Antiques have all suffered separation from their original owners but after they become antique, they are no longer separated from loving attention.

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I like watching Antiques Roadshow. Unlike most TV shows, It’s calm. The pace is slow. The presentation is free of the usual TV drama. Experts examine all sorts of items brought in by local hopefuls and then declare the items outstanding or as having no standing at all.

The experts are learned in their field. In the course of their examinations they reveal all sorts of history I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

Some items on every show are treasures. Some items on every show are junk. The junk items were junk when made and will remain junk forevermore. Nevertheless, whims of the market make some of these unlovely items worth more than their inherent value.

Current value is rated along with true value.

The experts do not declare any item to be junk. They’re much too civilized for that. Instead, they say to the hopeful, “Although the item you’ve brought in has little monetary worth, it has personal value because you found it worthy”.

How polite. How rare. How pleasant.

The Antiques Roadshow show travels from city-to-city. At times, or possibly in a sister show, It travels to England. I think the original roadshow was English.

The English Roadshow is more appealing to me than the American version. The people bringing in English antiques speak precisely and often know the history of the piece going back to when it was made. Very often, the piece has been in their family for generations and they’ve no interest in selling it.

They’re pleasantly surprised if their antique is worth more than they supposed, though their own estimate is rarely far off.

The English Roadshows are typically held on the grounds of some venerated estate with tented pavilions and mansion in the background. I have the distinct impression tea and cake is being served somewhere on the lawn.

The American Antiques Roadshow is less charming, though still interesting.

American antique experts are much like their English counterparts. The people bringing in American antiques are just as likely to bring in any sort of old stuff that might be considered an antique.

There’s also more interest in dollar-value than in beauty and craftmanship.

I suppose the main reason it moves from city-to-city is the hope it might give local color to the show. Sadly, Local variation is rarely as much as expected. At least not in the shows I’ve see. That’s probably because America has been homogeneous for so many years.

The English versions of the show present a different kind of people with a different notion of antique. Americans confuse old things of high value with old things they hope will worth a lot because they’re old.

Sadly, they’re often right.

An old Pez container was valued, by an old Pez container expert, as being worth many times more than its original price. How sad. Pez containers weren’t worth much when full of Pez, now they’re completely worthless - or should be.

It’s the sort of thing that gives “Antique” a bad name.

The English antiquers are more inclined to value beauty and craftmanship. Isn’t that what antiques should be about. Beauty and craftmanship always has value - if old and rare, even more value.

That makes sense. Surviving items that were mediocre when made shouldn’t be worth more when old, but that’s me, thousands disagree. I suppose sentimental value is an exception.

Certain antiques go to museums instead of auctions. The antiques in museums are items deemed too valuable to posterity to be left to the caprice of open auction. Curiously, antiques in museums aren’t called, antiques.

What is an antique? There are certain standards. No item qualifies as an antique unless desirable, rare, and over one hundred years old. Any item that’s rare, desirable, but only ninety-nine years old will have to wait a year before becoming an antique.

Auctions determine the monetary measure of desirability. Experts testify to rarity. Nothing more than one hundred years of age testifies to antique status.

Another oddity of antiques is that they are worth more damaged than repaired. Hopefuls at the Roadshow are often told, “This cabinet would be worth a gazillion dollars on today’s market, except that you’ve refinished the top. Now it’s only worth half that amount”. Ditto for replacement hardware and mending for damaged tapestry.

Some repairs, if done by a certified expert, are exceptions to the rule.

The Antiques Roadshow is not an auction. It’s more of a tryout for would be antiques. Some people are delighted to find their old item is worth far more than they ever imagined. Others are saddened to discover grandmother’s treasured heirloom is a cheap knockoff.

The emotional reactions of delight and letdown are no doubt an important draw for many in the audience, but it’s not why I watch.

I’m a little embarrassed by these emotional displays over dollar-value.

Such delight in money is countered by those who say, “How wonderful. But I’m not selling at any price” and those who say, “Well, it may not be worth much, but it means a lot to me”.

These people are living proof that not everything has a price. Some will say, “Of course, rich people don’t have to care about price”, but what about people who are not rich who say the same. Monetary value is overrated. Valuing what is beautiful is underrated.

I watch the Antiques Roadshow to see beautiful, well-crafted items that have withstood the onslaught of time. Decerning people during all the years of these items existence have recognized these items as worthy of maintenance and appreciation.

I appreciate the antiques, and the people who were wise enough to preserve them.

That’s why I watch Antiques Roadshow.

Antiques Afterthought

In 1931, Eleanor Roosevelt commissioned a bowl to commemorate the Jazz Age.

The great designer Victor Schreckengost did the deigning. Twenty to fifty were produced.

Antiques dealer Chris Jussel claims these jazz bowls are Victor Schreckengost's greatest missing masterpieces.

Several of the original bowls are in art museums. More are missing. One of the original production sold for over $200,000. Later production variations of the original Bowl (from flat brim to rounded brim) sold for over $100,000. Another series of smaller bowls, called Poor Man's Bowls, were also produced. None of the smaller Poor Man's Bowls has appeared on the public market. No one knows how much they might be worth.

It’s the sort of question that sets the antiques aficionado’s heart aflutter.

Antiques have all suffered separation from their original owners but after they become antique, they are no longer separated from loving attention.

By K. L. Shipley

Website: https://www.eclecticessays