A guest on the American version of Antiques Roadshow was left in stitches after an expert revealed a jaw-dropping valuation for his mirror.
The popular show made its way to the Desert Botanical Garden, where folks lined up to get the lowdown on their treasures. One guest brought in a mirror that had been casually hanging above his pooch’s dinner bowl, eager to find out if it was worth more than a few bones.
He explained that the looking glass was a family heirloom from his grandparents’ home furnishings business in Belgium. They’d snapped up a bunch of mirrors at a Parisian market and ordered a batch.
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“When they received the order, this one, it had a little piece that had been broken off so they didn’t think they could sell it”, he recounted. “So they just kept it at home, because they kind of liked the style.”, reports the Mirror.
(Image: Antiques Road Show)
He added that the mirrors were a hit, flying off the shelves, but when they tried to reorder, the seller had vanished into thin air. They had one spare which ended up with his parents, while the damaged one eventually found its way to him after his gran moved into a care home.
Antiques Roadshow’s Sebastian Clarke was on hand to drop some knowledge bombs about a stunning mirror brought in by a guest. The French genius behind the piece, Line Vautrin, had her big break at the Paris Exposition back in 1937, which led her to open her own boutique.
Crafting her art in the tough times between the world wars, Vautrin got creative due to the scarcity of precious metals. Sebastian dished out the details: “So what she did, and this is what’s so fantastic about this, is that she turned to other different methods and experimentation of ways to make jewellery and her other real thing that she loved and her passion, was mirrors.
(Image: Antiques Road Show)
“This is an absolutely magnificent example. As we can see, it’s made of a composite resin and you can only imagine how difficult it would be, especially with this size, to build up each layer of resin.”
He continued, highlighting the delicate nature of the piece: “They’re incredibly fragile and then to have all these wonderful little mirrored panels around the outside and then, obviously, this central convex mirror, which is mercury glass.”
(Image: BBC)
The gobsmacked guest shared that his grandparents snagged the mirror in the early ’60s, way before Vautrin’s talent was widely acknowledged in 1986 by a savvy dealer.
“And Vogue magazine referred to her as the poetess of metalwork at one point, because she was so magnificent in her jewellery and metalwork.” Then came the jaw-dropping moment as Sebastian unveiled: “In 2016, a similar example sold for $27,500. Since then, there’s been considerable interest in her work.”
“Another example, smaller, sold for $40,000. So, in getting together with my colleagues, we feel a reasonable auction estimate for this mirror, as a beautiful mirror, would be $40,000 to $60,000.” The guest chuckled and remarked: “Oh wow. That is crazy. I probably shouldn’t keep it above the dog bowl anymore.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
