‘Antiques Roadshow’ Guest Dances Over ‘Ugly’ Sculpture

 Antiques Roadshow is known for pleasing its guests with unexpected price tags. In this episode, we see a guest do their “happy dance” over their item. What was thought to be ugly turned into a very pleasing surprise.

Good Instincts From Antiques Roadshow Guest

Antiques Roadshow guest had no idea the treasure he had hidden in his garage. Going on to share the origin of the sculpture. “Came from South Jersey and believe it or not, it was in the home that was purchased in the eave of the garage for several years, we never even realized it was there.” Antiques Roadshow professional Ken Farmer inquired about his initial reaction to finding the item to which the guest responded, “I think I started to dance around, and my niece described it as the happy dance because it was something so peculiar that I knew it was special.”

It turns out the impromptu “happy dance” was much needed. The guest had found a valuable folk art root sculpture. The Antiques Roadshow expert shared that “a piece of folk art has to have a lot of things going for it to be great.”

What Does Antiques Roadshow Expert Say Makes It Special?

Ken Farmer, an Antiques Roadshow expert, said that a piece of folk art has to have many things that make it special. He went on to share that “It has to draw you in and that’s exactly what it does.” He also shared some history behind the root art. “Back around 1890 or 1900, somewhere in that time period, somebody decided that they wanted to make something out of roots and once they got started, they couldn’t stop.”

Farmer finished sharing his information with the guest concluding that there was a bit of wear on the piece. He further shared that “to a non-folk person, this is probably ugly as a mud fence but to people who collect folk art, it’s a thing of great beauty.”

The Antiques Roadshow guest shared some details of the ornate piece saying that it had many different elements interwoven. “So much detail, several different snakes, birds, a cat, my favorite, another cat, and a horse head.” Farmer went on to share more about the actual appraisal of the item, “And as far as value is concerned, we really agonized over that part of it.”

How Much Will The Folk Art Appraise For?

Furthermore, the Antiques Roadshow expert went on to finally reveal the appraisal of the peculiar item. Ken Farmer said to his guest, “I would say a good auction estimate would be $30,000 to $50,000.

The guest, shocked, and quite pleased stated that it was “welcome news.” For this Antiques Roadshow guest, his happy dance was pure instinct. The guest’s very valuable sculpture that was forgotten and discarded was life-changing. He knew it was worth it immediately.