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 It is a daily occurrence that we are asked to tell them what their item is worth, and for the appraiser, one that is simply impossible to correctly evaluate for each and every situation.  There are a lot of variables that go into appraising and evaluating an item. As a general overview, these considerations are the product maker, age, condition including any restoration to fix or enhance an item, rarity, proven provenance (not here say) and general interest in a product at any given time, and of course that will most likely change with time.   Appraisals are written for a number of purposes. Insurance, to correctly appraise for replacement considerations, fair market value for resale, tax donations, inheritance and equitable distribution of an estate to heirs to name a few. These values range in number, for instance an insurance appraisal is its highest price evaluation for replacing an item similar in quality, age, manufacturer or maker, provenance, condition, rarity etc. from a sour

Marine Sculptures by Virginia Artist Larry Bage

Here are 10 proven winners for creating your very best nautical inspired room in your coastal home. Any or all of these design ideas will go a long way toward the realization of your space. Give these nautical design ideas a try: 1.  Proper lighting plays a key role in any successful space.  For a nautical inspired space choose table and Vintage aluminum ships window re-purposed into a nautical mirror. Aluminum 90 degree passageway lights light-up the space. . floor lamps that are functional, not just decorative. Place them near the task at hand. One of the best ways to create that old seafaring look is to select ship navigational and space light fixtures re-purposed into functional lighting. Rewired nautical wall sconces positioned on either side of a bathroom mirror can be very effective. Old re-purposed ship lanterns make great table lamps , and ship pennant lights, cage lights and passageway lights are top choices to light both your interior and exterior spaces. 2. Repetition of y

A customer recently visited our gallery searching for items to use in a house that he was in the process of remodeling. The theme of the interior he said was "steampunk" and he was searching for items that related to the Victorian era, the days of steam power and industrial technology. Authentic 19th century  ship's binnacle in steampunk interior. "You're in the right place, I said. That would certainly include the age of steam powered ships and that is the type of items that we carry." It didn't take long for him to grasp what I was talking about.  I left him to browse around and I could tell that he was quite excited about his discovery and started taking pictures of items of interest. He left an hour later with numerous ideas and images of items well suited for his new interior.  Not knowing much about the design concept steampunk, I decided to do a little research to become familiar with what it is. I looked up the word on Wikipedia and the short def

Carved oak tiller, England or NW Europe, late 17th-early 18th century. A fine oak tiller arm carved with the head of a sea serpent and ball terminus. 45 1/2 inches in length. As a maritime dealer and collector, I am always seeking to acquire exceptional examples of wood carvings that were produced during the "Age of Sail."  Wood carvings which decorated ships during the 17th, 18th and 19th century are sometimes all that remain from the vessels built during that time.  We know that ship carvers specialized in producing quality decorative work for maritime environments on ships, boats and yachts were a trade in to itself and different from those that built ships.Typical examples of their work would include figureheads, nameboards, trailboards for boats and unique yacht interiors out of wood. In this article we will take a look at the art of the carved tiller arm that sometimes embellished great yachts and naval gigs that carried wealthy merchants and ship captains from  sea to