These events help indentify, appraise your treasures

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 2, 2017

Are you a fan of PBS TV’s “Antiques Roadshow”?

The show isn’t coming here, but you can get some help with identification and appraisal of things that might be displayed in your living room.

Marysville Parks and Recreation is hosting its popular “Treasure Trove Antique Appraisal Show” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 4 at the Ken Baxter Community Center, 514 Delta Ave.

Have one or two items appraised for market value by professional appraisers. Cost is $10 per item.

Registration in advance is recommended in order to guarantee an appointment with the appraiser. Drop-ins are welcome if time allows. For more information and to register, go to www.marysvillewa.gov or call 360-363-8400.

In the meantime, if you have a treasured artifact on the fireplace mantel and you need to be assured of its identity, the annual Artifact ID day is 1 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Burke Museum, corner of NE 45th Street and 17th Avenue NE, on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.

The Burke Museum is the state’s natural history and culture museum and is a Smithsonian affiliate. So if you’ve ever wondered where something you own came from or what it was used for, specialists at the Burke may be able to help.

At past Artifact ID Days, Burke experts identified rare and exciting items such as an early 1900s Yei rug, a whale vertebra, a drinking cup made from a walrus’ skull and a fossilized dinosaur egg that was being used as a doorstop.

The museum is prepared to provide information about Native American, Pacific Island and Southeast Asian baskets, blankets and cultural artifacts, as well as archaeological materials, fossils, rocks, minerals and bones.

Bring no more than three items to be evaluated. At the Burke, no appraisals will be given and experts will not authenticate items for sale. The ID session on Saturday is included with museum admission.

Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and until 8 p.m. on first Thursdays. Admission is $10 general, $8 senior, $7.50 student, and free to preschool children, Burke members, UW students, faculty and staff. Call 206-543-5590 or go to www.burkemuseum.org.

And, by the way, “Antiques Roadshow” will be in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 12. More information is at www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tickets.