GUEST: Well, I collect boxes, and about a year ago, I had... I was contacted by a friend of mine in Massachusetts. He said, "I've got a box you might be interested in." So, I said, "Okay, well, send me some pictures." And he sent me pictures of this. So I said, "Well, how much do you want for it?" So we settled on $800, but subsequently, I learned he paid $50 for it.
APPRAISER: (laughs): Oh, wow.
GUEST: Because he thought it would be good for his wife's jewelry. And his wife said, "I'm not having an old thing like that in the house." So, her loss was my gain.
APPRAISER: I guess so. Well, actually, the tradition of collecting miniature furniture goes back to the 17th century and, and earlier, even, in the Netherlands. At first, one might think that your piece originated in the Netherlands, but actually, when we examine it closer, we see that the secondary wood is in fact pine. If it had originated in the Netherlands, the secondary wood would have been oak. But, by the secondary wood being pine, we know that it was made in Germany.
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: And it is a mid-18th-century piece of furniture. It has a lot of incredible parquetry on it.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Geometric inlay, as opposed to marquetry, which is more floral and figural inlay. And the back is very interesting, too. I think we've got some incredible oxidation on the back. It's been completely undisturbed, and you've got this wonderful surface on the back where the oxidation has occurred. The wood is all uniform in age on the back, so you know that all of these boards started life together, and it hasn't been modified at all. I don't think that the finish is completely original-- I think it's been cleaned-- but I think it is a good early finish. I think all of the hardware is probably original to it.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: And it is in remarkably amazing shape. All of my colleagues were enamored with this when we first saw it, and we agreed that it's one of the best pieces of miniature furniture we've seen come into the ROADSHOW of European origin. I think if it were to come to auction, a conservative estimate would be $3,000 to $5,000. And it could exceed that. I would be surprised if it didn't hammer down at around $6,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: That was a pretty good return.
GUEST: Yes, yes. But I like it so much because I've just never seen anything... Every time I look at it, I see new things.
