Horst Lichter has bad suspicions when he sees the huge sideboard that is in the expert room of “Bares for Rares”. “My God, that’s rubble,” says the moderator. The block of wood belongs to Rebekka Jochem. The 25-year-old product designer from Eindhoven got the monster from her grandparents. Due to its enormous dimensions, it does not fit into their shared apartment and is therefore to be sold.
The piece of furniture was made by the Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau manufactory in Munich, as Detlev Kümmel explains. This chest of drawers dates from the 1920s and was designed by Karl Bertsch. However, Kümmel is not entirely happy with the design: “We know other pieces of furniture that are just as huge but look different.” The French Art Deco pieces from the period, for example, have a great lightness that German manufacturers could not have managed. The expert is even clearer in his judgment, speaking of a “clumsy construction”.
The seller wants 500 euros. Cumin doesn’t quite go with that. He estimates the value at just 400 euros, but at the same time points out that the market for this type of furniture is manageable.
This is also shown by the reactions in the dealer room. The chest is classified there as “heavy fare”. “They hardly get sold,” moans Walter “Waldi” Lehnertz. That doesn’t sound like the seller could realize the estimated value. And in fact, nothing comes after David Suppes’ entry bid of 100 euros.
Rebekka Jochem would not sell for that. That’s why the dealers find a creative solution: Jan Čížek makes the start and adds 50 euros. The other colleagues follow the example: “Waldi” and Susanne Steiger each add a twenty, Friedrich Häusser donates 30 euros. In the end, Jochem goes home with 220 euros.
David Suppes thanks his colleagues, who paid more than half of the purchase price out of their own pocket: “Great cinema here today.”
Source: “Bares for Rares” in the ZDF media library
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