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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 429117, member: 5833&quot;][I reposted the picture because it was making me crazy looking back &amp; forth.]</p><p><br /></p><p>The &#039;certification&#039; from the &#039;auctioneer appraiser&#039; leaves a lot to be desired.&nbsp; It gives the simplest of descriptions, not even identifying the Simeon scene.&nbsp; No mention of what is impressed on the back.&nbsp; Measurements for only one.&nbsp; It seems to be circular: the blocks are circa 1495 because <i><b>it is understood that</b></i> they were used in the printing of a picture Bible in France circa 1495.&nbsp; Is it &#039;understood&#039; because it is so obvious to anyone with a brain?&nbsp; Or because this is what they understood from what the consignor told them?</p><p><br /></p><p>This does not actually look like an appraisal to me, more like the auctioneers&#039; response to an inquiry as to how they were described at the time the blocks were auctioned by their house.&nbsp; Or perhaps a confirmation sent to the consignor of how they were to be listed in an upcoming auction.&nbsp; Suspect &#039;it is understood that&#039; means this is what the consignor told them,&nbsp; &amp; is not any kind of expert opinion.</p><p><br /></p><p>I used to imagine that auction houses had an expert examine all items being offered for sale &amp; that descriptions would be reasonably accurate.&nbsp; I have learned that is very far from the truth.&nbsp; Mostly they accept whatever consignors tell them about an item &amp; &#039;experts&#039; are not always correct.&nbsp; The fine print of the terms &amp; conditions will say that they do not guarantee something is what they describe it as.</p><p><br /></p><p>The letter does not estimate value they might have in a future auction, nor does it state the hammer price for them in a previous one.&nbsp; There is no support for the assertion of the 1495 dating.&nbsp;&nbsp; Is there a title for the auction house representative that has been blacked out?&nbsp; Is the other block clearly a nativity scene, leaving the one we have seen to be the Biblical scene in the Holy Land?&nbsp; Or is Simeon misidentified as the nativity?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Reputable they may be, they are still primarily auctioneers.&nbsp; When my jeweller gives me a written appraisal, it clearly says that it what it is &amp; gives an estimated value.&nbsp; This is neither a formal appraisal nor any kind of certificate of authenticity.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think you can rely on the letter for much other than confirmation the blocks were around in 1971.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.antiquers.com/attachments/auc-jpg.150183/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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