An expert on Antiques Roadshow was thrilled to discover a dress brought onto the show was significantly older than its owner had initially thought. The US version of the popular BBC daytime show invites people nationwide to bring their unique and unusual items for evaluation, hoping to learn more about their history and worth.
During a visit to Denver Botanic Gardens, expert Deborah Miller was tasked with appraising a dress. The owner explained how it came into his family's possession, saying: "It was given to us by a good friend of my wife's mother and it was from her family and we think it was from the 1800s, the dress was made.
"My wife was a home economics teacher so she was very interested in all the work that went into making the dress. It was given to my wife in about the 1960s.", reports Edinburgh Live. Ms Miller then revealed: "It's earlier than you think. It is a very rare example of an indigo printed cotton dress that dates to 1798 or thereabouts."
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The guest responded with surprise, exclaiming: "Oh my goodness", before Ms Miller shared further intriguing details about the garment. "This type of printing was very complicated and so we as Americans, just a few decades after the Revolutionary War, we didn't have that skill and that infrastructure to make this type of multi-process printing.
"So there is a very good possibility the fabric, at least, comes from England." The guest was visibly delighted by the appraisal, which highlighted the dress's exceptional condition and heritage. The assessor noted: "It's in wonderful condition. It's a glazed cotton and I can see around certain areas it's a little shiny."
Further inspecting the garment, she said, "It is lined, the bodice is lined with a very heavy linen to kind of keep body sweats away." She drew attention to its features, explaining, "It has a pull drawstring tie at the top and one on right at the bodice" and adding that "And inside, there's just a little opening. You can see there is sort of a flap closure inside, just for modesty's sake."
Crucially, she pointed out: "The aspect that really helps us zero in on the date is all in the back." Miller identified a specific design element, mentioning a "tight triangle piece" of material with small pleats at the back of the dress that indicated its age. She further described the style of pleating as adding "a lot of fullness".
Regarding the dating of the fashion, she said: "Later on, even 10 years later, five years later, we slowly start to see this more of a column" but said "this sort of nice sweep and fullness at the back is helping to date it to the very late 1790s."
The owner revealed he had not considered just how much the dress might be worth, saying, "No, we've never really worried about it."m He relayed his wife's perspective: "My wife just said it's just a museum piece and we need to keep it, because it's a very valuable dress."
In response, Ms Miller said: "She is absolutely right, that's the kind of level this dress is." She provided an estimation of its worth, saying, "It is a very elevated, up-to-date day dress in great condition. For insurance purposes, you would have an insurance value of $15,000."
The revelation was met with joy from the owner who couldn't hide his surprise: "Oh my goodness. That's amazing." Miller, with a chuckle, remarked on the rarity of the item: "It's very rare" and added: "Unsuspected."
The expert went on to delve into her genuine reaction upon seeing the piece, saying: "My heart stopped when we saw it! The colour alone and then looking at it and dating it to that early, there was a lot of excitement on the table. So thank you so much for bringing it in." In response, he expressed his thanks saying "Well we appreciate all your help and telling us more about it."
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