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Appraisal Update | Cut Glass Centerpiece Base, ca. 1885

Appraisal Update | Cut Glass Centerpiece Base, ca. 1885

Extraordinary Finds | Hear More from Lowry About the Auction!

Extraordinary Finds | Hear More from Lowry About the Auction!

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Theodor Grust Oil, ca. 1890

Value (2013) | $30,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
I inherited this from my mother. Her father purchased it from a museum in Germany. During the Crystal Night, 1938 it was cut by the Nazis. It was taken back to the museum and pieced together.

APPRAISER:
Where were they living at that time?

GUEST:
They were living in a city called Krefeld, northern Rhine.

APPRAISER:
Have you ever had it appraised?

GUEST:
My mother had it appraised back in the early '60s, and at that time, it was appraised for about $5,000.

APPRAISER:
And that was appraised here in the United States?

GUEST:
In New York.

APPRAISER:
How did it make its way to New York, exactly?

GUEST:
My grandmother got out of Nazi Germany and it was one of the few possessions she was able to take with her.

APPRAISER:
And you know the name of the artist?

GUEST:
The artist, yes, Theo Grust.

APPRAISER:
Grust is not an artist that you see that often. He was the head painter at the Meissen Porcelain Works around the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Meissen, had trained to be both a porcelain painter and a painter in oil, and later, he moved to Munich, and I would imagine he did some study in Munich as well because everything about this has the Munich look. And indeed, the signature down here, "Theo," which is an abbreviation for Theodor, Theodor Grust, and M.C.H.N. for Munich. So this was painted while he was living in Munich. That would have been late 1880s, early 1890s. One of the curious things here... So it says "Theo Grust, Munich," and then it has the date of "1802." Well, that's completely wrong. He wasn't alive in 1802. It's probably more likely that it's perhaps 1892. So clearly the date is not quite right. Probably someone didn't read it properly and actually restored it slightly wrong. But this is a marvelous painting of this artist's best technique from his Munich period, so it wouldn't affect the value at all. When he did paint in oil, he painted adorable girls like this in an interior. They appear to be reading music. I think they're going to be singing from these scores. He does paint these lovely girls in often slightly folk costumes sitting in interiors of this kind lit in just this way. They're wonderfully realized. This is a man who was really a master in his art. Now, it has had some damage, as you mentioned. The history of the painting is rather turbulent. There's a tear here, there's a tear here. They've been restored and the picture has been rebacked. But nevertheless, there's a lot of very good surface left. Most of the picture is in very good condition, actually. Now, Grust doesn't come up at auction very often, but when he does, he can sell very well. Recently, a painting much smaller than this sold at auction in New York for $21,000. I would think a picture of this size with two figures and this kind of charm, several of us conferred, our feeling is it would sell for about $30,000 at auction.

GUEST:
Really?

APPRAISER:
Isn't that nice?

GUEST:
That's nice, very nice.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Elaine Banks Stainton
Paintings & Drawings
Doyle New York
New York, NY
Appraised value (2013)
$30,000 Auction
Featured In
Jacksonville, Hour 3 (#1824)
Event
Jacksonville, FL (June 08, 2013)
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Period
19th Century
Form
Painting
Material
Oil

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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