'Antiques Roadshow' guest stunned by incredible 5-figure appraisal for dogs carved out of wood
The guest who had little no idea about his family heirloom was shocked to know its significance.
July 3 2025, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
"Antiques Roadshow" is a place where the history, art, and craft behind an item fetches it a stunning appraisal, even if it isn't made out of precious metals. One guest brought such an item, which was a sculpture featuring dogs carved out of wood. The show's expert, Matthew Quinn, was surprised to know that it was made of wood, before he left the guest stunned with a $50,000 appraisal.
The guest shared how the dogs had been in their family for decades; however, they had no knowledge of the item's provenance. "Well, these dogs have been with our family for many years, and we've always had 'em around, and I just really wanted to find out more about them," he told Quinn. The appraiser shared that at first, he thought it was a bronze sculpture, but upon taking a closer look, he realized that it was something else.
"And immediately, I said to myself, 'Wow, that's just such an amazing piece of Black Forest carving,'" Quinn said. He then explained that it was typical Black Forest carving that was probably done in Germany and Switzerland. "A group of primarily Swiss carvers that really started the movement in the early 19th century. This piece should date to the latter part of the 19th, early part of the 20th century," Quinn added.
The expert then added that the subject matter was rather unique, and it could be attributed to a specific carver called Walter Mader. "As you begin to analyze what brings value to a piece of Black Forest carving, there are a number of factors: the quality of the carving and what I would like to think of as the character of the piece. I would say, without question, this is the best piece of Black Forest carving the show has ever seen," Quinn told the guest, leaving him in shock, as he said, "Wow. That's wonderful."
Quinn further noted that there were a few repairs that were done to the piece, which meant not everything was right with the item. He noted that a leg came off the piece at some point, but given the details of the faces, it doesn't really hurt the value of the piece. "None of it affects the quality of the piece. These come up for auction periodically," Quinn noted.
Coming to the appraisal, the expert put a conservative auction estimate of $20,000 to $25,000 on the item. This nearly knocked the guest off his feet as he exclaimed, "Oh, really? Really? That's wonderful! That's wonderful. That's, really great!" However, Quinn then went on to put an insurance value of $50,000 on the item.
"If, if you had to go in and find this and buy it retail, it would cost you an awful lot of money. It has just been an absolute privilege and honor to see it," Quinn told the guest in the end.
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