Posted on 05/12/2016 2:58:34 PM PDT by lowbridge
PBS favorite Antiques Roadshow has admitted that it mistakenly claimed a grotesque jug dated back to the 19th century, when it was really from a 1970s Oregon high school art class.
Appraiser Stephen Fletcher originally said that the piece, featured in a January episode of the show, was worth up to $50,000.
-snip
The weird pot had migrated about 60 miles from its birthplace at Churchill High School in the years between 1973 or 74 and last summer, when new owner Alvin Barr was thrilled that his estate sale find could be worth a small fortune.
Soule and friends contacted Antiques Roadshow to prove he pieces true origin.
Fletcher issued a new appraisal, estimating that the artwork could still fetch up to $4,000 at auction and saying is still not bad for a high schooler in Oregon.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
i don’t know who is the bigger fool. The dude that bought the jug or the expert that appraised it.
Yikes! That was pretty grotesque, lol.
Here is a brief history of face jugs:
http://river.chattanoogastate.edu/orientations/ex-learn-obj/Face_Jugs/Face_Jugs_print.html
I can see why this jug would be quite valuable if it were a genuine 19th-century folk art piece, it is really spectacular compared to the humdrum specimens that were churned out. It’s a little too good to be true, but in fact 19th century folk artists sometimes did make incredibly elaborate pieces.
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