OK, got some news on this.
Went on the Antiques Roadshow yesterday in Seattle. It will be on the air in January. The zarfs were taped for the web site, while a Gold Pendant I have will be seen on TV, if they elect to air it.
They are Swiss made Turkish Coffee Zarfs (pronounced: nef) from the 1830's. Peter Shemonsky valued the set of 12 at $40-60K. I found a single cup on Christies website that sold for $10K after searching for "pearl set gold zarf"
This stuff was passed down through the family, so it just landed in my lap. I'm no expert or avid collector, so there isn't any sense of discovery or accomplishment on my part. I feel darn lucky that it passed to me.
I was looking for an appraisal for insurance purposes and it became quite an adventure and learning experience. The numbers are simply an indication of what the insurance premiums are going to cost me, lol.
Here is the Pendant:
Peter said it was a rare piece of sixteenth century art. Most of the jewelry from that era has been "re-purposed" while this one survived intact. I'm just guessing at this, but I think re-purposed means melting it down and remaking something with the gems and gold after it was pillaged or looted, to hide the trail of evidence. That's just my opinion after studying the era and learning what a swell bunch of people were running Europe during the Thirty Years War. It didn't take much to wind up in a noose or under the axe.
I had the receipt for this from 1923, which helped authenticate it. It was appraised for $50-60K
I explained to Mr. Shemonsky after he saw the two items and that it was inherited, as an after thought, he asked "do you have a lot of this stuff?"
I desperately wish my wife was here to share this experience with me. She'd know how to handle it.
