I was watching the show tonight and one of the appraisers mentioned that when online searches fail, that’s when they can come to appraisers to get more information. How do the appraisers know or obtain this information? How are they able to estimate prices and give such detailed descriptions of the history of an object? This has always mystified me.
In: 27
Keep in mind that they can do research and consult with other appraisers before going on TV. But they also have looked at thousands and thousands of objects and built up a lot of knowledge so that some things that look obscure to us are instantly recognizable to them.
That said, there are notorious examples of respected appraisers being wrong. Sometimes they are too confident. Other times they miss stuff.
There was an example on Antiques Roadshow where a silk tapestry was appraised as Chinese. Then at auction Korean bidders drove the price way up beyond the appraisal. Apparently the tapestry was not Chinese but Korean, done in a Chinese style, and as a Korean tapestry it was much rarer and more valuable. But the appraiser didn’t know that until the auction. So even the experts can learn things.
Latest Answers