Appraisal: Papua New Guinea Slit Drum, ca. 1940
Clip: Season 29 Episode 18 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: Papua New Guinea Slit Drum, ca. 1940
Watch John A. Buxton's appraisal of a Papua New Guinea slit drum, ca. 1940, in Vintage Raleigh 2025, Hour 1.
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Appraisal: Papua New Guinea Slit Drum, ca. 1940
Clip: Season 29 Episode 18 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Watch John A. Buxton's appraisal of a Papua New Guinea slit drum, ca. 1940, in Vintage Raleigh 2025, Hour 1.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: I bought it from a shop in Evanston, North Carolina.
Which was ran by Northwestern University.
And apparently, one of their curators had brought it back from New Guinea in the '50s.
And a friend of mine sold stones to them, and she told me it was there, went to look at it, couldn't afford it.
About a year later... APPRAISER: What-what were they asking for it?
GUEST: They were asking $6,000.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: And a year later, they were closing the shop, and they marked everything half price.
It was my birthday, $3,000, I bought it.
APPRAISER: Do you have any other background on the piece?
GUEST: Basically, it's from the, uh, Sepik River in, uh, New Guinea.
APPRAISER: And what year did you buy it?
GUEST: I bought it in, like, '76, I think.
APPRAISER: Okay, it's a drum, it absolutely is Sepik River.
It's from the western Sepik, in the Ramu River area.
And this right here, the way that this head is carved...
GUEST: Uh-huh APPRAISER: ...that's diagnostic for Ramu River.
Now, historically, the Dutch were in New Guinea in 1820s, the, uh, Russians were in New Guinea by the 1870s, and the Germans were in there by the 1880s.
So there's been a lot of Western influence, and that's something that we have to keep in mind.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: On pieces that are real early, they're going to either be stone or shell cut.
Now, if you look over here carefully at these very sharp edges, this is clearly metal cut.
So this is probably a mid-20th century piece.
Now, it absolutely is authentic, and if you look at the surface in through here, you can see it's been rubbed and beaten.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And you'll also see traces of red...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: ...which is also a color that's very typical of the Ramu River that they use to sort of enhance their objects.
So it's absolutely right, but it's a little bit later.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: So that's something that we have to take into consideration on value.
Now, the other thing, you'll see that it's got some condition problems.
We've got a fairly large gap here.
There's a big crack in the back.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: That also impacts it.
The other thing is we've got a pretty significant downturn in the economy right now.
In most cases, it's going to be an institutional client that will buy these.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: This thing now is probably worth $3,000 to $5,000.
If you had one that was, say, into the 19th century and it was done with shell or stone, it could be $50,000, $60,000, $70,000, $80,000.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: I don't know whether that's good enough to make you beat the drum, but can you do it?
GUEST: Oh, sure.
APPRAISER: All right.
GUEST: Anything.
(drumming) APPRAISER: All right.
Appraisal: 1841 Henry Lowndes Stoneware Jar
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 30s | Appraisal: 1841 Henry Lowndes Stoneware Jar (2m 30s)
Appraisal: 1914 Edward Diers Rookwood Vellum Vase
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 26s | Appraisal: 1914 Edward Diers Rookwood Vellum Vase (26s)
Appraisal: 1937 Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 31s | Appraisal: 1937 Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar (2m 31s)
Appraisal: Andre Szenes Dugo Maquettes, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 7s | Appraisal: Andre Szenes Dugo Maquettes, ca. 1930 (2m 7s)
Appraisal: Bacon Banjo Company Banjo, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 22s | Appraisal: Bacon Banjo Company Banjo, ca. 1910 (22s)
Appraisal: Chinese Famille Rose Vase, ca. 1900
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 29s | Appraisal: Chinese Famille Rose Vase, ca. 1900 (29s)
Appraisal: Early 20th C. Bracelet with Enamel Charms
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 41s | Appraisal: Early 20th C. Bracelet with Enamel Charms (41s)
Appraisal: Edward Danforth Pewter Plates, ca. 1795
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 27s | Appraisal: Edward Danforth Pewter Plates, ca. 1795 (2m 27s)
Appraisal: Edward Hopper Ink Drawings, ca. 1900
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 6s | Appraisal: Edward Hopper Ink Drawings, ca. 1900 (1m 6s)
Appraisal: Elizabeth B. Custer Letter with Photograph Copy
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 40s | Appraisal: Elizabeth B. Custer Letter with Photograph Copy (1m 40s)
Appraisal: German Bisque Mickey Mouse Figures, ca. 1930
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 10s | Appraisal: German Bisque Mickey Mouse Figures, ca. 1930 (1m 10s)
Appraisal: Harry Bertoia Spray Sculpture, ca. 1960
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 42s | Appraisal: Harry Bertoia Spray Sculpture, ca. 1960 (2m 42s)
Appraisal: Hook & Ladder Fire Truck Model, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 29s | Appraisal: Hook & Ladder Fire Truck Model, ca. 1910 (29s)
Appraisal: Loetz Medici Vase, ca. 1902
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 4s | Appraisal: Loetz Medici Vase, ca. 1902 (1m 4s)
Appraisal: Malibu Potteries Salesman's Sample Book, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 16s | Appraisal: Malibu Potteries Salesman's Sample Book, ca. 1930 (2m 16s)
Appraisal: Minnie Evans Collage, ca. 1960
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 10s | Appraisal: Minnie Evans Collage, ca. 1960 (2m 10s)
Appraisal: Missal Pages, ca. 1550
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 38s | Appraisal: Missal Pages, ca. 1550 (1m 38s)
Appraisal: Rhinestone & Brass Armband, ca. 1980
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 25s | Appraisal: Rhinestone & Brass Armband, ca. 1980 (25s)
Appraisal: Robert Atkinson Fox Painting, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 1m 36s | Appraisal: Robert Atkinson Fox Painting, ca. 1910 (1m 36s)
Appraisal: Staffordshire Baskets on Stands, ca. 1825
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 34s | Appraisal: Staffordshire Baskets on Stands, ca. 1825 (34s)
Appraisal: Steuben Aurene Vase, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 18s | Appraisal: Steuben Aurene Vase, ca. 1930 (2m 18s)
Appraisal: Virginia Federal Pembroke Table, ca. 1800
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 4m 2s | Appraisal: Virginia Federal Pembroke Table, ca. 1800 (4m 2s)
Appraisal: Walnut Chair with Crewel Seat, ca. 1720
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 38s | Appraisal: Walnut Chair with Crewel Seat, ca. 1720 (38s)
Appraisal: Identified Union Soldier's Bible & Tintype
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 51s | Appraisal: Identified Union Soldier's Bible & Tintype (51s)
Appraisal: Chinese Export Painting, ca. 1850
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 45s | Appraisal: Chinese Export Painting, ca. 1850 (2m 45s)
Appraisal: 1943 U.S. Naval Airship Service Group
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 49s | Appraisal: 1943 U.S. Naval Airship Service Group (2m 49s)
Appraisal: Crandall Hobby Horse, ca. 1880
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Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 19s | Appraisal: Crandall Hobby Horse, ca. 1880 (2m 19s)
Appraisal: 18th C. Qianlong Jade Collection
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 3m 34s | Appraisal: 18th C. Qianlong Jade Collection (3m 34s)
Appraisal: American Walnut Cradle, ca. 1775
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep18 | 2m 50s | Appraisal: American Walnut Cradle, ca. 1775 (2m 50s)
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.