WEBVTT

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GUEST: My aunt was,
started buying up these
vases from Tiffany's,
so I guess she ordered

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some by the crate-load.

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APPRAISER: It actually says,
"Louis C. Tiffany Studios," with
an address. The crate in itself,

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it's something you
don't see very often,
with "glass" plastered
all over the sides. But

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I also want to
point out the straw.

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GUEST: (chuckles)

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APPRAISER: Because it's not
often that people keep the
shipping crates. The first piece

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of glass over here,
which is what we would
call pastel glass...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: Is
later-production Tiffany--
it was made in the '20s.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: It was made
in multiples, and it
came in different colors.
These are the colors

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that you see in some of the
Depression glass of the era...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: But this was a lot
more expensive than your average
piece of Depression glass.

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Now, this piece is a
paperweight glass vase.

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: Leslie Nash,
who worked for Louis
Comfort Tiffany, claims
that while they were

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working with paperweight glass,
Louis Tiffany himself, who
was a painter, came into the

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glass-working shop, handed
them a painting of morning
glories that he had painted, and

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said, "I want you to
make this in glass."

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: Supposedly,
it took $12,000 in R&D...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: to create this kind
of glassware. 1914 is when
they first introduced it. Your

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piece, on the bottom, actually
says "exhibition piece" on it.
I know from the date letter,

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which is a suffix L, that that
would be somewhere around 1915.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APRAISER: So it's possible that
this could've gone to the 1915
San Francisco International

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Exhibition. I think it came
back to the studios, that's the
interesting part. You may have

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seen vases like this. They're in
many museums all over the world.

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GUEST: I think I saw one at
the Met in New York, mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: Yes, and the one
at the Met has a number on the
bottom, which is 1130-L. Yours

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is 1132-L. Oh. So this is two
numbers after the Met's vase.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: The Met acquired
it in 1924, even though it was
probably made in 1915. So these

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things still were sold later.
The crate, in a retail setting,
this is something for Tiffany

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geeks everywhere-- collectors,
museums. They would actually
be very excited about this,

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and it would be worth
between $5,000 and $10,000.

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GUEST: Holy cow!

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APPRAISER: This piece, which
is not as sought-after as
some of the other art glass...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: would retail probably
between $2,000 and $3,000. But
this piece, in a retail shop,

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it could be sold for anywhere
between $50,000 and $75,000.

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GUEST: No way! Oh, my gosh! I
was... thinking maybe $8,000
to $10,000, I was hoping. Wow.

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APPRAISER: Well, that
was a long time ago.

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GUEST: Wow, I really didn't
know what the market had
done, you know, if it had gone

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sideways or up or down,
but... wow. (inhales)

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APPRAISER: So there's one other
thing in here that I want to
talk about. This vase. This

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practically stopped my heart
when I saw it in the box.
(giggling) This is the piece I

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was waiting for for 20 years.

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GUEST: Oh, wow.

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APPRAISER: And every
night before the ROADSHOW,
people would always
say, "What is on your

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wish list? What would you
like to come in to the show
tomorrow?" And I always say, "A

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Tiffany Lava vase."

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: And that's what
this is. It's extremely
special. It is meant to
look like molten lava...

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: on the surface
of the vase, and this one is
particularly interesting because

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you also have these protrusions
here. It's very similar to
a vase that was shown in the

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1906 Paris Salon Exhibition.

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GUEST: Oh!

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APPRAISER: A very similar
example is in the collection of
the Musèe des Arts Dècoratifs

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in Paris, and it's
been there since 1906.

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GUEST: Gee.

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APPRAISER: So when I
saw this... I was kind
of excited. (laughing)

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GUEST: Oh.

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APPRAISER: The thing about
Lava is, it was very hard to
make. They get cracked in the

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making.

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GUEST: Oh.

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APPRAISER: And I did go over
your Lava with my special light
and a magnifying glass, and

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I couldn't find any
imperfections. An example
like this, in a retail
shop, could sell between

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$100,000 and $150,000.

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GUEST: (laughing) Where's my
brother? He... (laughs) Wow.
That's unbelievable. I had no

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idea.

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APPRAISER: I just can't believe
that your aunt bought all
of this in the late '20s and

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the early '30s.

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GUEST: Yeah.

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APPRAISER: It's...
it's pretty remarkable.