Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I found it at an estate sale, just local, in town.

APPRAISER

And how long ago was that?

GUEST

Maybe ten years.

APPRAISER

Okay.

GUEST

I love little boxes, and this one's really pretty.

APPRAISER

All right.

GUEST

And I paid about ten dollars. It's silver and enamel of some sort. I... that's literally all I know.

APPRAISER

Well, you're right about that. The casing of it is made of silver, silver gilt. We look inside, it has a gold finish. And there are three different types of enamel on it. The back plate is finished in what we call guilloch enamel. The metal underneath, which is silver, has been given this pattern through engine turning. Then it's covered in this translucent enamel, kind of the color of tea, I would say. There's a little bit more guilloch and what we call champlev enamel around the sides. But the top is what I want to really look at. The center is a thin slice of natural agate, which picks up the color also of the guilloch. And then it's surrounded by a border of what we call plique--jour enamel. And plique--jour is a French term, of course, and it translates best as "the light coming through it," rather like a stained-glass window. This is a beautiful example-- great design, great colors, great condition. And I asked you earlier, what, what is it? Not what is it made of, but, but what do you think it is?

GUEST

Maybe a business card holder?

APPRAISER

Well, there is such a thing as a card box or a card case.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

Which we wouldn't really expect to look like this at this point. This, by the way, I would date about 1930, '35. It has this kind of Art Deco flavor to it. It's not a card case. It's a little bit too small and a little bit too delicate to be a cigarette case. And it's the wrong period and a little too big to be a snuffbox. So I think it's a compact.

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

There is a little tiny mark on it that says, "Made in Austria," and another little mark that says, "Sterling," which you would expect to see if it were made in Austria and sold in the United States. Ten dollars is, is a fabulous buy. And I think today, in a good auction, the bidding would start, or the estimate would start, at $1,000.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

And go up to maybe $1,500.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

So, it's, it's a great object and a great find at ten dollars.

GUEST

Wonderful. Awesome.