Sideroads Is There A Treasure Lurking

Is there a treasure lurking
in your attic?
Rhino Horn Cup
wellversed
in Italian paintings, and sold it to another dealer for $1,750.
That dealer in turn consigned it to auction – where
it was estimated to be worth
somewhere between $20,000
and $30,000. It eventually sold
for $175,000 – a great coup for
the second dealer, but the
original owner and estate
had lost heavily.
Y
o u
all know
the Cinderella story of the
antiques world: dusty
old knick-knack from
great-aunt Gussie turns out to be
worth zillions.
It might surprise you to know
how often this really happens, even
in today’s softening market for antiques and collectibles.
Which is why, if you’re named
trustee (or executor/executrix) of a
family estate, it can pay off to have
professional help in assessing the value of
that estate. Not only that, as governments tighten laws to make sure trustees report accurate
values for estates being probated, knowing the
true market value of your estate could keep you
out of legal hot water.
Here are just a few of the hidden treasures I’ve
unearthed over the years:
Rhino Horn Cup
A truly dramatic story unfolded in my newspaper column in 2010. A woman asked me to
asses a rhinoceros-horn cup originally brought
to England by her husband’s great-grandfather
after the Boer War.
An Asian art expert I consulted on her behalf
valued the cup at $70,000. However, it later
sold at auction for $250,000. This lady was fortunate she had declined an opportunity to sell
the cup some years earlier, for a pittance.
Palizzi painting
This painting by Italian artist Filippo Palizzi was
sold about 12 years ago to a general antiques dealer. Unfortunately, this dealer was not particularly
26
SIDEROADS
Lalique vase
The owner of this beautiful
amber vase invited an antiques
dealer to her home to view a dining-room
suite she had for sale. The dealer casually offered
to take the vase off this woman’s hands as well –
for a fraction of its actual value. Fortunately, the
woman’s daughter was suspicious and contacted
me through my newspaper column.
Sure enough, the vase turned out to be an
original work by French Art Nouveau
glassmaker Rene Lalique, and worth
upwards of $20,000.
Banjo
ments were. She promptly produced this beautifully inlaid banjo and played me a flawless
Duke Ellington tune.
The banjo – a 1920s Gibson tenor – turned
out to be worth $20,000. Even though the family knew it might be valuable, they didn’t know
how to sell something like this. It might have
been sent to a thrift shop or sold through Kijiji.
Fortunately, my client chose to have her estate
appraised while she was still in good health.
Pairpoint Lamp
The owners of this accent lamp didn’t think
much of it, and were considering giving it away.
It turned out to be an original Pairpoint “puffy”
lamp – so-called for the puff-style painted flowers decorating its shade. The American Pairpoint Corporation made high-quality art-glass
lamps and lampshades between 1910 and 1920,
and these items are much in demand
by collectors today. This particular
lamp was eventually valued at
$12,500.
Racing Car
I stumbled across
this banjo while appraising a collection
of pottery and furniture for a remarkable lady well into
her 90s. During the
appraisal I noticed
photos of my client
and her sister playing
banjos, and jokingly
asked where the instru-
fFall/Winter 2012/2013
Toys are a very solid
and fun category for
collectors, although
they are often overlooked as not being
particularly serious.
This rare, foot-long,
gas-powered car dates
from the 1940s, and
was originally made for
adults to race on a track.
Lalique Vase
Decanter
it Worth?) is read by over two million Canadians every week. The
column currently appears in The
Record, The Windsor Star, The Ottawa Citizen,
The Guelph
Mercury and
The Moncton
Times & Transcript.
“I’M NO SOCIAL DIRECTOR
BUT I UNDERSTAND FUN.”
Decanter
Amputation Saw
0230
This Hungarian decanter is well
over 100 years old, and was made
in the famed Zsolnay factory. It’s
extremely rare and quite desirable
on the collecting circuit, where it
will be worth up to $20,000.
What has life taught me? That a busy schedule, a
love of learning and a positive attitude make all the
difference. Trying new experiences, making new
friends and contributing to my community are what
makes life at Royal Palisade so enjoyable. From fitness
classes to book clubs, from shopping trips to art
exhibits, there’s something stimulating every day. And
that’s what keeps life interesting.
My client believed this to be a
“fancy” old-fashioned mitre saw.
It turned out to be a surgeon’s tool
– an amputation saw made around
1550. Very rare, it eventually sold
for $7,000.
John Sewell of Stratford has been
buying, selling and appraising
antiques and fine art for over 30
years. His highly successful syndicated column, This
Old Thing! (formerly So,
W h a t ’s
Call Valerie at
(519) 271-9800 to
book a personal
visit or join one of
our many activities.
jo
Ban
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Across from the Rotary Complex
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