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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 562523, member: 5833&quot;]If what was?&nbsp; Wonder if any representative of Sotheby&#039;s examined it directly?&nbsp; Sounds as though family submitted for appraisal but were not committed to selling.</p><p><br /></p><p>What I know about auction houses:</p><ul> <li>For most things, most of the time, they accept whatever the consignor tells them about an item without verifying or doing any additional research.&nbsp; Sale terms are full of fine print that adds up to <i>caveat emptor</i>.</li> <li>When they do examine an item and give it some attention, they go to any relevant reference books they have on hand but especially to past auction catalogs.&nbsp; Once an error gets started, it is perpetuated, just as on eBay.&nbsp; They do not do original, fundamental, scholarly research.</li> <li>When it comes to provenance, other than information such as lamp says Made in Italy on the side, they are at the mercy of the consignor, who may or may not be able to document any of it.</li> </ul><p>We have no doubt done more work on this than the JustAsk appraiser.&nbsp; Think the site charges around $35 for an expert opinion.</p><p><br /></p><p>And one more thing I know, having Sotheby&#039;s do an appraisal for you is an expensive proposition.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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