Collectors flock to Sarasota for 'Antiques Roadshow' tapings

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - Antique enthusiasts - from professionals to amateurs - flocked to the Ca' d'Zan at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota in hopes of an appraisal from the folks with "Antiques Roadshow."

The popular PBS series travels across the country to find treasures hidden in Americans' attics, basements, and closets.

Anyone who was lucky enough to a ticket to the show was allowed to bring two items. 

With appraisers located throughout the venue, hopeful collectors lined up to have their items reviewed. However, only a lucky few were selected to have their item appraised in front of the cameras.

"A lot of stuff that people have it might be antique, it may be old, but it may not necessarily be valuable, but when you get that one item that comes across it sticks out like a sore thumb," Bruneau auctioneer Travis Landry said.

He provides people with a history lesson along with an appraisal of their items.

Everything from artwork to toys comes his way.

“It's priceless, especially when they are like, ‘I paid $5 for that at a yard sale,’ [or] ‘I bought that from a neighbor three doors down for a couple of bucks,’ and you're like, ‘That's worth 8-12 hundred dollars," he said.

Inside the Ringling mansion, filming for the show took place right under John Ringling's portrait.

Shows from this season will highlight the mansion and four other historical sites throughout the U.S.

History is why Lois drove four hours to have her painting examined.

“The value of it isn't great, but it's just the curiosity. I wanted to solve a mystery," she explained.

She wanted to know why a religious figure in the painting is missing part of his head.

"It's a martyr," Lois told us after her painting was appraised for about $100.

But she's not disappointed.

“It's like being a part of something that is marked in history. You're a part of something that is recorded," she said.

You'll have to tune in in 2019 to see if someone from the Bay Area owns something that's more valuable than the Ringling mansion itself.

PBS taped three shows to air in the 2019 season during the event.