The Antiques Roadshow seller was speechless (Image: PBS)
fans were left baffled when a sculpture valued at £41,000 turned out to be a complete fake.
On the US version of the show, which airs on PBS in the States, guest Alvin Barr brought in a bizarre-looking jug sculpted with numerous faces bulging out of its sides. The grotesque face jug was purchased for $300 – around £246.
Alvin brought it to appraiser Stephen Fletcher when the Roadshow headed to Oregon, and was blown away when he learned what it could be worth.
Stephen said: “There are grotesque face jugs out there… When we turn this around there’s a whole variety of, well, characters, and this particular person looks like he had an eye injury. They’ve stitched his eye closed.”
He added: “They all have very distinctive characters or personalities. When we look at the base clay, it’s red ware, and the potter has used an impressive array of techniques to come up with this extraordinary texture.
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“This, in its own way, is really over the top. It’s bizarre and wonderful. You even see a little bit of Pablo Picasso going on here.”
He estimated the jug was from the late 19th or early 20th century, somewhere in the Middle Atlantic United States – and admitted: “I think in a retail setting, somebody might well ask in the area of between $30,000 and $50,000 for this.”
Alvin was left speechless, confessing that he thought he “overpaid” for the item in the first place.
But it turned out that after the show, a call came in from the real artist of the jug – Betsy Soule. She’d created the jug in the 1970s as a high school art project, and when a friend spotted it on the show they called her with the exciting news.
The original artist was a high school student (Image: Inside Edition)
Sadly, the truth behind the art meant the jug was actually worth $3,000 to $5,000 – around £4,100. Still pretty good for a high school artwork.
A red-faced Stephen confessed he was “fooled” by the piece, admitting: “As far as its age is concerned, I was fooled, as were some of my colleagues.
“Alas, among the millions of people who watch Antiques Roadshow faithfully was a woman who identified herself as being a friend of the maker, a lady named Betsy Soule! She created this in [1973 or ’74], while in high school!
“The techniques of making pottery, in many ways, haven’t changed for centuries. Obviously, I was mistaken as to its age by 60 to 80 years. I feel the value at auction, based on its quality and artistic merit, is in the $3,000-$5,000 range. Still not bad for a high schooler in Oregon.”