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Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Irish Tea Table, ca. 1740

Value (2018) | $2,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
We bought it in an antique shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 25 to 30 years ago.

APPRAISER:
What did you like about it when you saw it? What did you like?

GUEST:
Well, we just liked the finish, we liked the proportions, the shape, we liked the legs.

APPRAISER:
The curves, okay, okay.

GUEST:
We liked that the little foot was different, and we later understood that it was a spade foot.

APPRAISER:
Do you know what these are also called?

GUEST:
No.

APPRAISER:
We call them "slipper feet" in the trade, because they look like a little slipper foot. This line right here is from where a tray molding was applied, like, a concave molding, and that probably got lost over 100 years ago.

GUEST:
Oh, wow.

APPRAISER:
And that could've held things on, and if somebody went like this, at least the teacup wouldn't spill off it. And this tea table, which is what it is... I don't know if you knew what it was used for.

GUEST:
Well, we thought it was probably a tea table, but we use it as an end table.

APPRAISER:
Okay-- it was made in Ireland, probably in the 1730s or the 1740s.

GUEST:
Oh!

APPRAISER:
Irish tables often have this nice bulged apron, with these C scrolls. Then you have that slipper foot, which really was popular all through Ireland. And when you flip this over, you can see that the secondary wood, right here, is a deal-- it's a red pine. And this type of pine, when it turns up over there, it's called deal wood. It's a soft wood, and it has knots in it, and also, you see a lot of wormholes.

GUEST:
Uh-huh.

APPRAISER:
All those things are things we see on Irish tables, okay? This is mahogany.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
And most of the Irish ones are mahogany. What'd you pay?

GUEST:
We paid maybe around $1,800 for it.

APPRAISER:
$1,800 a while ago-- that's quite a lot of money back then, yeah.

GUEST:
Yes, it was a lot, it was a big decision.

APPRAISER:
Today, a table like this, with this tray molding missing, is probably worth $4,000.

GUEST:
Uh-huh.

APPRAISER:
If you actually had a nice new molding put on, and you could get the design to look a lot nicer, and probably in somebody's shop, it would probably be worth $6,500 or $7,000.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
Because it just, it just... look nicer, it would give some definition to that edge, and your cognac wouldn't spill off it, okay?

GUEST:
I like that idea.

APPRAISER:
Now, if this were an American table made in Virginia, in the Lower Rappahannock Basin, okay? The American version of this that they made here by Irish immigrants in the 1750s in Virginia, it'd be worth probably about $200,000, $250,000.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
It really would.

GUEST:
Yeah.

APPRAISER:
It would, because those are so rare.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Leigh Keno
Folk Art, Furniture
Keno Auctions
New York, NY
Update (2018)
$2,000 Retail
Appraised value (2003)
$4,000 Retail
Featured In
Savannah, Hour 3 (#0812)
Vintage Savannah (#2220)
Event
Savannah, GA (July 12, 2003)
Category
Furniture
Period
18th Century
Form
Tea Table
Material
Mahogany , Pine

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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