Appraisal News
Provides current topical information on the appraisal process relevant to the consumer for art, antiques, collectibles, and other personal property: estates, divorce, insurance, claims, planning, etc.
PBS TV Antiques: The Chesapeake Collectibles Show 2011
Mark C. Grove, ASA, is a guest on PBS TV Maryland Public Television (MPT), which has in development The Chesapeake Collectibles Show. The show was filmed at the studio made famous by the financial journalist, Louis Rukeyser, at Owens Mills, MD. Filmed in-studio on 5 & 6 June 2010, the Program is scheduled to commence [… read more]
Artificial Art: Bovine Flatulence
Professional appraisers use the term “value attribute”. A value attribute is any feature that contributes to the sum of values an object possesses. Age, provenance, maker’s mark(s), condition, and physical elements such as arms on a chair are some of the typical factors that comprise an object’s worth. For instance, a chair with arms has [… read more]
Market Report: Riviera Maya
We have just returned from a week at a 5-star resort on the Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was a beautiful experience with fine dining, dancing, 90°F three-acre-sized pools, lush tropical gardens, and royal service from a staff of 1500 professionals that do everything but bow and scrape. Occupancy was light. Perhaps it was so because [… read more]
Lost Wax Casting: Bronzes
Lost Wax Casting: A technique adapted from metalworking. The object to be fashioned in glass is modeled in wax and encased in clay or plaster that is heated. The wax melts and is released through vents or “gates,” also made of wax, which have been attached to the object before heating; [… read more]
Studio Art Glass Movement
The Studio Art Glass Movement was a movement that began in the United States in the 1960s and has spread all over the world. It is characterized by the proliferation of glass artists who are not affiliated with factories, but work with hot glass in their own studios. Independent glass artists appeared [… read more]
Antique Collectors’ Vocabulary: What’s a Qilin?
What is a Qilin? It is a hoofed Chinese chimerical (fanciful mythical) creature known throughout various East Asian cultures. It is said to appear sometimes with the arrival of a sage. Considered a good omen, it brings rui (serenity or prosperity). It varies in form, but is often depicted as a [… read more]
Greene & Greene: Arts & Crafts Movement
Greene & Greene: Was a Pasadena California architectural firm (1894-1922) that specialized in fine quality bungalow style house designs and their decorative interior elements, and Arts & Crafts style furniture. The firm was established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954).
Anthony Quervelle (1789-1865): Philadelphia Furniture Maker
Anthony Quervelle (US-French: 1789-1856): Cabinet-maker, Philadelphia from ca.1817, known for ornate mahogany and giltwood pier tables and cabinets often decorated with ormolu mounts mirroring the style of his elite contemporaries in France (Empire) and England (Regency), both are similar very high-styles. Surviving pieces by Quervelle today are sought after by serious collectors [… read more]
Humor in the Marketplace: Wingnuts and Boat Anchors
The appraisal process for personal property appraisers has technical and legal limitations (USPAP) similar to most other professions. But the greatest difference credentialed appraisers have over other professions (i.e. law, accounting, etc.) is the subjective aspect of our work. Though we must base our numerical conclusions on credible market data, we nonetheless have to use [… read more]
Advice for Executors and Executrixes: Appraisers Cannot Buy What They Appraise
If you are an executor, executrix, or have power of attorney in matters that have to do with personal property, then it´s your fiduciary duty to be informed of the Appraisal Process. Appraisers must not buy what they appraise due to the inherent creation of a conflict of interest. Simply put, appraisers are forbidden to [… read more]