An guest was left astounded after discovering her late father's sculpture could fund her mother's retirement, following a jaw-dropping valuation on the PBS show. The touching moment unfolded as the woman presented the bronze piece to appraiser Eric Silver, explaining that it was part of her father's collection and had been divided among his three daughters after he passed away just a year ago. "This came from my father's collection, he passed away a year ago this month and he had a collection of bronzes and he has three daughters" she shared with viewers. "He kind of divvied up the bronzes and this is the one I happened to get and it's one of my favourites." In a light-hearted exchange, Eric Silver teased: "And you say you knocked it over last week? " The guest, oblivious to the treasure she possessed, replied: "No, my cats knocked it over." Silver then revealed the sculpture was indeed a hood ornament as the guest had thought, before delving into the background of its creator, a renowned
American artist. "It's by an American artist named Harriet Frishmuth who was very famous in her day, she worked in the early part of the 20th century," Eric elaborated. "She studied in
Paris with Auguste Rodin and she also studied in with Gutzon Borglum, he was the sculptor of Mount Rushmore." Harriet Frishmuth, as Eric Silver highlighted, had her works exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York, emphasising her success as an artist. However, there was another shock in store for the guest when the Antiques Roadshow
USA star was about to reveal the potential auction value of the sculpture. "The piece you have is signed by her and dated 1923, which is the high point of her career," Eric noted, describing the sculpture as "very, very rare." The guest's jaw dropped when he then provided a five-figure valuation for the sculpture, stating: "It's beautifully cast, the patina is in very good condition. At auction, a piece like this would probably bring between $20,000 and $30,000 (between £15,835 and £23,753)." Taken aback by the valuation, the guest glanced at someone behind the cameras in disbelief, confessing that the windfall would go directly to her mother: "That's awesome. That's retirement to help my mom out." She continued: "We said that if it was anything like that, we would possibly sell it if we could get that kind of money for it and give it to my mom, definitely." In another part of the popular show, expert Betty Krulik was astonished when she was shown a painting that the owner had received from her aunt, who had an unexpected link with the artist, and the artwork was valued at a staggering price.