'Antiques Roadshow' guest brings artifacts in paper bag — then she found out its real value
"Antiques Roadshow" guests have often been unaware of the actual value of items that they didn't take too seriously, and some have even been reprimanded for the way that they handled the artifacts in their possession. But the owner of a collection of wood carvings went a step further and carried them to the show in a paper bag. Later, the expert, Ken Farmer, revealed to the guest that the dog, parrot, chicken, and eagle carvings were created by a renowned artist named Wilhelm Schimmel and were worth about $15,000. The number made the guest lose her balance before she could fight her sister for her favorite eagle carving.
The guest had inherited the carvings from her parents but had no idea what they were. "My parents collected antiques when we were children, and we're helping them get ready to move out of their house into a retirement home. We found these, wanted to find out a little bit about them," she told Farmer. The appraiser then took over to explain the significance of the items.
Talking about the creator of the carvings, he told the guest that it was a German artist named Wilhelm Schimmel. "He was a German immigrant born in 1817. He died in 1890. And he was an itinerant who did all sorts of things, but mainly he made these carvings and he traded 'em for supplies, and apparently he traded 'em for a lot of liquor, because originally, a lot of these were found in alehouses and taverns and stuff," the expert explained. The appraiser added that the artist is known as one of America's foremost 19th-century folk sculptors, and his eagle carvings were particularly famous. "He's mostly known for his eagles, but he's also known for the other animals that are down here," Farmer noted.
Farmer then revealed to the guest, "The dog is $1,000," leaving her astonished. The chicken is probably $2,000, the parrot is $3,000," he went on to add, leaving the guest in shock. "Wow. I just have 'em in a paper bag over there!" she said as she struggled for balance.
However, Farmer wasn't done yet. He then went on to appraise the eagle carving at $9,000, nearly knocking the guest off her feet. "Wow! There’s my sister over there. I can't believe that. Wow!" the guest exclaimed after hearing the staggering number.
Watch the moment here.
"So the two of you got these together. How are you going to decide who gets what?" The farmer asked the guest in the end. The guest quickly picked up the eagle and clenched it to her chest, saying, "The Eagle's mine!" The guest must be happier now, as the show recently updated the collection's value to $21,000.
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