Temple Beth Israel women learn value of their keepsakes

The women of Temple Beth Israel spent an afternoon talking antiques and their values during their luncheon on Jan. 17. Attendees brought items whose value they were curious of for a grown-up version of show-and-tell in school. 

Andrew Ford, an appraiser, auctioneer and collector who owns a gallery in Sarasota, as well as Sarasota Trading, spoke to the attendees about his work and how he does it. Typically when pricing items, he looks at the fair market valuation rather than the replacement valuation, which can often differ. 

“There’s a buyer’s premium associated, so that number tends to be a little taller,” Ford said. 

After lunch was served, attendees brought out their show-and-tell packages and Ford went around giving context and prices for most of them. 

What’s it worth? 

Singing bird box

Lois Barson brought in a jewelry box with a hidden surprise — a tiny singing bird. With a few twists of a key, a bird pops out of the top and chirps  before sliding back into its home. Ford has sold many of these over the years, he said, and they were typically from the late 1800s. Barson has had it for about 20 years, since her husband bought it for her at a Venice show, and has always been exceedingly careful with the delicate bird. The bird alone actually has more than 170 parts, Ford said. 

“It’s a very complex piece,” Ford said. “Many things can go wrong, like the smallest bending of it. Children love to look at the bird box, but they force it back down before it’s done singing.” 

Ford has sold these bird boxes for $5,000 to $7,000 in the past, but said that this one was quite advanced. 

Mourning jewelry

Sylvia Pastor has a matching set of garnet earrings and a necklace that her husband bought her years ago. She thought it was from the 1890s, but Ford said it was from earlier than that — about 1865 to 1875. In the back of the necklace, Pastor said, is a space to keep a lock of loved one’s hair or another small memento. 

“This is known as mourning jewelry,” Ford said. “It was very common in the 19th century to show homage and love for a loved one. But this is a very high style necklace and a lot of mourning jewelry is somewhat subdued in style. It’s more about showing respect than it is about the opulence of the piece. This is a combination. It’s mourning a loved one while showing a very high style look.” 

Ford said that it would do better being sold by a dealer who specializes in mourning jewelry. A jewelry dealer could bring in about $1,000 to $1,500, whereas a mourning jewelry specialist would find a more specific market, especially with the earrings included. 

Russian niello silver

Arlene Krum is the third generation in her family to own these silver pieces. She got them from her mother, who got them from her father, who came from Russia. Ford pointed out the niello on the pieces, which is a black mixture Russian silversmiths used to fill in engravings. On Krum’s cups, it was used to make the landscape stand out. 

“It’s marked with an 84 on the bottom, which is a silver standard,” Ford said. “It’s pre-revolution. Anything that happened after the revolution changed dramatically. The artisans before the revolution were better because they were silversmithing for nobility … this shows a tremendous amount of skill. These are very much sought after.” 

All told, Ford said the cup would garner about $500, or perhaps more if a buyer was specifically interested in Russian pieces.