'Antiques Roadshow' guest gets $15,000 appraisal for grandfather's stick — but refuses to part with it
"Antiques Roadshow" guests often walk in with family heirlooms, which are close to their hearts, and are consistently surprised by how much they're worth. But even after finding out that such items are worth a lot of money at auctions, sentimental value comes first for most. Guests on the show often turn up with family heirlooms that they have no intention of ever selling. Sometimes, they just want to know the item’s value and how much it should be insured for.
It was the same for a guest who had brought a stick that used to belong to her grandfather. But her grandfather was not an ordinary man. He was the one and only Elijah Pierce. For those unfamiliar with that name, Pierce was a wood-carving artist in the 1900s, and he was one of the very best in the business. His work is also considered part of African-American history and culture.
The guest said that her grandfather used to be a barber alongside a wood-carver, and often tended to his art when he took small breaks from cutting people’s hair. “He started with little animals, making zoos for his wife. And as he carved them for his wife, he began to make bigger objects,” she said. The guest then diverted the expert’s attention to a stick her grandfather had carved, called the Preaching Stick.
The reason it was called that was that Pierce used to carry the stick while delivering sermons in the Church on Sundays. He also used it as a reference to tell stories to those whose hair he cut. This was because the stick had several images carved onto it from his life. For example, the guest pointed out a comb and a brush carved on it that Pierce might have used in his barber days.
There was also evidence of the maker being a devout Christian, as there were engravings of Jesus Christ on it as well. The expert, Nancy Druckman, was fascinated by the object, and she made no secret of her admiration. “It is a remarkable piece of African-American art. It speaks to his personal narrative and his religious fervour and spirit. So, it’s all kind of present on this preaching stick,” she said.
“There is now an enormous interest in the artwork of self-taught African-American artists, because in this particular category, the expression and the intensity of what is depicted on these works of art is really central to the maker’s being,” the expert added.
Druckman then revealed that Pierce’s work has been sold for upwards of $87,000, which made the guest seem quite impressed. She then said that this stick could get $15,000 to $20,000 at auction. However, as the guest had no interest in selling it at any point, the expert advised her to get it insured for $40,000 to $50,000.
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