'Roadshow' appraisal means million-dollar trinkets for Chicago native
Written by admin on July 15, 2009 – 10:52 pm -by Mike Thomas, Chicago Suntimes
Chicago native Trapper Cramer always kidded friends that he owned a million-dollar collection of rare carved artifacts from China. None of them really believed him.
They do now.
When the North Carolina-based artist, 59, and his wife, Jinx Taylor, brought some family heirlooms to a Raleigh, N.C., taping of PBS' "Antiques Roadshow," they were floored to learn the truth about their collection of carved jade that dates to the 18th century Chien Lung Dynasty.
According to poker-faced "Roadshow" appraiser James Callahan, four of the most valuable pieces are worth a total of $710,000 to $1.07 million. Conservatively.
The episode is slated to air sometime in January.
Little more than sentimental eye candy for decades, the pieces were gifts from Taylor's late father, a former military intelligence agent and, Cramer says, "a liaison for top [American] brass dealing with top Chinese government officials" who acquired the pieces inexpensively overseas during World War II.
Until last week, the collection had "been sitting around our living room for 20 years. Now it's all in lock boxes in our bank," says Cramer, who lived in the Chicago area until age 14. Born and partly reared in Ravenswood Gardens, he went to Queen of Angels School (where he got "beat by the nuns most every day") and still has scads of family members in the beloved city of his youth.
Now, he jokes, "I'm sleeping with a shotgun next to my bed."
"Antiques Roadshow" executive producer Marsha Bemko says the sky-high appraisal is a show record, doubling the previous one (for a 1937 Clyfford Still painting featured in 2008) of $500,000.
"The interesting thing to keep in mind is that our auctioneers or dealers tend to be very conservative in their value," Bemko says, "and that's just the nature of how this business works. They hate to overestimate for business reasons. It doesn't encourage people to buy."
Callahan, who is director of Asian works of art for Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers in Boston (where "Roadshow" is produced), agreed. He says the collection could fetch even more than his top-end estimate because the market is "very, very strong for this type of artwork." There's even a chance the Chinese government might want to buy it back.
"We sold a jade Buddha that was about 14 inches in height," he offers by way of analogy. "It was 18th, 19th century. The color was who cares, the quality of the carving was who cares. It came from an old collection, but it had absolutely no imperial association whatsoever. And it sold for $383,000."
Just one of the couple's items, a carved bowl with an imperial inscription (indicating that it belonged to the reigning emperor), "could sell [for] in excess of a million dollars."
Cramer said it took some convincing before his wife agreed to be interviewed on air. The "Roadshow" producers, he thinks, probably figured they'd get more emotion out of her than him. And tears did flow -- but not hers.
"I'm bawling," Cramer said of his reaction to the news while watching on a television screen from the backstage green room. "Some lady's bringing me Kleenex and I'm sniffling and wiping my eyes. Everybody's patting me on the back and [saying] 'congratulations.' And all I'm thinking of is, 'My God, we're not safe anymore. This stuff isn't safe. We have to sell it now. We can't keep it around the house.' And that has been just a terrible thing for us."
That's not to say Cramer and Taylor aren't thrilled with the stellar financial news. Their friends "are real happy for us, too," he said.
 |
| Only Exquisite Antique Chinese Statues Jade Chopper | |
 |
$125.00 End Date: Sunday Jun-17-2012 8:06:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $125.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
| Chinese Hard Wood Jade Table Screen NR | |
 |
$41.00 (8 Bids) End Date: Friday May-18-2012 21:05:01 PDT |
| Chinese Jadeite Jade Statue Carp Lotus NR | |
 |
$153.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Friday May-18-2012 21:20:01 PDT |
| Vintage Chinese Old Jade Vivid Maid Carry Flower Basket Figure Statue NR | |
 |
$31.00 (16 Bids) End Date: Friday May-18-2012 20:08:41 PDT |
| Chinese Jadeite Jade Statue Original Stone NR | |
 |
$11.06 (4 Bids) End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 19:49:56 PDT |
| Chinese Jadeite Jade Statue Ruyi Peach NR | |
 |
$5.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 21:20:04 PDT |
| Only Exquisite Antique Chinese Jade Statues | |
 |
$145.00 End Date: Sunday Jun-17-2012 8:15:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: $145.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
| Chinese Bronze Jade Ruyi Scepter NR | |
 |
$21.73 (4 Bids) End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 21:04:48 PDT |
Tags: Asian Antiques, asian decorative arts, Chinese Antiques
Posted in Asian Antiques, Chinese Antiques | No Comments »