'Antiques Roadshow' guest fears for his safety after expert revealed the value of his bronze statue
"Antiques Roadshow" guests are known to react with astonishment or in an emotional manner after they find out the true value of their family heirlooms or artifacts, which is higher than their expectations. But one very rational response to finding out that a valuable item has been sitting in one's house is to be concerned about the safety of the artifact as well as the owner. This is what happened when expert Eric Silver gave a six-figure appraisal to an authentic Auguste Rodin sculpture, brought by a guest who had very little idea about its value. Once the owner realized what he had in his possession, the first thing he could think of was how he would get out of the venue with it safely.
In the episode from 2016, the guest who brought the bronze sculpture shared that the item had been in his family for years. "It was my father's great-aunt's sculpture and when she died it came to my grandmother, and when my grandmother died it came to my father, and he has since given it to me," he said. When asked about the artist and the title, the guest shared that it was created by Auguste Rodin and the title of the sculpture was "Eternal Spring."
Taking over, Silver told the guest that at first, he was skeptical about the authenticity of the item, and duplicates of the sculpture are quite common given the provenance of Rodin's creations. Rodin, who lived from 1840 to 1917, is regarded as one of the greatest sculptors in history. He is perhaps best known for sculpting "The Thinker," according to Britannica. However, after a close examination, Silver realized that the sculpture in front of him might be a real period piece.
"Rodin was one of the greatest sculptors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some consider him comparable to Michelangelo," Silver said. He added that the value of his sculptures depends on whether they were actually made under the auspices himself. "Artists produced editions of these bronzes. He cast them as they were made and he licensed the foundry to produce these pieces," Silver explained.
The expert then pointed out that the guest's statue was actually signed "Rodin" on the side, and there was another signature of "F. Barbedienne, Fondeur". Silver explained that Ferdinand Barbedienne ran the foundry in France at the time that produced some of Rodin's work.
"Rodin died in 1918, so we know that the ones produced in this period by Barbedienne were done under the auspices of the artist himself. He had personal control over the way they were made, the way they were cast, and the way they were finished, the way they were patinated, and this is very important
when you're dealing with sculpture to denote the artist actually had his hand in overseeing this," the expert added.
He said that the final verdict about the sculpture's authenticity could only be given by a certificate from a group called the Committee Auguste Rodin. However, Silver assured that, according to him, the item was an authentic period sculpture, made somewhere between 1880 and 1918. Coming to the appraisal, Silver told the guest that in the same year, one such authentic sculpture brought $450,000 at an auction in London. "At auction, one estimate on this would be in that four hundred to five hundred thousand dollar range," Silver further told the guest. At this point, the shocked owner of the sculpture was growing concerned about his safety. "Wow, I got to get the heck out of dodge here. How am I gonna - wow," the guest said.
The expert then calmed him down by saying that the show would provide him with security. He further said that the guest was probably the only one to bring an authentic Rodin bronze ever to the show.
In an update shared by the show, Silver called the item one of his greatest finds on the show. He further shared that the guest ended up selling the item at a Sotheby's auction in London for approximately $3,97,000.
