Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I got it in Florida about 17 years ago. And I got it at an estate sale, but I don't know what I paid for it. I forgot.

APPRAISER

Can you guess?

GUEST

Somewhere probably around five dollars.

APPRAISER

Well, it's really charming, and it's a bronze. It's what they call an Austrian cold-painted bronze. This cat also has a secret, doesn't it?

GUEST

That's right.

APPRAISER

The cat opens up, and it converts to a little naughty image here.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

And it's kind of, I would think, an early Transformer. This was probably done around 1910. There was a very famous artist that made these. His name was Bergman. And he did large-scale sculptures. But he always signed his small "naughty bronzes," "Namgreb," which is "Bergman" spelled backwards.

GUEST

Oh.

APPRAISER

And he always signed his pieces. This piece does not have Bergman's signature, so I have to assume it is a colleague or a contemporary of his. But it does have the Austria mark on the back, which indicates that it is an Austrian bronze, So what you've got here is a lovely little naughty bronze, by day, kitty, and by night, a very risqu image. Value on a piece like this, because they're highly collectible, is $2,000.

GUEST

Oh, my goodness.

APPRAISER

Isn't that fantastic?

GUEST

Yes, it is.

APPRAISER

Well, thank you very much for bringing it in. It's a lovely, lovely piece.

GUEST

Thank you.