GUEST: It belonged to my grandfather. It's been in our family for 100 years, I believe. And he may have purchased it in Europe in the 1800s. It was in our home when I was a boy. I grew up with it.
APPRAISER: Well, it is a chair that was made in Venice, and I believe that it was made in the second quarter of the 19th century. So somewhere between 1825 and 1850.
GUEST: Oh!
APPRAISER: The figures on the front are what we describe as caryatid figures.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And they're taken from Greek architecture.
GUEST: Egyptian... Oh, Greek, yeah.
APPRAISER: Yes. And Egyptian architecture, where you'd see a female figure holding up part of a building.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Well, she's holding up the front of this chair, and doing a pretty good job with her wings that are coming out, and her hoof feet.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: And then when you turn the chair around, I mean, it just gets better and better. And you can see on the front of that griffin face, there's some wear on it, and it's because the chair, I think it's been against a wall for... Do you have it in your house against the wall? No
GUEST: . No... No, but I'm sure over the years, it got banged... j
APPRAISER: Right, right.
GUEST: And pushed up against the wall...
APPRAISER: Well, it's meant to be viewed in the round. It's an Italian piece, and of course we know the Italians are great violin makers. Here are these scrolls on either side. It is a wood base. Also, we know that it's early 19th century because there are some pins, which is part of the construction that holds it together, and you can see it through the gilding here.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And then on the other section of the leg, as well. It's a pin construction. Now, the whole piece is carved wood, it's probably a lighter pine, which would be easy to carve, and then it is gessoed.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Uh, and then the gilding is laid on top of that. Although there is much original gilding on this piece, I think at some point someone has sort of smeared the finish and, and maybe enhanced it slightly. But for my taste, it is in great, great condition. Over the years, especially, I mean, a 19th-century piece, you'd expect to see several upholstery changes. Well, this has maybe not its original, but very early French mohair upholstery, done probably about 1860, probably Paris. And it has a very Napoleonic decoration to it, all wool. And that's why it's in such great condition. The wool mohair wears like iron. This is a great decorator's piece, and I bet, with the right decorator, he or she would be able to charge in the $10,000 range for a piece like this.
GUEST: Oh, really.
APPRAISER: I love this chair.
GUEST: Yeah. (laughs)
