BBC Antiques Roadshow guest paying mum's retirement after staggering valuation

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked after learning that her late father's sculpture could cover her mother's retirement costs, following a staggering valuation on the PBS show.

The emotional scene unfolded on the USA programme when the woman brought forward the bronze piece to expert Eric Silver, explaining it was part of her father's collection and had been split among his three daughters after he passed away a year ago.

"This came from my father's collection, he passed away a year ago this month and he had a collection of bronzes and he has three daughters" she told viewers. "He kind of divvied up the bronzes and this is the one I happened to get and it's one of my favourites."

In a playful exchange, Eric Silver joked: "And you say you knocked it over last week? " The guest, unaware of the treasure she held, responded: "No, my cats knocked it over."

The expert then confirmed the sculpture was indeed a hood ornament as the guest had suspected, before delving into the background of its creator, a famous American artist according to reports in the Mirror US.

"It's by an American artist named Harriet Frishmuth who was very famous in her day, she worked in the early part of the 20th century," Eric elaborated. "She studied in Paris with Auguste Rodin and she also studied in New York with Gutzon Borglum, he was the sculptor of Mount Rushmore."

Eric Silver then went on to note that Harriet Frishmuth's creations were once showcased at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, underlining her acclaim in the art world. Yet, there was more astonishment to come for the guest as the Antiques Roadshow USA expert prepared to disclose the estimated auction value of the piece.

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"The piece you have is signed by her and dated 1923, which is the high point of her career," Eric pointed out, adding that the sculpture is "very, very rare."

The guest was visibly shocked when Eric revealed a staggering valuation, saying: "It's beautifully cast, the patina is in very good condition. At auction, a piece like this would probably bring between $20,000 and $30,000 (between £15,835 and £23,753)."

Overwhelmed by the figure, the guest looked off-camera in amazement, admitting that any proceeds would benefit her mother: "That's awesome. That's retirement to help my mom out."

She added: "We said that if it was anything like that, we would possibly sell it if we could get that kind of money for it and give it to my mom, definitely."

In a separate segment of the beloved programme, specialist Betty Krulik was left gobsmacked when she was presented with a painting that the owner had inherited from her aunt, who surprisingly had a connection to the artist, and the piece was appraised at an eye-watering sum.

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