Scarabs and tapestry and paintings — oh my!
Appraisal Day at the Dennos Museum drew 41 people and about 60 objects d'art and antiques for professional evaluation by Don Butkovich, a veteran appraiser based in Traverse City.
Throughout the day, everything from a silver sculpture and needlework to jewelry and ceramics graced Butkovich's table, with paintings holding a solid lead among attendees. Sifting through thick tomes and drawing on many decades of knowledge about antiques, art and craftsmanship, Butkovich thoroughly examined every item from all angles, inquired about it's history and discussed care tips.
His estimates of worth garnered responses ranging from "I had no idea!” to "Should I insure it?” to an occasional shrug when a hoped-for treasure was merely mundane.
"Everybody has things in the house you don't know the value of and you don't want to give away,” said Margaret Schroeder of Kewadin.
Schroeder brought in a tapestry for evaluation, one that had been displayed in her home for ten years and had consequently faded and yellowed.
"I just wish I'd taken better care of it,” she said of the piece, given to her by a friend. "I didn't know enough.”
This is the second Appraisal Day held by the museum with Butkovich. One earlier this year drew large crowds of people bringing a multitude of items. With this round, organizers decided to take a more systematic approach: requiring appointments and limiting each attendee to two pieces.
"We did one in March and had such a great response that we decided to do another one,” said Diana Bolander, curator of education for the museum. "It's fun, the things that people bring in are always interesting and surprising.”
"People bring in stuff you'd never see otherwise,” she added.
A passionate student of history who has been fascinated with handcrafted pieces since childhood, Butkovich always enjoys his turn as 'ask the expert.'
"It is always fun for me, I've always enjoyed antiques,” he said. "I'm not jaded and that's what keeps me going — you can see a hundred different items that were made by the same factory or the same hand and each one will have different marks on it because of the workman or the family that owned it.”
Joan Richmond of Traverse City brought a plien air painting by Adolph Kleiminger, an American landscape artist who died in 1945. The vibrant pastel representation of an orchard instantly captivated Butkovich, who discussed the painter's work, the history of art in general and the intricacies of the original frame surrounding the piece.
The painting had been in Richmond's family since she was a little girl and she has vivid memories of it hanging in her grandmother's home. Her grandmother received the painting as a gift after World War II when her elderly neighbor who had been an antique dealer moved away.
"There's another painting by him in the Duck Lake area,” said Richmond, who learned of this from Butkovich. "It makes sense because those people were from Chicago and that's where the artist worked.”
Fay Wilder drove up from near Clare to attend the event, bringing along a set of two Friar statues and a framed silver horse sculpture. A former museum educator, she found these items while antique shopping and was curious about their origins and worth.
She received a classic Butkovich history lesson, learning that the Friars likely date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s and were French in origin. They represent a typical statue of that era whose popularity faded after World War I. They were sold in stationary shops and sideshows or used as giveaways.
"I saw the Friars in an antique store and left it and then saw the horses and left it — I think everybody should exercise self-control, so I went home to think about it,” she recalled of her hesitation before purchasing both.