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Meissen Porcelain Madonna & Child, ca. 1900

Value (2016) | $3,000 Auction – $6,500 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
We inherited it from my uncle, who's an Episcopal priest and a headmaster of a private Episcopal school.

APPRAISER:
So how long has it been in your possession?

GUEST:
About three years.

APPRAISER:
Okay. And what do you know about it?

GUEST:
Nothing. (laughing) Except for the fact that it has some symbols on the back of it.

APPRAISER:
First of all, let's look at the quality of it. For something that's white porcelain, all-over white porcelain, not decorated, it's very much in the manner of what the Chinese used to do as blanc de Chine, which is basically white on white.

GUEST:
All right.

APPRAISER:
This is the German version of that, in that just a white glaze, but the modeling is fabulous. As we look at the details in the face or in any of the figures, or right down to the base and the cherubs here, absolutely fabulous quality. And that's really what tells quality when you don't have something that's colorfully decorated, and you can pick out every detail of an eye and nose, mouth. The size is tremendously impressive. Subject matter is really good. The Madonna and Child represents motherhood in many respects. It's a beautiful figure. On the back side are marks that are important to the piece.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
We have the underglaze blue crossed-swords mark, which pretty much tells you that it is Meissen, for sure. But above that, there's a glazed mark, which is hard to see a little bit. And what happens is, it's an impressed mark that's been filled in with a little bit of glaze, so it's not so evident when you see it.

GUEST:
Oh!

APPRAISER:
But that mark was only used for white glazed Meissen. It was never used for colored Meissen. It also tells us when it was made, because they didn't start using that mark until 1900. Now, it wasn't made much later than that. It's got all the bells and whistles that you would like. Condition-wise, it's fabulous. It's nice that the scepter was actually made as a separate object, so that it allowed it to survive the process. I could see that being the first part of it that would go.

GUEST:
Exactly.

APPRAISER:
Quality-wise, it couldn't be better. It's got the right marks on it. I've never seen one this size like this. And nobody at our table as we were discussing it had seen one, either. Do you have any concept of its value?

GUEST:
Absolutely none.

APPRAISER:
No?

GUEST:
We had none.

APPRAISER:
Well, I'm going to give you two values.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
I'm going to give, tell you the auction value, which if it came up at auction, would have a pre-sale estimate in the range of $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST:
All right.

APPRAISER:
If it was in a retail establishment, easily at $6,500.

GUEST:
All right, nice.

APPRAISER:
It's a fabulous figure. It's interesting to note that lots of the porcelain markets have suffered with the younger generations not being as interested.

GUEST:
Ah.

APPRAISER:
As perhaps the older generations in the idea of collecting porcelains.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
So generally speaking, Meissen has gotten soft.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
I don't think this figure has. You have a son-- does he have any interest in it?

GUEST:
No.

APPRAISER:
No interest whatsoever.

GUEST:
Absolutely none.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Stuart Slavid
Decorative Arts, Pottery & Porcelain, Silver
Appraised value (2016)
$3,000 Auction – $6,500 Retail
Featured In
Virginia Beach, Hour 3 (#2115)
Event
Virginia Beach, VA (June 25, 2016)
Category
Pottery & Porcelain
Period
1910s
Form
Sculpture
Material
Porcelain

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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