French Palissy Ware Charger, ca. 1880
Watch
GUEST:
My grandmother received it from a friend of hers. It hung in her house, and then she gave it to my mother. And as long as I can remember, it was hanging in my mother's house, and frankly, I always thought it was very unusual, but a rather unattractive plate. But I'm curious about what it is.
APPRAISER:
Okay, so you've never liked it very much, so you never really found out anything.
GUEST:
No, I always thought it was ugly all my life, when it was in my mother's house. I thought it was an ugly plate, but my mother always thought it was very unusual and that it was probably worth something, so we brought it today.
APRAISER: Okay. It is French. It is late 19th century, probably about 1880. It is made by a very famous family of potters called the Avisons, and it's called Palissy ware. It's a sort of revival of a late 16th-century type of pottery that was designed by Bernard Palissy and was revived in the late 19th century and became very, very popular. I don't know, I mean, maybe you won't think it will be quite as ugly as it is if I tell you that on the open market, it'll probably bring $3,000 to $4,000 if it were to sell at an auction.
GUEST:
I think it's getting much more attractive.
Appraisal Details
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.
