Appraisal: Late 19th-C. Fish Scale-decorated Anchor & Dome

GUEST: I brought this glass dome, and it has an anchor in it.

It's from my nana and my grandpa, and then it was my mother's, and now it's mine.

I was told it was made of fish scales, but I don't know if that's right or not, so so that's why I brought it.

APPRAISER: Well, what you've brought us today I think is a truly amazing and very fun example of this Victorian trend of creating these elaborate curiosities.

You're correct, it is fish scale.

GUEST: Is it?

Okay.

APPRAISER: And some of them are so delicately carved, and you can see through them, but then they've carved these veins of leaves in them, it's so finely done.

It's just amazing workmanship.

They took a real anchor GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: and crushed fish scale and applied it to it.

GUEST: Oh my goodness!

APPRAISER: Because there's one place I can see through to the metal of the anchor.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: And that's why it's so heavy.

And it's in this great Victorian glass dust dome.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And the pearls are synthetic.

At auction, I would expect this to have an estimate of around $1,500 to $2,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And my advice to you would be to insure it for $3,000.

GUEST: Okay.

Well, I've wondered for so long, so now I know for sure.