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Republic Period Chinese White Jade Rams

Value (2015) | $15,000 Auction – $25,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
My dad got them from a family when he was in Formosa. It was in the middle of the '50s. All he told us was that a family that he had stayed with and was friends with gave him that as a parting gift when he came home.

APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea how old they are? Did you have any assumptions?

GUEST:
Yes, my father had taken them to the museum in San Francisco at one time in a brown bag on the bus. (laughs) And he said that they said it was the Qianlong dynasty, 1735 to 1796. And that was all the Information.

APPRAISER:
I see.

GUEST:
So...

APPRAISER:
Well, although they appear to be in the style of the Qianlong period, during the latter part of the 18th century, the imperial workshops then were highly skilled and continued to develop into the 19th century. That tradition continued actually into the Republic period, between 1911 and 1949. Now, the symbolism of these pieces is really universal in China.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
These are rams, which are symbols of male power, one of the 12 zodiac figures.

GUEST:
Mhmm.

APPRAISER:
And they are actually biting what they call Lingzhi fungus here, which are symbols of immortality.

GUEST:
Oh!

APPRAISER:
So you have power and immortality in these pair of rams.

GUEST:
Oh, I thought—

APPRAISER:
You can see the fungus on the back.

GUEST:
Oh, okay.

APPRAISER:
You can also see a sun in swirling clouds here. And the complementary wooden bases pick up this decoration.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
These are white jade with russet skin. And while they were done in the style of pieces which were carved during the Qianlong period, they're actually done, we believe, in the Republic period. Guest: Oh.

APPRAISER:
Which started in 1911, and of course ended with the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. And the fact that your dad acquired these in China in the 1950s firmly places them as a pre-1950s object.

GUEST:
Mhm.

APPRAISER:
Which in the current international market for Chinese jade is quite important. It provides a provenance and a terminus date for these two pieces.

GUEST:
Oh. APPRIASER: Now, mainland Chinese buyers who love white jade would think that these are highly desirable, even if they are not 18th century.

GUEST:
Mhm.

APPRAISER:
So what do you think they're worth?

GUEST:
(laughs) I don't know. I was told once they were worth about $2,000.

APPRAISER:
Well, as Republic period pieces, at auction, they would be worth, or carry a presale estimate, of at least $15,000 to $25,000.

GUEST:
Whew! Wow. Geez.

APPRAISER:
Now, if in fact they were Qianlong, they would be worth considerably more, maybe $80,000 to $120,000.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Dessa Goddard
Asian Arts
Bonhams, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Appraised value (2015)
$15,000 Auction – $25,000 Auction
Featured In
Spokane, Hour 1 (#2001)
Event
Spokane, WA (June 06, 2015)
Category
Asian Arts
Period
20th Century
Form
Carving , Figure
Material
Jade , 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.

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