Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: I brought a vase that I found at my dad's house that he was going to scrap.

He bought it at an auction for the scrap metal.

APPRAISER: What drew you to it?

GUEST: The colors.

It's just stunning and beautiful.

APPRAISER: Well, what you've brought us today is a French parcel-gilt and patinated bronze and cloisonn enamel vase by Christofle and Co. and designed bymile Reiber.

And it's, in fact, dated 1874.

In the mid-19th century, Commodore Matthew Perry had sailed into Tokyo and opened up Japan to trade with the West for the first time in over 200 years.

And that opening of trade with the West ignited this rage in Europe and the rest of the Western world for items in the Japanese taste and style.

And this was particularly popular in France in that third quarter of the 19th century.

So we're in a time period where the Industrial Revolution has led to the advances in the ability to apply gold and silver to other metals via electrolysis.

And the company Christofle was very accomplished at this.

And in fact, Christofle had purchased the patents to make themselves the sole maker of plated wares like that in France at the time.

So the company originated in 1830 as a jewelry maker, but by the point this was made, in the 1870s, they'd really expanded into all types of tablewares, decorative arts, and even furniture.

So whenmile Reiber was hired on at Christofle in 1865 to be the chief of their design and composition studio, he brought with him this excitement and just fascination with Japanese and Chinese works of art.

And we see that influence in the form of this vase.

So the form is that of an ancient Chinese bronze called a hu vase, and that would have held water or wine.

We've got just the beautiful figural handles with the kind of dolphin head issuing the S-form scroll on the handles.

Do you know what he paid for the...

GUEST: He paid six dollars for it.

APPRAISER: A conservative auction estimate would be $7,000 to $10,000.

GUEST: That's amazing.

He did good.

APPRAISER: He did very good.

And you did good by saving it from the scrapyard.

GUEST: Yes, I did good, too.

(chuckles)