Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

This was given by my mother, who actually, she got it from my grandfather a long time ago. And I think that I remember when I was a child that I couldn't touch anything. She used to tell me, "Don't touch it, don't touch it," and I never thought that I'm going to get it in the end, to keep it in the end. So it's a beautiful piece, I love it. I don't know much about it. I know that it was from Hungary, it's very old, stayed in the family for a long time. And that's all I really know. I've played with it a couple times.

APPRAISER

So is this a piece that was acquired here in the United States, or is it from abroad?

GUEST

No, I think what they told me was it was brought from Europe.

APPRAISER

It was brought from Europe. And around what year was that?

GUEST

Well, my grandfather came like in 1935, '36.

APPRAISER

You think this is something that he brought with him?

GUEST

I think so. Yeah, that's what my mom used to tell me.

APPRAISER

So Hungarian is right. I would say Austro-Hungarian. There's a good chance that this is Viennese. It would date from the Belle poque period, which... probably early 20th century. That period's known for opulence, it's known for luxury, it's known for high style, and that's what this chess set has. When you look at the number of techniques that were employed, you have enameled silver, you have semiprecious stones inset. The figures themselves are predominantly silver, with quite a bit of enamel work and gilding. The bases on the figures are also set with cabochon pearls, as well as what appears to be cabochon amethyst stones. It's just really a tour de force of craftsmanship. I've scoured the piece pretty thoroughly. I'm not finding a maker's mark. I'm also not finding any silver marks on there. There really isn't a question, though, that the figures are silver, and a lot of the other elements are. So I'm going to date it to around 1900, probably Vienna, looking at it stylistically. A lot of these have come on the market in the last five to seven years, and I've seen other examples of variations. The soldiers are a little bit different, the style of costume is a little bit different, the enamel colors are different, but they all are selling in a consistent range. And there are a few that have sold for extraordinary numbers. Did you have an idea of what you thought the value might be on it?

GUEST

I have no idea.

APPRAISER

Would you like to take a guess?

GUEST

A guess?

APPRAISER

Yeah, in your mind what did you think?

GUEST

Maybe $10,000?

APPRAISER

I think a fair auction estimate on a piece like this in today's market is $20,000 to $25,000.

GUEST

Excuse me?

APPRAISER

$20,000 to $25,000.

GUEST

Oh wow.

APPRAISER

In London last year, a similar chess set with blue enamel, but otherwise identical to this set, sold for -- with the buyer's premium -- $57,000. But that's a bit of an outlier. I think when it comes to auctions, you want to sort of stay reserved and hope for the best, and hope that you're going to get two people in the room that really fall in love with this piece, which I think they will if it ever comes to market.