The popular show made its way to the Desert Botanical Garden, where folks lined up to get the lowdown on their treasures. One guest brought in a mirror that had been casually hanging above his pooch’s dinner bowl, eager to find out if it was worth more than a few bones. He explained that the looking glass was a family heirloom from his grandparents’ home furnishings business in Belgium.
They’d snapped up a bunch of mirrors at a Parisian market and ordered a batch. They had one spare which ended up with his parents, while the damaged one eventually found its way to him after his gran moved into a care home. Antiques Roadshow’s Sebastian Clarke was on hand to drop some knowledge bombs about a stunning mirror brought in by a guest.
The French artisan behind the piece, Line Vautrin, had her big break at the Paris Exposition back in 1937, which led her to open her own boutique. Crafting her art in the tough times between the world wars, Vautrin got creative due to the scarcity of precious metals. Sebastian dished out the details: “So what she did, and this is what’s so fantastic about this, is that she turned to other different methods and experimentation of ways to make jewelry and her other real thing that she loved and her passion, was mirrors.
“And Vogue magazine referred to her as the poetess of metalwork at one point, because she was so magnificent in her jewelry and metalwork.” Then came the jaw-dropping moment as Sebastian unveiled: “In 2016, a similar example sold for $27,500. Since then, there’s been considerable interest in her work.”
“Another example, smaller, sold for $40,000. So, in getting together with my colleagues, we feel a reasonable auction estimate for this mirror, as a beautiful mirror, would be $40,000 to $60,000.” The guest chuckled and remarked: “Oh wow.
That is crazy.
