• Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Our Sponsors

Discovering America’s Hidden Treasures ™
On Tour
Watch
Special Features
Appraisals Archive 
Appraisers 
 Shop
    Quick links
  • Enter the 2023 Ticket Sweepstakes
  • 2023 Tour Complete Rules
  • 2023 Tour FAQs
  • Baton Rouge, LA — May 2
  • Raleigh, NC — May 16
  • Akron, OH — June 6
  • Sturbridge, MA — June 13
  • Anchorage, AK — July 11
On Tour

On Tour

2023 Tour Rules

2023 Tour Rules

2023 Tour FAQs

2023 Tour FAQs

    Quick links
  • Watch Episodes Online
  • TV Schedule
  • Best Moments of Season 26
  • Best Moments of Season 25
  • Best Moments of Season 24
  • Best Moments of Season 23
  • Cities from Past Seasons
  • About Executive Producer Marsha Bemko
  • Roadshow's Editorial Policy
Watch | Santa Fe’s Museum Hill, Hour 1

Watch | Santa Fe’s Museum Hill, Hour 1

Watch | Indianapolis, Hour 1

Watch | Indianapolis, Hour 1

Watch | Filoli, Hour 3

Watch | Filoli, Hour 3

    Quick links
  • Detours Podcast
  • Video "RoadShorts"
  • Roadshow Topics — Endangered Species
  • Roadshow Topics — Sports Appraisals
  • Roadshow Topics — Best Moments
  • Roadshow Topics — Staff Picks
  • For Teachers
  • AR "Extras" Newsletter Sign-up
Appraisal Collection | See More Raymond Jonson Appraisals

Appraisal Collection | See More Raymond Jonson Appraisals

Link | See the Jean Dunand's Normandie Commission

Link | See the Jean Dunand's Normandie Commission

Appraisal Collection | See More Gene Kloss

Appraisal Collection | See More Gene Kloss

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

1554 Giorgio Ghisi "Adoration of the Shepherds" Engraving

Value (2016) | $15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
Well, I found it in an online auction. I paid $600 for the print. I have about another $500 in between the conservation work and the framing. I know it's an engraving by Giorgio Ghisi.

APPRAISER:
You're absolutely right, it's an engraving by the Italian Renaissance master Giorgio Ghisi. He was a patriarch of a family of engravers out of Mantua in central Italy. And this is one of his most famous prints.

GUEST:
Ooh.

APPRAISER:
And you can see he identifies himself in this tablet in Latin, "Giorgio Ghisi from Mantua." He made this engraving after a painting that had been made by the Italian Mannerist Renaissance artist Agnolo Bronzino.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
He was known as Bronzino for his very tanned look. Ooh, nice. And he was a well-known Mannerist painter, and Mannerism was this high Renaissance style that exaggerated, especially body forms. So you see the long necks of the angels and the very long fingers on the Virgin and the muscular back on that shepherd. Very well-known painting by Bronzino, which is now in the National Museum in Budapest.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Bronzino made this on a commission for a Florentine aristocrat in the 1530s. Right. And the engraving was then made by Ghisi in the early 1550s. And what you have here subject-wise is the Nativity or the Adoration of the Shepherds. This is a great story in the Renaissance art trade, as well. Ghisi, the patriarch of this family of engravers, was actually invited to the Netherlands by a publisher up there in 1550 whose name was Hieronymus Cock. And Cock invited this Italian printmaker to come to the Netherlands to make an engraving of this then-famous painting about 20 years after it had been made. So it was well-known enough and revered enough...

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
...that you have this.

GUEST:
I didn't realize any of that.

APPRAISER:
Which is very cool, happening in the mid-1500s.

GUEST:
Yeah.

APPRAISER:
It is in a great state of preservation.

GUEST:
That's good to know.

APPRAISER:
It's obviously in reverse of the painting that Bronzino made, but that is about the full sheet. Wonderful to see it like that. Given its importance, its size, its state of preservation, I would put an estimate on it at auction for between $15,000 and $20,000.

GUEST:
Oh, my God!

APPRAISER:
And I wouldn't be surprised if it sold for more. I think that's conservative.

GUEST:
Are you serious? I... I find it hard to believe. I would have never guessed that. Never guessed it. That's awesome. I love looking at it every day. (chuckling) Amazing.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Todd Weyman
Prints & Posters
Swann Auction Galleries
New York, NY
Appraised value (2016)
$15,000 Auction – $20,000 Auction
Featured In
Virginia Beach, Hour 3 (#2115)
Event
Virginia Beach, VA (June 25, 2016)
Category
Prints & Posters
Period
16th Century
Form
Engraving , Print
Material
Paper

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.

More from PBS

American Masters: Saul Bellow

Discover this Nobel Prize Winner's impact on American literature.

NOVA: Rebuilding Notre Dame

Explore the challenges of restoring this iconic landmark.

Craft in America

Experience the magic and influence of craft.

"I know there's a lot of envious people hearing that story..." Antiques Roadshow on Facebook

What’s inside the case?

@RoadshowPBS on Instagram

William Austin Burt patented the U.S.'s first "typographer” on July 23 in 1829. 110 year later came this "The Gold Royal" typewriter… @RoadshowPBS

We're soaking up the story behind this @LeslieKeno appraisal! #antiquesroadshow @RoadshowPBS

  • Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • ABOUT ROADSHOW
  • Schedule
  • Contact Us
  • Credits
  • Press
  • For Teachers
  • Telephone Scam Warning
  • Roadshow Imitators Warning
  • Doing Business with Appraisers
  • Our Sponsors
  • Our Funders
  • Corporate Sponsorship

Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry, American Cruise Lines, and Consumer Cellular. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Produced By

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is a trademark of the BBC and is produced for PBS by GBH under license from BBC, Worldwide. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. ©1997 – 2023 WGBH Educational Foundation.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Copyright
Subscribe Hide  ×

A weekly collection of previews, videos, articles, interviews, and more!