On hunt for treasures
Athenree will host an Antique Roadshow nextweek.
The event will take place at the Athenree Homestead, between
10am and 2pmon Sunday, May 27. The public is invited to come along and get their antique items evaluated by one of the four valuers.
Items to be appraised must be able to be carried into the venue and these could include china, curios, toys, coins, stamps, fossils, rocks, art, books, silver, glassware, bottles, jewellery, militaria and small items of furniture for example.
All will be scrutinised by experts, James Winterburn, Jane Tweedham, Les Vuletich and Don Thomas.
Hamilton-based people can bring family heirlooms or objects they had found.
“On top of valuation, we do a lot of identification,” Mr Vuletich said.
“Peoplewant to knowmore about the history of an item they have and it can turn out to be quite exciting,” he said.
He recalled the case of two Ma¯ori artefacts brought to him which had an estimated value of
$35,000.
“Onewas a greenstoneMa¯ori pointing weapon and the other a greenstone heart and gold,” Mr Vuletich said.
“It was a great surprise for the owner,” he said.
Old bookswere also a popular item for appraisal but the expert said they needed to be in good condition.
“If it is not in good condition, it will have to be quite rare for me to put a good value on it.”
In New Zealand, most of the collectible artefacts come from Britain, Europe and the United States.
Mr Vuletich said back in the day, familieswho settled in the South Island brought good jewellery and china with them to New Zealand.
“New Zealand made valuable items are mainly dated from the 1900s.”
Other items such as artwork can be tricky for the experts and will require further specialist evaluation.
“People can still bring their art and what we do is advise them to get them checked by a proper conservator, able to evaluate the condition of the piece.”
He said one of his past referrals saw aWaihi couple getting more than $35,000 for a set of eight tiles.
The tiles had English nursery rhymes hand painted on them.
“When I saw them I had the gut feeling that they could be quite valuable so I referred the couple to valuation specialists in Britain. They are only two people in Britain
who are an authority on this set of tiles.
“They discovered the set was the fourth known set in the world and was sold in Britain.
“So it shows treasures can be found anywhere,” he said.
Proceeds from the Antiques Roashow will go toward the historic homestead’s next stage of construction.