SALT LAKE CITY — Having an eye for magnificent things runs in Nicholas Lowry’s blood.
“I was born into a family of auctioneers and booksellers,” he said.
Lowry was one of many appraisers at the Antiques Roadshow on Tuesday, held at the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum. The PBS television series has aired since 1997 and has since been a staple for lovers of antiques and collectibles.
Lowry sat at a booth while attendees lined up with their antiques and collectibles. He looked at hundreds of people’s cherished and sometimes wacky treasures — vases, intricate photos and picture frames, a gigantic shoe, and even a sculpture of Mr. Peanut.
“I’d imagine they’re from the 1960s. They’re very psychedelic. When I look at it through my magnifying glass, I can see how it’s a photographic print,” he told attendees who brought their art pieces to the roadshow.
He’s been doing this for 29 years, but discovering new treasures never gets old.
“I’m a jaded old goat, so to get me out of bed in the morning and get me to travel across the country — I’m from New York — it has to be something pretty exciting,” he said.
Suzy, an attendee who lives in Holladay, brought a meaningful one to the roadshow. She brought a vase her family made in the 1920s. Her family calls it the “Treasure Memory Vase.”
“My grandma and her three sisters made this in the 1920s when they were little, tiny girls, so it’s been in my family for almost 100 years now,” she said.
Historic trinkets, including marbles, tiny figurines, and bracelets, were placed into the clay vase. Each time a loved one died, her family would find trinkets that represented that loved one and add them to the vase to create a memory.
Suzy’s appraiser told her the vase is worth $250, but that about 10 years ago, it would have been worth about $1,000.
As for Lowry, he’ll always live for those magnificent finds.
“Every roadshow is this incredible scene,” he said, holding a rainbow umbrella. “These beautiful settings, these wonderful people. Tons of stuff, good and bad, to be fair, but we live for the good stuff.”
