Appraisal: Walter Mader Black Forest Carved Dogs, ca. 1900

GUEST: Well, these dogs have been with our family for many years, and we've always had 'em around, and I just really wanted to find out more about them.

APPRAISER: When you first brought it up, I thought we had this great bronze dog.

GUEST (chuckles): Did you really?

APPRAISER: Then I got closer and realized that it was carved wood.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And immediately, I said to myself, "Wow, that's just such an amazing piece of Black Forest carving."

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Typical Black Forest...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: ...was, it was in Germany and Switzerland, a group of primarily Swiss carvers that really started the movement in the early 19th century.

GUEST: All right.

APPRAISER: This piece should date to the latter part of the 19th, early part of the 20th century.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Because of the subject matter, we can attribute it to a specific carver...

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: ...by the name of Walter Mader.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: As you begin to analyze what brings value to a ple, piece of Black Forest carving, there's a number of factors: the quality of the carving and what I would like to think of as the character of the piece.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: I would say, without question, this is the best piece of Black Forest carving...

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: ...the show has ever seen.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST (chuckles): Wow.

That's wonderful.

APPRAISER: Now, there's a few things wrong with it.

Not, not a lot.

We have a couple of repairs.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: This leg came off.

GUEST: Yep.

APPRAISER: Uh, I can't tell what's going on across the face here.

Ultimately, none of it affects the character of the piece.

GUEST: Okay.

Okay.

APPRAISER: None of it affects the quality of the piece.

These come up for auction periodically.

Conservatively at auction, I would estimate this piece at $20,000 to $25,000.

GUEST (laughing): Oh, really?

Really?

That's wonderful!

That's wonderful.

That's, that's really great.

APPRAISER: It wouldn't surprise me if a insurance value was, was north of $50,000.

GUEST: $50,000?

(mouths, laughs) APPRAISER: If, if you had to go in and find this and buy it retail, it would cost you an awful lot of money.

GUEST: A lot of money, yeah.

APPRAISER: It has just been an absolute privilege and honor to see it.

GUEST: Well, that's great, I'm so happy.

Thank you so much.