Elizabeth Appraisals

Elizabeth Appraisals Elizabeth Appraisals: Discovering value in Art and Antiques, consulting on downsizing, securing repl

To own a usable piece of furniture anchored by the image of the strongest animal in the food chain inspired confidence. ...
05/26/2026

To own a usable piece of furniture anchored by the image of the strongest animal in the food chain inspired confidence. Each culture of furniture-making humans used their own.

MS sent me pictures of a table she felt compelled to buy because of its unique feet shaped like paws with toenails. Animalistic feet are the most common body part ...

Unmistakably, PE’s fireplace is a rustic, somewhat amateurish interpretation of an Art Deco design, far removed from Dec...
05/19/2026

Unmistakably, PE’s fireplace is a rustic, somewhat amateurish interpretation of an Art Deco design, far removed from Deco’s birthplace in Paris. The design is Deco. The materials are not. The first clue lies in the cast-iron vent covers.

PE recently purchased a tiny “fixer-upper” cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. During the remodel he discovered the 1,660-square-foot cabin originally built in ...

AF’s acquisition of her little crystal bird is credited to the establishment of the mid-20th century neighborhood gift s...
05/12/2026

AF’s acquisition of her little crystal bird is credited to the establishment of the mid-20th century neighborhood gift shop, a feature of every small-town square.

AF owns a small clear crystal bird figurine on a frosted glass base. The underside shows a label “Made in Taiwan R.O.C.” (Republic of China). The phrase “Made in” helps ...

Carved meerschaum pipes originated in the mid-18th century in Eskişehir, Turkey, a region between Istanbul and Ankara.
05/05/2026

Carved meerschaum pipes originated in the mid-18th century in Eskişehir, Turkey, a region between Istanbul and Ankara.

LS wrote to ask if his vintage pipe is ivory. If so, can he sell ivory? First question: it’s not ivory. If made of ivory, LS would need to donate ...

This painting serves as a fine example of the power of a work of art to fuse the past, present, and future into one imag...
04/28/2026

This painting serves as a fine example of the power of a work of art to fuse the past, present, and future into one image. DF, a Marine, knows the history that occurred on the “Shores of Tripoli.” That battle for this ship and its crew marked the first time the American flag raised over foreign soil.

DF, a former servicemember, a U.S. Marine, sent this 20th century painting and brought a tear to my eye. This painting shows a tall ship by an amateur, signed in ...

Matching the dates of her life to the style of the braided brooch, it’s possible the braided brooch belonged to Isabel R...
04/21/2026

Matching the dates of her life to the style of the braided brooch, it’s possible the braided brooch belonged to Isabel Robbins Carrillo’s grandmother Maria Josefa Raymundo de Castro (1792-1853) or her mother Maria de la Encarnacion Carrillo (1814-1876).

EC inherited a Bible from her mom. It belonged to Isabel Robbins Carrillo (1845-1914), a lady from one of Santa Barbara’s most distinguished families. Along with the Bible she found ...

I believe this bronze gilded vessel is French, likely from the era of Napoleon III (1860-80), collected on the continent...
04/14/2026

I believe this bronze gilded vessel is French, likely from the era of Napoleon III (1860-80), collected on the continent. No sculptor’s mark nor foundry mark appears on it. But I did see a number etched in to the metal of the base verso. This shows someone cataloged it for their personal collection. Although not English, blue bloods in 18th and 19th century England coveted this style.

PP sent me a large drinking vessel, a replica of the Warwick Vase. Collected in the early 20th century on a 19th century grand tour. Wealthy young men on their ...

In the 19th century the composition of the Chinese bride’s basket showed the financial status of the groom’s family. The...
04/07/2026

In the 19th century the composition of the Chinese bride’s basket showed the financial status of the groom’s family. The festive delivery of the basket to the bride’s family indicated respect.

JW owns a Chinese rattan two-tiered tall rectangular basket circa 1900. She wrote me because of my previous article about a Victorian Bride’s Baskets. Her Chinese basket is ALSO a ...

Considered the first surrealist before the term became known, Arcimboldo emerged in the 16th century when the wealthy ce...
03/31/2026

Considered the first surrealist before the term became known, Arcimboldo emerged in the 16th century when the wealthy celebrated oddities of nature in macabre ways. Bones, shells, fossils, heads, teeth, skulls entered into personal cabinets of wonder.

DD sent me this strange portrait of a male face in profile composed of writhing n**e bodies. I KNEW I’d seen this technique before: a mélange of n**e women arranged ...

An area near Dresden abundant with Kaolin-rich soil, the Turn Teplitz region, saw porcelain production and innovative de...
03/24/2026

An area near Dresden abundant with Kaolin-rich soil, the Turn Teplitz region, saw porcelain production and innovative designs in the late 19th early 20th century. One maker of DD’s vase, Alfred Stellmacher, developed an unique composition for his “slip,” Ivory Porcelain, resistant to high temperatures.

This winter I bought a vacant for years 1919 chalet on Lake Arrowhead. I’m studying its architecture and decorative art of the period. Coincidence? Synergy? Everything I look at trickles ...

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