Antiques Roadshow draws 2,500 to Filoli

A power outage and heat wave couldn’t stop thousands of people, lugging wooden chairs, paintings, cabinets on wheels, lamps and more, from turning out at the Filoli Estate in Woodside for the Antiques Roadshow.

The show, which searches for America’s hidden treasures, stopped at the 654-acre property on Wednesday, June 22, and so did 2,541 guests over the course of the day (the first ticket in was for 7:30 a.m. and the last guests entered at 4:30 p.m.). The Edgewood Fire knocked out power at Filoli the day before and it had not yet been restored the day of the show. Fortunately, the Antiques Roadshow always has a backup plan, according to producers, and used generators run out of trucks.

“It was a truly impressive production day that went off without a hitch despite the power outage,” said Filoli Marketing Manager Dani Hielscher in an email.

All appraisals were held outside on the lawns because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Filoli includes a 54,000-square-foot Georgian revival-style mansion and 16 acres of English Renaissance gardens.

When guests entered the venue, staff assigned them category codes for their appraisals. The 23 categories included paintings, sports memorabilia, toys, rugs, furniture and clocks. Each was allowed to bring two items. By the end of the day, the crew had filmed about 150 appraisals.

Arlie Sulka, a glass expert who specializes in Tiffany & Co., sat down with one attendee, Erin, to examine her green stained glass Tiffany lamp, which she inherited from her father. Sulka estimated the item is worth between $35,000 and $45,000.

One of the 70 appraisers on-site examined a Baltic amber necklace from Germany, worth around $125, from one attendee, Janeanne. She said she was surprised it wasn’t worth more but was still grateful for the appraisal. This is her second time attending an Antiques Roadshow event; she was at the show’s visit to San Francisco in 2002.

“People are happy to be here,” Janeanne said after her appraisal. “It’s a lovely atmosphere; we kind of need that nowadays. We’re getting back (to normal from the pandemic).”

Mother and daughter Janet and Megan brought an orange cameo ring and a gold charm bracelet, worth about $150, that Janet’s father gave her when she turned 18. Of course, the pair find the bracelet priceless for its sentimental value, Megan said.

The appraiser said the cameo ring is unique in that is it carved from coral.

The Filoli visit will air between January and May of 2023, according to producers. They’ll know an airtime in the fall.