Oh, okay.

APPRAISER:
And then there's this little mark here, which shows that it's a reduced version of a larger-scale piece.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
There's a marble of the same subject that is a life-size figure.

GUEST:
Where is it located now?

APPRAISER:
It's in Vichy, in France.

GUEST:
Okay, okay.

APPRAISER:
And there are also on the market have been some life-size plaster reproductions of the marble, and this version, which seems to be his best-known sculpture, in a whole bunch of different sizes--so everything from probably around a foot high and up. And this is probably the largest scale.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
So you paid a fair amount for it in the '70s.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
Have you had it looked at in this intervening time?

GUEST:
I did about ten years ago with a local antique dealer. And he thought about $6,000.

APPRAISER:
Based on its size, the fact that it's the largest scale, I think that price was undervalued. I'd say in today's market, at auction, probably in the $15,000 to $20,000 range.

GUEST:
You're kidding.

APPRAISER:
No.

GUEST:
What a wonderful surprise.

APPRAISER:
Yeah, it is a wonderful piece.

GUEST:
(laughing) I can't believe it.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Kerry Shrives
Metalwork & Sculpture
Skinner, Inc.
Boston, MA
Appraised value (2012)
$15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction
Featured In
Rapid City, Hour 2 (#1714)
Event
Rapid City, SD (July 14, 2012)
Category
Metalwork & Sculpture
Period
19th Century
Form
Sculpture
Material
Bronze

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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