[knotty panda]

Yup, I saw an episode of Antiques Road Show yesterday. A woman had inherited a piece that a relative picked up at a church auction 50-60 years ago. Natural freshwaters. They didn't say what size. Valued at $4,000-$5,000 for two pearls. You know what they all say ... "Wow!"

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

Yup, I saw an episode of Antiques Road Show yesterday. A woman had inherited a piece that a relative picked up at a church auction 50-60 years ago. Natural freshwaters. They didn't say what size. Valued at $4,000-$5,000 for two pearls. You know what they all say ... "Wow!"

Gee, I think I'll have to stop sitting here boycotting environmentally iffy stuff and get out to church and garage sales more often!

Slraep

[Caitlin]

I just saw that. 2 American freshwater pearls of decent size and great luster.

Remember the person who got the abalone pearl for $132? And what about the Victorian quahog pin 18k with two huge quahog pearls for $14?

Speaking of Antiques roadshow.....remember the Chief's blanket appraised for $500k? That one had been in the guy's family since Kit Carson gave it to them. But a good friend of mine picked up a chief's blanket for $25. She literally haunts garage sales and swap meets. Gets out there at 5am!!!!

[knotty panda]

My total favorite is the woman who inherited the painting from parents who had passed on. Worth $120K. Her parents had the painting hanging up next to the bathroom in their trailer for years!

I don't remember a value on the blanket, just them saying it was a National Treasure.

Altogether now ... "Wow!"

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

Gets out there at 5am!!!!

On second thought, maybe not.

Slraep

[GemGeek]

We had the Antiques Roadshow producer on our local PBS radio station -- very interesting. The thing that increases the value the most is being able to prove provenance, or the history of acquisition. So the Chief's blanket that was gifted from Kit Carson is worth more than a comparable or even better blanket without the history.

Who knew we should keep the original boxes and documentation?

Fortunately, I'm into daily wear of jewelry, even if it means I might destroy it in the process. While being careful, I still somehow managed to knock a little hole in my south sea pearl ring. But I still enjoy it.

<sniff>

[knotty panda]

It's not the provenance at all, Gemmy. It's the weave and condition. I love You Tube http://youtube.com/watch?v=wlkYn39i4Fw This guy doesn't "wow" as much as most people do. I think he's overcome.

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

It's not the provenance at all, Gemmy. It's the weave and condition. I love You Tube http://youtube.com/watch?v=wlkYn39i4Fw This guy doesn't "wow" as much as most people do. I think he's overcome.

That was soooo sweet. What a nice guy! I get the idea that it's one remarkable blanket, but he did say that the provenance could increase the price by 20%. Of course, you have to have something great to begin with or provenance doesn't get you very far...

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

Of course, you have to have something great to begin with or provenance doesn't get you very far...

What about a strand of Lop Noors? The infamous pearl expert and scholar, Zeide G. Erskine, owned them. How's that for provenance,eh?

Slraep

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Slraep

What about a strand of Lop Noors? The infamous pearl expert and scholar, Zeide G. Erskine, owned them. How's that for provenance,eh?

Slraep

<gasp> <choke> <snort> !!!!

[Caitlin]

I watched that as it happened- here -in Tucson- of course! The provenance should be fairly easy to find.

Kit Carson's life-especially the part of his govt career in relation to the Navajo Nation- is well documented and a Kit Carson special will be on PBS soon. An Anglo family living in those parts -and farming up there- has a high likelihood of being Mormon. and no group loves to document everything to do with their history and ancestors as much as Mormons. There was a very good reason they brought that blanket in instead of jewelry, baskets or pots, though I am sure the appraisal knocked their socks off. The guy is literally clutching his heart as he is being told.

I am sure that man's family will find other pictures with the blanket somewhere in the photo. I am sure they can pin down the time frame the foster grandfather had in which to meet and get to know Kit Carson. And the ancestor must have done something to merit that blanet. Though Kit may have devalued Indian possessions, I am sure he was informed of its great value.

That blanket was extremely valuable from the day it was woven. It may even be possible to figure out who wove it, from the gov't records surrounding the "Long March" which was the finale of Kit Carson's great swath of destruction.through the Navajo land. The Navajoes were too defiant for the gov't and they sent Kit to burn their crops and round them (and their valued possessions) up. Then they made them walk, men, women and children, to Fort Sumner in NM for a lengthy exile from their own sacred lands.. This was a trauma that is still spoken of often on the Navajo Nation.

I lived in Window Rock, the Capitol of the Navajo Nation, as a teenager in the mid-fifties. I learned all about the Long Walk just by the way Navajoes were still reliving it as family memories.

I have one more thought. The unraveled Bayetta is finely woven wool from red uniforms- I forget whose, and the period it was in use, which is easily dated, was when the repair was made. It has the look and feel of a Navajo repair, so that should be worth something in the quest for provenance

Oh one more thing, the Chief's blanket my friend found in the yard sale was from later. A lot of bayetta wool went into the design, though it was still just stripes. I think it was the bayetta and a couple of generations of skill that encouraged the expansion of patterns in Chief's blankets. Then various dyes came in and more elaborate patterns.

[GemGeek]

Thanks Caitlin. I know this hasn't been about pearls, but between you and Knotty Panda, I learned a lot. One thing that surprised me was how thin and finely woven the blanket was -- "almost like silk". It has to be the peak of their craftsmanship.

I also love hearing about PGer's histories, too.

[pattye]

Thanks all for sharing your thoughts and comments. And your special insights, Caitlin. I missed the show so it was fun seeing it on You Tube. Wouldn't we all would love to find that "pot of gold" in one way or another? So much the better if it is pearls!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[danachit]

My parents have hunted for early southern antiques for 50 yrs. Daddy was purchasing an early 19th century cherry chest of drawers and noticed a painting in the bottom drawer.

"How much for this painting?" he asks.
"Oh, that's not for sale..." says the lady.
"Would you take $200 for it?" he asks.
"Sure!" says the lady.

The report from a London art museum estimates the oil-on-copper 16th century Italian painting is worth a minimum of $12,000 and that was 20 years ago...

So ya just never know.....