A Free Facebook Find Featured on “Antiques Roadshow” – WorthPoint

Every collector or vintage enthusiast dreams of that one big score—the piece of roadside furniture that turns out to be worth thousands or that long-closeted box containing a rare book in pristine condition. One such hobbyist found her “white whale” on Facebook Marketplace, and while it was a free painting, the experts at Antiques Roadshow let her know that it was worth much more.

A SECONDHAND MARKETPLACE SCORE

WorthPoint spoke with Ardrea Sanders, who acquired a painting from a Facebook Marketplace post. When she took the painting home, she had no way of knowing it would be a bigger story than just a great find.

Sanders told WorthPoint how she noticed the painting—a detailed depiction of an Asian woman featuring Chinese calligraphy along one side of it—in August 2022. She said,

I found this piece during one of my many moments of “doomscrolling” the local Facebook Marketplace of the location I was living in at the time (Richmond, Virginia). I had been watching the listing for about a week or so, when the seller had it listed for about $50, until one day the listing changed to “FREE.”‘ I immediately contacted the seller and set up arrangements for pickup. Upon arrival, I asked the seller if he knew anything about the piece. He said he did not. However, he acquired the piece from his parents, who were prominent travelers back in the day. The seller also informed me he was moving and didn’t have space for it, so it was destined to go to trash had no one picked it up. A very lucky find for me!

After researching and discovering a little about the painting, Sanders contacted Antiques Roadshow, telling WorthPoint,

I submitted my story, any known information (which wasn’t much), and photos of my piece into their Early Bird Ticket Sweepstakes. I honestly didn’t think I would hear from them, but I got a call from one of the producers while I was out grocery shopping with my husband a few weeks later. Imagine my shock to hear them say they’d love to have me on the show with my painting. I couldn’t even finish ringing myself in self-checkout!

Sanders said traveling to the North Carolina Museum of Art for Antiques Roadshow was a highlight of her collecting history. She was raised in Virginia and graduated from Virginia State University in 2014. When asked about her collections, she stated, “I love collecting oddities/macabre, old photographs such as CDVs, tintypes, ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes, with a special interest in African American subjects.”

And as for her painting, which Asian art expert Lark E. Mason estimates to have an “insurance value in the $6,000 range,” Sanders says, “Whether she has value or not, she has value to me.”

To watch the full episode featuring her artwork and its appraisal, click here.

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Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.

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