Whalebone Pie Crimper & Prickerr, ca. 1850
Watch
GUEST:
20, 30, 40 years ago, my dad would go out east. They liked to go to the Baltimore Gun Show, and then on the way back home, they would stop at different antique stores and shops and just look for things that they thought were interesting. And I don't really know a lot about it, other than I think what it is.
APPRAISER:
So what do you think it is?
GUEST:
I think it's called a jag wheel, or a jagging wheel, and I believe that it's made from either whalebone or whale teeth, and I think that sailors and whalers used to carve these things for their sweethearts when they were gone on their long voyages at sea.
APPRAISER:
Exactly.
GUEST:
And then give them as presents when they returned.
APPRAISER:
Absolutely. When you brought it over to the table, I guess you could tell that I was sort of taken with it.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
This is a pie-crimper, and you're right that it's made out of the parts of a whale. A lot of people call it "whale ivory," but there's really no such thing as whale ivory.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Could be teeth, other parts of it. These little pins right here are baleen.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Which was part of the filter that was in the back of their throat. And this is abalone.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The whalers ran out of New England into the Azores and places like that, and the piece of abalone could have come from anywhere. And this is a pricker.
GUEST:
To vent the steam or something?
APPRAISER:
Yeah, when you want to just bake the crust first, you prick a hole in the bottom of that so that the dough doesn't rise up out of the bottom of the pan.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And so they call it a pie-crimper and a pricker. But the thing that's so great about this is the wonderful sculptural quality of the carving. Of course, it's in the form of a mermaid. And the thing that I thought, besides the quality of the carving on her face, was the wonderful way that her hair's done in the back here, and the way her hands are done. That just makes it a great piece of sculpture, as well as a nice survivor from our nautical heritage. Whoever made it took what was going to be just a utilitarian object and they made it into something beautiful. To me, that's the very definition of Folk Art.
GUEST:
And it's, like, mid-1800s?
APPRAISER:
Oh, yeah, I think 1850s or even before. In my opinion-- and this is conservative-- a pre-auction estimate for this would be $6,000 to $9,000, and it could go up from there.
GUEST:
Okay. That's great.
APPRAISER:
Pretty good results for your dad doing some horse trading, huh?
GUEST:
I would say so. (laugh)
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.
