Friday, September 11, 2015

Take the Antique Appraiser's Challenge at Glenerin Inn & Spa in Mississauga

Play Antique Hunter at Glenerin Inn with me...

If I showed you five different antiques, could you pinpoint which one is most valuable?

This idea could be a web show? Or maybe a slick piece of interactive content  that challenges users to become antiques hunters. I got the idea while touring the Glenerin Inn & Spa and taking pictures for their website. I also wrote a post that hints at art of the appraiser, indirectly when I reported the story of the Brushstrokes brand reproduction Claude Monet hanging in the Grand Sunroom for their blog. The painting is a perfect fake sold quite legally by a now defunct company called Atelier America Ltd., which perfected contextual printing in the late 1980s. The company reproduced many famous pieces of art before going out of business in the new millennium when the art business was radically changed by the internet.

I'm going to show you five antiques that I spotted while touring the property and you can tell me which is the most valuable in the comments.

First let me set the stage. Here is the historic Evans Estate,

more specifically Glenerin Hall, located near Dundas and Mississauga Rd in the town of Mississauga Ontario which most Canadians will recognize as a suburb of Toronto but which many Americans will wonder about... Its a bonafide historic building as evidenced by the blue plaque.


and the groundskeeper invited me inside...


So here's where the game begins...

Item #1 


Is that the tiger woods of oak dressers ? or is it a bureau?  a serving table? a dish pantry? I'm asking.. I really don't know.. I love the carved claw feet. No I don't know what it's worth either...

I didn't think to open any of the drawers and look inside so this is all you get...

somebody tell me what it is properly called so I can write it here 

Item #2 

Once again a mystery to me - I  have no idea what style of chair this is but as soon as someone tells me I will update this post and play the expert. I can only speculate that this is an important piece of furniture as it's placed in a position of prominance in the window sill of the upstairs hallway / main stairwell.

Item #3


This is a piece of art from a famous Canadian artist (I think) that is being proffered for sale in the silent auction as part of the March of Dimes, Hope with Art program which provides the pubic an opportunity to purchase beautiful framed artworks at reasonable prices. Most importantly, profits from the sale go to March of Dimes Canada and help support the programs and services provided to children and adults with disabilities.

Item #4

Here is the reproduction Monet that was discussed in the beginning of this post,
The back carries the clues to the Brushstrokes legacy.

yes I know its only a reproduction art piece and as such its worthless as art right? But I reckon it could still be valuable as decor.  And this appraiser quiz game should have some surprises - some curve balls...

Item #5
and here a curvy piece of sculpture.

before you get too excited... let's turn it over and look at the bottom.


Okay so now you have seen all five items - I swear these are the most interesting objects i\on the estate at present which has been renovated many times, most notably in the 1970's . Now what are your bets? Which of these five objects would you pin point as being the very best and most valuable collectible .. and why?